A Gift for Dying is such a brilliant book set in Chicago.A serial killer is at large and 15 year old Kassie believes she can see someones death when she looks in their eyes so she sets out to try and stop it happening but only becomes more involved .This book is one of those that grips you from the beginning and doesn't let you go .It is dark gruesome and intense and the last few chapters had me holding my breath it was that good .Thoroughly enjoyable I have read the Authors DI Helen Grace series and loved them .This is an excellent standalone book .Many thanks to the Publisher ,the Author and NetGalley for my review copy in return for an honest review .

A Gift for Dying was a slow starter and I very nearly gave up on it and I am pleased now that I didn’t.

15-year-old Kassie has an unusual ‘gift’, just by looking into a person’s eyes she is able to see how and when they will die.

Her gift means that she has had to isolate herself from everyone she knows, even her mother. She leads a lonely life until the day her curse brings her into Adam’s life.

Adam Brandt is a forensic psychologist, he is used to dealing with dangerous and damaged members of society.

Adam wants to help Kassie to see that her beliefs can’t possibly be real. Then a serial killer strikes and Kassie appears to know when he or she is going to strike next.

Adam knows it is crazy, but he can’t stop himself from believing her and getting drawn deeper into the mystery.

One thing that struck me continuously whilst I was reading this was just how unprofessional Adam was. There were many, many moments where his boundaries were breaking down and as a half professional, he should have addressed it but maybe that was the point.

Kassie was a very likeable character and written in a way that made the reader feel empathy for her.

Another character I liked was Kassie’s grandma and I thought the addition of her story was one of the book’s charms.

One of the things I will say about A Gift for Dying is that there are elements of Adam and his wife Faith’s story which could prove triggering for some people but I don’t want to add any spoilers so I cannot say more.

A Gift for Dying was a thrilling read and one I thoroughly enjoyed.

Compared to other books in this genre this is a strong, good read but for me it did not provide the adrenaline rush I have come to expect from his books. I loved the idea of Kassie knowing when and how someone would die and related to hear but I struggled to connect with the detective and Adam.

Disappointed by this book. For me it felt incomplete and disjointed. The killer seemed to be a side story and there was no explanation really as to why he did what he did. The focus was on Adam and Kassie but again it all just seemed far fetched.

Incredible, Intriguing and all round brilliant.
Very different to previous books by this author, this was not what I was expecting really, but I LOVED it!

She heard their screams. She felt their fear.

Now she's their only hope...

Kassie is a 15 year old troubled teenager living with her mom in Chicago, she struggles to interact with people and very rarely looks anyone in the eye, but there is a reason for this, Kassie has a gift, which many would say is really a curse, because if she makes direct eye contact with people she can see how and when they will die......

Adam Brandt is a psychologist that has agreed to try and help Kassie through her issues, when she tells him of her 'gift' he thinks she's making it up, until someone starts killing people and she is the only person that knows when and how, only then does he believe her, but will his faith in her bring problems to his own door?

I have loved all of the books in the Helen Grace series so I was intrigued to hear this was a standalone thriller and wondered if it would be as amazing as his series is, would I agree with the reviews I was hearing from others about it? I needn't have worried, it was everything his previous books were and then some, the killer is sadistic and this book is definitely NOT for the faint hearted. This story gripped me from the beginning and it's short and choppy chapters made it an easy read. Its a dark, thrilling read with a touch of supernatural thrown in for good measure. I highly recommend it and look forward to more like it from this author.

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

Wow what a fantastic book. I have read this author’s Helen Grace series so knew I was in for a treat with this stand alone book. I wasn’t disappointed.

Kassie, a troubled 15 year old claims to be able to look into someone’s eyes and predict their death. Is this true? Psychologist Adam Brandt knows this can’t be true. And yet everything Kassie says seems to come true

The Chicago police don’t believe her either. But with a vicious serial killer running round butchering his victims they need all the help they can get

Highly recommended

My thanks to Michael Joseph for an e-ARC via NetGalley of this stand-alone crime thriller by M.J. Arlidge set in Chicago in exchange for an honest review.

