Oh Wow. Okay… So I have read previous books by Owen and all were great so I expected nothing less with this one. It was brilliant! Wow…

The beginning will have the reader intrigued and wanting to know what? Why? At the start I really felt angry towards Mackenzies character, especially as I felt it was her own fault, she’s an alcoholic and she was pushing her family away telling lies. An attention seeker?

But then things change… Noone believed her. She had noone or that’s what she thought. It was nice to see her family come together again even if it wasn’t under the best circumstances. Just when you think it’s all over case solved… IT ISN’T! BOOM.

This book must have one of the best, most unexpected outcomes ever. I never would have guessed it, honestly didn’t see it at all. Will keep you hooked till the very last page. Will Mackenzie get a happy ending? This story teaches you to be careful who you trust, including family. I honestly loved this so I gave it a well deserved four stars. Highly recommend! Devoured it in two days.

I look forward to more books by Owen in the future!

In Harms Way by author Owen Mullen is a great book! The characters developed well and the plot is thick. I would recommend this book.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of In Harms Way in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis/blurb...

What if someone you loved was in harm’s way?

What if you were being stalked and no one believed you?

What if you were abducted in broad daylight?

What if you were held captive in a cellar?

What would you do?

Mackenzie Crawford screamed.



What if your wife admitted she had a lover?

What if she went out without saying where she was going?

What if you discovered she’d left?

What would you do?

Derek Crawford fell apart.



What if a troubled woman disappeared?

What if her brother begged you to help?

What if there was no evidence of a crime?

What would you do?

In Glasgow, DI Andrew Geddes puts the case to the top of his list.



What if this was only the beginning?
-----------
My take.....

In Harm's Way is the author's fifth and latest novel, but only the first of his that I've read. After this outing I'll definitely be backtracking and trying some of his earlier books.

Owen Mullen pitches us into a domestic drama with a savage twist. Mackenzie is married to Derek Crawford. Mackenzie drinks too much and Crawford doesn't like it. Her brother and sister have their concerns but also have their own lives to worry about. Her brother, Gavin and sister-in-law, Monica have a new baby to care for, not that Mackenzie has been too interested or bothered in visiting Alice, her niece. Sister, Adele and husband Gavin seem fairly content with a couple of thirteen year twin boys - both aliens according to their harassed mother.

Adele's birthday party is the trigger point for all that follows. Mackenzie gets drunk again, insults her hosts, rows with Derek and the pair leave. A further fight follows at home and Mackenzie threatens to leave him. And so she does, but not voluntarily.

Abducted and held captive - well she had been saying she was being followed. But she had also been drinking and was notoriously unreliable so no one believed her.

The family viewpoints are differing .... ah, she's walked out and left him. She's got someone else a lover - what a bitch. Derek does everything for her, she doesn't know how lucky she is. You know what she's like......... hmm, Derek's a bit too old for her, he's a bit too controlling. I don't think he's good for her...... Mackenzie - she's left me, she admitted she had a lover.

It's interesting seeing the family dynamics with all the hurts and resentments of the past coming to the surface. Rows, jealousy, rivalries, hurt, pain, memories, mistakes, sympathies and pressure mounting on their own relationships and careers and at the bottom of it all an increasing level of concern for Mackenzie once they realise that if she has left, she's done so without taking any belongings with her.

As a reader we know where Mackenzie is and what happened, but we don't know the why. Her family try to discover both with Gavin eventually involving the police, much to Derek's annoyance.

There's a lot of drama packed into the pages of this not too long a novel. There's the mundane and the humdrum of everyday family lives, but enlivened by the backdrop of an unusual event and the effect is has on those closest to Mackenzie. It brings out both the best and the worst in the family.

Decent pace, very strong and realised characters, a bit of a puzzle throughout in that only towards the end do we discover the why and the who for Mackenzie's abduction, but an enjoyable puzzle. After that revelation, Mullen also serves up another twist or two before the end. Lots to like.

4 from 5

Owen Mullen's previous books are Games People Play, Old Friends And New Enemies, Before The Devil Knows You're Dead from his PI Charlie Cameron series and And So It Began (Delaney series).

