The international bestseller that “grabs the reader by the throat" (Crime Time).First in the new series featuring Detective Inspector Helen Grace.
Two people are abducted, imprisoned, and left with a gun. As hunger and thirst set in, only one walks away alive.
It’s a game more twisted than any Detective Inspector Helen Grace has ever seen. If she hadn’t spoken with the shattered survivors herself, she almost wouldn’t believe them.
Helen is familiar with the dark sides of human nature, including her own, but this case—with its seemingly random victims—has her baffled. But as more people go missing, nothing will be more terrifying than when it all starts making sense....
MY REVIEW:
Eeny Meeny by M.J. ArlidgeMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Eeny Meeny by M.J. Arlidge – A Helen Chase Novel- is a 2015 NAL publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is my kind of thriller! Dark, twisty, with nail biting suspense!
Helen Chase, detective Inspector, has her hands full when a diabolical serial killer begins abducting people in pairs, dumping them in a dive pool, with a cell phone, and gun provided. The hostages will receive one call informing them they have the option of survival only if they kill their fellow prisoner. Initially, they fight to live, but after weeks of starvation, eventually, one of them will crack.
As usual, office politics rears it's ugly head, and it becomes clear a mole is leaking vital information, causing Helen to mistrust some of her best detectives. Then too, the reader will have to decipher Helen's own personal demons, which are really difficult to process.
This book is not for the faint of heart. The subject matter is disturbing, the violence graphic, and you won't be able to avoid having an emotional reaction to the games the killer is playing. Not only is this a gritty serial killer novel but also a psychological thriller. My mind was all over the place, being lead around by the nose, just like the characters in the book. It was a mind trip, an emotional roller coaster, with a shocking conclusion.
The story moved along at a quick pace, keeping me glued to my kindle. I even experienced a feeling of annoyance when I was interrupted a few times while reading this book. I couldn't put it down!
I didn't know how to feel about Helen Chase, to be honest. I have read many dark thrillers where the male protagonist has some dark past or haunting demons, and many female detectives that came from harsh circumstances, but never a female lead like Helen, who has some pretty disturbing habits. It will be interesting to see how her character develops from here on out. It's been a long time since I have read a serial killer novel this original. This is not a formulaic procedural!
I can't wait to read more in this series. 4.5 rounded to 5
