A creepy book set amidst a background of myth and menace. Throw in an OCD investigator and it gets weirder and weirder. A great listen.

Blood Traces by Simon Toyne and narrated by Shazia Nicholls and Hugh Ross was an excellent great crime thriller. audiobook from start to finish. This is the second book in the Dr. Rees and DCI Khan series and I loved it.

This book is set in Cinderford, The Forest of Dean, in Gloucestershire and this story begins when Adele Friar’s older sister Maddie disappears without a trace on Midsummer’s Eve. The very next day Adele frantically searches for Maddie around the area and then reports her missing to local Police station, they shows no interest in looking for her and then tries to brush it off, when Adele tells the Police officer of Maddie's past record for minor offenses, but with Adele persists she manages to file a report. Maddie was last seen headed for “The Clearing” in the forest,

Adele and Maddie had a traumatic childhood and have a lot of history with the forest community. They both try and avoid this area at all cost and on account of their past experiences. But, Adele cannot understand why Maddie would go to a party in that location. Very Strange!

A London based forensic scientist called Dr. Laughton Rees, hears about a missing persons of Maddie Friar and opens a file on the Cinderfield disappearances. She notices Maddie's disappearance is not an isolated incident. and she starts to research the Cinderfield disappearances, only to find a total of 58 missing persons cases these all date back twenty years, and these have not been solved or they haven't even been investigated further.
The locals often say these disappearances are due to “The Cinderman” which is a mythical figure from local folklore He is a “forest phantom who’s believed to prey on young women” However, Laughton correctly assumes there is more to these cases than meets the eye. She wants to find out more and travels to Cinderford, The Forest of Dean, to talk to the local Police and Adele Friar and hopefully help to find her sister Maddie.

WoW I highly recommend this book/audiobook. You can read this as a standalone but I do recommend you read the first book, it will not disappoint.

The narrator's by Shazia Nicholls and Hugh Ross were excellent.

*Blood Traces* by Simon Toyne is a gripping serial killer thriller and the second book in the Rees and Khan series. The story follows forensic criminologist Dr. Laughton Rees and Detective Inspector Tannahill Khan as they investigate the disappearance of Maddie Friar in the eerie Forest of Dean. As they delve deeper, they uncover a chilling pattern of missing women spanning decades, tied to a mysterious community in the forest. Toyne masterfully combines suspense, atmospheric settings, and intricate character dynamics, delivering a haunting and twist-filled narrative. A must-read for fans of dark and compelling mysteries.

In Blood Traces, Simon Toyne’s latest installment in the Rees and Khan mystery series, Rees is up to her eyeballs in solving a string of disappearances of young ladies all in the same small village. As a criminologist, she has the credentials to push harder and ask questions that everyone in authority seems to be too afraid to ask, both about the historical cases, but also about the current investigation. But will she ask the question that will make her “disappear”, too? Who is really covering up the disappearances and why?

This novel is constructed using so many timelines that you never know when and where you are, but in the best way possible. I never knew how much time the current young lady had and Rees had left before it would be too late. When the ending came, it left me so surprised, which is always the best way for a mystery to be resolved for me.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and to Harper Collins UK for this fantastic audio ARC!!

This was an interesting thriller with characters I would like to hear more of. It didn’t exactly have me on the edge of my seat though and I wasn’t keen on the female narrator who simply sounded too posh for 5he character.

Highly entertaining and thrilling, I thoroughly enjoyed this dark and clever tale.
Believable and well crafted characters flow through this fantastic story with twists aplenty until the shocking finale.
A real slow burner that fills you with dread and full of anticipation for each new chapter.
Utterly brilliant and beautifully narrated.
Highly recommended.

Good listen and a good story line lots of twists and turns I liked the detective too which always makes for a good story
Beware of the Cinder Man

I hadn’t read or listened to the first book in this series but found it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the story at all. This is a gripping, face paced thriller - I found myself looking forward to driving to work so I could listen! I loved the women supporting women element of the story and enjoyed Adele and Laughton’s relationship. Fast la ed, well written and utterly gripping, this is one I recommend.

A girl is missing and she not the first. Laughton Rees a doctor of forensic psychology has to find out why.
She takes herself off to investigate the cases in the remote Forest of Dean.
But even with experience she will find it hard to find answers.
It’s not too long before she realises this will be the darkest case of her career and one that could get her killed, because there is something more deadly out there in the forest, more than anything anyone could imagine.
This is a tense and gripping follow up to the excellent first book in the series.
The invention of Laughton Rees is a triumph for the crime fiction genre and one that I hope has many more books to come.
Simon Toyne has written an excellent book and it has been brilliantly narrated by a wonderful narrator. Shazia Nicholls really brings the characters to life with her performance. I love a narrator who knows how to keep the listener gripped throughout the story. It really is a fine performance. Thanks to HarperCollins for the opportunity to review this book.

Thank you Netgalley, HarperCollins UK Audio | HarperCollins and Blood Traces for the audio Arc of Blood Traces.

