Charity shop worker Elliott would hardly describe himself as heroic. One night, however, he is approached by a woman, Rebecca, who tells him that she is being followed by a man and asks to accompany him for her own safety. Little does Elliott know that this good deed will set into motion a series of events that will put lives in danger. How truthful has Rebecca been and what is her relationship to the man she claims is stalking her?

David Jackson is a fantastic story teller who has a knack of drawing you into his books right from the start, taking what is an ordinary situation and turning it into a dark yet humorous plot. This is exactly what we get in One Good Deed when mild-mannered Elliott encounters situations that take him way out of his comfort zone and threaten to change his life forever.

The plot is gripping and it is easy to why Joanna Cannon has called the author, ‘the king of just-one-more-chapter’. I definitely found it hard to put this book down as I was desperate to see how Elliott would fare against the larger than life characters that he faced through no fault of his own.

One Good Deed is one of those books that make you ask questions about yourself – is it always a good idea to help a person in need or do we need to look for an ulterior motive?

If you have never read any of David Jackson’s books before, this is a great one to start with.

This book is so bonkersly and deliciously over the top that the author deserves all the stars for delivering it so well!
It starts off with an accidental death when a man arrives at the house of an old woman to try and find out where his girlfriend is. We then meet said girlfriend as she is walking home one night and spots him following her. Luckily, along comes Elliott who she latches on to to walk with so that she isn't approached by her "stalker". She explains the situation to Elliott and he being vulnerable and a bit lonely, agrees to pretend to be her new boyfriend. Well, she is rather smashing looking after all!
And so begins a rather strange tale. Which really needs to be read as the author intends rather than me trying to rehash anything here. What I can say is that it all kicks off spectacularly and escalates rapidly and skirts credibility and, as already mentioned is deliciously bonkers. In a good way.
Elliott is a brilliant character and has some great scenes. He works in a cat charity shop so that speaks enough to his character. He is also vulnerable and naive which makes him easily led and exposed. Exposed enough for Rebecca to get her claws in and exploit. What a cow! You see where my loyalties lie...
And the ending... well... as soon as it really started kicking off I was trying to second guess how on earth the author would be able to wrap it all up in a way that both worked and which also satisfied me. But he did, and brilliantly so. And managed to make it credible to boot!
All in all, another winner from an author I have now read quite a few books by, cementing him on my watch list. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I don't think that David Jackson can write a bad thriller and this one confirm my opinion.
It's disturbing and gripping, you cannot help hating the stalker and rooting for Eliott and Rebecca.
There's plenty of twists since the first one to the last page. Good paced and twisty, a dark travel into a nightmare that I thoroughly enjoyed
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

There’s something about Jackson’s books that are so addictive for me 🖤 He always finds a way to have a somewhat ordinary person find themselves in extraordinarily crappy circumstances and at a rapid pace their whole life just goes down the pan in front of their eyes 😱 It’s like Fawlty Towers but with psychopaths and murder - of which I’m a sucker for all three 😂😂

Poor cat loving, loner Elliott finds himself helping out the beautiful Rebecca and before long being the target of the supposedly harmless Darren. Pretty soon he’s regretting his decisions, and the shit is furiously hitting the fan 😬😬

BY FAR, my favourite character was Darren - maybe that says something about me but I don’t care 😂 he is totally UNHINGED, utterly bonkers and I loved every second of his presence in this book.

Jackson writes characters I want to invest in, even the ones that aren’t likeable. I don’t think it’s taken me longer than two days to read one of his books! His fast paced, spiralling out of control storytelling always has me hooked and has led to him being an auto-buy author for me 🤩🤩

Elliott never thought himself as a hero. Until one dark night he meets Rebecca, a scared and vulnerable young woman who needs his help. There's a man harassing her, following her; would he mind pretending to be her boyfriend, just while she walks home, to put him off? And that is that - just a favour for a stranger - until there is a knock at Elliot's door. It's the man who was following Rebecca. He claims he is her ex-boyfriend, but it's clear that he's been stalking her. He's obsessed, dangerously so. He wants Rebecca and will do anything to have her.

David Jackson is a new author to me, so I wasn't really sure what iI expected when I dived into this book. it was quite a dark and violent read. I was pulled in from the first page in this fast-paced read. Elliot meets Rebecca one night and she asks him if she can walk home with him as her ex-boyfriend is following her. At first the plotline seems quite basic, but the more you get into the story, nothing is as it seems. I liked the authors writing style and the characters are well developed. I quite enjoyed this thrilling read and I will read more from this author in future.

