Leave No Trace by Jo Callaghan #bookreview #blogtour @JoCallaghanKat @simonschusterUK @RandomTTours

On my blog today, I’m sharing my thoughts on the brilliant new novel by Jo Callaghan, Leave No Trace as part of the blog tour. With thanks to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part.

BLURB

One detective driven by instinct, the other by logic.
It will take both to find a killer who knows the true meaning of fear . . .
 
When the body of a man is found crucified at the top of Mount Judd, AIDE Lock – the world’s first AI Detective – and DCS Kat Frank are thrust into the spotlight as they are given their first live case.
 
But with the discovery of another man’s body – also crucified – it appears that their killer is only just getting started. With the police warning local men to be vigilant, the Future Policing Unit is thrust into a hostile media frenzy as they desperately search for connections between the victims. But time is running out for them to join the dots and prevent another death.
 
For if Kat and Lock know anything, it’s that killers rarely stop – until they are made to.

MY THOUGHTS

Leave No Trace is the second book in Jo Callaghan’s original Kat and Lock series and Jo has written another belter of a crime novel. This book explores some really interesting topics, which I’m sure will provoke a lot of discussion among readers.

The book opens with a rather gruesome murder when the body of a man is discovered naked and attached to a cross in the middle of a field. It appears that he has been crucified. It is in the run up to Christmas, people want to be out having a good time and now the festivities are being spoilt with the threat of a serial killer on the loose. This is the second time Kat’s team are working with Lock, an AI Detective, who proved to be quite useful to the investigation in the previous book in this series. It is fascinating seeing Kat and Lock’s working relationship develop, and even though Lock is a robot, I still felt sorry for him, especially when Kat was quite harsh with him. Jo explores further here Lock’s attempts to explore human emotions and what drives us, and this comes through really well in Jo’s writing.

The story in this book is very intense and it kept me utterly gripped. I wanted to know who was behind the gruesome attacks. I loved the race against time element which upped the stakes for Kat and her team. They know they only have a limited time to catch the killer before they strike again, and they need to work out what the killer’s motive is and who, exactly, is at risk. They are also facing enormous pressure from their superiors.

I honestly could not believe it when the killer was unmasked. Jo Callaghan delivers an absolutely brilliant twist here which made a lot of sense, and it gave the book, I felt, a very satisfactory ending. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Leave No Trace and I flew through it. I can’t wait to see where Jo takes Lock and Kat next.

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication date: 28th March 2024

Print length: 384 pages

Leave No Trace is available to buy:

Amazon UK Kobo Waterstones

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