Member Reviews

Thank you Leona Deakin, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and Netgalley for the digital copy of HUNT.

This is the third book in the Augusta Bloom series and having read the previous two novels in the series i was glad that this one picked up pace half way through after a slow start

The three main characters in this series, Augusta, Marcus and Seraphine carry on their psychological relationship when Augusta is called in to help the Foreign Secretary whose niece Scarlett who went off the grid 9 years ago and emptied her back account of over 2 million pounds of her inheritance money.

What Augusta doesnt know is that the Foreign Secretary is one of Seraphines past recruits - you would have to have read the other two books to know the history of the characters.

Agusta's investigation leads to Scarlett possibly being in a cult, and this leads to her having to go undercover as someone wanting to become a member of Aremetis, an all female group that does not need men in their life.

Plenty of twists and turns, after a slow start, but it starts to pick up pace once Augusta enters the realms of the HQ in Scotland for a weekend break, and then you start to gain access to how a cult is worked- quite scary if it is based on fact.

Certainly a page turner

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Buckle up and enjoy the twisted trip, just make sure that you have read the first two books in the series before departure.
This third book involves a very scary cult and a missing relative thought to be in its clutches. Augusta Bloom goes under cover and it soon becomes clear that this mystery has links to Seraphine's cabal of psychopaths. It's a faster than the speed of light read, with plenty of guns, blood and some confusing sleights of hand performed by both Seraphine and the foreign secretary. The somewhat fragile relationship between Marcus and Dr Bloom is what keeps the book grounded and provides a good central core to the series and new facets of their characters and their friendship are revealed in this instalment.
All in all it's an absolute riot of a book and I am on tenterhooks to see where the twisted mind of Seraphine takes the pair next.

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Thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and Leona Deakin for allowing me to read HUNT for a fair and honest review.

This is the third book in the Augusta BLOOM series. I have not read the first two books and that is my downfall. I found this book, at times, difficult to follow what was happening due to my lack of knowledge of previous events. It does not lend itself well as a stand alone novel.

This book concentrates on a CULT and Dr Bloom must go undercover to try to find a missing person and finds more than she bargains for.

I have only given this book a 3 star rating because of difficulty in following without the previous knowledge of the others books. This book also promises more to come in the next book which would make it even harder to read the next book as a stand alone.

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A gripping read from start to finish. The tension mounts throughout this psychological thriller Deakin keeps you absorbed as the plot unwinds. Thoroughly recommend it.

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A new author and a new central character for me, I was intrigued by the description of this novel. It is well written and a real page-turner.

As the plot unfolded, I found myself increasingly hooked and eager to know what happened next.

I enjoyed this book as a stand-alone but will definitely be reading the two preceding novels in the series.

A recommended read.

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Finally, a psychological thriller about a psychiatrist! Add to that two sociopaths and an ex-Special Forces commando and what's not to like. A dark battle of wits and nerve ensues as a cult is infiltrated against a backdrop of manipulation and cunning. Cleverly written with enough reference to previous books in the series to keep the reader in the loop and not feeling out of their depth. A realistic page turner so thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy, I really enjoyed getting my teeth into this one.

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i enjoyed this book althought it took some time to connect the thread of the story. Would recommend purchase.

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Well written and a great psychological thriller. A missing girl, a cult and many twists. I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. Can’t wait for the next one!

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My thanks to Leona Deakin, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and Netgalley for the ARC of HUNT.

I loved the character development in Hunt, having read the previous two novels in the series.

The three central characters carry on their now-famous cat-and-mouse relationship, set amidst Agusta Bloom's investigation into a possible cult. The close-up and personal account was fascinating, as I knew little about cults and their characteristics before reading this novel. Hunt was, therefore, enlightening and more!

I also enjoyed the sub-plot, linking back to the previous story and the pyschopath, Seraphine. She is creepily engaging, and I look forward to seeing how her relationship with Marcus and Augusta grows next in the series.

The story has plenty of twists and turns, though, at times, the pace slowed for me, compared to previous reads. I also wondered whether Leona got too bogged down in detail and background, rather than allowing the pace to flow.

That said, still a great read, and I recommend it.

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Another brilliant book in this series, I very much enjoy these books and enjoy the way in which Bloom and Jameson were portrayed. This book left me curious about a couple of things therefore making me look forward to the next one to see if we get some answers. The portrayal of the cult and there activities was very realistic and I could see the location and the group and its activities in my minds eye. Highly recommended if you enjoy crime psychological thrillers.

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A good, thrilling read but a little too long...
I would recommend this book but for reasons unknown to me it felt a little too long winded.
Great writing though and promising stuff from this author.

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This book has an unusual but all too familiar context. There is a women’s movement called Artemis dedicated to ending male dominance by encouraging women to take control of their lives. It is led by a charismatic American, Paula Kunis. It may, like so many cults, not be all it seems on the surface. The current Foreign Secretary, held for unclear reasons by security, hires Augusta Bloom to find his niece Scarlett who disappeared years ago and is believed to have gone to Artemis. Augusta is a renowned psychologist but with her business partner Marcus Jamison also specialises in finding missing persons. She infiltrates the cult and the absorbing story takes off leading to a spectacular ending. The way in which cults work and mislead is very convincingly portrayed and even the most eccentric characters are believable. All of the story is all to likely to be possible as has been shown across the world. This is an exciting and gripping book. I recommend it.

