Grace's story is very hard to sit through.
Firstly, because of the horror that both you and she know is coming at the hands of Craig.
Secondly, and more importantly in my opinion. The help is so close. In the form of Maddie.
But Grace is so afraid to act.
Nevertheless...
This was the part of the book that kept pages turning.


There are three very distinct divisions within the storyline of this book.
1. Grace
2. Maddie ad the bomber.
3. The return of DI Blaker.

Having all of this going on in tandem makes for pretty confusing reading at times. Due to the fact that transitions between scenes are often not as smooth as they need to be when multiple storylines are involved.
The story as a whole is very well written.
The characters all well done and very relatable.
But reading He Will Kill You as a first foray into the series. It must be noted that this is a series that should not be read out of order.
As important background information about Maddie and her team that one would need to fully enjoy this book. Would be found in book one

Maddie Ives is back in book 2 of this series.

A traffic jam in a tunnel and cars exploding and the story begins.

It took me a while to work out what the bombs had to do with domestic abuse and what the woman and child had to do with anything but come together it did.

Parts made for difficult reading but this stuff does go on every day somewhere so I read on.

Got to love Maddie Ives she is a feisty character but one I definitely want in my corner in times of trouble. This book humanised her as we had an insight into her romantic side. She and Harry are opposites working to the same standards and objectives they make a brilliant team and I can see how that is going to make this series going forwards.

The story is fast paced with plenty of grit and is unusual as the lines between victim and murderer become blurred.

A brilliant read and looking forward to book 3.

# He Will Kill you # Netgalley
OMG, WOW. The first book of a new series, I was glued to the pages and could not turn them quick enough. I love Maggie, and the team of specialist who deal with victims of domestic violence. This book shows such a good insight to someone suffering from domestic violence and literally shows the many forms of violence. People tend to think it’s just physical yet it’s not. Praise to Charles Gallagher for bringing this subject to the forefront is this new series. I have read all his other books and been blown away, yet this one is explosive. With such a massive bang. It’s not often I am lost for words, yet I find I can not find the words needed to explain how awesome, amazing. Unputable down book this is. It’s the best book I have ever ever read on this subject and I am in awe of this book. Charles Gallagher has most definitely got right into the research of this subject better than some actual true stories I have read. I genuinely genuinely can not praise this book enough. My apologies for late reviews I lost my kindle, and had to set up by my phone. New kindle on way.

The author wrote a thriller that started with a bang and just kept going! The twists kept coming, so I couldn't put it down. I cannot wait to read more from this author!

(rounded up from 3.5)

This is the second in the Maddie Ives series, while it can be read as a standalone, I would highly recommend reading the first book, He’s watching you (you can read my review here) just to get a better understanding of the characters.

I honestly spent the majority of the time reading he will kill you feeling like my heart was going to burst out of my chest!

Whew, this was a tough read! Charlie Gallagher warns you before starting reading this book that it contains scenes of domestic violence taken from his experiences as a police officer but I wasn’t quite prepared for the emotional effect it would have on me!

Grace who is being abused by her boyfriend is such a good character. She shows how abusers exert their control, bully and attack a victims self esteem to make it feel like it’s impossible to the leave but she’s trying her hardest to break free, and keeping a diary to make sure that no-one else will suffer from the abuse she did.

I have to be honest, I didn’t enjoy this as much as the first one, it felt a little more chaotic with the bombs going off and everything. I also had the same issue as I had with the first book, in the fact the beginning contains multiple different storylines which don’t at first seem to relate to each other and at times I got a little confused keeping track of but of course that’s just my opinion.

Overall He will kill you is a gripping and realistic novel that will have an emotional impact on you.

