I cannot believe that the Kat and Lock series is coming to an end! Jo Callaghan has truly crafted one of the best crime fiction series I’ve ever read and it’s one I would recommend to anyone in a heartbeat.
However, if you are anything like me and cannot start watching the latest series of your fave tele show without reaching for the recaps because apparently your memory is actually a sieve, then this is for you!
Here is everything you need to remember before opening up Body of Lies on the 21st May.
⚠️ WARNING: This post contain spoilers of the first three books and is aimed at those who have read the series. Please don’t carry on reading on otherwise. I have omitted one of the names from that scene in Human Remains.
Previously on Kat and Lock…
In The Blink of An Eye
We start with the main character DCS Kat Frank, it has been around 6 months since the loss of her husband and she is looking to return to work.
There’s reference to Kat catching the “Aston Strangler” in the past. This is a key point to remember later.
Kat’s chosen to pilot a new programme and is paired up with an Artificially Intelligent Detecting Entity (AIDE) called Lock.
Lock can compute police work quickly but often without nuance and human understanding. Kat keeps Lock at arms length initially and treats him as a machine. She even retorts that he’s not her Fitbit. As dark and emotional as the series is, it’s also full of humour and charm too!
The pilot initiative looks at cold missing persons cases to begin with. The team features:
- Kat & Lock
- Lock’s creator Professor Okonedo
- DI Rayan Hassan, who has a soft spot for Okonedo
- and young DS Debbie Browne who is in the early stages of pregnancy
They are investigating missing university students when Kat’s own son is taken! The mystery behind this is a great dark, hook as the team uncovers a horrifying illicit trial targeting the children of parents with terminal cancer.
Leave No Trace
It’s five months later and it’s Christmas time. Since the pilot was a success, the Future Policing Unit has been officially set up.
Their first live case involves bodies that have been crucified. One with their ears cut off, the other with their eyes gauged out!
As they work to identify the killer, Rayan is abducted!
When Kat, Browne and Lock locate Rayan’s car they find him passed out inside and footprints in the snowstorm outside… The killer is nearby and with a third victim!
It is at this inopportune moment that Browne’s waters break. Kat stays at her side during this vital time, leaving Lock to face down the killer.
Lock tries his best to stop them but he’s confined to his holographic form, limited in his abilities. Instead Lock must rely on the power of words which is an incredibly moving, emotional scene… but sadly it’s not enough as the killer takes their own life. The third victim however survives and so does Rayan. Meanwhile Browne gives birth to a baby girl, Lottie.
This event plays into one of the key storylines regarding Lock wanting a physical body.
There is a nice festive scene at the end as Kat and Lock become closer. However the book ends ominously with someone lurking outside watching the scene unfold.
They reveal themselves to the reader as the son of the Aston Strangler. The killer who Kat famously caught and they deem her responsibile for ruining their life.
Human Remains
It is four months later and this picks up from how Leave No Trace left off with a dangerous figure stalking Kat.
The team’s new case involves a mutilated body that is found without any head or hands! It’s not long before a second body is found.
Similarities cause the team to worry the Aston Strangler is back.
Meanwhile there is a new true crime podcast questioning the conviction of the Aston Strangler. This is led by the Son of the Strangler who is determined to expose what he believes to be Kat’s incompetence… So determined that he takes Kat hostage in her own home.
Lock is able to communicate secretly with Kat through the specialised bracelet she wears that contains him. After granting Lock access to her passwords to her home automation system, which includes her oven and lights, earlier within the book. Lock is able to cause a blackout, confusing the hostage taker.
As they search for a fuse box, torch or matches, Lock talks Kat through how to free herself and what to do next. There’s a strange smell coming from the kitchen…
Meanwhile other FPU team members are waiting outside, one is convinced the situation calls for a physical presence, not just Lock. They ignore orders from higher up as they approach Kat’s home…
The hostage taker finds a box of matches in Kat’s kitchen which when struck causes a gas explosion. They are killed and the team member outside is devastatingly caught in the cross fire.
Kat survives and Lock’s hologram is seen emerging from the smoke. This leads to many questions over Lock’s character…
- What lengths would he go to in order to protect Kat?
- He is coded to be uncorruptable and abide the law but is he capable of murder?
- Was he aware who else was out there?
- Can AI have ulterior motives and wants e.g. a physical body?
Find out what happens in the fourth and final thrilling conclusion, Body of Lies!
Read my reviews of Jo Callaghan’s entire Kat and Lock series here: In The Blink of an Eye, Leave No Trace, Human Remains and Body of Lies.
Beth Reads Crime 
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