Frantic

Detective Ella Marconi #1

by Katherine Howell

There are worse things than death, though Paramedic Sophie Phillips doesn't think so. She and her work partner constantly revise a list of the worst ways to die, holding the number 1 spot vacant for the death so terrible even they can't imagine it. But Sophie is sure it will cross her path on the streets of Sydney one day. When Sophie's police officer husband Chris is shot and their baby is kidnapped, Detective Ella Marconi has to fight to get to the truth. Is it revenge by a bereaved father for Sophie's recent failure to save his wife and newborn baby? Or was Chris somehow involved in the police corruption that appears rife in the city? When the police fail to trace Sophie's son, she takes matters into her own hands and now that she's realised there are worse things than death, nothing will stop her from finding him.

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Australia, Audiobook, Suspense

372 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Katherine Howell worked as a paramedic for fifteen years while completing her Bachelor and Masters degrees in creative writing. Her first novel, Frantic, was published in 2007 by Pan Macmillan and set a paramedic alongside Sydney police detective Ella Marconi in 'an adrenaline rush of a thriller' (Sydney Morning Herald). It won the 2008 Davitt award for best crime fiction. Her second book, The Darkest Hour, continued the pattern with Ella and another paramedic in 'a finely paced and engrossing novel' (Guardian UK). The third in the series, Cold Justice, made the Australian bestseller list, saw Katherine travelling on a P&O cruise as guest author, and was described by NYT bestselling author Tess Gerritsen as 'one of my favourite books of the year'. It also won the 2011 Davitt award for best crime fiction, making Katherine the only author to have won twice. Her fourth book, Violent Exposure, was described by Bookseller & Publisher as 'arguably her best yet - four stars', while the fifth, Silent Fear, was chosen as a ‘Guaranteed Book You Can’t Put Down’ by the national Get Reading! programme. Katherine’s books are published in multiple countries and languages and have been likened to the work of Karin Slaughter and Patricia Cornwell. Katherine is studying female doctor investigators in crime fiction for her PhD at the University of Queensland, and teaches writing and editing. She lives in Queensland with her partner, who owns a bookshop.

Reviews

[Suz · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always, I'm coming across great books I otherwise wouldn't have known about through Goodreads, particularly my Aussie Readers group - many thanks to all my friends that wrote glowing reviews for this book. They were all five stars by the way! Being number one in the series, I requested my library add it to their catalogue as they had every other book in the series bar this one, so they happily ordered it quickly for me. I love reading a lovely crisp new copy! I think this is a great asset to my library in Western Sydney. I hope many other readers discover this series.

This book was great, it was a really nice change reading about a venue so close to home, and as the author was a paramedic, she is mentioning streets and suburbs so closely, I felt like I was there. Katherine Howell writes in an engaging and easy to read style, and this was a book I wanted to continue reading the entire time. Twists and turns were keeping me guessing, and all characters were developed extremely well, I love when you have the feeling of knowing them all, this really was well done.

Ella Marconi is a detective leading this case, that involves police corruption, and a mother, Sophie, hell bent on solving the abduction of her ten month old baby. Sophie is a paramedic, and it really is interesting reading when you know the author is writing about what she knows. This is also evident in the Police content as well. Human relationships are not always straight forward, nor is married life, and this book covers all aspects realistically. Ella will be an interesting character to get to know.

I'm looking forward to slowly making my way through the series, only because I have a crazy amount of books on my shelf, so alas, it will take me some time. Get to this series, you'll be happy with your decision if you do.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frantic (Detective Ella Marconi, #1) by Katherine Howell

Synopsis /

In one terrible moment, paramedic Sophie Phillips' life is ripped apart - her police officer husband, Chris, is shot on their doorstep and their ten-month-old son, Lachlan, is abducted from his bed. Suspicion surrounds Chris as he is tainted with police corruption, but Sophie believes the attack is much more personal - and the perpetrator far more dangerous... While Chris is in hospital and the police, led by Detective Ella Marconi, mobilise to find their colleague's child, Sophie's desperation compels her to search for Lachlan herself. She enlists her husband's partner, Angus Arendson, in the hunt for her son, but will the history they share prove harmful to Sophie's ability to complete her mission? And could one dangerous decision cause Sophie to ultimately lose everything important in her life?


My Thoughts /

Who better to write the real-life moments of an accident scene and the emergency services personnel responses than a former paramedic. Frantic author, Katherine Howell worked as a paramedic for fifteen years whilst she was completed her Bachelor and Masters degrees in creative writing. Her first novel, Frantic won the 2008 Davitt award for best crime fiction.

When you receive the news that your husband has been shot and is in a medically induced coma in the ICU and your ten-month-old baby is missing, thought to have been kidnapped, is this the worst day of your life?

