The Seventh Victim is a standalone thriller from Michael Wood. I thoroughly enjoy reading his Matilda Darke series but this book didn’t live up to my expectations in comparison.

I found it rather slow going and guessed the outcome early on. However, I did like the way that despite the unsavoury subject matter, it was dealt with very tactfully with no gratuitous violence, but it did play with my emotions as its not a subject I’d usually read about. 3.5*

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy in return for an honest review.

Jonathan Egan-Walsh was caught whilst attempting to abduct a boy from school. Luckily, his mum turned up and tackled Jonathan, freeing her son to run back and alert the teachers left there to phone the police. When they started questioning him, they realised they had caught a serial hunter who had killed over twelve children. They found further evidence in his flat when they found children’s clothing which they sent for testing. They got the parents of missing children to see if they could identify any of the clothing as there was a lot there and some of it they did. His MO was unique in that he would entice a boy to him, keep him for a few days or a length of time, then kill them. He would then wash them to clean them of evidence and wrap them in a white sheet. He would then bury them in a shallow grave close to home so they could hopefully be found.

When Jonathan went to court, he was charged with over twelve murders of children and was convicted on all counts, he was sentenced to life in prison. He was still unrepentant when he was in prison and was still refusing to admit the whereabouts of Zachery Marshall so his mum could lay her son to rest.

Twenty-five years later Diane Marshall was still writing to Jonathan requesting the whereabouts of her son and as usual there was no reply, she had even tried her MP to try and get an answer to no avail. Then she tried Jonathan’s lawyer, Lachlan Minnow. She gets an answer but it just says that Jonathan says he doesn’t know where Zachery is. Then, there is the shock news that Jonathan has died which means Diane’s hope of finding Zachery has died with him, until she receives a letter from Jonathan saying that he doesn’t know where her son is. For some reason Diane doesn’t believe him and takes the letter to the police but they refuse to reopen her son’s case. So she goes to ex-DI Caroline Turner who has retired and now has a successful dog walking business, to see if she will help her.

Does Caroline help her? Did Jonathan kill Zachery after all? Do they find Zachery’s body?

This was a really terrific read, and I got hooked from the start. It was exceptionally well written with superb descriptive prose. It felt like I could see the scenes in my head as I was reading them. It had a great plot and storyline. I hope it’s going to be a new series, I would definitely read another one including ex-DI Caroline Turner.

A spine tingling thriller from one of my favourite authors. Matilda is faced with a challenging dilemma which pulled me in from the start, a real page turner!

Every parent's worst nightmare - to lose a child to a paedophile - and worse to never recover the body of your child to bury and have a place to grieve. How many marriages survive such a life-changing agony? Diane and Nick are one such couple. Nick has moved on and built another life for himself, but Diane can never move on. The saddest thing about this is that she becomes estranged from her younger son which left me feeling less sympathetic to her plight.
Add to this a journalist with a vested interest in the perpetrator who has brought a harrowing situation within his family.
Then there is ex-DI Caroline Turner who has also suffered due to the perpetrator - so much so that she left the police force and became a dog walker.
Bringing these characters together forms the basis of this story - a story covered after the fact, after the perpetrator is found guilty and incarcerated for life.
Three and a half stars for me!
Many thanks to Netgalley/Michael Wood/HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Jonathan Egan Walsh was given a full life sentence for the abduction & murder of thirteen boys. Diane Marshall's son Zachary was among them. Egan Walsh has never revealed where Zachary is buried & Diane cannot move on until she can lay her son to rest. When Egan Walsh dies he leaves a letter for Diane saying he may have been guilty of the murders he was imprisoned for, but he never took Zachary. The police do not seem interested so she reaches out to Alex Frost- an author of true crimes & of a book about Jonathan Egan Walsh, She also contacts now retired DI Caroline Turner. She retired after the taunts & harassment by Egan Walsh became too much. Together the three of them try to find out the truth. Set in a wintery Skegness- a gloomy backdrop that captured the atmosphere brilliantly.

