Open to Death by Sophie Mattis a DI Rena Hunt Mystery Book #1

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Open to Death by Sophie Mattis a DI Rena Hunt Mystery Book #1

In the picturesque town of Rucklesby, peace is shattered when a young woman is found brutally murdered in her home.

Detective Inspector Serena “Rena” Hunt is called to the scene, still haunted by her last case and questioning her instincts.

The victim, Sicily Avery—a wife and mother—has been stabbed through the heart with chilling precision. When another woman is killed in the same way, Rena realises a calculated murderer is on the loose, leaving cryptic notes on the victims as part of a twisted agenda.

Genre: Mystery / Crime fiction / police procedural

With the body count rising, Rena and her team race to stop the killer before they strike again. Tensions mount with the arrival of new forensic pathologist Dr. Lucas Mann—bringing both friction and unexpected chemistry—as they work together to outwit a murderer who always seems one step ahead.

Open to Death intricately combines themes of murder, betrayal, and the unyielding quest for justice, all while subtly developing a slow-burn romance.

My Review

I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read, but with plenty of information and initial back story about the characters, particularly DI Rena Hunt, who is going to be our strong female lead going forwards. This is book one in a new series.

Rena is a great protagonist, and I also really like her sidekick Jack Orly, I even like his name. Unlike our first victim Sicily Avery – is anyone really called Sicily? What were her parents thinking? Then a second woman is killed in the same way, but I can’t say who as that would give it away.

The story becomes more and more complicated as new characters and suspects are introduced, and they all seem to be left-handed (statistically unlikely), which is what our attractive pathologist Lucas Mann believes about the killer, looking at the angle of the knife wounds. The stabbings are particularly gruesome, though I’m not sure why, having read far worse, but there is something so visceral and direct about them, delivered at such close quarters. This just didn’t seem like random killings.

I used to belong to an online book club, which was like a buddy read, but we all read the same section of a book at the same time, and crime fiction was our favourite, as we could all play amateur detective and try and work out who dunnit. We often got it hopelessly wrong. Open To Death would have been perfect. Not just who the killer is, but finding a link between the victims and a motive.

My only reservation is the made up county and towns, as usually it’s a fictional town or village, but I don’t think I’ve ever come across a fictional county in a book before, at least not in a crime novel.

However, as this is the first in the series, I think it will get better and better and hopefully a romance will blossom between Rena and Lucas.

Many thanks to Hygge Book Tours for inviting me to be part of the #blogtour

About the Author

Sophie Mattis is a British mystery novelist who enjoys crafting suspenseful tales set in the English countryside. Blending intricate plot twists and vividly drawn characters, she delves into the hidden facets of modern life, often focusing on the intersections between family, relationships, and the human psyche. When she’s not writing, she enjoys travelling, cycling in the woods, and exploring England’s hidden treasures.