Sophie Phillips is a paramedic with the New South Wales Ambulance Service, and together with her working partner, Mick, they work the night shift around suburban Sydney. Working in one of the busiest locations in Sydney, shifts can be full-on and chaotic, and Sophie seems to thrive in this environment. Unfortunately, her home life with husband, Chris, seems just as hectic and that environment is not thriving so well. Sophie's husband, Chris, is a police officer. A few months earlier, while trying to apprehend a suspect, Chris was himself attacked and Sophie suspects her husband now suffers from PTSD. Ever since the attack he's not been the same and keeps resisting all of Sophie's efforts to talk about it. He's now back at work and his demeanour is not getting any better.

On shift, and Mick and Sophie are called to a job - a security guard has been shot while trying to foil a robbery attempt. Arriving at the scene, Sophie is surprised to find her husband Chris and his work partner Angus administering CPR on the guard. The guard doesn't make it - he dies in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. This was just one of a series of robberies happening on the streets of Sydney and the rumour on the streets is that rogue cops are running the robbery gang.

Ever since this latest robbery Chris has been on edge and Sophie is trying to figure out the cause. When she receives a call that Chris has been shot at home on their front doorstep and Lachlan is missing, thought kidnapped her maternal instincts go into overdrive.

Working the robberies is Detective Elle Marconi. Marconi is a career cop and has now been brought into the investigation to find ten-month-old Lachlan. But Marconi can sniff out a lie like most of us can sniff out a good cup of coffee. Her intuition is telling her there is a connection between the robberies and Chris' shooting, but she can't put her finger on it. Is Chris a bent cop? Part of the robbery gang? Or is he a whistle-blower, informing on his fellow corrupt colleagues.

Short chapters between the POV of Sophie and then Ella keep Frantic going at a furious pace. The descriptions of the scenes from an EMS point of view read scarily accurate, and this is where Howell's background as a working paramedic proves invaluable, providing 'on point' descriptions from an EMS perspective. Even though Frantic is book 1 of the Detective Ella Marconi series, it reads as though there are two female MCs here. It's really a neck and neck race between Ella and Sophie - both are great protagonists.

The suspense element is well drawn out. Howell leaves you guessing right until the end.

A great start and ending - my only small criticism, is that I thought the story slowed somewhat during the middle, and I'm not sure why. The fact that Howell brought the ending back with a bang saved this book from a 3-star rating.

In The Darkest Hour (book #2) Ella Marconi is back, but this time meets paramedic Lauren Yates. I was kind of hoping that Sophie would be back, but book #1 ended with…….

[Li'l Owl · Rating 5 out of 5]

FRANTIC doesn't even begin to describe the pace of this book! Wowza! I simply could not read the words or turn the pages any faster! This is my first book by Katherine Howell but it will definitely not be the last. I would read the next two books in this series back to back with this one if I didn't have other challenge books to read this month. I will be reading them very, very soon. I can hardly wait to see what's in store! I'll be looking to read any others that she has written, too! This one is going on my FAVORITE Author and Book shelves.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sophie Phillips is a paramedic and her husband Chris is a police officer. They both lead extremely busy lives and a lot of times Sophie finds herself having to work nights. The one thing they both love and enjoy is coming home to their ten month old son Lachlan. With the stress from their jobs both Sophie and Chris have been having a few problems in their marriage and things between the two of them have been strained.

Sophie world is turned upside down when she receives news that Chris has been shot on the doorstep of their home and Lachlan has been abducted. Sophie is very traumatised and tries to think who would've done this. She does remember attending a call out recently to a woman giving birth to a premature baby where things didn't go so well and she and her partner were threatened by the grieving husband. And the other thing that had been happening lately was a group of armed robberies that was happening throughout Sydney. And just recently these robberies had turned violent when a guard was shot dead.

Working on their case is Detective Ella Marconi who tries to piece together all the information she has to try and work out who did this and where baby Lachlan is. Sophie is beside herself with worry and whilst Chris is recovering in hospital she feels she must conduct her own search for her son. As time passes and still no trace of Lachlan are their hopes of finding him alive fading or does someone know what's happened to him.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I thought it was an easy read, but very hard to put down. This is the first book I've read by Katherine Howell and it most definitely won't be my last. A fabulous page turner by an Aussie author and one in which I highly recommend.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sophie Phillips is a paramedic, her husband Chris is a police officer, and they have a beautiful son, ten month old Lachlan. Together with Mick, her partner, they do the night shift around Sydney, covering the Rocks, the Quay and more. But things haven’t been going too well with Sophie and Chris, ever since he was attacked a couple of months ago, while apprehending a suspect with his partner, Angus. He appears extremely stressed, and they suspect PTSD, but when Sophie, and Chris’ mother, Gloria, suggest he sees a counsellor, he insists he’s alright.

