I enjoyed this, I didn't guess the perpetrator until the page before it was revealed, which is unusual for me

Imagine waking up after a terrible incident and finding you have no memory of what happened and little more of your life. Surely that must be one of your worst nightmares. For Heidi though, the nightmare begins when she starts to remember.

Monstrous Souls is told with three different points of view and in two timeframes - 2001 and 2016. Cleverly, Rebecca Kelly often shows us the actual events in 2001 and then we see how Heidi remembers and handles the memories in 2016. Heidi would prefer to push the rising images away but she knows she has to find justice for her friend Nina and discover what happened to her younger sister, Anna.

One thing I liked in particular in this story was the contrast between the hot summer of 2001 and the cold early winter of 2016. The heat gave the sense of brewing tensions until they reached boiling point. The cold created a chilling atmosphere where a stranger plays 'cat and mouse' with Heidi, ever creeping nearer.

This wasn't always an easy read. As the title suggests, we're dealing with some awful people here. However, Rebecca Kelly has written this with great sensitivity. I had to read on to discover the truth with Heidi. A compelling debut novel.

This was a really clever and compelling police procedural/thriller and I think it really does bridge the two genres.
Told from multiple perspectives and dual timeline we try to piece together what happened to Heidi, Nina and Anna 15 years ago.
Now the subject matter won't be for everyone and I feel that just reading the synopsis would not prepare you for the fact that this delves into <spoiler>child abuse and paedophilia</spoiler> and it did make me feel rather uncomfortable as you can imagine. There are hints and talk of events happening, but nothing is described in detail. Although, if you are sensitive to this subject then this would probably be enough to not read it.
Despite this I did find myself constantly flipping pages trying to work out who was involved and I think the author did a very good job on holding my attention and actually making my heart pound like you would expect from a thriller.

A bit of a slow burner but a solid three star read. It picked up pace about two thirds through and then there was suspense to keep me interested although I guessed the culprit. I would definitely read her next offering. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

Started this on Friday night and had finished it by Saturday night. An amazing page-turner, as they say, I just couldn’t put it down. However, there are a couple of reasons why I didn’t give it five stars. Firstly I guessed quite a bit along the way, probably more than I usually do. That’s not to say it was predictable, but I guessed the identity of The Chief almost straight away and also the young man following Heidi. It didn’t detract from my enjoyment. But the main reason is that I feel this story has been told so many times before, particularly at the moment. I keep starting a ‘murder mystery’ and then finding out it’s about child abuse and abduction.

I really loved it and as I said, I couldn’t put it down, but there are so many stories out there that involve child abuse. I think I have read about three this year already. However this differs because it is partly seen through the eyes of Denise, the investigating police officer when Heidi was originally attacked in 2001 who now wants to open the case and also because of the amnesia aspect. In fact the premise is excellent. Heidi can’t remember anything about the attack, the murder of her best friend Nina or the disappearance of her younger sister Anna. Then one day little things start to come back and that is when we find out that Heidi’s life is still in danger. The book swaps between 2001 (the date of the attack) and 2016 (the present).

But don’t let my reservations put you off. It’s probably just that I read a lot of books. It’s beautifully written, well constructed and there are no stones left unturned. The characters are well developed and you really feel their pain. Well I did anyway. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The word, “page turner” is used too often when describing books, but for this book it’s true! Keeps you guessing all the way through. I was happy with the ending as all my questions were answered and it left me satisfied that everything was finished off nicely.
A great read by a great author who knows what she is doing.

A dark and twisty thriller with characters you are truly invested in from the start. You desperately want justice to be served.

Pacy but not rushed... Horrific abuse dealt with brilliantly. I felt exhausted at the end of it but thoroughly brilliant storytelling.

Thank you for the ARC :)

An excellent thriller that keeps the reader engaged from beginning to end.

One died, one survived and one missing.

