Helen's name has been cleared and she is back on the force, but her time in prison has left a mark - on her and her team. With her boss gone, Helen is covering her own job and trying to manage the team. Trying to return to normal doesn't seem like it is on the cards, she has trouble sleeping and her apartment feels claustrophobic. Her only real release is riding her new bike, purchased with compensation money after her wrongful arrest, conviction, and incarceration. While riding her bike early one morning she is nearly run down by a speeding car on a country rode, and after saving herself from a nasty crash she discovers a body lying in the middle of the road - a victim of foul play.
Helen has no way of knowing that the woman lying in the road is just the first, that the body count will grow in a matter of hours. What seemed to be a random attack is the first move on the part of a killer with a plan and their accomplice. Helen and her team are used to dealing with grisly cases of murder, and they know the darker side of human nature, but the killers are working at an accelerated pace and the team is playing a desperate game of catch up to try and figure out who the killer is and what their endgame is. The clock is ticking and the stakes are high, and before the day is out more victims will fall.
The DI Helen Grace novels are well written and extremely addictive - pulling together the best elements of the crime and thriller genres, while maintaining a brisk pace with short and snappy chapters that seem to read themselves. I have been a huge fan of the series since the first book was released and await each offering with an eagerness that would be highly embarrassing if my mother wasn't also reading the series and was just as eager to get her hands on the series as I am!
I have said this before, but in many ways Arlidge is an English James Patterson, writing books that are fast paced, kept lean, and keep you glued to the pages. Both Arlidge and Patterson pare back on the dense details and let the story drive you forward rather than bogging you down with details that are usually there as set dressing rather than helping the story - in many ways the stories unfold like a television series which is no doubt from Arlidge's background in television.
Somewhat surprisingly this book was originally advertised as being called Follow my leader, but somewhere along the line it changed to Love me not. Having read the book I think I have an inkling of why, and Love me not feels like a better fit for the story. Now comes the wait for the next book in the series!
If you like this book then try:
- Pop goes the weasel by M.J. Arlidge
- One step too far by Tina Seskis
- The basement by Stephen Leather
- Level 26: Dark origins by Anthony E. Zuiker and Duane Swierczynski
- Now you see her by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
- Vodka doesn't freeze by Leah Giarratano
- The slaughter man by Tony Parsons
- Kill switch by Neal Baer & Jonathan Greene
- The edge of normal by Carla Norton
- City of fear by Alafair Burke
Reviewed by Brilla
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