Read in October, 2018
Published - 2018
Page count - 210
Source - review copy from publisher Bloodhound Books via Net Galley
Format - ePub file read on laptop

https://col2910.blogspot.com/2018/10/owen-mullen-in-harms-way-2018.html

Mackenzie Crawford likes a drink and truth be told she has far too many than is good for you so when she tells her family she has been followed more than once and she thinks she has a stalker they just ignore her ramblings. When she goes missing a few days later her husband and family seem to think she has gone off with this 'stalker'and that in fact he is someone she is having an affair with.
The only one that actually seems concerned is her brother who does think it odd that she hasn't been in touch at all, he sees DI Andrew Geddes who does start an investigation but with no leads and her husband insisting she has gone off with another man he doesn't have any leads to follow.
This is so much more than just a kidnap story it shows the differences in family members and the disdain they sometimes have about each other. In the meantime Mackenzie is tied up in a dark, dank cellar like room that has it's own family of mice.
This is a very good book with so many red herrings I nearly missed the clues but even then I was surprised at the ending but I must say it is well worth the read.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of the book.

EXCERPT: She shut her eyes as her clothes were ripped from her body. The last thing she remembered was lying naked on the bed with the man in the black coat standing over her, breathing hard, turning the belt in his hands.

He smiled for the first time. 'Think of this as your reward. Enjoy it. I will.'

ABOUT THIS BOOK: What if you were being stalked and no one believed you?
What if you were abducted in broad daylight?
What if you were chained to a bed and held captive in a cellar? What would you do?
Mackenzie Crawford screamed.

What if your wife went out at night and wouldn’t say where she was going?
What if she admitted she had a lover?
What if you came home one day and discovered she’d left?
What would you do?
Derek Crawford went to pieces.

What if a woman with an alcohol problem disappeared?
What if there was no evidence of a crime?
What if her brother asked you to help?
What would you do?
In Glasgow, DI Andrew Geddes put the case to the top of his list.

What if someone you loved was in harm’s way?

MY THOUGHTS: I am so pleased to meet up with DS Andrew Geddes again. I first encountered him in the Charlie Cameron series, and if anyone deserves a series of his own, tis Andrew. On the force for more than twenty years, he loves being a policeman.

Now I have to admit to having just read In Harm's Way for the third time, and it's not even been published yet, (October 16, 2018), and I have enjoyed it more with each read, even though I loved it on the first read.

Family dynamics. . . families are strange things. We love to disparage one another, and yet when it comes down to the wire, who do you really want by your side? We envy one another, not that we would ever admit it, we put one another down, we purport to detest family gatherings which we claim to attend only out of 'duty', but we always have one another's backs.

MacKenzie Crawford is a spoilt youngest child, the 'surprise' baby, now married to a man twenty years her senior who appears to worship her and who gives her everything she desires. Why then is she an alcoholic? Why is she making such ludicrous claims? Is it just attention seeking, or is there really something to it?

In Harm's Way starts off slowly, focusing on the complicated dynamics of MacKenzie Crawford's family of two sisters and a brother, their spouses and children. But soon it becomes apparent that there is much more going on with this family than what appears on the surface, and it becomes a full- blown thriller. By half way through, I couldn't put this book down, even on the third read!

Mullen writes with a gritty realism and wry sense of humor that I enjoy. Having read and loved everything he has written, I am eagerly awaiting his next offering.

💖💖💖💖💖

THE AUTHOR: Owen Mullen graduated from Strathclyde University, moved to London and worked as a rock musician, session singer and songwriter, and had a hit record in Japan with a band he refuses to name; Owen still loves to perform on occasion. His great love for travel has taken him on many adventures from the Amazon and Africa to the colourful continent of India and Nepal. A gregarious recluse, he and his wife, Christine, split their time between Glasgow, and their home away from home in the Greek Islands where the Charlie Cameron and Delaney series', and soon to be released psychological thriller were created.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bloodhound Books via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of In Harm's Way by Owen Mullen for review. Thank you also to Owen Mullen for bestowing on me the honor of being one of his beta readers. It has been a wonderful journey seeing In Harm's Way evolve into its present form.

All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system. This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...

In Harm’s Way by Owen Mullen

Thriller, mystery, kidnapping, abuse, dysfunctional families, alcoholism, manipulation…so many words come to mind as I think of this story. I have to say I had a feeling in the very beginning where the story was going to end up and wonder if that has to do with having read so very many books in my life. Even though I had that idea niggling I read on and found myself engaged till the end. Well, after the introductory pages of characters aplenty were described and given backgrounds.

The story was well told and plotted out so that there were surprises till the very end. It began slowly but built toward the climax. I felt for Mackenzie hoped she would eventually manage to find a way out of the predicament she found herself in. I was angry with her siblings and their spouses and wanted to smack them more than once in the story. The evil that was in this story is sometimes heard about but this…well…it was horrible and made me angry. I will say that I was happy that evil was eventually thwarted but so much hurt happened that it seemed too easy an out for the wrong doing that happened.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloodhound Books – This is my honest review.

