THE BLISSFULLY DEAD (A DETECTIVE LENNON THRILLER).

THE BLISSFULLY DEAD by LOUISE VOSS and MARK EDWARDS.

BACK COVER BLURB: She couldn't believe that he wanted to meet her. He was famous. She was a nobody. Finally, someone could see how special she was ... 

When a body of a teenage girl is found in a London hotel, DI Patrick Lennon is mystified. Nobody saw her or her killer enter the hotel, and there is no apparent motive - until a second teenager is found and Lennon realises somebody is targeting fans of the world's biggest boy band.

As Lennon struggles with both his home life and his rivals on the force, the pressure to catch the killer before he strikes again reaches fever pitch. And when Lennon makes a terrible mistake that ends in disaster, he finds himself in a race to save not only the lives of more teenage girls but also his own career.

FIRST SENTENCE {Prologue}: Rose looked up at the hotel, wishing she'd been allowed to save the image on her phone, that it wasn't against the rules.

MEMORABLE MOMENT {Page 44}: Rose Sharp, aka MissTargetHeart, was in a mortuary somewhere, so it was hard to believe that she could have done anything recently to incur the wrath of Jade - hard to believe, but not impossible. Jade was very easily offended, as he well knew. (I've hidden names for those of you who may not want to know. Simply scroll over should you wish to view).

SOURCE: A GoodRead's win.

MY THOUGHTS: One of the best - not to mention most topical - thrillers I've read in a long while. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this novel.

The second in a series but don't let that put you off. Though with few references to past events I felt this was all that was needed to bring me up to speed meaning this worked perfectly well as a standalone novel.

Wonderfully suspenseful and with its insight into the potential dangers of technology (social media and internet forums in particular), the allure of boy bands and the naivety of impressionable girls with aliases such as 'MissTargetHeart', 'F-U-Cancer' and 'YOLOSWAG' who are willing to do almost anything to meet their heroes this is a truly chilling and cautionary tale.

With twists and turns aplenty and with several characters who may or may not be the killer The Blissfully Dead kept me guessing right up until the end.

But it isn't all about 'the crime'.

There are some exceptional characters, the secondary just as well written as the primary. As with all good detectives DI Patrick Lennon has 'issues', his family life is complicated, some of his work relationships only slightly less so. His wife's story (allusions to which are given throughout the course of the book) both fascinating and quite unlike any other I've read in such novels.