Forensic psychologist, Adam Brandt, is asked to evaluate Kassandra (Kassie) Wojeck, a teenager who has been detained after an incident that brought her to the attention of the police. She eventually tells Adam that she is able to foresee the time and manner of a person’s death when she looks into their eyes. Adam is naturally skeptical and attempts to free her from this apparent delusion.

When a brutal serial killer begins operating in the city, Kassie seems to be anticipating his targets. Detective Gabrielle Grey leads the police investigation and believes that Kassie is implicated in the deaths.

Like her namesake from Greek mythology, Kassie’s prescience is a curse as she is not only disbelieved but becomes a suspect.

This was an ensemble piece moving between various characters; not only the major ones but also a number of minor viewpoints.

Given the combination of police procedural, psychology, and an element of the paranormal this should have been a perfect fit for me, yet I found that I was struggling at times to engage with the characters and narrative.

There just seemed to be too much going on with the constant swapping between characters and some side plots that felt like a distraction. I also felt that Gabrielle and Adam often lost sight of the fact that Kassie was a vulnerable 15-year old with mental health issues.

The novel certainly had its moments and I became quite attached to Kassie given her courage and vulnerability. Yet in addition to the above issues, by the climax I felt that it became too sensational for my taste.

This is the first novel that I have read by Arlidge and I have heard many good things about his DI Helen Grace series. Even though I had some reservations about this novel, I feel that I would be interested in checking out his other books.

When an author of an established series that you enjoy brings out a standalone novel you question whether you will enjoy it. Torn between your desire to read anther in the series and also keen to find out what else they might try. Was there any need for fear - no, Matt Arlidge proves once again that he is a masterful storyteller, with the trademark fast paced narrative and exciting plotline. Shunning the usual Southampton area of the series this book takes the reader to the United States with a story set in Chicago. We enter the world of a teenaged girl who as the blurb tell us can look into the eyes of a person and tell them when and how they will die, when a string of murders are carried out in the area Kassie becomes the prime suspect. Cue the police making wrong assumption and a police officer inexplicably planting evidence (I say inexplicable and this is the only part of the plot that didn't seem to hang right) before the eventual conclusion which Kassie had herself predicted. A breathless conclusion to this novel provides an extremely satisfying conclusion to another novel from this marvellous author. For those who get a bit squeamish may find some parts of this book hard to read but its not gratuitously so, its handled well in this book.
#AgiftForDying #NetGalley

A Gift For Dying is a standalone thriller novel from the writer of the popular Helen Grace series and it's dark, intense and twist-packed, edge-of-the-seat experience. I often find, due to reading a lot of books of this genre, that I am rarely completely blown away by unexpected surprises, but here, there were many and they really made the book impossible to put down. It's masterfully plotted and multilayered moving with pace and purpose, the reader never knowing which direction we were headed. Full of excitement, there were numerous times I was utterly gobsmacked after a stunning reveal.

This is definitely more of a plot-driven novel, so the characters are not as developed as in some other time reads. That said, the execution of the plot is so, so well done that I barely noticed amongst all of the action. Told from varying perspectives exposes the reader to how the characters feel and their nuances, and the chapters detailing the perspective of the unnamed serial killer were very intriguing; I'm always a fan of seeing things through their eyes. It's a very atmospheric tale. Recommended to those who don't mind supernatural elements to their crime fiction

Many thanks to Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for an ARC.

I am a big fan of the Helen Grace series, so was very pleased to discover this standalone book by M.H Arlidge, this dark and creepy thriller is simply brilliant.

Set in Chicago, a serial killer is running wild in the safer areas of the city, with many victims already slain, it is the murder of a state attorneys assistant, the pressure is put on to catch this killer.

I really enjoyed this standalone thriller, it had shorter chapters and was fast paced so it kept my interest, although part of me was expecting Helen Grace to show up at some point. Great characters and interesting twists.

Thoroughly enjoyable.

