Lifeblood
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Product Description
Product Description
Six months on from the events in NO ESCAPE, forensic psychologist Karen Taylor is busy assessing prisoners out on parole for a Ministry of Justice project designed to predict which of them will re-offend. One of them is Randall Greer, a violent serial rapist, whose last offence took place on the Isle of Wight. Karen is sure he will attack again - and that this time he will probably kill. So when Randall breaks the terms of his parole and goes missing, Karen breaks all the rules. She returns to the Isle of Wight to warn DCI Charlie Trench, because he was involved in Greer's arrest and subsequent trial for the rape of Lizzie Fane. Randall had threatened to kill Lizzie if she gave evidence against him. Lizzie Fane has secretly reinvented herself as Lisa Raithe, and is enjoying a burgeoning career as a successful artist. She's settled into an attractive village well away from the Island - and has tentatively started dating again. As Lisa, she has everything going for her. Until she hears that Randall is out, and on the loose. She has stoically rebuilt her shattered life - how far will she go to protect it? Soon people who gave evidence at Randall's trial are found murdered. Has the rapist now turned killer, as Karen predicted? Has Lizzie herself turned avenging angel? Or, as Karen starts to suspect, is someone else pulling the strings?
About the Author
An ex-publisher, past Chair of the Crime Writers' Association, and lifelong Londoner, N J Cooper writes for a variety of newspapers and journals and contributes to many radio programmes such as Woman's Hour and Saturday Review. As Natasha Cooper, she is the author of, among many others, NO ESCAPE, A GREATER EVIL and A POISONED MIND. In 2002 she was shortlisted for the Dagger in the Library, an award that 'goes to the author whose work has given most pleasure to readers'.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Karen Taylor is a forensic psychologist and is brought in by the Ministry of Justice to conduct a study on the statistical probability of convicted rapists to attack again. When she meets handsome, charming and clever Randall Gyre, she is convinced he shouldn't be allowed out in the community - and then the people who put him in prison the first time start to die...
This is the second in the series which started with No Escape and isn't quite as good. There are enormous coincidences in the plot which have to be contrived to bring the whole thing together, and some of the relationships feel unthought through (Charlie's friendship with Sally? His protection of Annie?). It wasn't made clear why Annie was a potential suspect and, when the perpetrator is revealed, it still doesn't make sense that some of his/her victims just sat there and carried on eating breakfast/watching TV while he roved around their rooms.
That said, I like Karen Taylor and her relationships with the men in her lives. I didn't find her opaque, unlike another reviewer, perhaps because the first book gives us quite a lot to build on? So this isn't quite as good as the first in the series but it is sufficiently gripping to while away a few hours.
This is the second in the series which started with No Escape and isn't quite as good. There are enormous coincidences in the plot which have to be contrived to bring the whole thing together, and some of the relationships feel unthought through (Charlie's friendship with Sally? His protection of Annie?). It wasn't made clear why Annie was a potential suspect and, when the perpetrator is revealed, it still doesn't make sense that some of his/her victims just sat there and carried on eating breakfast/watching TV while he roved around their rooms.
That said, I like Karen Taylor and her relationships with the men in her lives. I didn't find her opaque, unlike another reviewer, perhaps because the first book gives us quite a lot to build on? So this isn't quite as good as the first in the series but it is sufficiently gripping to while away a few hours.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Karen Taylor is an academic psychologist at the University of Southampton and a consultant forensic psychologist to the UK's Department of Justice. She made her debut in No Escape, set on the Isle of Wight, a location that features heavily in this second outing. As the book opens, Karen is to interview Randall Gyre, on probation after being convicted of attacking a young woman some years before. The interview is part of a project of Karen's, in which she aims to see if it is possible to predict whether released violent criminals will re-offend.
Gyre is a charming psychopathic type. Karen warns her bosses that he should never have been released, to no avail. Before long, he has failed to turn up to his probation appointments and cannot be found. Then, a policeman is discovered, murdered in his flat. Is Gyre now attacking those who he holds responsible for his conviction, or is the death unrelated? Karen, inevitably, becomes more involved in this case as it escalates, advising both her rather unpleasant superiors at the department, and the police as they investigate an increasing number of possibly related crimes.
