May 20

The Lost Children – Theresa Talbot

TV journalist and media darling Oonagh O’Neil can sense a sinister coverup from the moment an elderly priest dies on the altar of his Glasgow church. Especially as his death comes as she is about to expose the shocking truth behind the closure of a Magdalene Institution. The Church has already tried to suppress what happened to decades of forgotten women. Is someone also covering their tracks?

DI Alec Davies is appointed to investigate the priest’s death. He and Oonagh go way back. But what secrets lie behind the derelict Institution’s doors? What sparked the infamous three-day riot that closed it? And what happened to the girls that survived the institution and vowed to stay friends forever?

From Ireland to Scotland.

From life to death.

This book was previously published as Penance.

 

The last line of the description of The Lost Children is important – this book was previously published as Penance and this review (after this paragraph) is also my previous review of Penance.  I wrote that review in December 2015, as many new people have started following my reviews since then I am re-sharing my review to reflect the new title for this cracking story.

 

I am going to struggle to do The Lost Children justice in this review. It is a fabulous book, it tells a story partly based around historical events which add a layer of heart-breaking tragedy, it is emotive, often funny and frequently shocking. You have to read it!

Central character Oonagh O’Neil is an investigative journalist and she has been looking into the closure of Glasgow’s Magdalene Institution many years prior to events in the main story. Oonagh believes that a local priest can help her uncover what went on behind the Institutions closed doors but before she can get the full story the priest dies during mass.

Oonagh refuses to give up on her investigation but pursuing the story is putting lives in danger (including Oonagh’s own). A rival journalist is digging the dirt on Oonagh and will stop at nothing to suppress her story if the payoff from other ‘interested parties’ makes it worth his while!

Events in The Lost Children are mainly played out in Glasgow in the year 2000 but at times the story drops back to the late 1950’s and we see how girls may have ended up in the Magdalene Institutions and (more alarmingly) what they endured while they were resident. The small time-shifts are handled really well, do not break the flow of the story, and add depth and context to the main plot which makes the endgame so damn effective.

A tricky read at times, the brutal reality is handled with sensitivity by Theresa Talbot. But she does not shirk away from confronting the unsettling subject matter and The Lost Children is a compelling story as a result.  Most definitely a story I am glad I have read – 5/5 review score was guaranteed when I realized that I was frequently thinking back to The Lost Children when I was meant to be working!

 

The Lost Children is published in digital format by Aria and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Children-gripping-thriller-hooked-ebook/dp/B0798S5LN1/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1526824832&sr=1-1&keywords=theresa+talbot

 

 

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April 29

The Girl Who Got Revenge – Marnie Riches

Revenge is a dish best served deadly…

 

A twelve-year-old girl is found dead at the Amsterdam port. An old man dies mysteriously in a doctors’ waiting room. Two seemingly unconnected cases, but Inspector Van den Bergen doesn’t think so…

Criminologist George McKenzie is called in to help crack the case before it’s too late. But the truth is far more deadly than anyone can imagine… Can George get justice for the dead before she ends up six-feet under too?

 

 

My thanks to Sabah at Avon for the chance to join the blog tour

Returning visitors to Grab This Book will know that I am a huge fan of the George McKenzie The Girl Who books by Marnie Riches.  For once I found that I was following a series from the first release of the first book and then impatiently waiting for the next book to be written. Then the next.  Then the next.  Now The Girl Who Got Revenge has arrived and I am delighted.

Before I get to the actual story the housekeeping…it is the fifth book in a sequence.  There are not any major spoilers relating to events in the first four books and you do not have to have read all the earlier titles to enjoy The Girl Who Got Revenge.  This may also be a great time to highlight that until now The Girl Who titles were only available in digital format for your Kindle/Kobo/E-Reader.  The good news is that all 5 books will be available in paperback which I hope means they will find their way to new readers

The Girl Who Got Revenge was another storming page turner. George and Van den Bergen are back at their very best even though the hypochondriac, Van den Bergen, is ever more determined he is rushing towards diagnosis of a terminal illness.  It places his relationship with George on rocky ground again, yet when he watches an old man die right in front of his eyes it will shake the policeman to his core.

The old man’s death appears a tragic case of someone reaching the end of their days, however, at the autopsy a surprising discovery links his death to that of a second person – could there be more to his death than first thought?

