Too Close to Breathe
(Frankie Sheehan #1). Olivia Kiernan. Penguin Publishing Group. Copyright 2018. pb. 304 pp.; ISBN: 9781524742614.
Frankie
Sheehan is dealing with two complex murders as a detective in Dublin,
Ireland. Sometimes the public fails to understand
or perceive the tremendous stresses that are a constant and pervasive part of
the job. Frankie is well-respected but
also has her colleagues worried about her present recovery and work on another
case.
The
first one involves the murder of Tracy Ward, a case in which she was physically
assaulted in a brutal way. Even now in
the middle of her work, her own posttraumatic stress syndrome makes it hard to
function, but Frankie is no wimp and forges on.
She dreads having to testify against the accused killer but her passion
for justice far exceeds her fears. The
second and present case she is trying to solve with her colleagues involves a
well-respected microbiologist scientist and professor, Eleanor Costello. At first it was believed she committed
suicide. But clues appear that indicated
murder was the truth and there is a further mystery with the mysterious
disappearance of the victim’s husband.
Add
to the mix that this crime has something to do with the Dark Web of the
Internet where people who enjoy violence with sex communicate with each
other. Many of these scenarios go
further than intended, eventually involving law and order forces. But a
chemical will prove to be the weakness that the killer leaves behind and leads
to an arrest.
Is
the trial of the first murder connected to the death of Eleanor Costello? Is Tracy in more danger than she
realizes? As the person in charge of the
investigation of both cases, how clear is Frankie’s thinking as her own
traumatized psyche confuses issues.
Olivia
Kiernan has written a gripping, reality-based police mystery novel that will
keep you flipping the pages, wondering if justice will be served or evaded.
Nicely done, Olivia Kiernan!
