Title: MARKED – Callum Doyle #3
Author: David Jackson
ISBN: 9780230760493
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Pages: 304
Source: Private Copy
In New York’s East Village, a young girl is brutally raped, tortured and murdered. Detective Callum Doyle has seen the victim’s remains. He has visited the distraught family. Now he wants justice.
Doyle is convinced he knows who the killer is. The problem is he can’t prove it. And the more he pushes his prime suspect, the more he learns that the man is capable of pushing back in ways more devious and twisted than Doyle could ever have imagined.
Add to that the appearance of an old adversary who has a mission for Doyle and won’t take no for an answer, and soon Doyle finds himself at risk of losing everything he holds dear. Including his life.
Official Summary
24 September 2025
From the very first page, Marked had me hooked. This third instalment in the Callum Doyle series is gritty, dark, and unflinching, plunging the reader straight into the horrors of a brutal crime. A young girl is raped, tortured, and murdered in New York’s East Village, and Detective Callum Doyle is determined to bring her killer to justice. He believes he knows exactly who did it—but knowing and proving are two very different things.
What I loved about this book is how layered it felt. On one hand, you have Doyle’s relentless pursuit of a sadistic suspect who always seems to be two steps ahead. On the other hand, you have the reappearance of an old adversary who drags Doyle into a dangerous game with very high stakes. The tension is relentless, and the way these two plotlines intertwine keeps the pace brisk and the suspense constant.
David Jackson’s writing is sharp, cinematic, and unapologetically raw. He doesn’t shy away from showing the brutal realities of the crime, but he balances it with Doyle’s humanity and sense of justice. Doyle is flawed, stubborn, and reckless at times, yet that’s exactly what makes him such a compelling protagonist. I found myself rooting for him even as the odds stacked impossibly high.
This was easily my favourite of the series so far. The combination of a chilling villain, a twisty plot, and Doyle’s personal struggles made for a truly gripping read. I couldn’t put it down, and the ending left me both satisfied and eager for the next book.
A solid 5-star read—dark, tense, and brilliantly executed. Highly recommended for fans of gritty police procedurals and thrillers that don’t pull their punches.
Also by David Jackson
THE HELPER
‘I can help you, Cal. I can help you solve the murder of Cindy Mellish.’ A grisly murder in a shabby New York bookstore seems to hold a special significance for Detective Callum Doyle: the victim’s been marked with a message that could have been left specially for him. But why? Then the sinister phone calls start. Doyle is told more deaths are planned but the caller will give him clues on condition he keeps them to himself. So begins his dilemma. If he turns the offer down he will have nothing to go on. But if he accepts and gets it wrong, he will have concealed knowledge that could have stopped a killer. As more deaths follow, increasingly vicious and apparently random, the pressure on Doyle to find a link becomes unbearable. Does he continue to gamble with people’s lives? Or must he sacrifice everything to defeat a ruthless and manipulative enemy?
About the Author
Author bio from the author’s site
I was a latecomer to fiction writing, having spent most of my adult life producing academic papers and reports. After some limited success entering short story competitions, I submitted the first few chapters of a novel to the Crime Writers Association Debut Dagger Awards. To my great surprise, the book was not only short-listed but given the Highly Commended accolade, which stimulated the interest of agents and publishers and eventually led to the publication of PARIAH. Since then, I have written several more crime thrillers, including two series set in New York and my birth city of Liverpool. I still have a day job in Liverpool as a university academic, but now live on the Wirral with my wife, two daughters and a British Shorthair cat called Mr Tumnus.
Callum Doyle has taken time to grow on me, yet after reading Marked, he has won me over. I loved this book and cannot wait to read the next one. Have you read all the books in the series? Which is your favourite? Are you a Doyle fan? Please leave a comment below. Until next time…. Happy Reading!
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