Senior Investigator Joanne Stuart is working to find a
serial rapist in Northern England. The criminal drugs
students and takes them away from their friends; when they
are found next day they have no memory of the night, and a
tattoo of a falcon has been inked on their skin. THE FALCON
TATTOO is the latest in a series of police procedurals
called The
National Crime Agency.
I had not read the first book, but we are told quite
quickly that Joanne has a girlfriend, Abbie, who wants to
start a family for them using a sperm donor. Joanne is less
than sure about this, given she has a risky job. I like
that the tale looks at the long term effect on the students
as they are interviewed again by the newly assigned
officer. Joanne can see that the girls' confidence has been
wrecked. She also has to worry that the attacker will kill
someone if he is not caught. The unit set up to catch the
man includes profilers and experienced police. With new
mapping techniques and coordinated evidence, they are able
to improve on the long-past Yorkshire Ripper investigation.
By following Jo as she retraces the steps of each girl, we
see the built-up areas of Manchester and Salford, as well
as the rustic spots where the girls were found on
roadsides. Students drinking in groups on pub crawls are
certainly not unusual, and the girls were being careful to
drink from bottles which are harder to spike with drugs.
But the criminal still managed to drug and isolate his
victims, avoiding CCTV. He also managed not to be spotted
dumping unconscious girls by busy roads. The profiler
reckons that this is a highly organised criminal who thinks
he can continue to beat the police. Maybe a media appeal to
the public will help. Jo is suspicious, however, of a
reporter who starts hanging around the case and trying to
talk to the victims. Could he be the overconfident
criminal?
Bill Rogers, who has been a teacher, comes from a long line
of police officers. He has previously written a series
about Manchester DCI Tom Caton and has moved seamlessly
into the character of Joanne Stuart in the same setting.
Some of the details may be distressing for readers and it's
definitely for adult crime fans. THE FALCON TATTOO involves
detailed psychological studies and evidence discovery, and
reaches a flying finish.
A violent attacker is on the loose. His calling card: a
tattoo on his victims’ skin. With no witnesses and no
evidence left at the crime scenes, it will take all of the
National Crime Agency’s resources to track him down.
At the head of the investigation, codenamed Operation
Juniper, Senior Investigator Joanne Stuart knows that the
clock is ticking. The time between abductions is decreasing
and the perpetrator grows ever more brazen. She fears it
won’t be long before his assaults turn deadly.
As the hunt closes in, Jo’s already troubled personal life
is put under further pressure. With danger closer than she
thinks, just how far will Jo go to solve the case—and at
what cost?
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