I should confess at the start to loving Helen Fields’ books. Profile K has been one of my most anticipated reads of 2024, and it did not disappoint.

DI Jock Ruskin has the misfortune to be responsible for solving, what is a horrendous complex case, even by the usual standards. The crime, and crime scene, are hard for even seasoned professionals to stomach. The perpetrator enjoys the journey far more than the destination, and it shows in their work. Even as the book started, I had a sense of foreboding menace and darkness. I was genuinely feeling tense as I read, a knot of anxiety sat in the pit of my stomach.

Apart from the extremely well written, gripping plot, it’s the characterisation that really drew me in. The characters are varied, vivid, flawed, lovable, despicable, human. Some I wanted to hug, others I felt far less charitable towards.
I absolutely loved Doris. It is the perfect name for this character, as it was my Nan’s name, and Doris embodies all that my Nan was too.

I flew through the last half of the book in one very intense sitting. The author took my emotions from fear, mistrust, anger, frustration, to “What the hell are you doing?” I was torn between not wanting to know what was about to happen next, and desperately needing to know. At a certain point of the book, I was genuinely suspecting so many people of being Profile K, even those who really didn’t deserve my suspicion. Those I wasn’t suspecting, I was fearful for.

Sara Vickson’s words regarding women, towards the end of the book struck a chord. It feels poignant to be reading these words on International Women’s Day. I wish I could disagree with this character’s sentiments, but sadly it has a ring of truth to it.

If you are looking for a cosy crime book, a fan of The Midsummer Murders, DO NOT read this book. The cost of therapy sessions for you will be astronomical. If you are looking for an intensely dark read, that will live in your mind and get under your skin, that will draw you in so much that you will think of it, even when you have to close the book; Profile K is the book for you. Get your pre-order in now, as you won’t want to miss out.

If you weren’t sure, it’s 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ white knuckle, gritty rollercoaster of a read. It scared the hell out of me, and I loved it. Helen Fields, you have written an absolute corker!

Thanks to Helen and NetGalley for allowing me to read Profile K prior to the publication date.
This book is a cross between a horror story and a psychological thriller, the levels of violence and gory detail would not be for a feint hearted reader.
Tech company, Necto Corporation, delivers AI based psychometric testing for a wide client base.
Midnight Jones is an analyst who works in the Profiling department. When she finds an unusual assessment, Profile K ( K for Killer), she alerts her line manager who sidelines her concerns. Unhappy with his response, Midnight goes directly to the Director of Operations, Sara Vickson who manages to deliver a response which is corporate speak with vague underlying threats.
As the sole carer for her disabled twin sister, Midnight needs her salary. When a local woman is found murdered, Midnight is caught in a dilemma. The terms of her contract prevent her from taking her knowledge outwith the corporation. Yet morally, she feels that she has to do more about Profile K..
As the death count rises, the author has delivered the many twists and turns which make this a real page turner.

A story I really invested in, after the harrowing first chapter. I loved finding out about Midnight. The way Fields writes about her work difficulties is clearly something she’s observed. A skillful, fluid piece of writing that had me turning the pages late into the night.

Midnight Jones works at neurotech company, Necto. She collects data , profiling applicants through their brain scan reactions. They are usually being judged for suitability for a profession or university entrance.
All goes well until one day a man falls into the Profile K category.
K reveals the subject as lacking in empathy or conscience, a sociopath.
She reports the results to her supervisor who tells her shes mistaken.
Midnight decides to take the information to his boss , who tells her Profile K does not exist, warning her that if she talks about the matter she will lose her job for breaking the companies confidentiality rule.
She cant just ignore this so watches the video used to test the subjects responses. Terrifying , what kind of person could not be affected watching something so horrific?
Then people start to turn up dead in the city, murdered in similar ways.
Midnight is determined to find the identity of Profile K, convinced they are responsible for the killings.
This one keeps you on the edge of your seat, a tense, dark, gritty psychological thriller.
I loved it! So easy to recommend.
Thanks to Avon Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this one.

