The Girl in the Smoke

5 year old Danni was hailed a miracle survivor, after a multiple motorway pile up which claimed ten lives, including that of her mother. However, the police were unable to identify her mother due to the horrific injuries she suffered, so no one really knows who Danni is or where she came from, and sadly no one came forward to claim her, and so it came about that she was adopted by Josie and Gary Lockwood.

Three years later, and life is bumbling along for Josie - until the day she and Danni are kidnapped by a group of violent thugs, it seems that the bad guys think Danni has some information that would prove very rewarding! And so begins the journey from hell!

With barely any let up in the action, you will come away having certainly been thrilled and entertained, (Okay I had to suspend disbelief at times, but it didn’t spoil my enjoyment of it). It’s fast, it’s furious, it’s filled with venom and greed, and if there’s anything out there where readers will stay up to find out what happens next, this is possibly it.

Matt Hilton has a gift for writing fast moving, unpretentious crime thrillers that quickly get you in and keep you engaged until the final word. Although he is probably best know for his various American-based series, I personally prefer his standalone British novels such as The Girl On Shattered Rock.

The Girl In The Smoke is also a standalone novel and revolves around a young, adopted girl called Danni. The sole survivor of a motorway pile-up which took her mother’s life, the eight year old is now safe and thriving with her adoptive family. Things seem to be improving for Danni, until the day that some bad people come knocking. They want Danni to remember exactly what happened on the day of her accident. In truth Danni has very little memory of when her mother died, but the intruders are hell-bent on extracting what memories she has.

Danni’s new mother, Josie, desperately tries to keep her daughter safe and has to outwit the three violent kidnappers in order to keep her alive. Meanwhile, Josie’s sister, Grace, is devastated when she arrives at her big sister’s house to find signs of violence and her sister and niece taken. Josie has been her protector her entire life, but now Grace needs to be the strong one. Enlisting the help of a friend with combat experience and skills, she sets out to get her family back home.

This is a great, high voltage read. Hilton quickly puts in place the basic premise of his plot and then sets the story running at a quick pace. The perspective smoothly shifts between the main protagonists, including Danni, and the suspense is kept at a high level throughout. The characters are credible, and Hilton keeps the reader guessing for a long time as to what is happening. The violence is gritty and believable, and there are a couple of good shocks along the way to the bloody ending. I have some some quibbles about aspects of the story, but it is very easy to just settle back and enjoy the ride. A good read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House for my copy of The Girl In The Smoke by Matt Hilton
Danni doesn’t remember much of her life before she was orphaned three years ago.
Now eight and living with her adoptive mum and her boyfriend Dennis only wish is for a dog.
Then comes the knock on the door that changes everything.
Taken along with her mum Danni is forced to remember that day and what actually led to the car smash that left her alone.
It’s a fast moving novel and if you can suspend realism for a few hours an entertaining read.

A really gripping thriller if a little far fetched in places. Great writing and full of action almost all the way through the book. My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

A fast paced thriller from Matt Hilton, although totally unbelievable at some points! The action never let up right from the start until the very last page, filled with violence, twists and a few shocks along the way. I liked the characterisation, especially Danni an 8 year old girl with incredible strength of character. Just enjoy the ride and settle in with a cup of coffee and read this entertaining, rollercoaster of a thriller! Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

Fast-paced, non-stop action thriller. Josie and her young daughter Danni are pulled into a diabolical game of cat-and-mouse with a gang of devious and determined kidnappers. Deliciously escapism.

The description of this book does a pretty good job of giving you the story summary so we will not spend time rehashing it. If you decide to jump right in, you may find yourself wondering where the story is headed after the opening scene where Danni i rescued as the only survivor on a big motorway crash and the story twist to countryside living. Don't worry the story starts to pick up pace and give your heart a jump when the story takes a twist you do not see coming. The book does a good job to hold your attention throughout. Give it a read and see what you think.

Relentless Action. This is one of those books that starts off with the barest semblance of "normalcy", and then... well, I hope you like balls to the walls action, because that is what you're going to get here. The heart of the crime here is typical enough to be easily understood, with enough wrinkles to make it interesting to try to figure out exactly what the hell happened. But the action is what you're here for. If, like me, you found Hilton first through the Po and Villere thrillers... well, if you thought the action in those tales was relentless, you aint seen nothing yet. And here, the action is just as violent as anything you'll see there... without the massive hulking excons to execute it. Indeed, in what could be a bit of a bridge too far for some, the young girl in question has more of a proclivity for violence than some of those entrusted with her care, which produces interesting relational dynamics at times. Overall a fun and short action thriller, great for those times when you just want some basic escapism without too much thinking involved. Very much recommended.

This is my first book by this, most prolific, author. He usually writes in series and I haven't really got room for another one of these to play catch-up with in my TBR, although , after finishing this book I do now have my eye on them a bit more!
So... Three years ago, now 8 year old Danni was the sole survivor of a motorway pileup which also killed her mother. She now lives with Josie and Pete and, when we first meet them, they are ticking along nicely. Until, one day, there's a knock at the door and Danni and Josie are taken, leaving Pete beaten up and locked in.
All a bit strange you say. Well, yes. But it appears that Danni's mother used to rub along with some rather shady types and, that motorway pile-up she was killed in, was the two of them running away after stealing a bunch of money... And now they want it back...
And so begins a thrilling cat and mouse chase with Grace (Josie's sister) getting in on the action...
This is a book of pretty much all action. It's thrilling yes but for me I would have liked a wee bit more of a storyline to go with the cracking action scenes. Also I did roll my eyes and suspend disbelief a couple times at said action. But as it isn't really one of my go-to genres, that's probably more a me thing...
All in all, it was entertaining and realism apart, it was a thoroughly decent read. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.