Die Alone by Simon Kernick || Book Review

Yet another book series I jump into without starting with the first book. Is this a new trend for me???

This is the author that wrote We Can See You (AMAZING!!!) and Severed (not so much as just okay) and I’m glad to say that this book fell in-between the two books when it came to expectations.

To be honest, after reading Severed, I didn’t have many high hopes for this book, one of the others I picked up at the library. I was happy to be proved wrong.

This is the third book from The Bone Field series and judging by the outcome, I’ll read the first two if I come across them.

It seems that some authors just get better with time with their work, and this book proves that statement to be true.

DISCLAIMER: This review could contain possible spoilers based on my opinions. All opinions and views are my own.

Book review: Die Alone by Simon Kernick #bookreview #simonkernick #thebonefieldseries #bookseries #crimebooks #booktwt #bookaddict #booktwitter
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Originally published: 2019

Pages: 400
Format: Paperback

Plot from GoodReads:

Alastair Sheridan has it all. Wealth, good looks, a beautiful wife and children and, in the chaotic world of British politics, a real chance of becoming Prime Minister.

But Alastair also has a secret. He’s a serial killer with a taste for young women.

Only a handful of people know what kind of monster he is, and disgraced detective Ray Mason is one of them.

Awaiting trial for murder, Ray is unexpectedly broken free by armed men and given an offer: assassinate Alastair Sheridan and begin a new life abroad with a new identity. The men claim to be from MI6. They say that Sheridan is a threat to national security and needs to be neutralised. Ray knows they are not who they say they are, and that their real motives are far darker.

The only person Ray trusts is ex-cop and former lover Tina Boyd who’s keen to settle her own scores with Sheridan.

With enemies on every side, only one thing is certain. No one wants them to get out alive.

Thoughts:

As mentioned before, this is the third book in the series but could actually work well as a standalone with the backstories given to create context surrounding the main characters Ray and Tina.

I do love that the plot included a powerful and psychotic antagonist, Alastair Sheridan, who hides his crimes with money and blackmail. Having such details about the character gave it a more realistic feel that no one out there is completely innocent and some have darker secrets than others. The realistic approach of getting away with such things was more believable than you’d think.

Right from the first couple of pages, the plot sets off with a bang and its thrilling and terrifying at the same. There’s no time to take a breath from the first scene all the way to the end.

The cat and mouse game is evident and you know who is hunting who, even though the characters interchange with the two roles in the game. The past events in the book were woven in well with the present and the one kind of just doesn’t exist without the other for the plot to make sense.

This book can be read as a standalone because all the details are already there and there are no questions left unanswered.

I feel for Ray, especially with the situations he finds himself in and I was worried about the couple of close calls he had. Ray and Alastair were a good match against each other and it was a tight line between who was going to come out at the end. Both are smart characters who know how to get things done, even though each uses different techniques to achieve those results.

Alastair has to be one of the most terrifying and brutal characters I’ve come across in the literary world and the author makes this no secret. He makes my list of people I’d never want to cross paths with in the real world.