Book Description:
Frightening, scarily real, brutal but addictive! A standalone novel by a gifted gritty crime thriller writer.
A gritty and atmospheric thriller with more twists and turns than a hangman’s knot. Rachel Evans, a selfie queen and social media superstar went to school and never came home. DI Alan Williams and his team launch a desperate investigation to find her. As the country is plunged into lockdown, the price of narcotics skyrockets, causing friction between rival dealers. As the bodycount rises, the investigation focuses on several teenagers, who are victims of Criminal Exploitation, used by organised crime families to sell drugs in rural areas. Was Rachel involved or was her disappearance linked to something much darker.
My Thoughts:
Even though this is the sixth book in the Anglesey Murders series, it easily reads as a standalone as there is no real mention of incidents from previous novels and the story full focuses on the crime. Unlike some detective series where we get to see some of the personal side to the main characters, this isn’t the case here.
When a teenager goes missing, the police end up dealing with more than they bargained for. Rachel’s disappearance is quite baffling and the author feeds us bits of information that leads us into all different directions. Their investigation turns up some criminal activity in the drug world, which I have to say was pretty dark and scary stuff.
There are a fair few murders which are written in a matter of fact way, which I’m quite grateful for as the author doesn’t gratify them, which I think would have made it quite uncomfortable. The way they are written had the desired affect without lingering on them any longer than needed to be. There are also more than a few unsavoury and very unlikable characters. One drug lord in particular. Never mind some of the characters being scared of them, so was I!
You get a real sense of team work within the story. There isn’t just one main character as well as a side kick, this is proper team work where each characters skills are put to the test and them all bringing something different to the table. I have to say Kim probably stood out the most to me and I liked her work ethic.
What Happened To Rachel? was a gripping crime thriller set just as lockdown is about to happen. This is my first book that features what is currently happening in the world right now. It’s more in the background though and I thought it was incorporated well within the story. Being a lover of this genre, I always love a good body count and the author doesn’t disappoint. There are thrills and chills around every corner, some with shocking outcomes. It certainly kept me on my toes and the author had me on edge until the very last page.
My thanks to the author for a readers copy of this book. All opinions are my mine and not biased in anyway.
Conrad Jones a 52-year-old Author, living in Holyhead, Anglesey, which I class as my home, before starting a career as a trainee manger with McDonalds Restaurants in 1989. I worked in management at McDonalds Restaurants Ltd from 1989-2002, working my way up to Business Consultant (area manager) working in the corporate and franchised departments.
In March 1993 I was managing the Restaurant in Warrington`s Bridge St when two Irish Republican Army bombs exploded directly outside the store, resulting in the death of two young boys and many casualties. Along with hundreds of other people there that day I was deeply affected by the attack, which led to a long-term interest in the motivation and mind set of criminal gangs. I began to read anything crime related that I could get my hands on.
I link this experience with the desire to write books on the subject, which came much later due to an unusual set of circumstances. Because of that experience my early novels follow the adventures of an elite counter terrorist unit, The Terrorist Task Force, and their leader, John Tankersley, or `Tank`and they are the Soft Target Series, which have been described by a reviewer as ‘Reacher on steroids’.
I had no intentions of writing until 2007, when I set off on an 11-week tour of the USA. The Day before I boarded the plane, Madeleine Mcann disappeared and all through the holiday I followed the American news reports which had little or no information about her. I didn’t realise it at the time, but the terrible kidnap would inspire my book, The Child Taker years later. During that trip, I received news that my house had been burgled and my work van and equipment were stolen. That summer was the year when York and Tewksbury were flooded by a deluge and insurance companies were swamped with claims. They informed me that they couldn’t do anything for weeks and that returning home would be a wasted journey. Rendered unemployed on a beach in Clearwater, Florida, I decided to begin my first book, Soft Target. I have never stopped writing since. I have recently completed my 20th novel, The Journey, something that never would have happened but for that burglary and my experiences in Warrington.
As far as my favourite series ever, it has to be James Herbert’s, The Rats trilogy. The first book did for me what school books couldn’t. It fascinated me, triggered my imagination and gave me the hunger to want to read more. I waited years for the second book, The Lair, and Domain, the third book to come out and they were amazing. Domain is one of the best books I have ever read. In later years, Lee Child, especially the early books, has kept me hypnotised on my sunbed on holiday as has Michael Connelley and his Harry Bosch Series.
Twitter: @ConradJones
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