Charlie Gallagher writes a crime thriller that is so fast paced and never seems to let up in the action, in this, the latest of the series featuring Detective Maddie Ives and in which DI Harry Blaker returns to work after injuries sustained in the fallout from the last case. There is an out of control car bomber on the loose, leaving death, casualties and mayhem in their wake. There is a strong strand on Domestic Violence and abused women, a special interest of Maddie's. Grace Hughes lives with husband, Craig, who cuts a menacing figure as a man who terrorises and abuses her dreadfully, making her feel as if she is a prisoner in her own home. Living in constant danger, Grace is not good at standing up for herself and knows that Craig will kill her if she tries to escape. Maddie tries to get her to keep a diary, documenting everything that happens to her with the aim of it becoming evidence to get him convicted of his crimes eventually. In this intense story of blackmail and more, the disparate storylines do come to connect. There is suspense and twists in this entertaining crime story.

DS Maddie Ives had been working undercover in Manchester for years until disobeying orders meant that she had to move right across the country to a Major Crimes posting in Langthorne in the south east. Then a nasty shoot out injured her boss DI Harry Blaker and put him out of action. Difficult enough on its own before you consider the fact that that she has formed and maintained a banned relationship with one of her former target's brothers, something which she knows can never work. The story starts with explosive charges attached to three cars being detonated in a motorway tunnel, causing two deaths and many casualties. Initially Counter Terrorism are put in charge leaving Maddie to pursue her other cases, in particular those of a cocky young burglar who they have picked up several times, and her pet project, that of identifying women suffering domestic violence at the hands of their partners and persuading them to break free. One such woman is Grace Hughes who is experiencing the most dreadful experience at the hands of her boyfriend Craig. The author does a great job of not only refusing to shy away from the descriptions of her abuse, but also in sharing good indicators of what to look out for in identifying sufferers. Whilst all this is happening, Harry makes a return to work after nine months of absence and no contact with colleagues. Major crimes don't need him so he tags along with Maddie in her investigations. The plot moves on thick and fast as a prominent and very wealthy businessman is targeted by blackmailers, the bomber threatens to attack again and Grace seems to have a plan to finally get away from Craig. What at first appear to be lots of separate strands all start to come together as the pace speeds up to eventually reveal a dramatic ending. There is lots going on in this book but it is very well written and is never confusing for the reader. The characters are likeable and well described, and you feel that you know them very quickly. The plot is solid, and there are clues left for the reader along the way so that everything makes sense in the end. Altogether a great read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

Another decent offering in this series. As fast paced and twisted as always with several cases combined in one plot.

HE WILL KILL YOU by CHARLIE GALLAGHER. Very fast paced, intense, hard to put down and at times hard to read (domestic violence/abuse). The action does not let up. Well presented and does live up to FROM THE EXPLOSIVE START TO ONE OF THE MOST SHOCKING ENDINGS OF THE YEAR.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Grace Hughes is a victim of domestic abuse and is a prisoner within her own home. Although she has spoken with the police before, she is too scared to seek the help she needs to escape and become safe from the danger she’s in.

Maddie Ives is the detective with a passion for saving abused women and is doing everything she can to get Grace to safety. Maddie is also on the team of police force trying to find a car bomber on the loose, a seemingly unrelated crime happening in the same city.

I LOVED the first half of this book. Many different storylines and characters were continually being introduced, and I was immediately captivated by Grace and wanted nothing more than for her to break free from her abuser. Unfortunately, about halfway through the book, things happened that changed the main storylines (the big twist I suppose, hard to give anything specific without spoiling), and I kind of lost interest. The book became more focused on the police-chase aspect of the story and less on the civilians, which were the characters I personally felt most connected to.

The storytelling and pacing of the book were great to the end, and I think there are a lot of people who will really enjoy this entire book. I would certainly recommend it to people who are into police-focused mysteries. For those who aren’t, know that some of the jargon definitely went over my head and may be of concern to you – but there is a glossary in the back that explains all of the acronyms and police terminology, which is very helpful! My overall rating of this book is 3/5, and I do think I would try out another novel by Gallagher if the synopsis is of interest to me!

