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The Girl Who Walked in the Shadows – Marnie Riches

Europe is in the grip of an extreme Arctic blast and at the mercy of a killer, who leaves no trace. His weapons of choice are razor-sharp icicles. This is Jack Frost.

Now a fully qualified criminologist, Georgina McKenzie is called upon by the Dutch police to profile this cunning and brutal murderer. Are they looking for a hit man or a frenzied serial-killer? Could there be a link to a cold missing persons’ case that George had worked with Chief Inspector Paul van den Bergen – two abducted toddlers he could never quite give up on?

The hunt for Jack Frost sparks a dangerous, heart-rending journey through the toughest neighbourhoods in Europe, where refugees and Roma gypsies scratch a living on the edge of society. Walking into the dark, violent world of a trans-national trafficking ring, can George outrun death to shed light on two terrible mysteries?

My thanks to the team at Avon for my review copy which I received through Netgalley.

George McKenzie is back in The Girl Who Walked in the Shadows, the third book in The Girl Who series by Marnie Riches and I have been waiting patiently (honest) for the chance to read this one.

Housekeeping first…it is entirely possible to read and enjoy The Girl Who Walked in the Shadows as a stand alone book. There are links to the previous titles (The Girl Who Wouldn’t Die and The Girl Who Broke The Rules) and there may be some small spoilers for new readers who go back to read the earlier titles after reading Shadows. However, new readers will not be disadvantaged as the author ensures recurring characters or past events are reintroduced during the narrative.

Right let’s get down to it…The Girl Who Walked in the Shadows is an intensely dark read. Brutal murders, child abduction and powerful criminal gangs all make for a wonderfully gritty reading experience. George and her partner, Amsterdam cop Paul van den Bergen, seem to be facing their biggest challenge yet.

Their attempts to track down a serial killer who leaves no forensic evidence at the crime scenes are failing at every turn. Van den Bergen’s bosses are demanding results yet there are no tangible leads for the police to follow. Van den Bergen is also haunted by his inability to make any progress with investigations into a double kidnapping of two young children – the children’s mother (a PR expert) has ensured the abduction has been all over the media – and the pressure is on van den Bergen to trace the missing toddlers. Could George’s studies into child abuse and connections to travellers yield any clues?

In addition to the pressures of these cases is the combustible nature of van den Bergen’s relationship with George. The two are seemingly determined to push each other away on a regular basis, however, they will have to overcome the problems of the tempestuous nature of their relationship to form an effective investigative team.

The story is nicely split between England and Amsterdam again and I enjoyed that the supporting cast (George’s family and van den Bergen’s team) got very prominent roles to play. The narrative jumps timelines and we switch between George, van den Bergen, the killer and other key players as the story demands. Normally I don’t fare well when books switch time periods (as I am a skim reader) but I didn’t have any issues in keeping track of events within Shadows. I actually really enjoyed how some events were teased, the author had revealed the outcome/aftermath of a situation, but left the reader wondering what had transpired to reach that point.

Marnie Riches is tackling some deeply emotive issues in this book and there are some nasty and unexpected twists along the way. I loved how the various plot threads started to come together as I reached the final third of the story and I think I practically inhaled the finale which left me crying out for more.

Dark, brutal and brilliant. The Girl Who Walked in the Shadows is exactly the kind of story that I love to read. Marnie Riches has crafted a series which I cannot recommend enough. A review score of 5/5 was guaranteed when I put down the book and realised that I had been holding my breath as I read the last pages.

The Girl Who Walked in the Shadows is released on 31 March 2016. You can order a copy here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00YGDJUAI?keywords=the%20girl%20who%20walked%20in%20the%20shadows&qid=1458689425&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

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March 17

In Extremis – A Hellbound Novella – David McCaffrey

1888. Whitechapel. Think you know the story? You don’t know Jack…

James Maybrick had secured his legacy as the most infamous serial killer of all time…his diary would one day shock the world.

Thomas Quinn wants revenge…his actions will give birth to an organisation of unspeakable power.

