As a huge fan of M.J. Arlidge’s Helen Grace series I was thrilled when I saw he had a new standalone novel coming out. Very different to his previous work, this is a dark and disturbing thriller that doesn’t pull its punches and really does make you think.

We’re all aware of high profile, shocking crimes that are so terrible that the perpetrator is given lifelong anonymity when they are released from prison. These offenders, many of them only children themselves when they committed these horrific crimes, are given new identities for their own safety, enabling them to start again and make new lives for themselves.

But what if someone leaked their new identities to the loved ones of their victims? And what if those families, torn apart by grief and anger, decide to take revenge?

With the police trying to find the leak and the public very much on the side of the vigilantes, everyone is a suspect. But who deserves justice? Is it the grieving families who are seeking retribution for their loved ones? Or is it the criminals who have served their time and are trying to make new lives for themselves? It’s a moral dilemma for sure, and one that makes for an uncomfortable read. I have to admit that, due to the graphic nature of the subject matter, I did find this book a bit hard going at times. It certainly doesn’t hold back and is a dark, disturbing and intense read that packs a powerful, thought provoking punch to the gut.

A taut and tense thriller, with short, punchy chapters that kept me reading long into the night, Eye For An Eye is a book that shocked me to my core, my emotions all over the place as I went from feeling sorry for certain characters one moment to feeling physically sick the next.

M.J. Arlidge has written a gripping, tense and superbly plotted thriller, which is every bit as good as his Helen Grace series. With complex characters and a hard hitting storyline, this is not a book for the faint hearted, but is still one that I would highly recommend.

A brilliant stand alone read. I love the authors other books and it was nice to see a book written that is not part of the series, it shows their true talent. The plot was fast paced and kept me glued to end.

This is a standalone book from A J Arlidge, the author of one my favourite series of books, the renowned Helen Grace series.

In Eye for an Eye we are introduced to infamous criminals who have committed atrocious crimes, having been given life long anonymity they are released into the society with new identities. Someone has different ideas though and starts to expose their true identities to the victims families.

This is a story of how far you would go for revenge. There are a lot of characters and at times it was hard to follow who was who but it was good to get both sides of the story.

Would you be the judge, jury and executioner? Read it and make your own mind up.

I always look forward to D I Grace once more keeping Southampton safe from serial killers. Not one usually for gory thrillers,I make an exception for M J Arlidge as his books are riveting as they are blood curdling.
With An for An Eye he's succeeded in creating a truly mind bending toe curling, novel.

Arlidge is one of my all time favourite authors (I recommend his Helen Grace series to everyone and anyone) and I’ve yet to be disappointed by one of his books so I could not have been more excited when I saw I’d been granted early access to his new standalone 🙌🏽

I was immediately drawn into the fast paced, intensely thrilling plot and remained hooked throughout, despite this being a pretty chunky read at 500+ pages! Page one throws the reader straight into the action and what follows is a harrowing, compelling and violent thriller, at the heart of which is a complex moral dilemma— and it’s completely unputdownable.

With Arlidge’s trademark short, snappy chapters (that I love SO much 👏🏽) and a broad cast of (let’s be honest, mostly deplorable) characters, this was a story of revenge, accountability, justice + reprisal that had my brain whirring from start to finish. I love a book that provokes questions and forces you to imagine “what if?” and this book certainly does this. Although EYE FOR AN EYE is a work of fiction, the book opens with an author’s note observing that there really are a small number of criminals in the UK granted lifelong anonymity, due to their heinous crimes, which makes for some mind blowing and controversial thought processes.

This was a fascinating, (often) brutal and (always) captivating thriller whose pacing, quantity of characters + action packed plot gave me major PASSENGER (John Marrs) vibes. Be warned there is some graphic violence and crime detail, but also a genuinely interesting study of nature vs nurture and I’d highly recommend picking this up if you’re not squeamish! 👏🏽

[𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 @𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 (𝘐𝘎), 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩.] —— 𝑬𝒇𝒇𝒚 @𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍 🥀

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Eye for An Eye by M J Arlidge in return for my honest review.
I’m a big fan of the Helen Grace series, so could not wait to read this new standalone by M J Arlidge and boy it did not disappoint once I started this book I could not put it down, the storyline and the characters are brilliantly written, a fantastic page turner that i highly recommend reading.

Not many people are granted lifelong anonymity when they are released from prison. It is a subject that divides opinion, even if the person was just a child when the offence was committed, should they be able to be free to have a life when they have taken the life of another? And in the world of the internet & social media, can anybody really disappear & start again? Someone thinks that the relatives of victims should know where to find the people who have destroyed their families. Someone thinks that Old Testament justice should prevail. The consequences may be predictable. Some may think they have got what they deserve- but can people change?

