Publisher: Pan MacMillan
Copyright Year: 2014
Review By: Ruth Wykes
Book Synopsis: Deserving Death is the seventh in Katherine Howell’s series of Detective Ella Marconi books. For those unfamiliar with the series, Katherine writes about paramedics, and the crimes they encounter –and sometimes create. Deserving Death opens with the disappearance of a young, female paramedic, the second in a few months. As the murder investigation gets underway, there are suspicions of drugs and police corruption. But are they a motive for murder, or is there something more sinister at play?
The plot is intriguing, and becomes even more so when a paramedic decides to endanger herself by conducting her own investigation into the murder of her friends.
Katherine Howell’s skill at weaving complex plots, drawing great Aussie characters and confronting contemporary social issues are all on display in Deserving Death. She is one of Australia’s finest crime writers, and this is one of her best books.