I love the cover of this book and the story absolutely kept me intrigued and reading further. An interesting read!

This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

Wow, what a thrilling book. It has the makings of a good movie, a virus, missing scientists, and the detectives that must race against time to stop an epidemic. Recommended.

On Bonfire Night, St James Park is full of protesters in a stand off with police, but when a body in found the next day dressed in a Guy Fawkes mask, Zain Harris and Kate Riley are asked to investigate. The victim turns out to be a civil servant that seems like a nice man, why would anyone want him dead.

A thrilling and gruesome adventure.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Bonnier Zaffre and Alex Cann for the opportunity to read First To Die.
This is the first novel I have read from this author. I had a bit of trouble getting into the storyline but persevered. I am glad I did. I ended up enjoying the storyline. Will have to go back and read book one as that may have been a factor.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 alright stars.

I was interested in this book as it was a bit different as it had a bio terrorism theme.

However I found myself drifting in places with all the police jargon and bio jargon and abbreviations.

The characters were well written however I hadn’t read the first book so I do think it may have been better if I had - although there was back story context written in, I think I missed something.

The book started well but dipped in the middle section but I enjoyed the final third.

I've just had the pleasure of reading this, immediately after reading Cut To The Bone, and have to say WOW! WHAT A RIDE!!

Kate Riley and Zain Harris are back with their brilliant team, this time investigating a grisly murder which sees Kate in isolation after being exposed to a possible Cat A virus.

Once cleared of symptoms and risk, they now have to solve what becomes a very difficult and involved murder.

As usual, with the help of her team, they soon discover more clues and other victims, but stalled by politics and thrown all sorts of curve balls, they are fighting the clock to find the killer before they strike again.

In her personal life, things take a turn for the worst, endangering both Kate and her mother's lives, despite them moving again to a more secure property.

As the investigation progresses, we see the level of research the author has gone to, proving Alex to be one to watch out for.

I'm so glad I picked up this series, and really hope it continues for a long time to come.

That was one intense book, I feel as though I have learned about far too about the incredibly scary world of biochemistry, and just what horrors could await the world if this was to become a reality. My head feels fried from the amount of information i have taken in, and its already been giving me bad dreams.

Yet I didn't find I was particularly hooked on this thriller, nor did I have any ideas where the investigation would take us.

I was though surprised when I referred back to the blurb after I had read a significant amount of the book and things still hadn't really occurred that were mentioned in it. I thought I was going to be reading a fast paced thriller with a real race against time, but instead it seemed like the majority of the first half of the book was focused on one specific dead body, and that when it started to get more serious and the investigation proceeded, I found myself a bit confused.

This may be because I am realising that I am just not keen on thrillers that involve drugs, drug trials, pharmaceutical companies and all that related industry.

That being said I could easily see that the book was getting under my skin, and I was mildly curious as to how everything would be resolved. The writing is very good, and it was my personal preferences clouding my enjoyment of the book.

This was the second book featuring this police team, and although I read the first book a few years ago, I found I was struggling to remember things even with the reminder tidbits, so I would say these are best read one after the other, and Cut to the Bone is by far the better story to my eyes.

I would though be curious to read more from the author in the future, as I suspect it was the crime that I wasn't engaging with properly, rather than anything else. If you like slow building thrillers with a lot of explanations then this could be the book for you.

Thank you to Netgalley and Zaffre for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Hi arkadas!

I was lucky enough to jump onto the First to Die Blog tour, when I read the book description I knew I wanted to read the book. I even bypassed my normal reading books in order to read this book first.

This is the first time I have read any books by Alex Caan So I thought I would give you little extra information.



Born in Manchester

Background in information Systems Security

First Novel: Cut to the Bone

Publisher: Bonnie Zaffre

Twitter / YouTube/ Facebook



Bonefire night in London is a busy night for the police, thousand of anonymous protestor have taken to the streets all the in the same Guy Fawkes costume, causing trouble where ever they go. The next morning a body is found wearing the Guy Fawkes costume is found, DCI Kate Riley and DC Zain Harris are called to investigate  but something is different with this body, as it is disintegrating before the officers. Now the body has to be quarantine as anyone that has been near it. Now Kate and Zain have to investigate a murder without causing mass panic. As they start to look into the victim they realise he might not be so clean-cut as his public image states. As they start to look at the evidence they might be more victims, but why would someone want this seemingly group of victim dead.



I liked the characters of Kate and Zain, they are both very different but driven in solving the case. It interesting reading about character that are dealing with past situation while doing their job. As I had not read the first book (yet) I found the references to what has previously happen make it easy to understand the character, without feeling like I missing out on important information.

