August 28, 2020

Writing reviews for crime procedurals can sometimes be difficult. The balance between wanting to give the plot justice while not giving away any plot points can be a difficult balance. That’s why you may find some of my reviews to be less detailed than others.

Just wanted to clear that up. Now, on to the review.

Ritual Demise is the seventh book in the Cavendish & Walker series. As such, there are a lot of references to past events and the characters are treated as if the reader already knows their backstories.

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This can be a double-edged sword, because the author runs the risk of either boring readers who have read the other installments with too much explanation, or alienating and confusing readers new to the series, making them feel lost. I’m happy to report that the author does neither of these – it was perfectly fine to read as a stand-alone.

That’s not to say that knowing the backgrounds wouldn’t have added a bit more understanding, but that’s not vital to enjoying the story at hand.

One of the things that made this book enjoyable is that it reads like a tv procedural (no surprise, given the author’s background). Because of this the plot moves along quickly. The author has a firm grasp on policework and on the people who work in the field. Nothing jumped out at me as noticeably wrong (and I’m pretty picky about that). I like that the two lead characters are strong, smart women. More of that, please.

As to the plot itself, this is one of those things I mentioned at the beginning. I don’t want to give it away, because it would be easy to give a clue away. I’m a firm believer that crime procedurals (like mysteries) should be experienced by each reader. I thought that the ritualistic details of the murders was interesting and different. And that’s all you’re going to get from me on that!

This was an easy novel to read, and I highly recommend picking up this series.

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About Sally Rigby:

Sally Rigby was born in Northampton, in the UK. She has always had the travel bug, and after living in both Manchester and London, eventually moved overseas. From 2001 she has lived with her family in New Zealand (apart from five years in Australia), which she considers to be the most beautiful place in the world. After writing young adult fiction for many years, under a pen name, Sally decided to move into crime fiction. Her Cavendish & Walker series brings together two headstrong, and very different, women – DCI Whitney Walker, and forensic psychologist Dr Georgina Cavendish. Sally has a background in education, and has always loved crime fiction books, films and TV programmes. She has a particular fascination with the psychology of serial killers.
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As I started this book, I expected it to go in one direction, but it was actually a character study of a different kind. It was definitely a page-turner.

When Grace learns that her daughter, Abi, was killed in another country, her entire life spirals out of control. But as she pushes to find out what really happened to Abi, strange things start to happen. Is Grace self-destructing or is there something more sinister in play?

I liked how the initial crime was in a different country from the rest of the story. It added to the frustration that Grace felt that she couldn’t find answers. I don’t think the tension would have worked as well if it had been run of the mill “happened at home.” The lack of answers would have seemed like shoddy police work. But the lack of answers is vital to the rest of the plot.

I thought the author did a great job with Grace’s character. Severe trauma can trigger the worst parts of a person as old habits die hard. As Grace spirals, she becomes more unreliable – both as a person (errors on the job) and as a narrator. This was the strongest part of the book.

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As Grace asks more questions, she finds out that her daughter was hiding some pretty dark secrets. I thought that some of them were good plot twists, but others were a little bit too much “red herring.” It’s hard to describe – more like they were used as a mechanism to get to the next scene, but didn’t have any bearing on the rest of the story and were forgotten.

I also wish that the author had dropped some more hints leading to the finale. It sort of came out of nowhere, and there wasn’t a moment of “oh I should have seen that coming.” You know what I mean, right? Where you get to the “big reveal” and all of a sudden, certain events all of a sudden make much more sense? This one just didn’t have enough impact.

That being said, I didn’t figure it out until about three-quarters of the way through, so the author did do a good job of keeping me guessing. The gaslighting was effective.

If you’re looking for a good thriller that will keep you in the dark, pick this one up. It’s worth it for the portrait of Grace’s grief.

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About Miranda Rijks:

Miranda Rijks is a writer of psychological thrillers and suspense novels. She has an eclectic background ranging from law to running a garden centre. She’s been writing all of her life and has a Masters in writing. A couple of years ago she decided to ditch the business plans and press releases and now she’s living the dream, writing suspense novels full time. She lives in Sussex, England with her Dutch husband, musician daughter and black Labrador.

Miranda is the author of Roses Are Red and I Want You Gone. THE ARRANGEMENT will be her eighth novel published with Inkubator Books.