“The nation is gripped by the infamous ‘Ragdoll Killer’
Every news bulletin and headline is obsessed with this story.
Your friends, your family and your neighbours are all talking about it.


A body is discovered with the dismembered parts of six victims stitched together like a puppet, nicknamed by the press as the ‘ragdoll’.
Assigned to the shocking case are Detective William ‘Wolf’ Fawkes, recently reinstated to the London Met, and his former partner Detective Helen Baxter.


The ‘Ragdoll Killer’ taunts the police by releasing a list of names to the media, and the dates on which he intends to murder them.


With six people to save, can Fawkes and Baxter catch a killer when the world is watching their every move?
Believe the hype. Sold in over 25 countries and counting, RAGDOLL is the standout thriller of the year.”

Ragdoll is Daniel Cole’s debut novel and  actually began life as a TV screenplay, which is ironic when you read it and think what a good, fast-paced movie it would make!
 
Wolf (William Oliver Layton Fawkes) is a Detective well known for  the wrong reasons – namely attacking a serial killer known as ‘The Cremation Killer’ after he was found ‘not guilty’  his high-profile trial. Wolf was the arresting officer, and knowing the guy is guilty as hell can’t help himself trying to dispense his own sentence of justice, and ends up in a mental health facility, suspended from his job and suddenly single again. Seems there’s only so much a long-suffering wife can take.
 
Assessed to be suitable to return, Wolf is very quickly thrust into the ‘Ragdoll’ murder – a makeshift body made of different body parts taken from different victims. It seems to have odd links to Wolf from the very beginning – the ‘ragdoll’ hand is pointing directly through the window towards his flat opposite. The cremation killer turns up again, though I won’t tell you how because – spoilers -and Wolf’s ex-wife, a journalist desperate for a slice of news anchor pie decides to read out, live on air, a list that was sent to her detailing the victims, in order and the date of their deaths. The news channel then devotes all its time to following the intended victims all the while running a death clock in the studio. Classy, huh?
 
It’s a great debut novel and as mentioned earlier would lend itself really well towards a movie, or TV dramatisation. The murders are gory, the intent is very, very sinister, Wolf is a great character and the whole concept of the News stations creating, or at the very least becoming the News is a very topical one. I thoroughly enjoyed this book & look forward to Wolf #2.