Fast paced

The second book in the Whitley and Keal series, which built on the characters in the first so you get to know them better. Who killed two young girls causing them horrific injuries, that is the question the detectives face this time, whilst at the same time having personal issues to deal with. The book moves at a fast pace bringing the pieces of the puzzle together. I look foward to listening to book three.

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Fab

This audio kept me on edge the whole way through! The darkness and threats to the girls was rough and a real nail biter. The culprit well there’s another What moment! Really woven in well.
From the 1st book to this I still love the characters. They’re real and you feel for them all. Or dislike them as I did some of the not so nice ones. You’ll know when you listen to who I’m on about.
The extended bits from the families of the main characters was great. They’re padding out and I really want to hear more about them.
More please!

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I used to love my job.

Jean Whitley is an homicide detective, but she is also a mother. Her life becomes seriously complicated when the body of a murdered girl, one attending the same school as, and well known to, her daughter is found, semi naked and badly burned. Then another follows soon after. It becomes apparent that not only is the group of girls who were with the first victim the night she died witholding possibly valuable information but that her own daughter is lying to her. To make things even worse, her long time partner and mentor, Joe, has disappeared just when she needs him most so she is partnered instead with a newly made detective, Marty. This was his first murder investigation since becoming a detective although not his first experience of horrifying deaths (see the first book in the series, A Child is Torn).

This murder mystery, written in part in the first person, switches between the points of view of the main protagonists and between home life and investigation which, in many ways feels secondary to the book. So perhaps not for the die hard detective fans. Narrator, Amy Deuchter, has a warm and pleasant-to-hear mid range voice, with good delivery and excellent intonation. She also distinguishes between speakers in her presentation although, unfortunately her ability with accents needs careful work: her Irish accent was dreadful, the Aussie one simply bizarre, and even her Brooklyn twang seemed strange to my untutored British ears. However, they appear only briefly. This reader also found the delivery a little slow, but that was easily solved by turning up the replay speed to 1.25.

This was an enjoyable book and my thanks to the rights holder of Faceless, for freely gifting ma a complimentary copy, at my request, via Audiobook Boom. The characters, especially but not only, the main protagonists, were very well developed and convincing as fully fledged read people with hurts and wants and needs and fears of their own, so it was easy to empathize with them as they blundered onwards in their search for the killer. As previously mentioned, perhaps not for those who like a straightforward who-dun-it? type murder mystery, a hard edged crime story or a thorough police procedural. But perfect for anyone who wants to mix the lives of the detectives into the pot, not just those of the victims of the crimes.

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Wonderful

Unusually, I've listened to this series in the correct order. You know the author has a winning formula when you start listening to the second book and it feels like you're catching up with old friends. The characters lives' up and downs had a real impact on me. I was thrilled to discover who'd got married, who'd had babies, and, conversely, I was upset by any bad news. Dawn Kopman Whidden has a really upsetting murder mystery going on in this book. Whitley and Keal definitely have their work cut out, as well as all the activity in their private lives. Amy Deuchler provides excellent narration. When your emotions are roller coaster riding along with the ebb and flow of the story, that, for me, is a sign of a fabulous book. I loved every minute of listening and was sad when it finished. I can't wait to listen to book 3. 5 stars and a highly recommended from me.

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Excellent Second book

An excellent second book in the series, building on the existing characters and introducing Whitley and Keal as partners. A killer is targeting teenage girls and murdering them in horrific ways meanwhile Jean Whitley has her own problems at home as her daughter turns into a typical teenager. The story is gripping, the characters familiar and the ending unexpected.

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Good mystery

This is a good mystery about a killer targeting teenage girls from the same school. There are quite a few suspects for the police to investigate.
The story is told from the points of view of the two detectives on the case. The pace is good and the narrator did very well with the characters.
Overall, a good listen.

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Faceless

Faceless s a well written crime novel over with characters that I spend time with. This is one of those times where the motto 'don't judge a book by its cover' comes in to play because I was not attracted by the cover

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2 people found this helpful

Who killed these young girls??

This was the second book in the series featuring Jean Whitley and Marty Keal. In the first book, Jean had a different partner, but he has had to stand down for personal reasons and she is now working with Marty Keal, a younger, up-and-coming (and sexier) detective.

I listened to the audio version and was happy to find that the narrator for this book was Amy Deuchler, who seemed more suited to the role than the narrator for Book 1.

The victims of Whitman's serial killer are beautiful teenage girls, whose faces are burned off. It turns out that they are classmates of Jean's fourteen-year-old daughter Bethany, and as such, the crime takes on a very personal note for Jean. While Bethany becomes more and more withdrawn and petulant, her boyfriend also becomes a suspect, as does the local vicar.

I enjoyed that this narrative brought the crime closer to home than the previous book, but I was hoping that Brad, the young boy who was being treated in the first book, might make an appearance too. However, his nurse, Dr Hope Rubin, does feature and her insights into child behaviour are always fascinating.

Great characterisations and an interesting crime. I'm looking forward to Book 3 in the series.

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another one I couldn't put down

This is the second book in the series (although could be read standalone) and yet again Dawn has managed to really tell an intriguing murder mystery but at the same time there are stories around each of the main characters. it's a really good book and I can't wait to listen to Book 3 x

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An enjoyable start.

An enjoyable start to a new, to me, series. The characters were interesting and the story was intriguing. I would have liked a few questions answered at the end, which felt just a little rushed. I think this was one of those unusual books that I would have enjoyed even more if I had read the book rather than listened to it. Although the narrator has a pleasant voice with clear diction her change of accents, characters and sexes could be improved, in my opinion.
I’ll definitely follow Jean and Marty some more, but I will read the stories.

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