Dylan Kaspar is an ex cop fallen on hard times following his daughter taking her own life at such a young age. Whilst visiting the gym, he is approached by young gay colourful lad called Tommy. Over a short period, it is clear that Dylan sees the vulnerability in Tommy and when his Dad asks him to look out for him and he will be paid handsomely to do so, Dylan finds it hard to turn down. His Bushmills habit isn’t a cheap one after all.

Tommy takes his own life in the exact same way that Dylan’s daughter did. Dylan feels responsible if not for the death, but to find out the truth behind it. From here he unravels Tommy’s dark past. Dylan showed immense patience for Tommy’s sister, a quite ugly character and it is rewarded with eventually being able to unwind the families past which explains how it ended up in Tommy taking his life.

The story is dark and covers a lot of delicate subjects, male mental health, suicide, drugs, sex workers, violence, homophobia to name but a few. It is done well though and the story develops well and kept me interested all the way through,

This is a debut novel and I believe the first of a series, there is definitely enough in this for me to try the next one. I give this one 4/5.

This was an audiobook. I have not used a lot of audiobooks before but I thought I would give this a go. The book was a thumbs up for me, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Dylan Kasper a recluse after his daughter's death, returns to his former self when a young man named Tommy jumps under a train and everybody calls it suicide. But is it?
Dylan begins to uncover the truth about Tommy and what he was involved in, but in doing so he becomes hunted. Brilliant,

The Next to Die by Elliot F. Sweeney Narrated by Elliot Fitzpatrick is the first book in the new Dylan Kasper series which was very gritty from start to finish. It's full twists and turns that will keep you sitting on the edge of your seat and very hard to put it down..

Dylan Kasper, is the main character and was a former police officer finds himself in a situation after meeting Tommy a young gay man in the gym. With nowhere to run, he thought suicide was the only way to keep his family safe.

Kasper starts to investigate which makes him target number one.

Can he keep his demons with his past stay in check and also stay alive long enough to bring those responsible to justice?

I highly recommend this book and the narrator was good from start to finish.

Dylan Kaspar ( Kaspar) Book 1 bring on the next one
Ex police officer finds himself in a situation after meeting Tommy a young gay man in the gym . Tommy hits on Kaspar who tells him he is straight but Tommy likes him and asks him to be his friend both of them have a lot of sadness and sorrow in their life and when Tommy leaves a voicemail for Kaspar he finds himself drawn into a situation with a very violent man who has thugs who do his dirty work

Any interesting start to a new series I think I am going to like

This was a very enjoyable debut novel. It was quite gritty and dealt with some harrowing topics which will not be for everyone. I really enjoyed it and loved the main character. Can’t wait to read the next one in the series

Kasper an ex policeman is a man who has lost everything after the death of his daughter working in a bar and living in a rented flat he’s just going through the motions but when a vulnerable young man comes up to him he can’t help but be drawn into a murky underworld of gangs, drugs & violence.
This is a good start to a new series of novels , Kasper makes a great protagonist, damaged but wants to fight for the right cause.

Not a lighthearted tale by any stretch and the grittiness starts from the beginning. I do wonder if this is one of those books better read than listened to. I think this is the first in a series but whilst many will love it it wasn’t for me.

I loved this! Kasper is a great protagonist, the story was gripping and fast-paced, and I quickly devoured this audiobook. Narrator was really good and made Kasper all the more likeable and exciting.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to listen to this advanced copy!

Brilliant book! A fantastic read that had me going all the way through. Made me sit up and listen. Great descriptions and atmosphere.

As debut novels go The Next to Die is rather dark and foreboding. There is a look at the sleazy underbelly of the capital but it digs deep into the psyche of damaged individuals.

The central character is Dylan Kasper is former police officer who blames himself for the suicide of his daughter, she wanted to speak to him and he put her off until the evening before which she jumped under a train. He wears his self-perceived guilt like an albatross around his neck, dragging himself down into a self-imposed exile from his former life, family and friends. Kasper has an anti-authoritarian streak and is reckless at times displaying a touch of Martin Riggs (from Lethal Weapon). Working as a barman and largely shunning the outside world he lodges with a retired psychiatrist Dr Steiner who keeps an eye on him but hasn’t analysed him yet to his face. A chance encounter with a young man called Tommy ends up providing the catalyst to bring himself out of this state of fugue.

