The Killer

Kaz Phelps #3

by Susan Wilkins

Kaz Phelps is on the run—from the past, from the legacy of her criminal family, from the haunting memories of her murdered lover. The police want her back in jail and her enemies want her dead. While standing by the grave of her gangster brother, Kaz realises she only has one option. To fight back.

Nicci Armstrong was one of the Met's best detectives until personal tragedy forced her to quit. Now she's responsible for the security of the super-rich who use her city as a playground. She is one of the few people Kaz might trust. But Nicci's biggest mistake yet is falling in love with a man she knows is only using her. Meanwhile, as envious rivals back home plot against him, a Russian billionaire searches for a special gift to keep the Kremlin onside, a disgraced politician dreams of revenge and a Turkish drug baron plots to purge his dishonour with blood.

Genres: Audiobook, Crime, Thriller, Mystery, Fiction

425 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

I’m Susan Wilkins, a television writer turned novelist, and I write crime thrillers that dig deep into human psychology.

How do ordinary people end up on the wrong side of the law? That’s what I’m always asking. The characters are central to all my stories. The protagonists tend to be female, but not always, and I specialise in female detectives.

I grew up in Essex, studied Law, but spent twenty-five years writing television drama. I have over 130 broadcast credits to my name, including Casualty and Holby City, Heartbeat, Coronation Street and Eastenders, Footballers’ Wives, Dangerfield and Down to Earth, and I created the pioneering BBC detective drama South of the Border. This was the best education anyone could have in how to craft a gripping, page turning story.

I’ve moved around a lot in my life, within the UK and abroad. But now I’m settled in Devon. I walk by the sea every day and drink too much coffee.

If you’d like to find out more about my writing and keep in touch with my latest news, exclusive content and giveaways, visit susanwilkins.co.uk

Reviews

[Linda Boa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely a book that's a cut above the usual Essex/London gangland stuff, which is a genre I'm generally not a massive fan of. However, Wilkins' pacy, twisty and massively enjoyable storyline demonstrates that here's an author whose writing skill is a cut well above many that populate this area of crime fiction. She appears to know every corner of London life inside out, from the Turkish drug gangs, to the Saudi princes and Russian oligarchs, right back to the local crime families. I only wish I'd read the first two books in the trilogy - although this is perfectly comprehensible as a standalone, I think the first two books would add more depth to the characters, as well as filling the reader in on how some earlier characters met their demise. Highly recommended.
Full review to follow on https://crimeworm.wordpress.com/

[Lisa Henderson-Farr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

Great action packed book.

This was the first in the series I had read and think that this is definitely one series that needs to be read in order. Felt a little lost at times because I felt like I was missing an important part of the storyline. Next move is find the first two books and find out just how it all started!

[A E MACHIN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good trilogy

Was hooked with the story in the first book was then on a mission to read the next two. Definitely a really good ending to the trilogy . Will look out for more books from this author

[Sandra McCourt · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an ok book. But just ok. The storyline was alright but it got very stagnant in the middle and the end was long and drawn out. It's ok for an easy read and as can be seen it took me a while to Finnish it. It's a hard read and not very exciting so I'm really disappointed in this one, but perseverance got me through it. I would recommend it

[Ian Mcnamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been a fabulous trilogy, I hope we see more from this author. Could not put this down. An excellent end to an excellent trilogy.

[Jayne Denton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I had read the first 2 books first...
Loved the twists and not so obvious ending

[Ruth P · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be fair,I hadn’t realised this was No 3 in a trilogy but had I read the first I probably would never have got to 2 and 3.It was all a bit “cor blimey guv, that weren’t me”…for some reason poor grammar on a written page bothers me even when used in context but I kept thinking of that Eastenders scene where she screams “you ain’t my muvver”….and this image got in the way of me finishing a book I had never really engaged with.

[Nicky Mottram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audio version of this book 📚- Another great read/listen , narration excellent

[Any Length · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had read the previous two books a while ago and had a bit of trouble getting back into the story line. But I was happy with the book all up.

[Jackie Wadsworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Killer is the third in a trilogy, starring Kaz (Karen) Phelps and her mostly criminal family, and ex-police officer Nicci who is still trying to come to terms with the death of her daughter and being medically discharged from the police service. She is now working for a private investigator (absolutely nothing like Cormoran Strike and the poorer for it) and is not really all that happy.

Kaz's brother died at the end of the second book and this one opens with them at his funeral, which has been moved from where the media etc think it is taking place so that the people who count can actually mourn without long range lenses filming the whole thing. However, someone told the wrong person somewhere along the lines and the funeral director opens fire and kills various people. Kaz loses a piece of ear (random) but is generally unhurt. After being treated at hospital she has limited options in where to go so goes home to her mum's house. Then wakes up in the middle of the night to find that the house is on fire. She is rescued and then has to run away from the hospital in one of those arse-gap nighties they give you. She is rescued again and taken to a safe house, the home of a friend of her now-dead brother... following me so far?

