Hope to Die by Cara Hunter

Midnight.

A call out to an isolated farm on the outskirts of Oxford.

A body shot at point-blank range in the kitchen.

It looks like a burglary gone wrong, but DI Adam Fawley suspects there’s something more to it.

When the police discover a connection to a high-profile case from years ago, involving a child’s murder and an alleged miscarriage of justice, the press go wild.

Suddenly Fawley’s team are under more scrutiny than ever before. And when you dig up the past, you’re sure to find a few skeletons…

I’m a huge fan of Cara Hunter’s DI Adam Fawley series. New instalments are now auto-buys for me and when a new one is released, I know that I’m in for a treat. Hope to Die – the sixth in the series – is no exception. You don’t need to read the series from the beginning as each case works as a standalone, and the most recent novels include a neat little intro to Adam and his team so that you can get to know who’s who and the differing personalities (and there are some BIG personalities) within the team. Having said that, you would be missing some of the backstory, and in particular, the events of the fifth novel, The Whole Truth, and so I do recommend reading that novel at least before diving in here.

Like all of Hunter’s novels, this latest instalment sees Adam and his team presented with a seemingly straightforward case that quickly proves to be more complicated than anticipated as an apparent burglary gone wrong soon becomes linked to a cold case and a woman who has spent the last 15 years in prison, charged with murdering her new-born child although no body was ever found. Many of Hunter’s novels take inspiration from real world incidents, and Hope to Die draws upon an Australian case and uses this as the basis for a complex and fascinating plot hanging on a particularly intriguing “what if” scenario. I don’t want to say too much, but it’s a gripping novel. However much I think I know what’s going on in Hunter’s novels, there’s always an extra something that I’ve not anticipated. The whole series has been brilliantly plotted and I like the way in which Hunter often challenges conventional narratives, giving the reader something fresh in a somewhat crowded genre. For me personally, this series is up there with the best police procedurals.

One of the things I particularly like about this series is Adam and his team. Each novel feels a little like visiting old friends, and I’ve enjoyed seeing them grow and develop – personally and professionally – throughout the series. There are a few changes in this novel with some new faces to stir things up a little. I have to admit that I did miss Somer’s presence this time around, and I hope she’ll be back before long. I did, however, like that Fawley’s circumstances have improved in this novel. I understand the troubled detective narrative, but I also think it’s nice to see a character come through the other side of their trials. Again, I don’t want to say too much, but he’s a likeable character, and I hope that he’s now gone through the worst of it.

Hope to Die is the latest instalment in an absolutely brilliant series. Each one offers a very different case for the reader to get their teeth into, and this one is no exception. Highly recommended for fans of police procedurals.

The DI Adam Fawley series: