A Tapping at My Door: A gripping serial killer thriller (The DS Nathan Cody series)

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I really didn’t like the clowns (or the birds for that matter but that’s my strangeness and nothing else).

This backstory is incredibly promising for the next book and I can’t wait to see where it takes him. As mentioned in the novel, Rodney Street is sometimes referred to as the Harley Street of the north, with its doctors, dentists, etc.Pretty standard for crime fiction these days, but the way David Jackson develops this character and gradually reveals more and more about Nathan's background and history is brilliant. It is an engrossing read with a detailed story that the author wraps up beautifully with a rather unexpected explanation. You know those real read-in-one-sitting thrillers, where little short of impending starvation or natural disaster would move you from the sofa?

If you're not really good at that sort of suspense-building, better to just tell me once and move the action forward.This book doesn’t lie within the police procedural genre, though it is a team of officers investigating the murders, Jackson focuses more on the narrative than any procedure.

Scared, she opens the door to find a large raven and then things get seriously creepy as she realises the raven is not alone. I am not one to worry about 'female' characters but I have to say I agree with other reviewers on this score that both our hero's boss and the new constable (his ex girlfriend) are ace. The powerfully cliched gender roles and ham-fisted insertion of secondary plot spotlight are a shame in an author who has a lot of skill. This involves a murder mystery where the reader experienced the case from multiple perspectives: that of the victims, the killer, and of course - given this is the “DS Nathan Cody” series it will come as no surprise - that of the police detectives. Many thanks to Zaffre, David Jackson and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of A Tapping at My Door in exchange for an honest review.I found it difficult reading the last few pages, for reasons I won't go into, and I know that many people will feel the same but it was handled perfectly.

I was disappointed to see other titles by this very excellent author are USA based - which I don't usually like. I get that the long-winded set-ups and moment-by-moment description of characters' actions were meant to create drama and suspense, but I just found them tedious. The story starts with a bang with a horrific murder and the rather bizarre addition of a dead bird being placed on the body together with a note. The scene was set perfectly with a fantastic reference to Edgar Allen Poe and at that point, I already knew I was going to enjoy this one. The motive made sense, but the reason for leaving the birds as some sort of 'clue' didn't make any sense.

Starting with a shiver inducing murder and staying pretty shiver inducing throughout, A Tapping at my Door has the advantage of being a brilliant police procedural enveloped within some pretty cool pyschological character study, Nathan Cody and his inner turmoil adding some intriguing and fascinating layers into an already fascinating plot. When she goes outside to investigate she sees a large black bird trapped at her window and she is then struck with something hard and heavy, rammed into her skull. The audio version is read by Jonathan Keeble who skillfully uses a variety of British accents and really knows how to increase the creep and suspense factor by adjusting the speed of the narration or inserting a brief pause.