Frantic by Katherine Howell

What would you do if you were accused of killing a man's family, then found out your husband was shot and your baby was kidnapped while you were at work? Sophie Phillips faces this very situation in Frantic, Australian writer Katherine Howell's first novel. Sophie is an ambulance officer, and her husband, Chris, is a cop. He was assaulted by a perp several weeks before the book opens, and since then, he's shown signs of post traumatic stress disorder and worries about the reputation of the police department. The incident has put a lot of stress on their marriage and pushed Sophie into the arms of her husband's new partner, Angus.

Frustrated by the lack of movement in her career following an embarrassing moment on a homicide case years ago, Detective Ella Marconi is happy to be working the Phillips case. Meanwhile, Sophie's frustration about Marconi's inability to find her son forces her to take matters into her own hands, with the help of Angus. Is Lachlan's kidnapping tied to a grieving father or police corruption?

Howell has written a fast-paced crime novel that reminds me of James Patterson, though Howell's writing is much better in my opinion. She introduces a lot of characters that may or may not be involved in the shooting and kidnapping and keeps you wondering until nearly the end. As a former ambulance officer, Howell has experience treating patients in the field and working with police, and this experience shows in her writing.

Without giving anything away, when the people responsible for the shooting and kidnapping are revealed, it almost seemed to come out of nowhere, and the ending was wrapped up a bit too quickly for me. However, it made sense and didn't impact my enjoyment of the book. Howell did a wonderful job portraying a woman so plagued with guilt about the mistakes she made in her marriage and so distraught about her missing son that she would go to any lengths to make things right. By the end of the book, I'd grown attached to Sophie and wanted to know more of what happened to her and her family after the case was closed.

Frantic was a quick read, a real page-turner, and I'd love to read more of Howell's work. You can read an excerpt from Frantic here.

Frantic also was reviewed by:

Reading Room

If you've also reviewed it, let me know in the comments, and I'll add your link!

Disclosure:  I received a free copy of Frantic from the author for review purposes.