The Book Magnet: BLOG TOUR: Dead Wrong (Maggie Jamieson thriller, Book 2)

The serial killer is behind bars. But the murders are just beginning…

DC Maggie Jamieson’s past comes back to haunt her in this dark and gripping serial killer thriller.

Three missing women running out of time…

They were abducted years ago. Notorious serial killer Bill Raven admitted to killing them and was sentenced to life.

The case was closed – at least DC Maggie Jamieson thought it was…

But now one of them has been found, dismembered and dumped in a bin bag in town.

Forensics reveal that she died just two days ago, when Raven was behind bars, so Maggie has a second killer to find.

Because even if the other missing women are still alive, one thing’s for certain: they don’t have long left to live…

What did I think?

Noelle Holten's extraordinary debut, Dead Inside, must have been the most talked about book of 2019 so we were all on tenterhooks for book 2 in the Maggie Jamieson series after the cliffhanger ending left us hungry for more. Dead Wrong picks up where we left off with convicted serial killer, Bill Raven, launching his appeal and sending Maggie into turmoil.

Raven admitted to killing several women but claims that Maggie Jamieson coerced a confession out of him. When the dismembered body of a woman turns up who appears to have died recently, Maggie wonders how she got it so wrong when the woman is identified as one who Raven admitted to killing several years earlier. Even her colleagues seem to doubt that Maggie put the right man behind bars. As more bodies turn up, the police search for the killer but Maggie is sure that Raven is behind this somehow. Can she prove it before he is released from prison?

The procedural detail in Dead Wrong gives such an authentic feel to the story that I had to often remind myself that I was reading fiction and not true crime. It feels very true to life so it was quite bone chilling reading about the circumstances of the victims. I don't really want to delve too much into the brilliant plot but I think if I was Maggie, I would have struggled not to wipe the smirk off Raven's face with my right hook.

I felt we got to know a bit more about Maggie's personal life, or lack of, in this instalment; she seems to live for her job and constantly be on duty so puts aside any chance of her own personal happiness. Even her friendship with Dr Moloney, which could perhaps be more than friendship, revolves around work as they spend any time they have together discussing the case. Raven has definitely got under Maggie's skin so I'm not surprised that she can't think of anything but proving his guilt before he has the chance to appeal.

Without going into who or what, there's another little story running through Dead Wrong and as I was rapidly approaching the end, I was wondering how it would be resolved. With a gasp out loud to rival any that have gone before it, Noelle Holten has only gone and left us with the mother of all cliffhangers! So now I'm already biting my nails in anticipation of book 3.

Dead Wrong is so clever, crafty and compelling that Noelle Holten should be crowned Queen of Cliffhangers as well as Queen of Crime. Mark my words, the Maggie Jamieson series is going to go from strength to strength so grab a copy and introduce yourself to Maggie today.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

About the author:

Noelle Holten is an award-winning blogger at www.crimebookjunkie.co.uk. She is the PR & Social Media Manager for Bookouture, a leading digital publisher in the UK, and was a regular reviewer on the Two Crime Writers and a Microphone podcast. Noelle worked as a Senior Probation Officer for eighteen years, covering a variety of cases including those involving serious domestic abuse. She has three Hons BA’s – Philosophy, Sociology (Crime & Deviance) and Community Justice – and a Masters in Criminology. Noelle’s hobbies include reading, attending as many book festivals as she can afford and sharing the booklove via her blog.

Dead Inside is her debut novel with One More Chapter/Harper Collins UK and the start of a new series featuring DC Maggie Jamieson.