And Hope To Die by J.M. Calder

Publisher's Synopsis

When a fourth child is taken, Solomon Glass knows what to expect: an anonymous letter to the mother, making a promise - kill yourself and your child will be released. He know because two women are dead already.

Glass has just survived his own nightmare - a tragedy, an internal investigation and a spell off the force. In his race to uncover the kidnapper, Glass must enter the darkest side of himself, a place he's barely able to go but where he knows he will find the answers. And the more he learns, the more he suspects that's exactly what the kidnapper wants him to do. So begins a deadly game of cat and mouse, played for the highest stakes of all.

And Hope To Die is a dark, powerfully compelling psychological thriller that will chill you to the core. Cross your heart...

My Review 

There is nothing more intense than the uncertainty of the fate of a child who is in the hands of a kidnapper. Ratchet that pressure up a few notches when the latest victim is the 4th of a series of such cases. Now make it unbearable with the knowledge that previous children had been mutilated with parts of their body returned to their parents in little boxes, followed closely by a letter outlining a deal in which the child will be released as long as the mother kills herself.

This is the attention grabbing scenario in which And Hope To Die by J.M. Calder opens and we are just in time to witness the opening of the latest package from the kidnapper.

So the police find themselves working to the tightest of deadlines in their bid to locate the kidnapper, but they've got to start by working out the motivation behind his horrifying acts. There is a connection that binds the 4 children together and the hope is that if they could make that connection they would go a long way towards tracking down their man.

But progress is slow, their boss is an interfering fool who makes unreasonable demands for results and the kidnapper always appears to be a step ahead of them, almost as if he's a puppet master controlling their every move. When Solomon Glass begins to make some headway, though, the case breaks open in the most unusual way imaginable and the stakes are changed, the direction shifts and the way is paved for a memorable showdown.

A seasoned veteran with a reputation for being difficult to work with, Lieutenant Solomon Glass heads the team assigned to the case. Detective Dan Maloney is his young partner, willing to work with the best regardless of his rep. And rounding out the primary trio is Officer Nora Bloom working in the Files and Records Section of CID, but important to the team because of her computer savvy. They form a competent, likable team who complement each other's skills nicely with Maloney's naivety offsetting Glass' experience.

Glass remains an enigmatic detective in much the same way that Barry Maitland's Detective Brock is, keeping himself to himself and giving as little away as possible. He is the dominant character and the story swings on his ability to cope with the pressure as it builds, relying on him to come up a logical explanation for each new puzzling development. As the case develops, so does our knowledge about him and we soon find ourselves thrust back into his nightmare past, fleshing out a man who turns out to be an incredibly complex character.

The first half of And Hope To Die plays out like a police procedural with a studied gathering of witness statements by the detectives as they attempt to shake something loose. Gradually, as things begin to fall into place the momentum really kicks up another gear, the tension builds along with a distinct feeling of danger and, occasionally, even horror.

This is a surprisingly complex thriller and as Glass works his way into the investigation, a great deal of history linking him and his prime suspect, is unearthed. Suddenly it becomes obvious that there is a lot more at stake than just the life of a young kidnapped girl. To the author's credit, a series of unexpected little twists throughout the book keeps the story fresh and interesting.

It seemed that every time I thought I had the plot nailed and could predict how it was going to be played out, it turned out that I was close, but just not close enough and this is to the author's great credit.

Set in an unnamed US city but is probably New York thanks to a couple of references to the polluted East River and the discovery of a body at Red Hook, And Hope To Die is memorable both for the frightening opening scenario and the savage change of direction that the plot takes midway through. This is a thriller to savour.