Set right now in Sydney with identifiable places this is a gritty, gripping police procedural, impressively written that deals with the disturbing subjects of child abuse and domestic violence  as well as misogyny at work. It is adroitly and tensely written, a fabulous debut novel.

I enjoyed some of the vivid descriptions of things, for example,  ‘The email trail he’d forwarded read like  a grenade had gone off at rush hour in Martin Place‘.

Nina D. Campbell’s A DAUGHTERS OF EVE is set in twenty eight chapters and opens dramatically, introducing us to the main character Detective Emilia Hart who, exiting Darlinghurst Courthouse, catches the crumpled body of a prominent barrister as he falls, shot right in front of her, landing at her feet.

Hart at first views this as a chance to change from her usual work on domestic violence cases that make her feel disheartened. But it turns out that this is not a ‘simple investigation ‘ – rather it turns out to be the first crime in an escalating series that terrifies the general public and  turns both Sydney and the rest of Australia into emergency mode.

Another body turns up, then another. All men, all shot, with a similar MO. It’s not until a manifesto taking credit for the crimes is published by Daughters of Eve that Hart confirms a link between the victims: all of them had been perpetrators themselves. All had abused women or children. Few had been charged with those crimes – and none convicted.

As panic sets in and chaos rules the streets, the police draw ever closer to the Daughters of Eve, but the serial killer continues to elude them. Once more, Hart is alert to details that everyone else has missed. What they are she cannot at first accept. The writer deftly approaches the depiction of the disturbing issues of sexual abuse , violations ,and domestic violence .

Campbell’s book is multi – textured and layered. Hart is a somewhat flawed character with a lot of hidden trauma herself, we see everything through her eyes and the book’s events, with unexpected twists, profoundly affect her.

We learn of both Hart’s and her foster daughters Grace and Rose past history, and about Hart’s rather muddled love life (which becomes scorching as she becomes involved with a detective,Matt Hayes, from Melbourne who she met at a conference and had a one night stand with previously). Hart’s colleagues at work, her would be lover from Melbourne, and her foster daughters are all magnificently portrayed.

While yes the Daughters of Eve crowd is imaginary, unfortunately many of the crimes described aren’t. A harsh depiction is delivered about women of all ages being harmed by society in this page turning story of women seeking vengeance.

https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/fiction/crime-mystery/Daughters-of-Eve-Nina-D-Campbell .