I love Michael Woods DCI Matilda Darke series. This standalone was as gripping a read as those books. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book

I really love Michael Wood's DCI Matilda Darke series but this is a standalone thriller from him which is equally as good and no-less riveting but please be warned, it does deal with child murder and abuse so if this is a trigger, I would suggest you look elsewhere.

Mr Wood treats us to a cast of excellent characters that leap out of the page and grab hold of you from the beginning to the very end and whilst not all of them are particularly 'nice', they are all well developed and all have their place in the story and what a story it is.

Dark, disturbing, powerful, emotional, riveting and full of tension with a twist I didn't see coming, this is a must read for all thriller fans and my thanks go to One More Chapter, HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Seventh Victim.

‘Twenty-five years of silence, one last chance to uncover the truth’ - cover tag line.

My thanks to HarperCollins One More Chapter for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Seventh Victim’ by Michael Wood.

In recent years Wood has become a ‘must read’ author for me with respect to his DCI Matilda Darke series of police procedurals. While ‘The Seventh Victim’ is a standalone, it has the same degree of intensity and attention to detail.

In 1996 Jonathan Egan-Walsh was apprehended while attempting to abduct a young boy. He was charged with the murders of thirteen boys. Twelve of his victims were found buried in shallow graves. He was convicted on all counts and received a sentence of imprisonment for the rest of his natural life. Since then he had been unrepentant and refused to reveal the whereabouts of his seventh victim.

That boy was eight-year-old Zachery Marshall, who disappeared twenty-five years ago. Articles of his clothing were found in a disturbing collection in Jonathan’s keeping. His mother, Diane, is still searching for his body. When Jonathan dies while in prison, his solicitor delivers a letter to Diane in which Jonathan admits that he was guilty of all the crimes of which he was accused, except for the murder of her son…is this true or a final cruel trick?

When the police decline to take any action on the letter, Diane reaches out to Alex Frost, the author of a true crime book on Jonathan titled ‘The Collector’. He agrees to help as he sees the opportunity for another book on the subject. Diane also contacts former Detective Inspector Caroline Turner, who had resigned from the police force after being harassed by Egan-Walsh from prison. She now has a much quieter career walking dogs. These three team up to hopefully find a solution to Zachary’s disappearance. No further details to avoid spoilers.

Michael Wood brilliantly weaves together events in the present with the occasional flashback and extracts from ‘The Collector’. He is a crime writer who not only focuses on investigating the case at hand but on his characters; providing insights into their thoughts, motivations, and emotions. I will note that the novel’s themes might be unsettling for some readers.

In his acknowledgements Wood writes of his desire to tell this particular story; focusing on the aftermath of a murder and how it effects those who are grieving the loss of someone they loved.

Overall, ‘The Seventh Victim’ proved a compelling work of crime fiction, the kind that I find almost impossible to put down.

Highly recommended.

What a fascinating tale The Seventh Victim tells. A serial killer that is just too good at playing mind games but not good enough to keep him out of prison. A freelance journalist, an ex police inspector plus a mother of one of the children killed. Mix them all up with a number of "normal" people and a reasonably everyday life and there is this book.

How they all fit together and their interactions with those around them and the dénouement is what makes this such a worthwhile read.

It's gripping, fast paced, and heart breaking at time. It kept me on the edge and guessing, surprising me with each turn.
An excellent thriller.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

I chose to read a free eARC of The Seventh Victim but that has in no way influenced my review.

Michael Wood's DCI Matilda Darke series is one of my favourite 'must read' crime series. Darke and her team have really been put through the wringer over the years. And by sounds of it there's a lot more to come in the next instalment, due for publication later this year. So when The Seventh Victim, a standalone serial killer thriller, landed on my radar I knew I had to read it. Firstly, because I know with Michael Wood at the helm it's going to be a thoroughly gripping, twisty story. And secondly, because I can't refuse the lure of a serial killer thriller!

