Gritty, very realistic and atmospheric description of gang warfare and undercover policing in a particular region of England.

It’s only fairly recently that I discovered how flipping fantastic an author Danuta is. I read and loved her previous book ‘Life Ruins’. So when I read that she was due to release another book, which is a sequel to ‘Life Tuins’I knew that I had to read it just as soon as I could. I managed to get hold of a copy and I grabbed a cup of tea, grabbed my Kindle and settled down for an afternoon full of reading. Oh boy ‘Someone Who Isn’t Me’ was one hell of a read and then some. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Someone Who Isn’t Me’ but more about that in a bit.
It took me no time at all to get into ‘Someone Who Isn’t Me’. In fact by the time I got to the bottom of the first page, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to put this book down. I was intrigued by the plot and by the characters and I had my own theories as to what was going to happen, so of course I had to keep reading to see if I was right or if I was totally wrong. I would pick the book up only intending to read a chapter or two to fill in the odd half hour but I would become so wrapped up in the story that I would lose all track of time and just how quickly I was getting through the book. I found ‘Someone Who Isn’t Me’ to be a tense and gripping read, which kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.
‘Someone Who Isn’t Me’ is extremely well written. I thought that ‘Life Ruins’ was good but ‘Someone Who Isn’t Me’ is even better. Danuta has one of those writing styles that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with. She certainly knows how to grab your attention and draw you into one hell of a story. For me the story hit the ground running and maintained a fairly fast pace throughout. I love the way in which Danuta makes the reader feel as though they are part of the story themselves and at the heart of the action so to speak. This was an unpredictable story with many twists and turns throughout.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Someone Who Isn’t Me’ and I would recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Danuta’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

All I can say about this book is what a brilliant storyline.Not read anything from this author before so was pleased with the way the story panned out. If you like mystery novels then this one is definitely for you.

This book is very well written with believable characters. An insite into police undercover work and the bad guys of the drugs world and how they can influence young and vulnerable people. Great plot and I didn’t want to put it down. It was a busy book with loads of characters but easy to follow I really enjoyed it and will be looking out for this author again.
#Netgally #Amazon

Someone Who Isn't Me is very much a character driven novel featuring Becca, Kay, the local police force investigating the murder of their undercover colleague Andy as well as many of the locals that they come into contact with on a day-to-day basis. I have to confess to taking an instant dislike to DS Curwen who was more interested in covering his own tracks for his off-the-books investigation into dodgy dealings at the pub so I was glad that there was at least one officer, DC Dinah Mason who definitely seemed to care about the safety of Becca rather than putting her in harms way.

Becca lives in the seaside resort of Bridlington in a small bedsit, working two part-time jobs, in a supermarket during the day and as a barmaid at night, but still she struggles to get by and pay the bills. Despite having very little, Becca is a very determined and independent young woman who is determined to make the best of what little she has and reluctant to ask others for help even when life takes a very terrifying turn. At times I really wanted to shake Becca and ask her what she was doing, why was she being so impulsive and putting herself in danger as she certainly seemed to be a magnet for trouble but at the same time she was trying to do whatever she could to find the answers as to what was going on but also to protect those around her.

There was also a real sense of place, both with the depiction of what life is like in a coastal seaside town during off-season as well as the remote location of Sunk Island where Kay has rented a cottage. I'm sure that both locations have their good qualities but throughout this book, nothing was as it seemed and there was a dark undercurrent flowing throughout and danger seemed to lurk around every corner. Maybe I shouldn't have been reading it quite so late especially the dramatic scenes towards the end on Sunk Island!

Having devoured both books from Danuta Kot this week, I'm looking forward to seeing what she has in store for us next. Another book featuring Becca and Kay, although surely they deserve some happiness which doesn't quite fit with the crime genre, or something completely different.

love this book, a real page turner! i found it hard to put down and, kept me gripped to the very end, didnt want it to end! brilliant!

This is award winning Danuta Kot's sequel to Life Ruins, a gritty, powerful and thought provoking crime novel with a terrific, atmospheric sense of location in the northern Yorkshire coast, that includes Bridlington, Sunk Island and the Humber estuary, it is a central character in its own right. Becca is managing to hold her life together, although money is very tight, but she is determined to be independent and not rely too much on her foster mother, Kay McKinnon. She is working two jobs, as a barmaid at The Bell, run by Carl Laverty with his groping hands, and at a local supermarket, where she had made friends with Jade who is struggling to manage her 11 year son, a Lewis who is skipping school and mixing instead with those involved in drug gangs.

