**Blog Tour** Don’t Look Behind You by Mel Sherratt @bookouture @writermels

Today I’m thrilled to be on the blog tour for Don’t Look Behind You by Mel Sherratt, I’m a huge fan of Mel’s books and I’m going to stick my neck out here and say in my opinion this is the authors best book yet, it’s gritty, dark and very disturbing and one I would highly recommend to Crime/police procedure thriller lovers. And the best news? It’s out now so you don’t even need to wait to get your hands on a copy you can just pop over to Amazon and “click”, but before you do feel free to read my review of this gripping book

Book description

She got into bed but sleep didn’t come easily. Every creak in the house made her alert. She was waiting for him to come and get her.

The small city of Stockleigh is in shock as three women are brutally attacked within days of each other. Are they random acts of violence or is there a link between the victims? For Detective Eden Berrisford, it’s her most chilling case yet.

The investigation leads Eden to cross paths with Carla, a woman trying to rebuild her life after her marriage to a cruel and abusive man ended in unimaginable tragedy. Her husband Ryan was imprisoned for his crimes but, now he’s out and coming for her.

As Eden starts to close in on the attacker, she also puts herself in grave danger. Can she stop him before he strikes again? And can Carla, terrified for her life, save herself – before the past wreaks a terrible revenge?

An absolutely gripping and chilling police procedural which will hook fans of Angela Marsons and Rachel Abbott.

I have eagerly been waiting for Don’t Look Behind You, the second in the Detective Eden Berrisford crime series since reading The Girls Next Door, and OMG it was certainly worth the wait. I’m actually going to say this is definitely the authors best book to date. Don’t Look Behind You is dark and very disturbing and at times I found it damn right harrowing which I have to say I wasn’t expecting. What I love about this authors books is her ability to take very credible plots and give them a gritty realism that make her books impossible to put down. At times I became so involved in the plot my heart was racing, I felt anxious and I’m sure at times I was having palpitations as the author expertly weaved her gripping tale.

Three woman are attacked in the most brutal way, as each act becomes more violent it’s up to our protagonist Detective Eden Berrisford to find the perpetrator before he strikes again. Eden is your typical fiction Detective, feisty, passionate about her job and the victims, she’s also very determined, but what makes her standout from other fictional detectives is her back story, a single mother with a husband gone AWOL you learn more about her in this book and you can’t help wondering as more details emerge when is her past is going to come back and bite her on the backside. Eden and her team make a credible one and I hope as this series progresses we will learn more about her team. What I love about this authors writing is her ability to create characters that are very true to life. I became emotionally involved with Carla a woman who suffers terrible abuse and unbelievable heartbreak, her character unfortunately was very credible, as were the rest of the woman in the refuge.

This book has a hidden depth which really makes it such a compelling read as it’s a disturbing study of domestic abuse which as you can imagine at times makes for a very difficult and uncomfortable read. Mel Sherratt expertly adds snippets of past events in Carla’s life and it paints an ugly picture of domestic abuse, not just physical side but the emotional abuse that starts off subtly, beating them down until they are a shadow of their former selfs. It doesn’t make for a pretty read but it most definitely makes for a believable one as the author doesn’t shy away from describing domestic abuse, in fact she paints a very credible and disturbing picture although it never felt superfluous.

Gripping from the first page, Don’t Look Behind You will keep you on the edge of your seat all the way to its heart stopping conclusion. Mel Sharrett has written a roller coaster of a thriller for sure, but this novel is also a rich and harrowing story of domestic abuse. As far as I’m concerned this authors writing goes from strength to strength and I would read her next book without hesitation, Mel Sharrett has the unique ability to write about difficult subject with empathy and sensitivity and adds her own unique style which make her books a very worthwhile read.

Would I recommend Don’t Look Behind You? hell yes I certainly would especially if you are a fan of crime fiction that’s gritty but authentic, in fact I would go as far to say this is one book you don’t want to miss.

5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

Print Length: 252 pages

Publisher: Bookouture (31 Jan. 2017)

Amazon UK 🇬🇧         Amazon US 🇺🇸

Mel Sherratt writes gritty crime dramas, psychological suspense and fiction with a punch – or grit-lit, as she calls it. Shortlisted for the CWA (Crime Writer’s Association) Dagger in the Library Award 2014, she finds inspiration from authors such as Martina Cole, Lynda la Plante and Elizabeth Haynes. Since 2012, all nine of her crime novels have been bestsellers.

Four of her books are published by Amazon Publishing’s crime and thriller imprint, Thomas & Mercer and she has a new series out with Bookouture.

Mel lives in Stoke-on-Trent, with her husband and terrier, Dexter, named after the TV serial killer, and makes liberal use of her hometown as a backdrop for some of her books.

Links:  Website      Facebook       Twitter: @writermels

Don’t forget to check out the blog tour, details below….there really are some awesome bloggers on this tour whose reviews you don’t want to miss