Malicious Intent

Kathryn Fox

Average Rating 8/10 (1 Review)

Dr Anya Crichton, a pathologist and forensic physician, finds that work is sparse for the only female freelancer in the field. Between paying child support, a mortgage and struggling to get her business off the ground, Anya can't yet afford to fight her ex-husband for custody of their three-year-old son, Ben. When Anya is asked to look into the seemingly innocent suicide of a teenager, Anya notices similarities between the girl's death and several other cases she is working on with her friend and colleague, Detective Sergeant Kate Farrer. All the victims went missing for a period of time, only to be found dead of apparent suicide in most unusual circumstances. As Anya delves deeper, the pathological findings point to the frightening possibility that the deaths are not only linked, but part of a sinister plot. Nothing can prepare her for the terrifying truth...

Review by Chrissi (301205) Rating (8/10)

Review by Chrissi
Rating 8/10
I think that this is probably the first Australian crime thriller that I have read – I am sure that they have crime down under, but I’d never really considered it. This is the first novel from Kathryn Fox, and it shows a great deal of promise, with an engaging heroine and a thoroughly nasty villain. Anya Crichton is the central figure, a single mum and forensic pathologist who becomes involved with a string of disappearances and the subsequent deaths of women who would appear to have no reason to disappear. What follows is a case which would seem innocuous enough, but which threatens to draw Anya and her friend, Kate, into the path of a dangerous psychopath.

I would imagine that comparisons will inevitably be drawn with Karin Slaughter or Patricia Cornwell. This is really no mean feat given that it is the first novel from a new author - There are some thrillers that grab you by a good dose of gratuitous grossness, some by an intriguing happening, I would class this in the latter group. The plot is well crafted and flows nicely, the level of detail in the information conveyed is meticulous, and although I make no claim to understanding a great deal of the medical jargon sometimes used, it instils a confidence in the grasp of the subject matter by the author.

From the level of background detail I can see that this lady may well be making another appearance at some point in the future - this will be well worth looking out for.
Chrissi (30th December 2005)