Knife Edge opens with 7 journalists being brutally murdered in seperate terrorist attacks within the space of an hour - so from the start I was intrigued.

However, the pacing slowed considerably as the book progressed, leading to some lethargic scenes. That being said, I still enjoyed the book as there was plenty of twists and turns and the characters were well written. I especially enjoyed the main character - Famie - as she was outspoken and unafraid to take risks but she was also very human and reacted to events in a realistic way.

Recommended.

Thanks to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Doubleday and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book and I really enjoyed it, Simon mayo has done it agiaj, fab read and tense as well as using your detective work trying to work it out, kept me gripped all the time, fully recommend this

Having been a listener to Simon Mayo's drivetime show on Radio 2, and being very disappointed when he decided to move on to other projects, I was keen to read this book. The book club on his program was always interesting and he managed to attract some great authors. This novel proves that he can write as well, and I think I will have to get hold of his first one now.

Knife Edge is a story of terrorists and journalists and is a real page-turner. There are some great characters, twists and turns, and the atmosphere portrayed is full of suspense.

Recommended.

Wow what a page turner! I really did not want to put this book down, and read it in less than 24 hours!
I’ve literally just finished this and want to tell everyone to pre-order this as it isn’t published until June. I reckon it’s going to be a huge hit over the summer and I’d love to see it made into a film or TV series.
I loved the characters, especially Famie the main character. She was great, a strong female main character, but not ridiculously bad ass, something I’ve never been able to relate to. I liked that she was normal, had hopes and fears, but wasn’t frightened of taking risks or speaking her mind to those in authority.
I also really liked Famie’s colleagues Sam, Tommi and Sophie and of course her daughter Charlie.
I absolutely loved the pace of this book, totally unrelenting, making me flip those pages quickly, sometimes even having to speed read because I needed to find out what was going to happen next. Brilliant!
There were some excellent twists, especially the one near the end that I really wasn’t expecting, with me saying out loud “no way!” I’m so glad I was in my kitchen and not in a coffee shop! 😀
What more can I say, except if you love thrillers you’ve got to read this one!

I'm continually recommending Simon Mayo's 'Itch' series to children, because they are addictive, adrenaline-filled adventures, thrillers for 12 year olds. Having read his adult novel 'Knife Edge', I can use the same description, just a different age group! I thought it was a brilliant, page turning story of terrorism and the atrocities that accompany it, the families and friends caught up in it, the people that get drawn into it, and the terror of trying to get out. You'll race through it.

Second novel from well known DJ. Seven members of the investigative team of a news agency are killed in the streets of London. Reporter Femi thinks she and her remaining colleagues are at risk too. A member of the group of assassins begins to communicate with her via cryptic messages based on a knowledge of pop music.. Its fast paced and keeps you absorbed. The cast of characters is as diverse as you would expect from an author who has worked for the BBC for the last 50 years. The finale is a thrilling bloodbath in a cathedral.

Mr Mayo's second foray into the adult fiction space and his sixth novel overall. Sadly this is also probably his worse novel to date. It is a modern day thriller that ticks the boxes of plucky journos and left-wing terror cells but still manages to fall a bit flat in the execution. I'm still not sure why that is exactly. Usually in these situations you can point to one things but in this instance I think it was proabably a comination of plotting, pacing and dialogue, combined with characters that I wasn't really buying. This meant as I passed the two thirds mark I was very tempted to not bother finishing it at all.

I did like that as an ex Uni of Warwick student he used Coventry as one of the main settings for the book, always nice to see places like Cov show up in books, but in the end, the book itself was ok, but it is not a thriller i'd be in hurry to recommend to big fans of the genre.

Some books really do grip you from the start and this is one of them. This is an excellent read in a very well researched story that is as frightening as it is real. As serious as the story is though there is humour spotted through the story which brings a smile amongst the horror of the hatred in the world. The characters are believable in a book that is full of tension with an ending that is fast paced and really does keep you on the edge of your seat.

The music references are a true nod to Mr Mayo’s ‘day job’, especially the recent move to classical, but this book proves he is an incredible writer and I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyed this novel. Lots of twists and turns in the plot, keeps the pages turning wanting to find out who did what, why and where. Really well written and expertly tied up at the end.

Perfect Summer Holiday Read

The first part of Knife Edge was for me completely brilliant- seven murders all in the space of a single hour - all victims working for the same news agency- it was pacy, thrilling and addictive. 

