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The Killer Inside
The gripping and masterfully-crafted new thriller from award-winning author Matthew Frank'Tense and twisty . . . completely gripping. I ignored children, a ringing phone, hunger, everything just to devour the last hundred pages' KAREN PERRY, Sunday Times bestselling author of YOUR CLOSEST FRIEND________Julian Sinclair is a serial killer.Charming, manipulative, deadly. He hunted girls for sport, and it's high time justice was served.But when Sinclair's conviction is thrown out in court, DC Joseph Stark and DS Fran Millhaven are forced to protect the man they're sure is guilty from those who would rather see him pay in blood.Then another girl dies.And Sinclair can't have killed her from his hospital bed . . .Is a killer lurking in someone they never suspected?And have they had the wrong man all along?________'A clever compelling spiderweb of a plot' JANE CORRY, bestselling author of My Husband's Wife'A gripping, pacy read with a "one more chapter" compulsiveness' LAURA MARSHALL, bestselling author of Friend Request'Seriously good . . . a tightly plotted thrilling page turner of a book' JAMES OSWALD, author of the Inspector McLean series'Matthew Frank is a master at juggling light and darkness . . . while serving up satisfying plots with plenty of twists' SARAH HILARY, award-winning author of the Marnie Rome series'Nail-bitingly tense' Susi Holliday, author of The Last Resort
400 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 22, 2021
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About the author
Matthew Frank
10 books46 followersMatthew Frank lives in Kent with his wife and three young sons. Between family life and work as an architect he tries to squeeze in a bit of mountain biking, scuba diving and midnight writing.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 17, 2021
I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for an advance copy of The Killer Inside, the third novel to feature DC Joseph Stark of the Met.
Two years ago Julian Sinclair was convicted of several murders and became known in the press as the Greenwich Strangler, now his conviction has been overturned and he’s being released. Stark and DS Fran Millhaven have to protect him and find a killer, because another woman has been killed in the same way and it wasn’t Sinclair who was lying injured in a hospital bed after a botched attack under police guard.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Killer Inside, which is a tense, exciting read with plenty of twists and turns. This is my first foray into the series so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I am very pleased to have found another excellent author to follow. I like the snap and liveliness of the writing and the well organised plotting.
The novel is mostly told from Stark’s point of view, with DS Fran Millhaven coming a close second and other characters chiming in as required. I’m not always a fan of this approach but it works very well in this case, offering the reader a wider perspective on events and different interpretations. The main issue is, obviously, Sinclair with Fran, as part of the original investigating team, convinced of his guilt and Stark, who wasn’t, more ambivalent. I found it fascinating, trying to glean any edge to work out which one makes more sense. Then there are the fairly standard police politics, standard as in they play a part in the investigation, which again I found fascinating. I have no understanding of unbridled ambition at any cost and it’s on full display in this novel, and, sadly, all too believable.
The plot is gripping, running the gamut of emotions and culminating in a high octane action set piece. There are so many twists, surprises and blind alleys that there is never a dull moment. I must admit that I guessed the main thrust of the plot quite early on, but with a new author you can never be quite sure that you’ve got it right, so it didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the read. Anyway, there are so many details I didn’t get that this hazy hypothesis was just that.
The Killer Inside is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.
Two years ago Julian Sinclair was convicted of several murders and became known in the press as the Greenwich Strangler, now his conviction has been overturned and he’s being released. Stark and DS Fran Millhaven have to protect him and find a killer, because another woman has been killed in the same way and it wasn’t Sinclair who was lying injured in a hospital bed after a botched attack under police guard.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Killer Inside, which is a tense, exciting read with plenty of twists and turns. This is my first foray into the series so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I am very pleased to have found another excellent author to follow. I like the snap and liveliness of the writing and the well organised plotting.
The novel is mostly told from Stark’s point of view, with DS Fran Millhaven coming a close second and other characters chiming in as required. I’m not always a fan of this approach but it works very well in this case, offering the reader a wider perspective on events and different interpretations. The main issue is, obviously, Sinclair with Fran, as part of the original investigating team, convinced of his guilt and Stark, who wasn’t, more ambivalent. I found it fascinating, trying to glean any edge to work out which one makes more sense. Then there are the fairly standard police politics, standard as in they play a part in the investigation, which again I found fascinating. I have no understanding of unbridled ambition at any cost and it’s on full display in this novel, and, sadly, all too believable.
The plot is gripping, running the gamut of emotions and culminating in a high octane action set piece. There are so many twists, surprises and blind alleys that there is never a dull moment. I must admit that I guessed the main thrust of the plot quite early on, but with a new author you can never be quite sure that you’ve got it right, so it didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the read. Anyway, there are so many details I didn’t get that this hazy hypothesis was just that.
The Killer Inside is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.
August 29, 2021
Gripping, but don’t buy the PB
The paperback is in 9.5 point, the first two books are in 12.5 and 12., so far smaller print. I couldn’t read it. So I had to then buy the Kindle. It was worth it as it is a brilliant book and had me gripped from beginning to end, but I think it is disgraceful for Penguin to publish in such small type. I sincerely hope there is a forth Stark book one day. But I hope he escapes without any more bullet holes! I am fond of him and wince every time he is hurt.
The paperback is in 9.5 point, the first two books are in 12.5 and 12., so far smaller print. I couldn’t read it. So I had to then buy the Kindle. It was worth it as it is a brilliant book and had me gripped from beginning to end, but I think it is disgraceful for Penguin to publish in such small type. I sincerely hope there is a forth Stark book one day. But I hope he escapes without any more bullet holes! I am fond of him and wince every time he is hurt.
September 16, 2022
[paperback edition + original entry deleted] A long, long wait, but worth it, and with the bonus of making a re-read of the first two essential. The plot twists and twists again, and there is much of man's inhumanity to man, both past and present, but throughout it is that characters that drive this series and which snare me as reader. And leave me longing for the next in the series.
Thank you, Matthew Frank
Thank you, Matthew Frank
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews