The Murder Box By Olivia Kiernan

‘The Murder Box’ is by Olivia Kiernan and is the latest book in the ‘Frankie Sheehan’ series.

At first, Detective Chief Superintendent Frankie Sheehan believes the murder mystery game sent to her office is a birthday gift from one of her colleagues. But when Frankie studies the game’s contents, she notices a striking resemblance between the ‘murder victim’ and missing twenty-two-year-old Lydia Callin. As Frankie and her team investigate, a series of grisly crimes connected to the game are discovered across Dublin city and Lydia’s involvement with a shadowy network of murder mystery players becomes clear. On the hunt for Lydia’s murderer, Frankie is drawn more deeply into the game. Every successful move brings her closer to the killer. But the real question is not what happens should she lose — but what happens if she wins.

I’m so late posting this review as I’ve spent my evening reading this book and couldn’t put my thoughts down until I reached the final page.

It’s been a while since I’ve read a good crime procedural book so I was eager to sink into the ‘The Murder Box’. And although this book is actually the fourth book in the Frankie Sheehan series, it could easily be read as a standalone.

The story is set in Dublin and seen through the narrative of Detective Frankie Sheehan, a straight talking detective who receives an unlikely birthday present inviting her to take part in a murder mystery case which is actually true as well as finding a well known Irish celebrity called Teddy Dolan. The clock is counting down with clues and drama as Frankie and her team try to be one step ahead of the murderer.

I genuinely loved this story, it’s gritty, it’s bleak and really gives a fascinating insight into the procedures of the police force in Ireland. It’s quite graphic in parts and can occasionally make for disturbing reading but I really thought this added to the drama and tension of the story.

I really enjoyed Frankie and the dynamics with her team and how they pull together to help solve the case. The main story is the murder box but there’s also the inclusion of smaller stories that Olivia brings neatly together at the end.

With ‘Line of Duty’ no longer on our screens, I’ve found the perfect replacement series! A fast paced and intense story that made for gripping late night reading, ‘The Murder Box’ is a brilliantly written tense and chilling book.

You can buy ‘The Murder Box’ from Amazon.