Disclaimer: this book was provided to me in ebook format by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Joffe Books!

WARNING: Extreme physical and mental abuse, graphically written. May not be for everyone.

Grace is living a nightmare ... she's practically a prisoner in her own home. Her husband is extremely abusive. controlling, manipulating, violent, and gruel. When he leaves for work, he locks her arm in a vise, day after day after day. He throws punches that would knock out most men. He kicks, he slaps, he punches.

Grace is planning her escape and if her husband finds out, he will kill her.

Detective Maddie Ives knows Grace. She's been to her house several times, but Grace never opens up about what she's enduring. She tells Grace, keep a diary of the abuse, take pictures of her bruises in order to one day send her husband to prison.

Meanwhile, Maddie has her hands full with other cases. First of all, there's the car bomber who is randomly placing bombs underneath cars. But is it truly random.

DI Harry Blaker returns in time to get the word that he needs to investigate a possible blackmailer. The victim is a VIP and he was seduced in taking some inappropriate selfie of himself to send to an anonymous woman online.

What's the connection? Maddie is going to have to find out or more people are going to die.

This is an extremely well written crime fiction. The author is himself a serving UK detective investigating serious offenses. Due to his experience, the story is credible with characters that are finely drawn and memorable. It's a nail biter from beginning to end with every page filled with non-stop action.

Many thanks to the author / Joffe Books / Books n All Promotions / Netgalley for the advanced digital copy of this page turner. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Great book will be reading other books by this author.
Will also recommend this book to others.
Great read! 5***

Difficult at times to read because of the horrible spousal abuse suffered upon Grace but a good police procedural as Detective Madeline tries to help Grace escape her husband and solve some mysterious bombings one of which just happens to kill Grace's husband. Some twists that I didn't expect to happen either towards the ending. I enjoyed the relationship between Madeline and her police partner Harry Bleaker also and hope to read more about them.

A gripping and intense read. I was very excited to start this one since the blurb had fascinated me.

It was an easy book to read, the characters were interesting and I wanted to know more about them, the more the story went on.
I would recommend this book to my friends!

From the beginning until the last page I was hooked. The subject was distasteful to say the least. I have read quite a few domestic noir books but this one WOW WOW WOW. I have to admit that this book was hard reading but I was compelled to keep on on reading. The brutal and vivid descriptions of what Grace suffered at the hands of her partner were very graphic, abhorrent, heartbraking and very emotional. This book made me cry, hold my breath, shout and at times stop reading. This book chilled me to the bone and as for twist it just BLEW ME AWAY.
There is also a letter explaining that victims of domestic abuse are not alone. No one knows what goes on behind closed doors. TELLING SOMEONE IS THE FIRST STEP. This author has done it again and is one of my favourites. I also admire this author for dealing with this subject matter and not sugar coating it. Thank you Charlie.
I would like to thank the author, Joffre Books and Netgalley for the advanced copy in return for giving an honest review.

In a world where we are finally becoming more aware of the darker side of life happening behind closed doors this book takes us even closer to the horror which is an everyday nightmare for many.

Grace Hughes is a victim of domestic abuse, she knows it but struggles to turn the courage it takes to even dream of a different future into an ability to leave, or ask for help. Detective Sergeant Maddie Ives also knows she is in danger but until something happens is powerless to offer anything other than advice. 

Delighted when her partner returns after being injured in their first case together Maddie finds Harry Blaker as gruff as ever but still on her side as she helps him find a ruthless killer and try to untangle a complicated blackmail case.