Tommy is a damaged young man, outwardly confident but under this thinnest of veneers he is clearly troubled, even disturbed. After making a big impression on Tommy, his father Saul asks an initially reluctant Kasper to look out for Tommy and try and discover what is bothering him. Tommy quickly makes an impression on Kasper, but the blossoming friendship is short lived, something pushes Tommy over the edge and he kills himself using the exact method that Rosie, Kasper’s daughter, used. Again, the sense of guilt drives Kasper on to discover why Tommy did it.

The plot is then this investigation into the life and death of Tommy and that is when it gets dark and sordid. Within the shadows are homosexual honey-traps, class A drugs and blackmail, backed up by a vicious gang boss and his hardmen. A central theme is one of redemption, the desire to put right past wrongs or where this is not possible at least stimulate some good. This clearly applies to Kasper, he can’t bring his daughter back but may be able to help others. Kasper’s motivation is clear, that of Tommy, his sister Harriet and father Saul much less so and ultimately prove to be plot critical in the end. What ends up being revealed is disturbing and certainly caught me off guard, the final quarter of the story has several surprises.

The story is told in first person, from Kasper’s viewpoint and moves along rapidly covering a lot of ground. There is plenty of incident throughout to keep the reader entertained and regular injections of jeopardy with fights, murder and some gore. Not always easy to capture convincingly, the scenes of aggression and fights are well written and stay well within the realms of credibility.

Naturally Kasper is front and centre, but within all the action the nature of other characters is revealed. There is the wisdom and benevolence of Dr Steiner, there to save Kasper from himself. Saul is shut down and almost characterless for much of the story, his reveal is the most shocking. Suicide is a difficult subject to write about as it is to broach in real life, but here it is nicely judged with the inclusion of Emmanuel quite telling. He was the driver of the train that killed Tommy and the effect on him is profound, as it must be in reality. Here we see the damage suicide can do to others.

There’s not much scope for humour in such a dark tale but I did love the fact that Kasper, who has little money, gets around on a bicycle even using it to peddle away from mayhem he has caused.

The Next to Die is an action-packed crime thriller that crashes through the grimy London underworld. An impressive debut novel.

This is such a sad book. The horrors of the past can be so long lasting and damaging. An extremely hard hitting and gritty book with a satisfying conclusion

Dylan Kasper, a former police officer, still coming to terms with his daughter suicide, encounters Tommy at the gym. Kasper is paid by Tommys father to help work out so psychological issues, but before Kasper can make a difference, Tommy’s body is found and appears to have taken his own life.
The story is quite slow paced and the title doesn’t reflect the plot. But still an enjoyable read.

I got through this book quite quickly while doing errands and driving places. The book has a good cast of characters and the plot was super easy to follow. The only thing that threw me while I was listening was the phone calls in the book, they seemed to sound really weird as an audiobook.

A good debut novel. Good characters, well plotted. Kasper is an ex policeman who's daughter killed herself, befriends a troubled young man. With plenty of twists and turns. Elliott Fitzpatrick is an excellent narrator only part I was not keen on was the phone calls.
I received this audiobook from Headline Audio and Netgalley for a review.

A debut novel is always an unknown so I began listening to this book with open expectations of what to expect. I sounds like it is being set up as the first in a series featuring the main character, Kaspar, as a PI, but although this book was ok I’m not sure I would actively search for further books in the series, but then again it has potential..
The story somewhat plodded along for a while & seemed to not go very far, but towards the end, perhaps the last hour or two, it became more gripping and captured my attention. It has potential & I’m sure as the author progresses so too will his writing. As a debut novel it is ok, but it didn’t hook me.

I listened to this in one sitting on a road trip. It was very handy!
Very sad start of the story!
I liked the different aspect of the characters especially with Harriet, but I think the main character could have been more thorough and had more intricacies to him.

3.5 stars -
I found the story line to this book enjoyable from the beginning and grew to like several of the characters throughout the story. This book tackles several difficult topics which were handled and wrote into the story line well such as suicide and prostitution. It was an easy listen which I was able to finish quickly and would recommend to friends and family.
My biggest complaint about this audio book was the change in audio when a phone call was made. I struggled to adapt to the change and for me this made the phone calls in the book difficult to follow.