Title: One Left Alive
Author: HELEN PHIFER
Publication Day: 01/09/2020
Description:
She knelt down by the side of the first girl. She had to force herself to breathe as she lifted the soft white cloth covering the girl’s beautiful face…
When the body of a woman is found hanging from a tree in her front garden, rookie Detective Morgan Brookes is first on the scene. But Olivia Potter is past saving. And when her husband and daughters cannot be traced, Morgan knows there is more to this tragedy. And then she finds them. Lying huddled together in the dark basement, each of their faces covered with a small cotton cloth, their bodies cold to the touch.
But as Morgan kneels beside the family, she realises that one of the girls is still breathing. As she holds Bronte’s fragile hand in hers, begging her to hold on, she vows to find out who has done this.
Every day Morgan wakes at 4.25 a.m., her old insomnia now mixed with a new fixation on the case. But every clue about the murdered family leads to a dead end. Until, trawling through old files, she discovers a link to a cold case from years ago. Another family was murdered in this house, and the killer was never caught.
When Morgan returns to the scene of the crime to discover more about this forgotten case, she finds another body. With Bronte still unconscious in hospital, Morgan must act fast to solve this case and lay two families to rest, before the killer returns for the girl left alive…
A chilling and gripping crime thriller that will have fans of Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott and Patricia Gibney glued to the page.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'One Left Alive' by Helen Phifer
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 1st September 2020
This is the second book that I have read by this author. It is also the first book in the 'Detective Morgan Brookes' series. I am looking forward to reading more of this promising looking series.
I was originally drawn to this book by its gorgeous and interesting blurb and by the fact that I have already read one book by Helen Phifer which I enjoyed and said then that I wanted to read more of her books. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of 58 chapters which are short to medium in length so ideal to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
Before I even began reading this book I loved the thoughtful dedication that Helen had included and would like to thank her for it. The dedication:
'This book is dedicated to all the amazing NHS workers and key workers who kept Britain going throughout the 2020 pandemic. I thank each and every one of you for your selfless acts of bravery'. We'll done Helen for this consideration. It may not seem like much but to some this may really mean alot.
This book is written in third person perspective and the main protagonists are Morgan and Ben. The way it is written made me feel like I was floating above them watching everything that was going on. I enjoy books written in third person and from different perspectives as you can see more of what is going on and get the bigger picture.
This book is based in the Lake District. I always seem to connect with books based in the UK more because I live in Wales and sometimes I have visited places mentioned meaning I can picture them much better. The fact that I have visited the Lake District is even better!
This book is very well written and a very smooth read. It has loads of excellent descriptions which help to really put the reader in the scene with the characters.
I was sucked straight into this book and couldn't stop turning the pages until I finished. I loved the fact that there had been 2 murders in the same house and how Morgan was researching the history of the first murders too. I enjoyed the fact that there was lots of other things going on as well as the main crimes. The only thing I found a shame was that I wasn't really surprised when the perp was revealed although there are quite a few twists and turns and red herrings put in.
The characters were all very strong and the fact that Morgan and Amy are such strong females was definitely a bonus with me being female myself. I loved Amy and her relationship with Ben and would love to read more about her. I'd love to read more about Ben, Morgan and Stan actually. Morgan's relationship with Stan is very interesting and it was good to see how it changed throughout the storyline. I would like to see what becomes of them. I would also love to see what becomes of the relationship between Ben and Morgan also and I liked the way they had quote similar histories.
The book is filled with suspense, crime, drama, red herrings and is a very good psychological thriller that kept me up until late at night.
Overall a page turning and intriguing psychological crime drama.
Genres covered include Crime, Mystery, Murder, Police procedural
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of M. J Arlidge, Angela Marsons, C. L Taylor and Carol Wyer .
332 pages.
This book is 99p to purchase on kindle via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 4/5 (I enjoyed it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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Author Bio:
Helen Phifer lives in a small town called Barrow-in-Furness with her husband and five children.
Helen has always loved writing and reading. Her love of horror films and novels is legendary. Helen adores reading books which make the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Unable to find enough scary stories to read she decided to write her own.
Author Social Media Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Helenphifer1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helenphifer
Twitter: https://twitter.com/helenphifer1
Website: https://www.helenphifer.com
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://geni.us/B08BFXTGMDSocial
Apple: http://ow.ly/hv4c50AebOM
Kobo: http://ow.ly/F1g050AebMi
Google: http://ow.ly/Sl9l50AebR2
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