Dead Inside
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4.2 • 5 Ratings
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
‘Hugely confident … harrowing, visceral … recommended’ Ian Rankin
‘Kept me hooked’ Angela Marsons
‘An excellent read’ Martina Cole
'Gritty, dark and chilling’ Mel Sherratt
A dark and gripping debut crime novel – the first in a stunning series – from a huge new talent.
The killer is just getting started…
When three wife beaters are themselves found beaten to death, DC Maggie Jamieson knows she is facing her toughest case yet.
The police suspect that Probation Officer Lucy Sherwood – who is connected to all three victims – is hiding a dark secret. Then a fourth domestic abuser is brutally murdered.
And he is Lucy’s husband.
Now the police are running out of time, but can Maggie really believe her friend Lucy is a cold-blooded killer?
Reviews
‘A hugely confident first novel. Harrowing, visceral … recommended’ Ian Rankin
‘An excellent read’ Martina Cole
‘Kept me hooked throughout … excellent pace and a very satisfying ending’ Angela Marsons
'A brilliant debut – gritty, dark and chilling. Noelle Holten knows her stuff’ Mel Sherratt
‘I loved this. A dark and chilling debut’ Robert Bryndza
‘Dark and gritty and kept me hooked until the very end. A Fantastic debut!’ Casey Kelleher
‘A chilling and disturbing look inside the lives of domestic abuse survivors and their abusers. This book is truly eye-opening. You will race through it and never see the end coming. Brilliant!’ Lisa Regan
‘A pacey, tight, immersive thriller full of powerful emotion and authentic procedural detail. Gripping stuff’ Chris Merritt
‘A hard-hitting, impressively authentic crime fiction debut … nuanced, highly readable, page turning, a definite cut above the rest. I urge you to read this book’ Howard Linskey
‘Extremely powerful, incredibly thought provoking and ringing with authenticity, this is an excellent debut’ M. W. Craven, author of the Washington Poe series
‘Noelle has conjured up a real page-turner here. The author's experience with damaged and damaging people really shines through bringing a great deal of grit to the drama. Add in some fascinating characters, relentless pace and a strong story and you have a winner on your hands’ Michael J Malone
About the author
Noelle Holten is an award-winning blogger at www.crimebookjunkie.co.uk. She is the PR & Social Media Manager for Bookouture, a leading digital publisher in the UK, and a regular reviewer on the Two Crime Writers and a Microphone podcast. Noelle worked as a Senior Probation Officer for eighteen years, covering cases of domestic violence and abuse. She has three Hons BA’s – Philosophy, Sociology (Crime & Deviance) and Community Justice – and a Masters in Criminology. Dead Inside is her debut novel and the start of a new series featuring DC Maggie Jamieson.
Customer Reviews
A brilliant start to a new series
Three men who are abusive predators, have been killed, beaten to death the same way that they treated their own victims.
DC Maggie Jamieson assigned to the case, has her worked cut out for her to solve this, before another murder takes place.
Maggie’s friend Lucy Sherwood, a probation officer who has connections with these men, is hiding a terrible secret of her own. And when her own husband is murdered, Lucy becomes the prime suspect and her secret is out that she has kept to herself so carefully, that she has also suffered abuse at the hands of her husband for a number of years.
But is Lucy responsible for these murders?
Having been beaten to unconsciousness that fateful night, Lucy’s struggles to recall the details of her husbands murder and believes that she must be responsible, having been finally pushed to the brink and unable to take anymore of his abuse.
But a recollection of another person in the house that she thinks she saw leaving the room that night comes to light, but is this just Lucy’s mind playing tricks on her to try and shift the blame from herself.
Lucy’s recollection of the night doesn’t sit well with Maggie, and with time running out, she must trust her instincts and keep looking for the perpetrator before Lucy is charged with a crime that she may not have committed.
But are Maggie’s personal feelings getting in the way, or will she have to come to terms with the fact that Lucy really is the killer?
Do I recommend this book:
Hell yes!
As a first time author, Noelle smashes this one out of the park!!
This is a harrowing story which in times is hard to read due to the graphic descriptions of abuse but it is handled in a sensitive way. I really loved the character of Maggie and my heart broke for Lucy and the other characters who were treated in such a horrific way, by men who are meant to love them.
I loved the writing style and the short snappy chapters that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout wanting more.
I also liked how Noelle used the names of her friends, who some I was familiar with from book blogging. I really enjoyed that personal touch.
I have followed Noelle’s award winning blog Crime Book Junkie, for awhile now and I was so inspired by her and her blog that I have recently become a blogger myself so thank-you for that Noelle. I love that you have taken that passion to create your own work, and a fantastic job has been done.
I am thrilled that a second book is in works and I look forward to that and more from DC Maggie Jamieson in the future.
Thank-you to NetGalley, Killer Reads and Noelle Holten for allowing me to read an advanced copy of Dead Inside in exchange for an honest review.
All opinions are my own and are not biased in anyway.