I absolutely loved this book!

It is book number 8 in the Helen Grace series but it could be read as a standalone. I have read the whole series and can't wait for book 9. As with all the previous books in the series it was a tense, compelling read that kept me hooked from page one until the end.

If you are looking for a Can't Put it Down police procedural crime thriller then look no further, the whole series is brilliant!

I was so excited for the release of this book and it didn’t disappoint. It follows seamlessly from the previous one. A new officer has been brought in to replace DC Sanderson, but why does he seem so interested in Helen and her past? What is happening with Charlie’s daughter? Several sub stories run through the book, which I really like and with each novel we learn just a little bit more about Helen, her team and their lives. A great original storyline and I can’t wait for the next one.

I was delighted at the opportunity to read this novel as I’ve followed the series all the way through. It was good to catch up with DI Helen Grace, her side-kick, Charlie and the irrepressible Emilia, the journalist. This book introduces the handsome Joseph Hudson to the team. Helen Grace is damaged by childhood experiences, conscience over past cases and she has extraordinary methods of atonement for past events. This book doesn’t stop for breath. In the New Forest, a killer is using a cross-bar to kill his victims. On the surface, it would seem a simple matter to locate a local man with a cross-bar who makes the bolts because the weaponry is so unusual. Wrong. He is elusive, and the team are baffled. As the reader, you get the graphic horror and full sense of terror of the victim in the first brutal killing. It is chilling and elaborately staged to maximise fear in the victim. What is driving the killer to commit these gruesome murders? Is there a reason or is it random? Halfway through I was certain I’d identified the killer, only to discover I was mistaken. How infuriating is that? That’s what it must feel like for the detectives. It struck me forcibly that it must cost a fortune to research so many lines of enquiry, test for DNA etc. and the logistics of apprehending an elusive killer. But, the devil is in the detail. A dynamic, punishing end which reveals the strength, determination and dedication of the team. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph.

Wow! The 8th book in the series certainly doesn’t disappoint! Loved the build up in intensity for the ending. Can’t wait for book number 9!

I’ve read and enjoyed all the previous DI Helen Grace novels and this one proved to be an excellent addition.
Campers in the New Forest are being targeted by a strange serial killer who displays their bodies by hanging them from trees after shooting them with a crossbow.
Helen and her team are tasked with the investigation but make slow progress. Convinced that the identity of the killer is linked to the past of the victims the team has to investigate carefully to discover how they are connected.
Hudson, a new DS, joins the Team and takes a great interest in Helen. Does he have feelings for her or is it something else?
Meanwhile Charlie has problems at home; her young daughter is having nightmares every night and her husband is keen for another child, something that Charlie just can’t contemplate at the moment.
I loved hearing about all the different characters and their lives almost as much as I enjoyed following the murder investigation.
There were lots of suspects along the way and I kept thinking that I had guessed the identity of the murderer. However I was wrong every time and so travelled the same journey as Helen’s team leading to an exciting denoument.
This was a book that kept me on the edge of my seat and I whizzed through it in a couple of days.
If you have read the previous books in the series you will certainly enjoy this one and if you haven’t you’ve got a real treat in store as the DI Grace books are a great reads..
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

This detective series gets better and better with each new book. It is a fairly standard police procedural, with a good sense of place in the New Forest, and excellent characterisation. All the main police officers are fleshed out with their own home lives and inevitable problems. I thoroughly recommend this book, and I am eagerly awaiting the next in the series!

If you go down to the woods today......

Melanie awakes in a tent in the New Forest and her boyfriend Tom is nowhere to be seen, she goes looking for him but cannot find him so she calls the police, the next day a woodland ranger discovers Tom's body strung up in a very ritualistic fashion.  Helen Grace and her team are brought in to investigate what is happening, in the hope of finding the perpetrator before anyone else gets hurt, but the perpetrator has other ideas and is not going to make it that easy for the police, pretty soon the team have a serial killer on their hands.

What ensues is a tense terror filled journey, with twists and turns all the way, just when Helen and her team think they have worked it all out and found their killer something happens to throw them off the scent and sends them down a different track.

I absolutely loved this latest book in the Helen Grace series, they just keep getting better.  It was a tense, edge of your seat read that kept me hooked from page one and I read it in less than two days.   I love how Helen Grace risks everything to get the result she needs, even if it means putting herself in danger too. 

I'd like to thank Michael Joseph Penguin UK for the approval and will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

In the forest people are being hunted down and murdered by a faceless figure. In the dark they try to flee but no one is around to hear their cries for help.
DI Helen Grace is on the case with her team. They need to work out why holiday makers are being targeted and what do their murders signify?

I have read and enjoyed all the Helen Grace books and this was as good as the others. It was a good plot with lots of false leads along the way to a really good ending.
Familiar faces are back as well, Charlie Brooke and Simmons. There is also a new recruit, Hudson who feels he has to impress.

