A decent read overall. A very unique story line and this was very well written. I didn’t connect with main character which is why it was a big harder of a read for me. But I feel the writing was great and plot was great. I don’t feel this book is the problem it just didn’t hit me the way i wanted. The pace was slower at first but picked up and the end was great. Twists and turns and overall a good read

I have read a number of MJ Arlidge books and am a big fan. This book seemed a little more formulaic to me. I enjoyed the fast pace and it has an interesting premise, although the ending just seemed contrived to me.

They faked your child’s death and if you don’t give them what they’ve asked for, they’ll make it a reality.

I feel like it took me a while to get fully invested in the book because at the start, it felt like a lot of characters were being introduced, which felt a little overwhelming and I was struggling to remember who was who. However, the more that I read, the less of an issue I had with the amount of characters and remembering who was who as I found them to be quite distinct and memorable.

I did like the characters and I was rooting for them to be successful in their pain. I liked how we got to see glimpses into their lives and their back stories, because it made me care about them and what they were going through.

I did like the atmosphere and could picture the settings and characters, although I will say that I feel like it lacked suspense. I didn’t feel the danger that the characters were in throughout the book, even though there was multiple dangerous situations and plenty of opportunities for suspense.

To me, some aspects felt like they lacked logic and it didn’t flow as well as it could have done because of that. I don’t really want to go more into that because I feel like it’s a spoiler.

For the most part, I did really enjoy the writing style but there was some repetition in parts that I felt didn’t add much to the overall story and there was a lot of derogatory language that I didn’t think was necessary, which was aimed towards people who are homeless and/or substance and/or alcohol use disorder(s).

Thank you Orion and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book early, in exchange for an honest review.

⚠️ CWs: grief, panic attack, mental health illness (anxiety, depression, PTSD), alcohol and drug use, stalking, derogatory language, cheating, cursing, domestic abuse, person with substance and alcohol use disorder, homelessness, physical assault, blood, attempted murder, adult/minor relationship, animal cruelty/death; mentions death, terminal illness, statutory rape, microaggressions, self harm, child sexual abuse, body injury, body horror/gore, war ⚠️

Thank you so much to Netgalley for this one. I loved M.J.Arlidge so was super excited when i saw this one! It was such an intense thriller that i read it in 2 days! It kept me hocked and up at night reading it. Loved it!

A fast and expertly paced thriller. Not as dark or as violent as much of Maslen's work which suited the suburban setting. I hope for more books from this author pairing.

Great book. Was up all night reading it. I loved the characters & the storyline. I totally recommend reading this book straight away, the twists and turns are fab. Definitely 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Great read. Hard to put down - had to be sure the families would be ok. Who has a 1000 pounds a month to make sure the threat your child will be killed if it doesn’t show up. How many families are living in fear?

Anything written by MJ Arlidge is a must for me. And when he’s teamed up with another author it’s still a must. This book is full of the usual twists and turns you’d expect from such a fab author. Highly recommended

Thanks netgalley for this most enjoyable book, it was a bit disjointed at times and a little slow in the middle but I was an exciting thriller.
Annie had recently divorced her useless husband her daughter Isla blamed her for the breakup and was angry most of the time and also suffered with anxiety problems.
Annie started receiving messages that unless she paid money every month to a person she had messages from her daughter would be killed.
At that time Isla had been followed and was terrified.
There was no way anyone was going to,threaten her daughter, which led a nightmare which both Annie and Isla were going to,go through.

Annie lives alone with her fifteen year old daughter, Isla, who has anxiety after her parents divorce. One day, Annie receives an email, clicks the link and sees the video of her daughter’s funeral. She quickly rushes to her daughter’s room to discover she is alive and well.

Then, a woman calls her demanding £1000 each month to be delivered to a Cayman bank account. If Annie doesn’t comply, then her daughter will die.

Michael lives with his son, Aaron. They are both grieving after Michael’s wife and Aaron’s mother died of cancer. Lucy ran a successful hairdressing business and when Michael goes over her accounts, he discovers that for the last 23 months she was making payments to a bank account located in the Caymans.

Michael is immediately confused and suspicious. Just how well did he know his wife? When he cancels the direct debit, he doesn’t know that it will set off a string of incidents that will put his son’s life in danger…

What a BOOK!

I was gripped from the first page all the way to the end. I immediately felt for the main characters, as they were likeable and relatable – just normal people, trying to do their best for their children.

