Review: All Fall Down (Helen Grace #9)

Author: M.J. Arlidge

Started reading: July 31st 2021

Finished the book: August 19th 2021

Pages: 512

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Thriller

Published: June 11th 2020

Source: Bought the book

Goodreads score: 4.27

My score:

Synopsis

""You have one hour to live."" Those are the only words on the phone call. Then they hang up. Surely, a prank? A mistake? A wrong number? Anything but the chilling truth... That someone is watching, waiting, ready to take your life in one hour. But why?
The job of finding out falls to DI Helen Grace: a woman with a track record in hunting killers. However, this is one case where the killer seems to always be one step ahead of the police and the victims. With no motive, no leads, no clues - nothing but pure fear - an hour can last a lifetime...

Review: Down to the Woods (Helen Grace #8)

Author: M.J. Arlidge
Started reading: April 27th 2020
Finished the book: May 3rd 2020
Pages: 492
Genres: Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Published: September 20th 2018
Source: Bought the book
Goodreads score: 4.20
My score:

Synopsis

There is a sickness in the forest. First, it was the wild horses. Now it's innocent men and women, hunted down and murdered by a faceless figure. Lost in the darkness, they try to flee, they try to hide. In desperation, they call out for help. But there is no-one to hear their cries here...

DI Helen Grace must face down a new nightmare. The arrow-ridden victims hang from the New Forest's ancient oaks, like pieces of strange fruit. Why are helpless holidaymakers being targeted in peak camping season? And what do their murders signify? Is a psychopath stalking the forest? Is there an occult element to the killings? Could the murders even be an offering to the Forest itself? Helen must walk into the darkness to discover the truth behind her most challenging, most macabre case yet.

Review: Love Me Not (Helen Grace #7)

Author: M.J. Arlidge
Started reading: September 18th 2019
Finished the book: October 2nd 2019
Pages: 368
Genres: Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Published: May 18th 2017
Source: Bought the book
Goodreads score: 4.15
My score:

Synopsis

She Loves Me
A woman's body lies in the road. At first it looks like a tragic accident. But when Helen Grace arrives on the scene it's clear she's looking at a coldblooded killing. But why would anyone target a much-loved wife and mother?

She Loves Me Not
Across town, a shopkeeper is killed while his customers are left unharmed. But what lies behind the killer's choices?


She Loves Me
Who lives? Who dies? Who's next? The clock is ticking.

She Loves Me Not
If Helen can't solve this deadly puzzle then more blood will be shed. But any mistake and it might be her own ...

Review: Hide and Seek (Helen Grace #6)

Author: M.J. Arlidge
Started reading: February 9th 2019
Finished the book: February 11th 2019
Pages: 368
Genres: Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Published: October 25th 2016
Source: Bought the book
Goodreads score: 4.30
My score:

Synopsis
Framed for a murder she didn't commit...
As one of HM Prison Holloway's most high-profile new inmates, Helen Grace has a target on her back and nowhere to hide. She has made a long list of enemies over the course of her career--some are incarcerated within these very walls. When one of Helen's fellow prisoners is found mutilated and murdered in her own locked cell, it's clear that the killer is someone on the inside.

But time is running out for Helen as she races to expose the person who framed her, and the body count in the prison starts to climb. Helen will need to draw on all her investigative skills and instincts to catch the serial killer behind these murders and discover the truth--unless the killer finds her first.

Review: Little Boy Blue (Helen Grace #5)

Author: M.J. Arlidge
Started reading: July 18th 2017
Finished the book: July 23rd 2017
Pages: 368
Genres: Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Published: March 10th 2016
Source: Received from a friend
Goodreads score: 4.23
My score:

Synopsis
In the darkest corners of the city, there is a thriving nightlife where people can let loose and cross the lines of work and play, of pleasure and pain. But now that sanctuary has been breached. A killer has struck and a man is dead.
In a world where disguises and discretion are the norm, one admission could unravel a life. No one wants to come forward to say what they saw or what they know—including the woman heading the investigation: Detective Helen Grace.
Helen knew the victim. And the victim knew her—better than anyone else. And when the murderer strikes again, Helen must decide how many more lines she’s willing to cross to bring in a devious and elusive serial killer...

