After reading the blurb for this book I was really excited to read it. It started off very promising but unfortunately a very slow burner that never really gets going. The premise very good, two men claiming to be the victims of a serial killer, but which one is telling the truth ? This book was really hard going and did not keep my attention. Not for me.
I would like to thank the author, Simon and Schuster UK and Netgalley for the advanced copy in return for giving an honest review.

In a remote town in Australia, a man called Gabriel runs into a sleepy police station claiming to have been kidnapped by a stranger called Heath, shackled and kept prisoner. Heath tells Gabriel he is to be number 55, his 55th victim. Gabriel manages to escape, and Heath gives chase. Catching up with Gabriel, the two tussle and fall down over a small cliff. With Heath knocked out by the fall, Gabriel runs and finds his way through the hills and woods to the police station with his incredible story, shocked, bruised and in fear for his life. A very short time later, another man comes into the police station called Heath, with the same story practically word for word. He was kidnapped by a man called Gabriel who told him he was going to be number 55, the 55th victim. Who is telling the truth? Which of the two men is the victim and which is the serial killer?

Oh my giddy aunt - what an absolute rollercoaster of a read!! I couldn't put this book down - I read it in 36 hours! The story hits the ground running and doesn't let up, from beginning right through to the very end. I loved everything about this book - the tension, the questions raised, the whodunit, the image of the sleepy town, the back story between Chandler and Mitch, along with their rivalry and character differences. This book has everything required to grab your attention and hold it, and it is an extremely impressive debut from a Northern Ireland born writer whose next book I will definitely be keeping an eye out for, A fantastic 5/5 stars - highly recommend.

This book had an interesting premise- two men claiming to have escaped from a serial killer. First one arrives at the police station in a remote Australian town- Gabriel who tells his story. However then Heath arrives and tells the same tale. Which one is the killer and which one the victim?
The story is interspersed with flashbacks, to a time when Chandler, the local policeman and his current boss, Mitch were friends, young policemen involved in a hunt for a missing hiker.
However, despite the initial promise the book didn’t enthrall me. I found the interrupted narrative really slowed the novel down and I did not find the characters particularly compelling.
I would have given 55 an extra star, particularly as the idea was a good one but the ending was incredibly annoying and really made me wonder why I’d read the book in the first place.
In short it was a novel full of promise but it did quite not live up to expectation.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

Another Aussie crime writer establishes himself as the latest to pen an intense and intriguing novel with a fabulous premise. Set in Western Australia, Wilbrook is a small empty shell of a town, withthe remnants of a history that included gold mining, blue asbestos and iron ore. Sergeant Chandler Jenkins leads his small police team where domestics are the usual fare. Everything is about to change when a terrified injured man, Gabriel, enters the police station with a scary tale of being held by a serial killer, Heath, intent on killing him, telling he will be number 55. He manages to escape and is unsettled and jittery, convinced Heath will find him. Chandler sees him to the local hotel, with one of his team, Jim, on guard outside the building. Another injured man, Heath, is bought to the station for attempting to steal a car. Heath claims he only wanted the car to escape a serial killer named Gabriel, who was planning to kill him as number 55, until he escaped. With well nigh identical stories, who is Chandler to believe? Or perhaps they are equally guilty, with the pair being in cahoots, working together until they fell out?

The story has two timelines, the present and one from 2002 when Chandler and Mitchell Andrews were rookie cops involved in search for a young missing hiker, Martin, lost in the unforgiving heat of the outbook, accompanied by a distraught father with his younger son, Davie. Something clearly causes a deep schism between Chandler and Mitchell in the past that resulted in Mitchell moving to the city whilst climbing the promotional ladder. Mitchell is now a Inspector, and Chandler's boss, he arrives in Wilbrook to takeover police operations to get to the bottom of what is clearly going to be a huge case. He brings his own team, with every intention of sidelining Chandler. A fraught and tense relationship highlights the differences between the two men. Mitchell is a highly ambitious and political animal, constantly denigrating Chandler, not averse to manipulation, engaging in brutality and not interested in developing team relationships. Jenkins takes it upon himself to ensue the well being of his team and takes a keen interest in their development. The past has strong links and uncomfortable echoes in the present as Chandler is to find to his cost.

