This book is fabulous !a gripping psychological thriller that grabs you from the first chapter and doesn't let go .This thriller kept me on the edge of my seat and had some very surprising twists some I guessed and some I didn't .The story is told in two timelines ,Felicity in the present and back when she was a teenager with her best friend Jasmine.I actually like this way of telling a story as I think you get a more in depth story . Altogether a very enjoyable book .Many thanks to the Publisher the Author and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review .

I have read Katerina Diamond books before and always enjoyed them, however, with The Heatwave I was rather disappointed by it.

It begins with the main character - Felicity - hearing a news article then suddenly deciding to go to the place where the news event happened. Within a second, she has decided this, despite having two children and a husband and it being at the opposite end of the country. I just didn't see it as realistic at all. I continued to read, but then found it even harder to like, or even understand Felicity - she keeps moaning about her past and reminding the reader all too often that she was desperate to escape the village she grew up in. We knew that right away, we don't need constantly telling. I also thought she was quite skathing the way she spoke about people who still lived in the village, almost dismissing them and thinking they were lower than her. She obviously had demons and liked to drink to forget them. If I had cared about her, I would have been compelled to keep reading and find out why she has demons and what happened, but as it was, I found it a bit difficult to keep reading because I didn't care. I wish Katerina had made her have SOME likable qualities or something so that it helped me as a reader to care.

The other part of the book is about Jasmine and is told in the past - whenever this terrible event happened. I preferred Jasmine's chapters, I think it helped that they were told in third person (Whereas Felicitiy's chapter were first person which made it hard to relate to her). But there were still some odd things tht made the book unbelieveable such as the parents moving someone in right away and dismissing Jasmine's concerns, the fact that a sexual assualt by a teacher had been carried out yet almost just mentioned casually...

I kind of got the impression that this book was rushed- it had to be all action. It could have been better told if we had been gently introduced to the characters, given a chance to understand them and see their backgrounds, rather than jumping straight into the action.

Felicity tried to work out what had happened in the past and how it related to the present news article, I found her detective skills a little odd, the way people would randomly volunteer too much information. I would imagine, in a close-knit town which was the centre of two big news stories, that members of the community would be very guarded with talking to outsiders, but nope, not in this story.

It is such a shame because the actual bare bones of the story were good - what happened, how they could be linked, the 'who done it' feel... so it could have been so much better if it had been told in a more believable manner.

Unfortunately I don't recommend the book.

Incredible suspense story of two teenage girls growing up in two different families, Jasmine has a stable home, two loving parents who do charity work every summer. Her best friend Felicity, growing up in a one parent household, who drinks, smokes, has too many boyfriends, not the most stable environment. Then a stranger shows up, Tim, a good looking young ex soldier, homeless, now living in Jasmine's parents guest cottage. Jasmine finds him scary, odd, why don't her parents see there is something wrong? Felicity and Jasmine spend the most traumatic summer ever! A must read!
I highly recommend! Thank you Netgalley!
carolintallahassee.com

When i saw this was written by Katerina Diamond i assumed The characters Adrian and Imogen, from all her previous books would make an appearance. I soon realised this was a stand-alone book. As i read i became gripped into the plot and kept reading because i needed to know the answer. It wasn’t predictable, in fact the plot twist at the end surprised me! I love Diamonds books. The fact that these were new characters separate from Her previous books only made this book more interesting and showed her talents as a writer. This book has a completely different atmosphere and really shows a different world she creates. Looking forward to more stand-alone books in tje future!

I found this a little strange and unbelievable that a mother would just watch the news on the tv, and then announce she was off to the other side of the country to investigate a crime. And that her husband would be accepting of this? It just felt a little hurried - the author clearly wanted to get into the story quicker. The rest of the book was ok, and the end had a bit of a twist. But again, I'm not sure just how believable it all was.

The plotting in this blew me away, I really had no idea what had happened and the final twists were amazing. I know Sidmouth really well, so loved the location too; especially as I’m in lockdown miles away! Will definitely read more from Katerina Diamond. Masterful.

Although the title of the book Didn’t seem to fit the story, I still enjoyed this thriller. Interesting twists and fast paced.

