Luc Callanach has left his life in France as an Interpol officer behind, the start a new life as a Detective Inspector in Scotland. It should be a relatively straight forward move, he is after all half Scottish (and has the last name to prove it) - but after leaving Scotland at the age of four France is all he knows. The reception he receives is predictable, the French outsider promoted over local Scottish officers is never going to make friends on his first day - but the level of hostility only rises when he takes officers to investigate a body outside their jurisdiction on the flimsy excuse that it could be a local missing woman. The body in the bothy is burned to nothing, but scant forensic clues at the scene show that the victim is in fact missing woman Elaine Buxton. The team is left with the sad task of informing the family of their loss and moving on with the investigation into her murder. The only problem is - Elaine Buxton isn't dead.
Elaine is the perfect captive - no one is looking for her, a body double providing all the evidence the world needs to see that she is dead. It's a horrific scenario, made worse by her captors determination to prove that he is protecting her and taking care of her. He talks about their future together, how they will grow and work together. When Elaine starts to disappoint him he has no choice but to look for another partner, someone who can meet his intellectual needs and satisfy his demands. When a second woman goes missing D.I Callanach can't shake the feeling that the two cases are related, especially when a second body is discovered with just enough forensic evidence to prove that the body is that of the missing woman.
What started as a missing persons case soon grows into a massive police operation, complicated by personal relationships and unwanted help. Luc Callanach may be a Detective Inspector, but he is also the newest member of the team and doesn't have the history and local track record needed to throw his weight around in the case. His best ally is Ava Turner, another Detective Inspector, but she is wrangling a complicated case of her own and becomes distant when he shuts her out for asking uncomfortable personal questions. Callanach is playing a game of cat and mouse with a man who's struggling with the reality of a dream turning sour, and no one seems to be looking in the right direction. Will Callanach untangle the mess in time to save the victims of this crazed jailer?
Perfect remains is an older book now, but that doesn't detract from the fact it is a very good read. I only discovered the series because my local public library has a new books list, and one of the recent titles appeared on that list - it sounded so good I had to see how the series started! Perfect remains is the perfect introduction to Luc Callanach and his world - both as a flawed and very human police officer, but also on a more personal level. I don't like characters that are too perfect, or cases that go too smoothly - they don't feel real and lack the depth and failings that make them relateable. This is true of the orbiting characters as well as the main characters, and it was a very real feeling world that we enter alongside Luc. It will be interesting to see how the series develops (book two is on the way).
If you like this book then try:
- The lost by Simon Beckett
- When you are mine by Michael Robotham
- Crimson Lake by Candice Fox
- Sticks and stones by Katherine Firkin
- The puppet show by M.W. Craven
- Eeny meeny by M.J. Arlidge
- 2 sisters detective agency by James Patterson and Candice Fox
- When darkness calls by Mark Griffin
- The coast to coast murders by James Patterson and J.D.Barker
Reviewed by Brilla
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