About the Author
Vicki Bradley is a detective constable in the Metropolitan Police Service. She has had a varied career, as a uniformed response driver in Brent and then as a detective Constable in Southwark CID. She has managed High Risk Sex Offenders and worked on the Serious Organised Crime Command.
Before I Say I Do won the Write Here, Right Now competition, came 3rd in the First Novel Prize and has been shortlisted for the Virago New Crime Writer 2017 and Peters Fraser and Dunlop Prize 2016. Vicki lives in London with her husband and baby. Follow @vbradleywriter on Twitter
About the book
Alana Loxton was part of the all-female team to take down Barratt, a notorious serial killer. He is safely behind bars when one of the detectives goes missing.
Her disappearance, and the connection to the killer, could be a coincidence – but when her body is discovered days later, a link begins to form. Then another detective from the team goes missing and the situation becomes horrifically clear. Someone is picking them off one by one – and Alana’s name is next on the list . . .
Review
DC Alana Loxton, and an all-female police team, managed to take down a dangerous serial killer. Edward Barratt is locked up, well when he isn't trying to escape, and yet he still seems to be pulling the strings from behind bars. Who else could possibly be targeting the women brave enough to stand up to such a monster?
It starts with one. After a night out one of the detectives disappears, there is no trace of her and no clues as to when, why and to whom. The police focus on her boyfriend or ex-boyfriend, but Loxton is convinced that Barratt is behind the hunt on Loxton and her friends.
Cynics however would say that sometimes it isn't the most obvious solution, but perhaps the one you can see just out of the corner of your eye. The reader can see the discrepancies, but Loxton is far too blinded by all the trees in the forest.
It's a fast-paced crime read and I mean fast. You barely get over one victim when another pops up or gets dragged off. The main character seems to be a little blinkered when it comes to acknowledging the truth and ignoring what is right in front of her. If there is anyone left over after this lethal read then hopefully we will get to experience Loxton at her best, instead of charging ahead like a bull in a china shop.
I liked the way Bradley gives readers the solution right there on a silver platter, then turns the tables in a way that makes you wonder whether the author really knows whodunnit. I'm still not entirely convinced by the way. Watch this space.
Buy Your Life or Mine at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher : Simon & Schuster UK pub date 27th May 2021 - Paperback £7.99. Buy at Amazon com.
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