A new series for me!
Eleanor Costello is found hanging, and Det. Chief Sup. Frankie Sheehan realizes that it isn't a suicide. Having not fully recovered from a previous case, pursuing a killer, she is hesitant but realizes that something is not quite right. Finding a blue paint clue, and an art book and Chagall painting, Frankie is intrigued. Additionally, a laptop that accessed the Dark Web is found.
Eleanor's husband is missing, and is the main suspect. But, as Frankie and her team investigate, she recognizes that there is a sinister secret that Eleanor was keeping.
This is a very good debut novel, and I look forward to continuing the series. ( )

Readable: Exciting, fast-paced, good dialog but without a natural flow or build up of content. One dimensional without the depth I've come to expect from great mysteries.

Too Close To Breathe (2018) by Olivia Kiernan. The lead character in this Dublin, Ireland thriller is DCS Frankie Sheehan. She is just coming back to work after a medical leave. On her last case she was just moments too late to stop a vicious murder, but just in time to get a nasty long cut across her face as the killer tried to hit her neck. He was captured and she went to hospital. But now she is back and the first case up is a suspicious suicide. The woman was hung but indications are she was helped.
There is also the upcoming trial of the killer that attacked Frankie. She is preparing for that trauma while heading up her team of investigators. One body becomes two bodies when a second victim is found within a Halloween pyre in Frankie’s hometown. Indications strongly link the two murders and point to one suspect only. Problem is, he has gone missing. And when he is found he has a rock solid, impervious alibi for the murders which sends the entire investigation into shambles.
This is a hard core police procedural told from Frankie’s POV. She is an interesting character, beset by both physical and mental trauma. Step by step she and her team seek to find the true killer even as the clock ticks rapidly towards the termination of the search. We see a gritty Dublin and it’s surroundings as October slips all the way into Christmas and the decision to end this costly investigation draws near.
With no clues, no suspects and no more time or money, it is up to Frankie to save it all, or die trying.
This story is set in the world or today complete with cell phones and the dark web. BDSM is a featured part of this tale. An undercover search on the Black Widow web site has the detectives trolling for a killer among the anonymous players and perverts. The links between every idea the team comes up with seem to lead in one direction, but there are evil twists herein.
Frankie is a distinctive new character, strong and vital, willing to risk all for justice, but belabored with doubt also. And this story shows the reader just how invested many of the police are in solving crimes while detesting many of the things they have to do. Here we have a three dimensional group of characters doing their best to the end. ( )

Returned

Too Close to Breathe by Olivia Kiernan is an enthralling mystery set in Dublin. This first novel in the Frankie Sheehan series is a clever police procedural with marvelous a cast of characters.

Detective Chief Superintendent Frankie Sheehan's first case when she returns to work following a work-related injury appears to be a suicide but is, in fact, murder. Eleanor Costello is a microbiologist and guest lecturer at a nearby college and her teaching assistant Lorcan Murphy is definitely shaken by the news of her death. Interestingly enough, Eleanor's husband Peter is missing which makes him Frankie's prime suspect. The investigation is frustratingly slow paced since there is little evidence but the discovery of another victim, Amy Keegan, breathes new life into the case. Will Frankie and her team catch the killer before he or she strikes again?

Frankie is a tenacious investigator with keen instincts which has contributed to her swift rise through the ranks. Although she has mostly recovered from her physical injuries, she does suffer from PTSD. She has an excellent working relationship with Assistant Commissioner Jack Clancy and her partner on the case, Detective Baz Harwood.

The investigation into Eleanor's murder reveals a few surprising details that are rather perplexing. What is the significance of the Prussian blue paint on the victim's body? Where is Peter and does his disappearance have any connection to his wife's murder? Is he responsible for some of the healed injuries that are discovered during Eleanor's autopsy? What are Eleanor and Peter doing on the Dark Web? Is Lorcan being completely honest during his interviews? And if not, why? And last, but not least, why can Frankie not shake the troubling feeling that the current murders are somehow linked to a prior case?

Although initially a little slow paced, Close to Breathe is an engrossing mystery. Frankie Sheehan is an outstanding lead protagonist whose dedication to her job sometimes leads to impetuous decisions that put her in jeopardy. Baz is a fantastic partner who is extremely supportive even when he does not agree with Frankie. The investigation is fascinating and delves into the murky world of the Dark Web and the BDSM community. Olivia Kiernan brings the novel to a twist-filled and exciting conclusion. Fans of the genre are sure to enjoy this first installment in the Frankie Sheehan series.
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