A Gift for Dying by M J Arlidge @mjarlidge @MichaelJBooks @Tr4cyF3nt0n #AGiftforDying #MJArlidge #BlogTour

7th March 2019 Michael Joseph

Book Description

Adam Brandt is a forensic psychologist, used to dealing with the most damaged members of society.  But he’s never met anyone like Kassie.

The teenager claims to have a terrible gift.  With just one look, she can foresee when and how you will die.

Adam knows Kassie must be insane.  But a serial killer is terrorising the city.  And only Kassie seems to know who his next victim will be.

Against all his intuition, Adam starts to believe her.  But he doesn’t realise how deadly his faith might prove…

My Thoughts

A new crime thriller from creator of the D I Helen Grace series?  Yes please!  As a fan of this author and crime fiction generally, this was a must read and not without some excitement as A Gift For Dying is M J Arlidge’s first standalone novel.

At over 450 pages this is a meaty read and the author packs a lot in.  This is the story of Kassie, who with one look knows how and when someone will die and Adam who is desperate to help this child but struggling to believe what she is telling him.  The stories of Adam and Kassie are told as she wrestles with her gift while feeling morally compelled to take steps to prevent death at the hands of one depraved killer.  Parallel to this is the police investigation as they doggedly pursue the killer, with few leads except Kassie who appears to them to be shrouded in guilt as what she tells them is beyond belief.

M J Arlidge knows how to write a cracking crime novel, never one to shy away from the gruesome aspects of murder this is a book that will please fans of his previous work and anyone who loves a dark crime thriller.  Written in the third person from a number of perspectives the reader becomes familiar with the 2 aforementioned protagonists, plus lead investigator Detective Gabrielle Grey.  All 3 are well formed characters, 2 strong women, although I must say Adam irritated me a bit but not in any way to detract from the book.

The plot is detailed and comprehensive, very well written and it kept me hooked.  I appreciate the way this crime story maintained it’s pace, was unpredictable and while the investigation was concluded this was gritty crime with no glossing over or happy endings.  The writing is engaging and the story easy to follow, the chapters are short and it’s easy to read, ‘just one more chapter’…

As good as the Helen Grace series and a terrific standalone novel, this book totally lived up to my expectations and is one I will be recommending to all you crime fiction fans out there!

This is a blog tour, huge thanks to Tracey Fenton for inviting me to be involved and to the publishers for a copy of the book.  The book was published last week and the details of the tour are below, do please like and share across social media if you have found this review helpful.