Reading Eeny Meeny and Pop Goes the Weasel in 2014 I quickly became a fan of Matthew Arlidge and his DI Helen Grace stories so when I was offered a free copy of this book, I quickly agreed so I could read an advanced copy. It must be said, I am more than extremely satisfied with Cat and Mouse, a chase to the end as you would expect from the title.
Stalkers are always good in a story because you want them caught and convicted, but this one has clever targeting and gets away with too much for too long.
The writing here is excellent and consistent and even if you haven't read a Helen Grace thriller before, this is an excellent place to begin as you will quickly source the others.
The stalker with the axe is shown to be quite clever and his targeting of a specific profile aids their success in seeking out single people at home.
As is traditional in these types of stories, the DI always has a clash with their boss and although you know the lead character will eventually succeed, the boss may be there for another book or two after this. Similarly, this DI is being stalked by a character from a previous book. This novel must bring two stories to a head and completes this task magnificently.
Like the James Patterson novels, I enjoy the short chapter approach because it enables me to read at a pace that suits my lifestyle and the coffee machine.
I'm surprised this series hasn't reached television producers yet, especially after this writer wrote the incredible audio book Six Degrees of Assassination. Maybe this 11th in the series will give the producers the nudge required because this is very well written and the most enjoyable read despite the subject.

Wow make sure you’ve done all your jobs before you start reading this book as you definitely won’t have time after.

It starts with a murder of a woman who is in her own bed she hears something and thinks it’s her husband but unfortunately not, it’s her worst nightmare. D.I Helen Grace is the leading investigating officer on the case which proves to be very perplexing as there are so many twists and turns she also has somebody following her putting her life in jeopardy,

It’s a great book you just can’t put it down definitely don’t miss out on this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this great thriller.

This is book 11 in the series but can quite easily be read as a stand alone.
DI Helen Grace is still struggling with the aftermath of her nemesis Alex Blythe. He has told her that she has a price on her head and the assassin can strike at any time!

A young mother is murdered in her bed and now that the killer has a taste for murder can Helen possibly find him without getting herself killed in the process?
Action packed throughout and plenty of suspense along the way.

This was the first book in this series that I have read and I did enjoy it and I cam state clearly that it can be read in isolation of the others. The characters were well described and it was easy to relate to them. It was a gripping story, although I do have to say that it was a little on the gruesome side with such clear descriptions of the murders. DI Grace is certainly more than a little on the reckless side and appears to work best alone, despite leading her team.
The story revolves around the axe wielding murderer who centres on the wealthier people. DI Grace is determined to find out how the homes to be invaded are chosen and if there is indeed a link between them, other than money. It was difficult to read as the characters view points changed frequently within the same chapter with no advance warning. It stopped me in my tracks a lot when I had to work out who was the person speaking now.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for an advance copy of Cat and Mouse, the eleventh novel to feature DI Helen Grace of Southampton Police.

Martha White is murdered viciously in her own home and she’s only the first victim of a clever murderer intent on finishing the job. Helen suspects a twisted motive but with a target on her own back, orchestrated by a psychopath, investigating is difficult.

Normally I devour the novels in this series, but I really struggled to get through Cat and Mouse. There is a murder early in the novel, but the overall impression is that it is slow to get going with few developments and an emphasis on the first suspect, which any crime fiction reader will tell you is a mistake and to be disregarded. The point of view is continually changing, between Helen, members of her team and the unscrupulous journalist Emilia Garanita, along with assorted other characters who have roles of various sizes to play in the various plot lines. This constant change did not allow me to settle in to the read and get absorbed as it feels choppy and while not quite disjointed slightly disorientating.

To be fair my concentration is not great at the moment so perhaps I’m being harsh on the novel but it’s hard to review a novel accurately when you’re not engaged and it takes days rather than hours to read. I never heard the siren call, luring me back to the story in this case. There are thrills, spills, tension, violence and danger, but it feels like a retread to me. The details might vary, but the essence is familiar, Helen in trouble and Emilia ready to stick the knife in metaphorically at any opportunity. All that persecution is wearing. I did, however, like the ending which offers the green shoots of a new dynamic and a certain level of optimism.

