Cynics would brand this as yet another serial killer story. However, the plot is well constructed and the characters carefully drawn with interesting back stories. So of it’s genre, I rate it highly and enjoyed the read.

Aberdeen, an unusual venue for such a gruesome tale! Eve our damaged heroine, feeling responsible for her colleague’s life changing injury, returns to work after six months having sustained a leg injury herself during the same attack in which her colleague was almost fatally wounded. Her colleagues doubt she is up to coping with the unexpected barbaric murder investigation she is put in charge of on her first day back. There are those in her team who want her to fail and those who recognise her inner strength and determination to get the job done. Eve’s frustration is palpable, Mearns, the new inexperienced recruit, is torn between loyalty to the force and her team but can she work alongside this boss after all she has heard about her from a less than loyal work mate! The twists and turns, the secrets, the nursery rhyme that holds the key,, the brutality - this psychological thriller has you on the edge of your seat, holding your breath right to the bitter end!

This is promising - I enjoyed the setup here of a scottish female detective investigating a serial killer, with a team that’s very split in her views of her due to a previous incident. I did feel it lost it’s way a bit in the middle, and could have been tighter. I’d come back to read any more in the series as I liked the characters.

DI Eve Hunter hasn’t been the same since she and her colleague, Sanders were attacked, resulting in Sanders being paralysed and unable to work. Can Eve get over her guilt and get back to doing her job properly? When someone is murdering women and cutting out their tongues, Eve knows she has to dig deep and get on with the job.
I have really enjoyed this storyline, so much going on. This is a fast paced but incredibly tense story. Great characters throughout and I hope we get to know more about them if there are going to be more books as this could be a fabulous series.

I have never felt scared as I did reading this book, blimey it had me hooked from the beginning I love the character that is central to this story Eve Hunter a police officer with the weight of the world on her shoulder
The book starts with them finding a woman's body and then another a year later with both tongues missing
But Eve is hampered by injuries from her last case when her and her partner Saunders were beaten severely by a drug lords father after they had chased the drug lord and his car flipped meaning he ended up not dead but paralysed for life. His dad got his henchmen to beat Eve and Saunders up to the point Saunders was paralysed Eve suffered severe leg injuries
But Eve can't forgive herself for Saunders condition and she is blinded at times in this case as to who is killing these women and why ?
But she manages to save the final victim just in time but no one had any idea who the murderer was and when they do the shock is Massive

A gripping debut for DI Eve Hunter, coming back after 6 months sick leave, Hunter is faced with a murdered teenager with her tongue cut out and a newspaper article pinned to her. As the body count rises, Hunter is against the clock to discover the truth of the killer and his long awaited vengeance.

How nice to find a police procedural so full of human beings, with all their faults and foibles. In most positive sense, this book is an indicator of why the police do not solve their cases in 42 minutes like television series would like to have us believe.

What a tangled web with an all to believable serial theme that nearly turns into a ... (you will have to read the book to discover what fills the ...). All in all, this book is very well worth your time as it will almost certainly have you trying to turn the pages faster than you can read them.

An excellent debut novel that has me waiting, eagerly, for book two.

This debut has plenty of drama, twists and turns, with a good plot and intense ending.
I like the characters and how they develop and build their relationship during the investigation.
Definitely set up for a second instalment of DI Eve Hunter.

Thank you netgalley, Deborah Masson and Random House for allowing me to read and review this book

Absolutely fantastic! I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the twists and turns. Such a well written book and would definitely recommend to anyone!

"Hold your tongue" is Deborah Masson debut novel and a good effort for a first one. An entertaining police procedural a bit more gruesome than your average one, so not recommended for the faint-hearted (some of the murder descriptions were pretty grisly).

While I enjoyed it there're several buts. First of all, aren't there police officers leading normal, happy lives??? Why have all the detectives happen to be battling some inner demons, alcoholism, dysfunctional families... It feels like all the same! Another aspect that was a bit of a let down, was that, after a great beginning, the story seemed to drag along for most of the book, with no significant developments in the investigation, and the fault of this is partly because of the less than understandable decisions taken by the MC during the investigation. There were also some red herrings thrown around, but maybe it's because this genre is one of my favorites, but I completely disregarded them as soon as they appeared.

