Another excellent book from Helen Fields. Following a very difficult close encounter DCI Ava Turner has decided that the potential relationship with DI Luc Callanach is never going to happen and has agreed that Luc should go back to France as the Scottish Liaison Officer to Interpol. Luc has to face his past and work with his old partner whilst Ava deals with a murder in Scotland. When their two cases start to show similarities they are forced to face each other again. Great storyline and great characters.

Wow, what a rollercoaster of a journey.

This book had me hooked from the outset. It was gripping, dark but the ongoing storyline of the main characters was mesmerising.

Thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the books in the series & this one did not disappoint.

Helen Fields has a way of writing things which take you just to the edge. Just to that point where you have had enough of the scenario to know what’s going to happen next, then cutting away to the next scene or the aftermath. This makes her books really good. Sometimes that little bit left to your own imagination can have so much more of an impact.

The Perfect Kill is a perfect example of this with the description of some of the crimes being “peep-through-your-fingers” frightening, whilst maintaining a real believability.

In Edinburgh a young man is kidnapped and drugged. Waking up in a container he is soon swapped for a group of young women. Where is he being taken and what is in store for him.

In France a body is discovered minus its vital organs.

Back in Edinburgh a low level gang leader is running a bunch of brothels, using women that have been forced into the sex trade; but he has a side line that earns him much more money, and it’s not good news for some of the girls in the brothels.

In Scotland DCI Ava Turner takes the lead on the investigation into the kidnap of the young man. Meanwhile her partner DI Luc Callanach is back on his home turf of France acting as a liaison officer for Police Scotland and Interpol, and starts to investigate the the case of the man with the missing organs.

Inevitably the two cases are linked, and Turner and Callanach are thrown into a joint investigation.

This book is the 6th in the series. I’ve been on board from the start and I’m hooked. The characters in the series are amongst my favourites in Crime Fiction. Turner and Callanach have a unique relationship. Callanach has a past that has a lasting impact on him, he suffers from a form of PTSD that affects him in ways that can only be described as frustrating.

But he is a really good police officer, and after winning the respect of Turner, and her MIT, it all went wrong when part of his past came back to haunt him. This led to him being moved back to France, on a temporary basis, but now everybody wants to build bridges and get him home to Scotland.

This book is a roller-coaster of a story. Horrific in places, haunting in others, emotional throughout, but this just makes it readable. In fact I hardly put it down from start to finish.

Pages: 416
Publisher: Avon Books
Available: 6th February 2020

Brilliantly written thriller on a subject that’s hard to swallow but so real in this day and age. Sex trafficking is so real but so hard to read about. Helen fields uses this subject so well and helps the reader warm to the poor girls this is happening to.
Luc has gone to work for Interpol in France and Ava still in the UK, join forces when two young men go missing from the UK. The stories collide and the team work together to solve the impossible.

I have received a copy of this book from Netgalley - thank you.
as book 6 of a series I was nervous there would be a lot of background that I would feel like I missed out but like many good police series it was easy to pick up who the characters were and how they ticked. Being set between Scotland and France was an interesting angle as they are two places I have a limited knowledge of however I love a good police tale - and this was one of those.
A good helping of twists and turns and suspence towards the ending of the parallel but intertwined plots
I very much enjoyed this book and will be looking to read more in this series

I really devoured this series. In less than 2 months I have read all parts, including this ARC which I received thanks to Netgalley.

The characters in this series are so real, so recognizable. Something you often see in English crime and thriller books. However, the writer knows how to touch something that really gives you the feeling that you know the characters, sympathize with them and are directly involved with each and everyone of them.

Since there is a clear red line in all books of the Luc Callanagh and Ava Turner series, it is important to read the books in order. And believe me, it's absolutely worth it.

In this part, more is played on the personal level of the main characters. The way in which the writer also shows the sides of the victims and the perpetrators ensures that you are completely involved in the whole and I therefore had trouble putting the book away.

