Book review: Rattle by Fiona Cummins

Rattle by Fiona Cummins (first published in 2017 by Pan Macmillan)

DS Etta Fitzroy is called in to investigate the disappearance of 5-year old Clara, after the little girl vanished from her school. 

A year ago, Fitzroy was investigating the disappearance and subsequent death of a teenage girl, and she can’t help but think the two cases are connected.

When Jakey, a 6-year old with Stone Man Syndrome, also disappears, Fitzroy starts to connect the dots and form a haunting picture – and knows that the same person is behind all the disappearances, and that he wants her to know it. 

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As Fitzroy races to find the children before it’s too late, she can’t help but be reminded of her past failures, and her own emotional attachment to cases involving children. 

Rattle is a hell of a ride from page one. Dark and disturbing, it is a peek into a world we all hope does not exist, in which children are taken for nefarious purposes, by an obviously unhinged criminal. 

Fiona Cummins’ narrative cleverly keeps up an energetic pace while taunting the reader with the age-old question; who did it, and why? 

To counterbalance the murderous intent of the children’s abductor, Cummins presents a female lead who is drawn into an emotive world of loss and personal failures, to soften Fitzroy’s hard exterior, and demonstrate that behind the scenes of a put-together cop, secrets and insecurities can nevertheless abound. 

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Her imperfections not only make Etta Fitzroy an intriguing character, but relatable.

If you like your thrillers dark and twisty, this is the perfect treat for you. And if you don’t, this may just be the right book to convert you.