Publishers Weekly
12/07/2020
In British author Waites’s relentlessly tense if flawed sequel to 2020’s The Old Religion, the police persuade former undercover cop Tom Killgannon, who’s been in the witness protection program in rural Cornwall, to pose as a convict in a local prison. Killgannon’s mission is to befriend an infamous child murderer and get him to reveal the whereabouts of his final two victims’ bodies. The assignment turns deadly when Killgannon finds out a gangster he put behind bars for life is in the prison—and is obsessed with retribution. When Killgannon’s contact outside the prison is murdered, he realizes the people closest to him—Lila, a runaway teen living at his house he’s been helping, and love interest Pearl—are in mortal danger, and he’s powerless to help them. Waites’s analysis of the bleak histories and psyches of his diverse and deeply developed characters is spot on (“It’s not just the things you do. It’s the things that are done to you”), but some contrived situations near the end undermine credibility. This talented author has done better. Agent: Jane Gregory, David Higham Assoc. (U.K.). (Feb.)
Kirkus Reviews
2021-01-13
An undercover operation in one of England’s most notorious prisons goes horribly wrong.
Manchester drug kingpin Dean Foley’s 2014 deal with the Romanians turns out to be a trap set by his best mate, who’s actually undercover cop Mick Eccleston. Mick’s niece Hayley is killed in a shootout between the police and Foley’s criminal crew. Years later, Mick has become Tom Killgannon, living with the fragile young runaway Lila and dating the understanding Pearl. His new identity doesn’t mark a clean break with law enforcement: Tom’s assigned to go undercover in Broadmoor prison and befriend notorious child killer Noel Cunningham. As it happens, Foley’s in the same prison and ecstatic to learn from his crony Clive about Tom’s arrival. In Tom’s absence, Pearl makes overtures of deeper friendship to Lila. Meanwhile, a man named Quint, first identified as a “hunter,” is staking out Tom’s home with the intention of killing Pearl and Lila. When Tom spots Foley across the prison’s education room, he quickly calls his outside handler, Nick Sheridan, but Sheridan’s boss, DCI Harmer, refuses release for now. A visit by Sheridan does nothing to allay Tom’s fears but seals the decision by Harmer to keep him inside. As he cultivates a friendship with Cunningham, a potential protector, Tom identifies other inmates and maybe even guards as members of Foley’s crew. The simmering plot is brought to a boil by numerous twists in the stalkings of both Tim and Lila.
Though his characters lack depth, Waites’ pacing and plotting are deft and his prose sleek.
