Part of a series of novels but can be read as a standalone story. A great cast of characters and very well written

I really liked this author and this book did not disappoint, it was an appropriately paced, page turner that will have me hooked throughout the story.

This wasn't really for me bit there was such greatly written characters that flowed so well. Wonderful character just was bored with the story.

This is the seventh DI Tom Douglas book by Rachel Abbott. I have read all of her previous books and I have thoroughly enjoyed them all.

The book begins by introducing a girl, who’s uncle, on his death bed, bought her a ticket for her to visit Burma, a place that was special to him, but he never got the chance to visit. Her boyfriend, who is controlling, selfish and quite frankly no good for her, does not want her to go and wants her to cash in the ticket and add the money to his bank account. She refuses and asks Ian to move out before she returns.

On the boat, she meets a lady named Thea and quickly becomes good friends with her. When she returns to her home, Ian has not left. To escape her controlling boyfriend, who will not leave the house, she turns to Thea and goes to stay with her for a while.

However, all is not as it seems at the house and it is only a matter of time before Thea delivers the news that Ian has been murdered.

But who killed him….

For the first part, this book was extremely gripping and had me wondering what had happened, There were many twists and turns that had the reader disturbed.

The book was a good read, but in the second half, I did find that the book became predictative and I guessed the outcome and ending.

However, it did not spoil the book for me and I felt that the book did leave some questions unanswered, which added to the thrilling nature of the book.

I love the DI Tom Douglas series and I am looking forward to reading the next instalment.

This is now the 5th book I have read by this author and have loved every one of them. A brilliant pshycological crime thriller that kept me reading late into the night.

Loved it and a full 5 stars from me.

Now to read the rest of the DCI Tom Douglas books!

I so love it when this author has a new book out. Yes yes yes I know I’m late in reading this, but that doesn’t stop me from saying she’s one of my top 20 thriller authors.

I just know once I start one of her books I’ll be saying bye bye to doing much else. I can never rest until I’ve finished.

This book is just the same.

Several women. All not known by each other but all are connected by something.

Rachel Abbott has the ability to take ordainary people and turn plots that become amazingly acceptable. It’s fiction, but it could be fact.

Tom Douglas the DCI is still going strong and just as invested in the crimes that come his way to solve them.

There is lots that have been written in reviews that give more of the story. I’m not going to that. I think this authors books should be read blind getting the most from them.

If you haven’t read one of this authors books, may I urge you to try one.

Thank you Black dot publishing via Net Galley


Find all my reviews in one https://readalongwithsue.blogspot.com/

"Come a Little Closer" was yet another chance to meet one of my favourite literary characters - Tom Douglas. As always, reading a new installment in the series was a treat! This book kept me awake most of the night. I just couldn't stop myself from reading another page. Thank you NetGalley & a huge thank you to the author - Rachel Abbott - for this novel, as well as the whole series.

Wow! What a thrill ride this was! The story is so well put together, the characters are son well written that you cant help but empathise with them (Well, some of them) a definite read in one sitting book!

A tense and fast paced thriller that really builds the dread for the reader.
Thanks to the author and to Netgalley for this ARC.

So here I am, once again, reading out of order in the Tom Douglas series. I wanted to get through the series as quickly as I could before I got to the latest in the series, but I just didn't manage to quite get there. I have one more to read, and then I'll officially be caught up on the series. The good thing about the Tom Douglas series, is that you really don't have to read them in order to enjoy them. While there may be a few things that don't quite add up without having read some of the past novels, Rachel Abbott does a good job of filling in enough detail as to not affect the reader.

So with this one, you have a few different narratives that eventually run together, and for me, I just couldn't buy into it. The main focus is on Callie, a young woman who sets off on a cruise as a promise to her grandfather who has recently passed away. Before setting sail, she decides to end a not so great relationship with her live-in boyfriend, Ian. Ian isn't taking the hint however. While away, Ian leaves nasty voicemails, text messages, and emails for Callie making the breakup and enjoying her holiday all the more difficult. Callie meets an older woman named Thea, and her husband, known as "the doctor" while on the cruise. She also meets a strange man known as Paul who seems to be lurking around every corner. Callie eventually confides in Thea about her problems with Ian, and stays close to Thea to avoid the strange man, Paul, who seems to be following her. When the cruise ends, Thea and Callie agree to keep in touch. When Callie lands at the airport, she is surprised to see Ian there waiting for her. Of course, he's acting as if nothing has happened, as if they have just had a minor disagreement and life will go on as before her holiday. Once Callie and Ian arrive home, Callie explains that she meant what she said and Ian will have to find somewhere else to live. The situation escalates when Callie loses her job. Mysteriously, Thea shows up at her home. Callie decides to leave the home and stay with Thea for a few days to clear her head and decide what she's going to do next, only, it's not long before Callie realizes that her life is quickly on a downward spiral.

