A fast paced thriller set in America by author Chris Merrit.whose novels are new to me. I liked the character of Ellen, traumatised from her previous life as a CIA operative but a dedicated wife, mother and daughter, her strong moral code plunging her into danger when she overhears a threat to national security. I guessed the twist partway through but will read the sequel as I am sure there is more to come. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

I really enjoyed this one. More than I expected to for some reason.
The writing style is pacey, engaging and thrilling.
A good (if a little predictable) twisty ending but I was disappointed to note that it was missing the very end section. I'm guessing it is to encourage people to buy the next one but that never works and it actually put me off which is a real shame.
Great novel apart from that though and enough of a revelation not to need it.

Not my usual kind of thriller but I was soon drawn into the plot and enjoyed the thrills. Ellen is a great hero character with only good on her mind and in her intentions. A modern day Robin Hood.
The excitement did dip a little but on the whole it’s a very well written book and I will look out for the obvious follow on.

This is a great action thriller.
Ellen overhears a conversation in a hotel about a terror attack but she doesn’t know where it’s going to happen, just that something is being planned.
When she confronts a man who is following her, she’s arrested for firing a gun. When she tries to explain her suspicions to the Police, they don’t believe her.
When she tells them she’s ex CIA they look into but Dan find no trace of her.
Due to her past she’s suffering from PTSD and soon the Police take her to a mental hospital as they think she’s delusional.
Things go from bad to worse for Ellen until a psychologist believes in her.
Ellen knows she needs to escape but how will she stop the terror attack if the Police don’t believe her?
This is a fast paced thriller that I really enjoyed.
Thanks to Headline and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This is a gripping, enthralling and exciting read by the excellent Chris Merritt. I was interested to see what this new direction would look like, having enjoyed his London-based novels, and the answer is that America is just as vividly portrayed. When Ellen McGinley overhears a conversation about an imminent attack, she is determined to thwart it, using all the know-how acquired in the CIA. But she is thwarted at every turn. The tension is unrelenting in this authentic page-turner.

This was the first book I've read by Chris Merrit and I will definitely read more. A very gripping book.

Ellen McGinley is a wonderfully written complex character as the main protagonist. On one hand she has a very unexpected important job to do, on another, she has her personal mental health battles to overcome.

It is a gripping and is mostly set in Pennsylvania. Ellen McGinley is a former CIA Officer and is grappling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which in itself makes for interesting reading, and then she becomes aware of domestic terror occurring.

Ellen finds herself being committed into a psychiatric ward. It’s supposed to be secure, but instead she finds herself in mortal danger. The writing is darkly tense and from here on in, it becomes even more of a page-turner. Ellen knows what she saw and wholly believes and knows the implications if a terrorist attack occurs. She has a major problem, apart from being diagnosed as being delusional and can’t leave the hospital, no one believes her. There is then, no one she can trust. She must use all her experience and willpower to keep going to save lives against terror as readers are led down a dark twisty path at speed, with edge of your seat tension.

The calibre of plotting and writing is of high quality and won’t leave you disappointed. It will leave its mark, (in a positive light) and leave you wanting more from this author, or reading from the back catalogue, if you haven’t already done so. He uses all his knowledge and experiences and skilfully fictionalises them into books you can’t put down.

This was a fast paced thriller right from the first page and the tension never gave up until the end and what an end it is my jaw just dropped and now I can’t wait to read the next book !
So we have an overheard terrorist plot that is due to happen in six days, a former CIA undercover operative Ellen and one heck of a brilliant plot, what a start to a book.
The writing and pace of the read was superb you could feel the tension mounting as Ellen tries to get someone to believe what she heard and then ends up being incarcerated in a mental health facility and desperately finds herself trying to escape and stop whatever the terrorists are going to do.
I loved the book it had plenty of action, fabulous plot, really great characters and of course that superb ending….what more could you want ! Many thanks to Christopher Merritt it was a joy to read.
My thanks also to NetGalley and Headline, Wildfire for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is the first book I've read by Merritt and I wasn't disappointed. Devouring it in two days, I couldn't wait to get to the end and was thrilled by the twists and high-thrill scenes along the way.

Fans of Prison Break and the TV programme 'Hunted' will enjoy the fast paced emotional excitement from reading this book. It makes you raise your eyebrows in surprise, bite your nails with tension and sigh with relief with countless close-calls.

Your brain will race as you try to figure out whether the main character, Ellen McGinley will succeed in preventing the terrorist attack and how she will escape the many dangerous situations she encounters alone and with so much stacked against her.