In 1996 Jonathan Egan-Walsh was sentenced to life in prison for the abduction and murder of thirteen young boys. He openly confessed to the murders he was charged with. Except for one. Zachery Marshall's mother, Diane, never gave up on the search for her son, desperate for answers and some form of closure. Diane wrote to Egan-Walsh regularly seeking the location of Zachery's body. But Egan-Walsh remained tight lipped. Until the day he died twenty-five years after his arrest when a letter, addressed to Diane, was found in his cell. Finally Diane has the answers she's been seeking all these years. But the letter isn't a confession, it's a bombshell. Egan-Walsh admits he was guilty of many murders over the years, but not Zachery's. Prolific serial killer Jonathan Egan-Walsh did not kill Zachery Marshall...

The Seventh Victim is a compelling, character-driven tale of loss, grief and a mother's desire for the truth. Diane is consumed by her grief, ignoring everything else - including her young son, Marcus - around her. Her marriage falls apart as she seeks the truth, desperate for closure and the return of her son's body. Following the arrival of the letter she turns to a woman who was more familiar than most with Egan-Walsh, former DI Caroline Turner. Using the information Turner gleaned when investigating the murders twenty-five years ago, coupled with help from true crime writer Alex Frost, the three of them, Diane, Caroline and Alex, attempt to try and uncover the truth. If Egan-Walsh wasn't responsible for Zachery's death then who was? Or is Egan-Walsh playing his last hateful hand and lying to a grief-stricken mother?

The three main characters are all fascinating and really bring the story to life. I wanted so desperately to like Diane but throughout, there was something stopping me. And even now, seeing the story play out from start to finish, I'm surprised I don't like her more than I do. Caroline Turner on the other hand was a delight to read about. I liked her from the moment she was introduced and I would like to see more of her in the future (a spin off series perhaps?).

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. The Seventh Victim is an emotional, dark, unsettling read which fans of slow burn mysteries will enjoy. The characters are well-written and play their parts well, the plot is compelling from start to finish and the setting of Skegness made an interesting change. I did find the subject matter a little hard going at times and I don't think this book will appeal to everyone because of that. I was able to guess the main reveal from fairly early on in the book but it didn't spoil the story for me. Particularly as the author twisted the twist in a way that made for a satisfying conclusion. All in all, this is another cracking book from one of my favourite authors which I found full of suspense and intrigue. Recommended.

A gripping read., although the subject was disturbing child abuse, it was not graphic. I was hooked from the start with the heart pounding opening. The mystery surrounding Zachery Marshall's disappearance is still a mystery 25 years later.. A serial killer of young boys is charged with his murder but he denies it. . Diane Marshall, Zachery's mother wants to find her son to have closure, an ex Detective and, a journalist o seek answers . There was so much going on that was intertwined in this story that it was hard to put the book down. . I was desperate to know if Zachery would be found.. This book is a 5 star read fior me.

Brilliant book had me gripped as I didn't want to put the book down(lol).The story and the characers go so well together making the book real.5*

EXCERPT: 'Hello, Sam. Sorry I'm late. Your mum called me from a phone box. She said she's going to be a bit late and you're to come and join Wesley and me at Burger King and she'll meet us there.'
Sam looked up at the tall, thin man. He had dark brown floppy hair and kept flicking his head whenever it flopped in front of his eyes. Sam frowned. 'It's me, Jonathan. I'm Wesley's older brother. Remember the Nativity play last year? I was the one filming.'
The penny dropped and Sam smiled as he recognised him.
'Mum said I shouldn't go off with strangers.'
'It's lucky I'm not a stranger, then.'

ABOUT 'THE SEVENTH VICTIM': Imagine receiving a letter from your son’s murderer. Imagine starting to trust him.

What if the only person who can help you find your son is the man in prison for killing him?

A child taken. A mother on the hunt for the truth.

Twenty-five years after her son Zachery disappeared without trace, Diane Marshall receives a letter that overturns her world once again. The man convicted of killing 13 boys, Zachery among them, finally confesses to it all - except the murder of her son.

Armed with this new information and determined to discover the location of his body, Diane and the former DI in charge of the case start investigating. Somewhere out there, her son’s killer is waiting as the reckoning draws nearer. Sooner or later, the terrible truth - buried and undisturbed for a quarter of a century - will out.

