What a gripping crime thriller this was! Ruby finds herself locked in a basement whilst the body of Pippa has just been discovered at the beach. Instantly we know their connected.
Detective Inspector Helen is on the case and desperate to find the link between these two cases. I couldn’t fault this plot, it threw suspicion at two key players and I’d made my mind up that it had to be one of them… Arlidge managed to bamboozle my mind and I truly felt like I was one of the team (the police team) finding out the facts the same time as them and it only fitting together at the last minute.
The plot is told from multiple characters: the captor, the captive Ruby and many of the police team. To be able to see it all from the killer’s viewpoint and to not guess how he’d managed to abduct the girls showed the strength and complexity of this plot. To see it through Ruby’s eyes made the case feel all that more real… I was racing through the pages, spurring on the team to find her before it was all too late. And finally… to see it from many view points within the team was fascinating as it showed what they all brought to the table but, even more fascinating – it provided insight into their lives.
Silly me hadn’t clocked this was part of a series until a fellow blogger posted a photo of the previous six books and the seventh (Love Me Not) which only hit the shelves last week. Which meant I wasn’t aware of the behaviours and dynamics within the team: who liked who, who held a grudge, etc… so I was thrown in at the deep end of the disastrous relationship between Grace and Harwood. The back stabbing between the pair was brutal!
All in all, I enjoyed this book. It seems like a series I could really get my teeth into: the case had that psychological vibe which always hooks me; there’s enough drama going on within the team to keep this series going for a looonngg time; and the characters are likeable. I didn’t find Helen to be smug, in your face or overly confident – I found her down to earth, someone who’s giving the world the best she’s got, when inside she continues to fight her own demons – very easy to relate to and a personality compatible with many.
The closest series I can think of that has these same qualities would be Stephen Booth’s series featuring Detective Ben Cooper – well worth a read if you’ve been enjoying the DI Grace series! Let me know if you can think of other crime thrillers which sit in this category!
Until next time, Chloé x
Reviews by Chloé 