Publication Date: Available Now from Avon
Source: Netgalley
How long do you hunt for the missing?
A horrible vanishing act…
When a young Josie Masters sees a boy wearing a red football shirt, Dylan Jones, being taken by a clown at a carnival, she tries to alert the crowds. But it’s too late. Dylan has disappeared…
Thirty years later, Josie is working as a police officer in Bath. The remains of the body of a child have been found – complete with tatters of a torn red football shirt. Is it the boy she saw vanish in the clutches of the clown? Or is it someone else altogether?
And then another child disappears…
Hold My Hand was a clever little thriller with a main character that just seemed to get into more and more trouble but was eminently likable and pulled you along with her.
It is quite an emotive story, Josie witnesses a kidnapping then years later, as a police officer, gets caught up in the case again when a body is found and another child goes missing. Soon things will hit close to home and with everyone looking in all the wrong directions things might not go so well for Josie..
The plotting was taut and the story unfolded beautifully, an addictive writing style and some genuinely engaging characters. I was especially taken with Josie’s relationship to those around her, Boss and ex lover Ben, the now much older detective who questioned her as a child, her brother and his family…the author does an excellent job of absorbing you into their world.
The case itself is unpredictable and felt authentic in it’s twists, the investigative elements rang true and I always like a story where at the end you are saying WELL IF ONLY THEY HAD LISTENED IN THE FIRST PLACE…which actually I did out loud although luckily there was nobody around to hear me…
We also have scary ass clowns, a surprising turn at the end, a edge of the seat resolution and some great writing. Overall excellent. I really enjoyed it, especially as a lot of it was set in my neck of the woods…
Recommended.
Happy Reading!