There have been a series of robberies, and it appears the gang might have rogue police members. When a security guard is gunned down in the latest robbery, Sophie and Mick arrive on scene, to find Chris and Angus doing CPR. When he dies, and Chris is overly distraught, things get more complicated.

Suddenly, in one terrible instance, Chris is shot, and fighting for his life, and Lachlan is missing, abducted from his cot. Sophie is traumatised, blaming herself, and when Detective Ella Marconi appears on the scene, along with a police task force, Sophie decides to search for Lachlan herself. She can’t sit back waiting for the police, it might be too late...

When Sophie enlists Angus’ help in searching for Lachlan, he is compassionate and caring, lending his support to anything she wants to do. Detective Marconi doesn’t agree with what Sophie is doing, but she understands, and while she’s not doing anything wrong, she lets her go.

But suddenly, things go from bad to worse. Is Sophie endangering herself and Chris more, is Lachlan still alive? Will Ella and her task force be able to save the family from an even greater tragedy?

A brilliant debut novel from Katherine Howell, herself a paramedic. I will be reading much more about Detective Ella Marconi!

[Simone · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is probably more a 3.5, than a 3 - but not quite a 4 (for reasons explained at end).

Not having read a lot of Australian crime fiction, I was excited to discover a new author and her first novel Frantic did not disappoint. Right from the beginning I was drawn into the storyline and really felt the terror of Paramedic Sophie when she discovers that not only has her policeman husband been shot, but her 10 month old son Lachlan has been kidnapped.

The pace of Frantic is great - it is quite fast and furious with short chapters, which lead you from point to point throughout Sophie's ordeal. The time labels are a good touch, making you feel you are in a true police hunt and also helping you track just how long Lachlan has been missing, adding to the sense that time is running out and they have to hurry, hurry to find him.

The characters are also really well drawn. The two lead females - Sophie and Detective Ella Marconi are both strong, fiesty women, who won't let anything stand in the way of them getting their particular job done. For Sophie this is both as a Paramedic and a mother. I probably got more of a sense of Sophie than Ella, but I understand she features in later novels, so that character development will no doubt continue.

I loved the Sydney setting. It's great to read a crime/thriller novel set right in our most famous city (rather than LA or New York) and hear it's landmarks talked about in general conversation. As a paramedic/police officer Sophie and Ella both are both very familiar with the city and this shows throughout the story. I also enjoyed the intimate knowledge of the job of a paramedic (because the author is one herself). This brought an amazing sense of realism to the story.

The suspense element is great, you are left guessing right until the end. And on that point I'll explain about the .5 deduction. While the main part of the story is resolved, I felt there were a few loose ends that weren't quite tied up - particularly relating to another fairly major character and his link with the eventual perpetrator.

Overall a great read and I will definitely look out for more of Katherine Howell's books.

[Celia Conrad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently joined the Aussie Readers Group here on Goodreads and came across Katherine Howell, the author, when I was scanning through the Groups book list.

Frantic is the first novel in the Ella Marconi detective series. I think that Katherine has an excellent writing style and she clearly knows her subject when it comes to writing medical jargon having come from a medical background herself and working as a paramedic.

What was immediately apparent to me though was that although the series is about Ella Marconi, Ella herself is not the dominant female character in the book and I'm not sure whether that is deliberate. I almost forgot about Ella and was more interested in Sophie, the paramedic whose husband Chris, a police officer is shot and whose son is abducted possibly murdered. On the basis that this was the first book and Ella was going to return I would have expected her to be the dominant female character, but maybe I just got wrapped up in the story and wanted to find out what had happened to baby Lachlan which is probably no bad thing as it kept me reading. I thought the twist at the end was great. There were a couple of loose ends I would have liked to see tied up.

I actually started this book a few weeks back and for one reason or another did not have the time to get further than about page 60. The main action starts from around page 83 so there is a lot of build up to the shooting but I read the rest of the book in one sitting so that's a good recommendation!

[Stevie Carroll · Rating 2 out of 5]

I borrowed this from the library on the strength of some good reviews, and the twin enticements of a paramedic protagonist and the Australian setting. Sadly I didn't get on with any of the main characters, and felt that the plot hinged too much on people acting illogically and failing to talk to each other in situations that would have been cleared up quickly by a little conversation.

