**REVIEW** ~ Necessary Evils (Nick Harland Crime Thriller, book 1), by Bill Carson

Serial Killer/Crime Thriller

Book Blurb

John Kane’s quiet mundane world is suddenly ripped apart and he is thrust into a hellish nightmare existence after the murder of his beloved wife. The pain and anguish over his wife’s murder has been harnessed, molded and channeled into a hatred of the most abnormal ferocity, and an un-closable door had now been wrenched open in his mind, and he had crossed over into the darker realms of humanity where the merciless, cruel, vicious and uncompromising sides of human nature reside. His brain had been rewired and the switch had been flicked.

Has all this been preordained? Are there sinister dark forces at work at here? Necessary Evils will have you on the edge of your seat with your heart in your mouth.

My Review

An Electrifying Read ***** (Five stars)

Necessary Evils is a totally electrifying reading experience, involving murder, madness and twisted revenge. It is the second novel that I have read from the pen of Bill Carson, the first being Dark City, book 4 in the Nick Harland series. The read introduces the character of Nick Harland, in this novel in his job as a police officer, which Bill Carson develops later in the series and also the serial killer John Kane.

In it the lines between right and wrong are blurred, and I found myself empathizing with the acts of violence and depravity perpetrated by John Kane, the protagonist. When his beloved wife Sarah is brutally murdered the combination of his anger and grief combine to create a startling metamorphosis from middle aged office worker to cold blooded assassin. I enjoyed how the author described the change in his personality and although I found it terrifying it was also very credible. Kanes’s character almost regains a semblance of normality at one point in the novel, but the darkness that is ever present within him is never far away and when circumstances once again compel him to act all hell breaks loose…..

Of course, serial killers like john Kane cannot be allowed to continue wreaking revenge, even if his victims represent the scum of society and the Police, spearheaded by Nick Harland, race to apprehend this criminal who is creating terror on the streets of London. Yet the killer has done his research well and remains one step ahead of the authorities. However, will luck remain on his side or will Nick Harland finally get his lucky break and crack the case, enabling him to catch the killer.

There are a number of major twists and turns and some surprising turn of events for both John and Nick before the novel concludes. An absolutely super read for fans of crime/serial killer novels!

Reviewed by Tina Williams

Please note, a copy of this book was given to me by the author for the purpose of a fair and honest review.

For our review of Dark City click on the title.