Together, they unwittingly set in motion a plan that will one day lead to the serial killer, Obadiah Stark.

Stark became The Tally Man.

They were The Brethren.

Maybrick is known to history by another name…

A novella and companion volume to the fantastic Hellbound – a book which has heavily influenced many of the features I have run on this blog. Previously only available in digital format I am delighted to see a paperback version has now also been released, hopefully ensuring that the book will now reach an even wider audience.

In Extremis is chronologically a prequel to Hellbound, however, I would recommend reading Hellbound first. There are no actual spoilers in In Extremis but I enjoyed learning about the sinister Brethren through the sneaky reveals in Hellbound.

We find that The Brethren are very much in their infancy when we read In Extremis yet they are already using their influence to meddle in dangerous affairs. As you will be able to establish from the book description (above) the story is going to feature the most famous of serial killers – I am sure all crime readers know the significance of Whitechapel in the late 19th Century!

In the Afterword the author explains that the journal of James Maybrick came to light in the early 1990’s. David McCaffrey has taken the information contained within the journals and spun a wonderfully engaging story around Maybrick’s life, linking him to the Ripper murders and also suggesting that The Brethren may have played no small part in Jack’s appearance in London at that time.

I always feel that any book tackling Jack the Ripper needs to ensure it captures the right feel of the time. McCaffrey certainly achieved this, the language and the character dialogue had the right touches of the Victorian era and the locations (from narrow, dark Whitechapel streets to grand aristocratic houses) all rang true. It was easy to lose myself in the story.

I don’t read novellas or short stories as a rule but I made an exception for In Extremis, I very much enjoy David McCaffrey’s writing. I love the Ripper stories. And I find I still want to know more about The Brethren (David – that last one’s for you…more Brethren please).

Taking on a story about the most famous of villains is no small task – David McCaffrey has handled it superbly and presents another interesting angle on the legacy of Jack The Ripper.

In Extremis is available digitally and in paperback format and you can order a copy here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Extremis-Hellbound-Novella-David-McCaffrey-ebook/dp/B00Y75QT90/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458244173&sr=8-1&keywords=in+extremis

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March 16

Cold Moon – Alexandra Sokoloff

The hunt for mass murderer Cara Lindstrom is over. FBI Special Agent Matthew Roarke has been working for this moment: the capture of a killer who savagely hunts the worst of humanity. But Roarke remains traumatized by his own near-death at the hands of the serial killer who slaughtered Cara’s family…and haunted by the enigmatic woman who saved his life.

Then the sixteen-year-old prostitute who witnessed Cara’s most recent murder goes missing, and suddenly pimps are turning up dead on the streets of San Francisco, killed with an MO eerily similar to Cara’s handiwork.

Is a new killer on the loose with a mission even more deadly than hers? In the pulse-pounding third Huntress/FBI Thrillers book, Roarke will have to go on the hunt…and every woman he meets, even those closest to him, may prove deadly.

My thanks to Thomas & Mercer for my review copy which I received through Netgalley

Cold Moon – the third volume in the brilliant Huntress/FBI thrillers series and there are problems ahead for Agent Matthew Roarke. At the end of the previous story (Blood Moon) serial killer Cara Lindstrom had been captured by the authorities. Cold Moon opens with Cara in prison and Roarke increasingly obsessed with the enigma that she represents.

While Cara is in prison the reader gets to observe the adverse impact that incarceration is having upon her. She does not react well to being placed in a cage and soon finds that she is attracting unwelcome attention. It becomes clear that Cara is going to have to take action if she wants to be left alone.

I mentioned problems for Roarke. While Cara is in prison there a murder is committed which shows all the hallmarks of being one of Cara’s kills, however, if she is locked up then how could she possibly have killed someone on the outside? Does this mean the FBI have apprehended the wrong woman or is there a copycat (or a protégé) continuing Cara’s mission?

With a focussed Social Media campaign championing Cara’s case and trumpeting the ‘good’ work of The Lady Death, Roarke and his team have their hands full managing public expectations. Yet they also face the problem of tracking down the new killer who appears intent on taking out the pimps who are making lives of so many working girls a perpetual misery.