Out of the Zain and Kate, I am more interested in Zain just because he lives more in the grey area of life/ work, you never know what is going to happen next with Zain.

The method of murder in First to Die, is gripping and scary considering we had the Salisbury poisoning in March 2018, and the nurse that caught Ebola back in 2014.

The book is a slowly builds, and it pulls you in as you try to figure out who committed the crime and why, I enjoyed the fact that I couldn't guess straight away reason for the crime and the why.

The only thing I would have wanted to no more about is the person that was watching Kate, I hope that this gets cleared up in Book 3.

I will read Cut to the Bone, and I am interested to see what happens next of Kate and Zain, especially Zain considering how the book ended.

I give this book 3.8 out of 5.



Below are the other stops on the First to Die Blog tour, if you would like to find out more about this book, author or series.



Thanks to Bonnier Zaffre for sending me a copy of the book for a fair and honest review, as well as letting me part of the Blog Tour.

If you enjoyed this post, Id be very grateful if you help it spread by emailing it to a friend, or sharing it on Twitter or any other social media platform.

Thanks for reading

This edgy thriller is the second in the Riley and Zain series but works well as a stand-alone too.
Examining themes that are really up to date- think Russia and nerve agents on British soil- Alex Caan’s follow up book is every bit as good as the first.
During Bonfire Night in London, a dead body is discovered but it is difficult to work out how the person has died and when it is revealed that the deceased worked for the government it becomes a race against time to find the motive and modus operandi as the body count grows.
Is it a virus or some sort of poison? Is the general public in danger? Zain and Riley must find this out as quickly as possible.
Kate Riley and Zain work well together although Zain’s unorthodox methods do lead him into trouble.
There is also a side plot concerning Kate’s past and this is not really resolved by the end of the book paving the way for a further novel in the series.
This is an enjoyable read although quite complex so it requires a level of concentration to fully understand the plot. It is a compelling and pertinent story and it certainly made me think as it examined several moral issues as part of the story.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

First to Die is the first Alex Caan novel that I’ve read, and I’m already looking forward to the next. Biological terrorism is a topical subject, particularly with recent events in Salisbury, here it is handled sensitively but chillingly.

The plot is plausible, not outside the realms of reasonable possibility and that’s what makes it so terrifying.

Westminster, Bonfire Night and thousands of anonymous faces with guy fawkes masks and are gathered. Plain clothes detectives are hidden amongst the revellers when an explosive device goes off injuring Zain Harris.

Thankfully Zain isn’t badly injured. Just as well when he and his colleague Kate Riley from the Police Crime Commissioner's office are called to a park the following morning where a masked body is found.

The body has been there a matter of hours but has already started to show signs of decay. Tests reveal that this is from a potentially lethal and highly contagious virus and the body must be quarantined before any further testing.

When the victim is revealed to be a senior civil servant, the likelihood of biological terrorism seems the likely crime. But before the team can get any more answers a key witness in the case goes missing.

Without giving too much away, First to Die is a complex novel that does require a certain level of concentration, but trust me, it’s worth it...

I grew up reading thrillers and crime books, it’s a genre I can fly through and ‘First to Die’ definitely lived up to the expectations I have from this genre. It has twists and turns, great characters, and a deadly virus right at the centre of the story. You learn things as the characters do and it really keeps you on the edge of your seat, wondering who is infected and what might happen to the characters that you become attached to.

It’s worth noting that this is the second book in the ‘Riley and Harris’ series, but you do not need to have read the prior book to enjoy this, there are some allusions to things that have happened in the past. Caan cleverly allows you to catch up without just feeding the reader information, it all seamlessly fits in with the story.

I really enjoyed the premise of the story, with the virus. It was something that comes up every now and again in crime thrillers, however the twist that Caan put on it really made it something special. It felt like everything was at stake and that at any moment mass panic would begin, and the tension of this really made the book for me. I kept waiting for it all to go wrong. All of the characters are fleshed out, with intricate backstories and genuine reasoning behind some of their actions. I particularly liked the interaction between Kate and Zain, especially as you got to see both perspectives!

Go and pick this up – I promise you won’t be disappointed.

First To Die is Book 2 in the Riley and Harris Series. After a protest in St James Park on Bonfire night a body is found. The body is being eaten away by a virus - bit what is it and how many people are in danger?

This book is very graphic in its descriptions of the virus' and what they are doing to the bodies. Not for the faint hearted.