​Well, I didn’t know what was going on either, because… I hadn’t read the first two books.

My beloved not-quite-two year old nephew picked this book out for me all by himself, and therefore I read it with great love and enjoyment but… it wasn’t great. There was a lot of talk of the Russian mafia and various oligarchs and crime rings and I don’t know what else but sadly it was not for me. I love it for the fact that Micah gave it to me but sadly it did go on the charity shop pile.

[Kleri _reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not going to write a full review because I haven't read the first 2 books in this trilogy and I believe this does affect my understanding of the characters a lot. However, I can say that this was definately a very enjoyable read.
It can certainly be read as a standalone, but I believe that having read the previous books one can have a better idea of who is who (and therefore follow the plot much easier) and also one can have a better understanding of the motives that drive people to do what they do.
I enjoyed the strong female characters, the fast paced plot and the end of the story.Looking forward to reading more books by this author.

[El · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've got to say, first, that the narrator, Lucy Price-Lewis, made this book for me. She is truly excellent. I'd not realised that this was Book 3 of a trilogy and was a little confused at times but I felt that the author gave enough background detail from Books 1 and 2 for me to be able to follow the complicated plot. I was gripped from the start, felt that the characters were very well written and, basically, couldn't put this down. I'd definitely recommend this book but advise new readers to start at the beginning.

[Michaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it. Always like a good police procedural- although this was more about the private security sector.

I did enjoy the characters. But found all the Russian and Turkish a little hard to differentiate as the names all sounded the same.

Also the storyline was hard to believe. But it was an enjoyable read for what it was.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read, wished I had started with the first in the series, however the way the book is written meant that a lot of what had happened in the first books were reiterated in this one so I didn’t feel like I had missed out on too much. I enjoyed this book.

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brutal but brilliant series, highly recommend the audiobooks narrated by Lucy Price-Lewis. Price-Lewis brings Wilkins’ characters to larger than life. On reflection, the book’s titles capture the subtext, especially for the final book of the series.

[Sean Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite an entertaining thriller that is the third installment in a trilogy with a couple of interesting lead characters. Didn't grip me enough to want to rush out and read the first two books, however.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved this trilogy. Highly rated. They could be read as standalone books but I would definitely recommend reading them all!!

[Nikk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Struggled all the way through this book and skipped pages. Enjoyed the first in series but not this one just read it too see how it ended

[Rachael Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can not honestly give an opinion on this book. I could barely get through the first few chapters and I gave up! Completely lost only a few chapters in so it probably wont get any better for me.

[Peter Reeves · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat entertaining, reasonable plot, reasonable characters. About the ex policewoman, the ‘good’ crim and the Russian oligarch.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucy price-Williams reads this book so well that it becomes the audio equivalent of a page turner
Fantastic accents, in an exciting thriller of a book

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Sam Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't realise it was the final of a trilogy but still enjoyed it.

[Yabbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it, but I wish I was told to read the first 2 books. It can be stand alone but you will not get the full picture.

[Nancy K · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. Okay.

[Mrs.Catherine Round-Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just finished this series. Great characters and strong storyline.
Will miss Kaz.

Highly Recommend

[Julie Homer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just loving these books another great story about Kaz 5*

[Chris Peace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very disappointing. Too much foul language.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not a bad audio book .. 3rd in the series, and I would say better to read in order rather than read as stand-alone stories .

[Francesca Leung-Chat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this kind of book, you know the ones that’s full of tension and drama which this one is! My biggest criticism is that there is quite a few characters to try and get your head around but once you do and work out who is who it’s a really good book. I listened to it on audiobook and maybe reading it would be easier to follow.

Also this is part 3 in the trilogy and I haven’t read the first ones first so maybe that’s why I was a bit confused but I didn’t feel like you had to have read the first ones to enjoy this one.

Blurb:
Kaz Phelps is on the run - from the past, from the legacy of her criminal family, from the haunting memories of her murdered lover. The police want her back in jail and her enemies want her dead. While standing by the grave of her gangster brother, Kaz realizes she only has one option. To fight back.
Nicci Armstrong was one of the Met's best detectives until personal tragedy forced her to quit. Now she's responsible for the security of the super-rich who use her city as a playground. She is one of the few people Kaz might trust. But Nicci's biggest mistake yet is falling in love with a man she knows is only using her.
Meanwhile, as envious rivals back home plot against him, a Russian billionaire searches for a special gift to keep the Kremlin onside, a disgraced politician dreams of revenge and a Turkish drug baron plots to purge his dishonour with blood.