Damaged (Kate Lange #1) by Pamela Callow

Summary:

Haunted by the death of her sister and wounded by her ex-fiance's accusations, Kate Lange throws herself into her new career at a high-powered law firm.When the grandmother of a lonely private school student seeks her counsel, Kate thinks it's just another custody case. But then the teen is brutally murdered. And it isn't only Kate who wonders if her legal advice led to the girl's death.

Put on notice by Randall Barrett, the firm's charismatic managing partner, Kate must fight for her career, for her reputation--and for redemption.

Unwilling to live with the damage she may have caused, Kate pursues the case on her own and unearths some chilling facts.

Facts that lead straight to the heart of a legal conspiracy.

Facts that lead Kate directly into the surgically skilled hands of the Body Butcher.
Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com
Length: 453 pages (Paperback)
Source: Toronto Public Library
Available Formats: Print/E-book/Audio
Publication Date: June 1st 2010 by Mira Books      

Awhile back I had Damaged recommended to me and I borrowed it no less than 3 times and never got around to reading it until the other day when I borrowed it again after buying the third book in the series and I really regret not giving it a try sooner.

Damaged is a dark legal thriller that is set in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and written by Nova Scotian author Pamela Callow. I mention this because I always feel the need to give Canadian authors a proper shout out when I can. This is pretty much the only contemporary novel that I've read that is set in the maritime province and I am so glad that the author was able to bring such an authentic feel to the novel despite the gruesome nature of the book.

The story centers around lawyer Kate Lange who has struggled almost her entire life to rise from the ashes of her past and when her client's granddaughter ends up being dismembered by who will soon become Halifax's most notorious serial killer she can't help but feel guilty and resolves to do everything she can to bring the killer to justice even if it meant putting her career and life in danger.

As soon as I picked Damaged up I was absolutely hooked and before I was on page 60 I already had placed the second book in the series on hold and since I figured it would take a couple days to get it I wanted to make the book last a little longer. But, who am I kidding? Self discipline has never been a friend of mine so of course I whipped through the book really quickly.

I loved the setting of the novel, the author's description of the places in the city were fantastic and when she described them I felt as though I was standing there watching the events of the book take place. I also really liked Kate, I felt for her. She'd had some serious trauma and guilt in her life and I hated that the men in her life (her ex Detective Ethan Drake and her boss Randall Barrett) weren't making it easy on her at all and I thought that while they were key players in the novel that the author did slightly over do their macho-ness and they seriously got on my nerves with how cruelly they treated Kate for no reason.

The serial Killer was quite the conundrum at first and I kept thinking I knew what his deal was but then the author would throw in some plot twist and I'd be left treading water trying to figure him out all over again and in the end even though I kind of ended up figuring him out I was surprised that there was not another twist that would have proven me wrong. The cunning, and evilness that the serial killer exhibited was disturbing and really made the story come alive. Pun intended.

The other characters were good as well and made for a well rounded though slightly cold and uncaring batch of characters in some ways they all ended up fitting into the story just so. The actual plot of the book the was my favourite. I never shy away from a book with a serial killer on the loose but this is the first one I've read in some time and I thought it was very well written. The pacing was perfect, the plot line was interesting and I honestly had no idea how it would end until I finally got to it and it was a wee bit surprising. The way that Kate was able to investigate the crimes against the slue of female victims was genius and I loved how smart she was and how well the author was able to bring together two seemingly separate cases together to get this fast paced thriller.

Overall, I really enjoyed this first book in the Kate Lange series and am so glad I finally gave the book a try and I'm glad to have Pamela Callow representing Canada in the novel world. My only main issue with the book was the two characters Ethan and Randall. I felt that they were too exaggerated and took away from the story line. Other than that the book was fantastic and had me guessing the whole time. The air of tension and fear was ripe it pretty much leaped off the page and I can't wait to continue reading this series.

I would highly recommend Damaged to fans of legal thrillers with a female protagonist. I think the author offers up a new take on legal thrillers using a woman and if you're new to the genre I suggest starting with this book.

 

Really Liked it!
★★★★

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