Compulsively readable, “The Web They Wove” by Catherine Jaffe comes at you like a freight train, gaining momentum as it rolls down the track.

About the Book

Not all killers are who they first seem..

The mutilated body of a young female is found in a popular recreation ground in Leeds city centre. DI Ziggy Thornes and his team are at once assigned to close the case.

With little to no forensic evidence left at the scene at first Ziggy struggles to put the pieces together. When a second body turns up in the same place, Ziggy starts to feel the pressure from his bosses and the media as fear spreads through the city.

Realising that victims have been held captive prior to their deaths, Ziggy delves deeper and relentlessly chases down every lead, taking him close to breaking point.

When the investigation leads him dangerously close to home, will time run out before the tangled web of evil he’s uncovered destroys everything he holds dear?

My Review

When the body of a young woman is found in a local park, DI Ziggy Thornes and his team are sent to investigate. Under pressure from his boss to solve the case quickly, Ziggy must work with almost zero forensic evidence and no witnesses. When a second woman’s body is found a week later, the urgency to catch the killer only increases. Ziggy fears if they don’t make an arrest soon that there will be another victim — and he might be right. Just as his team starts to close in on a suspect, a third woman goes missing. This time, it’s someone Ziggy knows.

Compulsively readable, “The Web They Wove” by Catherine Jaffe comes at you like a freight train, gaining momentum as it rolls down the track. Starting off at a slower pace as the first body is found and the key characters are introduced, the story picks up quickly when the second young woman goes missing and — along with it– the suspense. Before you know it, you’ve blown through five chapters without realizing you’ve finished one.

Even though there’s a good number of characters in the book, all of them are well-developed and vivid. You get to know the ‘good guys’ quickly, and they’re all likeable. But it’s Ziggy, as the main character, who stands out. He’s an intelligent and determined man who’s dedicated to his job and getting justice for victims. Yet, he’s way more than that. His relationships with other characters bring out his personality and make him compelling and affable. Hopefully, he appears in more books in the series. He’s that remarkable of a character.

I love novels about serial killers, and “The Web They Wove” is no exception. However, in other books, I usually find myself slightly sympathetic to the murderer for one reason or another. That wasn’t the case this time. Although the identity of the killer isn’t confirmed until toward the end, the threat of him striking again hangs over the pages like an omen. As frightening as he is creepy, his presence in different scenes and chapters made my muscles tense up and my heart race.

“The Web They Wove” is full of twists and turns to shock you, but it’s the end that will put your jaw on the floor. If you’re like me, you’ll audibly cry out, “nooo” as you read the last page, then go back and read it again because… whoa! Although “The Web They Wove” is the second book in the series, it can be read (and enjoyed) without feeling like you’ve missed a single beat.

Thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources and Catherine Yaffe for the ARC and allowing me to participate in this blog tour.

About the Author

Catherine Yaffe is a full-time writer of crime novels, based in the North of England. The Web They Wove is Catherine’s second novel and continues the theme of questioning how well we know those around us.

Her debut novel ‘The Lie She Told’ in October ‘20 was received with widespread acclaim, and so far, has gained over 50 five star reviews across Goodreads and Amazon.

You can find her online on Twitter at @CatherineYaffe and on Facebook.