Wow!!! A fantastic thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat for the largest part of it - I loved it.

Kassie has a ‘gift’ or as she sees it a curse - by looking into their eyes she can see how and when people will meet their death. When she is accidentally knocked to the ground and forced to lock eyes with an unknown man she recoils in horror - she sees a horrible murder. She tries to warn him but scares him off. No one believes her and the Police think that she was involved.

Adam is a psychologist and is living the dream with his wife about to give birth to their first child. He is intrigued by Kassie and wants to help her but at what cost?

To me this was one of my favourite reads this year. It sucked me in from the start and kept me there.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

She heard their screams. She felt their fear.

Now she's their only hope...

Adam Brandt is a forensic psychologist, well used to dealing with the most damaged members of society.
But he's never met anyone like Kassie.

The teenager claims to have a terrible gift - with one look into your eyes, she can see when and how you will die.

Obviously, 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 intuition, Adam starts to believe her.

He just doesn't realise how deadly his faith might prove...

I really enjoyed the Helen Grace series by M J Arlidge and was really happy to read this one. Wow what a finish! I really didn’t expect that! 4.5*

#AgiftForDying #NetGalley
I was so excited to receive this ARC. I've read many of M.J.Arlidge books and have never been disappointed.
This is a standalone novel, but with the gory parts still there. It follows a teenage girl who seems to have the curse of seeing peoples deaths. The police think this is ludicrous and feels shes involved when a serial killer is on a rampage and Kassie isn't too far behind. She enlists her psychiatrist Adam to help her understand her visions, Adam gets sucked into Kassies world, wants to help but at what cost? A great read, had me on the edge all the way through. Fantastic.

Initially I was a little disappointed in this book as it didn't grab my attention straight away as the author's Helen Grace novels do. However, once I got into it I liked it a bit more. I just didn't find Kassie totally convincing, and Adam's actions also seemed rather unbelievable for a psychologist. I don't know Chicago or much about it, so the places the action took place in meant nothing to me. I thought this book was okay but no more.

MJ Arlidge does it again. I love this authors books,- so well written, so gripping, often disturbing and always thrilling! This new title does not disappoint. I was a little dubious at first on reading the blurb, but I needn't have worried - fantastic story! A must read!

A Gift for Dying is a terrifyingly gruesome and compelling serial killer thriller!

The plot feels fresh and original and is gripping from the start. Each part ends on a shocking twist or turn and it is a true rollercoaster of emotions throughout. Kassie is heartbreakingly vulnerable, but fierce and brave, Adam is buoyantly but naively optimistic and Gabrielle – the experienced Chicago police detective – is dogged and determined, but certainly not perfect.

I love M.J. Arlidge‘s Helen Grace series, particularly the early books, and this is as exciting a book as when I first read Eeny Meeny: gripping, gory, smart and GENUINELY TERRIFYING! Seriously, parts of this book really freaked me out and you will not want to read this alone on a dark and stormy night!

Basically, this is M.J. Arlidge at his best. The new characters and changing of location from Southampton, UK to downtown Chicago, mixed with his clever plotting and fiendish imagination, result in a great book that I would highly recommend to thriller readers with strong constitutions!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph for the ARC of A Gift for Dying and to Tracy Fenton for my spot on the Blog Tour.

A Gift For Dying is M. J. Arlidge’s first stand alone thriller after his hugely successful Helen Grace series and when I heard about it I couldn’t help being excited, I love the Helen Grace series so it was a given I would read this.
Adam Brandt is a forensic psychologist, he has a loving wife, a baby on the way and a thriving business. When he comes across 15 year old Kassie, a girl who is troubled and very much on her own he feels compelled to help the young girl.
Kassie was an absolutely fascinating character, she has the ability to look into peoples eyes and see when and how they are going to die. She doesn’t like this gift as some may call it, it’s more of a curse and Kassie tries hard to not look at people which is obviously quite difficult. I instantly took to Kassie, she’s vulnerable and lonely but as you get to know her you see she is determined and has a real fight about her.
Adam was another great character, he’s a professional man and tries to help people. He’s a scientific man so when he comes across Kassie it’s hard for him to believe her gift, he’s more inclined to think it’s psychological and tries to help but as time goes on it becomes apparent that there may be some truth in what Kassie is saying and seeing.
A Gift For Dying is very much one of those books that you can’t just pick up and put down again, with fairly short chapters each one leaves you wanting to read on and the more you read the more you need to find out what’s going on, it’s addictive. I found myself reading while I cooked or was sat waiting in the car, I had to know what was going to happen next.
With a gruesome killer that seriously gave me the shivers, honestly this killer may give you nightmares, this book is fantastic. It’s gripping, thrilling, terrifying and just downright brilliant.
It’s all about the books will definitely be recommending.

Another excellent book which is the first I’ve read by this author outside the Helen series. Gripping, twists and turns and couldn’t put it down! I don’t like detective novels but this combines all my favourite elements of a book

I've been a huge fan of Arlidge's Helen Grace series, so I couldn't wait to get my hands on standalone book by him as well. This book was gripping, from beginning to end, and very scary as well. Imagine someone knew when and how you were going to die.....
This was well written, and worth your time and effort.

I absolutely adore M.J Arlidge’s Helen Grace series. It is one of my favourite crime series. I think that’s why I felt a bit let down by this stand alone.

It started with a gruesome murder and ended with a lot of devastation, heartbreak and drama. The middle was just a bit flat and slow going. I thought all the characters were well written though and I loved Kassie. I just wanted to give her a big hug.

I’m not normally a fan of all things supernatural and psychic but once I got used to that element it wasn’t too bad. I found Adams actions all just seemed highly unprofessional and a bit far fetched and the way his character changes was a bit much.