[Jill Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this fantastic book in two days, apologies to Katherine for not updating this sooner. Full book review to come. Suffice to say as a suspense story it's got the reader, hook, line and sinker.
FULL REVIEW
At a recent Gold Coast Writers meeting Katherine explained that she had taken six years to write her first novel only to have it rejected. When she got it back, she researched the best ways to make a reader get involved with the story was to create suspense, and make the reader care what happened to the main characters. She re-wrote the book and this is the nail biting result.
Sophie Phillips is an ambulance driver, and her husband Chris is a policeman, they have a beautiful baby son Lachlan. Sophie is riddled with guilt about a dalliance with her husband’s partner Angus Arendson. Suddenly her world is turned upside down. Chris is shot on their front doorstep and Lachlan is abducted.
Her maternal instinct goes into overdrive when she sets out to search for her son. While Chris is still in hospital she enlists Angus help to find her son. The police mobilise to find the baby, led by Detective Ella Marconi who is a career cop, and determined to find Lachlan. Is Chris a bent cop? Or is he an informant, leaking the members of the corrupt police gang that have been on a free for all run of bank hold ups? Sophie doesn’t think so and is driven to extremes with the aid of Angus taking measures into her own hands. The reader does care about Sophie and Chris and discover the reasons behind all that has happened is very close to home.
I read this book so quickly, I put it in ‘Goodreads’ as a book I was reading, and finished it next day, as a page turner this fits the bill. Katherine learned by her research and drew on her own experience in the ambulance service to make this crime thriller a stunning read. This is the first of five crime mysteries that Katherine has produced. All are well worth getting a hold of to enjoy the roller coaster ride she takes the reader on.
The front cover byline by Sydney Morning Herald sums it up; ‘An adrenaline rush of a thriller…a book you don’t so much as read as devour’.


Merged review:

Katherine explained at a writers meeting I attended, that she had taken six years to write her first novel only to have it rejected. When she got it back, she researched the best ways to make a reader get involved with the story was to create suspense, and make the reader care what happened to the main characters. She re-wrote the book and this is the nail biting result.

Sophie Phillips is an ambulance driver, and her husband Chris is a policeman, they have a beautiful baby son Lachlan. Sophie is riddled with guilt about a dalliance with her husband’s partner Angus Arendson. Suddenly her world is turned upside down. Chris is shot on their front doorstep and Lachlan is abducted.

Her maternal instinct goes into overdrive when she sets out to search for her son. While Chris is still in hospital she enlists Angus help to find her son. The police mobilise to find the baby, led by Detective Ella Marconi who is a career cop, and determined to find Lachlan. Is Chris a bent cop? Or is he an informant, leaking the members of the corrupt police gang that have been on a free for all run of bank hold ups? Sophie doesn’t think so and is driven to extremes with the aid of Angus taking measures into her own hands. The reader does care about Sophie and Chris and discover the reasons behind all that has happened is very close to home.

I read this book so quickly, I put it in ‘Goodreads’ as a book I was reading, and finished it next day, as a page turner this fits the bill. Katherine learned by her research and drew on her own experience in the ambulance service to make this crime thriller a stunning read. This is the first of five crime mysteries that Katherine has produced. All are well worth getting a hold of to enjoy the roller coaster ride she takes the reader on.

The front cover byline by Sydney Morning Herald sums it up; ‘An adrenaline rush of a thriller…a book you don’t so much as read as devour’.

[Icewineanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Stupid people did stupid things to other stupid people and she had to sort it out and clean it up"

The action moves quickly in this book, told in alternating story-lines, from a paramedic's viewpoint, Sophie Phillips & a detective's, Ella Marconi.
Sophie & her partner are called to deliver a premature baby, and the stress level increases when the mother begins haemorrhaging. Later they rush to a multi-vehicle crash scene, salivating. Sophie's partner exclaims "what a beauty" referencing that 2 people are dead, 2 injured & 1 is unconscious at the scene. The characters keep hoping for a major crisis, mentioning how they delight in tragic situations. The author is a former ambulance worker and it made me wonder if all emergency workers love a good disaster! The author also adds detailed medical descriptions & professional jargon, to the story - some of which is not explained, taken for granted that the reader grasps the idiom.

I was prompted to read this after reading so many positive reviews of Howell's books. This is the first book in the series. Slang aside, the insider knowledge of paramedics really added so much to the book, i just couldn't stop reading. It's the perfect summer read, nothing taxing, just pure entertainment. I'm look forward to reading the second book in the series shortly, The Darkest Hour, which I just ordered :-D

[Rowena Holloway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Complex plotting and great pacing makes this a gripping read.

Paramedic Sophie Phillips' life is shattered when her husband is shot and her ten-month-old baby, Lachlan, is snatched. Cool-headed Detective Ella Marconi tries to unravel the complex clues, while Sophie hatches her own plans to find the culprit, certain she knows who took Lachlan and why. Her husband Chris has his own theories—vastly different from Sophie’s—but afraid for his son’s life, he refuses to speak these aloud. With the consequences high, will the clues Ella follows lead her away from the truth? And how far will Sophie go to save her child?

