Review Tour: Remnants by Carolyn Arnold

Carolyn Arnold has proven once again that she is good at what she does. That is writing riveting, entertaining and suspenseful police procedurals. ‘Remnants’ is the 6th book in the Brandon Fisher series. There is no need to read the series in order as each story can stand on its own.

The beginning of the story is intense, as the killer is hunting for his next victim. From that moment, the story pulled me in and it proved a difficult book to put down. Has is typical of all serial murders, the FBI is called up on to assist in the investigations. Brandon Fisher and his team flew to Savannah to investigate when multiple body parts were discovered and investigations indicate that they were from different bodies. The hunt is on to capture the killer. Will Brandon and his team be able to figure out his end game before he strikes again?

Before, I proceed to tell you what I enjoyed about this story; I want to warn you that it was not unique. It bears a strong resemblance to a favourite television series of mine, but it in no way diminished the shock factor of the story.

Having read the previous book, Violated, I am familiar with the dynamics of Brandon’s team. They worked well together and had each other’s backs. They were a focused team when it came to the investigation in spite of the personal issues they faced. Brandon is a good agent, but there were moments when he displayed a measure of insecurity when it came to his boss. He would deliberately do or say things that he thought would impress his boss.

The story gave us the killer’s perspective, which for me is a plus for stories like these. Here we have a killer who feels he has to kill. I found this fascinating along with the way his mind worked and his motives for carrying out his gruesome acts. He had issues, but what these were did not come to light until after his identity was revealed. One thing was certain he had a superiority complex. He was looking for infamy and praise. There were moments in the story when I felt empathy for the killer, but I had no sympathy for those who aided and abetted him. They knew of his issues, but instead of getting him the help he needed they enabled him. In my eyes that made them crazier than the villain.

Figuring out the killer’s identity was a difficult task. The suspect pool was large, making it difficult to pinpoint the actual villain. At one point, I thought I had it figured out, but then the author twists things up and once again I was back to figuring out his identity. During this time, my excitement levels increased and my curiosity peaked, as I was eager to discover how it would all unfold. Then there was the jaw-dropping twist near the end when all the clues came together to reveal identity and motive.

As usual, the writing style was impeccable. The manner, in which the story was written, made it easy for me to visualise every event that took place. The scenes were chilling, gruesome and not for the faint of heart.

The switch between POVs was flawless making it easy to follow. Brandon’s was in first person, while that of his coworkers and the killer were in third. I find that at times when stories are written this way, they tend to be confusing, however, this was not the case here.

Verdict

‘Remnants’ is a well-written and engaging police procedural I recommend to fans of the genre. If you have read nothing written by this author I encourage you to do so, as I am sure you will have no regrets.

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