I don’t think that Cat and Mouse is one of the better novels in the series, but it’s solid so readers will know what to expect and won’t be disappointed.

Before you start reading this, lock the doors and turn your phone off. You will not want to put this down. It starts at 100mph and doesn’t slow down.

Cat and mouse is book 11 in the Helen Grace series, Normally I would say that these books can be read as part of the series or standalone but in this case, it would be beneficial to have at least read book 10. This is a great title, as Helen has more lives than a cat and some of her escapades, read like a superhero. But this is not to detract from this superb addition to the series, which thankfully has recovered from the drop in standard around book 8. Although this is the second book where the team arrest the wrong person and some of the plot is predictable. But saying that, there were several red herrings, which I swallowed, hook line and sinker!

The author continues to lead us on a fascinating journey, expanding on the historical character’s storyline, but also introducing new ones. The novel is generally written from the third person perspective but has also added a chapter or two from the killer’s perspective. This is very cleverly done and adds an interesting and chilling aspect to the story.

Yet another superb instalment in the series, can’t wait for book 12.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

Oh goodness me…my heart rate went through the roof, each book in the series just gets better and better! It is a tad gorier than I like but that might be because the writing is so good and fuels my imagination more than most!

I’m now waiting anxiously for the next in the series. This can be read as a stand alone book, the characters are well written and you understand the backstory without pages of catch-up interfering with the new book.. The story cracks along at a pace….you know it’s good when you’re reading at 3.15am and keep saying “just another chapter”

Thanks to Netgalley the author and publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Thanks to Mathew and NetGalley for allowing me to read Cat and Mouse before the publication date.

DI Helen Grace, by her own admission, is impulsive and reckless. She appears to be a magnet for trouble.

Her nemesis, psychopath Alex Blythe, hates Helen with a vengeance and has warned her that he will arrange for an assassin to take her out, leaving Helen to be hyper vigilant.

There is no love lost between Helen and Chief Superintendent Peters, a politician and time server, who is looking for any opportunity to have Helen dismissed, despite the fact that it is her success rate which makes Peters look good.

Her former partner, DS Joseph Hudson is facing criminal charges and is desperate for Helen to rescind her evidence.

It is against that backdrop that Helen starts to investigate a number of housebreakings which result in the resident being brutally murdered.

This is a real page turner with tensions running high from start to finish. There are plenty of twists, turns and red herrings to keep the reader engaged.

Another great story from MJ Arlidge. This follows on from the last book with the evil psychiatrist on the run and baying for Helen Grace’s death. Alongside this there is another serial killer on the loose and running rampage and Grace is at her finest hunting them down. A fast paced thriller ensues with the usual rollercoaster.

This is book 11 in the DI Helen Grace series. I recommend you at least read book 10 first as I hadn’t and there was a fair bit of reference to it.
I have read a few others in the series and really enjoyed them. This one however, didn’t quite hit the spot. For me there were just too many pages devoted to Helen in combat, fighting for her life - and surviving through incredible levels of violence and scenarios where no one realistically should survive.
The crimes in this book centre around an axe-wielding maniac who targets wealthy households and commits brutal murders. There are several interesting threads to the investigation, prior to the murders being solved.
Not my favourite Helen Grace book, although the series as a whole is worth a read.

