The premise for #Panic is really good but unfortunately I really struggled with it.
There is alot of moving around in the book which I think would be great in a movie but for me it just made my head spin and not in a good way.
The book revolves around four people who are huge fans of the TV show City Of Night.
One of the main characters in the show is Alice who has an abusive husband Don who also is Alice's husband and it's up to her makeup artist Chloe to hid the bruises before going on set.
Now this is where I loose the book as Chloe gets in touch with the super fans and arranges VIP tickets to a Con night festival including meeting Alice but there is one condition, they must help Alice escape from her husband.
But after arriving there is a bloody twist and things start to go wrong from there.
It's a shame that I didn't overly enjoy the book but I think if the bouncing around constantly was toned down it would be a far better book.

The premise of the book and the description is given really hooked me in, especially when I learnt about the previous work of the author. Unfortunately for me, I found this story difficult to keep track of due to how many characters and plots that were included. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

2,5 stars rounded up.

Jaleesa, Kai, Ilya and Dani are online friends, and superfans of the hit TV show City Of Night. Fantasising about the show in their chatroom, they find an escape from their troubled small-town lives. Everything changes when Chloe, make-up artist to the show's star Alice Temple, enter the chat. When Chloe tells them Alice is in danger, the four resolve to save her, and make their way to California. But fantasy is quickly taken over by reality. Alice's troubles, they discover, will shine the spotlight on them all. And not in a good way. On the run across the American South with one of the most famous actresses in the world, the fans must evade the police, the Russian Mafia and the legion an absurd but terrifying new far-right movement. Can they keep running for long enough to uncover the truth about Alice, and discover themselves in the process?

When I saw that the author of Killing Eve had a new book out, I just had to request it. To begin with, the book looked like it was going to be really good. But the plotline dragged out and it was far-fetched. There were quite a lot of characters to keep track of. The plotline jumps all over the place. It was confusing. I nearly gave up on it, but something was making me read on. I'm sure I will be in the minority and many other readers will enjoy this book. It's not a bad read, it's just weird.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #JohnMurrayPress and the author #LukeJennings for my ARC of #Panic in exchange for an honest review.

I have reviewed Panic by Luke Jennings for LoveReading.co.uk. I’ve chosen it as a LoveReading Star Book and Liz Pick of the Month. See site for full review.

#Panic is about a group of 4 individuals who meet in an online fan group for a fantasy TV show, City of Night. They are all huge fans of one of the main characters who is played by an actress called Alice.

One day they are contacted by Chloe, Alice's make-up artist. She drops a huge truth bomb on them and this gets the wheels in motion for an in person meet-up at the City of Night con.

Once the 4 meet, everything goes t*** up and they end up going on the run.

What worked for me:
✨The diversity of the cast

What didn't work for me:
✨ Literally everything else

Apparently this is very different to the author's other books so I'm not writing him off. I'm 100% writing this book off though. In case that wasn't clear.

this book had me hooked at the start but i must admit, it really started to lose me in the middle and by the end i found myself skimming it because i was losing interest, i felt as though it was perhaps a bit too rushed as if the author built up this epic storyline but didn’t quite know how to finish it off. it’s a shame because it would have been a solid 3 star read for me if if wasn’t for the ending, but nevertheless i mostly had a fun time reading this. thanks to netgalley, the author and publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Luke Jennings is the author of the phenomenon that is the Villanelle series, he takes a rather different direction with this, his latest. For me this was a mixed bag of a read, there were aspects that I didn't like or did not work for me, and parts that I enjoyed. It features a group of 4 young diverse obsessive fans of the City of Night TV series, Ilya, Jaleesa, Dani and Kai, from different parts of the world, who have become online friends, escaping from their grim and depressive real life realities. They dream of getting close to Alice Temple, the fan group is contacted by Chloe, a make up artist on the show, who tells them the actress faces dire problems in her personal life, promising them tickets for the show festival. With one of the group managing to secure funding for the trip, the group arrive, only to find themselves facing a horrifying sight that has them taking off with Alice, wanting to protect her, but being followed by a number of parties, including the worrying far right Legion.

I felt that this book is not really meant for me, but for much younger readers, and it required a little more suspension of disbelief than I was comfortable with, whilst the characterisation felt a little thin. What I liked was that the thrilling adventures and chase offered the group opportunities to come to terms with who they were and provides evidence that they are more able than they imagined. I think there are likely to be other readers for whom the book will work out much better than it did for me. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

This book sounded interesting, however it didn't grab me. Too much of a scattergun approach for me ,too many characters, and I am also probably not in the intended age range, hope others like it more.

This was a very disturbing but good read.

Thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish and could not get enough of.

This is a must read for anyone who enjoys a good thriller!!

#panic is a phenomenal thriller from start to finish. This one is sure to keep readers hooked. The characters are well-developed. The story is incredibly fast-paced. This is one not to be missed! Highly recommended! Be sure to check out #panic asap.

What was this!!??!!

Too many characters - too many plot points - none that kept me interested.

The book cover and the fact they're highlighting 'killing eve' make out that this book is a dark thriller - it is not. I really couldn't care less what happened to the characters - I even lost track of who they all were, there was so many wishy-washy characters.