Good lord. Be warned- this is special.
Helen Fields knows how to write intense books, with memorable crime scenes. (One For Sorrow, I'm looking at you! That opening scene is unforgettable)
This book does that, and more. I have not read a book this intense in quite some time. The stress I felt, the panic and the feeling of dread as the book developed, was something else.
The plot is unlike anything anything I have read and will grip you so much that you feel the physical effects of being squeezed! Even to the point where I had to stop reading every so often and read a lighter book!
The characters of Dawn and Doris were wonderful. I did find Midnight and Dawn's situation slightly triggering as it mirrors my situation with my own twin.
This is absolutely superb, and will surely propel Fields to new heights on the Bestseller Lists.

3.5 stars. I received an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review, and I want to express my thanks. Helen Fields is one of my favourite writers of exciting psychological thrillers, and they are always at the top of my list of books to read. I regret that neither the storyline nor the characters engaged my full attention. I did find the setup for the story to be intriguing. Its pace slowed, but the tension returned with intense action and dread toward the end.

The plot was complex and well-developed, with many twists and turns. The characters were interesting, but some were more admirable or devious than first portrayed. I admit I liked a few of her previous books more, but other readers may find this book enjoyable.

Midnight Jones classifies profiles for Necto, an innovative neuro-tech company. Profiles are formed through brain scan reactions, and the subjects are usually judged for university entrance or suitability for a profession. One day, Midnight is alarmed by a result that falls in the Profile K category, indicating that the subject lacks a conscience and empathy. She feels it is her duty to report this to her immediate supervisor. He is a pompous man who hates any deviation from the procedure and works simply by the rules. She rushes to his boss, who tells her she made a mistake and that Profile K does not exist. If she talks about her error, she is breaking confidentiality and would be in danger of losing her job.

Dawn is Midnight's twin sister who has been disabled since birth. She is in a child-like state with some physical disabilities. Both parents deserted them as teenagers, leaving Midnight to supply Dawn with the care and affection she needs. She hires caregivers to assist when she is working at Necto. Employees at Necto receive very generous salaries and benefits. Midnight knows that if she were to be dismissed, she would no longer be able to afford to care for Dawn. She dreams of eventually having a house in the countryside for the pleasure it would give her and her sister. Midnight has no time for a social life. Her only friend is a workmate, Amber. They have little in common. Amber likes to bar-hop after work and have one-night stands, while Midnight does not have the time, energy, or inclination to join her.

Two women from the same neighbourhood have been brutally murdered. Their manner of killing with ghastly, horrendous mutilations is vastly different, but Midnight notices a physical similarity and feels the same killer was involved. She worries that it could be the person with the Profile K results. Amber tells her she has become paranoid from all the stress at home and needs to stop dwelling on the cases. Midnight is determined to find the murderer and prevent other women from suffering painful deaths. If the killer is Profile K, she feels confident he will kill again. She talks to DI Ruskin, who believes her, but she must remain vague not to break confidentiality.

Another significant character is Jessica, who has a baking business and sells her products to businesses in the neighbourhood. She is hiding from an abusive man and has since acquired a creepy stalker. She fears that either one could be killing women. Could one of them generate the psychopathic Profile K? The detective is no longer pursuing the case of the murdered women. He has left to work for Necto for a considerably higher salary.

Midnight is temporarily on leave from work and awaiting a hearing. Someone from Necto sends her highly classified files that point to criminal offences by the tech giant but also make a strong case for the killer's identity. Who has sent these secret files to Midnight? Not the workers she expected. The story erupts in a crescendo of terror and violence where the lives of Midnight, Dawn, and Jessica are in danger.
The final outcome is almost too idyllic. The expected publication is April 25.

As dark as hell and gruesome! What’s not to love about this book!! My book of 2024… move over authors!!

Midnight Jones works at high tech company Necto as an analyst. It is here that she comes across a profile K - the most rare and dangerous kind. When a brutal murder happens locally, Midnight realises other women and herself may be in serious danger.