A crime novel that explores fractured relationships and misunderstandings, Frantic is much more than your usual police procedural. There is a lot going on in this novel—police corruption, drug addiction, political point scoring, family dysfunction and old wounds—and it’s all cleverly constructed so as to keep you guessing. It’s so pacey I often felt like I was in the ambulance with Sophie, sirens blazing and speeding down the wrong side of the road. With Sophie and Ella sharing the bulk of the narration, readers get insight into the world of political policing and that of paramedics. I found the injection of Sophie’s job added a new dimension and while there were times when I, as a lay-person, skimmed over some of the medical details this never detracted from the story. It also gives a new angle to the choices available to Sophie as amateur detective. Sophie and Ella are richly characterised and I’m a little sorry that Sophie’s story is at an end. Yet Ella, a little jaded, still ambitious and uninterested in playing the game, has plenty of scope to be a compelling series character.

First published in 2007, the events in this book are just as prevalent today. Though the series has, for now, come to an end, with the final book Tell The Truth released earlier this year (Feb, 2015), I look forward to reading more about Ella Marconi and the paramedics with whom she collides.

NB: Stay up to date with all the reviews and interviews with authors like Katherine Howell by following my blog www.rowenaholloway.com

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an absorbing debut novel by Katherine Howell and the book was aptly titled as it provided non-stop frantic action from start to finish. Although this is the first book in what has become known as the Detective Ella Marconi series, this book focuses mainly upon ambulance paramedic, Sophie Phillips. Sophie is married to a policeman, is the mother of an infant son and spends her working life attending ambulance emergencies in Sydney. The paramedic angle to a crime fiction book is a great idea, and the procedural aspects of her character were intriguing and obviously well-researched, and I was not surprised subsequently to learn author Katherine Howell was herself an ex-paramedic.

The interwoven plot included a series of violent armed hold-ups that appear to involve members of the police force, a kidnapping, a brooding husband that is withholding information and an incredibly obtuse and gullible main character in Sophie Phillips. For someone seemingly as strong-willed and determined, Sophie was very easily coerced into bed with the bad guys (in more ways than one!).

My only minor issue with this book was that I felt it ended with a few issues still unresolved. I would like to know the fate of Sophie. She is definitely no paragon of virtue, with adultery, stealing, impersonating a police officer, lying, auto-theft and assisting in a murder among her misdemeanours. Was she arrested? Charged? Sacked? Exonerated? I also felt the armed-holdup issues were not fully resolved. Who was the gang? How extensive was the police corruption? And maybe I missed something, but I never fully understood the Police Commissioner's involvement either.

These personal issues aside, I enjoyed the book and the fast-paced style. It is a very solid and entertaining debut novel and I am excited that I have come across an Australian crime fiction author that I haven't read before. I am sourcing the next books in the series as we speak, and I look forward to reading more Detective Ella Marconi books in the future.

[Sheree · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
Wow this is certainly one book that lives up to its title. Frantic is the pace of this novel and my racing heart as I galloped through the story with my heart in my mouth, unable to turn the pages fast enough. What an awesome debut novel by Australian author Katherine Howell.

Katherine obviously writes what she knows and loves, taking the reader on an intense and realistic ride. I Loved the paramedic work references, the Sydney setting and the characters, particularly Sophie. The narrative moves from the perspective of mother Sophie, father Chris and investigating officer Detective Ella Marconi, contributing to the feverish pace while still allowing for plot development. The stresses of Sophie's job as a paramedic really come through on the page and I found her emotions throughout the story compelling and entirely relatable. The distress, guilt, panic, the rash decisions & horrifying consequences all worked to show the very believable lengths a mother will go to for her child.

Hold your breath and hang on tight for this read!!
I will definitely be tracking down this author's next work, The Darkest Hour published 2008 and waiting on Cold Justice, due for Australian release in Feb 2010.

[Graham Crawford · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read this series completely out of order, which changes how I think about this first Emma Marconi book. I really didn't like this one, and if I have read it first I probably would have left the rest on the shelf. She gets much better, tighter, and characters in future books are far less irritating than those in this debut. Certainly the melodrama gets turned down in latter books - so she is a writer who learns from her mistakes.

Apart from Marconi - all the other characters in "Frantic" are so annoying I wanted to slap them HARD. I suspect I might have some deep psychological issues about irrational emotional unethical mothers. The milky smell of babybabybabybaby on every page made me feel ill. I really needed Emma to make a comment that the mother had completely lost the plot and needed to be sedated (or slapped - or shot). This pushed all the wrong buttons for me - but don't let it put you off the rest of the books.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Katherine Howell's first published book and it's a winner. Written from the viewpoint of a paramedic (which Ms. Howell was before her writing career took off), makes for a good and different slant on a mystery book. Eventhough this book is the first in her Detective Ella Marconi series, the detective shares center stage with a female paramedic.

The basic premise is fraud, murder, and kidnapping - right up my alley. I enjoyed this book on a few different levels - the characters, the setting - Australia, and the Aussie lingo.

