Sandra Ruttan Reviews: Their Last Breath by Sibel Hodge

Their Last Breath is an ambitious police procedural/thriller that engrosses you from the start. Gillian Lane returns home from a business trip overseas, hoping to surprise her husband. Instead, she gets the surprise of her life when she finds a stranger in her house who chases her out into the road, where she is hit by a car.

Warren Carter is at home, struggling to cope with retirement when he gets an early morning call, asking him if he'll come down to talk to a police officer who works with the Professional Standards Department (PSD). He fears the reason may be something to do with an old case, called Bloodbath Farm, that involved police corruption. A few things are clear from the start; Carter is also mourning his late wife, and he has something to hide about the Bloodbath Farm case.

He heads in to talk to Caroline Barker and gets the surprise of his life; will he come back to work? They have a case and need his help.

Detective Sergeant Becky Harris is woken by her phone, early, and her husband isn't pleased. Before she can leave to report to work her husband gets another dig in. Their relationship is on the rocks. While her career is doing well and she's recently been commended at work, he wants to start a family and is sick of her long hours. She finds herself at Gillian Lane's house, where Lane's husband and an unidentified woman have been murdered.

Carter, meanwhile, has five dead bodies and a sixth victim en route to hospital after a fire at an old building that was once a hospital. The victims have been chained to the wall, suggesting human trafficking. Although the fire destroyed some of the evidence, they find enough to know that a police officer's warrant card has been recovered beside the body of one of the women. The ID has been destroyed by the fire, but because of the potential that a police officer was involved, PSD will handle the investigation, which will be kept confidential.

Carter and Harris soon cross paths; they used to work together. Harris's case looks like the work of a serial killer on the surface, but Carter can't tell Harris anything about his investigation ... not yet.

This is the foundation for what turns out to be an intricate story that weaves Carter and Harris's perspectives throughout the story. The reader gets to follow both investigations, and can start to see the pieces coming together. There are also chapters from Gillian's perspective, as well as Hayat's, one of the victims from Carter's case. The author does a great job of distinguishing each narrative. One of the things to also appreciate about this approach is that this isn't a book where lip service is paid to the victims. With sections from Gillian's and Hayat's point of view, these victims are well developed, with their histories, fears, feelings and hopes poured out on the pages.

To say too much more on the plot would start to give some things away. There are some specific things that I applaud. One is that Carter's investigation went in a direction I haven't seen specifically tackled in another book. Having read some other works by Hodge, I'm aware the author is often inspired to address real world issues in her stories, and this one is no different. A note from the author is included at the end to that effect. 

Another is that the backstory for Carter is as well developed as the ongoing investigations. There is a sense of depth and history to all of these characters, and that really makes it possible to invest in their personal and professional challenges. You really feel like you've stepped into their world for this, but that their lives continue on after you've read the last page.

Overall, this is a compelling thriller that sinks its hooks in early and doesn't let go. The pace intensifies as the cases progress and left me turning the pages late into the night. I've enjoyed every one of Hodge's books I've read, and this one is no exception; I highly recommend it. 

Sandra Ruttan ©2019

Sandra Ruttan is the managing editor of Bronzeville Bee, an editor with Bronzeville Books, the author of six novels, including What Burns Within and Harvest of Ruins, and regularly contributes articles on writing and publishing at 

www.bronzevillebee.com