This is the first book I have read by Katrina Diamond and I absolutely loved it. I devoured this book in a day and a half. A great whodunit which leaves you guessing. I now can’t wait to read some more books from this author.

This book was very slow to start and took some time to suck me in. I failed to relate to any of the characters but the book was easy to read and well written. It just didn't grip me unfortunately. The ending left me with some questions to answer and I ended up really disliking the main character.I would class it as mystery, more than a thriller. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

I am a huge Katarina Diamond fan and jumped on this book as soon as I saw it on Netgalley.

Felicity and Jasmine are best friends one hot summer in Devon. Felicity or Flick as she is known, doesn't have the most stable homelife, her mum is an alcoholic with a revolving door on boyfriends. She is envious of Jasmine's stable home life and her happily married philanthropic parents. When a formerly homeless stranger arrives into Jasmine's life as her parents' new lodger, and a girl from their school disappears, their world as they know it is upended.

Fast forward 16 years and Flick has been running from her old life ever since when she hears another girl has mysteriously disappeared in very similar circumstances to the still missing girl from that summer. Flick is forced to face the demons of her past as she returns to Devon in the hope that she can save the missing girl.

Told in a now (Flick) and then (Jasmine) format, this is a really good thriller. It has a slow build up with tidbits of information dropped in here and there. With short, snappy chapters, a few rabbit holes and plenty of twists to keep you guessing, it definitely grabs your attention from page 1 and runs with it. The ending completely took me by surprise and absolutely wasn't what I was expecting. In fact, I'm still thinking about it. An ideal holiday read 4/5.

I have read every one of the Imogen Grey series and enjoyed them all, This is different, a one off thriller with a different pace and set in two different times. I wasn’t sure at first, as it changed between time frames, but it quickly pulled me in with its slow burning tension and many questions unanswered until the end. A creepy plot and a totally unexpected ending; all very satisfying and an ideal holiday read. I really enjoyed it.

The Heatwave was a compulsive read that I found impossible to put down. The prologue immediately hooked me and from that point, I devoured the book in less than three days.

Flick refuses to think about that summer where she escaped from her old life. Nobody knows her past and she'd like to keep it that way. Until she sees the news - a young woman has gone missing from her hometown. The circumstances are hauntingly similar to a kidnap that happened 16 years ago, that last summer. Unable to forget, Flick must go back and face the past. But is she ready to admit what really happened?

This was a fast-paced thriller, with a slow build-up as the author gradually revealed the past with flashbacks to that summer. In the present day, Flick must piece together the events of the summer in order to save the missing girl. But the sleepy sea-front town is harbouring more secrets than Flick can count.

I really enjoyed the plot and thought it had quite a unique angle. It was realistic and written well enough for me to think that this could actually happen in real life. I guessed one of the twists quite early on but there were plenty of others that I didn't see coming. There was a good mix of characters and red herrings, just enough to have a handful of suspects. The writing style was strong with short chapters that always left me wanting to read on. I wouldn't say it was the cleanest narrative in the world but it didn't detract too much from the overall story. The ending was a little too neat but I was glad to see all the loose ends tied up and not rushed.

I'd recommend this one for fans of B.A. Paris, C.L. Taylor, and Ruth Ware.

I will definitely be reading more from the author in the future!

Thank you to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Better known (by me anyway) for her Imogen Grey series, this is a standalone book. Felicity lives with her family in Devon but when she hears the news about the disappearance of a girl in her home town of Sidmouth, her world shatters and she ups sticks to Sidmouth, desperate to find out more about what has happened. It soon transpires that the case in the resent day has similarities to something that happened in Felicity's own past. We then have a dual timeline with Felicity in the present and Jasmine (Felicity's best friend) from when they were 16.
And that's really all I want to say about the narrative for fear of spoilers. Suffice to say that the plot is delicious and extremely well executed, interconnected as it flits between the past and the present, fleshing out the bones of the plot as it goes.
As I started the book I was quite confused by how Felicity could just bog off and leave her family and it did take me a while feeling a bit confused, But, as I already have some trust in this author from her previous books, I was able to sit with these feelings and believe that all would eventually be revealed. And it was, and to my satisfaction to boot.
The action and intrigue slowly ramps up until it suddenly explodes towards the end as everything is finally exposed and the whole truth of past and present is revealed. Phew... what an exhausting ride.
All in all, a cracking read that ticked all my boxes. Hopefully the author will continue with standalones in and among her series going forward. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

3 stars. This is my first book by this author. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy on exchange for an honest review. While I did not love this book, I also didn’t hate it. It was just okay to me. I did like the way the chapters were written and the authors style of writing. I am curious to read more by her, I just don’t think the storyline of this one was that great.