This was such an enjoyable read, but some of the scenes are closely related to ones that I have seen on TV programmes like Bad Girls. For this reason, I will give this book a solid 4 stars for the way it gripped me. The way the storyline was cohesive and came together well. I'm delighted to see that there will be a sequel and I'd definitely like to read it and follow Ellen McGinley on her next dangerous mission! Another book that makes it onto Mrs Bennett's Bookshelf and one that I'd recommend to all fans of thrillers.

This blistering plotline takes off right from the first page and doesn’t let up. Ellen is smart and sassy, and you spend the whole novel routing for her to make it and foil the terrorists without getting killed – there are moments when you just don’t know which way it’s going to go or how she is possibly going to escape the situation she finds herself trapped in.

The idea that you can be locked up and drugged against your will for your own safety is terrifying. Add that to the knowledge that something horrific is going to happen and no one believes you, and so only you can stop it, and you genuinely are gripped by this book and held permanently on the edge of your seat to the last page. Just when you think things can’t get any more tense, they do. It’s pacey, twisty, and very clever.

I gave it 5 stars and highly recommend it as your next read!

Committed is a standalone thriller featuring Ellen McGinley, a former undercover operative and asset of the CIA. She's a badass protagonist in a male-dominated working environment that can more than hold her own against the patriarchy which makes you really root for her throughout. She also suffers from PTSD due to an incident in her past and the trials and tribulations this causes and the impact it has on her day to life is handled realistically and sensitively, with it being one of Doctor Merritt's particular areas of speciality in terms of patient treatment.

This is one of those immaculately crafted, exceptionally well-paced thrillers with exactly the right amount of action, twists, turns, intensity, character development and exposition. I have read almost all Chris Merritt books and must say that while they are all compulsively readable, he hit a whole new level with this one - when everything comes together beautifully and merges into a tense, insanely palpable tale with characters you care about whether they are to be loved or loathed, you can't get any better than this. Highly recommended.

Wow. I have read other previous books from Chris Merrit which I have enjoyed but Committed by the author is on another level. This is an Excellent high octane read that I couldn’t put down and kept me reading into the small hours of the morning. If you are a fan of ‘ Jack Reacher’ type of stories. This book will be for you.
Ellen worked for the CIA. But when a major incident in Paris that went wrong that left a lot of people dead. She blames herself and suffers from PTSD. So now she is a mum with a six-year-old boy name Josh, and he is her world.
When she overhears details of a terror attack going to take place in six days. Her old CIA instincts kick in and vows to herself that he needs to stop it before it happens. It might get rid of the guilt of what happened in Paris.
But she gets arrested and instead of going to Jail she is committed to a Psychiatric unit when she tries to get help with the attack. They think that she is delusional. And when another inmate is trying to kill her, they think Ellen is making it up and getting worse. Even her own husband Harry, at first doesn’t believe her. Until she gets lucky and one of the doctors helps her escape.
She carries on the hunt of the terrorist.
Thank you, the publisher, for a copy of Committed by Chris Merrit. This is another brilliant book from the author. It is a fast-paced thriller with Ellen trying to escape danger in every turn. I found the story original and some instants quite breath taking and all for the protagonist to be female with her maternal side and doing the right thing and her instincts as an ex- CIA agent. What a great mix. I kind of guessed the outcome at the end. But it didn’t spoil it for me. Will there be more of Ellen? I do hope so. I would love to see this develop into a series. 5 stars from me.

This is the first book of Chris's I've read, and was nothing like I was expecting! That's in a good way.
Chris has taken us to America, where Ellen has left her previous job fighting terrorism to settle down with her little boy.
That is until she hears a conversation about a plot to light up the sky on the 4th July. The trouble is no one believes her, and to try and keep her quiet she's committed to a secure forensic psychiatric hospital. There she's treated horrifically by the psycho Dr Ratkova.
The story follows Ellen through her bid to try and escape the mental hospital and then trying to uncover the terrorist plot on her own. Its also told from the point of view of 'Pee-Wee' Peter. The younger brother of the gang leader. Possibly my favourite character. I could feel his frustration, his feelings of inadequacy and insecurity. Constantly being told he's not good enough.
I loved Ellen, and was completely rooting for her throughout. She's very moral and tries her hardest to do things with the least damage, whilst carrying intense guilt for an earlier plot she failed to stop.
This was a brilliant, at times breathtaking read. Really brilliantly developed characters and impossible to put down.