MY THOUGHTS: I'm sorry to say this, but The Seventh Victim lacks both the flow and the suspense of this author's Matilda Darke series. It didn't help that I caught on early on in the book just who Zachery's killer was.

Mostly The Seventh Victim deals with the aftermath of the murder of a child and the effect this has on those grieving the child's loss. It's a sad fact that relationships don't always survive the loss of a child, and nor do friendships. We all grieve differently and move through the stages of grief at different rates, and some people get stuck in a certain stage and never move on. Michael Wood acknowledges this and uses our differences as a basis for this novel.

The question is, is it better to have the body of the child returned, or to have the hope that your child is alive somewhere?

I enjoyed the story of Alex, a journalist, and his family which was interwoven into the main storyline.

Although my heart should have bled for Diane, I found her difficult to connect with. I absolutely detested her ex-husband.

Caroline Turner, an ex-DI, is an excellent character, and probably the one I related to most.

I liked but didn't love The Seventh Victim. I think I missed Michael Wood's trademark humour. While it's not an amazing read, it is still a good read with many interesting and viable twists.

⭐⭐⭐.5

#TheSeventhVictim #NetGalley

I: @michaelwoodbooks @onemorechapter

T: @MichaelHWood @OneMoreChapter

#contemporaryfiction #crime #familydrama #mystery

THE AUTHOR: Michael Wood is a freelance journalist and proofreader living in Sheffield. As a journalist he has covered many crime stories throughout Sheffield, gaining first-hand knowledge of police procedure. He also reviews books for CrimeSquad, a website dedicated to crime fiction.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The
Seventh Victim by Michael Wood for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Having read (and loved!) all the Matilda Darke books, I was keen to read this first standalone from this very talented author, and it did not disappoint! The plot was fascinating, the characters well developed and rounded, the book flows easily, and it captured my attention throughout. This really is a powerful character-driven story, which is both dark and chilling in places - the storyline does involve paedophilia and child murders, but these sections are carefully written and not simply there to shock. As always, a brilliant read from a brilliant author, very highly recommended.

Every parent's worst fear....

While attempting to abduct another child, Jonathan Egan-Walsh is arrested and charged with the murders of over a dozen boys. But there is one boy whose body was never recovered and Jonathan refuses to tell where Zachery Marshall's body is buried.

For twenty-five years, Zachery's mother, Diane, has not stopped looking for her son's body. Unfortunately, Jonathon dies in prison, and she fears she may never know, until she receives a letter that Jonathan has left for her informing her that he never had contact with her son. That he was not responsible for him going missing and he had no idea where her child was.

Caroline Turner, the former DI investigating the case, agrees to help Diane. They are joined by Alex Frost, a true crime author. Will they be able to uncover the truth about what happened to Zachery? Will Diane be able to bring her son's body home?

This book shows the emotional effects of losing a loved one in addition to what happens when you lose a loved one with no answers or body to bury. Diane can't move on with her life. Not like her ex-husband has done. She will never stop looking for answers no matter how hard it is for her or how it affects her relationships.

This is a book that explores grief, evil, deception, secrets, loss, and love. Wood has created a sympathetic character in Diane. She can't give up and she can't move on. I was invested in learning the truth and did not see the reveal coming. I enjoy being shocked twice in this book by what was revealed.

Wood is known for his brilliant DCI Matilda Darke series and readers should be aware that this book is not a police procedural as that series is. This is more about the search for the truth, about a mother's quest to find out what happened to her child, about secrets and about the truth.

Well written, gripping with a reveal that shocked me.

At first I was wondering where this book would take me because the book gave everything away, until it didn’t.. The book took a turn, and even though there were many unanswered questions, there was on more intriguing than the others, because something wasn’t right, and there were no answers.

I liked the book. It’s different. It’s about a hard to digest subject, and might upset sensitive readers. It is however important that there are authors writing about it.

It’s a well-written and researched book, and a great read! Michael Wood is an excellent author, one not be missed!