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The third in Leona Deakin’s series is just as juicily enjoyable as the first two, following psychologist Augusta Bloom and her friend and business partner, ex-MI6 man Marcus Jameson.

I love it when investigators go undercover, which Augusta does here, trying to find out more about a group called Artemis which campaigns for women’s empowerment, led by the charismatic Paula Kunis, and to track down a missing young woman, Scarlett Marshall.

Psychopathic arch-villain Seraphine is on the scene too, as powerful and influential as ever, apparently with tentacles everywhere.

There’s some interesting stuff about cults and some of the tactics used to manipulate people - the story references both Jonestown and Waco. To be honest, I was also reminded of far more recent events in the USA and the cult-like behaviour of certain of the more extreme Trump supporters.

The concept of Artemis is an interesting one and Deakin, via Augusta, makes it clear that they’re not wrong in their stated aims, regardless of how they go about it - though the organisation did seem mainly concerned with successful professional women.

The frequent references to the skin colour of one person felt uncomfortable - I realise we didn’t know her name at the time, but there’s no need to call her “the black woman” every time she’s mentioned.

The plot is far-fetched, particularly towards the end - and Seraphine’s role in everything confused me a bit - but it’s nevertheless a very enjoyable read which clearly sets up a fourth instalment. Following Lost, Gone and Hunt, I wonder what four letter title the author will come up with next time?

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I am so pleased to have been able to read this third enstalment of the Bloom books. I have read the first two and especially enjoyed the second. This one was about a possible cult and quite thrilling to read. Seraphine pos up once more so we still haven't seen the back of her (and I susspect there is more to come in a Moriarty sort of way!). Certainly Leona has left the book with a ready opening for the next enstallment.
I agree with another reviewer who mentions that the book lost its way towards the latter part. I found it increasingly difficult to follow the train of thought which was complex and involved as well as somewhat unrealistic. However overall Bring on the next one!

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Please be warned you must start to read in the morning as you won’t want to stop until the end of the book it is so gripping
As usual with Augusta Bloom books they will have you on the edge of your seat and this starts this way and continues all the way through the same
She is at the trial of Seraphine Walker the Psychologhist turned psychological killer at her trial
Then she and her partner Marcus are asked to find a young niece of a government minister which seems rather strange as she had been missing awhile
Marcus was convinced she was in a cult but Augusta was trying to be more reasonable
But which would be proved right another fantastic Leona Deakin book

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The biggest downside to reading this book is that now I need to purchase the previous two.

It took me a while to get into the story as there were a lot of references to the previous books. However, once I had picked up on references to the previous books I thought this was a great story.

The idea behind the story was actually incredibly simple & yet enthralling & exciting. A group for empowering women seems innocuous enough, but add in a weekend retreat that isn't quite as it seems & Dr. Augusta Bloom is in a situation that requires all of her mental ability to resist.

Her partner, Jameson, is working blindly from the outside trying to work out whether his partner is in danger.

Once I'd hit the midway point of the story I found that I couldn't put it down & was thoroughly invested in the outcome.

Overall, although a little difficult to start, I found this to be a really enjoyable read & would definitely recommend to others.

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Wow what a book. A really unique idea that holds you on the edge of your seat all the way through. This book has prompted me to search others all the same theme!

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Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld publishing, for providing me with this book in exchange for an honest review.

Hunt is the 3rd instalment in the Dr Bloom series, I am new to the series this being the 1st I have read however although references are made to the previous novels and characters refer to their previous storylines I did not feel I couldn't follow it because of this.

I found the novel quite fast paced and it held my interest, with Dr Bloom being a psychologist there was a lot of interesting references to psychological theories and I liked this. The story is based a round what appears to be a woman's rights group called "Artemis", women being pulled in by a narcissistic leader what appears to be innocent and for the good hides a much darker side, which Dr Bloom and her partner Jameson are assigned to investigate.
The references to cults and the processes they use for grooming, I also found informative as this is not something I know much about and I think I will be reading more about the subject based upon some of the referenced real life Cults described within the novel.

Parts of the novel especially the later action scenes and police liaisons, I found to be a little far fetched? but I was more than willing not to question some of the realism in favour of just enjoying it, I think the language used is very engaging to the reader and I found myself eager to always find out what was going to happen next.

I will be recommending this author and the series to all of my reading friends, a very good read! :-)

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Bloom and Jamieson in action again. This time Augusta is summoned to see the Foreign secretary who seems to have been arrested; he asks her to investigate the disappearance of his niece who became involved with an organisation called Artemis, Augusta thinks there more to Artemis than meets the eye and goes undercover to investigate. Will their old adversary, Seraphina the arch psychopath, get involved? Tense and pacy with a dramatic conclusion.

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My thanks to Leona Deakin, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and Netgalley for the ARC of HUNT. Another stonkingly good read from Leona Deakin in her series. Augusta, Marcus and Seraphina join up again to explore an assembly of women under suspicion because of the disappearance or death of some of its followers. As usual, Augusta and Marcus are a team albeit with some distance between them, but Seraphina is unable to keep away and makes an appearance as expected. She doesn't feature so much in this novel but her presence is felt throughout. The odd relationship between the three continues, and I wonder if eventually they will join forces.

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