The Art of Death by David Fennell

Today I’m passing the blog over to Mandie who is sharing her thoughts on The Art Of Death by David Fennell. I read the book when it was first released and thoroughly enjoyed it. You can read my thoughts here. Read on to learn more about the book:

About the Book

Death is an art, and he is the master . . .

Three glass cabinets appear in London’s Trafalgar Square containing a gruesome art installation: the floating corpses of three homeless men. Shock turns to horror when it becomes clear that the bodies are real.

The cabinets are traced to @nonymous – an underground artist shrouded in mystery who makes a chilling promise: MORE WILL FOLLOW.

Eighteen years ago, Detective Inspector Grace Archer escaped a notorious serial killer. Now, she and her caustic DS, Harry Quinn, must hunt down another.

As more bodies appear at London landmarks and murders are livestreamed on social media, their search for @nonymous becomes a desperate race against time. But what Archer doesn’t know is that the killer is watching their every move – and he has his sights firmly set on her . . .

He is creating a masterpiece. And she will be the star of his show

Mandie’s Thoughts

The Art of Death is the first book by author David Fennell. I have heard so many good things about this book that I had to bump it up my TBR pile and to be honest I am glad that I did. For once I actually read it in the print version instead of my usual eBook version and it became one of those books that made me wish that print versions came with their own backlighting so that I could read it well into the night.

When an art installation in London is found to have real bodies in it, DI Grace Archer is tasked with finding out not only who the victims are but also who the artist only known as @nonymous is and why they are killing people. When further installations are found it becomes a race to arrest the killer before anymore people suffer.

David Fennell has created characters that well rounded with histories that form some of the actions and interactions throughout the book. Grace has a lot to prove with this investigation after previously having been instrumental in taking down one of their own which had put her in a tricky place with her commanding officer and some of the team she now has to work with. I also loved Klara who faces her own challenges to be accepted in the team but refuses to let it get in the way of doing a good job. DS Quinn is a great partner for Grace and is not without his own demons to escape.Between the three of them they make a great team that I can’t wait to see again.

Whilst what happens to the victims is not explicitly described the reader is given enough information to understand what they had gone through and the snippets of their lives in the run up to their deaths ensure that you are invested in finding out what happened to them and why. With the book being told predominantly from the viewpoints of Grace Archer and @nonymous you can feel the tension in the pages. This is a fast-paced book with plenty of twists, turns and surprises to keep you hooked from start to finish and I cant wait to read the next book from this author.

About the Author

David Fennell was born and raised in Belfast before leaving for London at the age of eighteen with GBP50 in one pocket and a dog-eared copy of Stephen King’s The Stand in the other. He jobbed as a chef, waiter and bartender for several years before starting a career in writing for the software industry. He has been working in CyberSecurity for fourteen years and is a fierce advocate for information privacy. David has played rugby for Brighton and has studied Creative Writing at the University of Sussex. He is married and he and his partner split their time between Central London and Brighton.