I really love the author's Helen Grace series and I was keen to read this new book. It left me disappointed, apart from the last few chapters. I just could not get into the story unfortunately. Set in Chicago and featuring Adam, a forensic psychologist, who is trying to help Kassie, a mental health patient. Kassie claims to know when and how people die, usually violently. In all honesty, if not for the author, i would have given up a third of the way through this book. My thanks to Net Galley for my copy. Reviews on Goodreads and Facebook with Amazon to follow on publication day.

I am a big M.J. Arlidge fan. This book is brilliant. I was gripped from the start as to whether Kassie was telling the truth and wondering how the story would end. The characters and the plot are well thought out. This is definitely a page turner that I would recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I’m a big fan of the Helen Grace series and was looking forward to this standalone thriller. Arlidge writes with real energy and vigour. This story is set in Chicago and he creates a real feel for the place. His characters are convincing and the plotting is complex and twisted, so the reader is never quite sure where the story is going next.

This takes an unlikely premise and makes it believable. Is Kassie really able to see the future just by looking into someone’s eyes? She’s an unusual central character but utterly convincing. From the initial early action, this story never lets up in pace. I kept reading and finished it in a couple of sittings. It’s a breathtaking ride.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

When you pick up a book, a thriller, by M.J. Arlidge, you do so knowing two things - it is going to be full of action and intense plotting, and it is not going to be pretty. That is definitely the case with A Gift For Dying when a seemingly innocuous meeting - or rather clashing - of two random strangers, becomes the start of something quite dark and sinister. Teenager Kassie has the fright of her life when she looks into the eyes of the stranger who knocks her down as sees Death staring back at her ... But it's not what you think. Not at all.

From here on in the reader is drawn into a story which is as much about emotion, rejection, isolation and acceptance as it is about finding a brutal killer, and author MJ Arlidge keeps readers right on the edge of their seats from the very first chapter right to the books shocking, if inevitable, conclusion.

I love the way in which MJ Arlidge creates character. With teenager Kassie, you are faced with a prickly, almost unlikeable loner, not unlike a young Helen Grace is we're being honest, but there is something about her which kept me intrigued. Made me want to learn more about her and why she reacted in such a violent way to the stranger.

Kassie is a girl with a gift, one which is completely out of her control and one which, even with the benefit of foresight, cannot prepare her for what is about to unfold in her life and the horrors she will see. She is young and misunderstood and just looking for someone who will listen to her. And in spite of her natural traits including the tendency to push people away, you know that she is simply trying to do the right thing and to change a future that only she can understand. I felt for Kassie and the author has done a great job in making her a sympathetic character whilst giving her a determination and strength which surpasses the adults around her.

Adam, her assigned therapist, is naturally sceptical of Kassie's gift and yet their paths are inextricably linked. He is quite an average character living an average life - or so it seems - but the only real male role model in Kassie's life. I can understand his reluctance to believe her, his desire to distance himself from her both from a personal and professional point of view. I warmed to him quite quickly though and his own story was full of emotion and loss which was captured perfectly on the page. The simplicity of his life contrasted with the complexity of the murders and yet the loss that he suffered throughout the book was no less devastating than the brutal murders that occur.

It is quite a book when, half way through a series of mindless abductions and murders, it strips right back to a moment of almost stillness and crushing loss but that is what happens here. And you get a real sense of the isolation that Kassie feels when everyone around her abandons her. Towards the end of the novel there is a real feeling of resignation from her which may unsettle the reader as we know things that the characters don't yet know.

The story is littered with various law enforcement officers as you would expect, the key character being Gabrielle Grey. She is naturally as sceptical of Kassie's claims as anyone, figuring her to be an accomplice and not simply a bystander and it is easy to see why. Grey is strong, determined and focused, if a little tunnel visioned at times. Equally driven by duty and family, whilst she was often an antagonist to the two central characters, I still kind of liked her.

