This is one of the first books that I had. Unfortunately I have realised that it’s part of a series therefore I am not able to give it a review.
All the same thank you netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this in exchange for a honest review.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

The task of repopulating the senior library has been an exciting and daunting task aS in a boarding school our aim is to encourage all members of the community to read. Because of this, I have been searching down a wide and diverse range of books to read that will entice a wide cross-section of the school to come in, browse and find books that they love.
Books like this will ensure that the senior students in the school see the library as a diverse, modern and exciting place with books that speak to them and they want to recommend to their friends, classmates, teachers and tutors.
It is an engrossing and exciting read with fully-formed characters and a plot that ensures that it's hard to look away. It is as far from formulaic as it is possible to be and kept me up far too late in order to finish it. I immediately wanted to read all of this writer's other books as I loved their voice and found that it really drew me into the story and made me think about it even when I'd stepped away from this tale.
This is a thought-provoking read which I'm sure will be a popular and well-read addition to our new library; I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to read it and I know that the students are going to absolutely love it too!

Thankyou to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and the author, M.J Ford, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of Keep Her Close in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
This book provides a good, quick read. It was fast paced and a thrilling storyline.
Worth a read

I found this to be a thriller that definitely kept me awake and reading through the night. The storyline has us wondering if DS Josie Masters will be able to stop further disappearances of college students. The author has created excellent plot twists and unexpected happenings to make this a great psychological thriller read. An excellent second installment in the series.

I’m glad I decided to come back to this one because I actually really enjoyed it. I go back and forth with police procedurals but this worked.

An exciting British police procedural thriller. I was drawn to this book as it was set in one of my favourite places - Oxford! It would help to have read the first book in the series as the events in that are often mentioned in this the second book in the series. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed it. The lead character, DS Jo Masters has certainly been through it! Full of suspense and twists and turns, as she and her team investigate a series of kidnappings of young women from various Oxford colleges. Recommended.

Absolutely brilliant I was so impressed with this second instalment with Josie masters and I wasn’t disappointed at all .....the plot twist is awesome I absolutely did not expect that at all wow is all I can say xx cannot what fir the third instalment .

It has been 6 months since DS Josie Masters saved her nephew from the clutches of the killer clown, but she is still haunted by that terrible night.When a young girl goes missing from Jesus College, Jo has been given the case to solve along with new recruit, DS Pryce. Then two more girls have disappeared from Oriel and Somerville. Jo realises that the killer is spelling out her name. Now the case has become personal - but who is the predator?

This story is told from Josie's point of view, so the reader gets the events as they happen. There's no hint of the killer or their motivation. I liked the way the clues were revealed and the fact that Josie doesn't always play by the rules. There are plenty of curve balls and the conclusion I did not see coming.

I found this book a little bit predictable but it was also a good read none-the-less. I would read more of their work. Would recommend you try for yourself.

4.5

Book source ~ NetGalley

DS Josie Masters has had a terrible year but at least she saved her young nephew after he was kidnapped by a killer clown. Yeah. I don’t know what that story is about because I missed book 1, but I intend to go back and read it. Now Josie is working on some missing persons cases that are starting to look like more than just a missing persons issue and now her supervisor is pulling her off the cases when it appears that there is some kind of connection to her. What the heck is going on?

Well-written and twisty enough for any mystery enthusiast this tale kept me glued to my seat. Josie is flawed and yet a great detective. Does she make some questionable choices? Oh, hell yeah. Do I want to slap her upside the head sometimes? Definitely. But I like her anyway. Secondary characters are great and the world is interesting. I need to go back and read book 1 and then I’ll be all set for a book 3 with Josie and the crew.

A thriller that will keep you awake. Will DS Josie Masters be able to stop the disappearance of college students? Plot twists and unexpected happenings make this a great psychological thriller.

Another cracking read from MJ Ford! I love Josie's character, always great to read more of her cases. This one kept me gripped and with the abductions racking up and no obvious link between them, I was constantly trying to guess who was involved and the fate of the victims. Can't wait for the next one!

Keep Her Close” is the second book in the series to include D.S Josie Masters. After devouring the first book “Hold My Hand” in one day I was very keen to start this one.

D.S Josie Masters is back to work after her last harrowing case, she has a new partner, Jack Pryce and is in a new relationship.

The new case Josie and jack are working on is a girl gone missing from Jesus College. When two more girls disappear from Oriel and Somerville it looks like the perpetrator is spelling out Josie’s name. The case is too close to home and Josie is soon working out who would have a grievance against her.

I was completely hooked with this book, there was lots of twists and red herrings along the way that kept me guessing!!

Definitely a series to read, highly recommended!!

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy on exchange for a review.

This book was fast paced. Hard to put down. It flowed well and it was very well written. It caught hold of me and had me hooked from the start . I was literally on the edge of my seat reading this book.