I particularly enjoyed how Alexandra Sokoloff developed the broad cast of characters in Cold Moon, especially Roarke’s team at the FBI who are given much more prominence in this book (with Cara being less in the limelight). We see how Roarke’s obsession with Cara is creating divisions and concern within his team and how they are trying to drive the investigations forward without his full awareness.

Cold Moon tackles the subject of morality and challenges the reader to consider the justification of killing to avenge a multitude of ‘wrongs’. Alexandra Sokoloff balances these issues within a compelling story and kept me engrossed. The Huntress series is going from strength to strength and I cannot wait for the next instalment.

Cold Moon is published by Thomas & Mercer and can be ordered here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cold-Moon-Huntress-FBI-Thrillers/dp/1477821627/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1458165780&sr=1-1

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March 16

Ordeal – Jorn Lier Horst

Frank Mandt died after a fall down his basement steps, the same basement that holds a locked safe bolted to the floor. His granddaughter, Sofie Lund, inherits the house but wants nothing to do with his money. She believes the old man let her mother die in jail and is bitterly resentful.

Line Wisting’s journalist instinct leads her into friendship with Sofie, and is with her when the safe is opened. What they discover unlocks another case and leads Chief Inspector William Wisting on a trail of murder and narcotics to an ordeal that will eventually separate the innocent from the damned.

Thanks to Keara at Sandstone Press for my review copy

My introduction to the books of Jorn Lier Horst and his protagonist, Chief Inspector William Wisting, was made so much easier by the GENIUS inclusion of a 2 page summary of the character and the key players in his life. Can we start a campaign to have this approach adopted in all books where we have recurring characters? So handy for new readers and likely to be something of a Godsend for forgetful readers (and I include myself in this category).

On reading Jorn Lier Horst’s author biography I learned that he was a former policeman who rose to a head of Investigations role – this explains why Ordeal is one of the best police procedurals I have ever read. Horst has spun an absorbing story around a very methodical and thorough police investigation. William Wisting is one of the most believable characters I have encountered and Horst pulls us through the story with what appears to be effortless ease. Page after page was turned long into the night as I found I just wanted to keep reading.

Wistling has been investigating the disappearance of Jens Hummel but progress has been slow and after 6 months there have been no sightings of the missing man and no tangible clues as to where he may have gone. Pressure is being applied by the police hierarchy who are unhappy with the lack of progress. Yet at the start of Ordeal a random comment overheard in a bar may just provide Wisting with his first real lead.

Meanwhile Wisting’s daughter (Line Wisting) is into the last few weeks of her pregnancy and has moved back into her hometown, leaving her promising journalistic career behind, and is preparing for the arrival of her baby. She has moved into a new home, the former resident having passed away, and is redecorating and renovating – with a little help from her father. Line encounters an old school friend who has also moved home – a single mum who has also moved into a home where the former occupant passed away. However, Line’s friend (Sophie) has moved into her grandfather’s house, her inheritance following the old man’s death.

Sophie knows her grandfather died after falling down the stairs into the cellar – she is not comfortable spending any time in this part of the house. However, in the cellar is a large safe which has been securely bolted to the floor. The safe forms part of Sophie’s inheritance but nobody can find the key. As the safe was too large to remove it has remained in the house (untouched) for Sophie to deal with…should she choose to do so. With some encouragement from Line, Sophie decides to have a locksmith open the safe – the contents come as something of a shock to the two women and will soon have Wisting becoming involved as there is ‘overlap’ with his missing person investigation.

I am reluctant to share too much more detail about Ordeal as it really is a book that I would encourage you to read for yourself. Beautifully told, engaging and a damn fine crime story which does not need to resort to extreme over-the-top action sequences to keep the reader’s attention.

Before I had even finished Ordeal I had already nipped online to find out if there were any other books available in the series – there were (and purchases took place). Anticipation is already running high for my next journey into the world of Chief Inspector Wisting.

