Saturday 5 August 2017

A Mind to Kill - John Nicholl


The hunters become the hunted…

She watched as he slowly approached the room and stopped for a moment, seemingly weighing up his options. And then she called out in a hushed, well-practised childlike whisper she’d perfected over time and come to love infinitely more than any living person. ‘I’m in here. Come on. I’m in here. Come and play with me. I’ve been waiting for you…’

When Rebecca's childhood abuser avoids prosecution, it sets her on a path to revenge, revenge on any man who preys on the innocent.

Twenty-three-year-old Rebecca poses as a child online and sets her trap, luring one predatory sex offender after another to their deaths.

When a severed head and other male body parts are found washed up on a windswept estuary beach, the police begin their investigation.

The internationally bestselling author of White is the Coldest Colour is back with a heart-racing, electrifying psychological thriller packed with suspense.

Brilliantly gripping, A Mind To Kill will have you hooked from the very first page and holding your breath to the heart-stopping and shocking ending.

What did I think?

Never one to be afraid of tackling difficult subjects, John Nicholl's latest novel is set around grooming on the internet BUT with a twist.  On this occasion, roles are reversed as the paedophiles are lured into a web from which they can't escape.  A web woven by 23 year old Rebecca, who was abused as a 6 year old child and saw her abuser go unpunished and walk free.  Rebecca poses as a little girl online and selects her victims with care.  Only the most deviant and disgusting men will be invited to walk into her carefully planned trap but one thing is certain, they won't be walking back out.

"Won't you come into my parlour?" said the Spider to the Fly.

Rebecca blames the detective who was in charge of her case for it all falling apart.  Known by his workmates as Grav, he's a bit of a wreck of a man these days.  Rebecca is closer to Grav than he realises and only he can provide the missing piece of the jigsaw to finally put Rebecca's tortured mind at rest.

It is a subject that is difficult to read at times, but that's what makes John Nicholl's books so real.  Some of the torture and dismemberment scenes are quite gruesome and I almost read it with one eye closed, but it didn't put me off reading it in the slightest.  Rebecca has suffered so much, and continues to suffer - her abuser definitely broke her and in her eyes her vigilante acts are stopping other little girls from being broken by these sick men.

Kudos to John Nicholl for tackling such a difficult subject that many people would shy away from.  It's no good burying our heads in the sand - these things are happening in the world now!  Yes, this is fiction but parts of it are shockingly very real indeed.

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

My rating:




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