Just a warning it is quite harrowing in places, as it deals with sensitive issues, but if you love crime thrillers then it is a must read.....Jonathan Egan-Walsh was apprehended whilst trying to abduct his next victim! Now in prison for life for the murders of these twelve, possibly thirteen boys, Diane (Zacerys mother) is still wanting answers as to where he buried her boy. Egan-Walsh never answers Dianes letters, so when she finds out he's dying she fears the truth will die with him. Surprisingly once he dies, a solicitor contacts her with a letter telling her that although he did murder and bury the other boys, he didn't touch Zac! Which means Diane is still searching after 25 years, all she wants us to bring her boy home and have somewhere to be able to visit. Once she gets the retired detective Caroline and the journalist Alex (who wrote a book on Egan-Walsh on the case) will she get the closure she wants and needs to be able to.loo be in with her life? Just how many lives did Evan-Walsh destroy and how many more victims are there?
Would love to see this made in a drama. Will be recommending to everyone I know. Many thanks NetGalley for letting me read this will certainly be looking out for more from Michael Wood!

Oh wow. As we know from the Matilda Darke series this author certainly knows how to pull on the heartstrings when telling a story. And this stand alone thriller is no exception. It's heartbreaking. Some parts were also hard to read and you'll understand why when you've read it. And read it you must.

On a cold February afternoon in 1990, seven-year-old Danny Redpath disappeared from his home. Four months later, his body was found in the nearby forest, wrapped in a sheet and washed clean of all evidence.

Apprehended while attempting to abduct another child, Jonathan Egan-Walsh was charged with the murders of more than a dozen boys. Convicted on all counts, he received life in prison and went unrepentant, still refusing to reveal the whereabouts of one of his victims, Zachery Marshall.

Twenty-five years later, Zachery’s mother Diane is still searching for his body. When Jonathan dies in custody, she realises she will never know its location – until she receives a letter he left in his cell, in which he admits he was guilty of all the crimes of which he was accused, except the murder of her son.

I will recommend this book to all.

A serial killer is caught after trying to abduct another child and the story that unfolds is both sad and chilling.
Jonathan Egan - Walsh is prosecuted and sentenced for his crime of multiple child murders he is a flawed individual who likes to blame his childhood for the killer he became .
Many articles are written about him including a book and he enjoys his notoriety but throughout he remains quiet about a missing boy Zachery and will not tell the boy’s family where he is buried .
Diane is mother has never given up the fight to find him and twenty five years later she is left a letter after Egan - Walsh’s death. In the letter he states he didn’t kill Zachery , so who did ?
A journalist Alex who had written the book on the killer joins forces with a retired detective who had worked on the case and Diane .
Together they try to find the truth about the missing child and bring closure to the family.
The book is easy to read it’s to the point and kept me hooked all of which I’ve come to expect from Michael Wood .
I loved the twist at the end .
Highly recommended!
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter .

When a killer murders, it isn't just the victim who dies. Those related, and those who investigate are deeply affected too. And the ripples of that act forever live on.

As Michael Wood fantastically explores in his standalone story The Seventh Victim.

A story that starts with a man attempting to lure a young boy away from an empty playground. But luckily his mum arrives in time to stop the abduction and with the help of two teachers is able to keep the man subdued until the police arrive. What she and the police don't know is this man is a serial killer, one of Britain's most prolific and his secret is about to come to light.

However, that's only the beginning of this story. As for one parent (Diane) her nightmare is only just beginning as her sons remains are never found and the killer won't reveal where he is buried.

Until twenty-five years later he dies...

Only what he tells her is the last thing Diane ever imagined she'd hear. But what if this master manipulator and killer is finally telling the truth?

And as Diane, the detective who caught him and a journalist who wrote a bestselling true crime story about him team up. Secrets are unearthed, and answers are found.

But are they the ones Diane wants? And will Zachery ever finally be found?

And with such an intriguing storyline. Not to mention Michael's signature shocks, twists and turns. This was a story that had me hooked and one I couldn't stop reading. And I would genuinely happily recommend it to all.