Admittedly the rest of it didn't work quite so well for me - absolutely subjective- because once it became clear what the theme would be I lost interest somewhat. I won't give that away but simply say it wasn't a storyline that appealed to me particularly at this time.

The pace stays good and apart from a random occasional irritation at the main protagonist, I liked it ok - Simon Mayo twists and turns the plot cleverly enough and the writing remains immersive. But I did rush to finish it just so I could see if there were any surprises but for me there were none.

A good book with a GREAT hook that will definitely appeal to thriller fans but that just didn't quite hit the mark for this reader.

This book was a great surprise and is aptly names!

What a thriller ride with well written characters on both sides of the narrative.

Read if you like fast paced thrillers.

Well done Simon Mayo! This was a very interesting and fast paced thriller which I really enjoyed. The main characters were well developed and the plot was scarily believable.

This book does not have a strong start or finish, bit the 80% in the middle is very good. I’m still not sure about the use of terrorism as subject matter, but the story does romp along and kept me entertained.

*4.5 Stars *

Author Simon Mayo, is better known as a radio DJ with the BBC, so who knew that he was capable of writing such an addictive and fast paced thriller!

It’s only 6.45 am on a hot sunny morning in London, but already there have been 7 violent murders, in a series of coordinated attacks, all the victims being investigative journalists with the IPS (International Press Service).

Famie Madden also works as a journalist for IPS, and the killings lead her on a dangerous mission, to discover which terrorist organisation is behind this attack, because it may be that the killings haven’t yet ceased, and she, together with other colleagues, might be next on the list.

Well, this one certainly grabbed my attention right from the off. Apart from a slight slowing down of proceedings towards the middle of the book, (though it did provide time to gather breath), it was wrought with tension, and utterly terrifying, yet believable. The characters were strong and memorable, the storyline is really current, and it came with a terrific twist at the end. Great stuff!

This was an excellent read. Who knew a radio DJ would turn out to be such a good writer? But then look at ITV news anchor Tom Bradby. If you haven't read any of his books, check him out.  But back to Knife Edge. Exciting from the start with a great main protagonist (flawed of course but they need to be don't they?) and a cast of characters that would make a brilliant TV series. I wonder if this book will be part of a series with Famie and her daughter Charlie and certain others cropping up again - can't say who because of spoilers. It rattled along and I had to stay up last night to finish it once I had got 75% of the way through. My only issue was with the 'action scenes'. I don't blame the author for this. They must be extremely hard to write and I rarely come across a book where they work well when the action unfolds so quickly. They always work better on screen. Having said that it didn't detract from my enjoyment and I look forward to next book if there is one.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love Knife Edge but there was something lacking. As other readers have said it just fell flat. Really disappointed since the synopsis sounds like my sort of story.
DNF.

I thought this book sounded intriguing so gave it a go. I thought it started off good but soon fell flat and got a bit boring in places, I couldn’t really connect with the characters and really struggled to finish it. All in all not too good for me I’m afraid but glad to see other reviewers enjoyed it.

Disappointingly, I couldn't get into this book. I really wanted to, but despite a promising first two pages, and despite the action that was unfolding, I couldn't engage with the characters. It felt too flat to me. It's a shame as the plot sounded great, but I was unable to finish this book.

What a roller-coaster of a book! Started off fast paced with loads of action then i found it faltered a bit, it soon picked up again with a great ending. I really enjoyed this book, it felt new and exciting.

A thoroughly engrossing novel, which sadly; is almost a reflection of current Islamic extremism in the UK - straight from the pages of the media.

And the media is most certainly front and centre right from the start, with a group of investigative reporters all being murdered almost simultaneously in London.

The main protagonist Famie is a colleague of the slain journalists, and in her role as “slot” for their news organisation (OK, I had to resort to Google myself) then deals with the unfolding killings, and directing how they are reported.

We then find that the dead team have more in common than just working together, and Famie has a very personal connection to some of the deceased.

As a reporter, she and her colleagues then get caught up in the investigation, and attract unwanted attention from the perpetrators as a result of their involvement.

I did find some issues with how they are tracked down by the terrorists, but a plot twist neatly resolves this issue.

Overall a gripping story, literally from the front pages of the media.


My thanks go to NetGalley and the Publisher, for the chance to read an advance review copy of this book, in exchange for an unbiased review