A Tapping at My Door - David Jackson #Review

Published by Zaffre

ebook and Hardback 7 April 2016 | Paperback 22 September 2016

A woman at home in Liverpool is disturbed by a persistent tapping at her back door. She’s disturbed to discover the culprit is a raven, and tries to shoo it away. Which is when the killer strikes.

DS Nathan Cody, still bearing the scars of an undercover mission that went horrifyingly wrong, is put on the case. But the police have no leads, except the body of the bird – and the victim’s missing eyes.

As flashbacks from his past begin to intrude, Cody realises he is battling not just a murderer, but his own inner demons too.

And then the killer strikes again, and Cody realises the threat isn’t to the people of Liverpool after all – it’s to the police.

Following the success and acclaim of the Callum Doyle novels, A Tapping at My Door is the first instalment of David Jackson’s new Nathan Cody series.

This is the first book I’ve read by David Jackson but I will certainly be reading more. Although I hope that they won’t involve birds. I like birds but as long as they are at a distance and not flying around me. If you want to torture me then put me in an aviary – my idea of hell!

A Tapping at my Door is the first book in a new series featuring DS Nathan Cody and is set in Liverpool. Cody was previously an undercover officer but it is clear that a previous case has gone horribly wrong and has caused him extreme trauma. All the way through, there was speculation and constant references to an event in his past and I was desperate to be told what had happened to affect him so much and make him unpredictable and volatile.

The story starts with a bang with a horrific murder and the rather bizarre addition of a dead bird being placed on the body together with a note. When similar murders follow, it becomes clear that these are not random attacks but targeted ones by a sadistic but clever killer. There was one particular scene recounted later on that was particularly nasty which I had to admit made me feel slightly queasy – and I’m a hardened crime fan!

Cody, now in the Murder Investigation Team, is partnered up with an ex-girlfriend – DC Megan Webley and although there is clearly some issues between them relating to their past history, the chemistry works very well and Webley is more than a match for Cody’s unpredictable nature. Although Megan is now engaged to someone else, there seems to be unfinished business between her and Cody.

In fact most of the characterisations are excellent – from Cody’s damaged and troubled soul to the almost motherly concern of his chief, DCI Stella Blunt, and the common sense of Webley. The only character that I felt could have been fleshed out more was the killer. In the main, the chapters featuring the murderer give little detail, except for their obsession with birds. I really enjoyed the story, it was well paced and cleverly structured with the twists and turns that you would expect in a crime thriller. The who and the why came as a complete surprise – I didn’t see that one coming!

A pacy, suspenseful story with a dramatic finale and with some teasing loose ends that will no doubt be followed up (I hope!) – this is a series that I will happily follow and I look forward to meeting Nathan Cody again.

My copy was received through the Amazon Vine review programme

About the author:

David Jackson is the author of a series of crime thrillers featuring New York Detective Callum Doyle. His debut novel, Pariah, was Highly Commended in the Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger Awards. When not writing fiction, David spends his time as a lecturer in a university science department. He also gives occasional workshops on creative writing. He lives on the Wirral peninsula with his wife and two daughters. David can be followed on Twitter, where he goes under the name @Author_Dave.