Sara-Jayne Townsend is a published crime and horror writer and likes books in which someone dies horribly. She is founder and Chair Person of the T Party Writers’ Group. http://sarajaynetownsend.weebly.com/
Three women have been found dead in East Anglia. The police deny a connection. TV news reporter Frankie smells a story.
Ava knows that the threat is real. She’s been kidnapped by someone claiming to be the killer: a stranger who seems to know everything about her.
As Frankie follows the case, she enters a terrifying online world where men’s rage against women may be turning murderous – and where her persistence might just make her a target. And Ava must struggle not only to stay alive (and also to retain her sanity).
The novel unfolds alternately from Frankie’s point of view and from Ava. Ava is being held prisoner, learning that she is the latest in a series of victims, and all the others have ended up dead. She strives to learn what she can about the killer, and does what she can to stay alive. Frankie follows the trail of the killer and the crux of the story is whether she can identify him in time to save Ava.
In places, this is very hard to read. Frankie discovers an online forum where men express their hatred of women, believing that all rape victims ‘asked for it’. The comments that end up on the forum reveal a state of mind that must have been difficult for the author to get in
However, it’s a book full of strong and resourceful female characters that I rooted for, and I cared about what happened to them. It’s a book that will keep you gripped, right to the end. It also highlights a disturbing sub-culture that sadly is all too real – men who hate women simply for being women, and who inflict violence on them simply because they can. They may be a tiny minority in the real world, but our online world gives them a way of getting their voice heard.
Fans of psychological thrillers and books with strong female leads will really enjoy this novel.
