One by One by Chris Carter

One by One by Chris Carter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 512

Publisher - Simon & Schuster UK

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

'I need your help, Detective. Fire or water?' Detective Robert Hunter of the LAPD's Homicide Special Section receives an anonymous call asking him to go to a specific web address - a private broadcast. Hunter logs on and a show devised for his eyes only immediately begins. But the caller doesn't want Detective Hunter to just watch, he wants him to participate, and refusal is simply not an option. Forced to make a sickening choice, Hunter must sit and watch as an unidentified victim is tortured and murdered live over the Internet. The LAPD, together with the FBI, use everything at their disposal to electronically trace the transmission down, but this killer is no amateur, and he has covered his tracks from start to finish. And before Hunter and his partner Garcia are even able to get their investigation going, Hunter receives a new phone call. A new website address. A new victim. But this time the killer has upgraded his game into a live murder reality show, where anyone can cast the deciding vote.



My Review

A dangerous and callous killer, victims picked at random, each death more gruesome than the previous. Hunter and Garcia are on the case once again, the killer is reaching out to them and showing them the murders in real time, online. When they take it a step further and broadcast live online, inviting Joe Public to take part - like the sickest reality show you will ever see. How do you begin to hunt a killer that has targets no-one can predict, is super smart and the world is watching every step of the way.

This is book five in the series and you can absolutely read as a standalone but the previous books are so good you should go back and read them first. Not for the faint hearted or squeamish as the books/killers are really graphic. Short chapters WHICH I LOVE but are brutal for the old just one chapter before bed.

A super smart killer, the cops are scrambling trying to get a lead but for once Hunter and co are many steps behind. Pacey, gorey, shocking, what we have come to expect from Carter but still manages to keep it fresh. 4/5 for me this time, got the next few waiting to be read, it won't be long!

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Viral by Helen Fitzgerald

Viral by Helen Fitzgerald
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Publisher - Faber & Faber

Pages - 272

Blurb from Goodreads

So far, twenty-three thousand and ninety six people have seen me online. They include my mother, my father, my little sister, my grandmother, my other grandmother, my grandfather, my boss, my sixth year Biology teacher and my boyfriend James.


When Leah Oliphant-Brotheridge and her adopted sister Su go on holiday together to Magaluf to celebrate their A-levels, only Leah returns home. Her successful, swotty sister remains abroad, humiliated and afraid: there is an online video of her, drunkenly performing a sex act in a nightclub. And everyone has seen it.

Ruth Oliphant-Brotheridge, mother of the girls, successful court judge, is furious. How could this have happened? How can she bring justice to these men who took advantage of her dutiful, virginal daughter? What role has Leah played in all this? And can Ruth find Su and bring her back home when Su doesn't want to be found?


My Review

The opening line of this book packs a punch and leaves the reader in no doubt about what the book is about. Su just wants her sister Leah to like her like she did when they were kids, so going away to Magaluf with her friends seems the way to go. But when Su is filmed perfoming a sex act and the video goes viral, all of their lives change. Su is MIA, their parents are besides themselves and just want her home safe and the perpetrators punished, Leah is keeping quiet and everyone but everyone knows what has happened.

Aw poor Su, swotty, geeky and a top student, her whole life is laid out for her until that fateful holiday with her sister, then with the press of a button it is all gone. Ruth, their mother, is a judge and she is out for blood, someone will pay and she will get Su back.

This story sees the devastating effects one drunken decision can have on a family, how quickly life can unravel and how helpless anyone can be when something like this happens. The ferociousness of one mothers love and strength to right a wrong and how powerless people really are when someone is let loose online. It is about self growth and identity, love, relationships, loss & just how vulnerable anyone can be to the internet! A bit graphic in some of the scene descriptions that some readers may find uncomfortable, remember this is about a sex act going viral. Thanks so much to Netgalley for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review, 4/5 for me.

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Follow Me by Angela Clarke

Follow Me by Angela Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Publisher - Avon

Source - Netgalley

Blurb from Goodreads

LIKE. SHARE. FOLLOW . . . DIE

The ‘Hashtag Murderer’ posts chilling cryptic clues online, pointing to their next target. Taunting the police. Enthralling the press. Capturing the public’s imagination.

