As a busy working mom, I found Trick or Treat by Katerina Diamond to be a gripping and intense thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat! This dark and twisty tale unfolds around a Halloween party that takes a sinister turn, exploring themes of deception, secrets, and the complexity of human relationships.

Diamond’s writing is sharp and engaging, seamlessly weaving suspense and intrigue throughout the narrative. The characters are well-developed and multi-layered, making their choices and motivations compelling and relatable, even in the midst of chaos.

Final Thoughts:
Trick or Treat is a thrilling page-turner that’s perfect for moms looking for a spine-chilling escape. It’s a reminder that not everything is as it seems, and sometimes, the scariest secrets are the ones we keep hidden—making it a must-read for any mystery lover!

The netgalley listing for this book didn't make clear that it was the 7th book in a series. I was really enjoying the first 1/3 of this police procedural, but then it started to drag. The mystery was solved with ~100 pages to go, so it felt like a slog to finish the book as not much happened other than extended resolution scenes for every plot line. On one hand, I appreciated the handling of male sexual assault and it's affect on victims and their loved ones. But. I didn't need that plot line to extend for ~75 pages, especially when the same points kept being repeated AND the character was willing to both go to prison to keep the secret and leave the real perpetrator free to prevent the possible hit to his ego. At first, I was excited to go back and read the series from the start, but once I finished the book, I'm not sure that I will.

This was a brilliant book, full of twists and turns. I thought I had made a mistake by going in at book seven of a series (not sure if there will be any more to this set), and I don’t read many police procedural stories. However, Diamond makes subtle links to the previous novels without alienating new readers, for which I was incredibly grateful.

In the end, this book was a welcome distraction for reading and a distraction when I was not reading! I could not stop thinking about it. To start with, I thought I would find a child’s abduction to be quite uncomfortable reading but the plot is more about the investigation, rather than Marcus’s experience following the kidnapping. I think this made the story work even better and added an intensity to the plot: readers, like Imogen, do not know what Marcus is going through, making the race to find him even more serious.

It turns out that this kidnapping is more complex than Detective Grey envisaged with links being established to previous stories. At first I did not see the importance of following Grey’s boyfriend, Adrian, but as the novel progressed, it soon becomes clear that this connection is equally significant. Therefore, whilst the narrative switched between Imogen’s investigations and what Adrian is doing in secret, I soon found I was eager to see more answers being revealed, causing me to race through this story.

The narrative was compelling and I could not see how Imogen would be able to solve the case without any tragedies. All the characters link together in a complex web and I enjoyed how the ending was still full of surprising revelations. It certainly was a fast-moving narrative and a plot I can see would work brilliantly on television. Now I just have to catch up and read the other books to really connect the dots…

With thanks to Avon books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book by Katerina Diamond. The only reason I gave it four stars, is that i found it a bit confusing with so many characters. Near the end, I wasn't sure who the actual kidnapper was. But all in all, this was a great read. A perfect book to take on holiday with you. I will definitely read more by this author.

This is book 7 in a series. This is a fast paced police procedural. I loved the short chapters. It is a dark and twisty read. I enjoyed the writing style and the complex characters

How did I miss this?

Katerina Diamond never disappoints. Ever.

This book was fantastic from beginning to end. Plenty of good your breath moments and guessing what was about to happen, only for my poor detective skills to fail again!!

5 *

Marcus Carlyle is a six year old boy who is kidnapped outside his home on Halloween by two men in a white van. The only witness is Jason Hitchin, who after being dumped by his girlfriend, decides to break into her home while her family are away on holiday and dish out some revenge.

Jason calls the police disguising his voice. When DS Imogen Gray arrives at the house the parents initially say everything is fine but Imogen can tell from the mother's worried face that all is not well.

Imogen becomes locked in a race against time to find the missing child and uncover the truth.

This is the seventh book in this amazing series. I have loved every one and this did not disappoint. Again I was completely hooked from the start .

I definitely recommend this series.

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

This was a gripping thriller. Twisty and made me think. A good winter read. I’ll definitely be checking out more books by this author

I have not read any other books in this series. I wasn't sure how it would work to read book 7. I really enjoyed this book. I did not guess the ending and I enjoyed the way the author used the characters to help weave a interesting mystery. I enjoyed getting to know the characters along the way. *This book was given to me for free at my request from NetGalley and I provided this voluntary review.*

Wow, wow and wow again, a great read. Why have I waited so long to read this. Highly recommended you must read this book.

Another great thriller with detective Imogen Grey. A fast pace read with twists you won’t see coming!!

Katerina Diamond can literally not write a bad novel.
I absolutely love this series and really wish it would continue forever.
I devoured the plot. The author really knows how to write to keep the reader on the edge of their seats, whilst becoming a detective themselves.
I had so many theories surrounding this book, some did turn out to be near what the writer delivered.
The author has a special talent She is able to keep the reader focused in on the actual storyline and plot, whilst creating a fantastic relationship with the police detectives.
I did forget about Adrian's trauma in the previous book, so I think I will re-read that one and then come back to this one, just to appreciate the storyline as a whole.
This author is an auto buy and I cannot wait to see what further books she delivers.

Another cracking read in the series! Gripping and tense and I enjoyed the backstory with Adrian and Imogen. Lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing.

Umm, where have these books been my whole life and why have I never read one?!?!? I was captured immediately and couldn't put this one down. Following our detective, Imogen, we unravel and kidnapping. But it's just oh so much more than that. It's her own personal life, the fall out from previous cases, the drama of parenthood, and all the things! I loved this one. I will be going back and picking up previous books in this series!

This book started off with a bang and kept the pace all the way through . It was full of suspense which had me wanting more I didn’t realise this was part off a series but I will now be going back to read the others

Another fantastic read in the Imogen grey series.
Fast paced like all of katerina diamonds books.
I read this book in a couple of sittings.
I can’t wait for the next book in the series.
Thank you netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book.

I gave this book a 3/5. It was a good enough read but I have a few problems with it that I felt stopped me from rating it higher.

There were too many storylines and characters which jumped too much and it was just confusing. The characters were difficult to connect with as there were just too many ‘main’ characters.

I felt the writing wasn’t actually that good and unfortunately there were elements that were completely unbelievable, for me.

I did however enjoy that it was set near me, in Exeter. It made that a bit easier to connect to.

This is a captivating, dramatic and unputdownable story that is full of twists. It will keep you on the edge of your seat and keep you guessing and second guessing. The characters are very interesting and multi faceted. I highly recommend it.

Book 85 of 2022

Trick or Treat by Katerina Diamond
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Absolutely brilliant.

Another great novel which I really didn’t want to end with it being the last available book of the series. It was written so well that I immersed myself completely into the storyline.

The main one of this book was very complex but expertly researched which gave it such authenticity. With may lines of enquiry weaving through it, I found the pace really kept going with speed as I was compelled to keep reading to see how it all connected. I was wrong. Again.

The secondary storyline has continued through the last three books and although it’s been a really hard read I’ve felt pulled into this narrative so deeply that I felt part of the journey and needed to know how it ended. It’s been a great series and I’ve come to hold the main characters dear to my heart. I can’t wait to dive back into the next book which I’m really hoping won’t be long until it is available.

I didn't realize that this was part of a series, my bad. I'll have to read all the other 6 books before reading this one. I added a 4 star because that's the average that other readers rated it but I'll be updating it as soon as I read it. I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review