Review: Liar Liar (Helen Grace #4)

Author: M.J. Arlidge
Started reading: June 24th 2017
Finished the book: June 25th 2017
Pages: 440
Genres: Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Published: September 10th 2015
Source: Borrowed from the library (gonna buy it!)
Goodreads score: 4.15
My score:

Synopsis
Detective Helen Grace has never seen such destruction. Six fires in twenty-four hours. Two people dead. Several more injured. It’s as if someone wants to burn the city to the ground...

With the whole town on high alert, Helen and her team must sift through the rubble to find the arsonist, someone whose thirst for fire—and control—is reducing entire lives to ashes.
One misstep could mean Helen’s career—and more lives lost. And as the pressure mounts and more buildings burn, Helen’s own dark impulses threaten to consume her…

Review: The Doll's House (Helen Grace #3)

Author: M.J. Arlidge
Started reading: May 18th 2017
Finished the book: May 25th 2017
Pages: 434
Genres: Crime, Thriller
Published: February 12th 2015
Source: Bought the book
Goodreads score: 4.11
My score:

Synopsis
A young woman wakes up in a cold, dark cellar, with no idea how she got there or who her kidnapper is. So begins her terrible nightmare.
Nearby, the body of another young woman is discovered buried on a remote beach. But the dead girl was never reported missing - her estranged family having received regular texts from her over the years. Someone has been keeping her alive from beyond the grave.
For Detective Inspector Helen Grace it's chilling evidence that she's searching for a monster who is not just twisted but also clever and resourceful - a predator who's killed before.And as Helen struggles to understand the killer's motivation, she begins to realize that she's in a desperate race against time.

Review: Pop Goes the Weasel (Helen Grace #2)

Author: M.J. Arlidge
Started reading: April 25th 2017
Finished the book: April 28th 2017
Pages: 426
Genres: Crime, Thriller
Published: September 11th 2014
Source: Borrowed from library
Goodreads score: 4.12
My score:

Synopsis
The body of a middle-aged man is discovered in Southampton's red-light-district - horrifically mutilated, with his heart removed.
Hours later - and barely cold - the heart arrives with his wife and children by courier.
The pattern emerges when another male victim is found dead and eviscerated, his heart delivered soon afterwards.
The media call it Jack the Ripper in reverse; revenge against the men who lead sordid double lives visiting prostitutes. For Grace, only one thing is certain: there's a vicious serial-killer at large who must be halted at all costs.

 My thoughts

This is another thriller in a series with Helen Grace that I'm enjoying. I liked Eeny Meeny, the first book in this series and Pop Goes the Weasel is a nice second one!

Pros

• Short chapters: The chapters in this book are short and I get the idea that this is something that makes me read a book a bit faster. Almost every chapter is ended with a plot twist, or something new that is discovered, which makes me want to keep reading.
• Action paced: This book is very action paced. Like I said; almost every chapter ends with a discovery or a plot twist. This makes it a exciting book to read, I almost couldn't put it away.
• Also POV from killer: What I really enjoyed, and not all crime books have this; the POV from the killer. You don't know who the killer is, but you get the point of view from this person and this really gets you involved in all the gruesome things that are happening.

Cons

• Can't think of any: I can't really think of a con in this book, but it's also not a favorite of mine. I can't give this book 5 apples, but I still really enjoyed the book. So; I won't be really able to explain why, it's just a feeling!

Overall

This series with Helen Grace is awesome. Helen Grace is not your standard main character, she is intriguing! If you haven't read Eeny Meeny, you should read it, that's the first book in the series and I recommend reading it before this one. If you like crime thrillers, this is one for you!

Other opinions about this book

"Dark, twisted, thought provoking, and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough."

- #1 NYT Bestselling Author Tami Hoag

"Fresh and brilliant."

- Jeffrey Deaver, NYT Bestselling Author

Are you a fan of crime thrillers!?