But this is no virtual threat.

As the number of his followers rises, so does the body count.

Eight years ago two young girls did something unforgivable. Now ambitious police officer Nasreen and investigative journalist Freddie are thrown together again in a desperate struggle to catch this cunning, fame-crazed killer. But can they stay one step ahead of him? And can they escape their own past?

Time's running out. Everyone is following the #Murderer. But what if he is following you?

ONLINE, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM...


My review

Freddie is a journalist, well she would be if she could catch a story and get herself out there. Whilst trying to keep her bills paid and working in a coffee shop she meets her old friend Nas. Nas is a police officer and Freddie finally has a chance to possibly scoop a story, finding herself in the middle of the investigation Freddie must help to catch a killer before he strikes again.

Oh Freddie, what an annoying little character she is, I felt sorry for Nas having to deal with her. Initially she seems to have no thought for anyone but herself although, as the story progresses and we get through the tough veneer we see another side to Freddie. Both her and Nas did something as kids, that is referred to throughout the tale however it doesn't come to light until much later. The story focuses on the victims, the killer and how the police try to catch the killer with the help of Freddie. Freddie is a loose cannon but she knows social media and the police need all the help they can get catching this killer who is flaunting his crimes on social media.

There is a lot to like in this book! Every chapter starts with an online text speak header, for example IKR - meaning I Know Right, there are loads of these I still don't know despite being a user of social media for years, I liked that. The games played with the police, the taunting, always one step ahead, reminded me of a few killers I have read before and loved. The chapters are fairly short which keeps your attention and makes for putting it down hard. There are some shocks along the way and the killings are fairly brutal so not for the faint hearted. 4/5 for me this time, I think this is a strong debut novel and I will be watching for more from this author. Thanks so much to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This title is available to buy on the kindle on the 3/12/15 or in paperback format from the 31/12/15.

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Follow Me by Angela Clarke

Follow Me by Angela Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Publisher - Avon

Source - Netgalley

Blurb from Goodreads

LIKE. SHARE. FOLLOW . . . DIE

The ‘Hashtag Murderer’ posts chilling cryptic clues online, pointing to their next target. Taunting the police. Enthralling the press. Capturing the public’s imagination.

But this is no virtual threat.

As the number of his followers rises, so does the body count.

Eight years ago two young girls did something unforgivable. Now ambitious police officer Nasreen and investigative journalist Freddie are thrown together again in a desperate struggle to catch this cunning, fame-crazed killer. But can they stay one step ahead of him? And can they escape their own past?

Time's running out. Everyone is following the #Murderer. But what if he is following you?

ONLINE, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM...


My review

Freddie is a journalist, well she would be if she could catch a story and get herself out there. Whilst trying to keep her bills paid and working in a coffee shop she meets her old friend Nas. Nas is a police officer and Freddie finally has a chance to possibly scoop a story, finding herself in the middle of the investigation Freddie must help to catch a killer before he strikes again.

Oh Freddie, what an annoying little character she is, I felt sorry for Nas having to deal with her. Initially she seems to have no thought for anyone but herself although, as the story progresses and we get through the tough veneer we see another side to Freddie. Both her and Nas did something as kids, that is referred to throughout the tale however it doesn't come to light until much later. The story focuses on the victims, the killer and how the police try to catch the killer with the help of Freddie. Freddie is a loose cannon but she knows social media and the police need all the help they can get catching this killer who is flaunting his crimes on social media.

There is a lot to like in this book! Every chapter starts with an online text speak header, for example IKR - meaning I Know Right, there are loads of these I still don't know despite being a user of social media for years, I liked that. The games played with the police, the taunting, always one step ahead, reminded me of a few killers I have read before and loved. The chapters are fairly short which keeps your attention and makes for putting it down hard. There are some shocks along the way and the killings are fairly brutal so not for the faint hearted. 4/5 for me this time, I think this is a strong debut novel and I will be watching for more from this author. Thanks so much to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This title is available to buy on the kindle on the 3/12/15 or in paperback format from the 31/12/15.

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