Book 11 - wowsers - time flies when you're having fun! Usual series rules apply, you know them by now so... especially as Helen has unfinished business from the previous book, so at least read that one...
So, Helen is wary, on tenterhooks all the time, the threat of harm hanging over her from the one who got away and his death threat. With Blythe in hiding, it'll be a contract killer, one she won't see coming. So she sees danger in everything and everyone. But she still has a life and a job to do, both important to her. And that is where her head is at when we first catch up with her.
Hitting the ground running, as usual, we jump straight in with a spate of murders of people who live alone. No discernible pattern emerging immediately. Helen's mind is elsewhere too on occasion, understandable but annoying and it does her no favours. We also have the increasingly annoying Garanita, journalist, who has quite a big part to play herein (sigh) but one which does have an important ending (yay-ish). Charlie is also having a bit of a bad book too with cracks appearing in her homelife. And then Helen overreacts and, well, there's a bit of a fallout.
So... there's a lot going on. My advice, buckle up and just enjoy the ride. It's a heck of an adrenaline rush! One which grabbed me from the off, held me captive throughout, spitting me out at the end exhausted but satisfied.
Oh and for the first time, I can actually picture some of the places mentioned in the book, now I semi-regularly pop across the great divide and enter the city in which the series is set.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Another gripping instalment in this well established series with murder and mayhem aplenty for Helen and the team. DI Grace really is like a cat with nine lives, the question is what will be next for her and the team?

I’ve read a few of the books in the Helen Grace series but it would have helped to have read book ten, prior to reading this book, however, it still worked as a standalone. I enjoyed reading this book, it is a good police procedural with a plotline that has plenty of suspense.
The main story line is that there is a killer breaking into people’s homes and murdering them in a brutal way with an axe and it is chilling the way he knows his victims are home alone and their routines. The fact that normal security like locked patio doors don’t slow him down much also adds to the suspense. The other story line is linked to the previous book with Alex Blythe wanting revenge and has set someone to try and kill Helen Grace.
The only downside was that I found DI Grace’s character a bit over the top at times, especially when trying to apprehend a suspect on a ship and her boss fell into a stereotype but over all a very enjoyable read.

Book number eleven in the series of DI Grace and her team. I love these books so was excited to read this one.

This follows on quickly from book ten and never lets up until the last page. There is lots of fast paced action in this story and it has a good storyline. Throughout the story though, something was missing for me in this one, I think it could have been that some of the same characters may have lacked something - it was like a different team, maybe because of how they have changed throughout the series of books? I’m not sure but I felt that this book wasn’t as good as any of the others due to this issue. However, I still enjoyed reading the book and look forward to seeing where the next instalment takes DI Grace and her team.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I’m a huge fan of the Helen Grace series and was very keen to read this one. Head of Southampton’s Major Incident Team, poor Helen is the most put upon, stalked police woman in the force anywhere in the UK and it’s fair to say that Southampton has more than its fair share of serial killers. It helps of course that she is tenacious, single minded and has no time at all for bureaucracy or bosses who get in the way of getting the job done.

Helen’s had her share of superior officers who thought they could better her, and this time it seems she may have met her match in Chief Superintendent Alan Peters, a man who expects his subordinates not to have minds of their own. But backing Helen into a corner just makes her all the more determined to come out fighting.

Arlidge writes in short sharp chapters and that helps to set a fast and furious pace for this action packed police procedural. Helen Grace is an extraordinary character and for the reader that is part of the attraction. She demands and gets 100% from her team, but no-one is harder on Helen than Grace herself. Let down by too many people, she has no life of her own and seems destined now, to be the leather clad, motor-biking avenger of Southampton’s streets.

In the 11th in the series, a vicious axe killer is stalking Southampton’s streets. What has the team stumped is an absence of discernible motive or any link between the victims. As Helen struggles to find a causal link between the crimes, she comes under heavy pressure from her boss and even her dependable sidekick, Charlie, does not seem to be entirely on the ball.

As if that were not enough, Helen is still being targeted by a killer from her last case and – as if that were not enough – the poisonous ex DS Joseph Hudson is hell-bent on bringing her down. Local newspaper reporter, Emily Garanita is never too far away either, waiting for Helen to make the mistake that will enable her to put Helen’s fall from grace on the front pages.

