pa·ri·ah
1.an outcast.
2.any person or animal that is generally despised or avoided.
3.a member of a low caste in southern India and Burma.
The word “Pariah” originates from the early 17th century: from Tamil paṛaiyar, plural of paṛaiyan ‘(hereditary) drummer’, from paṛai ‘a drum’ – after completing David Jackson’s magnificent and taut crime thriller in just two sittings I can categorically state that this book firmly belongs ensconced in the 21st century.
“It’s a bad enough day for NYPD detective Callum Doyle when his cop partner is murdered. It’s about to get a hell of a lot worse . . .
When the dead man’s replacement is also brutally killed, suspicion falls on Doyle himself. Then he receives an anonymous message. This is just the beginning, it says. Anyone he gets close to will die – and that includes Doyle’s own family. The only way to keep them alive is to stay away. For good.
Doyle is desperate to find out who is responsible, but when his every move puts others in danger he is forced to back off. With the investigation getting nowhere and his isolation deepening, Doyle has to ask himself an uncomfortable question: just how low is he prepared to sink in order to get his life back?”
To coin a well-known phrase “it came out of left field” aptly describes my feelings when I finished reading David Jackson’s Pariah earlier today. It really was an unexpected crime thriller – a debut title no less!
There’s so much to enjoy and take away from this title – a believable and exciting plot, detectives who appear to be fallible yet determined to catch those responsible for the murders and a fluid narrative that doesn’t falter from beginning to end. Jackson takes the …
