Tuesday 6 January 2015

Follow The Leader by Mel Sherratt

Follow the Leader
By Mel Sherratt
Published by Amazon Publishing/Thomas & Mercer (10 February 2015)
ISBN: 978-1477821855



Publisher's description

A man's body is found on the canal towpath. In his pocket, a magnetic letter in the shape of an E. Days later, a second victim is found, this time with the letter V tucked into her clothing.
As the body count rises, the eerie, childlike clues point to a pattern that sends DS Allie Shenton and her colleagues into full alert.
The race is on. Allie and the team must work quickly to determine where the killer will strike next. The rules are simple but deadly - to catch the killer, they must follow the leader.
From the acclaimed author of Taunting the Dead comes a flesh-creeping tale of a child's game with a terrifying, grown-up twist. This is the second book in the DS Allie Shenton series, but can be enjoyed as a stand-alone story.

My verdict
I received this book as an ARC (Advance Reader Copy) free through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second novel in the DS Allie Shenton series. But as the publisher's description states, I didn't need to read the first book to understand what was going on and it can be read as a standalone novel.

In this book, you are introduced to the killer early on. So unlike many of the crime novels I read, this wasn't a whodunnit mystery or a psychological thriller with twists and turns. Instead, it was a police procedural story, following a series of murders and the search for the killer. 

As the book progresses, you learn more about the motivation behind the killing spree. This is a story about revenge on old classmates. It made me think back to my own school days and how cruel children can be. As Mel Sherratt highlights in Follow the Leader, bullying can have a lasting impact on the victim, long after the perpetrators have moved on and forgotten their actions.

Mel Sherratt writes well, with a mix of gritty crime and murder and gentle humour. I liked the main characters in the book and look forward to meeting them again. This book left several questions unanswered in relation to events in DS Allie Shenton's past, setting the scene for the next book. This is my first Mel Sherratt book and I will be checking out her other novels.


No comments:

Post a Comment