Lifeblood is a brisk novel with a solid plot - though I correctly guessed the identity of the villain right from this person's first appearance in the book. Even so, the theme of violence against women, and the subsequent difficulty of getting rape charges to court, and the even greater difficulty of obtaining a conviction, are well-depicted, mainly by sections about one or two of Gyre's previous victims and what they've done with their lives since.
In Karen's personal life, as before, she is torn between handsome, nice but boring boyfriend Will, and handsome, nice but less boring police officer Charlie. After two books this dithering is becoming a bit tiresome, so I hope Karen makes up her mind in the next one. The university scenes are well-done, as is the subplot about the run-down chalet on the island owned by Karen's family - which could intersect with the Gyre investigation by a route unanticipated by Karen or the police. Apart from her romantic dithering, Karen is an attractive, independent protagonist, whose professional interactions are invariably interesting to read. The patronising, buck-passing attitude of her male senior colleagues makes the blood boil, but she deals with them by refusing to be pushed around, doing her job well and showing them up. I look forward to reading about her next case.
Gyre is a charming psychopathic type. Karen warns her bosses that he should never have been released, to no avail. Before long, he has failed to turn up to his probation appointments and cannot be found. Then, a policeman is discovered, murdered in his flat. Is Gyre now attacking those who he holds responsible for his conviction, or is the death unrelated? Karen, inevitably, becomes more involved in this case as it escalates, advising both her rather unpleasant superiors at the department, and the police as they investigate an increasing number of possibly related crimes.
Lifeblood is a brisk novel with a solid plot - though I correctly guessed the identity of the villain right from this person's first appearance in the book. Even so, the theme of violence against women, and the subsequent difficulty of getting rape charges to court, and the even greater difficulty of obtaining a conviction, are well-depicted, mainly by sections about one or two of Gyre's previous victims and what they've done with their lives since.
In Karen's personal life, as before, she is torn between handsome, nice but boring boyfriend Will, and handsome, nice but less boring police officer Charlie. After two books this dithering is becoming a bit tiresome, so I hope Karen makes up her mind in the next one. The university scenes are well-done, as is the subplot about the run-down chalet on the island owned by Karen's family - which could intersect with the Gyre investigation by a route unanticipated by Karen or the police. Apart from her romantic dithering, Karen is an attractive, independent protagonist, whose professional interactions are invariably interesting to read. The patronising, buck-passing attitude of her male senior colleagues makes the blood boil, but she deals with them by refusing to be pushed around, doing her job well and showing them up. I look forward to reading about her next case.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought 'Lifeblood' immediately after reading 'No Escape'. It is a follow-on novel to 'No Escape' but unfortunately not up to the same standard as its predecessor. I took it with me as a holiday read but found it disappointing, a bit of a slog. Home two days from a four week holiday and have just now finished it. The story line promised much but failed to deliver and clunked to an unlikely and unsatisfactory conclusion. Shame really.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Too many coincidences
I have enjoyed all Ms Cooper's books. They are very well written and usually well plotted. She has good insight into people psychology and, in her earlier books, characters... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Ellie
Cracking page-turner
Convincing characters, good plot, intriguing and attractive settings (tho' that's a subjective view of course) - generally a thoroughly enjoyable read. Read more
Published 11 months ago by attic critic
Reasonable but unlikeable main character
To be honest the blurb on this offering really makes you want to get started very quickly, however that said, I did feel that whilst the overall arc was very pleasing, the... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Gareth Wilson - Falcata Times Blog
Hoover
I always read NJ Cooper's books, and couldn't put this one down. I look forward to the next one.
Published 22 months ago by Mrs. M. Corran
Excellent read
N J Cooper is one of my favourite authors and this book I believe is one of her best.
Published 23 months ago by Zebedee
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