Mmmm this is a very strange one for me. I am definitely a fan of this author especially the Helen Grace series, however this stand alone has left me wondering where I sit with this standalone book. Our main character Adam Brandt is a forensic psychologist and he sees all sorts of patients and feels like nothing much surprises him anymore. That is until he meets Kassie the other lead character in this book. According to Kassie all she has to do is look into somebody's eyes and she can see how and when they die. That in itself makes me a little bit detached from the storyline as it's not really my cup of tea. However, you can't knock it until you try it so I continued.

When a serial killer starts attacking and killing people it seems only Kassie knows where they will strike next. The actual writing and storyline was as good as other books MJA has written but there was something I just couldn't get along with in this book. I don't even think it's the storyline itself, more so the characters. I just didn't care than much about them and to be honest I didn't really like any of them? This certainly isn't a bad book and its written in such a way you need to find out what happens next...but...for me it just didn't hit the spot so I am giving it a middle of the road rating.

Alright, gather 'round, folks, because this book takes you on one heck of a ride! Meet Kassie, the weird girl with a talent for keeping to herself. But when a stranger accidentally knocks her to the ground, she gets more than she bargained for. You see, she can look into people's eyes and see how they're gonna meet their maker - and it's not gonna be pretty!

Enter Adam Brandt, the forensic psychologist assigned to work with this crazy eye-reading teen. His job? Help her cope with her "delusional feelings." But when reports of brutal murders start popping up, Adam can't help but question if there's more to Kassie's visions than meets the eye.

Now, this ain't your typical police procedural stuff, oh no! It's all about Kassie, Adam, and the chilling serial killer who weaves himself into their lives. The story doesn't hold back on the gory details - we're talking graphically detailed murders that'll make your hair stand on end.

But here's the kicker - as you get deeper into the tale and get to know the characters, you'll be on the edge of your seat, worried sick for them. The tension builds, and the last few chapters are downright agonizing and brutal. My adrenaline was off the charts!

MJ Arlidge has cooked up a nail-biting, heart-pounding thriller that stands tall on its own. No need to read anything else before diving into this gem! It's a rollercoaster of emotions, and you won't be able to put it down.

So, if you're up for a chilling, suspenseful, and brilliantly crafted read, this one's a winner! Just be prepared to hold your breath and keep the lights on because this book will take you on a wild ride through darkness and fear! Four stars for sure!

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

For some reason, I had trouble with this book. I really enjoy this author's Helen Grace series so was excited to try a standalone from them. But unfortunately it didn't work for me.

Would still definitely try more from them.

Kassie is a young girl with a gift, a gift that no one seems to want to take seriously.
As always this authors manages to get you reeled into the pages, a super exciting book with a very different feel. YOung Kassie makes for a very interesting character and the author has written her part fantastically.
An edge of your seat read that you really will not want to put down, right up to the explosive ending.

Intense, fast-paced, and all the good things you’d expect from a dark thriller.

Despite the violence and brutality of the narrative, I couldn’t help but feel invested in Kassie and her relationship with forensic psychologist Adam Brandt. This was one of the books I consumed the fastest this year as each chapter made me curious to read more. Eventually, I didn’t stop until I reached the end — exactly as I want my thrillers to be.

Loved:

🧡 The “keep guessing” game
Should you trust Kassie? Is she telling the truth, is she plain crazy, or is she involved in something bigger? This was brilliantly done and you need to read it to find out.
🧡 Paranormal into the mix
Though I love reading Fantasy, I usually don’t mix it with my thrillers, so I was pleasantly surprised to find myself appreciating this angle.
🧡 The different perspectives
Going through such shockingly different perspectives added to the tension and contributed to making this read so gripping.

What I didn’t like as much:

🌧️ Some graphic detail
I have mixed feelings about this because I feel this was expected due to the storyline and genre, but some scenes were a bit too much for me.

