I Will Make You Pay - Teresa Driscoll

 

Every Wednesday, like clockwork, the terror returns.

It seems like an ordinary Wednesday, until the phone rings. A mysterious caller with a chilling threat. Journalist Alice Henderson hangs up, ready to dismiss it as a hoax against the newspaper. But the next Wednesday, the stalker makes another move—and it becomes clear that this is all about Alice.

Someone wants her to suffer, but for what? Her articles have made her a popular local champion—could it be her past rather than her work that’s put her life in danger? Alice is determined not to give in to fear, but with the police investigation at a dead end, her boyfriend insists on hiring private investigator Matthew Hill.

With every passing Wednesday the warnings escalate, until it’s not only Alice but also her family in the stalker’s sights. As her tormentor closes in, can Alice uncover what she’s being punished for before the terrifying threats become an unthinkable reality?

What did I think?

This is the first Teresa Driscoll novel I've read and it's an absolute cracker!  Fast-paced, gripping and filled with a host of possible suspects, it has all the necessary ingredients to make a tasty whodunit pie that I devoured in two big bites.

Hoax calls at a newspaper aren't out of the ordinary so when journalist Alice picks up the phone one Wednesday afternoon, and the reader is given the most chilling opening line, she is rattled but she doesn't take it too seriously.  Until the next Wednesday when Alice receives a delivery that makes her take it very seriously indeed.  Dreading each Wednesday and the disturbing escalating threats, Alice's boyfriend hires a private investigator to keep Alice safe.  What the PI doesn't know is that Alice isn't who she appears to be...cue dramatic music!

What a twisty ride this is!  With secrets being revealed from Alice's past and flashbacks to the perpetrator's past, my eyes were glued to the page and I couldn't read fast enough.  Although not excusing his current actions, I actually felt really sorry for the mystery boy in the 'Him' chapters.  Brought up by his gran who goes to work on a Wednesday night to make ends meet, he is scarred by events beyond his control.  No wonder he hates Wednesdays.

Alice's past is equally intriguing and I loved the extra layer this gave to the intricate and carefully crafted story.  It certainly made me suspect pretty much every male character in the book at one point or another and really kept me on my toes.  I didn't even realise I'd held my breath towards the end until it exploded out of my mouth as my jaw dropped.  Such brilliant writing!

Suspenseful, chilling and filled with tension, I Will Make You Pay is a breathtaking thriller.  It may be my first Teresa Driscoll novel but it most definitely will not be my last.  

I chose to read an ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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In The Dying Minutes - J.A. Baker

Everyone has their secrets, some are more deadly than others.

What is she running away from?

When Leah is involved in a train crash, she goes to a therapist, Will. He attempts to help her through the trauma but whenever Leah is in his presence, strange things occur. She suffers from hallucinations that include visions of her dead brother, Ellis. 

As Leah reveals to Will that her friends Jacob and Chloe wronged her, further flashbacks of her childhood and parts of her life she would sooner forget begin to surface, troubling Leah even more.

But what is actually bothering her and what led Leah to be on that train? 

Nothing is as it seems, and soon she will learn the heart-breaking truth… 

What did I think?

Well this was a psychological thriller with a capital P.  I love J.A. Baker books and In The Dying Minutes feels much darker than her previous books; it's tense, creepy and disturbing which makes it a goosebumpy page turner.

Leah is such a complex character that you can't tell what is real and what is in her head.  Losing her boyfriend, her job and her home in quick succession has sent her on a downward spiral with devastating consequences.  It's not a spoiler to say that Leah is involved in a train crash and I just have to mention that J.A. Baker's writing of this scene was absolutely sublime.  It's not something I ever want to experience but I felt and heard unimaginable things through J.A. Baker's powerful writing.  I don't want to go into any details but there's one thing that stuck in my mind just before the crash and it's one of those sliding doors, what if moments.  I love this sort of thing, like the twist of fate and the possibility that everyone ended up where they were supposed to be.

Although I've focused on the train crash, the story is so much more than that.  It's a deep delve into the psyche of Leah, not just through her therapist but through her own actions.  Leah is so obsessed with her ex-boyfriend, Jacob, that she stalks him and his new girlfriend, Chloe.  I really enjoyed seeing inside the mind of a stalker: the delusions, the obsession and the disturbing mental health.

What really stands out for me is the way that the format of the book seems to mirror Leah's mind.  It jumps around a bit but rather than feel confusing, it just added to the authenticity of Leah's state of mind.  There are quite a few layers of the story as we unearth Leah's past and you can't help but feel sorry for her and think how things could have been different if she'd had counselling at an early age.  The story of Leah's brother, Ellis, really got to me and I loved the final thing that linked him and Leah - I just can't say what it is!!!

Shocking, disturbing and outstanding, In The Dying Minutes is so full of surprises that I feel like I need to read it again to pick up all the nuances that J.A. Baker has woven into her exceptional story.  An intelligent and imaginative story that is highly recommended.