Ordeal was translated into English by Anne Bruce – she has done a phenomenal job, this story just flows with beautiful imagery and is one of the most readable novels I have read for some time. Horst’s ability to paint a world into my imagination made reading Ordeal an absolute joy.

Ordeal is published on 17 March by Standstone Press and can be ordered here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ordeal-William-Wisting-Book/dp/1910124745/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458084389&sr=8-1&keywords=ordeal+jorn+lier+horst

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March 15

Night Show – Richard Laymon

When the horror becomes real.

Dani Larson is the queen of horror movie special effects. Grisly murders and mutilated corpses are all in a day’s work for her. Nothing frightens her—not even watching herself torn to pieces on the screen. But now the gore is real, and Dani is terrified. She’s being stalked by the Chill Master, a psychopath who wants to be Dani’s apprentice, her lover, and eventually…her replacement.

Can Dani find a way to survive? Or will this real-life horror movie scare Dani to death?

My thanks to Samhain Publishing for my review copy which I received through Netgalley

Back when I was a teen (many years ago) I discovered I enjoyed horror stories. This came as a bit of a shock to me as I really do not like horror films so making the decision at age 13 to read a collection of ghost stories was a pretty big deal to me at the time. Hooked from that point on!

Having whet my appetite with some Stephen King and James Herbert books I stumbled upon the works of Richard Laymon. These were stories I could get into very easily and the plots were sufficiently nasty that the (now) 14 year old me felt I was reading ‘real’ books. What I found about particularly pleasing at the time was Laymon’s writing style was very easy to access (handy when exam studying should have been happening).

Zip forward a couple of decades (and some) and I am revisiting Night Show. I was keen to see if I still enjoyed Laymon’s books and if they had stood the test of time. Yes and Sort of.

The story did not show any real signs of aging, however, there are lots of horror film references and the passage of time since writing means that lots of modern ‘classics’ cannot be mentioned leaving the impression that the characters are slightly obsessed with ‘old’ horror movies. There are also a couple of scenes where modern characters would have had a mobile phone handy so the terror of their situation could easily have been diffused by whipping out their phone to call for help….best keep in mind that this story is very much of its time.

But the actual story is quite good fun. A stalker tale – the creepy kid that want’s to scare people becomes fixated on a beautiful film-maker and decides that she is the only woman for him, even if she does not know it yet. The detail in the film-making scenes was fascinating reading, the obvious love that Richard Laymon had for the horror films (which he frequently references) shines through.

Laymon’s books never quite had the depth of King, Hutson or Herbert but they were fun, solid reads which always guaranteed to keep me entertained. Night Show still ticks all the right boxes for me – I enjoyed the silly scares and the OTT characters but I also remembered the other great books Laymon wrote and I want to revisit them too.

Samhain will release Night Show on 3 May 2016 – you can order a copy here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Night-Show-Richard-Laymon-ebook/dp/B01980QKPQ/ref=sr_1_1_twi_kin_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1457910369&sr=1-1&keywords=night+show+richard+laymon

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March 13

Girl Waits With Gun – Amy Stewart

From the New York Times best-selling author of The Drunken Botanist comes an enthralling novel based on the forgotten, true story of one of the US’s first female deputy sheriffs.

Constance Kopp doesn’t quite fit the mould. She towers over most men, has no interest in marriage or domestic affairs, and has been isolated from the world since a family secret sent her and her sisters from the city to the country fifteen years before. When a powerful, ruthless factory owner runs down their buggy, a dispute over damages turns into a war of bricks, bullets, and threats as he unleashes his gang on their farm. The sheriff enlists her help, and it turns out that Constance has a knack for outwitting (and disarming) the criminal element, which might just take her back out into the world and onto a new path in life.

Through Amy Stewart’s exuberant storytelling, Constance Kopp catapults from a forgotten historical anecdote to an unforgettable historical-fiction heroine – an outsized woman not only ahead of her time, but sometimes even ahead of ours.

My thanks to Molly at Scribe for my review copy.

Using source documents and reports from around 100 years ago Amy Stewart has written a fun tale about Constance Kopp, a real life character caught up in some very hazardous situations.