There’s only known survivor of a horrific crime but she can’t remember what happened. After 15 years memories are coming back and someone doesn’t want the truth to be known.

An easy book to read, the chapters are not too long so the story moves along at just the right speed and keeps you guessing until the last chapter.

Looking forward to Rebecca Kelly’s next book.

I loved this book from the first chapter. The depth of guilt and torment manifested by Heidi bled out from the pages. The two POV helped the story coalesce and feel relevant to the reader, i was invested all the way in her journey to the truth as difficult and hard as it was. Her struggle to remember and the gradual flicker of memories that emerged built up the tension page after page. Dark, tense and twisted the book was devoured in a day as i wanted to know if Heidi ever found out what exactly happened to both herself and her lost sister. A wicked twist towards the end was so spectacular it left me stunned.

What a brilliant debut!

A dark and atmospheric read that had me hooked from the start

This is a really intense and emotional read that at times will wrench your heart with its emotional story. Be warned it does involve disturbing and quite sensitive issues throughout.

This is a real "feel every emotion" book, you'll feel wrung out by the end, its definitely an impactful storyline.

I loved the deep rooted friendships which are written so well, the characterisation is fantastic, you can picture them so well which brings the story to life even more so.

The ending was quite predictable (to me) but that doesn't take away from the brilliance of Rebecca Kelly's writing, captivating is the best word to sum it up!

Solid 4*

Huge thanks to netgalley and Agora Books for the ARC.

A real emotional ride in a fantastically written thriller. This is a book to be read in one sitting - it hooks you in from the very first page. Be prepared to be psychologically tested as you are taken from innocent childhood friendships into some dark places. There are twists and turns to keep you guessing and you will not be disappointed if you are looking to read a cracker of a psychological thriller.

Heidi’s memory is beginning to return.

I can’t in all honesty say I enjoyed reading Monstrous Souls because it has such dark themes that are so authentically and convincingly conveyed by Rebecca Kelly that I feel highly disturbed and affected by my reading. Monstrous Souls is an important book that transcends entertainment into an incisive and uncomfortable commentary on life for so many children.

The plot of Monstrous Souls is an absolute cracker because the reader is able to uncover the truth at the same time as Heidi, making it a very personal narrative. There’s a brilliantly depicted sense of menace and threat so that I felt quite tense as I read. This darkness and atmosphere is enhanced further by the very vivid descriptions of setting, particularly the beautiful natural images that contrast so well with the more restrained descriptions of violence and abuse. What Rebecca Kelly does so well is to suggest rather than provide all the darker details so that the reader’s imagination runs riot. I thought this technique was excellent.

The cover image represents the themes of the book perfectly. People, places and events are altered by refracted memory and duplicity. Characters have their lives and their identities reassembled by others more powerful in the same way the photograph of the cover appears sliced and manipulated. The themes of Monstrous Souls are not easy ones. Emotional and sexual abuse, control, loyalty, friendship and corruption weave like poison ivy through the plot and they are particularly unsettling because Rebecca Kelly presents then so convincingly. I have finished Monstrous Souls feeling real grief for many of the characters because their stories felt so genuine to me.

I may have felt uncomfortable with the content and themes of Monstrous Souls but I am so glad I have read it. It is, one one level, a cracking crime thriller, but I feel Rebecca Kelly has provided such an understanding of the human psyche too that it is more important a book than an entertaining story. I will be thinking about it for a very long time.

This dark, pacy thriller kept me guessing almost all the way to the end, and the final twist worked beautifully - it wasn't just a twist for twists' sake as with so many books in this genre. The difficult subject matter was handled with skill and sensitivity and the sense of trapped hopelessness felt by the victims was truly heartbreaking.

This was a good story, with strong characters, but I struggled to get into it. The book is similar in feel to a lot of books I have read lately, and I just didn't feel the spark that makes me want to sit and read for hours. Possibly my fault and not the book's because the idea behind the book is a good one.