I would like to thank #Netgalley #SerpentsTailViperprofileBooks and the author #Davidjackson for my ARC of #OneGoodDeed in exchange for an honest review/

I’d like to thank Serpent’s Tail/Viper and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘One Good Deed’ written by David Jackson in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Elliot Whiston is an unassuming young man who works in a cats’ charity shop and gets on better with his cat Bill than with humans but his life is about to change when the beautiful Rebecca asks if he’ll let her walk with him as her ex-boyfriend is stalking her, so how can be refuse to be her knight in shining armour. But Elliot is going to wish he’d never set eyes on her as Rebecca gets him involved with Darren, a psychopath who’s obsessed with her, and has made it perfectly clear that Elliot will live to regret it unless he arranges a meeting with himself and Rebecca.

‘One Good Deed’ is a wonderfully dark but also amusing story about a quiet young man who’s taken in by a woman who makes him the target of not just one but two bullies who think they can frighten him into doing what they want. I had a lot of sympathy for Elliot who lives a quiet life with Bill and has no real friends but gets dragged into a nightmare where whatever he does goes wrong. It’s beautifully written with suspense, tension and so many unexpected events that I couldn’t stop reading and couldn’t even begin to imagine what was going to happen to Elliot next. Events are described so vividly that it’s impossible not to hope that Elliot manages to sort out Darren, and Rebecca too. This is a must-read story that flows so nicely it’s easy to read and one I have no hesitation in recommending.

What would you do if a lady came up to you at night and asked if you could walk with her as she’s being followed and harnessed by her ex? Would you help her? You might change your mind after reading this story.

Elliott is the manager of the local cat charity shop. He lives with his cat in the house he grew up in. About to leave a local store one evening, he is asked by Rebecca if she can walk with him as her ex, Darren is following her. Being the gentleman that he is, Elliott agrees and his life quickly changes and not for the better.

Darren is a nasty individual who only wants Rebecca back, no matter what it takes. Is Rebecca all she seems, is she telling Elliott the whole story?
I couldn’t help but be in Elliott’s corner, I really felt for him.

A dark and twisted thriller that I couldn’t read quick enough. Violent at times but necessary for the story.

This is one of my go to author’s and yet again, I haven’t been let down by this great plot.

My thanks to Serpents Tail/Viper & NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Strap yourself in for this book is one hell of a ride. The relentless pace of the narrative is breathtaking and the strapline of 'Just One More Chapter' could not be ore appropriate.

The hero of the novel is the manager of a cat welfare charity shop who finds himself embroiled in a situation after just one good deed as the title suggests. He is locked into an out of control spiral of events culminating in victory. Pushed to the ultimate limits he proves himself to be resourceful, loyal and every good quality you want from your hero no matter how unlikely he seems.

Read in the space of a day as I genuinely could not put it down.

Unfortunately I found this book underwhelming, but I am glad I seem to be in the minority with this.
I struggled through it, feeling that Elliott being so wimpy was quite draining.
Some of the writing irked me. How many grown women "skip" into a room? It doesn't happen. If a writer is trying to portray a youthful, quirky character then there are better ways of doing it.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

One good Deed by David Jackson is the fourth book from the author that I have read, and it is another brilliant read.
Elliot is a loner and lives with his cat Bill. He is also a manager of a charity shop, and his only friend is a woman called Heidi. He is a kind man and will help anyone that is in trouble. So, when he a woman called Rebecca asking for his help to pretend to be her boyfriend. As a man is stalking her. The man’s name is Darren who is Rebecca’s ex-boyfriend. The man is obsessed with Rebecca and wants to get back with Rebecca. But Rebecca has other ideas and Elliot ends up being the go-between them two. But soon the situation turns sinister.
Thank you, Viper for a copy of One good Deed. This is a suspenseful story of Elliot who is trying to be a hero and help a damsel in distress. But Elliot is too kind-hearted, and I felt at first quite naive and it takes awhile to find out what Rachel is really like and also what kind of person Darren really is. This is a riveting read and which I couldn’t put down, even reading it to the small hours of the morning. I highly recommend 5 stars from me.

Take one ordinary man, put him in extraordinary circumstances, and watch all hell break loose.

Said man is called Elliott. Works in a charity shop, loves cats, bit of a loner, can't quite see what's right in front of him, is definitely not superhero material. But one night, he's approached by Rebecca. She tells Elliott she's being followed and would he mind very much pretending to be her boyfriend to put the other man off. And just like that, with this one good deed, Elliott's life goes completely and utterly off the rails.

Because Rebecca's stalker is nothing if not determined. He claims Rebecca used to be his girlfriend and he will stop at nothing to get her back. Darren, for that is the stalker's name, seems a tad unhinged. When Elliott tries to tell him the truth, Darren doesn't believe him. He only wants to talk to Rebecca and Elliott needs to make that happen. But how do you go out and find someone you know nothing about, and who is apparently also very good at hiding herself away.