4 Stars

This is my first read by this author and I know now with certainly it won’t be my last read by this author.

I sat this afternoon to read a little. Apart from feeding the family I read the whole book. I didn’t want to put it down. I needed to see what was going to happen next.

Mackenzie Crawford is married to Derek. When she tells her family she is being stalked they don’t believe her and put it down to her alcoholic problem. When shes abducted will her husband and siblings realise that she’s been taken?

I’ve gotta say the talk about the age difference between the two main characters bugged me. It was mentioned quite a few times and not all positively. My partner is quite a few years older than me and it’s rarely talked about. It certainly doesn’t affect our lives. This is only my personal view. It doesn’t take anything from the story. I can’t give this story anything less than five big stars. It gripped me from start to finish and I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Mackenzie is not in a good place. She drinks too much and her relationship with her husband is strained. She is being stalked and none of her family believe her, thinking her alcoholism is the cause of her paranoia and delusions. When Mackenzie disappears, her husband, her sister and her brother along with their spouses react with skepticism. The dynamics between the siblings lead them to believe that their sister is just seeking attention and is fine. Her husband believes she has gone off with another man and is crushed. However, Mackenzie is now in a very bad place and her life will never be the same.
In Harm's Way was a book that I liked, but somehow the story never had me furiously page flipping or engaged enough to try and figure out Mackenzie's fate. I didn't mind putting it down(like I do with some books), but I did keep coming back to it, so it wasn't a bad book( that would be one that I just could not finish). For me, I just didn't connect strongly with any of the characters. There were twists, turns, and secrets revealed and the ending did surprise me. This may have been one of those books that will hit all the right notes for other readers, I just couldn't get invested in the story.
I received an e-ARC from Bloodhound Books through NetGalley.

This is my first experience with an Owen Mullen book and this one hasn’t disappointed.
A stand alone dark and disturbing psychological thriller, about deception, dysfunctional families, and drama. McKenzie is an alcoholic and married to an older, successful man, she struggles with her confidence and self esteem. McKenzie is also being stalked, but no one believes her.
A great story, I think I’ll hunt out the other books.

This is another new author for me.
Imagine you are being stalked but nobody believes you.
The story is about dysfunctional families.
An alcoholic wife has cried wolf too often and now her stalker has her.
I cannot decide if this is a physcholigal thriller or a domestic noir, maybe a bit of both.
We have insights into why some marriages fail while others succeed.
It was dark and drama filled in places, but unfortunately it did not grab me.
There is not one character in this family that I liked, they were selfish and far too quick to judge.
I would like to thank the author Owen Mullen, Bloodhound books and Net.galley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for giving an honest review.

Imagine being stalked, but nobody believes you.

Mackenzie Crawford has a drinking problem and sometimes calls wolf. Married to an older but successful man, she struggles with booze and low self-worth.

Her family are very critical of her and dismiss Mackenzie when she tells them she is being stalked. One night a few days after telling her husband she is leaving, she is kidnapped.

Days after her disappearance her brother is worried and goes to see Glasgow DI Andrew Geddes. After speaking with her brother, DI Geddes decides to investigate, but with no evidence of foul play and an unhelpful family, it is going to be an uphill struggle.

This book was amazing, quite short but full of quality story and characters. Not only is it about the kidnapped woman but also the internal and private struggles of her family and the problem of not talking things through but just making a judgement.

The author gives just a little away each chapter without giving the whole story which is rare. A truly believable story of misconceptions and being alone even when you are with your loved ones.

Thank you, Owen, for a fab read and I am looking forward to your next one.

Chester.

Breakaway Reviewers were given a copy of this book to review.

This story dives right in, almost too fast really. You are introduced to three couples (siblings with spouses) and all their unhappiness. I waffled for a minute trying to figure who’s who and in which relationship since the voice of the narrator does jump around quite a bit.

The story was actually pretty good until the ending for me. All of the marriages were floundering, some (most) of the characters were awful, others pure evil. This is almost a horrific telling of the boy that cried wolf... The emotional baggage of their childhood roles has created resentments that allowed for the action that took place to seem quite believable.

There are some twists and red herrings. The story took some unexpected turns. This did hold my interest and I flew through it quickly. When the final reveal takes place though, ugh, that let me down. It was appropriate I suppose it just wasn’t entirely satisfying. Overall, it was pretty good...

