Series: Detective Kate Young #2
Published by Thomas & Mercer on June 29, 2021
Format: eARC
Source: Net Galley
Pages: 365
Amazon UK, Amazon US
Goodreads
Also by this author: The Birthday, What Happens in France, Little Girl Lost , Secrets of the Dead, The Missing Girls , The Silent Children , The Chosen Ones, Life Swap, Take A Chance On Me, What Happens in France, Suddenly Single, The Birthday, Last Lullaby, The Dare , The Sleepover, The Blossom Twins , The Secret Admirer, Somebody’s Daughter , EndGame, An Eye for an Eye
DI Kate Young can’t trust anybody. Not even herself.
In the bleak countryside around Blithfield Reservoir, a serial murderer and rapist is leaving a trail of bloodshed. His savage calling card: the word ‘MINE’ carved into each of his victims.
DI Kate Young struggles to get the case moving—even when one of the team’s own investigators is found dead in a dumpster. But Kate is battling her own demons. Obsessed with exposing Superintendent John Dickson and convinced there’s a conspiracy running deep in the force, she no longer knows who to trust. Kate’s crusade has already cost her dearly. What will she lose next?
When her stepsister spills a long-buried secret, Kate realises she’s found the missing link—now she must prove it before the killer strikes again. With enemies closing in on all sides, she’s prepared to do whatever it takes to bring them down. But time is running out, and Kate's past has pushed her to the very edge.
Can she stop herself from falling?
I swear with each book Carol writes she gets darker and darker! It is really no difference here! However, despite this darkness, she still finds the time to make you chuckle when you least expect it.
Such a dark topic generally, one that affects more women than it is cared to be thought of and here we are sucked down a rabbit hole. It was treated with care and respect and was not sensationalised to sell a book. It was obvious, I felt, who was being obsessed over, this gave me such a panic as I had to speed my way through to make sure they were ok. It gave the book that added intensity because normally you follow the creepy-ass killer and even though you do worry about who the intended may be, when it becomes someone you know that amps up that panic.
All the attacks were personal to the perpetrator, and carving MINE into their skin just added his dominance over them and over the woman he thought about still. He sees them as his property but also a means to an end. A thrill until he can get the prize he wants….again.
Carol being Carol, being the trickster she is couldn’t leave it without one final humdinger and boy it is a clanger. I want to just ignore this discovery because quite frankly I don’t like it. I mean why!!!! Why! It definitely going to put a spanner in the works for the next book, edging closer to that showdown we are hotly anticipating.
I do love characters that are ‘broken’ shall we say. Kate is broken but she is also on the path of fixing herself, she has a mission and once she has completed it. Once Dickson gets his comeuppance I look forward to seeing Kate heal. She is such a strong character, she doesn’t shy away from anything and isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty.
I have read every single book Carol has written and in each book, you can see how much she has grown both in her writing and in her confidence. She writes such visceral and edgy scenes, making them so realistic I felt I could be there with Kate and her team. Not sure that is always a good thing!
She knows how to write a story that will suck you in from the beginning and sucker punch you at the end. She will leave you reeling from the shock but then dying for more! Page after page, you are left in a situation that you don’t want to put the book down because you don’t want to miss a thing but know you need to otherwise you won’t sleep – but then sleep is overrated no?
I never quite know where Carol may take us in a book but I always know it will be an adventure and it is no different here. I love her writing, I love being sucked into the story and spat straight back out. I love that I will still think about this for days after finishing those final words. That is a guarantee. This really is not a series to be missed.
Until next time xxx
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
damppebbles says
Thanks so much for being part of the blog tour xx
Zoé says
Thank you so much for having me Emma xx
nickimags @ Secret Library Book Blog says
Fab review lovely! Hope you ‘re well? xx
Zoé says
Hey lovely!! I am good just really busy. Not had much time to blog. How are you doing? Xx
nickimags @ Secret Library Book Blog says
Good thanks xx
Carla says
Wonderful review Zoe, this sounds gripping.
Zoé says
I do love Carol’s books! Hope you find a chance to read them.