I'm curious to see how the team will interact now that the past seems to be partly resolved, so probable will come back for book 2.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK Transworld Publishers for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Gritty police procedural set in Aberdeen. Fast paced and some big twists. The main female detective is fighting past as well as trying to solve some gruesome murders.

Deborah Masson’s debut novel was a real page turner. It had some great characters and interesting back stories. It was good enough to give a five star rating but sadly I couldn’t. The reason? Well, it’s as though there is an off the peg framework doing the rounds in a detective thriller writer’s guidebook. Let me explain. There are at least two plausible false leads, infighting amongst the investigators, italicised flashbacks to the offender’s distant childhood and the ‘hiding in plain sight’ trick. I must have read at least four thrillers with the same framework in the last year. So reluctantly I have deducted one star. I hope Deborah produces another novel with Eve as the lead detective because the chemistry between the investigators is such now that they could solve a more realistic plot.

I found this book so gripping, I really really struggled to put it down. The way this book is written just grips your attention and leaves you guessing what is going to happen next. This is a very well written and constructed book. The way that the story goes from "then" to "now" is very easy to follow. Sometimes in books this can be difficult, but this was incredibly well done.

As a fairly new member to NetGalley and crime fiction I found this book to be one of, if not 'the' best one I have read so far.

Excellent, gritty Scottish crime novel. There were a lot of characters for you to remember and police procedures which explained in great detail what was going on. I always love all the forensics and insights into a police murder investigation.. Eve is a complex character who has had some serious knock backs in her career and personal life both physically and mentally, yet she throws herself into the investigation with more than 100% to get her culprit. This would make a terrific television series with perhaps Suranne Jones as Eve, after her excellent performances in Scott and Bailey and Dr. Foster. You don't often find Scottish crime serialisations unless they are on Shetland or with Rebus and/or John Hannah, who really should be given a major role. I'll certainly keep my eye out for a follow up by Deborah.

A young girl is found murdered with a newspaper cutting pinned to her
DI Eve Hunter has one chance to succeed but will she? And can she find the killer ?

This is the first in a gritty crime series featuring the Chief Investigating Officer of the Aberdeen Police's Major Incident Team, DI Eve Hunter, by Deborah Masson. We have a post-oil boom, grey and grimy Aberdeen, the Granite City, in the throes of a depression with the accompanying poverty, discount stores and charity shops. After 6 months off on sick leave, Eve has been cleared to return to work, although left with a limp after a serious attack on her that additionally left her colleague, DS Nicola Sanders paralysed. This has left Eve with an unresolved guilt, and an inability to forgive herself for what happened to Nicola. A damaged Eve is in no condition to return, she must lead a team where not everyone welcomes her back, blaming her for what happened to Sanders, in an incident we learn more of later in the story. It really is not the time for her to be dropped straight into the most challenging of gruesome murder cases on her first day back with a serial killer running rampant in the city.

In a hotel room, an 18 year old Melanie Ross's body has been discovered, posed with her tongue removed, tied up with Venetian blind cords, with a puncture wound on her arm that suggests she was drugged before being murdered. The killer seems clear cut to the police but, of course, nothing is as it seems as further murders of women occur, all with the same MO. Facing intense pressure, particularly once the media become aware, Eve and the team chase every lead they have, no matter how scarce they are. Matters are exacerbated with the tensions, resentments and conflict bubbling in the team, particularly from new team recruit, DC Jo Mearns from Bolton and DC Scott Ferguson. Eve knows she is going to have to address these issues, but when the killer claims the lives of those close to her, Eve goes off the rails, all of it played out on the front pages of the media. As women continue to be brutally murdered, will Eve and her team be able to find and stop the serial killer?