This was a very promising book I thought when reading the synopsis, lots of questions that were poised to be answered.

I wouldn’t class it as a psychological thriller though as it didn’t have that “feel” to it for me.

The writing is good and it took me on a journey that was quite intense as to the answers to all the questions that flowed from the blurb, so I was satisfied to find out the answers.

I wasn’t sat on the edge of my seat biting me nails but it did hold my interest to carry on and finish it.

I think I read such a lot of thrillers and even though I mix my genres at times I love it when a book blows me away. Sadly this one just didn’t quite make it. But it was good, it was a read that flowed well. It wasn’t one I’d steer clear of, but, just didn’t land me quite where I wanted to be.

McKenzie Crawford is an alcoholic wife, whose husband and family didn't believe her when she said she had a stalker, as they described her as a liar and a drama queen,. When she disappears, it is thought that this was for attention and she was having an affair with another man.
The reality was she was tied down on a bed, in a rat-infested cellar, battered and bruised and sexually abused.
This standalone thriller by Owen Mullen had all the ingredients to keep staunch devotees of the genre suitably on the edge of their seats.

A tale of family dynamics that impact on how a woman's disapperance is dealt with. Throw in a stalker , a jealous possessive husband and you get a treat of a read.
When no one believes you and your family treat your fears as the ravings of a drunk who would really know what happens to you if you just disappear, that's the world that Mackenzie is dropped into. It's up to DI Andrew Geddes to take up her case when she is eventually reported missing and to track down each lead in order to free her of her nightmare.
A new to me author but one whose book kept me gripped to the end and one whose other books will go on my TBR list.

In Harm’s Way by Owen Mullen was my first time reading anything from the author. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance reader copy. The description of this book sounded great and I liked it, but I just didn’t love it. It was dark, really drama-filled and had lots of family dysfunction. However, there wasn’t enough of the psychological thriller aspect in the storyline for me.

Ever think your family is screwed up? So is this one. Not only is there edge of your seat mystery, there is also a deep exploration of family and marriage. Why does one marriage fail and others don't? It also looks at the effects of violence on a family which isn't often explored in this genre.

I am an Owen Mullen fan, and was thrilled to receive a copy from NetGalley, thank you! That being said I must say that I didn't like this book as well as his first two, it still had his personal writing style, and several twists and turns in unexpected places.
None of the characters in this book are likeable. They are almost too ineffective and dysfunctional as a family, to keep the plot moving through the middle of the book. This is why I took off one star. The end doesn't let you down, quite good! All together, I did like this book and would recommend it to anyone.

In Harms Way by Owen Mullen

I highly recommend, Scottish author, Owen Mullen. In my opinion you are guaranteed a gripping Scottish noir from this author which will have you captivated from the first page to the very last.

In Harms Way is a riveting domestic thriller set in Glasgow. The story focuses on the family dynamic when faced with Mackenzie’s unexpected disappearance. The author cleverly introduces each character’s depth to show how the family deals with the situation and the secrets and misunderstandings come to light – it keeps the pages turning.

Owen Mullen writes a brilliant stand-alone white knuckle read and if you have not read any of his other work I would urge you to go read the Charlie Cameron series – each one better than the last.

Thank you to Net Galley and Bloodhound Books for the opportunity to read and review this five star intriguing nail-biting read.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bloodhound Books for In Harm's Way, a stand alone domestic noir set in Glasgow.

Mackenzie Crawford claims to have a stalker but as a functioning alcoholic and the family "drama queen" nobody believes her although they do believe she has a lover. When she disappears her family are quick to believe her husband's claims that she's left him for another man when in fact she has been kidnapped.

I enjoyed In Harm's Way which is a close examination of a family's dynamic when something upsets it. I must admit that this is not really my kind of thing but I wanted to read Mr Mullen's work and thought from the blurb that there would be more crime in it. Instead there is the thread of the hunt for Mackenzie running through it but mostly it is about the reaction of her siblings and their partners to her disappearance. It runs the standard gamut of disbelief and condemnation to support, depending on whose point of view is being expressed. It is well done and neatly judged and will interest many readers although personally I ploughed through it to get to the action which all happens in the final third of the novel as fictional emotions never really reach me. I think the conclusion is clever.

I love the description of Mackenzie as "the most misunderstood woman in Scotland" as it brings so much of the novel into perspective. In many ways she is a hidden person because, although her viewpoint is seen during her captivity, she is mostly seen through the eyes of the people left behind, like her husband and her siblings, who have their own issues.

In Harm's Way is a good read.