Review ~ Blog Tour ~Locked Down by GB Williams.

What DCI Piper dredges up when investigating the cold case of Terrence Whittaker’s disappearance is unexpected and unwelcome – especially when it links to a current missing persons case.

Charlie Bell’s only goal in life is ending the tyranny of the Mansel-Jones crime family.

While Ariadne Teddington recovers after a car crash, her missing brother’s case is reopened, and a past she has always struggled to deal with comes back to haunt her.

Finding the new lodger isn’t who she was expecting makes life a rollercoaster she can’t get off.

What will it take to get a criminal locked down for once and for all?
Can the present overcome the past?
And can any of them afford the price?

 

Review

I would like to thank the author, publisher and blog tour organiser for the ARC of this novel in return for an honest review.

There are many themes we measure enjoyment of a thriller against. A great story obviously is one of them and the main reason we read books of any kind. Locked Down has a great story, difficult to read on times, dealing as it does with a paedophile ring. The story, even taking into account the sensitive narrative theme, is thrilling. It gives the reader a tale which pits the Police against a group preying on innocent children, in a quest to close them down and make life safer for those they prey on. The writer cleverly wraps up her characters in the story, by making them personally involved in events and making us fearful not only for the children, but for characters we have come to love over The Locked Trilogy of books.  Your constantly caught up in a combined sense of dread at their fates and excited at their determination to bring this criminal gang down. By the end,  I desperately wanted them to gain justice for all the lives they had abused and the families whose lives were decimated by their actions.  The story is littered with exciting twist and turns and endless amounts of emotional angst.  It really is edge of the seat stuff.

Thrillers need to be fast paced and part of that is created by telling the story from the point of view of more than one protagonist. Here the writer tells the story from the point of view of Ariadne Tellington, Prison Officer, Charlie Bell a former Police Officer and lead detective Piper. As each race against the time to catch the criminal gang, we are taken back and fore to each of their threads, which means as a reader, I was constantly racing with them to reach the conclusion of the story. The pace never lets up and the twists in the story mean you and the characters are constantly having to negotiate obstacles and it makes for an exciting read.  All the threads tie up in the end and it’s not until the last moment that we find out the fate of each individual character. Perfect thriller material, because as a reader I want my favourite characters to suffer grief, heartache, hope and have plenty of near death experiences and the writer delivers all of my favourite elements in spade loads.  But it’s not all just thrills. We get to know these characters, how they tick and all the ways events in the story affect them, my personal favourite has to be Charlie Bell, who having suffered a term in prison for killing a Paedophile that had escaped justice,  is ostracised by all but Detective Piper. He has at last in this third book found a reason to settle down, his love for Ariadne, but he still needs to help his former colleagues close down this ring and that leads him into constant danger. I routed for him and wanted him to find some peace from a life littered with bad decisions, but could never bring myself to judge him, because his career was ruined to help save innocents from further abuse.  Ariadne has moved on as well, but still faces heartbreak. Her suffering over the loss of her brother is explored further and we gain an insight into the events that shaped her in adulthood. It provides moments that are hard to read about, filled with grief and recrimination, but it all adds up, to make this not just a fast paced thriller, but one where character development is as essential as storyline and for me personally, that is very important.

I think what I enjoyed so much about this novel is a combination of all the above and the simple fact that it was an exciting read, that didn’t shy away from dealing with difficult subjects.

If you haven’t read the first two in the series, then I’d say why not start with Locked Up and enjoy the series as a whole.

 

You can purchase Locked Down from Amazon.

 

About the author 

After being made redundant in 2012, GB started taking her life-long passion for writing more seriously and looking to sell her work. Specialising in complex, fast-paced crime novels, she started writing the Locked Series in 2014, and now completes the trilogy.

GB was shortlisted for the 2014 CWA Margery Allingham Short Story Competition with the story Last Shakes, now available in Last Cut Casebook. She is also a feature writer and comic book reviewer. Crime novels are her stock in trade, but she has had success with Steampunk novels and short stories in various genres.

Originally from Kent, GB moved to South Wales as a supposed first step on a year around the world.  Then she met a guy.  Kept the guy, kissed the travel goodbye. Knowing that the best way to travel is by book anyway, she has always read, always written. GB now has two grown-up children, the world’s most imperious cat, a house full of books and a hard drive full of manuscripts (though some will never be allowed out of a locked basement).

You can follow the author on Facebook, blog , website and Twitter.