Elsewhere, the police are required to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of a young girl who was being smuggled through The Netherlands in the back of a truck with dozens of other refugees. The situation is highly emotive and once again Marnie Riches takes a topical plight and builds a compelling story.

I honestly cannot say enough good things about The Girl Who Got Revenge (or indeed about ALL the books in this series).  These are fantastic stories, which enthrall, entertain and captivate me in equal measure.  George McKenzie is the feisty lead character that I love reading about and as soon as I finish one book I start longing for her return.

Five star thrills and pure reading enjoyment.

 

The Girl Who Got Revenge is published by Avon and is available in digital and paperback format.  You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Girl-Who-Got-Revenge-addictive-ebook/dp/B076P22L95/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1524952013&sr=1-1&keywords=marnie+riches

 

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April 22

Presumed Dead – Mason Cross

‘What do you know about the Devil Mountain Killer?’

THEN

Adeline Connor was the Devil Mountain Killer’s final victim. After she was gunned down, the murderer disappeared and the killing spree ended.

NOW

Carter Blake has been hired to do what he does best: to find someone. But this time he’s hunting a dead girl – Adeline Connor’s brother is convinced she’s still alive.

But this town doesn’t want an outsider digging up old business. And as Blake gets deeper into the case, it starts to become clear that the murders didn’t just stop fifteen years ago.

The killer is on the hunt again.

 

My thanks to Lauren at Orion for my review copy

 

Presumed Dead is the fifth Carter Blake novel by Mason Cross. It is also the Carter Blake novel I have enjoyed the most – no slight on the previous four books (this is a series I love) but Presumed Dead gave me everything I want from my thrillers and I virtually inhaled it.

Housekeeping first: don’t be put off by the fact it is the fifth title in the series, other than knowing it features the return of the lead character Presumed Dead can very much be enjoyed without reading the earlier books. And you *will* enjoy it, it is a cracking read!

Blake is back doing what he does best, finding someone who is missing.  However, history shows that the girl he is asked to track was the last victim of a serial killer, a killer that was never caught. Adeline Connor is presumed dead, the crime scene at which the Devil Mountain Killer abruptly ended his murderous spree was soaked in her blood.  Police recreated the murder scene and likely sequence of events and there was no realistic way that Adeline could have survived, yet her brother maintains that more than 10 years later he has seen his sister alive and well.  Blake is asked to find her.

The challenge for Blake is to work out who is telling him the truth. If the police are sure a murder took place they will not welcome someone trying to prove they made a mistake.  Is the victim’s brother a reliable witness?  Does the desire for his sister to be found cloud his common sense and judgment.  The residents of the town where events unfolded do not want to dwell on those past events and they certainly don’t want to consider the killer may still be around – this would be a problem should a dead body (or two) turn up after Blake starts asking questions…

Did I mention how much I loved reading Presumed Dead?  Brilliant, brilliant story telling from Mason Cross.  If you have not yet discovered the Carter Blake books then this is the perfect opportunity to find out why readers look forward to each new release.

 

Presumed Dead is published by Orion and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Presumed-Dead-Carter-Blake-Book-ebook/dp/B076PS8BSJ/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1524388910&sr=1-1&keywords=presumed+dead+mason+cross

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March 18

Scared to Death – Rachel Amphlett

“If you want to see your daughter alive again, listen carefully.”

When the body of a snatched schoolgirl is found in an abandoned biosciences building, the case is first treated as a kidnapping gone wrong.

But Detective Kay Hunter isn’t convinced, especially when a man is found dead with the ransom money still in his possession.

When a second schoolgirl is taken, Kay’s worst fears are realised.

With her career in jeopardy and desperate to conceal a disturbing secret, Kay’s hunt for the killer becomes a race against time before he claims another life.

For the killer, the game has only just begun…

 

Rachel Amphlett has just released the 5th Kay Hunter book (Call to Arms) and I have already seen some cracking reviews for it already from my fellow bloggers. Expect to see a review here in due course too as this is a series I really enjoy.

But what if you don’t want to jump into a series at book 5?  Many readers (myself included) prefer to join a series at the first book and watch the characters develop. So I am jumping back in the Kay Hunter timeline to review Scared to Death, the first book and where the fun begins.

