Cast Iron: The red-hot penultimate case of the Enzo series (The Enzo Files Book 6)

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A vehicle crammed with dozens of dead Chinese immigrants is found in southern Texas. Pathologist Margaret Campbell must put aside her horror, and find out why. Another sweltering month in Charlotte, another boatload of mysteries past and present for overworked, overstressed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. I suppose it’s just that there are so many crime novels out there on the market that I think I’d rather spend my time reading through Agatha Christie’s work or introducing myself to as many different crime writers as possible. Now that I’ve read this one, I’m curious about the rest of the series, but I don’t find myself compelled to read it, as I sometimes do with other authors.

Cast Iron is the 6th and final instalment in The Enzo Files by Peter May and it was brilliant as is usual from this author. Twists, turns, an intense and racing plot – this thriller took my breath away! And how much more could one person take?? Cast Iron is an exceptional thriller that I have no hesitation in recommending highly. Earlier this year I had the pleasure of meeting Peter May here in New Zealand and I was able to get a sense of his approach to writing. Foremost among my impressions is that he is meticulous when it comes to research and makes sure he has first hand knowledge of the locations in which his books are set, along with detailed research when a specialist aspect of the story is required. That being so his Enzo MacLeod crime thrillers are all based in France where May and his wife have largely based themselves for the last few years. Cast Iron is the seventh book in the Enzo series, following on from Coffin Road.Enzo is coming close to winning his bet of solving all seven cases in Roger Raffin's book of unsolved murders. In Cast Iron he takes on the case of Lucie Martin whose bones were found in 2003 after she disappeared in 1989. Most people have always believed that Lucie was murdered by pimp, Régis Blanc, who apparently had a crush on her and who was arrested a couple of days after she disappeared for the murder of three prostitutes. The more Enzo digs into the case the murkier it gets. Yet when Enzo finds a flaw in the original evidence surrounding Lucie’s murder, he opens a Pandora’s box that not only raises old ghosts but endangers his entire family. A weeping killer deposits the unconscious body of nineteen year old Lucie Martin, her head wrapped in a blue plastic bag, into the water of a picturesque lake. Mei Ling is a formidable woman: a fact that is not lost on Li's on-off lover, forensic pathologist Margaret Campbell. But when Campbell, vulnerable and still grieving the loss of her father, learns that the victims were subjected to 'live' autopsies, she knows the case is bigger than her pride. In the third thrilling instalment of the series, Enzo is running out of time in more ways than one...

Cast Iron is the sixth book in the Enzo Macleod Investigation series by Scottish journalist, screenwriter and author, Peter May. After refreshing himself on the details of Roger Raffin’s sixth cold case with him, Enzo heads in the direction of Bordeaux to meet the parents of Lucie Martin, whose unexplained disappearance in 1989 became a murder case when a nearby lake dried up during the drought of 2003, revealing her skeleton. In this the final of the Enzo McLeod series, the phlegmatic Scot faces the nightmare of every parent whose offspring go missing: he has been targeted in the past and calls on the help of friends. With a superb subplot it is others who join the dots together as McLeod follows lead after lead, mostly to a dead end.Detective Li Yan senses a conspiracy surrounding the fatalities, and finds a female athlete willing to talk. But she will only trust one person: Li's fiancée, Margaret Campbell.

I like the progress of the story, how Enzo starts off with Lucie Martin's murder, but soon realize that the case is bigger than just the one killing and the man suspected of killing Lucie, a serial killer who killed three prostitutes may or may not be Lucie's killer. The ending was really thrilling and intense. And I loved that there was a twist in the end that I did not foresee. I did think that the ending felt a bit too easy that there must be a game change and I was right, I just didn't see the one coming.CAST IRON is the sixth and final instalment in Peter May’s Enzo Macleod series (sometimes called the Enzo Files). The series has been fairly successful, with the previous instalment, COFFIN ROAD, being quite loved by readers. This novel is a suitable and satisfying cap to what has been a very interesting series. Detective Li Yan is determined to discover just how one of the victims in particular, an American diplomat, became caught up in the slaying. And he is arguably even more determined to have nothing to do with Campbell. The Enzo Files, if I’m being completely honest, is my least favourite series by Peter May. There have been some gripping moments, but I never fell for Enzo in the way I expected. There were too many things – specifically about Enzo as a character – that did not hold appeal, but I was interested in the overall storyline and wanted to see how the bet played out. For a while, this book tried to convince me my biggest fear for the series was going to play out, but it didn’t. In the end, it went for the resolution that was obvious from the start of this one.