After a brief stint in the Mayor’s Office, Detective Constable Cat Kinsella is back at the London Metropolitan Police when a young Australian woman turns up dead after a party thrown by her new boss. Cat knows that one of them is lying—but the question of which one, and why, is far more complicated than she could have expected.
The story, characters, and language here immerse readers in a twisty case that involves more than one dysfunctional family. Frear almost ties all these strands up neatly at the end, until Cat’s past comes back to bite her again, leaving things ripe for book three. Frear’s fans will enjoy the focus on grown-up Cat; Dervla McTiernan’s readers are another likely audience.
... one heck of a read that features an unconventional murder mystery at its heart, which ends up becoming so much more ... Frear just keeps piling on clues and motives to the point that your head will be spinning ... What drives Stone Cold Heart is precisely what made Sweet Little Lies one of my favorite novels of 2018. That special something (or someone, I should say) is Cat Kinsella. It is a privilege to be able to spend the majority of this book in her head, as her thoughts range from insightful to heartbreaking and, at times, laugh-out-loud funny. Frear has created one of the most engaging characters in the mystery/thriller genre, and this series is already drawing comparisons to the works of Tana French, who may very well be the best in the business ... hopefully will gain Frear a new legion of readers who want to find out what it's like to slip into the mind and skin of a top-notch but partially broken young detective.
Frear once again excels at creating memorable characters and realistic dialog. Cat’s snarky attitude and youthful brashness are nicely balanced with her passion for justice and investigative skills ... Highly recommended for fans of police procedurals with compelling detectives.
