The Face of Death by Cody McFadyen

Author : Cody McFadyen
Title : The Face of Death
Published : 01/05/2008
Publisher : Hodder Paperbacks
Pages : 560
Genre : Crime / Thriller

     A young woman loses her family, her friends, almost anyone who has ever even done her a kindness to a maniacal serial killer. It's as if every trace of human contact is being wiped out of her life. Her terrifying case is handed to a woman who has had so much of her own happiness snatched away from her: Smoky Barrett. Now caring for her murdered friend's mute daughter, Smoky must decide whether or not she can rise to one more fiendish challenge...

     Coming to this book was not my first experience of this author, some time ago I had the pleasure of reading Shadow Man. In that book, he gave me everything I was looking for at the time. With pages streaked with blood and a heroine that while being broken still managed to kick ass and bring down a killer, I was hooked. But when it comes to books I enjoyed greatly I try and spread them out not wishing to gobble up a whole series to quickly. So the time had come to jump back into the world of Smoky Barrett and find out what one of my recent favorite characters was up to next. I hoped to have just as an enjoyable experience and push down a second book fears I might just have.

     So smokey is back with a bang. This time taking on a family slaying with one witness left alive at the scene. I like Smoky, she is someone who has chosen to take her pain and suffering and use it for something good. To push forward and help others who have found themselves in unimaginable situations. For me, she is well written with a combination of strong attack dog and also a deep empathy and need to help people. I suppose coming into this after having read the first I have an image of her in my mind, luckily the author's description of her is sparse and allow the reader to form a Smoky of there own. This time around the author splits our time between two so I got to see how he writes for another character. Without wanting to give too much away we delve into the head of a very abused teenage girl. This for some I think will prove a very difficult place to find themselves. Along the way we also get reunited with Smokey's team from the first book so it was good to see a few more returning faces, it also allows for them to breathe a bit more and become a bit more fleshed out.

     So with that in mind it's time to get to the bones of this book, this time around he has chosen to tackle a very dark subject and one I find especially hard to read about. When it comes to books like this and the series they spawn have seen serial killers in every shape and form. I think at least for me we are used to adults killing other adults no matter how gruesome the crimes are. It is when we are introduced to unspeakable acts perpetrated against children that it can become unbearable. With books of this nature, they tend to flow quickly as bodies pile up and the blood spills. It is in some ways the grand mass murder playing cat and mouse with the detective at hand. But here we have the same level of detail given to a different set of crimes and this will deferentially be hard for some readers to come to terms with. The sad truth is the crime described within these pages have and do happen to children, but does this mean that authors should shy away from them, and to be honest I'm still not sure but I did make it to the end so maybe the answers are in there. The author manages to craft a deeply dark and disturbing story with a killer on a mission. He makes Smokey work with every ounce she has to get to the bottom of it all and find redemption for those who deserve it. 

     I think the author has delivered on his second book in the series. He has expanded on the world he had built in the first book, and given Smokey another step on the path she is on. As I have said before it deals with subjects that some might find very distressing, from child abuse and torture to graphic murders and rape. I realize this will not be to everyone's taste, but if you are looking for a book that plants both feet on the dark side you might just want to give this one a go.