by NV Peacock

‘That’s when all hope in me died. There was no chance they were going to let anyone live.’

Fallon has a doctorate in psychology. She conducts on line therapy sessions. She is also the victim of a murderous assault in which people have died. And the leader of her attackers, Tyler Baker, is pleading not guilty. The last thing she needs as she prepares for her day in court is another drama in her life!

Then, her younger brother Ollie gives her a DNA profile for them both, which shatters her happy and settled family life. She was adopted! Not only does Fallon have four brothers she has never met, but it seems likely one of them is a serial killer. Pulled this way and that between her caring adoptive family, her biological mother and siblings, and a persistent ex-boyfriend, she is presented with DNA evidence she cannot ignore that either Simon, Sam, Garry or Stefan has cold-bloodedly killed dozens of innocent people.

‘I then turn to the medical examiner’s report of killing methods, hoping to find a pattern. But no: knives, ropes, blunt objects, even bare hands. The killer has used a wide range of murder methods. In fact, everything about this killer seems frighteningly random – he’s an organised disorganised killer. My head hurts.’

Unaware that the murderer is onto her efforts to identify him, Fallon follows the trail of scant evidence and slowly reliminates one brother after another. But is she missing something? Is one of the four lying to her? Clever and resourceful, the killer slips under her radar, threatening the life of not only Fallon herself but of the people she loves and works with. And only we, the readers, know her stalker DOES have an MO, one so subtle that the police do not realise the killings are the work of one person.

‘I needed to strike back …. I had to find a way to resurrect my game; add a new link in the chain – one which would punish Fallon for her treachery. I would take out one of her pawns.’

In The Brother, NV Peacock has constructed a clever, original story with pacing which never flags. The merging of Fallon’s personal tragedy with the main plot lends credence to her character. A smart, professional woman, she carries more than her fair share of guilt and as a result, so it seems to me, does some surprising risky, stupid things. By the interspersing in Fallon’s narrative of the occasional chapter in the guilty brother’s POV (without revealing his identity), the author heightens tension throughout. The psychology is good and well-researched. A final twist and a nail-biting climax are to be expected, and we get both. And the impact is no less if one figures out where the trail is leading.

‘Won? He’s won nothing yet. Tentatively, I take his hand and he pulls me to my feet. It’s more terrifying to feel his hand in mine than it would be if he yanked me up by the hair. “No one knows except Mum.” ‘

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