Well done Ms. Howell - couldn't give 5 stars because I felt there was still a few pages or even one more chapter that could have been written to actually finish the storyline. Other than that, 2 thumbs up and 4 stars!

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a former Paramedic I was bit dubious about this book before I read it. My sister, a nurse, insisted so I read it. Katherine Howell gets all the medical terminology and patient treatments 100% correct. Given this is her first novel in a series I look forward to more of her stories in the future.

[Bree T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sophie is a paramedic and her husband a city police officer. As a gang of bank robbers terrorise the city and taunt the police force’s inability to capture them, Chris faces pressure from the public, sensitive to their scrutiny. Now there’s some suspicion that there are police involved within the gang after a phone call to the media. When Chris is found shot in the head on the doorstep of their home and their 10 month old son Lachlan missing, Sophie’s life is ripped apart.

Both she and Chris believe themselves guilty for the abduction of Lachlan – Chris seeing it as a warning to keep quiet and Sophie seeing it as retaliation for a job that went wrong. Detective Ella Marconi begins investigating the disappearance of the baby, knowing that to find him and quickly is crucial. Whilst she is doing all she can on the official end, Sophie is out driving the streets, looking for Lachlan alone. She’s functioning on raw adrenaline, getting no food or sleep and to keen an eye on her, Chris’s partner Angus Arendson rides along with her, the two of them coming up with ways to search places using their jobs.

Time is running out for everyone – Chris and Sophie, both caught up in their own guilt and the terrible situations they both find themselves in, are struggling desperately to convince the people they think are guilty to give back their son. Which one of them is on the right track? Or are they both wrong and the real culprit someone they never even considered?

As I mentioned in my review of The Brotherhood yesterday, my original list for the Australian Women Writers Challenge lacked some crime fiction and a fellow reviewer gave some recommendations. One of those was Cold Justice, by Katherine Howell which is the 3rd novel in the Detective Ella Marconi series. So I went back and requested the first in the series, which is this one and read it in a couple of hours.

Like Y.A. Erskine calling upon her years in the Tasmanian Police Force for The Brotherhood, Katherine Howell calls upon years working as a paramedic. Sophie works in inner-Sydney and the book starts with a day for her and her partner Mick, attending call outs and the various sorts of duties they provide. Her husband Chris is a cop and when Sophie and Mick are called to a bank, the latest victim in a spate of robberies, she finds Chris on site desperately performing CPR on a fatally wounded security guard.

Chris and Sophie have been having some problems since Chris was assaulted on the job some months ago and Sophie found herself making the biggest mistake of her life. Because of their problems, the two of them can find little time to talk to each other, really talk and after Chris is shot outside their home, their lack of communication results in them believing that they are each responsible for the disappearance of their son and also, that they are the ones who will be able to find him, or have him returned. Sophie does what probably any mother would do (or would want to do) and just goes haring off on her own, driving the streets, looking, stopping anyone with a pram, bordering on the verge of hysteria. When your child goes missing, especially if you believe yourself responsible, then it would be next to impossible to just sit and wait and hope that the police were able to find him. She’s tired, traumatised but also manic and she’s perfectly ripe to be taken advantage of.

Frantic is not a long novel, weighing in at under 300p but the author packs a lot into it and the pace is lightning quick. We spend most of the time with Sophie, despite this being the first in the Detective Ella Marconi series – at the time she seems nothing more than a supporting character, brought in to co-ordinate the search for the child and liase with Sophie on what is happening. We learn little about her, but given there are now five installments in this series, partnering Marconi up with what appears to be different paramedics each time, I’m guessing that over the course of the series, we will find out much more and she will become more fleshed out and real to the reader. In this first part she seems little more than just a token detective, given that so much of the focus is on Sophie, establishing her and her husband and their family dynamic and then destroying it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book – the focus on two very fascinating job such as inner-city policing and paramedics with plenty of realistic detail and an action packed, well-paced and executed plot. I’m very much looking forward to working my way through the rest of the titles in the series and have already requested the second one. I loved the combination of police and ambulance officers which is definitely new for me. I’ve read many police procedurals but I think almost nothing on paramedics as a main focus. It’s always nice to find something a bit different and interesting. Definitely recommend this series to anyone who likes a good crime novel. It really does an excellent job of also making you put yourself in Sophie’s shoes and question just how far you would go if it were your child (or someone you love dearly) that had been taken.

[Linda Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aussie crime fiction ... yep bring it on. Bit of a page turner, bit gritty, but if a thriller, twists and turns. Not bad for a debut novel. Main protagonist Sophie, almost believable, off the rails on a few levels. Later I realised that this was the first in a series centred around Ella (detective) so there could be better reads from this author.