Verdict: I enjoyed this latest episode in the Helen Grace series, and I really enjoy Arlidge’s writing, but it is beginning to feel as if Helen has nowhere left to go. There’s no discernible character development (other than in Emily Garanita) and the plot while offering some points of difference seems too familiar to previous cases. It may be time to rest this series or to give it a major shake-up. I love Helen Grace and always enjoy the internal politics that M.J.Arlidge’s characters have to endure alongside their danger fuelled tracking down of vicious killers but this one is treading territory that feels just a bit too familiar.

I haven't read any of the DI Helen Grace novels before, so I have to admit, I was a bit lost with the plot.
But nevertheless, this was a terrifying (in a good way) and a decent thriller.
Need to get to the previous installments now.

Another fast paced and exciting thriller in the series! I have long followed the Helen Grace series and was so pleased to get the chance to read and I wasn't dissapointed.
I love a good police procedural and with the different story lines following on from previous books this really ramped up the tension.
This is part of an addictive series but could easily be read as a standalone.
The writing is tense, twisty and keeps you wanting to read on. I'm ready waiting impatiently for the next in the series!

When you think you're safe,
When you think you're all alone,
That's when he'll come for you...

DI Helen Grace is heading up a new investigation where the victims targeted are home alone, the murders are brutal and appear totally random, at the same time she's also having to deal with the fact that someone is determined to exact their revenge on her and Chief Superintendent Alan Peters is just waiting for her to slip up so he can oust her from the MIT team, but Grace will not go down without a fight.

Cat and Mouse is the latest in this incredible series by Arlidge which hits the ground running from the first page and never lets up, it's a fast paced, intense read, gruesome in parts, with short chapters and a well crafted plot that kept me hooked throughout. We meet some unsavoury characters in this story and Helen finds herself in some very tricky situations at times. It was great to see more of the camaraderie and loyalty between Helen and the team that we've seen in previous books in this series and also another, unexpected, side to the infuriating journalist Emelia Garanita. If you like your crime thrillers packed with action, then this is one for you, even though it can be read as a standalone, this series is best read in order, either way you're in for a real treat. I can't wait for book twelve!

I'd like to thank Orion Publishing and Netgalley for the auto approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

DI Helen Grace is back and on the hunt for a serial killer who kills when his subject is home alone. This is a well established series from a much respected author. This is the first I've read in the series which hindered my enjoyment of the book very slightly as I feel the book referenced previous ones quite frequently.
That said it was still a very exciting book with the hunter also being the hunted from a previous adversary as well being in the wrong side of her boss. It is fast paced and action packed with many twists and turns.
This author knows how to write a thriller and keeps the suspense going right to the end. The lead character is fiesty and puts her own neck on the line in more than one occasion in pursuit of the killer.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I’d like to thank Orion Publishing Group and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Cat and Mouse’, the tenth in the DI Helen Grace series written by M J Arlidge, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

A psychopath is targeting homes, killing the victim and taking rings and small items of jewellery. DI Helen Grace is leading an investigation that’s made more difficult by her boss Detective Superintendent Alan Peters who will go to any lengths to drive Helen out of Southampton’s MIT. But together with her team she’s determined to track down the killer and get justice for the victims’ families. As this becomes one of the most difficult cases of Helen’s career, her life is in danger as psychiatrist Alex Blythe attempts to put an end to her life.

From the very first DI Helen Grace thriller I’ve been hooked on the series and have loved every single one. The excellent ‘Cat and Mouse’ is so breath-taking I’ve not been able to put it down and am so disappointed that it’s ended. Arlidge is an exceptional writer who brings excitement, suspense, tension and, at times, pure terror into his thrillers with twists and turns on every page. As the story progresses the tension is palpable with an action-packed conclusion that’s had my heart racing. I greatly admire the character of Helen Grace who’s gritty, tough and passionate about finding the perpetrators and who has the undying respect of her team. I’d give this absolutely brilliant thriller more than five stars if I could and can’t wait for the next one.