This book explores these difficult questions & does it extremely well. There are a lot of characters but they all have their distinctive voices & make the reader think. I am a great fan of the Helen Grace books, but I think this one is every bit as good if not better. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book. I certainly made me think.

I love M. J. Arlidge’s Helen Grace series and so was really excited to read this latest book, which is a standalone, and I was not disappointed! It kept my guessing throughout and was extremely thought provoking.

I wasn't 100% sure if I'd like this book or not but I seriously could not put it down once I'd started.
Eye for an eye really does give the reader a reason to think about a very topical subject.

Based around the probation service and the controversial topic of some of the worst criminals in the UK receiving lifelong anonymity and a new life after committing some of the countries worst crimes.

The probation service reaches crisis point when they realise that the whereabouts and identities of some of their most notorious criminals are being leaked to those impacted by their crimes. This leads to a wave of murders and revenge killings. Can the leaks be stopped before anyone else is hurt? We meet probation officer Olivia, who seems to only want to keep her client Jack safe. Whereas Jack cannot seem to help himself when following down the same track of child abuse and drugs.

We also meet bereaved father, Mike, whose daughter was murdered by 2 teenage girls several years ago. Now with the identity of his daughter's killer in his hands will he succumb and seek revenge?

I really enjoyed this book as it is so controversial and it really did make me think what I felt about the circumstances of how some of the worst criminals are roaming the streets. Do they deserve a second chance when their victims are not afforded the same liberty?

Overall this is a truly fantastic book. I could not put it down and was gutted the book was finished, despite devouring it whilst reading.

I'd 100% recommend.

M J Arlidge is one on my favourite authors and I’m yet to be disappointed reading one of his books. Yet again he has written a fast paced, amazing book with lots of twists and turns. All the characters remain interesting throughout as we gradually learn the background stories associated with them. Held my breath a couple of times towards the end . Love the author’s writing style and I was gripped from the first page until the last, as usual. Can’t wait for the next M J Arlidge book.

Another fantastic book by MJ Arlidge! I don't want to give away any of the plot, but I will say that I was hooked by this book and didn't want it to end. A real page-turner and thoroughly enjoyable, I recommend it to all.

This author is a favourite of mine, and this book was as amazing as all previous work., The characters felt so well rounded and written, and the terrifying turns of events kept me gripped and trying to guess the twists and turns. Would highly recommend.

‘Our most notorious criminals have hidden in plain sight. Until now …’ - cover tag line.

My thanks to OrionPublishing Group for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Eye for an Eye’ by M. J. Arlidge.

In recent months I have been enjoying catching up with Arlidge’s D.I. Helen Grace series of police procedurals. However, the aptly named ‘Eye for an Eye’ is a stand-alone.

The author opens with a note advising that in the U.K. there are a small number of criminals who have been granted lifelong anonymity as due to their heinous crimes they would not be safe in society. As a result they have been given new identities and are monitored closely by the probation services.

He asks what would happen if someone exposed their true identities to the families of their victims. Would they seek revenge? An ‘Eye for an Eye’ proceeds to explore this premise utilising an ensemble cast of fictional characters.

The narrative follows the story of a number of criminals; some have recently been released while others have been living quietly for years under their new identities. Then one of these protected individuals dies after being chased by masked vigilantes. When this goes viral it sends shock waves through the police and probation services. 

Probation officer Olivia Campbell finds herself caught in the middle of this unprecedented crisis as the hunt for the mole who has leaked their identities continues alongside the search for the vigilante killers who have been let loose by the leaks... No further details to avoid spoilers.

Overall, ‘Eye for an Eye’ was the kind of novel that despite its length once started was almost impossible to put down. There are quite a few characters though I didn’t find it difficult to keep straight who was who.

As with his police procedurals, Arlidge’s plotting was meticulous. I will note that the novel is quite graphic in places. It also raised uncomfortable questions about the priorities of the justice system. Arlidge doesn’t offer easy answers and this results in a thought provoking work of crime fiction. 


4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Eye for An Eye had me completely hooked from start to finish. I love this author so I was intrigued to read this stand alone story. It was gripping, sometimes hard to read due to the subject matter and very thought provoking. I highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for my ARC.

Gripping and disturbing all at the same time and a book that is very thought provoking providing a lot of talking points. Definitely one to read if you enjoy dark and gritty story lines with excellent characters. Thank you to Orion Publishing Group and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of Eye for an Eye.

**Listened to the audio book as well as reading along to the electronic copy**

I have read all of M J Arlidge's books and I look forward to each one coming up. I get so excited knowing there's a new one on the way. But i'm so disappointed with this one. I just feel this book was far too long, and this was probably the main reason I disliked it.
The premise of the book is a good one, and the author note at the beginning of the book was a brilliant way to bring you into the themes. Its always been a topic i've been interested in, and its certainly a divisive topic too. Brilliant for a thriller!!

