Friday 12 August 2011

My Review: Death Mask by Kathryn Fox


The Plot
Forensic physician Dr Anya Crichton is presented with a patient who has returned from her honeymoon with sexually transmitted infections.
Her husband is clean. She tearfully denies having had any other partners and Anya believes her. Is this a medical phenomenon or has something more sinister taken place?
Anya’s investigations attracts an invitation to New York to address over three hundred football American football players.
Assigned to assist Anya is enigmatic private investigator Ethan Rye. When an alleged rape involving five football players takes place, Anya is commissioned to investigate.
Anya soon discovers a devastating truth about the players that threatens to shut down the eight billion dollar football industry. Now lives, including her own, are in danger….

My Review
This is the 5th Anya Crichton novel by Australian author Kathryn Fox, and is a captivating crime fiction novel set against the backdrop of sexual assault and drug abuse in professional sport. Forensic physician Dr. Anya Crichton is the likeable, but sometimes aloof main character who finds herself lecturing American footballers in New York and ultimately investigating the sex, drugs and rap and roll culture of the sport. 
The plotline is slick and the American location no doubt lends itself to future big screen possibilities, not to mention expanding Kathryn Fox's global appeal. To this end however, I was a little disappointed with the American setting. While I understand the foibles of professional sport are universal, the Australian angle is what I believe sets Kathryn Fox apart from the Cornwell and Reichs type forensic thrillers. I have no doubt that an equally enthralling storyline could have been based around an Australian Rugby League, Union, AFL or soccer club scenario. I also feel, based on past books, that Anya Crichton is a more interesting and rounded character in her own environment, where she is surrounded by her son, ex-husband and the routines of life at home.
Putting sportsmen on a pedestal and having their shortcomings and misdemeanours ignored by the media and the public is another interwoven and topical theme throughout the novel. Herein lies my only other criticism of the novel. Particularly early in the novel I felt a little badgered by Crichton as she expressed her somewhat moralistic views. At some point I though the line was crossed between a crime fiction novel and a social commentary on professional sport subculture.
Thankfully the lecturing didn't last long and once past the sexual health discussions, the book becomes unputdownable. The cast of characters ties together on a number of levels and Anya loses her blandness with the romantic tension between herself and American investigator Ethan Rye bubbling away in the background. Some surprising twists along the way build the tension and suspense until eventually all becomes clear. And you just can't stop reading until you get there. 
Overall a very enjoyable crime thriller with a tight, topical and captivating plot that builds throughout the book. It is not necessary to have read the earlier Anya Crichton novels and I would recommend Death Mask to all devotees of crime fiction, particularly those that enjoy the forensics angle and/or exposing the dark side of professional sports. Kathryn Fox is a shining light in Australian fiction and I can't wait to read the future Dr Anya Crichton novels (hopefully set in Australia) of which I hope there are many, many more.



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