Book Review: Rattle by Fiona Cummins

Format: eBook, bought
Links: Goodreads | Amazon UK
Blurb: A psychopath more frightening than Hannibal Lecter.

He has planned well. He leads two lives. In one he’s just like anyone else. But in the other he is the caretaker of his family’s macabre museum.

Now the time has come to add to his collection. He is ready to feed his obsession, and he is on the hunt.

Jakey Frith and Clara Foyle have something in common. They have what he needs. What begins is a terrifying cat-and-mouse game between the sinister collector, Jakey’s father and Etta Fitzroy, a troubled detective investigating a spate of abductions.

Set in London’s Blackheath, Rattle by Fiona Cummins explores the seam of darkness that runs through us all; the struggle between light and shadow, redemption and revenge.

It is a glimpse into the mind of a sinister psychopath. And it’s also a story about not giving up hope when it seems that all hope is already lost.

Review: Well… This was quite something wasn’t it? Rattle is a book I’ve been seeing everywhere and what drew me into wanting to read it the most was the incredibly chilling and sinister cover. Isn’t it just… ugh *shiver*. Anyway Rattle follows the lives of two families; the Frith’s and the Foyle’s who’s children have something in common and it’s just the thing that The Bone Collector wants the most. When Clara Foyle goes missing, Detective Fitzroy is on the case to try and find the missing girl; a crime which resembles one she worked on years previously exceptionally close. The Bone Collector is on a mission to get what he wants and for the families involved and Detective Fitzroy, it’s a race against time and a cat and mouse chase around the streets of London before he strikes again.

I am so incredibly rubbish at summaries of books as I struggle between not telling you enough and telling you far too much and giving the whole damn plot away so for this one, although my summery was crap, I don’t want to say any more and risk giving any potential readers any spoilers. So let’s get straight into the review. I had a lot of expectations of this book before I started and let’s just say, it delivered. But not in the way I was expecting. This book went in a whole different direction; the storyline, the psychopath /slash serial killer (whatever you want to label him as) and everything he believed and what he stood for. It’s completely unlike any serial killer crime thriller novel I’ve read before. It goes down a dark and twisted path I’ve definitely never been down before in a book.

The families involved were very different but it was interesting to learn as the book went on what made them connect. The thing I loved most was the storyline behind Jakey (one of The Bone Collector’s “targets“), his dad and his dad’s family history which he never knew about. The Bone Collector has a twisted past which goes back a lot longer than you first think and is connected to our characters in more ways than one. I would have liked to read more about Clara’s family (the missing girl) as I felt despite her being a main component of the book and The Bone Collector’s story, her family were not explored much, which was a shame. I also loved Detective Fitzroy as I am all for a bad-ass female detective in a book. She instantly got my attention and I loved her ruthlessness, her determination and ambition and her willingness to do whatever it takes for these families. I also found her past a bit sketchy however and I would have loved to know her on a deeper level.

The story itself was brilliantly told; I loved the multiple view points and insights into not only the victims and their families and the detective but the psychopath himself. His viewpoints were… eye-opening. Is that the word I would use? Disturbing, malicious and chilling are more appropriate words. The detail the author uses for his chapters and his “work” is extraordinary and no word of a lie, I had to put the book down a couple of times because it was so graphic and I felt a bit wobbly. Credit to the author for causing such an extreme reaction in her readers.

Apart from a few small elements which I thought could have been focused on more (although saying that, if this is the first in a sequel, then they may be explored more in future books. I seriously hope there is a sequel *cough cough*), Rattle is the epitome of ‘disturbing crime thriller’. It was difficult to read in parts, extremely shocking but exceptionally clever, well thought out and a one-of-a-kind type of storyline. The characters and their problems were as real as real can be and the author manages to capture your attention right from the word go. She allows this story to come to life in your head; as all good books should do but what made this book great for me, was the physical reactions the words caused me to feel. Exceptional read.