It is clear from the beginning that Charlie Gallagher knows what he writes about. Even the smallest observation has an authenticity about it which elevates his crime fiction into a class of its own. The helplessness of Grace and Maddie in dealing with the dangers of domestic abuse comes across loud and clear and the details are so original and horrific they can only be from the mind of someone who has witnessed this evil first hand. The heirarchy of the police force, the gallows humour, the camaraderie, are written in such a way that they slip into place as the norm, which, I imagine, for Mr Gallagher they are. It is only after you put the book down you realise the storyline needs no interdepartmental bickering or back-stabbing to add atmosphere,  it is all there already in the everyday lives of these officers.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a first class, original take on the crime genre. I am delighted this book was obviously not the end of the road for Harry and Maddie; I can't wait for book number three.

Thank you NetGalley and Joffe Books for this arc.

This is the second Maddie Ives book and while I adored the 1st one, this just wasn't quite the same. A very good read, familiar characters with most of the usual give and take between them, but the pacing felt a little off for me. It just seemed to take forever for all the threads to come together.... and at the end, it still felt like there was more than one loose thread (or dropped stitch) in the knitted pattern. How was Tony killed? What about Vince? For all the horrific experiences Grace suffered, her strength and determination felt off as well.... it was there when the story needed it but disappeared when it didn't.

3.5 stars rounded up.

From the onset let me tell you this book contains a strong domestic violence theme throughout the book. Gallagher’s main point throughout the book is that if you are a victim of domestic violence, tell someone. Make sure you know you can get help, but most importantly he wants you to get yourself safe.

He WIll Kill You starts off with a bang and takes you on a roller coaster ride until the very end. Before Detective Sergeant Maddie Ives can help Grace out of a dangerous situation a car bomb goes off. Chaos ensues and you cannot put this book down.

Well done, excellent read. Highly recommend.

He Will Kill You is the first novel in the Detective Maddie Ives series by bestselling author and former police officer Charlie Gallagher; it's yet another highly entertaining, twisty and tension-filled read from him. There is plenty of action and a lot of violent behaviour throughout but not enough to be offputting. Once again the believability is there in terms of police procedure as Gallagher uses his former job to inform his work and make it as realistic as possible. That said, some of the happenings do require a hefty suspension of disbelief. However, if you can overlook that aspect you're in for a thrilling experience. After all, what is fiction for if not to escape from reality for a time?

Many thanks to Joffe Books for an ARC.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy of He Will Kill You, the second novel to feature DS Maddie Ives of the Canterbury police.

Maddie is busy with CID work when DI Harry Blaker returns to work part time after the injuries he sustained in their previous case so, at a loose end, he takes an interest in her cases, notably trying to protect Grace Hughes from her abusive partner and working out why recidivist burglar Toby Routledge wants not only to confess to his crimes but be locked up.

I thoroughly enjoyed He Will Kill You which is a fast paced, high octane, tense thriller which grabs attention from the first page and never lets up. The novel opens with a bang, literally, when a car is blown up in a tunnel. The narrative is tense and gripping and really caught my attention. The second chapter sets the scene of a young woman threatening a receiver of stolen goods to recover war medals, again intriguing and the third chapter focuses on Grace and a domestic violence call out. This is a great piece of writing which depicts the fear and menace of the situation and police helplessness in the face of victim denial. Three strands of investigation, all offering intriguing possibilities and inviting the reader in effortlessly. I would like to say that I read it in one sitting but I can’t as I had to put it down and walk away at times because of what was happening to Grace. It is a credit to Mr Gallagher’s writing that I got so involved with Grace’s character and felt her pain, stress and anxiety. The violence is horrific but probably very realistic. Grace, however, is keeping a secret and what a twist it turns out to be, linking all the disparate strands together. Is the totality of the plot realistic? Probably not, but who cares when it’s such an exciting read?

Maddie Ives is definitely growing on me. In this novel she has grown into a caring, professional detective who is a little cavalier with the rules when they offend her humanity but it makes her a better protagonist. Her personal life takes a turn in the novel but it brings her closer to the gruff, not as uncaring as he seems DI Harry Blaker.

He Will Kill You is a great read with a twist as good as the vaunted “massive” so I have no hesitation in recommending it.