Not that there is much fun to be found for Kay as we start Scared to Death.  A kidnapped girl, two distressed parents who have paid the ransom and not told the Police of the family plight and the shadow of an incident at work which Kay is trying to move on from. That’s just her work life – at home there has been a significant incident which Kay cannot just brush off and it is fascinating watching how she reconciles work pressure with home anxieties.

Unfortunately the recovery of the kidnapped girl ends in tragedy – it seems the kidnapper (now a killer) had no intention of letting the girl survive and she was held in a perilous location from which she could not have expected to be saved. The motivation behind this cruel stunt becomes clear as the story unfolds and it made for an intriguing twist for the reader, making it clear that Kay and her colleagues would have their work cut out.

Having read several of Rachel Amphlett’s books I knew that Scared to Death would be a story I enjoyed – I was not disappointed.  What lifted the enjoyment was the fact I “read” it as an audiobook – so technically Alison Campbell read Scared to Death and I just got to listen in.  The narration was brilliantly done – some audiobooks I will pass on when I don’t enjoy the narrators style – but Alison Campbell nailed this for me and I will now likely join her again for Call to Arms (book 5) rather than read it myself again.

In short, if you have yet to read Rachel’s brilliant Kay Hunter series then you are missing out.  Scared to Death is the easy starting point but all the books can be read as stand alone.  If you like an audiobook then you can’t go wrong with this offering, great story, terrific reader and more of the same to follow.

 

Scared to Death is available in digital, paperback and audiobook. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Scared-Death-Detective-detective-thriller-ebook/dp/B01N9DS5NG/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

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March 14

Closer Than You Know – Brad Parks

 

Disaster, Melanie Barrick was once told, is always closer than you know.

It was a lesson she learned the hard way growing up in the constant upheaval of foster care. But now that she’s survived into adulthood – with a loving husband, a steady job, and a beautiful baby boy – she thought that turmoil was behind her.

Until the evening she goes to pick up her son from childcare, only to discover he’s been removed by Social Services. And no one will say why.

A terrifying scenario for any parent, it’s doubly so for Melanie, all too aware of the unintended horrors of ‘the system’. When she arrives home, her nightmare gets worse – it has been raided by Sheriff’s deputies, who have found enough cocaine to send her to prison for years. If Melanie can’t prove her innocence, she’ll lose her son forever. Her case is assigned to Amy Kaye, a no-nonsense assistant Commonwealth’s attorney. Amy’s boss wants to make an example out of Melanie, who the local media quickly christens ‘Coke Mom’.

But Amy’s attention continues to be diverted by a cold case no one wants her to pursue: a serial rapist who has avoided detection by wearing a mask and whispering his commands. Over the years, he has victimized dozens of women in the area – including Melanie. Now it’s this mystery man who could be the key to her salvation. or her ultimate undoing.

 

My thanks to Lauren at Faber for my review copy and the chance to join the tour

 

Melanie Barrick is having a bad day but she does not know how bad things are going to get! She is running late to collect her son from his childminder. Knowing the pursed lips of her so-strict childminder and the associated financial penalties for a late pick-up are waiting for her she arrives to collect her baby to find the door bolted shut.  She hammers on the door, convinced she is being “punished” for her tardiness only to be told that her son has already been collected by Child Services.

As the nightmare unfolds Melanie returns home to discover the house has been sealed off as a crime scene.  The police have raided her home following “Intelligence Received” and found a significant drug stash, things are not looking good for Melanie – the media quickly dub her Coke Mom and the local prosecutor is keen to boost his political ambitions and secure a fast conviction for Coke Mom.

Melanie has no idea where to turn.  She does not have much money behind her, her husband is still pursuing his studies so cash is tight. She has lost her son, her freedom and she has no idea why – Melanie is totally innocent of all charges which have been raised against her.

Away from Melanie’s troubles the readers are also following a second story. Amy Kay is the assistant Commonwealth’s attorney and she has been chasing leads on an unwelcome investigation into a serial rapist.  Amy recognizes “Coke Mom” Melanie as she was one of the victims of the rapist. It is clear the two stories are destined to cross but Brad Parks will expertly spin out the story to ensure you keep reading long into the night to see how that happens.

Closer Than You Know was a brilliantly entertaining read. Last year I read Say Nothing by Brad Parks and at the end of the year I included it in my best of the year list of recommendations.  Having read Closer Than You Know I think it is safe to say that Mr Parks writes books which I love to read.