Helen Fields is one of my favourite authors, loving her series and standalone novels. This new standalone has proven she is still at the top of her game. By the end of this book I could barely breathe through all the suspense! I was completely gripped and spooked. The subject matter is dark and fairly gruesome in parts, however there were real moments of emotion. The storyline is very clever and complex with twists and turns through out. Helen Fields does a great job at creating believable characters who you connect with and I definitely felt this with Midnight, as well as some of the more minor characters. She also brilliantly creates disturbing serial killers!

It was nice to briefly see some characters from past books within the story and this could definitely work as a start to a new series. Overall another excellent thriller by this talented author that I will tell everyone about while I wait impatiently for the next one. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this copy in return for an honest review.

This is a unique, interesting if somewhat disturbing thriller. I liked the main character and her stubborn pursuit of what is right but at times her behavior was unrealistically risky, which made it not very believable. Ethical issues to discuss with students is always a plus

Midnight is working for a new and upcoming tech company as a data analyst, when one day she comes across a person who is categorised as ‘profile K’. The algorithms that determine of a person can be awarded a place at university doesn’t ever categorise anyone as such, so what is going on? Midnight is determined to discover the truth about who profile k’ is, but as people start to turn up dead all over the city, murdered in a similar fashion, can Midnight take matters in to her own hands and find out their identity, before her and her twin sister who is disabled end up in danger too?

I absolutely loved this book! Plenty of twists and turns, it was such a good storyline and plot that it literally played out like a film as the book progressed! Very clever and unique, I love Helen’s writing, just amazing!

This is an absolute cracker; a high octane ride that grips from the start and doesn’t let go until you’re thrown out at the end. I was literally breathless more than once. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by Helen Fields. She’s created a host of different and entirely plausible characters and this is no exception. Midnight, the central character is involved in work with a bang up to the minute tech company. She looks into minds and is horrified at what she’s discovered in Profile K. The killer is already amongst us….

What an imagination; the plotting keeps the possibilities and storyline plausible, which makes it all the more chilling. Her descriptions of violent death are memorable but without being gratuitous. She has a keen ear for dialogue and character and that’s what makes every book a sure fire winner. I enjoyed the back stories to the central characters and the action is almost non stop. I was blindsided more than once and can only applaud an author who keeps me reading well into the night. Breathtaking and ticks every psychological thriller box. I wish I could double up on the stars for this one!

Midnight Jones is an analyst trained to understand the human mind. But everything changes when, during her work, she discovers Profile K’s file because K stands for killer, and she knows that someone more dangerous than she could have ever imagined walks among them.

I so enjoyed Profile K. This was an edge-of-your-seat story. The story was intense, and the action felt like it never stopped. There were so many good twists and tension. I really liked the author's writing style and how the story unraveled.

I really liked Midnight as a character. And the stalking part was quite scary.

I would highly recommend Profile K. I will read more by this author.

#NetGalley @AvonBooksUK @Helen_Fields

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Profile K - Helen Fields

Grotesque, warped, gruesome…..WHAT A READ!

Absolutely brilliant work from Helen Fields in possibly her strongest outing yet. With the pace and suspense that the writing has, I just couldn’t put it down and finished it in 2 sittings.

Helen Fields has an undoubtable talent for taking you to the edge of your seat - tantalising you with bucket loads of drama and tension to keep those pages turning.

A superb standalone thriller - and possibly might just have snuck my title of ‘Book Of 2024’! It’s going to be hard to beat!

The blurb had me hooked, but the overall plot fell a bit flat personally. Midnight Jones works as a profiler at a large tech company, analysing university applicants. She stumbles across a profile that cannot exist, showing no human emotion to the most graphic images. Reporting this to the top ranks, she is told it is Profile K, a psychopath, a killer. Midnight, despite warnings from friends and her employer, is determined to find out who Profile K really is.
I liked Midnight, but her stubbornness, putting herself and sister who she cares for in constant danger, grated on me somewhat. A real dark crime story, with a dystopia edge is quite unique and will appeal to plenty.