Meanwhile, Tom and his team discover a body at the Pennington Flash Country Park. The circumstances surrounding the death are suspicious. There are no signs of struggle. And why is she not wearing any shoes, in the middle of winter? Her feet don't show any signs that she walked there, so how did she get there? There are no cars left in the lot. She doesn't appear to be a vagrant. As the investigation unfolds, it's looking more and more like this was an attempted suicide, but she obviously had help. Could this have been a homicide designed to look like a suicide?

Tom receives an unexpected visitor, we see Jack return in this one with some interesting news. We also learn of a childhood friend Nathan, whose younger sister has mysteriously gone missing. Nathan reaches out to Tom for assistance in tracking down his sister. While Tom doesn't work in missing persons, he offers what help he can. As it turns out, he's able to provide more assistance than he thought possible.

So I don't want to divulge any spoilers, but there are some connections that are made towards the end, and I just didn't find them to be credible. What are the chances that so many can be connected ya know? Something else that I thought was interesting is that we start the novel off with Sharon, then all of the sudden she completely drops out of the novel all together. I just felt like it was odd how her character was introduced so early on, but her story wasn't finished. We don't learn too much about what happens to Sharon.

I can't say that this was my favorite in the series. It's not one that I think will be overall memorable. There were some good points in the novel, but nothing that outright "wowed" me. I have enjoyed the series, and I'll continue to read onward, but for me, this one just didn't hit home.

I want to thank NetGalley, Black Dot Publishing, and Rachel Abbott for allowing me the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for my review.

I love Rachel Abbott and this book did not disappoint

Right from the start it is an intense thriller that you can’t stop reading

Would thoroughly recommend this to any thriller suspense fan

Who can you trust?

DCI Tom Douglas is called to a suspicious death on a cold snowy day. Nobody knows who the victim is or where she has come from and her cause of death is also a mystery.

Meanwhile, another woman has escaped on holiday to get away from her abusive boyfriend. Whilst away she meets a lovely elderly couple who befriend her and, when she gets back, they offer her refuge.

What do the dead girl and the abused woman have in common? They are about to become ‘family’.

Wow!! At last an original story. I was hooked from page 1, even though I have not read any previous DCI Douglas books. It didn’t matter. The book was well written and the characters were well thought out and believable. The author managed to keep all the strings of the story going so the reader didn’t forget who everyone was, which happens so often in complex stories.

I will most certainly look for other books from this author.

Chester

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

Another amazing book from Ms Abbott! This story is terrifyingly dark and twisted. A huge lesson in not judging a book by its cover that's for sure. Fantastically weaved together with a jaw dropping ending. Fabulous.

Loved the police characters in this book and the ingenious murder method. To be honest I was wanting to kick the main narrator as she was such a wet fish! Maybe that's why I didn't enjoy this book as much as I felt I should. So much to admire in this well written thriller, but for me it fell short of the mark. Totally unbelievable last twist too.

Great thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved the book. Why is an elderly woman offering to help a woman get away from her abusive boyfriend? You just know things are not going to be as they should. This book can be read as a stand alone from the rest in the series

I found the book enjoyable and a page turner. The plot was rather different to the usual and it kept me guessing as to who the girls really were. On the other hand I found the writing rather immature in places and this spoilt the reading of the book. Also the sudden appearance of Jack and his willingness to apparently risk all by his carelessness, I found rather unbelievable and irritating. Rachel Abbott has in Tom a very human, likeable, detective and she should not spoil the running story of his life by introducing unbelievable and weak appearances of his brother.

Read all my reviews at: https://brainfartsandbooks.wordpress.com
I’ve never read a Rachel Abbott book I haven’t loved. There is something about the way her writing flows that draws me into her stories no matter how dark or gruesome they are. This one was no different. This book is very compartmentalized in that it hops from one scene to another with very little connectivity until the middle of the book. The reader knows there is a group of women who seem to be held captive and who are being watched by their kidnappers. Then there is Callie, a young woman who goes on a cruise to escape her overbearing, lazy, mooch of a boyfriend who will not leave even though she has broken up with him. On the cruise, she notices a creepy guy named Paul who seems a little too interested in her and an older couple who is very sweet and takes Callie under their wings to make her feel more comfortable on the cruise. As a big fan of DCI Tom Douglas and his crew, I was also excited to read about how they had moved on in life. Becky, his partner, is pregnant and his girlfriend Louisa is also very much present. I tried not to read this book all in one sitting (kind of like the dessert you’re trying to savor and not gobble down), so I was able to spread it over a 4 day period. One question, when is DCI Tom Douglas #8 going to be released?

