Once a Killer (A BlackJack Thriller #1)
Author: Murray Bailey
4 out of 5 stars
It’s 1953 and Charles Balcombe used to be an investigator with the Royal Military Police. He’s also a serial killer named BlackJack. Now he’s living in Hong Kong, having taken up a new identity after a killing spree. He satisfies his desire for excitement and risk by sleeping with rich men’s wives. When he’s approached by Grace Toogood to help locate her missing stepson, he at first refuses the case. After killing a human trafficker though, he decides to to take it, hoping to distract himself from his rising desire to kill again. Newly promoted Detective Munro is investigating the human trafficker’s murder. When his investigation eventually leads to him suspecting Balcombe, it starts a game of cat-and-mouse. Will Munro find evidence to arrest Balcombe? Or will Balcombe escape the police and find the missing young man?
Overall, the writing was good and it has a good pace. The plot was intriguing as there is so much information given and so many clues that at first seem to lead nowhere. I did eventually have a theory, that ended up being correct, based on one piece of information, but there were still parts of the ending that surprised me.
Balcombe is an intriguing character. He’s not likable, but he’s not really meant to be. He’s a serial killer trying to control his urges and has little care or regard for others. And he’s constantly looking for new and exciting experiences. On the other hand, I liked Munro. He’s committed to his job and getting justice. He also dislikes the politics that he now has to deal with after his promotion and the way those politics put pressure on him to arrest someone no matter what he has to do to justify it.
But honestly, I spent the first ¾ of the book not sure if I would read anymore of this series. It wasn’t until the last quarter of the book that I finally became curious enough to wonder how things would go in the future for Balcombe. Actually I was a lot more intrigued by Balcombe’s past and was wishing for a prequel. So although there were no real negatives, I’m giving it 4 out of 5 stars because it’s just missing something to draw the reader into the story.
Current price through Amazon Kindle: $0.99
Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B1DNWSZZ
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