Whilst I really enjoyed this wonderful debut with its strong sense of location and the depiction of never ending heat, I am not so keen on the ending. Delargy does a terrific job in building suspense and tension as the reader wonders, doubts, debates, and looks for clues as to whether the serial killer is Gabriel or Heath. It is Chandler who is interested in getting to the bottom of who the two men are, digging into their past history and trying to discern the motive behind the killings. The characterisation is done well, with Chandler the good guy and Mitchell is a self centred and unpleasant individual, his interest primarily in the glory he thinks he will accrue, anytime things do not go his way, he has a scapegoat lined up. This novel is another great addition to the rising genre of Aussie Noir. I found it entertaining and engaging, and such gripping reading fare despite the unsatisfying ending. Many thanks to Simon and Schuster for an ARC.

Really enjoyed this book. It was well paced and a gripping read!

Set in Western Australia in a small town called Wilbrook, it tells the story of Gabriel and Heath. Both men claim the other abducted and tried to murder him and said he was going to be [victim] 'number 55' and it's up to Police Sergeant Chandler Jenkins and colleagues to try and fathom out who is telling the truth and discover who is the serial killer, if either of them!

With a back story involving Chandler's former friend, Mitchell Andrews (now an inspector and living out of town in Port Hedland but he returns to head this investigation), interwoven with the present day, this novel has plenty of twists and turns to keep readers interested.

And that ending is Marmite or should I say Vegemite!

Looking forward to reading more from this author and I hope that this book is turned into a movie, as I hear the film rights have been optioned!

Oh. My Word. The snippets of reviews I have seen on social media were tantalising glimpses of what I was about to devour myself. I was even more impressed to learn this was a debut from James Delargy, what a talent!

2 men, Gabriel and Heath, separately walk into a police station bloodied and beaten stating that the other tried to kill him and that they were due to be the 55th victim of a serial killer. They both tell the identical story as victim but only 1 can be telling the truth. I flip flopped constantly between which of them was being truthful and also questioned whether they were somehow in it together.

It is up to the local Police Sergeant, Chandler, along with an out of area Inspector, Mitch, to ascertain the facts and ensure the safety of the other residents in the meantime. As a supplement to the main story, it is clear Chandler and Mitch have a fraught relationship and we are taken back in time throughout the story to when they were younger and just new to police work which added an extra dimension and background.

Set in the remote Australian outback, there is something about the dry, dusty setting that adds to the tension. It felt like such an oppressive environment and the descriptions of the intense heat definitely ramped up the suspense.

I swallowed up this book and not only did I not see the ending coming, what an absolute BELTER it was! I'm not sure I can forgive James for it but wow, suffice to say you need to pick up this book. Perfect for fans of Jane Harper, you will absolutely not be disappointed!

My many thanks to Simon & Schuster via NetGalley for providing me with this advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 20%- I couldn't get myself attached to the story, the names, the characters, it just didn't work for me, but may work for others.

Are you kidding me with that ending, Mr Delargy? Really?

Sigh. OK. This isn't a genre I usually read in, so I can't compare this to other titles, but I can say that on its' own it's a tense, unputdownable read with a villain you won't be able to pick out until he's revealed. I could feel the heat bearing down on me as I read, it's so well described. This still isn't my favourite genre, but I did enjoy this read.

Although seriously, that ending? I am ded.

I’m always wary of books claiming to have twists because usually I can see the “twists” from a mile off, but with this one I kept second guessing myself. It’s a really unique take on the thriller crime genre, not only in its location in the harsh Australian outback, but in that we have two men claiming to be the victim of a heinous kidnapping and attempted murder. Which one is it? Gabriel, Heath, both of them, none of them?

55 is a slow burn with a solid pace. It flips between present day and flashbacks to a harrowing period in the protangonist’s past. Normally I don’t go for flashbacks and find they’re boring and ruin the book’s stride, but several times I found myself wanting the present day to go back to the past so I could find out more. That’s a first for me! The flashbacks ended up being devastatingly relevant, not only to show the history between Chandler and Mitch but also to bring the events in their lives full circle.

The ending was shockingly gut wrenching and completely unexpected. Endings like that I expect in the genre I usually read, sci-fi, but usually crime thrillers are neatly tied up with a predictable bow at the end. I was fairly taken aback by this at first but the more I think about it, the more impressed I am with the bold ending the author chose. I hope they don’t change it when the movie comes out.

