WHITE DEATH

Two horrifically mutilated bodies are found in the grounds of Yale, one of them belonging to the mother of Kwasi King, a brilliant but eccentric chess master about to defend his world title. These are the first in a chain of murders carried out at Ivy League colleges; for FBI agent Frank Patrese this could be the most challenging case of his career.

Daniel Blake established a strong pedigree as a writer of clever and sometimes disturbing thrillers with Soul Murder (2010) and does much to maintain it here. The plot combines the cutthroat world of championship chess, the search for artificial intelligence and a brilliant mind gone off the rails to deliver the thrills his readers have come to expect.

Some readers might see the identity of the killer coming a little sooner than they might have liked, but Blake more than makes up for any disappointment caused by setting up a first rate cat and mouse game between the killer and the FBI in the second half of the novel. Read this book and the next time you see an earnest young man pondering a chessboard you might have some uncomfortable thoughts about just what might be going through his mind.

This is a solid, satisfying and at times truly inventive thriller from a writer and a series that are just beginning to hit their stride.