Thank you to Netgalley, Rachel Abbott, and Black Dot Publishing for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly, thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a pre release copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

In this review I'm not even going to bother writing anything about the plot, everything you need to know about that is contained in the description of the book, whether you read it on Goodreads, NetGalley, Amazon or your local book store.

What I will say is WOW! Just wow!

This is the 7th book in the Tom Douglas series and they just keep getting better. But, although this is a series and we follow Tom and his family and colleagues through their lives, you don't have to go back through the whole series to be up to speed on them so you can, if you so desire, read this as a stand alone novel. However, I'd recommend reading the other six books, just because they're worth it. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

As for this one, it starts off at a steady pace and the tension builds as the story unfolds. There's twists, there's turns, there are red herrings a plenty. I really didn't want to put this book down when life came knocking for me to get on. And then there was that one killer twist right at the end that I wasn't expecting.

Want a police procedural? You got it. Want a psychological thriller to keep you on the edge of your seat? You got that too. This, for me, ticks all the boxes of what I'm looking for in a good book.

Here's waiting impatiently for the next adventure.

Though it took me a bit to get through this one, I don't regret a minute of it. The beginning is a bit of a slow burn as you find out tidbits that make you doubt this character or that one, wondering who the murderer is and how the stories are all tied together. There is a touch of police procedures, just enough for it to feel like a police investigation, but not enough to bog you down. As the story slowly starts to build and you realize the truth, you can't put the book down as it races to a conclusion that's only partially satisfying, and true to life. This is one that I'd say is definitely an adult book. There's swearing throughout, although it's fairly sparse, it is still enough that it's noticeable. The biggest thing that makes this more of an adult book is the violence and abuse. Victims are drugged, sexual abuse is hinted at (although there's not any sexual content), but the abuse is mostly psychological, which can be even more disturbing. Really it depends on the person but I know I wouldn't want a younger teen reading this book. Overall though, it's worth a read, just make sure you have the time to devour it, especially once you hit that halfway mark!

There can be no doubt Abbott is honing her skills with every book, as her plots become more intricate and her characters become like old friends to her readers.

Rachel Abbott likes to skate between the black and white areas of right and wrong, to shed a light on the vulnerable in our society, and the secrets hidden in plain sight. In Come a Little Closer the hidden, the missing and the ones who go unaccounted for are given a voice, albeit a small one.
This is the seventh book to feature DCI Tom Douglas, and it feels as if he is just getting settled in for the long run. He is a straight talker with a penchant for breaking the rules, and yet his worst enemy is his own guilty conscience.

Have you ever asked yourself whether someone would miss you or question your whereabouts if you suddenly disappeared? How long would it take for someone to notice you are gone? There are plenty of men, women and children without a support system, who just vanish from the face of the earth and fall prey to people seeking the invisible of our society.

There is another important aspect of this story the author has slipped in, which is perhaps far more important than the main plot. What can you do when someone you used to love becomes an abusive insidious leech you can't get rid of? When the system can't help you and it ends up protecting them instead of you?

DCI Douglas is flummoxed by his new case and isn't sure where to start. A young woman with no identity, who seems to have gone to her death willingly or rather to her murder. It seems as if she might not be the only one. Where are these women coming from and who are they?

A few decades a ago I went to a seminar led by a leading FBI profiler and expert on paedophiles and serial-killers, and he made two adults, myself being one of them, pretend to be children walking on the pavement. He played the perpetrator in the car. He winds down his imaginary window and says something quietly, I couldn't hear so I stepped towards him as he said Come a little Closer and grabs me and throws me in his imaginary car. That is exactly the kind of criminal Abbott is excellent at imbibing and then creating on paper. The type we are surrounded by, but never see coming, because we are taught from a young age to ignore our gut instinct. In a way we are all Judith.

This is just a little taste of the compelling read and the questions you may encounter. Rachel Abbott writes a fast paced riveting thriller that pulls the reader in opposite directions. The plot is nefarious and also simple in its complexity. It's realistic, which makes it relatable and there are aspects of it that will ring true for some of the readers.
Be prepared for a read you won't want to put down.