Profile K | Helen Fields
REVIEWED BY LINDA HILL
A dramatic opening, a fast-paced plot and a serial killer on the loose, this one will keep you racing through the pages right to the end!
Profile K: book review & synopsis
Working for technology company Necto, Midnight Jones profiles anonymous applicants for jobs. With her parents travelling the world, she has sole responsibility for her disabled twin sister Dawn. When Midnight unearths a Profile K during the course of her work, and discovers K is for Killer, it’s just the start of her troubles.
The dramatic opening to Profile K sets the tone for this compelling narrative. Helen Fields uses both vivid description and the power of suggestion with astounding skill; the book is almost impossible to put down.
The fast-paced, cat-and-mouse plot races along at breathtaking speed. As the serial killer becomes more daring, Midnight finds herself embroiled in a situation that threatens her job, her home and her life.
As she responds to what’s going on around her, she is revealed as brave, foolhardy, principled and caring. The strained relationship she has with her parents adds to her personality because, in looking after Dawn, she shoulders responsibilities that should never have been hers to deal.
Dawn provides a contrast to Midnight. She is innocent and an example of purity in a world where even good people do bad things. It’s also gratifying that her disabilities are not patronised. She is a warm and realistic character. Indeed, Dawn is the reason for many of Midnight’s early actions in the story, since Midnight needs to keep a roof over their heads.
Themes of loyalty and betrayal
With relationships and responsibility driving Midnight’s decisions, themes of family, friendship, loyalty and betrayal are central to the story. The psychological manipulation of others, the lengths companies might go to develop and expand their empires, and the fine line between evil and illness are aspects that make this such a disturbing and hypnotic story.
Profile K will entertain you royally, but be warned. It’ll make you rage against corporate business and terrify you into the bargain. It’s totally convincing and scarily authentic. Don’t miss this one.
Profile K by Helen Fields is out now (Avon, HB, £16.99) and available from Amazon.
Read more fiction reviews by Linda Hill including My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes, The Intruders by Louise Jensen, A Lesson In Cruelty by Harriet Tyce, Every Move You Make by C.L. Taylor and Every Smile You Fake by Dorothy Koomson.
Helen Fields talks about locked-room mysteries here.
