Ali Karim was a Board Member of Bouchercon [The World Crime & Mystery Convention] and co-chaired programming for Bouchercon Raleigh, North Carolina in 2015. He is Assistant Editor of Shots eZine, British correspondent for The Rap Sheet and writes and reviews for many US magazines & Ezines.
The latest release from the newly established publisher Black Thorn (created by Canongate’s takeover of Severn House) is the start of a new police procedural series from Chris Simms. The paperback cover improves upon the hardcover’s imagery, which was far too distressing for the casual reader, but also acted as a warning for the curious.
We’re back in Manchester, a setting familiar to readers of Simms’ previous DI Jon Spicer series. Unlike Simms’ former investigator, DC Sean Blake is a rookie. As the new member of the Serious Crimes Unit of the Greater Manchester Police, he becomes the outsider. The novel, like Blake’s first day starts in high gear. Do not get fooled by the amiable nature of Simms’ writing-style or the agreeable nature of his protagonist DC Blake, because together they face true darkness. The title alludes to brutal murders in which dead women are found, asphyxiated with mobile phones secured within their mouths and tongues desecrated.
Our rookie cop’s day starts badly. One of the team becomes injured during the apprehension of a murder suspect (who escapes in the fracas). The blame is directed at Sean Blake, who finds himself seated behind a desk, and that’s when he starts looking into the murders of women, and the mobile phones. Blake becomes almost obsessed. The murders occurred in the homes of the women. There was no breaking and entering, so this serial-killer must have been known to the victims; or is there something else going on, something more disturbing?
Running concurrently to these horrific murders, we get insights into Sean Blake’s life. He is a loner, caring for his invalid mother, a housebound former policewoman who is intrusive and at times a burden to the young policeman. Solace comes in the from of his interest in a wolf sanctuary, which acts as a motif for this novel, and potential series. Sean Blake becomes a lone-wolf among a group of wolves, surrounded by the feral.
Reminiscent of Simms’ debut in-terms of narrative style, we have the point of view of the hunter in the shape of Blake, but we also have the perspective of the antagonist (the quarry); this slayer of women.
With judicious editing, Loose Tongues is almost a novella, but one that will stay in the mind due to the darkness of the narrative; one that indicates that it often requires an outsider to reveal the reality of the situation.
This welcome return of Chris Simms is one to grab, but lock the doors and windows and ensure your mobile phone is switched off - when you crack the spine of this dark thriller.
