Review: Perfect Death

Perfect Death by Helen Sarah Fields
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Last year I won Perfect Remains in a Goodreads giveaway, after debating whether or not I wished to pick up the book, quickly finding out this was a series I would want to continue. At first, I wasn’t sure about Perfect Remains but it soon won me over. It wasn’t the strongest four-star rating I have ever handed out, but it guaranteed I would be back for more. Perfect Prey, on the other hand, blew me away. I enjoyed it so much more than I enjoyed the first book, leaving me desperate for book three. In fact, I was close to giving Perfect Prey a five-star rating – only holding back because of small elements. Thus, I went into Perfect Death with very high expectations.

Although Perfect Death is the third book in the DI Callanach series, it can be read as a standalone novel. As with any crime thriller, there is a start and an end point with the crime, ensuring you get closure. However, I would recommend you read the prior books first. Lots happens in relation to the personal lives of the characters, and to completely understand this you need to read the prior books. Not only are references made to events in the past, but certain elements build upon what we found out in the prior books. I’m not saying you cannot enjoy this without the prior books, I’m simply saying you’ll get a better experience if you read this series in order.

I’ll be completely honest about this one, I was uncertain at first. As I said, after the high of book two, I was expecting really big things for book three. However, when I started this one I feared a repeat of book one. Sure, I enjoyed the first book; however, I wasn’t completely happy with it. It was a book that won me over, not one that grabbed me from the very first page. In that sense, book three was like book one, but I did enjoy this one much more.

You see, it took a few chapters before this one completely sucked me in. I enjoyed seeing our characters again, but the story seemed to be rather slow moving. I think Perfect Prey has ruined me, leaving me with unrealistic expectations of what I can expect with each new Helen Fields book. They will all be fun reads, of that I’m sure, but I cannot expect to be sucked in at such a rapid pace ever time. With these stories, with the crimes Helen Fields writes, you need to stick around. Things build slowly, we get introduced to a lot of things throughout, and you need to take your time with things.

Once you reach a certain point, though, you’re lost to the story. Everything starts to come together and things build at a crazy rate. More and more is added, until you reach a climax that will leave you desperate for the next book. You fall in love with the characters, you get sucked in by the crime, and everything comes together so well. It may take a while, but once the book grabs you it refuses to let go.

Without a doubt, Perfect Death was another fun addition to the DI Callanch series. I’m already extremely excited for Perfect Silence – I’ll be grabbing it as soon as I can.

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