The book actually seems to consist of two parts. There is a crime that connects Scotland and France, which is why Luc is back at Interpol. But there is also the issue of women being used and abused in prostitution. Slowly these stories come together and despite the fact that you think you know how things work from the start, you get a surprise again. Something Helen Fields really does very well in all her books.

This part is definitely recommended and I can hardly wait for the next part.

Perfect Kill is part of a series but I read it as a new reader. This novel works fine as a standalone work. This is probably one of the most brutal and intense books I've read this year or even ever.

Perfect Kill by Helen Fields. What a whirlwind of action! Well developed and interesting characters with completely vile villains. The crimes are disturbing and difficult to read. First book in the DI Callanach series that I have read and it won't be the last. Enjoyed following Ava and Luc and the rest of the team.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

This is a gripping and an emotional book which is the sixth book in the series but it is also a stand alone book which only touches on the back story. I have read all five books and each book gets better and better. The story is divided by two detectives one in Edinburgh and the other in Paris who are investigating a organ harvesting ring. Well worth picking up an reading.

I love this series so thank you to Netgalley and the publisher AVON Books UK for an ARC Copy.

Bart Campbell wakes up inside a shipping container far from his Edinburgh home. Alone, trapped in the darkness and with no way out, Bart knows that his chances of being found alive are very slim. What Bart doesn’t know is that he is heading for France where his fate has already been sealed.

DCI Luc Callanach is back in France working with his old partner Jean Paul but it soon becomes clear when his case starts to collide with DCI Ava Turners back in Scotland, that men and women being shipped to France are being traded for women trafficked into Scotland.
So many lives are at stake so they face an impossible task - but there cannot be an option of failure when Bart and so many others will soon be dead.

This’ll the sixth book in this series and it was another belter of a book. I was hooked from the first page until the very last. I love all these characters and it was good to be back with them all again. A good storyline, which I found quite chilling this time round, has all of the team working together and jeopardising their own lives to solve the case as quickly as possible.

Looking forward to book 7 - I CANT WAIT!!

Another fabulous book from Helen Fields and really great to catch up with Ava and Luc. That said, although it's part of a series it's not necessary to have read the previous instalments. This particular book is very intense and has a seriously disturbing plot. Fantastic characters throughout. Possibly my favourite in the series.

Ava and Luc are back but separated with Ava in Edinburgh and Luc working in France but their cases could be linked. A young man has gone missing, three skeletons are found. On top of this prostitutes, ava’s best friend Natasha, needs Ava but who is helping Ava? I thought the previous book was my favourite but this one tops it! Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

This is the 6th book in a crime thriller series featuring DI Luc Callanach and DCI Ava Turner. Although most of these stories are set in Edinburgh, Scotland, as they work for the MIT there, Luc is currently assigned in France as Scottish liaison officer to Interpol working on tracing a human trafficking case. A Scottish national's body had been found in Flandres and all that remained of the young man was a shell -- most of his internal organs had been removed. It seems that there is something more sinister going on that might tie into a missing persons situation that Ava is dealing with. From the backroom, filthy brothels where the trafficked women are used and abused to the sterile interior of a quasi operating theater, this is a complicated investigation that is grisly and chilling.

If you haven't read the previous five books in the series, I'd urge you to start at the beginning. This is a really good collection that has interesting characters, fabulous plots, and interesting settings. The writing is top-notch and the author spins the tales and lavishes us with incredible details. The relationship between Luc and Ava is quite complex and their history together is checkered with a bit of drama, but it works well. I do enjoy these books and they are very absorbing often requiring that I read them from cover to cover in a single sitting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for this e-book ARC to read, review and recommend. I hope that #7 is in the works but I understand that Helen Fields is writing a standalone novel coming in February of 2021.

