Sharing a room with criminals is an occupational hazard for probation counsellor Daniel Brasher.
But he's ready to move on; he's looking forward to leaving it behind for good. That was the plan at least. Until, before leaving work for the evening, Daniel finds a letter in his pigeonhole. Inside is a note: 'admit what you've done or you will bleed for it. you have 'til november 15 at midnite'
But the message was meant for someone else and picked up late by Daniel. With the deadline past, the intended recipient is already dead.
Further warnings herald a series of gruesome, seemingly inexplicable murders. Then a note is addressed to Daniel himself. And with the clock ticking he must discover who wants him dead. And why, or become the next victim . . .
This is definitely the best crime novel that I have read so far this year! I thought the story was incredibly clever and not once did I manage to suss out what was going to happen next. It definitely kept me on my toes.
Daniel Brasher is a counsellor for the criminally convicted who are now on parole. This makes his job a little more interesting than most. He comes from a very wealthy background and from a flashback at the beginning of the novel, we know that he had a hard and if not cruel Mother. His wife Christina has not been as privileged as Daniel and not long ago she had a rare form of heart cancer, which she was lucky enough to get through.
Daniel doesn't want to continue working with ex-cons any more and plans to have his own private practice. But as he leaving work one evening he goes to collect his post from the mail room; there he finds a death threat, it is not addressed to him, but the recipient has to "admit what you've done or you will bleed for it. you have 'til november 15 at midnite". Shockingly that deadline has already passed and that person is already dead, having been brutally murdered.
But this is only the beginning. Daniel then finds two more death threats addressed to people he doesn't know with the same message but different deadlines. It is a race against time to find these people and save them from their potential gruesome fates.
I really liked Gregg Hurwitz's writing style in this. It seemed softer compared to some other crime novels I have read and I think it absorbed me in the story better and helped me get to know the characters.
I enjoyed all the characters in this, even the ex-convicts. They were so well developed and I really felt like I got to know them all. They really add to the story and when you are trying to work out who the killer might be, you just can't suss it out. Everyone is a suspect and the criminal possibly being someone from the group makes it harder for you to guess.
There was some really tense scenes in this novel and I found myself racing through it; my heart pounding as I read.
And just when you think you've got it sussed, Gregg Hurwitz throws in a major twist right at the end, which got me tensing all over again! Gregg very cleverly misdirects you, so that you have no chance of figuring out who the killer is on your own.
Overall this was brilliant, a gripping, suspenseful and heart pounding read that you will race through! A big thank you to Penguin books for sending this to me to review!
Tell No Lies is out now and you can grab your copy here:
Amazon UK: Tell No Lies
10/10
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