I’m going to say up front that I’m a massive Helen Fields fan, with The Last Girl to Die being a particular favourite of mine. Her last novel introduced us to the unusual and complex psychologist and profiler Dr. Connie Woolwine at The Institution. Connie makes a cameo here, but the undoubted heroine of this tale is Midnight Jones. Midnight lives with her twin sister Dawn ( see what the parents did there) and is her main carer, since their parents chose to go travelling when Midnight finished university. Dawn was affected by lack of oxygen at birth leading to Cerebral Palsy. It’s effects are very individual to the patient, but it can cause both physical and intellectual disabilities. Dawn is profoundly affected, needing care 24/7 and that’s why Midnight is desperate to keep her job at Necto. She needs their higher than average pay packet to cover the costs of care. The company like to present themselves as an ethical firm, starting with their space age offices, filled with plants and trees that help create a better work environment. They have their fingers in many pies, but Midnight is a profiler and every day works through thousands of applications for universities, the military and other organisations, passing some applicants through to be interviewed and rejecting others based on assessment data alone.

Necto’s testing systems are so sophisticated, there’s nothing about the applicant they don’t know. In assessments, virtual reality head sets show images and the applicants every response is recorded from intelligence to levels of empathy. Then, dependent on the parameters for the particular institution they’re applying to, they are accepted or not. However, on this particular day Midnight finds a candidate who isn’t run of the mill, in fact he’s a one-off. In training, a candidate like this is jokingly dubbed a ‘Profile K’- for killer - Midnight finds a man who has recorded as showing zero empathy. When she watches the footage he was shown through her own headset, she is sickened by what she sees. This is way beyond the normal films shown to illicit empathy, it’s as if the machine couldn’t get a reading so has chosen more and more disturbing and violent images that should provoke empathy and disgust. Yet none comes. Unable to compute the response and also where such extreme footage could have come from, Midnight decides to take this further but her supervisor Richard Baxter isn’t interested. So she goes over his head, telling his boss that she’s found a Profile K. Surely they have a duty to report him, what if he’s dangerous? What if he kills? 

I’ve read three great thrillers this weekend in quick succession but this was by far the most inventive, with a hint of dystopia and a touch of social justice that was right up my street. I empathised with Midnight’s situation, determined not to let down her sister Dawn but struggling to pay for just enough care that Midnight can go to work. There is no room for a social life or romance. Their heads are just above water, but there’s no flexibility or empathy for her care role within her company, despite it’s apparent ethics. She takes a big risk taking her findings higher than Richard Baxter, because if she loses her job how will she afford the care Dawn needs? Yet she can’t ignore what she knows. Especially when the worst happens. A young woman is killed very close to where she and Dawn live and although Midnight doesn’t know this at first, the torture methods used are very close to a scene from the film shown during the Profile K’s application process. The victim was subjected to the death of a thousand cuts, which would have been both a painful and long drawn out way to die. Midnight is horrified to find that her boss would rather keep her discovery under wraps and she’s reminded of her non-disclosure agreement. What reason could they have that’s better than saving the lives of future victims? Midnight has read about the psychologist and profiler Dr Connie Woolwine and has a theory to run past someone with her expertise. Not expecting a response, she sends a message and is pleasantly surprised when the unusual doctor calls her late at night to talk it through. Midnight is scared of the consequences, but sure of her theory - could Necto have known about the Profile K? What if they showed the violent material on purpose to trigger a response? To turn someone with killer potential into a killer for real. 

