Book Review - The Doll's House by M.J. Arlidge

Title: The Doll’s House
Series: Helen Grace # 3
Author: M.J. Arlidge
 
Description: A young woman wakes up in a cold, dark cellar, with no idea how she got there or who her kidnapper is. So begins her terrible nightmare.
 
Nearby, the body of another young woman is discovered buried on a remote beach. But the dead girl was never reported missing. Her estranged family having received regular text from her over the years. Someone has been keeping her alive from beyond the grave.
 
For Detective Inspector Helen Grace it’s chilling evidence that she’s searching for a monster who is not just twisted but also clever and resourceful. A predator who’s killed before. And as Hellen struggles to understand the killer’s motivation, she begins to realize that she’s in a desperate race against time…
 
Review: Ruby wakes up in a basement, having no recollection of how she got there and who did brought her here. She has been abducted. Nearby, a young woman is found dead, but she was kept alive on social media, therefore she was never reported missing. Detective Helen Grace knows she must find the culprit, before he strikes again.
 
One of the reasons I always enjoy reading M.J. Arlidge’s books, is because of the short chapters. “The Doll’s House” is no different. Chapters of only 2 or 3 pages, each with a different perspective. Also love that last part. Aside from our main character Helen Grace, we follow one of the victims Ruby, Helen’s former colleague Charlie, journalist Emily, and the culprit. But there are more characters, a bit too many and not all characters are interesting enough to read about. At least not from their perspective. The chapters following the one’s that have mentioned are the most interesting.
 
Helen Grace is one of the best characters I’ve ever read about. She is complex and very flawed. This makes the book interesting and she is a character I like to read about more.
 
I enjoyed the book, like the previous two. But it’s clearly my least favorite so far. I’m not going to abandon this series, definitely not, and I still think “The Doll’s House” is a good book. But the story was a bit too plain and standard for me. Where his previous books really shocked me at times, this third book just never had that effect. It was all a bit more predictable and didn’t have many surprising elements.
 
I met M.J. Arlidge earlier this year, he is a truly kind person who takes the time for his readers. This series still has many books in it, and I want to read them all.  
 
Rating: 3/ 5

Book Review - Pop Goes the Weasel by M.J. Arlidge

Title: Pop Goes the Weasel
Series: Helen Grace (Book # 2)
Author: M.J. Arlidge
 
Description: The body of a middle-aged man is discovered in Southampton’s red-light district, horrifically mutilated, with his heart removed. Hours later, the heart arrives with his wife and children by courier. A pattern emerges when another male victim is found dead and eviscerated, his heart delivered soon afterwards. The media call is Jack the Ripper in reverse; revenge against the men who lead sordid double lives visiting prostitutes. For detective Helen Grace, only one thing is certain: there’s a vicious serial-killer at large who must be halted at all costs. 

Review: In Southampton the body of a man is found in an abandoned building. Not much later, a gruesome package is delivered to his wife and children, which turns out to contain his heart. When soon a second victim is found, Inspector Helen Grace turns out to be dealing with a serial killer, a prostitute who cuts her clients open and robs them of their hearts. The media soon make their own story out of it and not everyone in the network seems to want to cooperate. It remains to be seen whether Inspector Helen Grace succeeds in catching the culprit before more victims fall. 
In the beginning of the book, you are immediately gripped by tension. Two bodies are found in one day and immediately, as a reader, wonder if they are linked. They take place in the same environment but otherwise seem to have no similarities. You only get a glimpse of the perpetrator which quickly leaves you with hundreds of questions that you don’t seem to be able to answer in the first few moments. M.J. Arlidge leaves you in the dark and manages to build up the tension nicely. 
The story contains many short chapters in which the perspective changes between different characters of the police force, the victims and the perpetrator. You get to know all the characters in small bits and each time you discover something new in the next chapter. In this way you get a good picture of the characters without it getting boring. 
M.J. Arlidge manages to leave you in ignorance until the end. you think you know the perpetrator and her motive, but nothing is further from the truth. “Pop Goes to the Weasel” is an innovative book, a female serial killer is not a common. The book is exciting from start to finish and I’m really loving this Helen Grace-series. Book number 3 and 4 are already on my TBR-pile. 

 
Rating: 4,5/ 5

Book Review - Eeny Meeny by M.J. Arlidge

Title: Eeny Meeny
Series: Helen Grace (Book # 1)
Author: M.J. Arlidge
 
Description: Two people are abducted, imprisoned, and left with a gun. As hunger and thirst set in, only one walks away alive. It’s a game more twisted than any Detective Helen Grace has ever seen. If she hadn’t spoken with the shattered survivors herself, she almost wouldn’t believe them. Helen is familiar with the dark sides of human nature, including her own, but this case—with its seemingly random victims—has her baffled. But as more people go missing, nothing will be more terrifying than when it all starts making sense....
 
Review: What would you do? You are locked in a room with no food or water, but with you partner, sibling, colleague or friend. Between you us one gun. Whoever decides to take the gun and kill the other is a free person. what would you do in a situation like this? At first it is an obvious one, but when hunger and thirst start to gnaw at your sanity, you see things in a whole new light. And what happened then…
 
These are the bizarre events that take center stage in “Eeny Meeny”, the debut novel by M.J. Arlidge and the first book in the Helen Grace-series. Arlidge is an author whose main focus has been writing British crime series. When we meet main character Helen Grace, it quickly becomes clear that this inspector is not the most ordinary character and this raises curiosity and many questions. Helen struggles with her dark past while also having to hunt down a horrific psychopath, who sees the fun un leaving victims broken with guilt.  
 
Arlidge’s experience in writing television series is evident in his evocative and cinematic writing style. In particular the moments of the kidnapping and subsequent events are described in detail, making this not a book for people with weak stomachs. This also makes it seem like you are experiencing the terrifying events yourself and makes you think about what you would do. Why these murders take place is the main question the book focuses on.
 
As mentioned before, Helen Grace is the main character, but there are many interesting side characters. For example Mark or Charlie, who are Helen’s colleagues and they each struggle with their own problems. They both have a certain relationship with her and this comes under pressure as the search for the killer weighs more and more on them.
 
“Eeny Meeny” is the first part of a promising thriller series, that I will most definitely continue. I’m very excited to read more books in the Helen Grace-series and am surprised that I only just discovered it.
 
Rating: 4,5/ 5