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

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BLOG TOUR: Strangers - C.L. Taylor

Ursula, Gareth and Alice have never met before.

Ursula thinks she killed the love of her life.

Gareth’s been receiving strange postcards.

And Alice is being stalked.

None of them are used to relying on others – but when the three strangers’ lives unexpectedly collide, there’s only one thing for it: they have to stick together. Otherwise, one of them will die.

Three strangers, two secrets, one terrifying evening.

The million-copy bestseller returns with a gripping new novel that will keep you guessing until the end.

What did I think?

You're always guaranteed a good read with a C.L. Taylor book and her new novel Strangers does not disappoint.  With a massive hook in Chapter 1 that drew me in immediately, I absolutely raced through the book and read it cover to cover over a 24 hour period, begrudgingly putting it down so I could go to sleep.

Strangers is well named as it is a bit strange; reading the backstories of three unrelated characters and wondering how they all end up being in the position where we are introduced to them in Chapter 1.  The three characters are all very different but hover around the periphery of Alice's life: Alice manages a clothes shop in Bristol Meads Shopping Centre, Gareth keeps a watchful eye over the centre as a security guard and Ursula is a shoplifter.

With three separate stories there's a lot going on, but not so much that it ever gets confusing.  Alice ends up with a stalker when she starts online dating, Gareth has his hands full looking after his elderly mum and Ursula is so desperate for somewhere to live that she moves in with creepy Ed.  Ed really made my skin crawl and if I was Ursula I'd rather sleep in my car than spend another night under his roof.  As well as what's happening in the characters' lives there is also a story of young men going missing in Bristol and I loved how C.L. Taylor adds social media posts of people chatting about this to bring the story to life and to keep it in our mind.  

Rather surprisingly, I don't think I had a preferred character; I loved reading about all of them and how they each cope with their own loneliness.  I felt for Alice suddenly finding herself single, Gareth putting his life on hold to look after his mum and Ursula who is punishing herself for something that happened in her past. While I was reading, I was wondering how these three separate stories could ever intertwine but of course C.L. Taylor does this magnificently.

Fast-paced, gripping, intriguing and completely addictive Strangers is another outstanding novel from C.L. Taylor, the queen of psychological thrillers.  Strangers is a top of the charts guaranteed bestseller and a recommended read.

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

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BLOG TOUR: The EX-Girlfriend - Nicola Moriarty

SHE WANTS HIM BACK. SHE WANTS YOU GONE. 

Luke is the one. After everything she's been through, Georgia knows she deserves someone like him, to make her feel loved. Safe. 

The only problem is his ex-girlfriend. Luke says Cadence is having trouble accepting their break-up, but Georgia thinks there's more to the story. She has the feeling someone is watching her. 

So when everything starts to go wrong at work, at home, in her old friendships and her happy new relationship with Luke, Georgia starts to feel afraid. 

It's becoming clear Cadence wants what she has. But how far will she go to get it? 

What did I think?

I've been meaning to read a Nicola Moriarty book for a while and The EX-Girlfriend sounded so good that it jumped right to the top of my Nicola Moriarty queue.  It's fast paced and a really easy read that is impossible to put down so I found that I raced through it in two sittings; it would have been one sitting but, rather disappointingly, I had to put it down so I could go to sleep when I was 75% through.

The prologue is entitled 'The Elevator' and it sent shivers down my spine; there's nothing worse than being in an enclosed box with someone you don't want to be in close contact with.  It could be quite innocuous but there is just something so menacing about it and that's before we even get to know the characters of Georgia and Cadence.

I really liked the character of Georgia; the youngest and only girl in a family of boys.  Although she may have been taunted and teased by her brothers when they were all growing up, I had no doubt that they would look out for her and never more so than when she brings her new man, Luke, to her brother's wedding.  The way she met Luke was rather fortuitous as she had been stood up on a Tinder date.  Georgia was just about to leave the bar when she got hassled by some beefy blokes and Luke rode in on his white horse to come to her rescue.  Fate does seem to work in mysterious ways and Georgia happily exchanged numbers with Luke.  She later finds out that Luke comes with a lot of baggage, namely his ex-girlfriend Cadence.

By the end of Chapter Two my bullshit-o-meter was going absolutely haywire.  Maybe I'm just old and sceptical but, apart from his ex-girlfriend issue, Luke seemed too good to be true.  Meanwhile, Cadence sets out on a campaign to get Luke back by stalking Georgia.  This really was very frightening and it just shows how easy it actually is to stalk people these days thanks to Social Media.  I always cringe when people 'check in' to places, sharing every minutiae of their life and not realising that they're leaving themselves wide open and vulnerable.  Georgia didn't seem to be able to go anywhere without Cadence's eyes on her and I really started to worry about how far this would go when it seemed like Cadence not only wanted Luke back, but she wanted to ruin Georgia's life in the process.