A five star page-turner…which is exactly what I want a book to be.

 

Closer than you know is published by Faber & Faber and can be ordered here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Closer-Than-Know-Brad-Parks-ebook/dp/B078HM3NMK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1521020706&sr=8-1&keywords=closer+than+you+know

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February 11

Gallery of the Dead – Chris Carter

‘Thirty-seven years in the force, and if I was allowed to choose just one thing to erase from my mind, what’s inside that room would be it.’

That’s what a LAPD Lieutenant tells Detectives Hunter and Garcia of the Ultra Violent Crimes Unit as they arrive at one of the most shocking crime scenes they have ever attended.

In a completely unexpected turn of events, the detectives find themselves joining forces with the FBI to track down a serial killer whose hunting ground sees no borders; a psychopath who loves what he does because to him murder is much more than just killing – it’s an art form.

Welcome to The Gallery of the Dead.

 

My thanks to Rhiannon at Simon & Schuster for my review copy and the chance to join the blog tour.

 

I can only say good things about Gallery of the Dead as I absolutely loved it. It’s a dark but totally gripping read in which Robert Hunter finds himself attending a murder scene and believing that the killer has been too efficient for this to have been his first kill.

From the opening chapter I was hooked – a woman arrives home, she potters through the rooms whilst chatting to her cat. It seemed all too normal, too domesticated and so I expected something nasty was about to happen.  Reading on my mind was whirring with possibilities over what Chris Carter could have in store…would she find something horrible? Is there someone in her house?  Will she receive a terrifying phone call?  From the very first paragraphs you are drawn in and you want to keep reading as you are sure something bad (really bad) is about to happen.

And it does.

Boom – he got me. And for the next few hundred pages Chris Carter was not letting me go – Gallery of the Dead is one of those rare gems where you don’t want to stop reading and the action and twists and shocks just keep coming. “One more chapter?” Hell no…I can give it another hour – at least.

Hunter is back in top form too (this is book 9 in the series).  Gallery of the Dead can be read entirely on its own, wholly self contained and easy to enjoy without knowing the back story.  His analytical mind and sharp eye quickly identifies “marks” left on the body of the victim (no spoilers here) and using the police database to search for similar occurrences he alerts the FBI to the murder he is investigating.

The FBI have already been aware of the killer (this is not his first murder) and they propose a liaison with the police.  The agent heading up the FBI taskforce is aware of Hunter’s skills and is keen to have him on board – but if you get Hunter you get his partner too and with that comes a wisecracking cop who will rub up the FBI agents in the wrong way. I loved the friction and rivalry between police and FBI and it was only made better by Hunter’s reaction to the sniping around him!

If you like a serial killer story, one which will not hold back on the grim detail and the sadistic nature of a murderous mind then you need to seek out Chris Carter’s books.  Gallery of the Dead is a brilliant read – entertainment to the max.

 

Gallery of the Dead is published by Simon & Schuster and is available now in hardback, audiobook and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gallery-Dead-Robert-Hunter-9/dp/1471156346/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1518307286&sr=8-1

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February 6

Don’t Look For Me – Mason Cross

Don’t look for me.

It was a simple instruction. And for six long years Carter Blake kept his word and didn’t search for the woman he once loved. But now someone else is looking for her.

He’ll come for you.

Trenton Gage is a hitman with a talent for finding people – dead or alive. His next job is to track down a woman who’s on the run, who is harbouring a secret many will kill for.

Both men are hunting the same person. The question is, who will find her first?

 

Last year I broke one of my self-imposed reading rules when I read a book called Winterlong. The “rule” I broke was that I should not begin reading a new series unless I start at Book One of that new series.  Winterlong subsequently renamed to The Time To Kill and it was the third novel in the Carter Blake series.

I regret nothing as it was brilliant.

This week Carter Blake book 4: Don’t Look For Me, is released in paperback and is currently hitting bookshelves up and down the land. If you like an action packed adventure thriller then Don’t Look For Me should be an essential purchase.

Following events outlined in the previous books (all handily explained by the author without need to have read the earlier books) we know that 6 years ago Carter Blake had to quickly slip away from the life he had built for himself. He told the woman he loved that she too also had to vanish – her parting shot “Don’t Look For Me”.

