What a fantastic book!. A sad story about murder,abuse and betrayal. So well written and engrossing that I could not put it down and finished it very quickly.
An amazing author who has written a story of murder and abuse and all that goes with it sympathetically . Brilliant read

Review will go live on 25th June at the link below.

Despite the absolute garbage fire that is the UK at the moment, one thing that does not seem to be suffering is the excellent supply of new books. One such is Monstrous Souls, a tense and twisty thriller by Rebecca Kelly.

To say I enjoyed this book is, perhaps, the wrong word as it has some quite disturbing content once the mystery behind Heidi’s attack is slowly revealed – more like I was riveted by it. There is the central plot of the murder of one girl, a near-fatal attack on another and the abduction of a third, but there is also a hugely intricate plot surrounding organised child abuse and trafficking which is sometimes hard to read, but is handled in such a away as to emphasise the despicable nature of it without it being too horrifying for the reader – most of the horror is filled in by your own imagination anyway.

Although this delicate subject provides the backbone of the novel, the friendship between Nina and Heidi, in contrast, is intimate and beautifully captured. It provokes memories of younger days, secret hideouts, long summer days and silly in-jokes and makes what happens to these girls all the more tragic.

I really liked Heidi as a character – although her tendency is to live quietly due to her experiences, she has been able to overcome horrific circumstances in her own way. The descriptions of her life crashing down as she begins to remember some of the details of her ordeal are saddening to read.

Heidi’s voice is interwoven in the book with that of an anonymous person who is watching her, someone who has a vested interest in seeing that she doesn’t remember too much. This is a great device and these passages help us to see more fully what is going on – but still, the final moments are a complete shock.

This book is an excellent and gripping debut novel and I would be thrilled to read more from Rebecca Kelly.

This book really surprised me and spooked me out in places. It's got a brilliant plot with relatable characters, who you really feel for. I love the main character Heidi and I was rooting for her the whole way through. It's a gripping, unputdownable read with twists you won't see coming. Highly recommend Rebecca Kelly, she's a great author.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. It is currently set to be published in June 2020.

The concept behind "Monstrous Souls" is very good and I was really looking forward to reading this novel, because I love cold case investigations and stories about best friends, but the story disappointed me in more than one way.
First of all, the characters are sorely bidimensional, even Heidi, who is the protagonist: none of them does or even mentions anything that is not related to the investigation. They do not act like real people living real lives and feeling real emotions, they feel like walking and talking plot-progression mechanisms. Very annoying! I was not able to relate to any of them. The only character who gained some empathy from me is the secondary villain - Heidi's stalker - who is incidentally also the only character who undergoes any sort of personal development along the course of the book. All the other characters remain unchanged from beginning to end.
Besides, several characters behave in the most illogical way for no apparent reason. The only explanation I can find is "plot requirements". For instance, why does the secondary villain stalk Heidi and kill the people she talks to, but doesn't try to kill Heidi in the first place? If they want to shut her up and prevent her from bringing up new evidence, the most logical course of action would be to try and kill her. It's not like they're squeamish or have any respect for human life, anyway.
Last but not least, the bit that made me put the book down in disgust: one of the characters, Mark, who used to work in a care home for children - and thus is supposed to be someone who *cares* about children's wellbeing and feels *responsible* towards the ones in his charge - one night goes upstairs "just to check everything is okay", catches a grown man (a friend of the manager's, who had no possible reason to be there over night) coming out of a 6-year-old girl's bedroom. So what does Mark do? He lets the man leave undisturbed after making a "ridiculous excuse" (Mark's own words), then he (Mark) goes into the room, finds the 6-year-old girl crying, she tells him that the man has raped her (which means that she trusts Mark *a lot*) and how does Mark repay such trust? By NOT immediately reporting the incident to the police, NOT calling an ambulance and NOT getting any medical help for the poor child--or any forensic assistance for the collection of evidence. His justification? "I didn't have time that night. It was late. I had somewhere else to be." What kind of monster would just turn his back on such a crime? By not saying anything, he allows a flourishing paedophile organization to continue abusing and murdering children for the following 15 years. Years later, when questioned by the police, he even dares to say "I always wondered if this would come back to haunt me one day."
As for the writing style of this novel, I found it too wordy: there are more descriptions than actions, and twice as much space is devoted to Heidi's whining than to her actually doing something.
Several times the "Show, don't tell" principle flies out the window.
Overall, the narration is annoyingly slow-paced for the first two thirds of the novel, then it finally picks up its rhythm towards the end, but not before boring the reader to tears for the first 170 pages or so.
More than a few typos and the occasional grammar slip-up ("Mum has taken Anna and *I*") also had a negative impact on my reading experience.

A very twisted mystery going on but who is to blame. Rebecca Kelly keeps you guessing to the bitter end, and when I thought I had a grasp I was wrong...

