M.J. Arlidge

A young woman wakes up in a cold, dark cellar, with no idea how she got there or who her kidnapper is. So begins her terrible nightmare. Nearby, the body of another young woman is discovered buried on a remote beach. But the dead girl was never reported missing - her estranged family having received regular texts from her over the years. Someone has been keeping her alive from beyond the grave. For Detective Inspector Helen Grace it's chilling evidence that she's searching for a monster who is not just twisted but also clever and resourceful - a predator who's killed before. And as Helen struggles to understand the killer's motivation, she begins to realise that she's in a desperate race against time . . . Praise for M.J. Arlidge 'Taut, fast-paced, truly excellent.' Sun 'DI Helen Grace is one of the greatest heroes to come along in years.' Jeffery Deaver

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The Doll's House

Denaiir

This series keeps delivering and I'm completely hooked. 

M.J. Arlidge is excellent at managing the suspense. The mix of short chapters, multiple points of view, believable characters, twisted killers and office politics make each volume immensely entertaining.

I love how the author distills clues and details about the characters' personal lives, without ever breaking pace in the main investigation. The fact that we only get to know the characters little by little, but always at a steady pace, makes me crave for more. This one had me completely hooked with the feud between Helen Grace and Ceri Harwood and I enjoyed the addition of the new coppers, especially DC Sanderson, and they feel a little like family now after 3 books. 

And the balance is achieved perfectly between the investigation, the development of characters and the point of view of the serial killer. Of course serial killers are my favorite kind of criminals to read about, and the nervous pacing of the investigation works perfectly with the deranged minds of each perpetrator examined in this series. All storylines are twisted and the pace is so perfect that it can't compare to other crime novels.

I am still listening to this series in audiobook format, performed by the excellent Elizabeth Bower. Scott Joseph joined her for this installment and his performance of the killer's chapters made the story pop even more, a brilliant audio version!

chloe mcpherson

Helen is back in the next dark twisted thriller. 

A woman has been abducted while another woman has been found murdered, she was never reported missing because her captor had regularly sent her family text messages for years.

With the short chapters, the book is so easy to read, you can read in one sitting. The Author gives little glimpses into Helen's background and her tough persona which I love.
I can't to read what comes next for helen and her team.

Tanya Sutton

I won't rate this because I didn't finish it, but I just couldn't force myself to continue on. I stopped about 70% of the way through because the book was just a failure for me almost from the start and I didn't see it getting any better. About 15-20% of the way into the book you find out who the "bad guy" is and the only suspense left is whether or not the captive is going to survive. I never got a sense of who she was due to underwhelming character development and therefore didn't develop an attachment to her. Whether she lived or died was the only real "question" in the end and I found myself not really caring what happened to any of the characters. The pacing was good and the book was action packed, but once the suspense element was taken from me as a reader, I found myself bored.

Thank you to Penguin and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book for review.

Esther Tricker

I tore through this book! Really well written, and seeing as I have yet to read the previous two books I was pleased that I could read this book without any confusion as to the storyline. 

The story of the girls, the police work and especially the perpetrators past made an interesting, thrilling and ultimately gripping read.

Rebecca Blomberg 

Mitz

Aurore

Melissa M.

Ella 

Ingelin

Alistair James

Kim Klein Hesselink

Evi stuyts

Detective Helen Grace is on the trail of a twisted serial killer in this riveting thriller in the "gripping"* international bestselling series. Ruby wakes up in a strange room. Her captor calmly explains that no one is looking for her. No one wants her. Except him. When the body of a woman is found buried on a secluded beach, Detective Helen Grace is called to the scene. She knows right away that the killer is no amateur. The woman has been dead for years, and no one has even reported her missing. But why would they? She's still sending text messages to her family. Helen is convinced that a criminal mastermind is at work: someone very smart, very careful, and worst of all, very patient. But as she struggles to piece together the killer's motive, time is running out for a victim who is still alive...

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