This book asks a question of how far would you go to protect your child. Annie and Michael certainly take us on a journey!

I definitely recommend this book.

I love M.J. Arlidge’s Helen Grace series and I am familiar with his writing. Andy Maslen is an author new to me, and I will certainly be reading more of his books.

Thanks to Orion Books for approving my NetGalley request to read and review this book.

I admit to being a fan of Mr Arlidge's work both on his own and when co-writing books with other authors and this is another to add to the ever growing books that I have enjoyed.

With excellent characters and an intriguing story line, this is a gripping, fast-paced psychological thriller that pulled me in from the start and didn't let go until I had swiped the last page. An excellent story with twists and turns that worked well.

As well as being a cracking read, this book also makes you think how much information is shared online with not a thought from most but if this book doesn't make you go and check your settings or stop and think before you post, nothing will!

Highly recommended and thanks to the authors, Orion Publishing Group and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this thrilling book.

Read this in a couple of sittings because it was so fast paced and the way the characters were drawn . From surly, deceitful teens, to frantic mother to blasé father to the deliciously wonderfully evil villains.

Absolutely loved the cat and mouse element of this book. It was filled with many OMG moments and felt really contemporary as it posed questions about the amount we share on social media and also teen mental health.
The thought what would I do in this situation still teases me as I just have no idea. The dilemma of how far would parents go to protect their child is always intriguing, but for me the most intriguing aspect of this book was the psychology of the villain and the backstory that was revealed as the novel progressed and that was very chilling

This is a fast paced thriller which had me gripped from the start.
Annie is sent a video of her very much alive daughter’s funeral, which is the beginning of an intense fight back against blackmail and coercion. She learns she is not the only parent to be targeted and with Michael’s help, they take the blackmailers on.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC.

When Annie receives a video showing her at the funeral of her daughter she is shocked, her daughter is still alive. However then comes a demand for a payment to keep her daughter safe. Annie will do anything to save Isla but the divorce has hit her hard. Michael has recently lost his wife but when he discovers an unknown standing order he cancels it, not knowing that his adopted son is now to be killed. Behind it all is a pair of con artists and blackmailers who have successfully bled paople dry for years but maybe they have met their match in Annie and Michael.
I am a longstanding fan of Arlidge's writing but had not read anything by Maslen before and was interested to see how this collaboration would work. The answer is - very well! This is a fairly seamless story which whizzes along at a furious pace. It's completely unbelievable, totally unrealistic but is a breathless ride which is really addictive. I devoured the book in a long afternoon!

“Your Child Next” by M.J. Arlidge and Andy Maslen is a harrowing thriller that taps into every parent’s deepest fears. I enjoy reading the novels of both these authors so when I heard about this collaboration novel I was keen to read it. This novel expertly combines psychological tension with a fast-paced narrative, delivering a gripping tale of blackmail, desperation, and the lengths a mother will go to protect her child.

Annie’s life has been a series of challenges since her husband left, leaving her to care for her teenage daughter, Isla. Isla’s behaviour has changed drastically, and Annie fears the worst, believing that her daughter might harm herself. These fears are intensified when Annie receives a chilling video, footage of herself crying at Isla’s funeral. Horrified and confused, she rushes to check on Isla, who is alive, but the sinister message is clear, someone is threatening her child.
Annie soon discovers she is not alone. Other parents have been targeted, their children’s lives hanging in the balance. The stakes are high, and the mysterious sender of the video has a clear warning, comply or suffer unimaginable loss. Annie faces an impossible choice, whether to meet the demands or risk unmasking the blackmailer.

This is an excellent psychological thriller that deals with parental fear, psychological manipulation, and moral dilemmas. The atmosphere is tense and I was left feeling nervous for what was about to happen as Annie deals with the situation.
Annie is both vulnerable and resilient as she deals with her love for Isla while trying to unravel the truth. A story that is every parents worst nightmare, full of suspense, emotion and intrigue. Good characters and well paced make this an exciting read.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a big fan of M.J. Arlidge, and having joined up with Andy Maslen, I believe this book is one of the best. Full of the necessary twists and turns, it is excellently written and a recommended read.

Your Child Next never lets up for a second. It races along from one exciting scene to another and then smacks you in the face with even more.