Blake has honoured that request but it seems he may not be permitted to continue to do so.  In a quiet residential suburb of Nevada a young couple have mysteriously disappeared from their home.  A concerned neighbour has found Blake’s email address which was hidden in the home owned by the missing couple and, as a last resort, emailed Blake.

When his past comes calling out of the blue Blake will need to break the promise he made and find the woman he loved. However, he is not the only person searching for the missing couple and soon he will become caught up in a dangerous race against time.

As I mentioned, Don’t Look For Me is a cracking adventure thriller. The action zips along and I found it incredibly easy to slip into the story and lose myself for an hour or so – only surfacing by necessity as I’d rather have kept reading.

Five star thrills – grab this when you see it.

 

Don’t Look For Me is published by Orion and is available in paperback, audio and digital format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Look-Me-Carter-Blake-ebook/dp/B01M3NSD91/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

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January 25

Perfect Death – Helen Fields

There’s no easy way to die….

Unknown to DI Luc Callanach and the newly promoted DCI Ava Turner, a serial killer has Edinburgh firmly in his grip. The killer is taking his victims in the coldest, most calculating way possible – engineering slow and painful deaths by poison, with his victims entirely unaware of the drugs flooding their bloodstream until it’s too late.

But how do you catch a killer who hides in the shadows? A killer whose pleasure comes from watching pain from afar? Faced with their most difficult case yet, Callanach and Turner soon realise they face a seemingly impossible task….

 

My thanks to Sabah at Avon for my review copy and for the opportunity to launch the Perfect Death blog tour.

 

By the time I hit “publish” on this review Perfect Death will be in shops and available to download. Buy a copy now…this is a brilliant book.

Luc Callanach and Ava Turner are back for a third outing. Happy Days.

Perfect Death feels much more like an Ava story. Luc is still very much present so panic not! Events early in the story (no spoilers) lead to a shock revelation. Ava wants to investigate and find answers to questions she never imagined she would be asking yet she cannot let anyone else know what she is looking into. This dilemma means Ava will work solo and cannot rely upon Luc’s council or support. What she has to face (alone) is bigger and more dangerous than she could have imagined.

Luc is tasked with investigating the death of a young woman who died as a result of a drug overdose. Her naked body was found on a grassy hillside in the heart of the Edinburgh but her family are adamant she would never have taken drugs.

A second suspicious death gives a suspicion that foul play is involved. However, with virtually no similarities in the cases the connection between the two deaths so tenuous Ava’s boss will not entertain the notion that there is a calculating serial killer working in Edinburgh.

Following events in Perfect Prey Ava is now Luc’s boss and the shift in dynamic of their relationship is fun. Still friends, but with Luc being deferential to Ava’s rank, the pair seem almost seem less assured in each other’s company. I have really enjoyed the “Moonlighting-esk” relationship between the two lead characters and Perfect Death only adds to the intrigue.

Moonlighting…it was a big deal in the 80’s – just go with it.

I cannot say enough good things about the Luc Callanach books.  If you love crime fiction and are not reading Helen Fields then you are missing out on one of the best new voices in your favourite genre.

 

Perfect Death is published by Avon books and is avaialbe in paperback and digital format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Perfect-Death-bestseller-Callanach-Thriller-ebook/dp/B077MNKFTL/ref=la_B006M3SPSS_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1516824675&sr=1-3

 

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January 19

City Without Stars – Tim Baker

The only thing more dangerous than the cartels is the truth…

In Ciudad Real, Mexico, a deadly war between rival cartels is erupting, and hundreds of female sweat-shop workers are being murdered. As his police superiors start shutting down his investigation, Fuentes suspects most of his colleagues are on the payroll of narco kingpin, El Santo.

Meanwhile, despairing union activist, Pilar, decides to take social justice into her own hands. But if she wants to stop the killings, she’s going to have to ignore all her instincts and accept the help of Fuentes. When the name of Mexico’s saintly orphan rescuer, Padre Márcio, keeps resurfacing, Pilar and Fuentes begin to realise how deep the cover-up goes.

 

My thanks to Lauren at Faber for my review copy and the chance to join the blog tour

I am not sure I have the language to do City Without Stars justice. If I were to say: Powerful, Magnificent, Majestic, Breathtaking then it would sound like I was describing a racehorse rather than Tim Baker’s novel. Yet City Without Stars is all those things, it is an incredible piece of story telling written with a brutal beauty and an incredible intensity.

