There are two big pitfalls of mystery books. The first is revealing the culprit is someone never talked about in the book before, who the reader had no possible chance of suspecting.

The second is the trap this book falls into: having no faith that your reader has picked up on the clues you seeded into the story and then spoonfeeding the explanation to exhausting detail, and still trying to present the reveal as a bigger shock than it is. I’ve never read a book before where an author is so afraid of leaving some mystery in their mystery, and obviously thinks their readers are too stupid to figure stuff out.

It’s a shame because up until the last 10% or so this book is a really good read. A good mix of clues and suspense, and a building sense of threat in the small town with the unusually high rate of missing and murdered people. All I can imagine is that the editor took a holiday for the last section, which is overwritten and underwhelming.

Rebecca literally spends the chapter before the big reveal putting the final clues together for the main suspect, but realising she has no real proof to back up her suspicion. In the next chapter they reveal themselves and the book presents this as a shock. Then Rebecca even says I don’t know why this is a shock and painfully labours over every part of why the culprit created the circumstances in which they revealed themselves.

The fun of a good whodunnit is figuring out the culprit. Your ending should either come as a total surprise to the reader and they enjoy the shock, or they’ve figured it out and get to feel smug that they picked up on the early clues. In either case you should never distract from the action of the plot climax by spelling out every single clue as is done here. That’s for the epilogue where you can address the ‘the one thing I didn’t understand’ questions you think might linger.

Instead we have a horribly clunky ending which absolutely ruined an otherwise enjoyable book. If I’d stopped at the start of chapter 43 this would have been a solid 4/5 star review, but that final section is 1 star territory all the way, so I’ve balanced that out at 2 stars. Please, next time have more confidence in your readers.

I will review on my blog, Goodreads, and Storygraph around two weeks before publication and add to Amazon once reviewing is possible.

Rebecca Cole has been travelling but has to return home to Eriston on the Northumberland coast following the date of her father. Sean Cole was the former editor of the local newspaper and his death seems suspicious. Rebecca discovers her father had been researching past cases of missing or murdered women - is this why he died?

The start of the book is very chilling and elements of this continue throughout the book as it becomes clear there is a very creepy observer. The setting of the novel is extremely good, the history of the town with a much higher than average rate of missing/murdered women throughout its history adds to the puzzling intrigue of the plot. The town is declining, lots of things have closed down but there’s a real sense of nostalgia, though not all of it positive, which I really like. If you add this to the backstory Rebecca’s father was investigating you have an interesting premise. There’s a good range of characters too. Rebecca is very likeable, intelligent and an interesting central protagonist. Equally likeable is her ex-boyfriend Alan Miller but at the other end of the likability spectrum is DI Alex Hall and the less we say about him the better! As the novel progresses the case becomes deeper and more intriguing, there’s tension, some fear and menace as well as plot twists and turns. I like the finale which takes place at the coast and although Rebecca has worked a lot of it out, this doesn’t detract from a tense and exciting ending.

However, the story does take a little while to get going, in places it’s a bit circular and drawn out although once it gets ‘warmed up’ it’s a compelling read and hard to put down.

Overall. I’ve read a few books by this author and enjoyed them and the positives in his latest novel definitely outweigh a few negatives and makes it a very worthwhile read.

With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph for the arc for an honest review.

Oh boy, this is one of those books where you can be sitting with your back against the wall and still feel there is someone behind you. Howard Linskey has rapidly become a go-to author for me as he sets my imagination on fire and makes me feel and see everything that is going on.


I liked Rebecca, the main character in the story, who had returned to her home town after her father had died unexpectedly. When she was informed, that his death was suspicious, it throws into a whole new level of thinking. She has to know the truth.

The story jumps between Rebecca and the creepy killer of the townsfolk that hides in plain sight. Rebecca has a history with this town of growing up and taking a giant step, pushed by her parents, to go to college. It is strange for her to return to a place where time hasn’t stood still, and friends have moved on without her. She is, to put it bluntly, like a fish out of water.


The killer is one of the weirdest and creepy that I have come across in a while. My heart raced as I saw things through his eyes and felt what he felt, in the most terrifying way, helpless not knowing how far he would go. Here is one creepy sick dude and he wanted his prize and she had come back home.

A thrilling story enhanced even more as I live on my own. It is the perfect setting for reading this petrifying story.


I wish to thank Net Galley and the publisher for an e-copy of this book which I have read honestly.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I really enjoyed this fast paced thriller, great characters and a great storyline, had me hooked until the very end

Imagine returning home from abroad to bury a parent only to find out that they were murdered and that it's up to you to solve the murder and find out why it happened. More importantly who done it.
We go up to Northumberland as the daughter of the murdered man returns from a tropical paradise to...well,, hell on earth. There were lots of twists and turns and the writing as ever, is spot on.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I haven't come across this author before but I liked the sound of the description, I'm glad I spotted it because I really enjoyed it.

Rebecca returns home after travelling to see to her dad's affairs after he dies suddenly. When shes told her dad's death is being treated as suspicious she starts looking into things herself, but someone else is watching her.

I found this book easy to read, and I couldn't put it down. I liked Rebecca's character and I will look out for more books by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this ARC.

I felt this book got off to a good start - it had a good opening chapter that was quite creepy and I thought after reading that it looked a promising read. Unfortunately this book fell short for me - I did enjoy it although it didn’t wow or really thrill me. I liked Rebecca’s character, and her determination to find her fathers killer. I found the story a bit predictable, it had too many suspects and I correctly guessed the killer quite early on. For me, this was an easy read and I would have liked to see more scenes like the opening chapter which was just full of suspense. 3 stars.

This is a good story with lots of twists, and many suspects for the murder of Rebecca's Dad. The ending came rather abruptly but still a book that I would recommend

Rebecca Cole is enjoying her work in Costa Rica, before she's summoned back to the small Northumbrian town of Eriston where she grew up - her father has died, and as his sole heir it's her responsibility to settle his estate. Eriston has a gruesome history, and mysterious murders have been happening for years - all behind closed doors. When she begins to suspect her father may not have died of natural causes, she puts herself on a collision course with a killer who is watching and waiting for her to make the first move.

This is a really well-written book, full of suspense and twists and turns and - at one point - eight suspects. The only reason I cannot give it the full five stars is that I was a little disappointed by the ending - I had a suspect in mind and was fully expecting it to be them, so when the killer was revealed I wasn't necessarily shocked, but it seemed quite out of character.

A different but enjoyable read, telling the story of Rebecca's determination to find out who murdered her father and why. Somewhat predictable at times, particularly with Alan and who the killer turned out to be but a quick, easy read.

#DontLetHimIn #NetGalley
A good read.
He's always been there. Now he's looking for you.There have always been deaths in the small town of Eriston over the years - more than can easily be explained.People dying in their houses, behind locked doors.Sean Cole thought he'd spotted a pattern. Thought he was on the trail of a killer.
Now he's dead too.
I loved it but it's ending was abrupt in my thinking. Although it's a good read. Go for it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK Michael Joseph for giving me an advanced copy.