Honestly, I felt this book was totally bonkers. I thought the scenario and some of the characters were ridiculously over the top. And yet, I had such a fabulous time with this book. It's incredibly addictive and entertaining. Sometimes even surprisingly witty. But I also felt it could have been a little bit shorter. At times it seemed we were just going around in circles, without anything much of value being added.

That said, 'One Good Deed' is probably one of the wildest rollercoaster rides I've ever been on where a book is concerned. I couldn't at all see where things were heading, or how they would end. It seemed rather obvious to me that I wasn't getting the full story from these characters, but the bigger picture kept eluding me.

There is always something endlessly fascinating, or perverse, about seeing an unremarkable, slightly boring character like Elliott needing to somehow find something deep inside himself to survive these exceptional events that are a million miles outside of his comfort zone. It's a delightful what-would-you-do scenario. It seems rather apparent that good deeds are massively overrated 😉.

'One Good Deed' is a fast-paced page-turner, which definitely provided me with much needed escapism. Could Elliott possibly be a hero after all? Only one way for you to find out and that's to read the book! Be prepared to lose hours of your day. As Joanna Cannon says, David Jackson is the king of "just-one-more-chapter" after all.

3.5 stars.

I have loved the three previous David Jackson standalone books but this just didn't hit right. It was still full of the usual Jackson twists and turns and I had no idea how it was all going to end but I found myself putting this one down a lot.

Elliott is a huge wimp. He lives alone, works in a charity shop and spends his nights watching tv with his cat. Granted he wasn't a very interesting character, he is offset by the main protagonist Darren, who inadvertently starts to invade Elliott's life after becoming fixated on finding the love of his life, Rebecca. Unfortunately, Rebecca doesn't know she's the love of Darren's life because he's a psychopath.

David Jackson has a knack for creating really interesting, unique stories that keep you going to the end just to find out how it all goes down. Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed by this one. If you felt the same way, definitely read his three previous standalones. They're all amazing.

Well written, fast paced and addictive with some good twists. This is a new author for me but one I will look out for. This is a book I will definitely be recommending.
Many thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read thiS ARC

I loved this book, especially the character of Elliot. As always it was dark and deranged at times but creepy and brilliant as always xx

Having really enjoyed The Resident, I was really looking forward to Jackson’s new book One Good Deed, and it did not disappoint.

One Good Deed revolves around Elliot, he lives a very quiet and modest life, mainly revolving around cats whether it be Bill, his own moggy, or managing the Cats Protection charity shop he works at. Elliot is the type who wouldn’t dream of saying boo to a goose but his life changes when he comes to the aid of Rebecca.

Rebecca is being stalked and asks Elliot for his help. One Good Deed revolves around just how far her stalker, Darren will go to win her back and why Rebecca is so keen to run and has been so dishonest.

A thrilling read, thanks to the publisher, author and NetGalley for the ARC.

Cat-loving loner Elliot has a pretty normal life, but sometimes wishes he would stand up for himself and others more. So when the opportunity arises to help Rebecca who is being followed by a man while alone, Elliot steps up.
After safely seeing Rebecca home he heads off home feeling pleased with himself that he had helped someone out. Little did he know that his life was about to be turned upside down.

Having read several from this author, I was expecting a tense rollercoaster of a read, and that is what I got!

Poor Elliot Whiston. Elliot lives on his own with his cat Bill. He is the manager of a charity shop and his best friend, his only friend, is Heidi.
One evening, Elliot forgets to pick up cat food and goes to the shop. On his way out, he meets Rebecca.
And he really wishes he hadn't!
What a page turner. I kept shaking my head at some of Elliot's antics.
From the first page, Jackson sucks you in.
You're routing for Elliot the whole way through.
I didn't think the humour was there like in previous books, but there were a couple of witty one-liners.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Serpents Tail/Viper for the ARC in return for an honest review.

This author has done it again!!!! How can a stranger doing a good deed for a young woman put his life in danger?
This is what happens when Elliot Whiston meets Rebecca a beautiful young woman who says she is being pestered by a man and he offers to help. After all as far as as Elliot is concerned it is the right thing to do. Little does Elliot realise that helping this young lady will have devastating consequences for Elliot. A story about stalking and obsession but not everything is at it seems. This is a real rollercoaster of a read. The tension and suspense is relentless and kept me reading late into the night, loved It!!!!
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

An enjoyable dark, twisty thriller although a few plot twists were a bit too obvious. Worth reading though.

An intrigung,cleverley written and kinda addictitve read with some very good characters in it
Not quite sure Elliot would have invited all and sundry into his house as he was so introverted but you could see how he got entangled in this mess
Will definitely read more from this author