Gripping, chilling and scarily believable, The EX-Girlfriend is a firecracker of a read; I couldn't put it down.  Even if I had worked some of it out (and I'm not saying whether I had or not), it didn't spoil my enjoyment one bit and I was immensely satisfied at the girl-power ending.  Nicola Moriarty has definitely earned the full five stars for this The EX-Girlfriend and I'm even more excited to read her other books now.

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

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About the author:

Nicola Moriarty is a novelist, copywriter and mum to two small (but remarkably strong-willed) daughters. In between various career changes, becoming a mum and studying at university, she began to write. Now, she can't seem to stop. The Fifth Letter was her UK debut novel, followed by Those Other Women. 

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The Girl With No Past - Kathryn Croft

Twenty years running from your past. Today it catches up.

A gripping psychological thriller for fans of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train.

Leah Mills lives a life of a fugitive – kept on the run by one terrible day from her past. It is a lonely life, without a social life or friends until – longing for a connection – she meets Julian. For the first time she dares to believe she can live a normal life.

Then, on the twentieth anniversary of that day, she receives a card. Someone knows the truth about what happened. Someone who won’t stop until they’ve destroyed the life Leah has created.

But is Leah all she seems? Or does she deserve everything she gets?

Everyone has secrets. But some are deadly.

What did I think?

It took me a few chapters to really get into this book but once I did, I couldn’t rest until I found out what had happened in Leah’s past. It’s a really good psychological thriller as it has the reader keen to uncover the past but at the same time on the edge of your seat trying to find out who is stalking Leah in the present day.

I do love a good flashback so I really enjoyed these parts of the book as I scoured the pages for clues as to what Leah is hiding from her past. The young Leah has few friends at school and is part of a small group of four – 2 boys and 2 girls. They quickly pair up and become couples but Leah’s relationship is far from perfect as her boyfriend, Adam, sets up a hate campaign against one of the teachers.  He is so obsessed with this teacher that I wondered if something untoward had happened and it was really creepy when he used to sit outside her house. The others are drawn into Adam’s campaign and my mind was racing as I wondered what had happened. I’m not going reveal any spoilers but I will say that I was grimacing as some events were described.

Leah is paying for her sins by living sparingly, having little contact with family and not attempting to make friends. She works in a library and meets Ben who is donating books one day. I think Leah sees Ben as safe as he has a girlfriend and only wants to be a friend. It seemed completely out of character that she trusted him so quickly as she had kept everybody at arms-length until then. Leah becomes even more unrecognisable by joining a dating site and meeting a guy called Julian. He seems perfect and even accepts her soulless living arrangements. So I thought that she is finally getting her life back together…but I was so WRONG! As the stalker’s campaign against Leah intensified I started to wonder who she could trust and I actually ended up mistrusting everybody. Sometimes you are just better off on your own, I say!

As the past is revealed I thought of how cruel fate can be – how one action or inaction can cause a chain reaction of events that will affect you for the rest of your life. I did really enjoy this book but I did feel a bit exasperated at times with Leah’s conflicting ability to trust no-one/trust a complete stranger, so for that reason it’s a solid 4 stars from me.

I received this e-book from the publisher, Bookouture, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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You Belong To Me - Samantha Hayes

The compelling new psychological suspense novel featuring DI Lorraine Fisher, from the author of Until You’re Mine and Before You Die. Perfect for fans of S J Watson and Sophie Hannah.

Fleeing the terrors of her former life, Isabel has left England, and at last is beginning to feel safe.

Then a letter shatters her world, and she returns home determined not to let fear rule her life any more.

But she's unable to shake off the feeling that someone who knows her better than she knows herself may be following her.

Watching. Waiting.

Ready to step back into her life and take control all over again.

What did I think?

This was a really good psychological thriller.  It was really creepy at times and I found that I was becoming suspicious of everyone, even the police.  I could feel the tension building with every page turn and when Felix was introduced my suspicious mind went into overdrive!

This was the first Samantha Hayes book I have read but it is the third containing the character DCI Lorraine Fisher.  I didn't feel like I needed to have read the two earlier books as I immediately liked Lorraine.  We are introduced to her as she is being treated for stress, which shows her as a normal person rather than a superwoman police officer.  I think she is a great character, a strong woman who lives and breathes each case she is given, to the point that she continues to work a case when she is supposed to be off work relaxing!

It's quite difficult to review this one without giving away any spoilers.  There are some nice twists in the book, some I did see coming and others I didn't, but even though I guessed some things I still enjoyed the book immensely.  The writing was excellent as I really couldn't put the book down, I didn't know what was real or who was crazy, and my interest was held from start to finish.  So much so that I'll definitely be looking to read more books by Samantha Hayes.

I received this e-book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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