AK Turner’s Life Sentence, the second in the Cassie Raven series, is somewhat reminiscent of the BBC’s Silent Witness programme. A determined forensic pathologist, even if it is in Cassie’s case, only an assistant, is something that I’ve been watching for years. But as a big fan of the series, this is what motivates me to read these books.
With Cassie’s original characterisation being a former squatter and goth, her backstory was always going to be interesting, but combined with the way that Body Language ended, and the true story behind the death of her parents, this series has gotten more and more intriguing and complicated. Was what her gran said the truth, or was there more to it?
This time the guest, what Cassie calls the people who are given post-mortems, took an unfortunate backseat to the protagonist’s main plot, although they were relevant. By the time I got to the end, I really did enjoy the complexities within the series and where it may well go next.
As a prospective writer myself, it also showed me the plot opportunities in keeping abreast with what is going on within the police service at the time you write a book. Every book I read teaches me something, but because this is so different, I think I’ve learnt a little bit more than reading your average police procedural. I’m looking forward to reading the third one soon, because I know if I read books back to back, it can sometimes can get a bit much.
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