We also are starting to see a different side to Helen Grace, she is calmer in this story and seems to be at more peace with her past. She is also starting to realise that she deserves some happiness.

A really good read that I would recommend. Many thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Publisher for an advanced copy for my honest review.

An atmospheric, brutal and downright scary tale in the DI Helen Grace series. Set mainly in the beautiful New Forest, with its own historic stories of murder and wickedness, this book grips from the outset. A camper is found murdered in a grisly fashion. Is it a protest against the new campsite, the owner having felled many trees to accommodate his guests? Is something more sinister at work? Lots of twists and red herrings keep you guessing, and compel you to read on.

Interwoven with the case in hand, are the team's personal stories and references to previous cases, making them believable and sympathetic characters. Charlie Brooks' family problems, the attraction between new boy DS Joseph Hudson and Helen, the history behind Superintendent Grace Simmons' kindly affection for Helen and the difficulties posed by pushy journalist, Emilia Garanita make you empathise with them, making events in the book more poignant.

A compelling read from a master of suspense, though the dramatic ending was not quite believable for me. Also would the team really have been able to communicate so well deep in the New Forest, where phone signals are notoriously poor? Great story though, which works well as a stand-alone, though references to previous cases entice the reader to read more in the series.

Reviewed on Amazon and Goodreads

This is the 8th book in the Helen Grace series and I have to say I think it’s one of the best. And if you’ve read my thoughts on its predecessors you’ll know that I’ve loved them all.

Down to the Woods sees D.I. Grace and her team tracking a rather sadistic killer who hunts his victims through the atmospheric New Forest, and as usual Arlidge leads us down several paths that lead nowhere along the way. I enjoyed these twists and turns, and for the first time in quite a while, I really loved playing a game of guess who. In fact this book made me enthused about reading in a way that I haven’t felt in quite a while; not that I’d realised I’d lost it until the slow flickering bursts of enjoyment started igniting once I’d settled into the story.

Anyway, Helen Grace is right up there amongst my favourite detective characters, and it is always good to see how Arlidge develops her in every book. In Down to the Woods she seems much more settled, almost, dare I say it, happy. I’m not saying that this wouldn’t stand up as a stand-alone read, it would of course, but, if you haven’t read the previous books in the series you would, I feel, get much more out of it. Her history brings a proper insight into her relationships with DS Charlie Brooks, Superintendent Simmons and newcomer to the team, DS Joseph Hudson. These relationships lead you to actually care about the characters, investing yourself in their success and a desire to not see any of them harmed. Not that any of them seemed concerned in keeping themselves out of danger of course.

As I’ve said, there are lots of twists and turns, and the book’s opening sets the scene of fear that continues throughout the rest of the book. It is naturally well-crafted, and kept me glued to it from beginning to end.

Down to the Woods is a cracking read;totally recommended.

I love this series of books. thank you so much netgalley for this advanced copy and wow what a book. following on in the series they are all trying to cope after Sanders death. Charlie is having a few problems at home with Steve and her daughter and a busy work life. when they get a call about campers disappearing from camp sites and being found hanging from tress the next day so Helen Grace and Charlie with the help of new recruit Hudson have to try to work out what is going on in the new forest before the body count gets too high. these books just get better and better can't wait for the next thrilling installment in this series you will not be disappointed.

Cases are never simple for DI Helen Grace and her loyal team in MIT and this one is no exception. Still reeling from the death of DS Joanne Sanderson they are faced with a strange death in the New Forest. A camper has somehow been abducted from his shared tent in the middle of the night, chased through the undergrowth and found upside down, bled out from three cross bow bolt injuries and suspended from a tree by his feet. There appears to be no motive for the murder and when a second identical killing occurs in a different part of the forest the team are still at a loss for a reason. However with dogged detective work suspects do eventually begin to emerge, each one falling away as fast as they appear, and added to the confusion is the hiring of a new DS into the team. A very good choice on the face of it but does he have some underlying motive for wanting to be close to Helen? The story makes an excellent book number eight in the series which seems to get better all the time, and the reader is left turning each page at speed to reach the dramatic conclusion. Bring on book number nine please!!

Arlidge gained me as a fan of this explosive serial killer thrillers right from the outset, and his Detective Inspector Helen Grace series, set in Southampton, is one of my favourite ever series'. 'Down To The Woods' is another excellent addition, and being book eight, I just hope now it's getting to where some authors put the kaibosh on a successful series, Arlidge will continue it!

Well, you can always rely on Matthew Arlidge to bring you a utterly gripping and fantastically twisted mind-bender of a story. Accompanied by his signature brutal storyline, a cast of exciting characters that are easy to connect to, and a plot that propels itself forward at a heck of a pace, this is one of my favourite reads of the year. Not only that, but Arlidge is adept at using red herrings and misdirection to his advantage and sent me down many a dead end. He also made sure the denouement was satisfying with all of the pre-eminent questions that build throughout the story being answered. It is told primarily from Helen's point of view, but journalist and all around vulture Emma Garanita and some others also get in on the act. I did enjoy the way it was told but felt at certain points it was a little disjointed and affected the overall flow of the story. That said, it was such a minor issue that it had little impact. The author expertly weaves a wonderful tapestry which comes together spectacularly towards the concluding part of the book.