Can I give this more than 5 stars? This was soooo good! If you enjoyed watching Homeland, you will LOVE this.

Gritty, gripping and absolutely unputdownable, I devoured this book in two sittings. I felt like I was watching it, not reading it. The characters were believable and my adrenaline was racing during this action packed thriller that follows ex CIA agent, Ellen, in her attempts to stop a terrorist attack.

I’ve not read a Chris Merritt book before but I will 100% be reading another one.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Headline for my advanced copy.

have to be honest, I wasn't quite sure what to make off this book. I really did enjoy reading it but I think because some of it seemed so far from reality, I just wasn't sure on the storyline.

Whilst working as CIA undercover officer, Ellen felt she totally let down her country when secret information she was privy to led to a fatal bombing within France. Ellen suffered PTSD and left the CIA under what she felt was a black cloud. Whilst out in her home country America , she hears rumours of a terrorist plot that is going to take place in 6 days time. However, after attacking a suspected perpetrator Ellen is arrested and put into psychiatric care and professionals decide she is delusional.

Ellen is desperate to make up for the Paris attack and relies on contacts to help her escape the hospital and prevent the terrorist attack....Will be be able to do this.

Thus book is not for the fai nt hearted but if you enjoy a gritty thriller, this book is for you.

Having enjoyed other books by the author, I was very much looking forward to his latest offering and I am delighted to say that it didn’t disappoint.

We meet Ellen who previously worked for the CIA but after a major incident left her with PTSD, has been focusing on being a mom to her six year old son, Josh. Unfortunately for her, she puts herself at risk when she over hears a conversation she shouldn’t have and someone wants to keep her quiet.

When she finds herself locked up in a psychiatric ward, wow, my heart was racing. You would think being in a secure unit she would be safe but danger is lurking around every corner and my heart was in my mouth as to whether she would make it out of there alive. If anything there are a lot of thrills throughout this story as there is a lot of action and in a lot of ways I really admired Ellen.

This is one of those stories that you don’t know who is trustworthy. All the odds are against Ellen and she can’t trust or rely on anyone to help her out of the situation she has found herself in. I don’t think I could think of anything worse than no one believing you where the implications of not being taken seriously could have an astronomic affect on a lot of people. It is a huge burden to carry.

Committed is a fast-paced, adrenaline fuelled read that had me on the edge of my seat. It is definitely worthy of being on the big screen. I think I read most of it with my mouth wide open and I kept forgetting to breath as the pacing was full on, not dropping for a second. With how the story ends, I am really hoping there is more to come as I would love to see more of Ellen who is strong willed and whilst hardened in some ways, was full of empathy also. This is a brilliant novel and a must read for thriller fans who love lots of action with a strong and believable storyline.

This was just incredible! I couldn’t put it down!

I’m not going to lie, I was like is Ellen making it up, is it actually a real thing? Who knew? Brilliantly written and unraveled at a perfect pace. I loved how we also learned a bit about Ellen's past which was also her motivation for wanting to succeed this time round.

There was one element that I guessed correctly but I won’t give any spoilers!

And the best bit is I think there’s more to come & I can’t wait!

Review Of Committed by Chris Merritt

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Headline for allowing me to read the digital ARC of Committed. It’s due to come out 12th October 2023.

In this novel we follow Ellen a former CIA NOC operative as she tries to thwart a domestic terror plot. However her claims are dismissed and put down to her PTSD which she developed as a result of an operation that went bad in Paris years ago. Will she be able to convince those in power of what she knows in time? Or will History repeat itself?

I really enjoyed this book on the whole, the premise is an interesting one and it certainly evokes the feeling of similar thriller books of this type (I’m thinking especially of Jeffrey Archer here). The pacing was fast and compelling and the plot engaging. I will say that I had predicted the final plot twist and so what was supposed to be a huge reveal wasn’t as impactful as it may have been intended to be. That said however, I did thoroughly enjoy reading this book and would highly recommend picking it up when it comes out!

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📖 COMMITTED : CHRISTOPHER MERRITT
📌 PUBLICATION DATE : 12th OCTOBER 2023

Lucky enough to read an early copy of this romp of a thriller!

The action begins early on and doesn’t let up until the final page.

Just when you take a breather and calm down again, Chris Merritt picks it up and adds another tense episode to get to grips with.

Without spoiling the ending - it certainly leaves you wanting plenty more!

Thoroughly enjoyable!