Our two main protagonists - Annie and Michael - don't know each other. But they are both being blackmailed (directly or in Michael's case it was his late wife who had been targeted) and asked to hand over £1,000 a month in order to protect their teenage children. If they don't, the kids will be put in danger. The kids of course, don't believe any of it, but then they wouldn't, would they.

Our two 'villains' are Maya, with her red leather biker's jacket and lips to match, and her psychopathic partner Ollie. We discover their relationship later on. Mostly, they use others to do their dirty work (Ollie is too unpredictable to be trusted), by threatening them with - yes you guessed it - their children's safety. And it works. What could be worse than turning your parental anxieties against you? Apart from kidnapping your dog - and yes they've done that as well.

Now personally, I would have gone straight to the police, even if I was warned not to, but no-one ever does in these stories. And if they had, it would have changed everything. Because we love a story where ordinary people take the law into their own hands.

I believe it's hard to write 'action' scenes but in Your Child Next the author/s handle it very well without getting bogged down in the realms of confusion as is often the case. Like watching a game of Twister at an alcohol-fuelled party, it can be hard to work out who's down on the floor and who's balanced on one arm and a leg before tipping over into the abyss (in the book not the game of Twister). I can definitely see this being made into a TV series, it would be perfect.

Many thanks to @Tr4cyF3nt0n for inviting me to be part of the #CompulsiveReaders #blogtour and to NetGalley for an ARC.

Fast-paced, intense, twisty and compelling, Your Child Next is a nerve-shredding thriller gleaming with malice that is guaranteed to have you on the edge of your seat.

When Annie receives a disturbing email that has deep-faked her daughter’s death, she thinks it’s some kind of sick joke. But who would do such a thing? The answer soon becomes clear when she receives a call from someone claiming they are behind the video. They demand she pays them £1000 every month and if she doesn’t, or if she contacts the police, they will make the video a reality. Terrified and with no idea how she will meet their demands, Annie realises she has two choices: find a way to comply or unmask them.

M. J. Arlidge has been an auto-buy author for me for many years. His Helen Grace series is one of my favourites and he’s a thriller author I’ll always recommend. But this was my first time reading one of his co-authored books and I will admit I wondered if it would affect how much I enjoyed reading it. Especially as I’d never read anything by his co-author, Andy Maslen. But I needn't have worried; this book was every bit as intricately woven, cleverly choreographed and skillfully layered as I’ve come to expect from Arlidge. Dripping with suspense, it kept me guessing and I was hooked from the first page to its heart-stopping finale and devoured it in just two sittings.

Told from multiple points of view, the book is filled with characters who are richly drawn, fascinating and flawed. Themes of mental health problems, grief, trauma and fear are examined through the characters. It also explores the pitfalls of social media, the dark underbelly of technology, and poses moral dilemmas, asking just how far you’d go to protect the ones you love.

Sinister, chilling and utterly addictive, Your Child Next is a first-class thriller not to be missed.

What a brilliant read.

I’m so happy that I was approved to have early access for this. I was immediately hooked. The twists and turns were great, the chapters were great too, they weren’t too long.
You got to know the characters and their backstory too.
It was a brilliant read and I hope this does well in publication. Thank you

I’ve been a big fan of M J Arlidge for years and try to read everything he writes, so I was excited about the release of Your Child Next, co-written with Andy Maslen.
The story begins with a woman called Annie. Her daughter Isla, 15, suffered from anxiety in lockdown and after Annie separated from her husband Grant, Isla got worse. Now Annie’s received a terrifying faked video of her daughter’s funeral. Who did it? Was it Grant? But then she receives a phone call demanding she pay £1000 a month into a bank account in the Cayman Islands. If she fails to do this, or tells the police, her daughter will die.
Meanwhile, Michael is now a single father to adopted son Aaron, 18, after his wife Lucy died. Sorting out all her paperwork, he finds something surprising in Lucy’s bank statements. She was sending £1000 a month to a bank account in the Cayman Islands. He goes to the bank and demands the payment is immediately cancelled…
Can Annie and Michael protect their children from this threat?
Well, I was straight into the story, wanting to know more, the writing hooks you in straight away. As always with M J Arlidge’s novels, there is so much tension building and intrigue, that you immediately want to know what’s going on.
You learn about characters and events quickly, each perfectly-sized chapter opening another layer of the story. You’ll certainly never become bored, as twists and turns come along, one on top of another.
I’m a huge fan of Matthew’s Helen Grace series, but really enjoyed this collaborative novel. Another exciting read and a real page turner.