Midnight Jones is an analyst trained to understand the human mind. But everything changes when, in the course of her work, she discovers Profile K’s file – because K stands for killer, and she knows that someone more dangerous than she could have ever imagined walks among them.
Midnight knows what Profile K is capable of before he even commits his first crime. But as the news rolls with the brutal murder of a local woman, no one believes what she tells them: that he is capable of so much worse.
Profile K will kill again – and, terrifyingly, Midnight realises that the moment she found his file was the moment she became his next target. Because Profile K is coming for Midnight – and the only way to escape with her life is to find him before he finds her…
The million-copy bestseller is back with a dark, terrifying journey into the mind of a psychopath that will keep you riveted until the very last page.
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Profile K by Helen Fields was published on 25 April 2024 by Avon. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review.
Warning! Do not do what I did when starting this book. I said to myself that I'd just read the first chapter before I went to sleep. Oh my goodness, that first chapter! Helen Fields does not ease her readers in gently at all. It is a first chapter that I will never forget and it took me ages to get to sleep that night! So dark, so compelling, and yes, very violent. However, it is so intriguing, so tantalising and the perfect opening to what has just raced into my top books of the year so far.
Midnight Jones works for Necto Corporation; an international company with offices in the US and in London. Necto is very well known, and is held up as the future for biotechnology, specialising in the human brain. The employees are paid very well, but their working conditions are strict and they should never work outside of the guidelines that management reiterate on an almost daily basis. Midnight works as a data analyst, examining the profiles of people who have undergone various tests. These tests mark the applicant's suitability for various things; it could be a job, or entrance to a university.
The latest data that Midnight has worked on seems very odd. She's getting the result of Profile K, but has no idea what that means. When she finds out that K is for Killer, and was never meant to be an authorised profile name, she is very disturbed. More disturbing is the reaction of her managers, they tell her to destroy everything, leave it with them, don't worry about it. They will fix it.
Midnight is not the sort of woman to let things go. She's had so much responsibility thrust upon her in her short life. She is sole carer for her twin sister Dawn who was brain damaged at birth. Their parents have taken off, travelling the world, leaving Midnight to juggle money, caring responsibilities and loving her sister.
Despite the fact that she needs the enormous Necto salary, and that Dawn has always been her first priority, Midnight cannot let the Profile K case go. She realises that this person, whoever they are, will kill, and soon. She is proved correct when a local woman is found brutally murdered, and then another on ... Midnight thinks that K is watching her, and she will be next.
Not only is this a fabulously thrilling psychological drama, it is also a study in human nature. The reader is also aware of the killer; known as 'the applicant', and their innermost thoughts. Although we don't know the identity of this person, we know from the narrative that they are incredibly damaged and have been for many years. It is absolutely chilling at times, it's also very graphic, very violent and doesn't hold back with the shocks.
The close examination of Midnight's relationships, with her sister and with her friends is wonderfully done and the very frightening, almost Orwellian nature of the Necto Organisation and its employees is something to really think about. I doubt many of us really know anything about how companies use biotech to analyse people, and how they can manipulate their tests and their data to create exactly what they are looking for. It is thought provoking stuff that can also be quite anger inducing.
Profile K is unique, it's very very clever and so very powerful. It is one of the finest psychological thrillers that I've read for many years. The characters, the setting, the premise, all of them combine to deliver a truly astonishing read. Highly recommended.
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After completing her pupillage, she joined chambers in Middle Temple where she practised criminal and family law for thirteen years.
After her second child was born, Helen left the Bar.
Together with her husband David, she runs a film production company.
Helen and her husband now live in Los Angeles with their three children and two dogs.
Instagram @helenfields_author
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