I found myself really rooting for Chandler, especially with his rage and irritation at the way that pompous ass Mitch was parading around. God how I wanted Mitch to somehow be the killer as I was reading this. The only thing that really irked me about Chandler is here is this typical “good guy” single father that we’re supposed to like, but we find out the mother of his children was underage when they started dating. He was an adult, A COP, who went to break up an underage boozefest and instead he starts drinking with his future wife, only to get her pregnant a few months later. This episode is described nonchalantly and is quickly forgotten, which is even worse. In this day and age, why write this? It added nothing to the story and made me really dislike Chandler and the author for awhile. The Woody Allen stuff isn’t okay anymore (not that it ever really was).

Assigning a star rating to this has been difficult, I kept going between 3 and 4 stars but I eventually landed on 4 because while I have some issues with the book, they haven’t really affected the overall impact it left on me. I have a feeling I’ll keep being drawn back into to this dark tale for quite awhile. Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for a chance to read this incredible debut in exchange for my review.

* spoiler alert ** 3.5 stars


A really good idea for a book,where you have two guys telling pretty much the same story,but each claiming the other tried to kill them,and is actually a serial killer.
Not enough evidence to say for sure either way.
Whilst I know the flashbacks were needed to show what a ass Mitch was,and to set up our other characters,I felt they broke the flow of the story a bit.
Picked up the pace and tension towards the end,but I wasn't overly surprised by the who or why...especially why. 
Good solid read overall.

A book with what promised to be a very original plot and it lived up to that promise but something was just lacking for me. The style of writing whilst pacy enough never had me fully drawn in. There was plenty of action and it is certainly a book that is easy to read so good for when you want a quick distraction like maybe a plane journey.

Wilbrook, Western Australia. A sleepy, rural town on the edge of the outback. The police don't have to deal with much aside from the odd domestic. That changes when Gabriel walks into Sergeant Chandler Jenkins' police station, claiming he has escaped the clutches of a serial killer who was intent of making Gabriel his 55th victim. He details his escape and names a man called Heath as the killer.
A short while later, a man purporting to be Heath walks into the station, and proceeds to tell the exact same story, with Gabriel as the killer.
Two men telling the same story. Only one can be telling the truth...
I loved this book. It was genuinely intriguing. I had so many predictions as to what might happen, none of which came close!
The book is told as two stories. The present day story is of family man Chandler, the Sergeant of the station, trying to get to the bottom of the strange case. As it becomes a bigger story, he is forced to share the station with Mitch, an inspector from the big city. It's clear these men have a past, a none-to-happy past. This past is told as a flashback.
The flashbacks tell of Mitch and Chandler as they start of their policing careers, in 2002. It intertwines with the main storyline flawlessly. It is an interesting dynamic to the story and really showcases the writing. I quickly formed allegiances with certain characters. I groaned at decisions made, words said and actions taken, both in the past and present stories, sensing repercussions.
The setting is the perfect place for the story to happen. The feeling of a small town caught up in something unprecedented. The harsh, unexplored vastness of outback Western Australia is used as a supporting character, hugely important to the storyline.
It really is a fantastic debut novel from James Delargy. It is fast paced, there is plenty of action but it also has plenty of emotional undercurrents; power, family and religion to name a few.
55 is available from 4th April. Please grab a copy, you will not be disappointed.
Thank you to James, Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I had seen a few mentions of 55 on social media so I figured I’d give it a go. It’s a really compulsive read, plenty of action, lots of characters and an interesting hook. I read it in a couple of sittings, but I was left a little deflated by the ending. But that’s just me, Its a pacy book, lots going on and plenty to keep the reader turning the pages!

I would like to thank NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle copy of this book to read and impartially review.
The publishers blurb for this book was very intriguing and instantly hooked me, see for yourself:
*** There were 54 victims before this. Who is number 55? ***
A thriller with a killer hook, and an ending that will make you gasp!
Wilbrook in Western Australia is a sleepy, remote town that sits on the edge of miles and miles of unexplored wilderness. It is home to Police Sergeant Chandler Jenkins, who is proud to run the town’s small police station, a place used to dealing with domestic disputes and noise complaints.
All that changes on a scorching day when an injured man stumbles into Chandler’s station. He’s covered in dried blood. His name is Gabriel. He tells Chandler what he remembers. He was drugged and driven to a cabin in the mountains and tied up in iron chains. The man who took him was called Heath. Heath told Gabriel he was going to be number 55. His 55th victim.
Heath is a serial killer.
As a manhunt is launched, a man who says he is Heath walks into the same station. He tells Chandler he was taken by a man named Gabriel. Gabriel told Heath he was going to be victim 55.
Gabriel is the serial killer.
Two suspects. Two identical stories. Which one is the truth?
This is the Authors first novel and a good one too, well written, descriptive and interesting from page one until the dramatic and very surprising shock ending, well i certainly wasn't expecting it.
Our hero is forced to request backup to Headquarters to add bodies to his small force, to search the surrounding countryside, and this results in the return of a former colleague and friend now glory seeking superior to lead the investigation, the tension between the two is palpable, and their colleagues must choose sides, adding to an already volatile working environment. There are numerous flashbacks to 2002 when the two raw Police recruits search the outback for a missing hiker, the descriptions of conditions and scenery leap from the page. The characterisation throughout is excellent.
A very entertaining read.