With regards to Helen Grace, her character has certainly moved past the issues she was having in the previous books which is both admirable and nice to see. I very much like her as a character, and her working relationship with DS Charlie Brooke comes across as authentic and believable. I appreciate their dynamic and look forard to seeing how they evolve over the next few additions to the series.

Many thanks to Penguin - Michael Joseph for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Oh I love this series.
Helen and Charlie are back with another gruesome case to work on and there’s a new member of the team, Hudson.
The body of a man is found hanging from a tree in the New Forest and it looks like the killer has tried to make a point with the way the body is displayed.
The bodies of dead ponies are then found shot by a crossbow and then another body is found.
Helen and her team face a race against time to find the killer but they can’t work out if there is a connection between the victims.
Soon the team come across new information and the hunt is on for the killer but with dense woods as his hunting ground, soon someone’s life is in danger.
This is a gripping read and another great book in this series.
Thanks to Penguin, Michael Joseph and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Been eagerly waiting book 8 in the Helen Grace series.
The only thing I'm disappointed with, it was over to quick.
It is fast paced, the twists and turns keep you on your toes and keeps you gripped.
Like the introduction to DS Hudson, I'm sure we will be seeing more of him.

Thank you netgalley, MJ Alridge and Penguin for allowing me to read and review this book.

another brilliant instalment in the DCI Helen Grace series. if you’ve not discovered these books you really should.

many thanks to netgalley and the publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly I would like to thank Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this read in exchange for a honest review.

"There is a sickness in the forest. First, it was the wild horses. Now it's innocent men and women, hunted down and murdered by a faceless figure. Lost in the darkness, they try to flee, they try to hide. In desperation, they call out for help. But there is no-one to hear their cries....
DI Helen Grace must face down a new nightmare. The arrow-ridden victims hang from the New Forest's ancient oaks, like pieces of strange fruit. Why are helpless holidaymakers being targeted in peak camping season? And what do these murders signify? Is a psychopath stalking the forest? Is there an occult element to the killings? Could the murders even be an offering to the Forest itself? Helen must walk into the darkness to discover the truth behind her most challenging, most macabre case yet"

While this book was definitely better then the last book in the series, it didn't really compare to some of the earlier books in the Helen Grace series. I did enjoy this one but I definitely felt like there was something missing.

This book did take a while to get into as I wasn't immediately gripped by the storyline. Although the plotline did get a whole lot better, the first half of the story lacked excitement, a hook and an obvious lack of character personality from characters that I have now grown to love. Helen Grace, in particular, is a character that has been amazingly written and developed throughout the series, and although there is a light development of her life in second half, I honestly felt her personality had just vanished in the first half. A tad disappointed.

Overall, definitely worth a read purely for the second half of the book. A creepy story that definitely put me off camping!

A new DI is hitting the shelves and you will not want to miss out on her opening case. Helen Grace is based in Southampton Central (Police Station) and a very grisly case has landed on her work load, a body has been found in the New Forest. Tom Campbell and girlfriend Melissa are camping in the forest and enjoying the evening and the bourbon (not the biscuit kind) only to find that in the morning there is more than a simple hangover or headache. Then very quickly the is another couple camping who, well you better read that for yourself but if you like thrillers that are dark you will love this. The characters are all very believable some you will warm to others probably not I never liked the journalist in this thriller but you may. Each chapter is told from the viewpoint of a different character and is done with skill and creativity that i think you may well love I certainly did. As i said i found the characters believable and all with there own faults and strength, bit like real life which just a adds to this thriller that gripped me from the word go and didn't allow me to loosen even a finger till i got to the last page. Helen Grace had a troubled youth and isn't your academy procedural DI but had been taught the legen lessons of life the hard way and this job doesn't just follow a nice pathway but her university of Life degrees are a bonus that many DI would love to learn but preferably from a book which is just never going to happen. I hope you enjoy and love this book as much as ihave and my thanks to Michael Joseph and NetGalley for my copy of this book.

Plenty of twists and turns and red herrings along the way. Reasonably fast paced and gripping storyline. Three stars from me, very nearly four but I guessed the culprit quite early on. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

This is the first book I have read by M.J.Arlidge but most definitely wont be the last! I must go back and start from the beginning of the DI Helen Grace series. I was worried I would spoil the start of the series by reading this one first however I'm so glad I just went for it and read it! It is perfectly okay to read this on its own. Down to the Woods gripped me from the first chapter. Set in the New Forest when two campers are murdered. This is a great crime thriller with plenty of twists and turns which gives you plenty to think about. A little gruesome in places but a very good read.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin UK for giving me the opportunity to read and review this great book.