Constance and her sisters find themselves facing off against an unsavoury and powerful adversary in the form of a local factory owner. His reckless driving caused a crash and damaged Constance’s buggy – the repair bill of $50 is a significant sum and Constance is not prepared to write it off. However the factory owner is not keen to pay and it is not long before Constance and her sisters find themselves fearing for their safety when bricks (with warning messages) are thrown through the windows of their home in the wee small hours.

Yet Constance has another concern demanding her time. Her initial endeavours to have her $50 repair bill settled has brought her into contact with a young girl who is hunting for her baby, taken when the mother was not in ‘a good place’ to care for the baby. Constance is determined to do all she can to help track down what happened to the baby and pass word back to the anxious mother.

Amy Stewart tells a fun story in a style very much reflective of the time the story is set. There is almost a quaint or twee feel to the read and I found that I was flicking pages at a fair old rate as the story flowed and the world was built around me. Not my normal style of story and perhaps a little less action oriented than I would ordinarily go for.

HOWEVER…Girl Waits With Gun was a fun read, I enjoyed the time I spent with Constance and when I finished the book I was genuinely glad I had taken the time to read it. Although I said it was not my normal choice of story it is still a very entertaining book and I like to mix up what I read when the opportunity arises.

Perhaps one best suited for the girls as the boys, in the main, don’t fare too well or come across in a very positive light. It is a charming read, nicely balanced with actual historical influences and (coming on the back of a few of the more ‘graphic’ books I have read recently) it was a refreshing change of pace.

Girl Waits With Gun is published by Scribe and is available in paperback and digital format here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Girl-Waits-Gun-Constance-Kopp/dp/1925228576/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1457877176&sr=1-1&keywords=girl+waits+with+gun

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March 9

Tastes Like Fear – Sarah Hilary

You’ll never be out of Harm’s way

The young girl who causes the fatal car crash disappears from the scene.

A runaway who doesn’t want to be found, she only wants to go home.

To the one man who understands her.

Gives her shelter.

Just as he gives shelter to the other lost girls who live in his house.

He’s the head of her new family.

He’s Harm.

D.I. Marnie Rome has faced many dangerous criminals but she has never come up against a man like Harm. She thinks that she knows families, their secrets and their fault lines. But as she begins investigating the girl’s disappearance nothing can prepare her for what she’s about to face.

Because when Harm’s family is threatened, everything tastes like fear…

My thanks to Elizabeth Masters at Headline for my review copy.

The third Marnie Rome thriller and another triumph for Sarah Hilary. Tastes Like Fear is a gripping read and is helping cement Sarah Hilary’s place amongst the best of the current crop of UK crime writers.

Tastes Like Fear has a focus on teenage runaways, girls who have left home and found themselves living rough on the streets of London. The girls have found that they become almost invisible, doing whatever it takes to survive. Yet for a select few there comes an offer of a place of safety – a home where food and shelter will be provided. All you have to do is live by the house rules, his rules…Harm’s rules.

Marnie Rome and DS Noah Jake have been investigating the disappearance of May Beswick a teenage girl who left home (for no apparent reason) and has been missing for several weeks. We are first reunited with Marnie and Noah when they are called to the scene of a road traffic accident – a teenage girl in a state of disarray has walked into the traffic causing a crash. The girl has left the scene, heading towards one of London’s more notorious housing schemes, yet there appears to be some doubt between the survivors of the crash as to what the girl looked like or even if she was ever there!

I enjoyed the shifting focus in Tastes Like Fear, the story follows Marnie and Noah and their investigations into May’s disappearance and the attempts to track down the girl from the crash scene. Then the narrative switches into the ‘haven’ that Harm is providing and we see how the girls who are living under his protection are dealing with day to day life under Harm’s watchful eye. There is a real feeling of unease as you read these scenes – an unpredictability – as Harm does not seem to act how you expect him to (yet you are also not quite sure how he SHOULD be acting).

However, as you may expect trouble lies ahead for the girls as rules have been broken, some girls have not behaved the way Harm expected and there will be…repercussions.