I enjoyed this book, but it just felt so long!!! Therefore, it lost some of Arlidge's usual great pacing. If this book was 100-150 pages shorter I think I would have been more gripped!
Also - the narrator of the audio book was brilliant. Just the one narrator, but played all of the different characters. It really helped with bringing them to life and being able to differentiate between them.

Overall another great read from M J Arlidge - but not my favourite!

I am a big fan of M.J. Arlidge’s Helen Grace series, so was intrigued to read this stand-alone book which centres on the probation service and specifically the part which deals with the relocation of offenders; most notably here offenders who were children when they committed these crimes. The crimes themselves are especially heinous – most involve child murder or exploitation and those who are responsible for the welfare of these ex-offenders also have to ensure that their behaviour, once relocated, gives no cause for concern.

This is quite a big book, but Arlidge uses his trademark short chapters and fast paced narrative to drive the different stories forward. We hear from bereaved parents, from probationers and from police officers. Each has a perspective, and the grief, burning desire for revenge and jaded cynicism of each comes through strongly.

There are a lot of characters in this story, each with their own perspective, but it’s easy to distinguish them. What isn’t easy though, is to find anyone who evokes a strong sense of empathy. Sympathy yes, especially for the bereaved parents, but when they start to be driven by rage, it’s hard to accept that fighting violence with violence is the right way to go.

This is a violent book with some uncomfortable insights into the way that parents can abuse their own children and it certainly does make you consider the whole nature v nurture debate as well as to understand the erosion of normality from under the feet of those who have the responsibility of ensuring that these ex-offenders keep to the straight and narrow.

Verdict: I’m honestly not sure I can say I liked or enjoyed Eye for an Eye, though it did provide some food for thought. Raising questions of vigilante justice, rehabilitation and the resources available to our probation service, it certainly provides enough twists and turns to keep you hooked.

In Eye for an Eye, we follow a diverse cast of characters who are connected by the probation service. Protected by identity changes and support from caseworkers, they should be safe, but when one is found brutally attacked, the rest begin to get nervous. Is it a coincidence, or are they in danger?

This was a beast of a book! Over 500 pages of lots of characters and interweaving stories, it had some dark themes that, should you want to check for trigger warnings, I recomend doing so. It did take some time to get into and quite a bit of concentrating due to the amount of characters and their separate stories, but it was well worth it.

I was utterly gripped by Eye for An Eye, it is such a fascinating concept, balancing a fine line between some people's desire for 'justice' and for others' approach to redemption and giving criminals another chance in life.

I like a story that bounces between a wide range of characters, knowing that it will all come together later. We get that in spades here, with the lifelong criminals Emily, Jack and Russell, plus the Probation staff, police investigating the murders, the victims' families, MPs and more, all of who have their own chapters and own storylines. It kept me on my toes but each storyline was well defined from the others so I could keep track of who was who.

The fundamental moral dilemma was always central in the story-telling. It really leaves the reader thinking about what their own approach might be if they were ever in such a precarious situation.

M.J. Arlidge also brilliantly portrays the way that the effects of crime ripple out to affect so many people; as well as the victims' loved ones, the criminals' own families were also hugely affected by society's reaction to them, whether deserved or not which was a take I'd not considered before.

This story came in three parts for me. Just like any normal book really, a beginning, middle and end.

The beginning I was really intrigued with. It's a story that follows people out on probation and how the probation services work. These people have committed heinous crimes, have served their time and are now walking free under a different identity. This happens in the real world, and its one of those arguments that divides people. Is it right?

There is a lot of characters to contend with at the start of this book and it does take some concentration, but once your in full flow it's perfectly fine.
M J Arlidge is a master with the short punchy chapters, which makes reading his stories easy to do the classic "one-more-chapter".

I did find towards the middle that I was losing concentration slightly with the story, I just wanted to get to the conclusion. For me the story was a little bit too long. But, remember I'm a reader that only has little pockets of time to read.

This didn't stop me reading, and I'm glad I did carry on as the ending was full of action and just what I wanted.

What you'll find when reading Eye For An Eye is the moral compass journey that you go on. The crimes that were committed were awful and I was rooting for the vigilantes. But, then I had a little ounce of sympathy when the punishment was handed out. I felt sorry for them, but what they did they deserve it surely? An Eye For An Eye?

Arlidge doesn't hold back in his descriptions of the punishment and crime and that's why I will always pick up a book he writes. Eye For An Eye will make you think, will make you wince and will keep you guessing as to who's dishing out the information.