Quite slow to start but builds into a unputdownable read. With an ending I didn't see coming, I would highly recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this book.

A gripping read. A little sketchy in places and I felt like where the author didn't know how to explain something, she simply skipped past it. There were gaps in the story - going straight from the incident to 15 years later. Not much explanation about what had happened in between. And no explanation about what the main character was doing now. The background could have done with being fleshed out a bit more. Heard more about her work, her friends etc - as it was there was little or no information about her. A little predictable too, but all the same, a good read, dealing with an emotive issue.

A fantastic debut novel. Thanks to Netgalley for a copy on return for an honest review.
This was a step away from my normal genre, I tend to read YA and fantasy, but this was a very pleasant break from the norm. The pace of this psychological thriller was fast and there was plenty of action. The story is not only told from different perspectives but also across different time frames. As the protagonist, Heidi begins to remember the traffic events if that day, we too travel back in time and see what happened from a 13 year old Heidi. The relationship between the two girls is believable and at times gut wrenching. The topic is a difficult topic but it's handled with sensitivity and just the right amount of detail. Much is left to the imagination again echoing Heidi's own situation and her returning memories.

This was a quick read and left me satisfied at the end. There were some twists and turns which did take a little figuring out and things draw together nicely at the end. It's not the ending some might want but I think it was the right ending. It felt real. There is no dwelling on the Afters, and what ifs and I like that, the reader is left to imagine for themselves what happens to the characters, to sum up their lives would not have done them justice. A recommended summer read and an author to watch out for.

Heidi can’t remember what happened to her, her sister Anna and her friend Nina when they were children. But years later it’s all starting to come back to her in bits and pieces. There are people who are very nervous about exactly what she will remember. This is a story that brings out the worst in people, things that we don’t talk about but have been there in the background for years, covered up, with children too frightened to say anything, knowing they were unlikely to be believed.

This is told as flash backs to 2001 and back to 2016. The friendship between Heidi and Nina shows the depth of their feelings for each other, and also their fear that runs through the whole book. It is very well written, researched and unfortunately all too believable. The author writes really well, making it a moving and fast paced read, and not giving the ending that we would all have hoped for. However a really good read, and I’d definitely read whatever the author writes next.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.

A rather frustrating read. The twists and turns seemed rather ridiculous at times, particularly when Heidi gets chased with the vital evidence, reaches safety, then goes out into the open again!

WOW this book was just such a good read, it is very well written and the author tackles a delicate subject incredibly well. It’s written in a way that makes you aware of the tragedies and awfulness of what the story is about but without the gorey details which some readers find off putting. It’s written with a gentle approach so that you know what is going on without it being spelt out for you. I thought I had the story figured out and who the bad guys were but boy did it throw a shocker in to it towards the end. I won’t go too much in to the storyline as that’s what the blurb is there for, but I would highly recommend reading this, I don’t often give 5 stars and it’s only the few rare great books that I feel are deserving of five stars, this is one of them.

This was a very gripping, fast read. Although the twists weren't crazy, it was really enjoyable and cleverly written. I love books that are written from different perspectives and time frames, so this was right up my street!
It was a challenging read too, due to the subject matter but wasn't graphic about it thankfully.
I will definitely look out for this author in the future..

I could not put this book down!!!!
The story of Heidi and Nina two childhood friends who innocence is lost and no one there to protect them.
Such a sad story but a real page turner with so many different twists and turns.
It is so cleverly written and goes back in forth in time with adult Heidi trying to recall her memory and the story being told by Heidi as a child. Such a hard hitting book and sadly true in the world we live in but so well written you really can not put this book down.
This is the first book I have read by Rebecca Kelly but I will definitely be reading more of her books a very talented author.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

quite a surprise was not expecting that...was thinking a real good horror story...well it was a horror story just not quite what i had imagined....

a girl with no memory
an horrific event that sees one teenage girl dead and the other barely alive

but there is someone always around just waiting for that memory to come back

even though the subject matter is disturbing i found i couldnt quite put the book down and wanted to find out how it ended

brilliantly written and the characters and all their emotions were well researched...going to be keeping an eye out for more of this authors works

A dark atmospheric psychological thriller that involves a cold case of a murder and an abduction. The survivor Heidi is suffering from loss of memory caused by her traumatic experience. D C Denise Gilzeen is like a dog with a bone with this unsolved case. Her dogged determination finally unearths the far reaching solution to this case and exposes some influential people. A great story but personally felt the end left some unanswered questions.