Becca has developed a relationship with a regular at the pub, Andy Yeatson, drawn by his fun banter and supportive presence, although he is less than forthcoming about his occupation, other than the vague description of being a private investigator. He turns out to be a undercover police officer who is murdered out on the estuary, the repercussions of which are to bring grave danger to Becca. Andy's boss, the ambitious and manipulative DS Mark Curwen is desperate to not have his role in Andy's undercover operation revealed as it was not officially sanctioned. DC Dinah Mason is distraught at the murder of a police officer who had proved to be so helpful to her and is determined to find out what happened. The grieving Kay is intent on moving on her life, she is now working part time at Tania House, as a support to drug addicts like Poppy, and has relocated to a remote home on Sunk Island, but a neighbour's warnings of strange night time activities, and weird sounds indicating the presence of others at her home have her worried.

In this character driven crime novel, the multiple threads and the lives of the different characters come to intersect and connect in this thrilling, twisted and suspenseful read. Kot uses the crime novel to paint a grim portrait of the realities of declining northern industrial towns, the crime, the drugs that are ruining lives, the lost hopes and dreams of the young generation for whom there are no jobs or opportunities or any realistic future, the poverty, the alienation, all which are driving the social breakdown of local communities. The hope is to be found in the characters of the resilient Becca in the face of life threatening challenges and trauma, a Kay who is committed to helping those that the rest of society have given up on and a Dinah wanting to get to truth of Andy's murder. I am looking forward to where Kot takes her characters next. Many thanks to Simon and Schuster for an ARC.

This is a well written novel, mainly set in Bridlington, and centres around the murder of a police officer and the drugs trade. It's tense, fast moving and told from four points of view. I really disliked DS Curwen but had a degree of sympathy for Becca, a young barmaid. The characterisation was very good and everything came together at the end, although Curwen continued to annoy me to the last page. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

This was a book I was really looking forward to. A new author for me which is always something to get excited about.
Becca is finally thinking things are looking up for her. She has her own flat, a job and someone new on the scene who she met whilst pulling pints in the pub where she works.
Andy is an undercover cop. Becca falls for him as he seems to be a good laugh, something she really needs.
Slowly Andy is trying to get information out of her regarding the pub she works in and what may be going on behind the scenes. Something dodgy is lurking but can Becca figure out what. This really does produce tension within the pages and really does get your mind going.
I think when there are characters you like and characters that you hate, then the author has done good to get your emotions going. There are characters you root for and want to do good and characters you really don't like. well there was for me.
I really got stuck into this story and at times I found it a little unbelievable but very interesting.
As the book is told from different points of view I found it something I really had to concentrate on or I would forget who was telling the story.
This is an interesting book and I would recommend it for anyone who wants a read that's just slightly different. It is an interesting and gripping read but I can't say at any point it had my heart racing in fear or wonder. It does however get your mind going.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Simon and Schuster UK for an advance copy of Someone Who isn’t Me, a stand-alone set in Bridlington.

DC Andy Yeatson has gone undercover to investigate a drugs ring. When he is found murdered his death has wider repercussions on those closest to him. Becca Armitage, a barmaid and source of occasional information was hoping to start a relationship with him, her former foster mother, Kay McKinnon, who has taken a job as a drugs counsellor while mourning her husband and attempting a fresh start and DS Mark Curwen, his boss and the person who sent him undercover.

I have mixed reactions to this novel. I can appreciate the realism of the plot and the tension it evokes, but I absolutely loathed DS Mark Curwen and his self serving, manipulative behaviour. It really put me picking up the novel and that’s a shame because the other parts are interesting.

The novel is told from four points of view, Becca, Kay, Curwen and DC Dinah Mason from the investigative side. Becca is walking a tightrope as she is pressured into taking a closer look at what is happening in the pub where she works, Kay thinks there are strange goings-on in her new house on remote Sunk Island, Curwen has his own agenda and Dinah gives the investigative point of view. I liked the way all the strands finally came together and each, apart from the awful Curwen, are intriguing and encourage reading on.

There is a murder and what turns into several dangerous situations but this is really a novel about character and how they react in any given situation. It is very realistic as the characters are shown, warts and all, in a mostly unflattering light, but they all have moments to shine, even Curwen. I appreciate the well drawn characters but in a fiction sense the novel is not particularly satisfying- there is no big bow to tie everything up neatly and the characters don’t float off to a better life, just more of the same.

I think that many readers will enjoy Someone Who isn’t Me as it is well written, tense and even exciting in places, but it didn’t really appeal to me. I think 3.5* is a fair evaluation, a compromise between 4* for execution and 3* for my lack of enthusiasm.