Not sure what the point of this book was.

really did not like this - do not judge this book by its cool cover...

An interesting concept for sure but the execution was a little chaotic. In some ways that's fun for this kind of book, but honestly it was a struggle to keep track at times as it flips from character to character. I was drawn in by the thriller element for sure though, and the friendship help to root it somewhat. Unsure where to come down on it overall but it should find an audience among the Killing Eve fans and young mystery readers.

#Panic is the name of an online group of fans of the television series 'City Of Night', created by pushing together the two main characters names: Pandora and Lyric. For Ilya, Dani, Jaleesa and Kai, Lyric is everything to them and they all fantasise about being close to the actress who plays her - Alice Temple.

Ilya is stuck in a Russian military school where he is teased and abused by his fellow students. His parents have separated and don't seem to care what happens to him as long as he stays at the school.

Dani works in a fish and chip shop on the pier in a seaside town in the UK. As a transgender woman she faces strange looks and verbal abuse, though her dad is very supportive of her.

Kai is a transgender man from Australia who just longs to be accepted as a guy. Finding it difficult to fit in with the other guys he too dreams of getting away from the outback where everyone knows him and to start afresh somewhere new.

Jaleesa has had to give up her dreams of becoming a doctor following her fathers addiction battles. She has left university and moved with her parents to the small town of Auburn, Canada where she works in her aunties hotel. Confused about her sexuality, Jaleesa longs to find a way back to the life she had before.

One day, their fan group is contacted by Chloe, Alice's make up artist, who claims that Alice is being beaten up and abused by her husband, Don Firestone, who also happens to be the producer of the series. Chloe promises them all VIP tickets if they can come to the Con Of Night festival and says she will guarantee them a meeting with Alice as long as they help her escape her husband.

Finding the money via Ilya's gangster father, the foursome head to the Con where they get to meet Alice....while she is standing in her dressing room holding the blood soaked knife that has been plunged into the chest of her husband who lies dead on the floor. In the handful of seconds that pass after the group come across Alice, they decide that she needs protecting so spirit her away from the convention centre and off into hiding.

What follows is a chase across the country, with seemingly no plan or point, as a means of 'protecting' Alice (unless they were planning to run forever, this was a pointless trip as they have nowhere to go and no means of leaving the country). Chased by the police, the Russian mafia and a hate group called 'The Legion', the gang steal a car, plant a fake trail, ride the rails, join a circus (briefly) and hide in the mountains with a Veteran called Snake.

Honestly, I was so confused I was so close to giving up - the only thing keeping me reading was wondering if my theory was correct. The story jumps around erratically between people and places leaving me confused as to who I was reading about - I think the author had imagined these scenes in a movie but, on paper, they just don't work.

I didn't like the characters - there isn't enough flesh to them to feel real or even like they have any evolution at all.

Some will like it - I really really did not.

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

Thrilling and relatable book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read, the characters are well written and the pace is unrelenting.

Excellent modern concept which allows the characters to shine.

My first read by this author but it won't be my last, I really enjoyed his writing style. The characters were well developed and the storyline kept me gripped all the way through

This was a well written book but it just seemed to be jumping all over the place.
I understand that it's an un-edited copy but I feel that there is an awful lot of work to be carried out before publishing.

I didn't understand the characters, nor did I understand half of what was going on.

Three years ago when we went into our first lockdown I knew I would need something to read and so grabbed the first two books in the Villanelle series by Luke Jennings. The books were perfect, a gripping thrilling ride, well written with a good dose of humour and a strong female lead. #panic, the new book from Luke Jennings, is a completely different book, but again it is a very readable gripping well written thriller with good strong female lead characters. It starts in the world of a top rated TV series starring a famous actress, and the fan's wishing a "ship" between her and the other strong female lead in the series. Sounds familiar? I loved the insider insight into the world of TV drama series as a preamble to the unfolding thriller. You are in a safe pair of hands with Luke Jennings. Well paced, believable, interesting and enjoyable.

Panic is a mix of Pandora and Epic but it is not very clear why.! The key character is a famous actress Alice who has an abusive husband and many followers including a group of four young people on line who arrange to meet up. There is a lot of description and a confusing storyline as the paragraphs switch without warning from one of the group to another. I persisted with this book with difficulty. I am unable to recommend it.

Great read from the author of the books behind the Killing Eve phenomenon. This story follows an online group of fans of a TV programme, dotted around the world they share their love of the programme and its characters. When they are contacted by the makeup artist who looks after one of the lead actors they get an insight into her real life from someone who seems to know her secrets. Then when they get the chance to attend a convention celebrating the programme they get to meet the actor and, it seems, save her from a desperate situation. But all is not as it seems and the group of diverse fans will find their own views and lifestyles strained as they try to cope with the fallout of. protecting their hero.
A story that draws you in, flipping from character to character and gently teasing out the reality of the situation as they themselves discover more about each other and their lives. A real pageturner that you motor through.
Recommended

I liked the premise of this novel and it is well written. However, it was not suited to me as a reader but it will appeal to a younger audience.