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It has recently come to my attention that I must make it clear at the beginning of my reviews that I received this book for free from Zooloo's Book Tours. I have not been paid for doing this and all opinions are my own. I am Bookshop.org affiliated, which means I earn a very small amount of money if you buy from there using my direct link. Although I include purchase links to Amazon, I am not affiliated with them. I include them to make it easy for you to navigate to them if you so wish.
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The Blurb
You can change your name. Change your life. But someone knows exactly who you are.
Twenty years ago, Mason Tucker was tried and convicted as the teenager who helped lure young boys to the serial killer known as the Pied Piper of Peasedale. After serving his twenty-year sentence, Mason is freed and hopes to remain invisible while he rebuilds his life as an adult, hoping to become a man he can be proud of. A new town, a new flat, a new job and a new purpose.
But living with secrets is challenging, and protecting his anonymity, the woman who stood beside him, and her child becomes impossible when the past pushes back. Hard. Within days of his release, Mason suspects he’s being stalked. He’s threatened and twice attacked. He never imagined being outside would be more dangerous than being in prison. The police aren’t an option. One headline will destroy him.
Someone wants him punished, not redeemed, and as danger closes in, you will never suspect where the next threat comes from.
My Review
Although this book is the third in a series, it also works brilliantly as a stand alone novel. In fact, the author was on the blog last year talking about her first book in this series, The Other Boy, and I reviewed the second book in the series, The Other Mother. Both that and this latest book are excellent and very well worth reading.
This book begins with the release from prison of Mason, also known as the Peasedale Accomplice. He has served twenty years and now wants to live quietly, with a change of name and anonymity. However, within days he realises someone knows about his past and he is being stalked.
The chapters, which are all told from Mason's perspective, flit between past and present. This enables the reader to understand how he was drawn into such wrongdoing in the past. The present day chapters demonstrate to the reader that although he has had a hard life in prison, he shows a level of naivety of life on the outside. Whilst he truly desires to help youngster, Kenny, I couldn't help but think that it would end badly for Mason, whilst truly hoping that it wouldn't.
The author tells her story very well. It is full of twists and turns and kept me gripped from the first page to the last. She knows just how to drag the reader in and how to keep them enthralled. I found myself constantly wanting to get back to this book when I wasn't reading.
She understands her characters well and thus portrays them with detail, understanding and compassion. I was really moved by Mason's story and his desire for a second chance at life. He is a character that will stay with me long after the book is finished.
This is an exceptional series of books which I highly recommend. That said, there are times that this novel is dark and graphic, and readers should be prepared for this. It won't suit everyone and if that is you then I would give this one a miss.
Book Details
ISBN: 978 1970840629
Publisher: Tule Publishing Group
Formats: e-book and paperback
No. of Pages: 344 (paperback)
Series: Book 3 in The Peasedale Wood Killers series
Purchase Links
About the Author
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Heidi Field was raised in the beautiful countryside of the South of England with her parents and her two sisters. In her twenties she was a freelance Sports Massage Therapist. She achieved a Degree in Zoology at the age of thirty and then went on to raise two boys and became the stepmother of three more young children. She still lives near her family home with her partner, their Great Dane and the children that have yet to fly the nest.
In her early forties Heidi completed a Masters in Creative Writing at Winchester University. She entered the course hoping she would become a children’s fantasy writer and left with a burning desire to write contemporary mysteries and thrillers.
Heidi wanted to put relatable people in extraordinary situations, challenge them, push them to their limits and watch them fight for their sanity. The Other Boy is her first novel.
You can also find Heidi at:
(ARC and media courtesy of Zooloo's Book Tours)
(all opinions are my own)
