GRIPPING AND FANTASTIC. A STUNNING DEBUT. I was glued to my sofa for two days reading Hold your tongue. I hope that this is the start of a new series. DI Eve Hunter is a complex character integral to an absolute twist turner of a plot. This is a story that is shocking, horrific and is full of surprises. I loved it.

I loved everything about this book. I connected with the main characters and I was left gripped by the way the plot unfolded. It left me unable to put it down. I can’t wait to read more books from this author. Highly recommended. Five stars from me.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Deborah Mason for the advanced copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

Wow, wow wow, Deborah Masson, this one is going to be a hit. An extremely well written book that grabs you within the first few pages and takes you on a ride throughout the east coast of Scotland but based in Aberdeen. A police story like no other. Descriptive text that takes you to the places Eve goes and you can almost feel her pain. Exciting reading throughout and some extremely sick individuals on the way.

First encounter with D I Eve Hunter and her team. Eve on her return to work after physical and psychological problems encounters a murderer with an extremely gruesome method of killing his victims. The murders continue in a similar vein, the case is finally solved when Eve has a lightbulb moment and the answer lies closer to home than expected. A fantastic read, look forward to more from this author

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the advanced copy of this book in return for my review.
It was a slow burner to start with but it picked up and the final twist was unseen and well done. The killings being carried out in line with the nursery rhyme was good but been done before I think. At times I felt there were too many characters involved and it got a little muddling.
Overall a great read, I am sure the main team have got a lot more to give and I look forward to reading more about them.

Wow....what a book....absolutely loved it. Fast paced, full of twists and turns with an ending I never saw coming.
Eve is a detective returning to work after a period of extended leave. This is following a work incident that left her parent with major life changing injuries and wheelchair bound.
Soon she is immersed in a murder where the victims tongue has been removed. Although the case feels closed with a suspect identified, the whole situation is over turned when more bodies are discovered.
Eve is fighting her personal feelings of guilt of her partners injuries alongside colleagues who find it hard having it back.
The story sees the whole team pulled together in a tense finale.
Highly recommend this book.

I'm not able to properly give feedback as I bailed out within the first few pages. It seemed to be heading towards a detailed description of a gruesome act and of images that I did not want to conjure up. A tribute then to the author's descriptive writing skills. I love a good Val McDermid but found this too grim. I've necessarily felt bound to give 2 stars as I'm not able to recommend it. Apologies it's just not for me.

A very well written book. Great descriptions and the characters really came to life.
Aside from the quality of the writing the storyline was engaging and flowed well.
A great police procedural read that I thoroughly enjoyed

If you are looking for a new police procedural series to get your teeth into, this could be the one. It's gritty, gruesome and very good.
This is a case that needs a speedy resolution, but there are plenty of bumps in the road that mean that might not be possible. One of those bumps is the tension that Eve feels, returning to work after 6 months following an injury, and her guilt about what happened the night of her injury. There is also tension amongst her team, some of whom have reservations about her being allowed to return to work, making Eve's job just that little bit harder. Told from multiple points of view, including the killers, gave wonderful insight into all of the characters, and I really felt immersed in the story.
Like any good book in the genre, there are plenty of red herrings, and the reveal of the killer is a good one.
I'm already looking forward to the next book in the series, and my thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Wow what can I say it was brilliant loved it, it was so well written I felt I was there and knew the characters personally. The story had so many twists and turns I hadn’t got a clue who the murderer was, the characters were so likeable especially Eve who I felt sorry for and Mearnes and Ferguson who I disliked at first then they won me over, now Ive finished it I might get to sleep earlier but didn’t want it to end I definitely recommend this book I would give 10 stars if I could.

A rather grim and gruesome police procedural novel which is due to be the start of a series. The murders certainly come thick and fast and there are plenty of twists and turns. A well written debut novel the characters just did not quite hold my interest as much as I would have hoped.