A thrilling read which kept me turning the pages, characters you care for and just brilliantly written. Great novel!!

“They’ll always be two steps ahead of you”

Please don’t be put off reading this excellent police procedural / crime thriller, for me fully deserving of my 4 star rating, by what I am about to say …

Whilst, if you read Keep Her Close for what it is, it does work fine as a stand alone story, I personally feel that I would have benefitted hugely by having read its predecessor Hold My Hand, as the two stories are inextricably linked. Either that, or it would have made a tremendous difference if, in addition to the epilogue with which M.J. Ford has so generously concluded Keep Her Close, he might have considered furnishing any potential reader with a short prologue outlining past events and relationships, rather than often disjointedly, drip-feeding small insights throughout the narrative and dialogue.

All that said (and that is of course just my own personal point of view, which is what can make reviewing a book a very subjective exercise!), and despite one small hole in the storyline which I couldn’t correlate, but which I won’t mention here, as it would involve a massive ‘spoiler’, I still thoroughly enjoyed Keep Her Close and deem it worthy of the 4 stars I have awarded it.

I could instantly relate to Michael’s storytelling style with its strong narrative and dialogue, and his great characterisations which were so compelling that I could almost hear and visualize each individual stood before me as I was reading!

Of course for me, any crime thriller set in and around Oxford, has much to live up to, walking as it does in the footsteps of the late, great, ‘Morse’, but after the first few pages I was so engrossed that I almost didn’t give it a second thought.

There was also a good equal split between a plot and character driven story, which doesn’t often happen and made for a refreshing balance of emphasis.

There was never a dull moment in the fast-paced, heart-stopping action, which was narrated almost exclusively from the perspective of the police and their procedural tactics. The plot itself was very singular and focus driven, whilst at the same time being deep, multi-layered and definitely very troubling. I had my list of suspects, which grew and then dwindled, as I eliminated them from my enquiries. I was left with two names towards the end, but then it became obvious who the real antagonist was, yet I am still unsure whether this would have been the name I would have plumped for or not, if I had needed to guess!

None of the characters were particularly likeable, easy to connect with and definitely not emotionally well balanced, but then, their vulnerabilities were the fuel for the story, igniting the flames for me! Without their irritating ways, double standards in their professional dealings and raw disturbing turmoil in their personal lives, the plot wouldn’t have remained as finely balanced and compelling as it did, until almost the very last page.

Having tarred Josie with the same epithet as all her fellow characters in this case, I do still have high hopes for this as a continuing series and very much look forward to seeing her make the progress she deserves in her professional life and the finding the happiness she is constantly searching for in her private life. By the end of the book, things on both fronts seem to be getting off to a flying start, however such is Josie’s luck, that I’m not holding my breath!

We are all so very busy in our lives. Any shortcut we can find is much appreciated. A literary shortcut is the categorization of novels. Is it a thriller - sci fi - romance - police procedural or cat and mouse novel. Actually we should categorize by; is it a good novel or a so-so novel or a waste of time novel .
For me the good novel category is the most important one. Thanks to M.J. Ford, I have a very good read in Keep Her Close. This is the second book in the D.S. Josie Masters series.
Josie Madters is back at work following her successful saving of her nephew from a killer clown. Still dealing with the aftermath of the event, Josie must also relive the event in department regulation forced therapy. Her colleagues do not ease the situation as many are jealous and envious of the notoriety the case generated for Josie.
Now paired with new recruit, D.S. Pryce, Josie’s new case is the disappearance of a young girl from Jesus College. Then a girl disappears from Oriel and then another girl disappears from Somerville.
Josie recognizes the clues the abductor is leaving. Do you? But why is this happening? Who is doing this. Can Josie figure it out before another girl disappears?
This cat and mouse, mystery thriller crime, really good book has twists and turns you might expect but surprises with an unexpected ending. M.J. Ford’s second installment can stand on its own but I recommend going back to where this journey began in Hold Her Down to fully appreciate the evolution of DS Josie Masters. Flawed yes, but tenacious and determined, Josie prevails.
The next time you are asked to recommend a good book. Answer “I just read a very good book, Keep Her Close.”
I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. #NetGalley #KeepHerClose

Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy in return for an honest review
A very good read and one I can highly recommend to others.
I could not put this down.
Thoroughly enjoyable with an amazing cast of characters that you cannot help but engage with.

I didn’t realise this was the second book in the series and after reading a couple of chapters I went and bought the first book so I could read it first. I would definitely read them in order because the second book definitely ruins the twist of the first. It helps you understand Josie's distrusting character as well. I also enjoyed Hold my Hand more than this one. That being said Keep Her Close is still a great read.

I did guess who the bad guy was but it didn’t ruin it too much. It added the suspense of when everyone else would work out who it was. It has a bit of a slow start which made me want to put it down but once it got going it really sucked me in. It's really well written and I hope there will be more to come.

I received a copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.