About the Book

The girl emerged from the woods, barely alive. Her story was beyond belief. But it was true. Every dreadful word of it.

Days later, another desperate escapee is found – and a pattern is emerging. Pairs of victims are being abducted, imprisoned then faced with a terrible choice: kill or be killed.

Would you rather lose your life or lose your mind?

Detective Inspector Helen Grace has faced down her own demons on her rise to the top. As she leads the investigation to hunt down this unseen monster, she learns that it may be the survivors – living calling cards – who hold the key to the case.

And unless she succeeds, more innocents will die . . .

My Thoughts

This was an intense read. The opening chapter throws you straight into the action and it doesn’t stop.

The first in the Helen Grace series, Grace is hunting a particularly gruesome serial killer. Except this killer isn’t the one pulling the trigger. Two victims are kidnapped, and given an impossible choice, kill or be killed. The victims are resistant at first, but days without food or water soon take their tool. Those who survive have to live with the guilt of what they’ve done.

This book sucked me in straight away, and I read the entire thing in one go. It had a good balance of backstory and character development (Grace’s vice is very different to most detectives) and action. The chapters from the victims point of view give you a good insight into their thought process, and how they cope afterwards.

Chapters focussing on the police investigation, and the lives of the officers, give you a break from the action to catch your breath, but I was still racing through the book waiting for the next twist.

Arlidge does an excellent job of making you feel horror at what the victims are going through, while keeping you so intrigued that you can’t stop reading. Even though there were many different points of view, and short chapters, I still felt like I connected with the characters.

I’m definitely going to continue with the series, and I can’t wait to start reading the next one.