This is my first read from this author and it took me only 24hrs from start to finish. The book skips between ‘then’ and ‘now’ which I enjoyed and I also liked the relatively short chapters. There are quite afew twists, mostly at the end, I did guess one but I still enjoyed it. A great book for the hot weather with plenty of weird and wonderful characters and moments of suspense.

When Felicity hears that a girl has gone missing from her home town in Devon she has to confront her past. She leaves her husband behind in the lake district and drives south to try to find out what happened. The story is told from two points of view, hers and that of her friend, Jasmine. It goes between two times also, present day and sixteen years previously.

On the whole I didn't particularly like this book. Felicity, the main character, is rather annoying and spends most of her time drunk and reflecting on the past and the terrible things she has done. There are endless hints and allusions to this and it all gets very tiresome. Jasmine, her friend is slightly better though she too has the unfortunate ability to ruminate endlessly on people's motives especially that of her parent's lodger, Tim. I was surprised by the ending though and feel that there is a much better book in there if only the pace was upped a bit and the two main characters just stopped asking themselves questions.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I’m a huge Katerina Diamond fan and I’ve been loving her Miles and Grey series which I have followed religiously since The Teacher. So I was thrilled to see that she had written her first standalone psychological but also worried that it wouldn’t live up to the series I love. But if you feel the same then please don’t worry-The Heatwave is a brilliant read that grabs you from the very first page-rather like the fate of the girl we first meet as she is drugged and abducted by an unknown assailant.

The Heatwave is a duel timeline thriller set in the present, when a missing girl forces Felicity to confront her past by returning to her hometown, and in the past where Felicity and her best friend make a shocking discovery. Felicity was a difficult character to take to initially especially as I found her sudden departure from her home in the Lake District a very strange decision to make! Her family are left in the lurch as she rushes back to her hometown the moment she hears a girl has gone missing in similar circumstances to a disappearance that happened 16 years previously. It’s obvious that something personal has dragged her back but who or what was the real puzzle for me here. Looking back there were clues sprinkled throughout the storyline but I hadn’t connected all the dots before the big final reveal so what a shocker it was! Katerina Diamond leads her readers through a maze of intrigue before distancing herself and leaving us to find our own way out of the tangled mess she left in her wake.

I read this in one sitting whilst spending an afternoon reading in the beautiful sunshine. It was the perfect setting for a book set in a heatwave and so I just couldn’t stop until I got to the last page! The Heatwave is a gripping thriller, stylishly plotted with a setting that rang true. The teenage characters especially felt authentic and were well developed, their actions may not have been the right ones but it made for realistic choices being made…and possibly regretted!

I absolutely loved this book and hope Katerina Diamond writes more standalones in the future.

#Theheatwave runs two parralel stories at the same time- then and now. A girl disappears and Flick seems to know the answer, because there are too many similarities between this case and what happened 16 years ago. She doesn't quite know all the details and she is shocked to discover them.

This is the best thriller I have read in a long time. It grabbed me from the very first word and didn't let me go until I finished it.

As soon as I thought I cracked it, there was a twist. Kept me guessing right until the last pages and it was shocking to discover the whole truth at the end.
Thanks #netgalley and Avon publishers for this book. I highly recommend it.

I’ve read several of Katerina Diamond’s books and they are all without exception truly brilliant! This is a stand-alone book.
I read this in a couple of days, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn’t know at all where this was going and loved that! I was completely immersed and I wholeheartedly recommend it. It’s dark, full of twists and an ending that I did not see coming!

Thank you to Netgalley, Avon Books UK and the Author Katerina Diamond for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A slightly slow start but very soon I could not put it down. A wonderful psychological thriller with some surprising twists; most especially at the end. I did not see that coming.
My first read by this Author and certainly won't be my last! I highly recommend this book.