You get a real sense of place when reading the book too. I don't know Chicago at all, I could picture the scenes quite clearly as the action moved across the city, and could feel the way in which the different settings informed the action, and how the tension ramped up with the jarring clash between the forthcoming violence and the clean suburban lives that the victims had been living. When you consider the way in which the killer selected and studied their victims too, tapping into a very plausible and true to life situation, it may make you think long and hard about the manner in which you live your life.

This is a dark and tense thriller, which keeps the violence predominantly off the page whilst still painting a very clear picture of what occurred. Perhaps not quite as fast paced as some of the authors previous novels, it is still a book which compelled me to read onward. Taking a subject which defies rational explanation and building it into a believable and tight plot line shows the author's skill in creating drama. This is going to be another big hit amongst his fans.

Utterly brilliant kept me hooked from the first page to the last the characters I really liked but felt so sorry for Kassie and Adam. It was fascinating how she could see another person’s death and how it all came together as there was a few twists and turns I felt I was a roller coaster not wanting to get off if I could give this a 10 I would I absolutely loved it.

A brilliantly different book.
Kassie has visions of when and how people are going to die and when she’s introduced to Adam, a psychologist, she begs him for help.
Kassie hates having this ability and when she’s pulled in by the Police following a murder, she links up with Adam who tries to help her.
There’s someone carrying out some pretty brutal murders and the Police are desperate to catch him. They don’t believe that Kassie was trying to warn the victims, so keep a close eye on her.
When she’s found at the scene of the third murder the Police step up their investigation of her as they believe she’s involved.
Adam has issues in his own life to deal with but deep down he wants to help Kassie.
This is a stand-alone book and is a brilliant crime thriller.
Thanks to Michael Joseph and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I thought that this was a good story although I was not really hooked until the second half. I felt that the scene setting took a long time and I was not fully into the characters and the story at the beginning.
The second half moved along quickly and I was keen to pick the book up and find out what had happened.
The story line is different. the main character has some sort of insight into the time of death of people she meets and this has an uncanny way of coming true. There is an inevitability about her visions but as the story progresses it becomes clear that this can be evaded.
The storyline about the psychologist is sad and upsetting, exploring the way work can interfere with family issues.
I recommend this book

As a long time fan of AJ Arlidge and his Helen Grace detective books I was a little worried about the change in characters and more so location; I really shouldn't have been. AJ has delivered a terrific new thriller that I just couldn't put down. Best read I've had this year.

My thanks to NetGalley and Michael Joseph for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review. I requested this novel having become a big of a fan of M J Arlidge Helen Grace novels, but this stand-alone tale I found a great disappointment. To me, it was depressing and inevitable, but the short chapters did make for easy reading. However, I did enjoy the fact that this totally American story, set in Chicago, with an all American cast, apart from one minor English character, is written in a completely British style. I’ve often felt that American speech, the American way of doing and expressing things have got between me and a good story. This was an easy read for a Brit.

The principal character is Kassie, who seems to have inherited an ability to look a person in the eye and then see the manner and time of their death. This leads her to try to save people although she knows it’s inevitable. Adam Brant, a forensic psychologist tries to help her and inevitably gets sucked into events. There is also a vicious serial killer on the loose that the police are desperately trying to track down without much success. The author lets us into the victim's lives shortly before they are murdered. And we are allowed to begin to know them. This is possibly an attempt to increase the horror at their brutal deaths, but it just made me feel more depressed.

The book was very hard work to finish and I only kept going because of this author’s previous books. This hope wasn’t justified. I also found it a very far fetched tale. For this storyline to work you need to accept that a person can have a rare gift, (curse?), of looking into someone’s eyes and being able to see their death. Without that understanding, the whole plot falls apart and it’s just a narration of nasty, dark, evil deeds. And why only foreseeing death? Why no joyous events and great achievements? The end was particularly blood-soaked, gory and depressing. It reminded me of the worst excesses of bloodthirsty Jacobean Revenge Tragedy, wallowing in darkness and gore for the sake of it. When deciding the number of stars, I felt that I needed to score the book highly on writing style, but extremely low on story content. So I split the difference and met in the middle with three stars.