Masson gives us a dark, compelling and intense crime drama, interspersed with the perspective of a killer with mental health issues, in parallel with an Eve weighed down by her own damaged psyche and troubling team problems. Eve's return has been a baptism of fire, having to face challenges she is poorly equipped to deal with, transparent in her struggles to effectively lead her team and make progress in finding a cunning, intelligent and manipulative killer. After the end of a harrowing investigation, the signs for the future of the team finally begin to look good. It will be fascinating to see how they work together in their next investigation after so much turmoil and grief. Many thanks to Random House Transworld for an ARC.

This is an excellent debut novel, a police procedural with a great team of characters. DI Eve Hunter is Chief Investigating Officer with the Aberdeen Major Incident Team. She has been off work for six months, after her and her work colleague and friend D.C. Nicola Sanders are injured after being called out to an incident.

Eve is going back to work under the proviso that she continues to be seen by the police psychiatrist, she is also still taking pain meds for her recent injury which still niggles. Taking Sanders’ place is new D.C.Jo Mearns who makes it clear she isn’t keen on Eve, as she has been listening to stories told by D.C. Scott Ferguson who also blames Eve for the injuries sustained by Sanders. But is some of that a little bit of guilt himself?

The story starts 20 years earlier with an incident, then jumps to present day, the perpetrator’s story is told in past and present. Most of the rest of the story is told in present, except for when learning more about Eve ,her past and the accident.

Just back in her job, a serial killer is on the loose, he removes tongues from his victims all women, and places a newspaper article on each body. His crimes seem to take place once a week, but what do these women have in common? The team are unable to find any links. The first half of the book was at times a little slow, but it was setting up the relationships and back stories. The second half was full on. With lots of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing.

I liked the team, the characters are good, I look forward to seeing more of them. I also liked the fact that the author didn’t rush the ending to wrap everything up. It was done well.

Thank you to #netgalleyand #RandomHouseUK for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

This is a really good read and would make a great TV drama. Set in Scotland, around the east coast and Aberdeen ,the body of a young girl is discovered in a hotel room and, as the body count rises, DI Eve Hunter and her team are called to investigate. Eve has returned to work after a six month sick leave, due to a harrowing incident, and has a new colleague to deal with as well as her old team. I liked the points of view from the killer as well as the police.This is a very impressive debut novel and I look forward to the next book by the author. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

I'll try to review it properly, but I confess I'm kind of busy lately, so just to let it on record... I liked the book very much, but something that bothered me very much is how much description there is. It really annoys me and makes me skip several lines. However, it isn't something that makes me review it badly. It's just annoying. I like the plot twist very much and I think it was amazing seeing inside the killer's head sometimes.
Shortly, not a 5 stars rating, too much description but I'll gladly read the next one.

4.5 Stars
This is a series opener and, as such, there is quite a bit of character introduction. This is mostly in balance with the crime solving that is going on but MC DI Eve Hunter has a bit of a complex past that is not wholly divulged until quite late on in the book so that does overshadow things a bit for a while. Due to the nature of her past, her injuries and the attitudes towards her by members of her team, it's a bit frustrating initially as the reasons behind them are scant. That said, it didn't distract me too much from what was really going on in the book, the chase to capture a serial killer whose crimes are pretty graphically heinous. Be warned, this book is not for the faint hearted!
This book held my attention nicely throughout despite my aforementioned frustrations. The crimes were interesting and intriguing and, back biting aside, the way the police went about their investigations flowed nicely. Eve is obviously quite a damaged character and it's a bit of a big case she finds herself thrown into on her first day back at work after her recuperation. But she manages quite well, even though the aftermath of what happened is still very much evident.
As a debut book it is pretty impressive although a little bit crime fiction by numbers. But that formula is tried and tested and it is ably executed herein. Coupled with an intriguing plot and interesting serial killer and motive, it all comes together as a whole very well.
I did guess a few things early and the police being a tad behind me at times did frustrate me and I spent a bit of time shouting at them to stop ignoring the obvious but, they got there eventually and properly so I forgive them.
By the end of the book, the team is a bit more cohesive and certain things have been laid to rest. That said, all of my niggles should now be over and I am very much looking forward to the next in series. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.