That being said, Arlidge is a fantastic writer and if you enjoy supernatural elements and grizzly murders then maybe check this one out. Don’t expect it to be like the Helen Grace series though because you will be left disappointed.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange of an honest review.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC. The book was very interesting and well written.
The storyline was extremely haunting, with a teenage girl playing a formidable role as the person who could see when a person was going to die. I found the story mesmerising and thought provoking. It was well written with many strong characters in the plot.
An extremely clever and interesting story.
Highly recommended.

Having loved previous books by the author I was full of anticipation. However this book was a huge disppointment. So big a disappoint I actually thought I'd downloaded the wrong book!

A Gift For Dying is my first MJ Arlidge book, but it won't be my last! Based on this, I will be seeking out the Helen Grace books.

Adam is an experienced psychologist used to dealing with the worst in society. Kassie is a teenager with a terrible gift, or maybe she's just delusional. Adam needs to find out. But she does seem to have a link to some terrible crimes...

The characterisation in this book is great. Kassie is a hugely relatable, sympathetic character, especially. I connected with her early on, and really cared about her. She tries so hard to do the right thing, but is so often thwarted. I was sad for her from the beginning, with her difficult relationship with her mum, and the huge burden and carried, and that sympathy lasted until the end of the book. She's a fantastic character.

My feelings towards Adam changed depending on where I was in the book. Sometimes I was cheering him on, at other times he made me sad and occasionally I got cross at him! His fortunes change dramatically during the course of the story, along with his capacity to deal with things. But that I was so invested in the characters is testament to the quality of writing. And we see the changing relationship, between Adam and Kassie.

The tension builds perfectly from the beginning to the shattering ending. I loved the police investigation into the murders, and the description of the killings themselves, which are just graphic enough, without being too much. The police personnel are pretty unsympathetic, and for me this increased Kassie's vulnerability.

I really enjoyed this book. It's long, but with short snappy chapters. It completely kept my attention, as I was desperate to find out what happened next. As well as keeping me on the edge of my seat, it also broke my heart. Would heartily recommend.

I wasn’t sure if this book wa# going to be for me as magical gifts isn’t usually something I can go with it I loved it and look forward to reading more from this author.
Very brutal in places but I loved the characters and spent most of my time trying to work out how it could end the way I wanted it to. It didn’t but that didn’t take anything away from my pleasure.

I have read every book in M J Arlidge's Helen Grace series and loved every single one of them, it is a fantastic thrilling series. I stupidly assumed after seeing the authors name that this was part of the same series. You can imagine my confusion a couple of chapters in when we are following a completely different main character in a completely different part of the world. I think the disappointment that this was not part of the MJ Arlidge somewhat shaded my view of this book... dont get me wrong it still has the same sharp thrilling writing and a brilliant ability to connect to the characters however I was not prepared for the 'supernatual' elements to this story.
A great read for all Arlidge fans!!!

Good book to read. Lots going on lots of twists and turns, its thrilling with lots of violence, murder and sadness in it as well.
Thoroughly enjoyed the book, couldn't wait to get to the end but then didn't want it to finish.

Having previously read and loved all of M J Arlidge’s previous books I was thrilled to receive this as an ARC.

Kassie is a young girl with a disturbing ability to be able to see how and when someone will die just from looking in their eyes. This she carries as a heavy burden when a serial killer strikes. As Cassie tries to warn others her knowledge of events lead to her becoming a suspect in the cases.

Adam is a forensic psychologist who wants to help Kassie but doesn’t know how and his involvement with her leads to spiralling events within his own household.

Reading this I could not believe that it was the same author who wrote the DI Helen Grace books and I am not entirely sure this worked in the authors favour. The chapters were short and punchy but felt a little like he was trying to replicate a James Patterson book without quite reaching that pinnacle of penmanship.

The characters were well rounded and I felt invested in them enough to feel something at the end, but this was a range of emotions - tension, sadness, disbelief. I am not sure that the outcome for Adam would have been as was portrayed, maybe a second book is coming???

A troubled teenage girl Kassie has a "gift" for seeing how people will die by looking into their eyes , normally with accidental eye contact . She sees a man dying an horrific death and tries to warn him , but is arrested and introduced to a psychologist for treatment . He insists she goes to a NA meeting where she meets a counsellor and she has a similar vision for her. The first victim is found dead , having been horribly tortured and mutilated . She enlists the help of psychologist Adam to try and warn the counsellor , they enter her house but she is missing . She then turns up dead in the boot of her own car , once again tortured and mutilated , this makes Kassie a suspect in both murders and Adam is in trouble for helping her access the counsellors home .
Adam is having problems at home , his wife having had a still birth which has affected her badly . There are more victims found with connections to Kassie but the detective in charge can get no proper leads on the murders until the perpetrator tracks down Kassie , who has predicted her own death earlier to Adam . There are plenty of twists in this well written story but do not want to reveal too much to spoil it .

Although this is a very different genre to his usual (outstanding) work I had this to the top of my ‘to read’ pile as soon as I got my hands on it. It’s deliciously creepy and gruesomely addictive from start to finish. Don’t make plans for a while once you start this!

Thanks to Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Having read previous books from this author I was delighted to be pre-approved to read her latest . A gritty crime book with some seriously twisted grotesque murders this was a page turner , that you didn’t want to turn . A murderer on the loose , a psychiatrist who is known to help the police and mix with it 15 year old who has psychic abilities 2nd book in this series and I ,again really enjoyed it . Maybe a bit slower to get into but I loved the storyline and I’m really enjoying getting to know Clementine and Dom and the pull they have together . I look forward to reading book 3 ! My thanks to tbc reviewers for my copy and you have a seriously good book . Short sharp chapters make you race to an ending which had me gripped . 4.5 stars with my thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my opportunity to read