Truth or Dare – M.J. Arlidge
DO YOU WANT TO PLAY THE GAME?
A crimewave sweeps through the city and no-one is safe. An arson at the docks. A carjacking gone wrong. A murder in a country park. What connects all these crimes without causes, which leave no clues?
Detective Inspector Helen Grace faces the rising tide of cases which threatens to drown the city. But each crime is just a piece of a puzzle which is falling into place.
And when it becomes clear just how twisted and ingenious this web of crime is, D.I. Grace will realise that it may be impossible to stop it . . .
My thanks to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for the opportunity to join the Truth or Dare blog tour.
I received a review copy from the publisher through Netgalley.
Some bookbloggers are better than others at getting through their TBR. I am not one of those bloggers. My attempts to prioritise the books I recieved for review means the books I want to read from my personal collection get dusty. The best example I have of this is from when I explained this dilemma to Mark Billingham who signed my purchase of his latest book with “To Gordon, Read This One”
Why is that relevant here? Well I read the early Helen Grace books from MJ Arlidge and really enjoyed them. Then the blog took over and I wasn’t reading anything which wasn’t a review copy. I do still have a nice wee collection of unread books by MJ Arlidge to read once the blog is stood down. I kept buying them knowing I WILL read them but just haven’t yet.
So here we are at the Truth or Dare blog tour. I got to read this one! I can also category confirm that you don’t need to have read the previous books in the series to enjoy Truth or Dare, it most definitely can be read in isolation as any past events you need to know about are made known to the readers. I can also confirm that if you read Truth or Dare without reading the earlier books you would be adding those earlier books to your TBR – Truth or Dare was brilliant and will make you want to read more in this series.
DI Helen Grace is under pressure. Southampton is slipping out of her control as violent deaths are increasing, the conviction rate is falling and the local press are out to get her – placing full blame at Helens door for the increasing crime in the city. Within her own team there are also fractions forming as her former lover and her second in command, DS Hudson, is actively undermining her. He is leaking stories to the press to discredit Helen and is splitting loyalty within her squad. Everything will need to come to a head and Helen is isolated and vulnerable.
The real challenge Helen faces is a spate of unconnected murders which have been taking place. The victims are killed in different ways, in different locations and at different times of the day. The police are nowhere and the press know it. Then a lucky break gives Helen a line of enquiry to pursue and it opens up a can of worms. With resources stretched and half her team pulling in the wrong direction the challenge for Helen is to make a seemingly random coincidence tie in to the information she holds.
Truth or Dare is one of the best police procedurals I have read this year. The painstaking investigation is brilliantly laid out for readers to follow and there are more than a few shocks along the way. I was totally in the dark and yet entirely satisfied with where the story took me.
It would be greedy to wish for every book to grab my attention in the way Truth or Dare managed. When a book gets its claws into you it’s a wonderful feeling. Loved it.
Truth or Dare is available in Hardback, digital and audiobook format from today and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08KXQBYWQ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
