The Toy Taker – Luke Delaney

Detective Inspector Sean Corrigan returns for a third case in The Toy Taker by Luke Delaney, in which every family’s worst nightmare is exposed to devastating effect.

A four-year-old boy has vanished in the dead of night. No sign of forced entry. No witnesses, just an empty bed and distraught parents.

DI Corrigan needs to think like an abductor to find the child, but this is no ordinary case. When another child vanishes, it’s clear he’s hunting a monster.

It’s an old cliché when they say ‘write about what you know’, and this is an insider’s view of a procedural, as Delaney (not his real name) is a former Metropolitan Police detective. He’s also writing about a tough London that he knows and loves.

Not that many police read crime fiction, I’m told, but Delaney has built up quite a following among real-life detectives. They respect and enjoy his multi-faceted portrayal of life in the force. Not all the challenges faced by CID are presented by perpetrators: budget cuts, demands from superiors and the media are increasingly difficult pressures in the fight against crime.  More than ever, detectives have to move fast and stay sharp.

The Toy Taker and the two previous books in the DI Corrigan trilogy, The Keeper and Cold Killing, show a man trying to do just that.  His own troubled background gives him an unusual insight into the darkness in others. Corrigan can read a crime scene like no-one else – but can he read enough to stop a killer before he strikes again?

This is a slow-build, complex psychological thriller with skilful characterization. Critics say it’s perfect for readers who enjoy the work of Brit-crime heavyweight trio Mark Billingham, Peter James and Stuart MacBride. That sounds like a recommendation to me.