Cut to the Bone by Alex Caan

Twenty7

(3 Nov. 2016)

The Blurb . . .

Ruby is a vlogger, a rising star of YouTube and a heroine to millions of teenage girls. And she's missing. She's an adult - nothing to worry about, surely? Until the video's uploaded. Ruby, in the dirt and pleading for her life.

Who better to head up the investigation than the Met's rising star, Detective Inspector Kate Riley? She's leading a shiny new team, high-powered, mostly female and with the best resources money can buy. It's time for them to prove what they can do. Alongside her, Detective Sergeant Zain Harris - poster boy for multiracial policing and the team's newest member - has his own unique contribution to make. But can Kate wholly trust him and when he's around, can she trust herself?

Ruby's millions of fans are hysterical about what may have happened to her. The press is having a field day and as the investigation hurtles out of control in the glare of publicity, it becomes clear that the world of YouTube vloggers and social media is much, much darker than anyone could have imagined in their worst nightmares.

And the videos keep coming . . .

My thoughts . . .

I am rather shocked that this is Caan's debut novel! What a start!

When I read the blurb for this book, I was really intrigued to discover the angle the author would take, hoping that I wouldn't be met with thousands of pointless police interviews with randoms who had once sent Ruby a negative comment online, and I wasn't disappointed!

When the special task force are called straight to a missing persons case, an adult who has been missing less than 12 hours, they can't help but wonder why, there doesn't appear to be any reason why she is any different to any other missing young adult, other than her parents "just know" something is wrong. I was a little concerned with where this was going to start with, however, as the plot starts to dramatically unfold, things start to become clearer.

The attention to detail Caan portrays in his knowledge surrounding the workings of the elite police squad, the politics around them and his clearly intimate knowledge of the world wide web and technology is wonderful. All three are areas I like to think I know a bit about, but to no real intelligent level I'm afraid, yet Caan details aspects of each in such a way that you can understand it, and I mean really understand it, explaining jargon and not going over board with lengthy descriptives, which for me made the book so much better as I actually understood what they were talking about! Authors can run the risk of over explaining things, of making the reader feel stupid for not knowing something but Caan got the balance perfectly right.

I really loved how these characters developed - a new team, thrown together not so long ago, working on their first major crime case - seeing the dynamics between them was refreshing, and, as they are part of a new elite squad, their procedures and resources are different to those that we find in mainstream police crime thrillers, which added a really brilliant dimension to the story.

Kate and Zain clearly have pasts that they are keeping from each other, and it was a pleasure to watch their development on a personal level, seeing how they grew together and tried to learn to work together and trust each other. There is so potential for the whole squad, I really hope that Caan has plans for them in the future!

The plot twists and turns are intelligent and shocking, just when you think you have it all worked out, BAM, another heart stopping twist that keeps you more than engaged, it makes it impossible to put down, you will keep turning the pages until you get to the very end!

Cut to the Bone is an absolutely terrific debut novel from an author I hope sticks around for a long time to come!

I would like to thank the publishers and Net Galley for sending me this copy in exchange for my honest review.

About the author . . .

Alex Caan has spent over a decade working in Information Systems Security for a number of government organisations, and is currently specialising in Terrorism Studies. A lifetime passion for writing was sparked by the encouraging words of an English Teacher in school, and eventually led to Alex successfully completing an MA in Creative Writing, and write Cut to the Bone.

The Sister by Louise Jensen

Bookouture

7 July 2016  

The Blurb . . .

‘I did something terrible Grace. I hope you can forgive me …’

Grace hasn’t been the same since the death of her best friend Charlie. She is haunted by Charlie’s words the last time she saw her, and in a bid for answers, opens an old memory box of Charlie’s. It soon becomes clear that there was a lot she didn’t know about her best friend.

When Grace starts a campaign to find Charlie’s father, Anna,
a girl claiming to be Charlie’s sister steps forward. For Grace, finding Anna is like finding a new family and soon Anna has made herself very comfortable in Grace and boyfriend Dan’s home.

But something isn’t right. Things disappear, Dan’s acting strangely and Grace is sure that someone is following her. Is it all in Grace’s mind? Or as she gets closer to discovering the truth about both Charlie and Anna, is Grace in terrible danger?

There was nothing she could have done to save Charlie … Or was there?

My Thoughts . . .

Wow. Just Wow. Well, not just wow, I am going to give you my thoughts but for a moment, just WOW!

In The Sister, we meet Grace, whose best friend Charlie has recently died, leaving a massive hole in her life that nothing can fill. Having been through so much heartache in her life already, Grace is really struggling to carry on as “normally” as possible. With her job and relationship on the line, will anything or anyone be able to help her? Then along comes Anna, Charlie’s long-lost half-sister. Who better to take fill the void left by Charlie than her actual sister?! But all is not as it seems, is Anna really in this for the right reasons? Can Grace ever really get to the bottom of Charlie’s secrets and move on from her heartache and guilt?

