The Colours of Death

No cover — Patricia Marques: The Colours of Death

Published June 16, 2021

ISBN:: 978-1-5293-3665-8

(1 review)

The Murder In the Gare do Oriente, a body sits, slumped, in a stationary train. A high-profile man appears to have died by throwing himself repeatedly against the glass. But according to witnesses, he may not have done this of his own accord.

The City Lisbon 2021. A small percentage of the population are diagnosed as Gifted. Along with the power comes stigma and suspicion.

The Detective In a prejudiced city, Gifted Inspector Isabel Reis is hiding her own secrets while putting her life on the line to stop an ingenious killer.

A violent and mysterious crime. Suspected Gifted involvement. A city baying for blood. And a killer who has only just begun . . .

1 edition

Tak! reviewed The Colours of Death by Patricia Marques (Inspector Reis, #1)

The Colours of Death

3 stars

An adequate whodunit set in alternate contemporary Lisbon where a minority of people are gifted with telepathic or telekinetic powers.

There were some oddities - for example, the protagonist talks about the ambient temperature in every scene. I was expecting it to become a plot point, but apparently it's just there. The story revolves around two investigators doing their thing, but they're oddly timid - they're perfectly content with people just refusing to talk to them about the investigation, and they act like getting a warrant for some piece of evidence that all their other evidence points at is an impossible obstacle.

It was enjoyable despite these details, and I'll probably read the subsequent entries eventually.