I absolutely loved this belting thriller, because it was complex and intelligent but also full of human feeling. I guess this might sound strange when there’s quite graphic violence involved in some scenes, but they’re balanced by the pure depth of feeling Midnight has for her sister and later on for the elderly lady they begin a friendship with. I loved how authentic Midnight’s caring situation was, with a very clear struggle between wanting to provide the best help for someone she loves but feeling the fear of that sole responsibility. The anger she feels towards her parents is very real, because although she understands their need to follow their dreams, their freedom has curtailed her own. She can’t make any life decision without factoring Dawn in. How could she have a romantic relationship? What if she falls ill herself? Having been a carer I know how lonely and exhausting it can be. We can see the pull between home and work life, in that they both hinder and are dependent on each other. Parts of the book are genuinely terrifying. There is a scene that’s going to stay with me, like that episode of Luther where a woman gets undressed and climbs into bed followed by a ceiling shot where a man slowly slides out from underneath as if he’s been working under a car. It’s that combination of vulnerability and evil. We’ve all done that walk home where we get inside and lock the door, then take a deep breath and know we’re safe. To be attacked in that moment is heart-stoppingly scary! In the end, everything had to stop for those final chapters as I raced through to find out what happens. I was glued to these scenes, made all the more terrifying because the victim doesn’t have a clue how much danger she’s in. It’s one of those finales where I put the book down and realised every muscle in my body was tense! I needed some yoga stretches and a few episodes of Friday Night Dinner before bed to unwind. This is an absolute cracker of a read and I highly recommend it.

Midnight Jones is an analyst and comes across an Applicant that seems to be a psychopath. He is rated as Profile K - K stands for Killer.
Her company's policy prevents her from disclosing this Profile to the Police when there are a series of cruel and brutal murders.
Unfortunately, Midnight is on the list.

Wow, what a dark and gruesome book! And to think that this technology has already been invented. Not for the reason (so "they" say) it is used for in the book.

I like the character of Midnight, she is empathetic, strong, loyal and smart. Richard also turned out to be OK, although I did not like him in the beginning of the book.
Also, the book shows the reader that those you trust can have feet of clay.

This is a fast paced, cleverly thought out, heart pounding thriller.

I recommend. 5/5 stars from me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for the opportunity to read this book.

Dear Helen Fields, you are a badass! What I thought was going to be your typical serial killer storyline was something much more complex! I now want gobble up everything you’ve written. Bravo. 👏

Midnight Jones, cool ass name btw, works for a biotech company reviewing profiles. One day she gets an alert telling her the test someone took profiles them as Profile K. Confused Midnight is dying to know what exactly Profile K means. The test the subject took was quite disturbing. Midnight goes through the video and test herself. Holy hell. What human could actually watch something so horrifying and not be affected? Definitely not someone normal. It was torture just to watch.

The next day at work, she learns a woman has been brutally murdered in her neighborhood. Somehow she thinks there might be a link. As she starts to investigate on her own, more disturbing details and more crime emerges.

This was my first Helen Fields book. I’m grateful to a friend who recommended her. I will say she hit the nail on the head with shedding her characters out. Excellent character development and I was drawn to several of them. Yes, Midnight was making some risky choices, but I was still rooting for her character the whole time. She was someone I admired for her integrity and her empathy for others. In fact, it would be awesome if the author gave us more Midnight and turned this into a series! I look forward to reading her other works and what she has in store for her career. 😊

I’d like to thank Avon Books, NetGalley and Helen Fields for the opportunity! Brilliantly done! All opinions are my own.
Publication date April 25, 2024.
5 well deserved ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow this was a frightening read and more so because of the possibility of the kind of analytics that could genuinely form part of job applications etc in the future. Midnight Jones works as a profiler for an horrific sounding employer but they pay very well which she needs to help with care costs for her twin sister. When one profile comes up with a code she’s never heard of her determination to investigate it leads to her jeopardising her job and her life as she is convinced it links to someone who has recently committed some extremely gruesome murders. This is a real page turner and seeing so much manipulation playing out also enraged me too! Midnight herself is a really brilliant character but the situation she found herself in was shocking and the actual murders were truly brutal. This was original but it’s the scary possibility of it all that makes it such a strong read with major ethical dilemmas.

I really enjoyed reading this one, it was full of intense moments that had me gripped until the very end.

Loved everything about it. Loved the name midnight, Loved the relationship with her sister and Doris, just great! Really draws you in as it is so compelling I struggled to put it down, I have read previous books by Helen and I think this one tops the lot!