[Shelleyrae at Book'd Out · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grabbed Frantic from my pile of library books, since I'd just gotten an overdue notice (though now I can renew my loans online - how cool is that!) and took it with me to read during my children's swimming lessons. I'm glad the swimming center has lifeguards because I was soon engrossed in the frantic pace (pun intended) of this novel by Katherine Howell.
My interest in this book was initially based on the fact that the main character in this psychological thriller is a female ambulance officer (paramedic) and I hoped that the perspective would be a an original one since books of this type most often have a male law enforcement officer (or someone associated with the law) as the protagonist. I also like reading about my local setting - Sydney, Australia.
Sophie has a difficult job as an ambulance officer and her husband's work as a police officer is equally stressful, especially as he is recovering from a recent vicious assault. When Chris is shot and their baby kidnapped, their respective professions provide plenty of suspects. Sophie was unable to save a woman and her premature baby during a call out and was threatened by the woman's grieving husband, Chris knows something about the allegations of corruption in the Command that he can't share. With their relationship already under strain, the frantic search for their missing child threatens to pull them apart.
Howell's own experience with the ambulance service, and by extension the police service, gives her characters credibility though the day to day operations of the officers were only briefly incorporated.
While the thrust of the plot lays in unravelling the web of threats and lies in order to safely find the infant, Frantic also explores issues such as police corruption, PTSD and marital estrangement. This adds depth and an emotional anchor to the story that could otherwise have been overwhelmed by the dramatic action.
Howell makes us privy to her character's thoughts and motivations by alternating narratives between Sophie, Chris and Detective Ella Marconi who sees the potential this case has for helping her stalled career, and is determined to find the answers.
Frantic is a fast-paced and compelling read that I enjoyed, I'm eager to read Katherine Howell's more recent novels and will make them a priority.

[Kathleen Hagen]

Frantic, by Katherine Howell, a-minus, narrated by Caroline Lee, produced by Bolinda Audio, downloaded from audible.com.

Sophie Phillips is an ambulance driver who loves her job, the constant crises, and she’s good at the job. Her husband, Chris, is a police officer. Chris had been shot a couple of months earlier. He had survived but had some residual internal head injuries which kept him depressed and angry. They had a littleson, Lachlan, the center of both their worlds and the reason they were still together. Then one day while Sophie was on duty, Chris was attacked at the house, and Lachlan was kidnapped. Everyone thought at first that it might have to do with the belief in the police department that Chris had informed on some other officers who were corrupt. But no one knew for sure who those officers might be, and Chris denied that he had done it. Sophie thought that her little boy was kidnapped by a young doctor, frantic because she had had to deliver his baby at the house since they couldn’t get to the hospital quickly enough, and both the baby and mother died. Sophie believed that she would have to search for Lachlan herself, and Chris’ partner, Angus, said he would help her. But they are soon in great danger. This was an amazing book, a debut book for this author. She handled ambulance scenes and emergency room scenes very well, as well as the increasing tension in the police department regarding the case.

Caroline Lee wasn't the bestnarrator for this book. The action was tense, fast, always moving-frantic, and her reading style was way too slow and dramatic. But I liked the book anyway.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Number two (after Kathryn Fox) in the Random Aussie Crime fiction I didn't know existed and have been missing.

You don't realise, at first, that the new detective introduced by KAtherine Howell is in fact Ella Marconi. You'd think it was, in fact, the paramedic, Sophie. But the continuing character is Marconi, and having reached the end of this book, I'm really, really looking forward to reading more about Ella.

In concert with beginning the stories of Anya Crichton through the books of Kathryn Fox, I feel like I've suddenly delved into the fabulousness of two Australian crime writers. I'm certainly looking forward to reading more of Katherine Howell's books (I've looked for "Panic" already and it's apparently not available on eBook, which annoys me, even though it means I'll keep on discovering new authors instead of getting stuck immediately into books by Fox and Howell, which was the exact same danger I saw when I was introduced to Stephanie Laurens (the complete overtaking of my reading by a single author. I've worked hard so far to keep from letting Laurens take over.)

I still haven't said much at this point about "Frantic", the book. Certainly, as I reached the end of the book, the title was entirely accurate. I was reading in a cafe and couldn't leave until I'd finished the book. There were some stunning, heart-grabbing moments that just made me feel ill. In a good way. In a "this is an awesome book" kind of way.

Howell is totally on my "must follow up" list.

[Diana Hockley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like Katherine Howell's novels and especially enjoy the technical details of the paramedic's work. Howell always brings angst into the lives of her protagonists and this story is no exception.

However, I did NOT like Sophie, the main character, although I did like Ella Marconi, a constant character in Howell's novels.

Sophie is an paramedic with a secret and a marriage which appears to be in trouble. Her husband will not talk to her about what is worrying her and a rumour of corruption surrounding him and other officers is very worrisome. Then their child is kidnapped and things go downhill in the novel, as far as I am concerned.