This is the first book by Simon Toyne that Ive read and I didn't realise it was the second in the Rees and Khan Thriller. I will definitely be going back to read the first book at some point so I read this as a standalone and that worked very well.

Blood Traces is paced with suspense, eerie and unsettling atmospheric writing. I found myself submerged into this book and I didn't let go until the end. Simon has a great, descriptive writing which balances character development and plot direction. I found that apart from the odd few hours break, I listened to this book in one sitting!

Shazia Nicholls and Hugh Ross narrated Blood Traces who did a great job with keeping the narrative and bringing the characters alive. I will be looking for both narrators and the author in the future.

4 stars

The book is eerie, suspenseful, and gripping. This is a second book in the Rees and Khan series. Maddie has been vanished, Adele is trying to get to the bottom of the mystery of her sister’s disappearance. The truth is unsettling, and the characters backstories completely gripped me. This is a kind of book that will keep you on the edge and won’t let you go until you will figure out the mystery. There are secrets, mystery, and twists. I loved getting closer to the truth and everything just fitted like different pieces of puzzle. Something sinister is happening in the forest, and women are going missing since so long, the mystery must be unveiled before it’s too late. Loved the dark element of the story. The narration was good, and engaging.

Thanks to the publisher and author.

This second instalment of the Rees and Khan books was every bit as gripping as the first, together with an eerie setting and powerful foes. Khan isn’t featured much in this storyline but his occasional guest appearances are important.

The novel centres around the disappearance of Maddie Friar, the latest in a long line of missing women in the Forest of Dean. Maddie’s sister, Adele is frantic to find her and her search attracts the attention of Laughton Rees, a forensic criminologist. Can Laughton and Adele find Maddie before it’s too late?

There are some really gripping moments and I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook version of this. Thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK audio and Simon Toyne for an arc.

The prologue is only 3 pages long but boy did it have me hooked from the get go! Honestly, if you're unsure on this one, get a sample and read those first 3 pages, you will want to read the rest! This book was creepy as hell, the chapters were short which helped as I kept wanting to read 'just one more', and ended up devouring the book over roughly 2 days.
Tloved the characters, Adele and Laughton being my favourites. The creepy side characters were interesting, and 'the guy with no face' weirded me out more than once! There were twists I didn't see coming, some l did see, and some I thought I had figured out but turned out to be wrong! I will definitely go back and read the first book in the Laughton series, and l'd totally recommend this one to any thriller fan.

I raced through this book. It was an absolutely heartbreaking but great story. Read if you like your tales way down the dark end of the scale.

A girl goes missing after a mid summer celebration, was it the Cinderman a local legend? Laughton Rees goes to Gloucestershire to find her with the girls sister. Good well drawn characters well plotted. There's multiple viewpoints that keep the story interesting. Shazie Nichols and Hugh Powell,s narration making this story well worth listening too. Thanks to Harpercollins UK audio and Netgalley for this review ARC

This was a good story which I enjoyed listening to. On balance I may have preferred to read the book as I found the timeline a bit muddled.

I haven’t read the first book in this series; this works well as a standalone. I was gripped right from the start. The author created an almost palpable sense of dread, fear and suffocation in the opening chapters and the locus of the victim is just too awful to imagination. Powerful writing and a strong set of characters. The story centres on a missing girl. She disappeared during midsummer night preparations but isn’t the first to go missing in this area. A forensic pathologist works with the missing girl’s sister; she has her own theories about what’s going on and attributes the disappearance to The Cinderman. Who is this mysterious individual? Is he a serial killer who has escaped justice for years? How?

I listened to the audio version which is very well narrated and demo,I shed it in a couple of sittings. I listened during a sleepless couple of nights; it was creepy but kept my attention with snappy chapters, point of view change and characters I was involved with. It’s a slightly different slant on a police procedural, with more emphasis on the forensic and pathology side, which I enjoyed. I’m keen to read more and heartily recommend this title if you like twisty murder mystery.

I loved it, There is something dark going on in the forest, and the past and present mysteries are as deep, complex and twisted as the roots of the trees below ground, It's stealthily gripping, a great listen and you don't need to have read the first book in the series to enjoy this one.

A brilliantly creepy and haunting thriller. A girl has disappeared during the Midsummer night's celebrations in a Gloucestershire forest. But forensic specialist Laughton Rees notes women have been vanishing for some time. Is this the work of local legend 'The Cinderman'? Laughton makes it her mission to find the missing girl who may not even be alive...

This is the second in the Dr Laughton Rees series and after really enjoying Dark Objects I was looking forward to it!

When Maddie becomes the latest in a pretty long list of girls who have gone missing around the Cinderfield her sister Adele finds herself up against it in her quest to find her and the local policee are not being particularly helpful. The case pops onto Rees' radar and at a bit of a loose end while her daughter is away, she heads off to help out and uncovers much more than expected.

A great revisit to the Rees story with this dark and twisty story. Enjoyed seeing more of the relationship development between Laughton and Tannahill, looking forward to more!