A thriller with a fantastic premise but rather unspectacular writing. I would recommend this to those who appreciate a fast-moving plot but are more concerned with concept than style.

This was a good, slow burning mystery with interesting characters. Although, it was slow burning, I still couldn't put it down and stayed curious till the end.
It's set in a small town in Australia. Things go crazy when a man arrives at the police station saying he has been held prisoner by a serial killer and he is victim number 55. Same day, another man arrives with the same story, but they blame each other. But, the first man goes missing.
It was a very original concept, very well executed. Very gripping. Recommended.
Thank you to NetGalley Simon and Schuster UK Fiction for this complimentary e0copy in exchange for an honest review.

A small police station in a quiet remote town in Australia is sent into chaos when a man arrives stating that he has been held prisoner by a serial killer and he was to be victim number 55. Later that day another man arrives with the same story and these two men are blaming each other. Unfortunately the first man can no longer be found.
A slow burning story with some good characters.
Thank you to NetGalley Simon and Schuster UK Fiction for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Western Australia. Vast. Remote. Alluring. It can be a hellish brute when not respected, its craggy features and unforgiving nature warding off all but the most determined, desperate or foolhardy.

This baked terrain cooks up a delicious feast of confusion when two men deliver the exact same version of their horrendous experience. The only difference is: each accuses the other of being the maniac that held him captive for the purpose of being ‘number 55’. Well, anyone manacled in a remote shack could safely conclude that’s not a good thing.

Both men display equal shock, fear and disbelief, which is a feat for even the most Oscar-worthy thespian. As their individual accounts are utterly convincing, you just can’t put your finger on who is the victim and who is the suspect.

It doesn’t take long for doubt to leech into everything seen and heard. So who is telling the truth? Now THAT’s the million dollar question! As time ticked on I could only think that Wilbrook’s Police Sergeant, Chandler Jenkins, wished he could phone a friend – just not the one that answers.

Frustratingly, this particular old ‘friend’ relishes every opportunity to get under the skin of the Sergeant. Their history results in repeated and unproductive sparring they neither have the time or resources for. Between the main action involving mirrored victims/culprits we visit mini narratives entitled ‘2002’ and begin to understand where this personal animosity originates, piece by haunting, dusty-red piece.

Bursting with a fresh, curious plot that’s 110% compelling I found it impossible to tear myself away from this small, isolated community as they stumbled into a territory more hostile and unpredictable than any place on earth. LOVED IT.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster and James Delargy for my free e-arc in exchange for my honest and fair review.

I could not put this book down. From start to finish I needed to keep turning each page to see what was going to happen next. The story really draws you in especially jumping between past and present and both perspectives. This one will keep you thinking and to be honest I think would make a great film.

This was an excellent debut from James Delargy.
Two men telling exactly the same story but naming each other as the killer, who should Sargent Chandler Jenkins believe? Who is the innocent victim and who is a serial killer who has killed 54 victims already? Just when he thinks things can’t get any worse in comes his boss Mitch, a man he last saw several years ago and who used to be his partner, a man he believes to be all about the newspaper stories and promotions, a man who never does anything without considering what’s in it for him. This book was a good read and kept me entertained during a dull Sunday, I can see why it’s been optioned as a film too. My only niggle is the ending, at first I thought part of the book was missing or I had a faulty copy, now I realise it was supposed to be a cliff hanger, kind of a chose your own ending type of book. Personally I’d rather the author had concluded it one way or the other but I can see how some people would prefer this. Thank you to Netgalley and the author and publisher for my advance copy which was given in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
This review can be found on Amazon.co.uk.