With all the twists and turns, shocks and surprises that I have come to expect from one of Sarah Hilary’s books I found that I could not put Tastes Like Fear down. The story flows brilliantly, the characters are the perfect blend of likeable, unpredictable or deeply deplorable and we get more insights into Noah and Marnie’s personal lives giving loved characters even greater depth.

There is also the added anticipation of what I am beginning to think of as ‘The Sarah Hilary Jaw-drop Moment’…one scene where everything I thought I understood about the story is crushed and I am blind-sided by a twist that I can never see coming. LOVE IT, nobody else consistently messes with my brain in their books the way Sarah Hilary can – she has the golden touch.

An easy review score for Tastes Like Fear…5/5 and a reader desperate for more.

Tastes Like Fear is published by Headline and is released on 7 April 2016 – you can order a copy here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ebooks-Tastes-Like-Fear-D-I-Marnie-ebook/dp/B011786B4W/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1

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March 1

Guest Post…Deborah Bee: Writing a Dual Narrative

Two protagonists/dual narrative – rooky error or good plan?

Why did I do it for my novel, The Last Thing I Remember. I don’t really know. It just seemed eventually (after two years of thinking about it) like a good idea.

Writing this blog piece, I just googled “a novel with two protagonists” and now I’ve been put off the very notion of a two-hander. Basic fiction writing, it says, warns against prologues, dream sequences, flashbacks, adverbs and dual/multiple protagonists. Oops. I’ve got some of them as well. And it says they are absolute rules. ABSOLUTE. RULES. Shriek.

The problem, it seems to be, is that apparently you can’t tell a compelling story if it’s split down the middle, UNLESS, each protagonist is equally weighted, with their own story arc that contains similar highs and lows, conflicts and resolve, leading to a balanced conclusion. But even if you do that, it’s never going to work.

I didn’t know that. I haven’t been to a creative writing class. I wish I had. But now I do know, I’m in the foetal position under my desk. I’ve made a rooky error. Are my protagonists equally weighted? Do they have similar highs and lows? All I know was that it was sodding complicated running two stories at the same time. Even though they are tightly woven together, I got lost so many times along the way.

Then there’s the dual narrative bit. Similarly, that’s considered a bad idea, mainly because it’s so easy to get confused over who is speaking. The received wisdom seems to suggest that unless the story calls for it, a dual narrative is a bit of a triumph of style over content. The secret to success…to create two utterly distinctive voices that cannot be confused.

So thinking about it, the reason I did a two-hander? Well, to start with my first protagonist, the one I really started with, is in a coma. She has Locked-in Syndrome. She can’t move, blink, see, swallow, breathe. However she can hear. And she can think. She can’t remember how she got there, but she’s piecing it all together by the conversations she can hear, and from her slowly-returning memory. The problem I created for myself was how to keep the audience interested in a woman who is totally stuck in her own head. She’s sad, frightened and desperately trying to grasp hold of her memories.

Protagonist 2 then was really a pair of eyes. An undercover agent almost, who could describe life on the outside. Kelly is fourteen and should be the innocent of the piece. But right from the start we discover that she is far from innocent, far from her school-girl appearance. She’s mouthy. She swears constantly. She uses the wrong words. She’s funny. I wanted Kelly to be the antidote to Sarah.

The reason that a dual narrative was a useful structure – because Sarah can tell you things about Kelly that Kelly would never say. And vice versa. And both of them are fantastically unreliable witnesses.

Then, anyway. Along came Gone Girl. Two protagonists, dual narrative. It worked so well they made a film out of it. Rules out the window. It’s all her fault. Blame Gillian Flynn. You maverick Gillian Flynn. ABSOLUTE MAVERICK.

The Last Thing I Remember is published by Twenty7 Books and is available to download now:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Thing-Remember-emotional-thriller-ebook/dp/B0196P0S4W/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456867082&sr=1-1&keywords=the+last+thing+i+remember

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March 1

The Last Thing I Remember – Deborah Bee

Sarah is in a coma.