Thanks to Bonnier Zaffre and Netgalley for an advanced copy of the book to read in exchange for my honest opinions

First To Die is a brilliant follow up to Cut to the Bone which I read and really enjoyed last year, so I was excited to see what Alex Caan would come up with next. It covers very topical issues and if you look back at recent news, you can see that the crimes explored here are certainly within the realms of possibility, which is what makes this idea so scary.

The main characters, Kate Riley and Zain Harris are really starting to grow on me; they are both different to each other and they come from very different backgrounds, but they are also two very flawed characters and this is perhaps what attracts them to each other. They make a great team and it has been really interesting watching their working relationship develop in this book.

There is tension from the offset after Kate discovers a body following a protest that took place in St. James’s Park the night before. But it soon becomes apparent that the body has been contaminated by a potentially lethal and highly contagious virus, which means Kate herself may have become infected. And as the investigation deepens it becomes clear that there may be more people at risk.

The mystery in this book is a really chilling one. From the start we can see that we have a killer here who is highly intelligent and may have access to lethal substances. At the beginning of the book I wasn’t sure if the killer was specifically targeting people or whether this would become a national crisis, which is also what the detectives working on the case fear. Alex certainly gets the intrigue going and he kept me turning the pages as we raced towards the conclusion.

The ending of this book has really left me wondering what’s going on in the character’s lives now and how they are all doing. This is a very clever novel and Alex Caan’s writing grips you from the first page. I can’t wait to see where he will take Kate and Zain next.

I was really enjoying this book until it got near the end. It seemed to rush tying everything up. That said it was a good plot with enough twists to keep you guessing.

Bio terrorism is certainly a deeply fearful, timely and relevant topic for today and in First To Die, Alex Caan has believably and chillingly created among the most awful of deadly killers I have come across.

It’s Bonfire night and in Westminster thousands of Anonymous supporters have gathered. All dressed in their trademark white Guy Fawkes masks and black cloaks. D.S. Zain Harris is among them, part of an undercover operation trying to spot serious troublemakers, but in truth he’s more on their side than on his bosses’.

Trouble breaks out and Zain is caught in the middle of it, having tried and failed to stop a Molotov cocktail from wreaking havoc on the crowd. After the dust has settled, a dead body is found lying in the park, disguised in a similar fashion to the now dispersed protestors of the previous evening.

But this is no ordinary death. This man’s body is covered in boils, blisters and lesions and as soon as they have seen what is left of his face, both D.C.I. Kate Riley and pathologist Dr Rani Kapoor are carted off to for examination and possible decontamination by the Dept for Communicable Diseases.

Before that happens, though, Rani discovers that the deceased has an identity card on him, belonging to a high ranking official in DFID. Zain is tasked with investigating whilst Kate tries to discover and understand what has caused such a catastrophic meltdown in this once human corpse.

As she explores the scientific world of neurotoxins and Category A viruses, one thing is clear; if there is more of this stuff out in the world, it will have deadly repercussions.

Riley and Harris are up against it as they seek the extremely sparse clues that will lead them to a serial killer. This is police procedure at its best. The team painstakingly examine every angle from the deceased’s private life to his work and social circle, yet they are left without much to go on.

As more dead bodies turn up, it’s hard to see what the links are; yet these are clearly not random killings and each death is horribly violent.

Though this is the second book in the Riley/Harris series, it can be read as a stand-alone as sufficient background is given for the reader to understand the characters’ backstories and relationships – which are extremely interesting.

Impressively plotted and well written this is both a chilling tale and highly enjoyable book. I did, though, find the pace a little bit erratic, especially towards the end when the tension that had been building seemed to slip away a little until the shocking climax arrived.

I think this is because there is a recurring narrative arc involving Riley’s backstory which isn’t resolved in the book but leads you into wanting to read the next one in order to find out more. That’s all well and good, but somewhere in the editing process, it has slowed things down a bit.

Nonetheless, it’s a great story, well told and I will certainly read the next in the series.

Verdict: Great storyline!

Why was this man poisoned? And will others follow?

On Guy Fawkes Night, a thousand anonymous protesters are in St. James’ Park in a stand-off with police. The next morning a cloaked man is found with horrendous pustules and his skin has been eaten away. Zain Harris and Kate Riley are called to investigate. A quarantine is set up as it is soon discovered that the man died from a potentially contagious virus.

The victim is a senior civil servant with a formidable reputation for bullying. Soon more people disappear, all pharmacists and all connected in some way.

Who is targeting these people and is there a possibility that they will release the virus on the unexpecting populace?