A difficult read, not because of the writing, but because of the content. It’s always hard to say you ‘enjoyed’ reading books of this nature!
I was very emotionally invested in this story as a friend was raped as a teenager and I didn’t really know how to deal with it at the time. As an adult I was mentally screaming at Hannah to tell her mother, her teacher, anyone, but I also recognised my teenage self in the decisions she made not wanting to betray her friends trust.
For me, a believable and realistic story which, while dealing with harrowing issues, was absorbing and emotive, and I didn’t see the twist coming until right before it happened!

A well written book exploring a difficult subject matter. All of the characters had depth which enables the reader to be emotionally involved with them..
Each chapter drip feeds a little more information, slowly unveiling the horrors experienced by the childhood friends.
A creepy scary, sad book focused on monstrous souls.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Agora Books for the ARC.
This is a really intriguing and absorbing thriller. Very well written, with interesting characters and good dialogue.

In 2001 Heidi Bevan, then 13yrs-old, was subjected to a brutal attack which resulted in severe head injuries and burns to her body. Her best friend, Nina, lay nearby, dead. Heidi's 7yr-old sister Anna had disappeared, presumed to have been abducted by the assailant. Emerging from a coma, Heidi has no memory - of her life, her family, or of the attack, and remains mute.. DI Brenda Carver and DC Denise Gilzeen are tasked with the case but despite visiting Heidi, they are unable to progress as the memories just aren't there.

Now, 2016. In her small maisonette, Heidi asks Denise to tell her the truth of the crime. Her memories are starting to return. However, someone is watching, someone who doesn't want her to remember, someone who will kill if they have to, to keep the truth from emerging. She doesn't yet realise the danger she is in.

Written between the two timelines, the story picks-up on a vague memory Heidi recalls from 15 years ago and then takes the reader forward to her present day actions to try and make sense of those memories, where we travel to places, get introduced to people, and experience the relationship between Heidi, her best friend Nina, and sister Anna.

Twists and turns along the way as Heidi faces up to the truth, and her guilt, about what happened that day.

Gradually the horrifying reality is revealed. A story of betrayal, power and abuse. Does she wish she still had no memory?

Very cleverly written. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A girl ,Heidi, comes round from a coma in hospital suffering from amnesia. She had been severely attacked with a stone whilst she was with her best friend Nina , who had been killed by the attacker, and her sister Anna who had gone missing . Later parts of her memory begin to return and she contacts a police inspector Denise who had interviewed her when she came out of her coma . Denise decides to help her find out what happened and Heidi's memory slowly begins to recall more . She remembers that Nina had been abused by her mother's boyfriend Ken and some of his friends and that she had been told of secret photos that Nina had hidden and how one day she had stolen one of the photos showing the abusers and put it through the letterbox of a policeman she had met and trusted shortly before the attack . It becomes apparent that somebody from the police is leaking information and Heidi is followed as the abusers try to recover the photos that they believe she still has. Nina has 2 brothers Jason and Scott and Jason offers to help her find out what he can . Who can be trusted and who can't in this web of abuse and child murder over the years and who is the one that is referred to as The Chief the overall leader of the abusers . An exciting story with many twists as it unfolds to lead to the answers in the end .

MONSTROUS SOULS is a murder story that takes place over 2 timelines. In 2001, 3 girls are involved in a brutal crime.Nina is killed,Anna missing and Anna's sister Heidi is left for dead. 15 years later Heidi's lost memories from that time slowly start to resurface. She seeks help from the detective on the case and they pursue the story. Heidi is not ready to discover the shocking details of what happened all that time ago.
MONTROUS SOULS is an interesting read that will definitely hold your attention right til the end.
It's well written and a must read

This was a book that kept an intrigue throughout. Continually transporting back and forth 15 years to slowly unravel the plot like peeling an onion. Many thanks to NetGalkey and the Publisher for giving me a chance to read and review the ARC.