Overall, I’d say “A Gift for Dying” was quite the read, and won’t disappoint most fans of thrillers! Though it took me a while to get to it, once I started it I couldn’t stop, and it gets my personal award for my fastest read of 2021!

Sorry I just could not get into this book. I love M.J Arlidge but not this book. I think it is because it is based in America rather than the UK. Every other book I cannot stop reading until I have finished! I feel I know DI Helen Grace.

'All Fall Down' and it certainly sounded like one hell of a read. It certainly was one hell of a read and I enjoyed every single minute of it. I loved this book but more about that in a bit.
I couldn't help but take to DI Helen Grace from the start and it wasn't long before I felt as though I had been reunited with an old friend. Helen has been through the wars and then some. Over the course of her career she has been involved in the investigation of some pretty nasty cases, which have left her mentally and physically scarred. Helen did have a pretty unusual way of handling stress but I won't go into the specifics. Helen is a determined and tenacious police officer, who works well as part of a team but at the same time she works well on her own to.

DS Helen Grace hunting for the killer of survivors from an abduction years earlier. The main suspect being the original perpetrator presumed dead, missing or still on the run. Arlidge details the Police politics and Grace's character flaws very well as she tracks the phantom in this fine plot. This was a riveting story.

A Gift for Dying is a stand alone thriller from the author of the brilliant Helen Grace series. M.J Arlidge has written an excellent and hair raising on the back of your neck book. It is seriously addictive with numerous plot turns and shocks. Not for the faint hearted as some scenes are pretty gruesome, although they aren’t gratuitous. I cannot wait to see what Matt next releases, he is a must read author for anyone who enjoys crime and psychological thrillers.

With many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for the opportunity to read this ARC, in return for an honest and unbiased review.

Many thanks to netgalley for an arc of this book in return for my honest opinion. I am a massive MJ Arlidge fan so was excited to see a stand alone book and eager to devour it! Devour it I did practically overnight! Troubled teenager Kassie claims to have the ability to be able to look into a persons eyes and see when and how they are going to die and she looks into the wrong persons eyes and becomes embroiled in the search for a serial killer on the streets of Chicago. A great read!.

This is a standalone novel by M J Arlidge and it has a supernatural twist to it. I loved it. It was really compelling with characters that really grip you. I found the idea of a forensic psychologist faced with something completely outside his shpere of knowledge mesmerising. Combine this with a girl who sees death everywhere, a serial killer and an emotionally charged home life and you have an explosive storyline. I was concerned that the move away from his series of books featuring the kickass detective Helen Grace might fall short of the mark for me. However, I couldn’t have been more wrong. This was a compelling and intriguing read from start to finish.

I really enjoyed this book while I was reading it but once I put it down, y'know for sleep and whatnot, I found it very difficult to pick up again.

Kassie (great name, dodgy spelling ) is a teenage girl with a gift for getting into trouble as well as having a huge secret. One that she can't speak to anyone about . When she has tried in the past to speak to her mother, she is made to feel that she is lying.
Kassie is implicated in a terrible crime and is referred to Adam, a forensic psychologist. After some persuading, Kassie admits to Adam that if she looks into someones eyes she can see when and how they die as well as actually feeling the pain that they experience. Not surprisingly, Adam doesn't believe Kassie but they come to an understanding that he believes that she believes this.

A serial killer is on the loose in Chicago and Kassie knows who is next on their list. What can Kassie do? Nobody will believe her .
Against his better judgment, Adam agrees to help Kassie (in a roundabout way) but things go wrong and they both end up on the wrong side of the law.

This is a brilliant book that I enjoyed a lot. My heart broke for both Adam and Kassie who were both likeable characters and I actually, for once, was not disappointed in the ending.

A fantastic new stand alone, if you've not read anything of his before you'll be seeking out his serial books. Only took me a couple of days to get through and I loved it.

