The start of a great series

DC Cassie Rowan is a young police detective with a difficult home life. She’s trying to raise her younger brother after the death of their parents. There’s also an older brother but he resides in America and doesn’t share much of the burden. She’s a headstrong woman with the knack to disobey orders and follow up on her own instincts.
There’s a serial rapist lurking the streets of Liverpool. He abducts prostitutes and robs, rapes, tortures, beats, and kicks them half death to leave them naked on waste grounds. The unsub is labelled “the Furman.” Cassie has been on kerb watch for months now and befriended some of the working girls. When a student and a businesswoman are also targeted, the press starts taking notice.
There’s also the story of psychologists Palmer and Atherton and 2 of their clients who might fit the profile or not. They both show some very unusual behaviour and you don’t know if they’re just clouding the picture or that one of them or both are guilty of something criminal.

It’s both a police procedural as well as a psychological thriller. The story is told ingenuously. You’re left guessing until the end and the suspense rises with every page. I really had to keep reading through the night because I wanted to finish it. It was sooo good. It’s amongst my favourites of 2020.
I loved Cassie and I certainly plan to read the next books in this new series but I can’t imagine that any DCI will take the level of insubordination she shows. She’s very outspoken and independent, but just a bit OTT.
For those not comfortable with British English, there’s an extensive glossary at the end of the book. I didn’t have that problem; so I’m not a good judge about its usefulness.
I thank Joffe Books and Netgalley for the free ARC they provided me with; this is my honest, unbiased opinion of it.