Another cracking book from the fabulous Cara Hunter. This was nail bitingly good and twisted and turned the story till the very end.. A crime drama that'll keep you guessing who's the baddie or goodie and you'll change your mind several times.. I can't wait to read the next book!!! Hurry please, I need to know what happens next in the Adam Fawley series.

Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for allowing me early access to this title!

We are back again with Fawley and his rag-tag group of officers; the fifth in the instalment and yet the series doesn't feel overdone or samey. Each book stands entirely on it's own and works to further develop each character; i'm not left feeling worn out by this series as I am with others, because each book focuses on a completely different crime and something of a completely different nature. Whilst the character threads weave throughout the books, the crimes generally stand apart. I don't sit there thinking, why do people still live in this place??

This book was so well written and so fast-paced I honestly couldn't put it down; I read almost half in the first sitting and read the second half throughout the day (speeding through a bunch on my lunch hour!). I was hooked from the start; both with the crime storyline and what was going on for Adam and Alex. Without saying too much, this is one hell of a tense book for both of them and I was slightly terrified at times we were going to be left on a massive cliffhanger; not sure I could have forgiven Cara if she'd done that 😂

I really like that this built straight onto what we'd learnt about Adam and Alex in the last book and developed that thread; not for one minute did I think Adam was guilty but I honestly wasn't sure how Cara was going to get him out of this one! It had me hooked to the edge of my seat like a woman possessed. I spent the other half of the book concerned about what was going on with Somer and now we'll have to wait for the next book to see the impact for her.

How i'm meant to wait well over a year now to see how Adam deals with what's happened to him; I do wonder how exactly he's going to come back from this but also praying that someone punches that King in the face - Somer did us all a favour there!!

I have purposefully tried to be so vague in my review because this is a book that deserves no spoilers; you need to go into this blind because it is one wild ride.

The only reason i'm rating this book four stars and not five is personal preference around one of the plot reveals - MASSIVE SPOILER BELOW

We find out towards the very end of the book that Caleb falsely accused Marina of sexual assault, and in actually fact we find out at the very end of the book that he raped her. There is no denying that Marina abused her position as a lecturer (and was a pretty shitty mother) but the fact that the plot twist was that the rape allegation was false against her... just didn't sit right with me. Whether it's because i'm currently listening to an audiobook on feminism which just talked about how over estimated false rape allegations are have impacted my viewing of this i'm not sure, but I just wish it wouldn't be used as a plot point in books because it just further spreads the narrative that false rape allegations are more common than they actually are. And to then find out she actually was a victim of rape herself, I don't know - this whole reveal just made me feel very uncomfortable and it slightly jarred my enjoyment of the rest of the book.

I do still love the rest of the book and the series, but I just couldn't rate this one five when the above knocked my enjoyment of it!

I have loved Cara Hunter’s books since the first one, when I realised DI Fawley was going to be a big crime fiction hit. I was so pleased to read that these will be televised at some point, I will be very interested to see who plays Adam. This book is very, very good. The shock arrest had me reeling and I’m hoping a certain policeman gets his comeuppance in the next book. All the characters ring so true and their relationships within the team are also believable. I love Inspector Morse, but Oxford has a new cop on the block. I appreciated the character summary at the beginning as I read a lot of crime and sometimes can’t recall details about the supporting characters. This book also captures the divide between town and gown that is very real in this beautiful city.

Cara Hunter returns with her latest addition to her hugely popular Oxford based crime series featuring DI Adam Fawley. It proves to be a fast paced thrilling and twisted shocker of an adrenaline ride that continues with the completely unexpected revelations from the previous book. Once again, Hunter delivers with her trademark style of interspersing the narrative with press articles, voicemails, police interviews, podcasts, emails, phone calls, online local and national media, medical examiner forms and more. Adam's lawyer wife, Alex, is pregnant and isolated at home, and Adam is doing all that he can to support her, with the suicide of their son, Jake, hanging over them. There is additional pressure on the Fawleys as the man dubbed the roadside rapist, Garry Parrie, is now out of prison, tagged, his threats upon conviction, where he claimed he had been fitted up, not forgotten, particularly as Alex feels they are being watched.

In the meantime, in a turn up for the books, a young Oxford student with the strapping physique of a rugby player, Caleb Morgan, mentored by the famous and popular Professor Marina Fisher, is claiming Fisher sexually assaulted him when he was babysitting her son. With Gislingham away, demoted DC Gareth Quinn is in charge of this political hot potato of a case, Fisher is an academic media star, lauded by her Oxford College with her ability to attract huge levels of funding whilst Morgan's mother is a high profile MP. Despite knowing it's not good for her peace of mind and fragile health, Alex is doggedly following every episode of a podcast by Jocelyn Naismith, co-founder of The Whole Truth that campaigns on miscarriages of justice. Naismith is taking up and supporting Parrie's case and his claim that he is an innocent man, reviewing all aspects of the case in the podcast in detail. Then a woman falling from a railway bridge turns out to have been murdered, a case that sees Adam's life and career go into freefall.

One of the highlights of Hunter's smashing series is the time given to members of Adam's police team as they work their cases, you get insights into their characters, lives and issues. For example, Quinn surprisingly finds himself in a relationship that he is happy and challenged in with Maisie. DC Verity Everett tries to help and support DC Erica Somers who is struggling with the issues that arise for her, but she is refusing to let Everett know what is going on. DS Chris Gislingham is an absolute rock of support to Adam when he returns to work, willing to do whatever it takes for him, even if it endangers his career. As per usual with this superior crime series, this is riveting and compulsive reading, with Alex proving to be revelation when it comes to her forensic eye for details. An absolute rollicking page turner that will have you pushing the world away until you reach the final pages. Brilliant must read crime fiction! Many thanks to Penguin UK for an ARC.