Girl 4 by Will Carver

I couldn’t put Girl 4 down, and that is a complement from
someone who is hyper-critical of other authors. I can see this book becoming a
Marmite Classic – people talking about it because they either love it or hate
it. For someone like myself, with a scattergun mind, the narrative jumping all
over the place is great and I could follow it easily. For someone who likes
things to flow, they are going to put it down soon after opening it. It is a
pretty standard police procedural, with the Met trying to catch a serial killer
who is targeting seemingly random young women. But Carver has the ability to
draw you into the minds of both January David, the police officer
investigating, and the killer himself. You find yourself desperate to get to
the end, not because it’s bad, but because it’s so tight and gripping, with
teasing clues, you need to know how it ends. The murders are gruesome and
imaginative, and at times the book is downright scary. I also like the fact it
seems David has physic powers, which is something I haven’t seen in a crime
book before.

I have dropped a star because to me the character of January
David to me is a bit similar to Mo Hayder’s Jack McCaffery – another London
detective whose sibling disappeared, presumed dead, as a child and has been
cast aside by his family because they blame him for their loss. Also, I found
myself skipping over rather lengthy descriptions of pieces of furniture that at
times read like an ad for Ikea. Finally, a couple of little niggles like the fact
police don’t seem to think of looking at CCTV from where the girls were taken,
and that David also appears to work in a station where there are very few
officers and a distinct lack of commanders and superintendents.

Finally the twist. I liked it and loathed it in equal
measures. I liked that it was a complete revelation that came straight from
left-field and I hadn’t predicted, but at the same time, it also doesn’t
entirely make sense, given the rest of the book. Although I do think that if I
re-read it, it might make more sense.

I can’t wait to read Carver’s further novels and feel privileged
to be one of the first people to read Girl 4. I urge you to buy it. You may not
be overly blown away by the story, but you will no doubt get the feeling you’re
at the beginning of the career of a great crime writer. The potential’s there,
it just needs teasing out. Roll on book two!

*****

Buy Girl 4 here http://www.amazon.co.uk/Girl-4-Will-Carver/dp/0099551039/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305228292&sr=8-1

May 12, 2011. Uncategorized.