I enjoyed this book as it was a bit different from the normal murder story. It was well written and well researched, and very topical now. It had me thinking about how easy it would be to unleash a contagious virus. I haven’t read any of the Harris and Riley series which put me at a disadvantage.

My only reason for 4 stars was it went on a bit and slowed down in the middle and speeded up again at the end.

Chester.

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

This was a 3.5 star read for me as it didn’t have me gripped as much as I thought it would.
A body is discovered following a protest in the park and Zain and Kate are called in to investigate. The corpse has been eaten away by a potentially lethal and highly contagious virus, resulting in enforced quarantine for anyone who came into contact with the body. This is Kate and Kapoor who was examining the body.
They are closely monitored and soon given the all clear but the experts are puzzled about what the body has been exposed to to cause the death.
This is a good read and has a steady pace from the beginning to end.
Thanks to Bonnier Zaffre and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I have been looking forward to reading this book for quite some time. It may well have been me that accidentally managed to highlight the books arrival on Amazon at the end of last year. Sorry about that. But what can I say? Its predecessor, Cut to the Bone, was one of my absolute favourite reads in my first year of blogging and from the very start I was taken by characters Kate Riley and Zain Harris. The writing was brilliant, the potting perfect - how could I not look forward to book two?

Unlike author Alex Caan, I had absolutely no doubts that I was going to love what I was reading and I am pleased to say that I was right. Very, very right. From the very outset of the novel you are drawn back into action with Zain the focus of our attention. Happy reader here then. A protest rally which soon turns into something far, far worse, putting Kate and the team in a very difficult and potentially deadly situation. When all the excitement has died down from the rally, a man is discovered, his body covered in bloody pustules, the source of which is unknown. it doesn't behave like any virus the scientists have ever seen and its origins are unknown. But as to whether this is a one off incident or that start of a far wider reaching terrorist plot is something Kate and the team will have to work out.

Oh this story. So very topical when you think about it given recent events down in Salisbury. Life imitating art as it were but I would argue that Mr Caan's work is far more gruesome and skin crawling than reports you may have seen on the news. My only advice would be not to read the novel while eating as there is a certain scene which made even me pull a face and I am not unsettled easily. And it is not just the scene in the park which will make you grimace - there are a number of scenes which have the ability to unsettle readers. Not that this is a particularly gruesome novel but it is far from cosy crime either.

What I have loved about the series is the way that Alex Caan has developed the characters. Both Kate and Zain have rather meaty back stories, ones which continue to haunt them throughout First to Die. If you haven't read Cut to the Bone, then there is enough of a recap to be able to understand the dynamic in this book, but not too much for those already acquainted. And I do love Kate and Zain, Kate is a ballsy woman, determined, focused, bold but always on edge and always alert. And Zain. Ahhhh Zain, I do like my characters a little dark, perhaps a little broken. Zain has all this in spades but also a reliance on, and commitment to, Kate, which makes him vulnerable. Alex Caan continually puts the both through the ringer and there is such threat to them both by the end of this book that I am desperate to see what happens next.

Pacing in the book is perfect, balancing the frustrations of waiting for science to do its thing, against the need to keep things moving in terms of the investigation. The author has created light and shade perfectly, moments of reflection from the characters, when their personal life comes to the fore, balanced against the tense action of the investigation and the ongoing murders. And despite the complexity of the subjects discussed, he has made the book very accessible without trivialising either the idea of terrorism or sensationalising it or the reasons behind it. It feels authentic and it draws the reader in, keeping them on the hook as each new development unfolds. So many suspects, so many possibilities. So many reasons to keep reading. I loved it.

If you read and loved Cut to the Bone then you definitely need to read this book. If you haven't read that one yet, don't deny yourself a treat. Go and start with book one and then come back here for more. You won't be disappointed.

Did I mention I loved it?

Riley and Harris #2

Bonfire night and St James's Park is filled with thousands od Anonymous protesters in a stand-off with the police. When a cloaked Guido Fawkes mask-wearing body is discovered the following morning, Zain Harris and Kate Riley are called into investigate. The corpse has been eaten away by a potentially lethal and highly contagious virus, resulting in enforced quarantine for anyone who came into contact with the body.

There is some graphic descriptions of victims faces and what flesh eating bugs can do. This will not suit every reader and is definitely not for the squeamish. I like the characters, Riley and Harris, and how they work well together. The book has a steady pace from the beginning to end, with plenty of curve balls thrown in. The author had done a tremendous job researching the subject matter. This is a well written, action packed book that can be read as a standalone, but it's always best to read a series from the beginning.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Bonnier Zaffre and the author Alex Caan for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.