Sophie's obsession with finding her son is understandable, but the way she goes about it stretches the bounds of believability. To drive aimlessly around hunting for the child, hooking up with a man whose motivation to commit illegal acts should even penetrate Sophie's thick skull and rousing out hundreds of parents in a block of flats with a terrifying lie is way out of line, even for a character in a book.

Frightening innocent people, refusing to listen to the police and then committing an unforgivable act at the end of the story put me right off her and the whole book. Why her poor husband and her friends put up with her out of control behaviour I shall never know.

On the other hand, maybe the fact that I felt so strongly about her actions says the writing is pretty good.

Not one of Katherine Howell's best efforts in terms of characterisation.

[Jenni Boyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know I read this book out of order by reading the third one first, but Katherine Howell did not disappoint me. I really like her character of Detective Ella Marconi, a woman who is not only struggling to be accepted in the male dominated world of homicide, but despite the tough exterior she tries to portray, she is a woman who has heart, one who allows guilt to creep in after questioning a man for information, who is later silenced.
It will take you on a heart wrenching journey of a mother, a paramedic, who not only has to deal with the death of a call out case, but the almost fatal shooting of her husband who is a police officer, but the kidnapping of their baby son. A mother who will do whatever it takes to have her baby safely back in her arms. This story will take you on a journey that will not only tug at your heartstrings, but is guaranteed to keep you guessing to the end, of who are the key players and what part did they play, and is there any hope of finding baby Lachlan alive! Well done Katherine, I look forward to reading more of your books.

[Carol Preston · Rating 4 out of 5]

In one terrible moment, paramedic Sophie Phillips’ life is ripped apart – her police officer husband, Chris, is shot on their doorstep and their ten-month-old son, Lachlan, is abducted from his bed. Suspicion surrounds Chris as he is tainted with police corruption, but Sophie believes the attack is much more personal – and the perpetrator far more dangerous...
This is the first in a series of crime novels by Katherine Howell, in which Detective Ella Marconi, stars. I found this story gripping - and a real nail biter. It's a change from my usual reading but I enjoyed the change, and particularly appreciated finding another aussie writer, with a story set in familiar territory - the suburbs of Sydney. Readers who like crime, mixed with authentic paramedic/ambulance scenes and procedures, and believable, relatable characters, will find this a great read.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, what a great Aussie story! Love to discover Aussie authors!
I really need to review books straight after I read them, because already this story isn't fresh and vivid in my mind.
There is one thing that stands out though: I can still feel my horror from the time when the main character - who is a paramedic - with help from her "friend" kidnaps the man she suspects took her child and tortures him to the point where he dies a horrible death. I think I had to read that a couple of times - I could not believe my eyes! I really didn't like that plot twist AT ALL - it made me slightly ill. I can understand that she came to the point where she would do ANYTHING - literally anything - to get her child back, but this?!

Overall, a great fast-paced page turner and I'll be looking out for more from this author for sure!

[Kylie Duthie · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be honest, I am stunned with the 3.77 average rating which this book has received. I thought it was the most average crime novel which I have ever read. It was like Paramedics 101 meets Detective Work 101. It was such a cliche. The writing was bad. The characters were one dimensional. Ella Marconi was annoying, and not in an interesting way. The actions of Sophie were ridiculous in the circumstances. The premise of this book had so much promise, but was so underdone. As the mother of 2 small children, I thought I would be totally absorbed in it. I was very very wrong. Oh, and if I read the words/phrases Oxy-Viva, resus bag & Hartmann's (solution/fluid) one more time, I was ready to do something terrible to the book.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had mixed feelings about this first in the Ella Marconi series. I liked the way that Howell used her paramedic experience to write realistically about ambulance work. I also thought that at various stages of the story, she used tension well and had me turning the pages - yes, 'frantically' - and that the twist at the end was convincing. I thought the Marconi character had potential for later books but I wasn't sure when I finished this one whether I wanted to continue. This was mainly because I found a lot of the action far-fetched and Howell's style pretty flat. However, after looking at some reviews that suggest she gets better as the Marconi series develops, I might put the next one on my list.

[Francesca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really like this at all, it was ok to read but not the best.
Sophie was unbearable for me, she was really needy and didn't seem to care that Chris was going through the stress of having their child go missing too, as well as being shot. I'm also so upset that she didn't tell him about her affair, I just felt like it should have come out at some point.
Although it was fast paced, it could have been over much sooner if people just told each other everything from the start.
I also found the story itself highly predictable and I guessed who the kidnapper was very early on.

It was ok for a debut but just not for me, I don't think I'm too interested in reading the rest of the series.

[Faye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book, easy to read, I have one other of this author and will continue to read the rest of her novels. Love the setting which was in Sydney, the characters were great and subtle way characters were doing the wrong thing kept you thinking.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every bit as good as promised by other readers. The whole series will be a certain read.