The first word I used was “powerful” and City Without Stars is all about power. In Mexico there seem to be many battles to be fought and through the story we shall follow some of the fighters.  The drug Kingpin – El Santo – casts the longest shadow, he has the money, the men and the merchandise and he will do whatever he wants (and he does).  It is not often that I will flinch at something I read but one scene in particular brought out a full body wince/jolt, the unexpected sudden brutality was shocking.

Faith has a strong grip over Mexican life too and it was no surprise to see that Padre Márcio was influential throughout the book. The link between church and corruption has been made in the past but Tim Baker shines the Mexican sun fully onto the worst behaviours of the church and its representatives. Padre Márcio gets the most detailed backstory, his position in the community explained by his path to adulthood and the trials he endured.

Where there are drugs there will also be police. Fuentes is the cop who wants to bring some justice to proceedings. Yet he knows the challenge he faces is enormous and he can have no faith in the integrity of his colleagues, many are in the pockets of the cartel and few will stand up and be seen to challenge the corruption.

The character who faced the biggest challenge is a young union actvist (Pilar).  In the opening pages we see she has been targeted as a potential threat to someone in power and action is being taken to quash that threat. Pilar is seeking a fairer deal and better treatment for the women working in the manufacturing plants, the women who work for a pittance, have no respect from the men that run the plants and who meekly accept their lot in life. She is an extraordinary force but knows that changing the accepted way will not be simple. Her struggle to be heard and to make an impact which cannot be ignored was an important balance to the violence and intensity of the rival drug dealers.

There is so much depth and detail in City Without Stars that I cannot even begin to scratch the surface in a short review. It is a dark, dark read. The violence is brutal, the corruption is rife and the people are generally untrustworthy and unlikeable. But it all makes for utterly compelling reading.

Gobsmackingly Good.

 

City Without Stars is published by Faber & Faber and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/City-Without-Stars-Tim-Baker-ebook/dp/B075RSLG2B/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1516314849&sr=1-1&keywords=city+without+stars

 

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January 4

Dark Pines – Will Dean

An isolated Swedish town.

A deaf reporter terrified of nature.

A dense spruce forest overdue for harvest.

A pair of eyeless hunters found murdered in the woods.

It’s week one of the Swedish elk hunt and the sound of gunfire is everywhere. When Tuva Moodyson investigates the story that could make her career she stumbles on a web of secrets that knit Gavrik town together. Are the latest murders connected to the Medusa killings twenty years ago? Is someone following her? Why take the eyes? Tuva must face her demons and venture deep into the woods to stop the killer and write the story. And then get the hell out of Gavrik.

 

My thanks to Margot at One World Publications for my review copy and the chance to join the blog tour.

 

I have been looking forward to sharing my review of Dark Pines, when I read I book which I absolutely adored I want to share my review immediately!

Dark Pines is an atmospheric murder tale which takes the readers to a remote Swedish town and sees much of the action taking place in the dark, claustrophobic woods. The lead character, Tuva Moodyson, is a reporter working at the small local paper but the murder deep in the woods (during hunting season) may give her the opportunity to report on one of the biggest stories the region has ever seen.

Tuva is a terrific character and I loved reading her story. Her deafness is depicted really well by Will Dean, it is an issue she deals with and ensures other characters adapt to her requirements. She has a strong personality and tenacious attitude and this serves her well as her reporting of the deaths in the woods will become problematic for the residents of her home town.

The murder story is chilling too.  Twenty years prior to events in Dark Pines a killer stalked the woods, removing the eyes of their victims. The killer became known as “Medusa” but was never caught and, without explanation, the murders ceased. Spinning forward to present day the latest murder is causing the townsfolk significant concern – when it become apparent that the victim has had his eyes removed their concern intensifies.

Dark Pines is a storming read. One of those books which can wholly consume your attention and pull you entirely into the story.  A five star review for a book which I will be recommending to everyone.

 

Dark Pines is published by Point Blank and can be ordered here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Pines-Tuva-Moodyson-Mystery/dp/1786073854/ref=la_B0759QS537_1_1_twi_pap_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1515062614&sr=1-1

 

 

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