Child abuse is never a cheery topic and has been the subject of many a crime thriller and possibly getting a bit overused now.
However, I do think this book is a very good read and is one of the better ones at tackling the subject.
Told from several different view points and with flashbacks it relays the story of two friends who get caught up in a monstrous web of abuse kept hidden by fear and the fact that some of the perpetrators are police officers. Denise is a police officer who works on a cold case and is aided by Heidi , a victim who survived but suffered such horrific injuries she has had amnesia for years. Gradually Heidi's memories are coming back and there are people who are now very worried that the truth will out.
The book is very well written (and currently has very few errors in the text) and the characters are well developed. It starts fairly slowly but gathers pace towards the end. I am very pleased that Denise is freed from the usual stereotype of "breatharian, alcoholic, hooked on antidepressants, hooked on caffeine, heavy smoker with a dysfunctional relationship" so beloved of many writers. She is normal! Hoorah! To the author- please keep her this way- conscientious, hard working but does eat and sleep.
This book showed great promise. The author clearly knows how to build a story and tension to great effect. The ending.... well-I'm a sucker for something a bit more cheerful but in someways this was more appropriate and realistic but I did find myself asking a few questions.
I will definitely keep my eye out for more books by this author

In 2001 school girl best friends Nina and Heidi are attacked. Nina is murdered, Heidi is left for dead and Anna, Heidi’s seven year old sister is missing. When is badly injured and has no memory of the incident and cannot help police officers in the investigation. The trail goes cold and Anna has vanished. Detective Denise Gilzeen remains in touch with Heidi and in 2016 some fragmented memories begin to return. What unfolds reveals what some monstrous souls have kept hidden through manipulating their powerful positions to remain free from justice. The story is told mostly by Denise and Heidi in 2001 and 2016.

This is a very good debut which is well written, with a solid plot that keeps who guessing but which is plausible. The characters are well depicted with the friendship between Nina and Heidi one of the stand out elements. The angst of their youth comes across clearly with all their ups and downs and feels very real. Nina is easy to see with her sulky mood swings but she’s also fun. Anna is really sweet which makes her abduction unbearable. There are some very moving moments between the two girls where Nina’s desperation is palpable. Heidi’s survivors guilt, sense of betraying her best friend comes across strongly and is understandable.

This is a dark and gritty tale, with wicked crimes and a deepening mystery as time goes on. The storyline centres around a very difficult topic which the author manages deftly telling you all who need to know and no more and I like the restraint and care she shows in the writing. It’s a shocking tale but is never unnecessarily gratuitous. There are plenty of twists until these monstrous souls are unmasked and as the novel progresses you understand how they have got away with evil for so long. The book has tragedy, heartbreak, sadness, drama and shocks, frequently laced with tension and a fearful atmosphere. The conclusion is dramatic and although I had partially guessed some of it, this did not spoil a satisfying conclusion. I would however, have liked to know what happened to one of the key perpetrators from 2001 as this is not mentioned.

Overall, this is an impressive debut and a good dark thriller that is hard to put down. I’ll look forward to reading more by Rebecca Kelly in the future.

With thanks to NetGalley and Agora Books for the ARC.

Good book. Well written. The story is good and kept me gripped throughout. I did occasionally find it hard to keep track of where I was but suspect that was my issue and not the plot.

This book had me gripped from the first few pages.....
Heidi is brutally attacked as a teenager, her best friend is murdered and her sister is taken.
The story jumps between before the attack and 15 years after the attack, when her memory starts to return, it also switches between characters - this is all really well done and it is easy to keep track of the story which has many interesting twists and turns.
Child abuse is mentioned within the story but this is handled very well, nothing is graphic and a lot is left to the readers imagination.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone.

This was an utterly disturbing book that I couldn't put down. I went into this thinking that it would be about plain old murder and assault, so when it ended up being about human trafficking and child abuse I was a bit shocked. That's where the disturbing part comes in. It felt too realistic, too much like it could happen to anyone, and I felt genuine fear from that. The helplessness felt by the girls, the inevitability of what was going to happen to them, and the present day chapters where we see the consequences still play out all added to my uneasiness.

I didn't have fun while reading this book. It was too heavy for that. I was too busy being sad, scared, and horrified to have fun, but I think that's the point, no? This is the first adult crime/mystery/thriller type book I've ever read that didn't involve paranormal/supernatural elements, and it was a strong introduction to the genre. I kept reading because I just had to know what had happened to those little girls. I spent a good portion of the book assuming I knew what was going to be revealed at the end too, and I was thrown for a loop when that didn't happen.

I loved the twist. I was in no way expecting it, and the way it was handled was very moving and powerful in my opinion. I very nearly cried when the newly revealed person had to watch that tape - I was torn between anger at him for the horrific crime he committed and and unending rage at that awful man who abused him like that to the point where he could do something so terrible. It was heartbreaking.

The flashbacks paired with the dangers of the present events, plus that little sprinkling of an unknown POV who is very clearly out to get Heidi, all adds up into a very high-stakes mystery/thriller which kept me guessing even as I thought I knew the truth - and believe me, it's not what you may expect.

All in all, a fantastic debut novel, with a gripping story that really delves deep into the horrors of human trafficking and corrupt police systems