Review: The Girls Next Door

Posted 22nd February 2017 by Emma in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review: The Girls Next DoorThe Girls Next Door by Mel Sherratt
Also by this author: Hush Hush, Tick Tock , Liar Liar
Series: Detective Eden Berrisford #1
Published by Bookouture on 27th October 2016
Genres: Crime, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Pages: 318
Source: I bought it
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One warm spring evening, five teenagers meet in a local park. Only four will come out alive.

Six months after the stabbing of sixteen-year-old Deanna Barker, someone is coming after the teenagers of Stockleigh, as a spate of vicious assaults rocks this small community. Revenge for Deanna? Or something more?

Detective Eden Berrisford is locked into a race against time to catch the twisted individual behind the attacks – but when her own niece, Jess Mountford, goes missing, the case gets personal.

With the kidnapper threatening Jess’s life, can Eden bring back her niece to safety? Or will the people of Stockleigh be forced to mourn another daughter…?

I purchased this book from Amazon when it was on offer recently for 99p. Now I don’t usually read Crime books but I’m not exactly sure why. I love watching crime TV shows. I have or currently do watch Criminal Minds, NCIS (the original along with the LA and New Orleans spin offs), CSI, CSI NY etc. So I was thinking to myself if I watch these shows I can’t think of a reason not to at least try crime books.

So with this mission I decided to start with this book. The second book in this series has recently been published and I saw a lot of chatter on twitter about it and thought I would start at the beginning of the series. Well I have to say I don’t know why I’ve never read crime books before. I struggled to put the book down.

There was quite a lot going on in this book but it all worked together well. At the beginning of this book a teenager is killed by a group of teenagers. The main part of this book is set the weekend before the trial.

The story focuses on Jess and her Aunt Eden. Jess is kidnapped and Detective Eden Berrisford uses the whole force to try to find her. I really felt the emotion coming from Jess and her family while she was kidnapped.

I liked and loathed Jess at times. She is feisty and was definitely going to go down fighting. I liked her determination and spirit. I didn’t like some of the things she has done. I found Eden to be very practical at work. She is good at her job and knows exactly what to say to get the information she needs.

While I had an incline as to where the story was going I could not have predicted who the kidnapper was. I was constantly guessing and I didn’t expect the reason to be what it was.

This was a gripping story that keeps you guessing until all is revealed. I enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading more in this series.

About Mel Sherratt

I write police procedurals, psychological suspense and women’s fiction with a punch – or grit-lit, as I call it. Shortlisted for the prestigious CWA (Crime Writer’s Association) Dagger in Library Award 2014, my inspiration comes from authors such as Martina Cole, Lynda la Plante, Mandasue Heller and Elizabeth Haynes.

TAUNTING THE DEAD is part police procedural/part psychological thriller. It has been a standalone for two years but I have now written two more books with Detective Sergeant Allie Shenton as a main character and created a new series. FOLLOW THE LEADER will be published on 10 February 2015 followed by ONLY THE BRAVE on 26 May 2015.

THE ESTATE SERIES are a mix of women’s fiction, psychological suspense and crime thriller. They are often too dark for women’s fiction alone – although the subject matters and issues are often referred to in this genre – too light in places for crime thrillers, and often not enough for the psychological suspense readers out there. They are drama meets crime.

WATCHING OVER YOU is a standalone psychological thriller. It’s dark in places, light in places, disturbing in places too – where obsession and friendship turns to murder.

I live in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, with my husband and terrier, Dexter (named after the TV serial killer) and makes liberal use of my hometown as a backdrop for some of my books. You can find out more at my website www.melsherratt.co.uk or I’m on Twitter at @writermels

Emma

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • Goodreads Challenge (2017)
  • TBR Pile (2017 )

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