Dead Woman Walking by Sharon Bolton

Dead Woman Walking
By Sharon Bolton
Published by Transworld (20 April 2017)

Publisher's description

Just before dawn in the hills near the Scottish border, a man murders a young woman. At the same time, a hot-air balloon crashes out of the sky. There’s just one survivor.

She’s seen the killer’s face – but he’s also seen hers. And he won’t rest until he’s eliminated the only witness to his crime.

Alone, scared, trusting no one, she’s running to where she feels safe – but it could be the most dangerous place of all . . .

My verdict 
Yet again, Sharon Bolton has written an intriguing psychological thriller. It's hard to review Dead Woman Walking without giving too much away, so I'm having to tread very carefully and tell you as little as possible about the plot itself.

Dead Woman Walking begins with a dramatic scene as a gunman brings down a hot air balloon. This is in the blurb, so I can get away with mentioning that. Much of the book continues at a cracking pace, with a rollercoaster cat and mouse chase across Scottish terrain as the only survivor, a young woman, escapes from the killer. Some of that's in the blurb too.

Other than that, all I can really say is that Dead Woman Walking is exceptionally plotted, with some great twists and turns, as expected from this author, although it was a little far fetched in places. The tension and thrills keep on coming, and the chilling plot weaves a tangled web. There's a whole host of interesting, intriguing and somewhat bizarre characters (including some very entertaining nuns). Chapters span past and present, helping the jigsaw pieces slot into place by the final page.

What a rollercoaster ride - exhausting at times! Highly recommended!

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher.