Bad Moon Rising by Frances di Plino

About the book


This is a dark psychological thriller. There is a serial murderer on the loose and as the Detective Inspector tries to solve it, it becomes hard for him to keep his professional and personal lives separate.  

What I think 


If you wake up early on a weekend morning and your first thought is, "Great, now I'll have time to finish my book today!" instead of "Please, please, please, let me get back to sleep!" I think you know you're onto a winner. 


This book was compelling from beginning to end. The main character, Detective Inspector Paolo Storey, is certainly not without his flaws, but he is a lovable character. He has the right mix of humour, sarcasm and love for his family to be respected by the reader.  


The great thing that di Plino has done with this book is make it hard to guess who the killer is, despite the fact that he is a character within the narrative. I think this has been possible by her leaving several options open and by the middle of the book your mind is whirring trying to figure it out. Just before the killer's identity was revealed, I had it, but the ending is so clever you'll still be blown away. 


About the author


Frances di Plino is the pen name of Lorraine Mace, humour columnist for Writing Magazine. I have read many of her entries on the Writer's ABC Checklist, which I find an extremely useful blog for writers. This is her debut novel.