Because my TBR is list always wildly out of control, it’s pretty uncommon for me to discover a new author and immediately go looking for more books they’ve written. I think Loreth Anne White was the last one - and now M.J. Ford is another. Fortunately this is only the second book in the series about D.S. Josie Masters, so I’ve only got one more to go back and read!
With girls going missing from Oxford’s prestigious university colleges, Jo has to figure out the connection between them before yet more disappear. When a dead body is found, Jo knows they’re running out of time, and all the clues are pointing in a direction she can’t bring herself to believe, or accept. Because they’re pointing right back… at her.
Keep Her Close is chilling, thrilling and kept me wondering right up until the final stages just who the heck the villain could be. Even though barring a deus ex machina we had to already know, I just couldn’t wrap my head around who or how until the Big Reveal came.
Jo’s a fascinatingly complex character, smart as a whip but prone to making the occasional bad personal decision, she’s got a Past and a family with their own issues. In short, she’s realistic, and that makes her easy to root for. Events which obviously happened in the first book are referred to in this one, but honestly they were just enough to whet my appetite to read more, rather than to obstruct my understanding of this separate case.
Five stars for a brilliant read which both kept me guessing right to the end and whetted my appetite for more.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review through NetGalley.