Jensen spins an intricate web of lies and deceit, leading the reader up and down the garden path and back again. With the story flashing back to the day Grace and Charlie met, and brilliantly moving through their lives together, switching from the past to the present, Jensen vividly allows us to see how they grew together, and what effects those formative years have on the present day. Jensen delivers an intense and gripping narrative with shocking twists and turns that will leave you breathless, your heart in your mouth and your emotions in tatters.

There are books that you will read in your life that you hate and can’t finish, there are some that you will enjoy and then forget. There are some that you will read, enjoy and perhaps recommend to your family and friends. Then, there are THOSE books, a real select few that will leave an impression on you, never to be forgotten which you will shout about from the rooftops. I have a few of those, Enid Blyton’s Mallory Towers, Judy Bloom’s Just as Long as We’re Together, Nick Hornby’s About a Boy, Jackie Collins’ Lady Boss – all for different reasons – have stuck with me over the years and I just know that The Sister by Louise Jensen is going straight on that list.

The Sister is an absolutely superbly written psychological thriller; an emotional rollercoaster that will make you love, hate, cry and loathe. But most importantly it makes you feel…

I genuinely cannot believe that this is Jensen’s first novel. Nothing like starting with a bang!

The way Jensen writes is unbelievable, I was totally absorbed in this book, the raw emotions surrounding death are heart wrenching and I can only assume that this emotion is drawn from real experiences. It is written in such a way that your heart will swell for the characters and, even if you are lucky enough to have never lost a loved one, you will be left knowing what it feels like. This book should be sold with a box of Kleenex and Pro-Plus because you will not sleep until it’s finished. It’s books like this that make me wish I didn’t have a day job!

There is not much more I can say without giving away spoilers, other than thank you. Thank you Louise (if I may?) for going to that writing class, thank you to everyone in her acknowledgements for not letting her give up on this book, thank you Bookouture for publishing it and thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read it in advance, in exchange for my honest review ... But most of all, and again, thank you Jensen for bringing these characters to life and for taking that risk.

Jensen is most definitely top of my “to watch” list, I cannot wait to see what else she has in store for us.

About the author . . .

Louise lives in Northamptonshire with her husband, children, madcap spaniel and a rather naughty cat. The Sister is Louise's debut novel.

Louise loves to hear from readers and writers and can be found at www.louisejensen.co.uk, where she regularly blogs flash fiction.

Mummy's Favourite by Sarah Flint

Aria (1 Aug. 2016)

The blurb . . .

He's watching ... He's waiting ... Who's next?

Buried in a woodland grave are a mother and her child. One is alive. One is dead.
DC 'Charlie' Stafford is assigned by her boss, DI Geoffrey Hunter to assist with the missing person investigation, where mothers and children are being snatched in broad daylight.
As more pairs go missing, the pressure mounts. Leads are going cold. Suspects are identified but have they got the right person?
Can Charlie stop the sadistic killer whose only wish is to punish those deemed to have committed a wrong? Or will she herself unwittingly become a victim.
A gripping, heart-stopping crime thriller, introducing new series character DC Charlotte 'Charlie' Stafford of the London Metropolitan Police.

My thoughts . . .

This is an absolutely fantastic debut novel,

I genuinely can't believe this is the first book written by Flint!

Mummy's Favourite introduces us to DC Charlotte Stafford, Charlie, a police officer in London who is called to work on a missing persons case. A mother and her son have disappeared, seemingly having run away from an abusive marriage, but why has she only taken one of her children?

The plot thickens as 2 more women go missing along with one of their children and the men in their lives weave webs of lies and deceit that Charlie must unravel to get to the truth before time runs out for the missing women.

From the very first page this book had me hooked. The prologue alone had my heart in my mouth and covered in goosebumps!

I loved the authors style of writing, giving us the perfect amount of descriptive prose to enable a connection with the characters and locations, without being boring, repetitive or tedious. I was really able to relate to the main character, she's not perfect, she has a past and she has had to prove herself good enough in her male dominated world.

The story line was unlike any I have read before, with twists and turns throughout, you are left thinking you have managed to solve it only to have another spanner thrown in the works and realise you are completely off track!

Without giving anything away, this is a brilliantly written, nail biting, edge of your seat thriller with a pace that never lets up, with breath-taking twists and shocking turns you will be left guessing until the very end! 

Do not start reading this unless you are prepared to read it all in one go!

DC Stafford and her team are so brilliantly written I just can't wait for the next instalment!

I would like to thank the publishers for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.