3.5 stars probably a fairer judgment..I love the Helen Grace series so was excited to read this standalone novel but I have to say it didn’t excite me like that series did. It was a bit slow and the plot sagged at times because of the pacing. I feel the HG series every chapter has you wanting more whereas this didn’t excite me. I also wanted some resolution to Kassies story and didn’t feel I got that. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and Michael Joseph for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyed this book, interesting and different to most crime books I’ve read. Liked the characters

I really enjoyed this book. It was well written, original and somehow believable.
The story of a young girls ability to see death before it happens was very uusual and different. The book had good characterisation, (not too many of them) and for once it did not keep going backwards and forwards in time.
A very good read and I look forward to more by this author.

4.5/5

A Gift For Dying is set in Chicago (where I'd love to visit one day), we are introduced to Adam Brandt, a forensic psychologist who is well used to dealing with the most damaged members of society. Adam seems to have it all, a beautiful home, a wife and a baby on the way, he has the perfect life, that is until he meets Kassie and he's never met anyone like her before in his line of work.

Kassie is a troubled teenager who claims to have a terrible gift - with one look into your eyes, she can see when and how you will die. Adam knows Kassie must be insane. But then a serial killer hits the city and only Kassie seems to know where he'll strike next, against all his suspicions Adam starts to believe her but he just doesn't realise how deadly his faith might prove. Then when Kassie accidentally bumps into someone on the street and “sees” their fast approaching murder she tries to intervene but this only brings her to the attention and under suspicion with the police.

I'm a huge fan of MJ Arlidge's writing when I was recommended to read his first novel in the DI Helen Grace series, Eeny Meeny which I absolutely adored and from there I quickly started to love the books I've read so far in the series (I've a few more to read) but besides that I was delighted to hear the there was another new novel coming out and that it was a stand alone novel too. The serial killer/sociopath character was absolutely brilliant, very well written and cleverly constructed. They were everything you'd expect with a sociopath - cold, calculating, manipulating and has no regard for anyone's feelings or who they hurt on their path of destruction.

I enjoyed this novel immensely, it was absolutely brilliant, very gorey in parts so you may need a strong stomach and remember to breathe also but this is what makes the novel. At times, I could feel I was right there with the victims and I will admit that I found parts of the story hard to read and in places it made my skin crawl but it definitely didn't disappoint. It was a spine-chilling , pulse pounding, heart thumping rollercoaster ride. I know that his book will stick in my memory longer than most because of the subject matter that was involved and especially that ending which I definitely wasn't expecting either. I am really looking forward to MJ's next book already where I'm hoping it won't be too long until another novel regardless of whether it's the next DI Grace in the series or another stand-alone is upon us.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

A Gift for Dying is the first book by M.J. Arlidge that I’ve read, and it definitely won’t be the last. Intriguing premise, great characters and snappy pacing make for a great read.

Teenager Kassandra Wojcek has a gift (if you can call it that) – she can see how and when a person will die, just by looking in their eyes. And some of those people will be meeting a very sticky end. A serial killer is on the loose, and she is the key to stopping him. She’s a wonderful character, troubled and alone, but with a deeper, hidden strength that she eventually comes to realise she has.

Forensic psychologist Adam Brandt is faced with a tricky dilemma – Kassie can’t be telling the truth. Or can she? She knows too much about what’s been going on. Is she somehow involved in the murders? Or can she actually do what she claims to be able to?

Arlidge’s writing style tends towards the short and snappy, with chapters coming thick and fast, giving you the excuse to just read one (or ten) more. A Gift For Dying was very hard to put down, and races towards the ending at breakneck pace.

This is the first book that I've read by MJ Arlidge and I loved it!±
Found it creepy, dark and compelling

This was a bloodthirsty psychological thriller. I struggled to read it as times but was caught up in the police procedures to find the killer. Is shows how preconceived ideas can affect a persons assessment of a problem. An open mind could have solved the murders much quicker. Fascinating read.