This is the antithesis of a murder mystery. It is a murder explained by the assassin. I enjoyed this method and now wonder if in similar murder mysteries will I look at the clues differently? ( )

I thoroughly enjoyed the attention to detail in ‘Locked Room’, which pays homage to the brides-in-the-bath murders (a landmark case in forensic pathology from the early 20th century).

To repeatedly get away with murder for money, a female assassin must be calculating, careful and somewhat cold-hearted. Katla Sieltjes is all of the above, and much more. In the Killfiles short stories she comes across as an intelligent, accomplished and cautious professional. Skilled, trained and experienced in dealing death to her commercial targets.Katla is competent and cunning, and these quick thrillers introduce her unique skill sets and author Martyn Halm’s style of writing.

These stories are absolutely stuffed full of detailed description of the mechanics of murder, even down to the brand of aerosol cleaner Katla uses to remove possible fingerprints from contaminated surfaces. If you adore the intricacy of precision planning, infiltration / exfiltration, and all the minutiae which comes with surveillance tradecraft then you’ll be wrapped up in the painstaking portrayal of every step.

For some readers, there will be excessive detail, and at times the writing can feel almost like an actual black-ops report rather than gripping fiction. It's almost clinically detached; absorbed in accurate description to the nth degree. So look elsewhere for deft emotional development or incisive social commentary. But if you can’t resist a locked room mystery, then there’s plenty to enjoy. Not least the unusual backdrop – Amsterdam, described in street-level detail – and the occasional incident of wry humour, like the name of Katla’s company, Loki (‘low key’, geddit?).

These shorts were an entertaining interlude and a welcome introduction to an intriguing character. They work as stand-alone stories in any order, so you can try any if you want to meet Katla before getting into the full Amsterdam Assassin books.
7/10 ( )

I ran across this author accidentally. I enjoyed his post on a Goodreads group, pulled up his profile and was intrigued by descriptions of his works. I'm always looking for fun reads involving "bad" guys and assassins fits that category nicely. Block's Keller series sets the standard, of course, and Halm ranks right up there.

Katla, or LKE Enterprises as she calls herself, specializes in killing targets in a such way that they look accidental or natural. Coming up with credible scenarios necessarily challenges the authors and this locked-room novella (available for free for your Kindle from Amazon) is certainly as good as anything Carr might have come up with. I like the way Halm integrated some of the newer technologies into the plot. A good story and enjoyable way to spend time while waiting for something.

My only caveat is that, unlike Keller and Dot who go to great lengths to conceal their identity, Katla meets directly with prospective clients. That would seem to make her quite vulnerable if things blow up. Nevertheless, I intend to read all Halm's books. They have the added benefit of being set in Amsterdam, a great city. I did tire of the word anthracite in this story, however. I highly recommend Microchip Murder: A Katla KillFile (in that one the word bascule was perhaps overused. :) )

Halm's short novellas are published as part of a mini series called the Katla Killfiles. Get them. ( )