Another fab installment in the series from Helen Fields! I think this might be my favourite one so far - the threads of the separate cases that Ava and Luc are working on are woven brilliantly throughout the story, keeping you invested and in suspense as the novel builds towards its climax. Ava is badass and amazing as always, and I loved seeing hers and Luc's relationship develop even as they are more distant than ever. And what an ending! I can't wait to see where the next book leads...

this is the 6th in this series and I've never read any others in the series. However, I don't think I missed out. This can be read as a stand-alone and I really enjoyed the twists and turns

This sixth episode of the DI Luc Callanach series, unbelievably is even better than the five that have gone before.
If you havent read any of these books I can definitely recommend them.
We find Luc still attached to interpol, in Paris, on the trail of a group involved in the illegal harvesting of human organs.
DCI Ava Turner is back in Scotland investigating the disappearance of several men and women. Enquiries suggest they are being transported to France and exchanged for young women sex trafficked into Scotland.
The discovery of a photograph in France finally establishes a link between the cases and provides the break through.
At times a brutal and chilling, fast paced and cleverly played out across two countries.
An exciting and gripping read, I`m already looking forward to the next instalment.
Thank you to Netgalley and Avon books for the opportunity to read this as an ARC.

Perfect kill

A well written solid police thriller

I’ve read all the previous books, so, was pleased to continue the relationship between Ava Turner and Luc Callenach

It’s a hard hitting, at times gruesome tale but holds together well.

All in all a good read and I’m grateful to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview in exchange for this honest review.

Thanks Helen fields and net galley for letting me read this excellent detective book.
Helen Fields books are always excellent and this one was great, look forward to the next one.
The story was very gruesome going into details of body parts and Slave girls selling their bodies but could not put it down.
It’s very sad that the treatment of girls still goes on, and you hope by reading these type of books you could make a difference .

I’ve been waiting so long for my next fix of Ava and Luc, and my word, it was so worth the wait!! I loved how two very different crimes intertwined and linked up so cleverly. It had me gripped from beginning to end and I’m not sure I’m able to wait another year for the next instalment....I need to know how Natasha copes, if things progress for Ava and Luc, if Lively has finally met The One!!! Thank you for a fantastic read!!! 5 stars from me!

When Maggie Campbell realised that her son, Bart, was missing he was already 200 miles away and just waking from a chemically-induced sleep. Maggie knew straight away that something was wrong. Bart might be twenty but he was considerate of his mother and wouldn't have stayed out all night without letting her know. Besides, he didn't have his phone with him and he wouldn't have gone far without that. It's not long before Bart realises that he's alone, trapped in a shipping container and on his way to France, where his fate has already been decided.

Elenuta is trapped, but not in quite the same way. She's been trafficked from Romania and is now in a flat in Dumbryden Gardens in Edinburgh. Finlay did his best to keep his girls clean - that was best for business - but there was hardly any comfort in the flat and there was a constant threat that you would be chosen for 'the race' - and the girls who were chosen never seemed to return.

Meanwhile, in Paris, DI Luc Callanach, on loan to the French authorities from Police Scotland, is part of a team working on the discovery of the body of a twenty-year-old male on a building site. All his internal organs have been removed, with knowledge, if not much skill.

Back in Edinburgh, DCI Ava Turner, head of the MIT, thought that she'd found a way of forgetting about the end of her relationship with Luc Callanach, but sleeping with another DI on the Major Incident Team wasn't her brightest idea, particularly as Pax Graham is rather smitten with her - and she's no less smitten with Callanach. Then the bodies really start piling up.

It used to be that I made a point of not joining crime series once they'd really become established on the grounds that it wasn't fair on the author, but as series get longer and it's harder to pick up that initial publishing contract I found myself slipping into series where I'd missed the early books. Then there's the problem of not realising that the series is already at book six, which is what happened with Perfect Kill. It struck me that there were quite a few allusions to what looked like a very sound backstory, but I didn't realise that we were so far in, which will tell you that the book will read perfectly well as a standalone.

And it was a good read, apart from one quibble. I liked the characters and the plot is well-thought-out, but there are some graphic scenes of sexual violence. If this doesn't generally worry you then you can put this down to me being an elderly wuss with a soft heart. Either way I'd like to thank the publishers for making a copy available to the Bookbag.