This is first in a new series of books by Deborah Masson and it looks like being a fantastic series. After reading this first instalment there are still some parts of DI Eve Hunter’s life to be revealed but the reader is slowly learning why she acts as she does. Highly principled and someone who does not suffer fools, Eve is just returning to work after serious physical and emotional injuries received in the line of duty and on the first day is assigned to investigate a particularly gruesome death. In fact all of the murders are quite descriptively gruesome!

This is a book I thoroughly enjoyed and will be looking out for future instalments in the series.

Unfortunately I didn’t finish this book, the style of writing just wasn’t for me. Felt like the author was trying too hard to use lots of unusual words.

A gripping story, with a completely surprising ending. Eve is a great character, and I hope there will be more books to come, as I like the characters in the team. My only reservation is that the story was just a bit too contrived. That's a minor quibble though; it was still an excellent read.

This is a very considerable achievement for someone who is writing her first full novel. Hopefully there will be others. It is a story of detection,this time a serial killer whose plan is discovered by accident as being linked to a verse. The reader is traded as to who the killer is with leads but no certainty. The conclusion,that the killer is identifiable as a character in the story,is likely early on but no clues as to exactly who. I guessed wrong! If I have a reservation it is that,as frequently in detective stories just now,the team leader,Eve,is a dysfunctional person who would not have been allowed near the investigation in real police work. There are the usual tensions within the team of well drawn characters. The setting in Aberdeen works well and is welcome as a change from the usual crime cities.

Excellent debut novel from a new name in crime and mystery writing that grabbed my interest from the first page and kept me guessing right to the final pages.

As an avid fan of Paul Finch’s DI Heckenburg and MJ Arlidge DI Helen Grace series as soon as I read ‘Eve Hunter 1’ I got a little excited with the prospect this could be another series I fall in love with.

The book starts 20 years ago outlining a brutal Murder.. jump toward to now and it’s straight in with murders which are similar. Some could say in parts this book is a slow burner but it’s worth sticking with. I really liked how each member of Hunters team was introduced and outlined to get a feel for them including Hunter herself. With one or two of the team it taking a while to properly warm to. It’s VERY gruesome so not for the faint hearted in my opinion.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be looking out for more by the author in future!

A decent debut novel, which works either as a standalone or as the first in a series. Aberdeen-based DI Eve Hunter is back at work after a traumatic event that has left her damaged physically and emotionally, and left a colleague with life-changing injuries. To make her reintegration even harder, there’s a serial killer on the loose.
Debra Masson weaves a good story, with a complex cast of characters, though they have a propensity to jump whenever a mobile rings! Eve Hunter is quite her own person. Some of her motives and guilt regarding her injured colleague were not clear, but maybe that was just me. Some parts felt a bit repetitive, and some of the conversations and scenes jarring/confusing. Other than that a very decent novel, with a reasonably un-guessable twist. (I got close but not close enough.) There were also a few thoughts and ideas that were repeated (violent, misogynistic men; hints of abuse/neglect not followed up on, to name two).
(Review copy from NetGalley)

what a fantastic debut!
Eve is back at work after a previous case that went wrong left her and her partner with life changing injuries but despite the atmosphere in her team she must get on and solve the murder of a young woman left with a headline pinned to her clothes.
As the investigation gets more complex and the body count increases so did my suspicions of the perpetrator. However it is not as clear cut as I first thought with some clever misdirection from the author in terms of personalities, information and backgrounds leading the reader a merry dance before the final reveal.
A fantastic novel with some great scenic descriptions of Aberdeen after dark, great characters and an intricate plot line. I look forward to more from both Eve and from Deborah Masson.

DI Eve Hunter is back at work following the aftermath of a case with life-changing consequences for everyone involved. However, she doesn't have time to dwell on the hostility from team members new and old, because a body has been found with the most horrific injuries.. The case seems to be easy to solve - until another body is discovered.

Under pressure to conclude the case without further bloodshed, Eve is forced to confront her past more than once.

A great book which keeps you guessing until the end