Her memory is gone – she doesn’t know how she got there. And she doesn’t know how she might get out.

But then she discovers that her injury wasn’t an accident. And that the assailant hasn’t been caught.

Unable to speak, see or move, Sarah must use every clue that she overhears to piece together her own past.

And work out who it is that keeps coming into her room.

My thanks to at Hannah at Midas PR for my review copy and the chance to join the Blog Tour

When I read the description of The Last Thing I Remember my immediate reaction was that I HAD to read this story. Narrative from a character who cannot interact with any other characters, who cannot remember what has happened to her and who is scared that someone may be out to cause her more harm? I couldn’t even begin to think how that story may play out…but I wanted to see how Deborah Bee could make it work. Brilliantly as it turns out!

This was a very cleverly constructed book. Much of what we learn from Sarah (as she lies in a coma in hospital) is prompted by the interactions of the people around her. Her family chat while they visit, the doctors and nurses in the hospital share gossip while at her bedside, the police are investigating what happened to Sarah and then there is Kelly – she is Sarah’s neighbour and something of a mystery character.

Narrative switches between Sarah (recollecting events which led to her hospitalization) and Kelly who offers an alternative window into how Sarah’s life may have been prior to THE INCIDENT. The unpicking of memories takes time as Sarah slowly pieces together how her life may have been before the hospital.

The nature of the reveals through the story make it hard for me to dwell too much on what we learn about Sarah. I should make it clear that I loved this book. It is cleverly written, it is engaging and from very early in the story you are willing Sarah to recover and have the danger she faces taken away. No spoilers is the rule here but there are some nasty shocks ahead for Sarah.

This is definitely a book that I will be urging people to read, it is memorably different and wonderfully written.

The Last Thing I Remember is published by Twenty7 Books and is available now. You can download a copy here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Thing-Remember-emotional-thriller-ebook/dp/B0196P0S4W/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456867082&sr=1-1&keywords=the+last+thing+i+remember

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February 28

Missing Presumed – Susie Steiner

Mid-December, and Cambridgeshire is blanketed with snow. Detective Sergeant Manon Bradshaw tries to sleep after yet another soul-destroying Internet date – the low murmuring of her police radio her only solace.

Over the airwaves come reports of a missing woman – door ajar, keys and phone left behind, a spatter of blood on the kitchen floor. Manon knows the first 72 hours are critical: you find her, or you look for a body. And as soon as she sees a picture of Edith Hind, a Cambridge post-graduate from a well-connected family, she knows this case will be big.

Is Edith alive or dead? Was her ‘complex love life’ at the heart of her disappearance, as a senior officer tells the increasingly hungry press? And when a body is found, is it the end or only the beginning?

My thanks to the team at Harper Collins/The Borough Press for my review copy which I received through Netgalley

Edith Hind is missing. She should be at home yet her front door is ajar, her coat and phone are still in the house and there is a blood splatter that no-one can explain. Thus begins a police investigation to track down a clever, independent and headstrong young woman.

Missing Presumed follows the investigation with a narrative which switches between key players in the tale. DS Manon Bradshaw is the primary voice of the police and we see behind the scenes of a major incident through her eyes. What I found particularly refreshing was that everyone on the force seemed so human – police officers booking their holiday travel while at work, comparing dates, struggling with day to day tasks with young twins at home. There are loads of lighthearted scenes sprinkled through the story (particularly when Manon is embarking on her latest internet date).

The characters in the book are well mixed – the reader will come to like some more than others…some being totally unlikeable. The constant switch in narrative actually had me looking forward to certain characters returning to the spotlight as I enjoyed their contributions more than most.

As you would hope from a good police procedural there are plenty of red herrings and dead ends to try the patience of the investigative team. You may think that you know where the story is heading…I was convinced I knew how the plot would resolve – yet I was totally wrong (which as a reader is a pleasing outcome). It is not a fast-paced tale but it is wonderfully constructed and the reward is there for those that stick with the story.

A very realistic investigative story and a highly enjoyable read.

Missing Presumed is published by The Borough Press and is available in Hardcover and digital format now.

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