About the Book

The killer is just getting started…

When three wife beaters are themselves found beaten to death, DC Maggie Jamieson knows she is facing her toughest case yet.

The police suspect that Probation Officer Lucy Sherwood – who is connected to all three victims – is hiding a dark secret. Then a fourth domestic abuser is brutally murdered.

And he is Lucy’s husband.

Now the police are running out of time, but can Maggie really believe her friend Lucy is a cold-blooded killer?

 

My Thoughts

Dead Inside was one of my most anticipated books for 2019 and I’m so happy to say that it more than lived up to my expectations. The novel is about domestic abuse. Three wife beaters are found dead and police believe there is a connection between the deaths. We see a newly formed unit, the Domestic Abuse and Homicide Unit investigating the crimes and looking into the backgrounds of the men and the people connected to them. The novel follows quite a few characters and this allows us to see the story from multiple points of view and gives such a real insight into domestic abuse.

I was gripped by Dead Inside from the opening few pages and I read it in just two sittings. I loved Noelle Holten’s writing style, it’s incredibly readable. And the cast of characters all made me want to keep reading just one more chapter (and one more, and one more etc!).

I loved how there was real depth to this novel, the characters are all rounded and feel real and it shows how domestic abuse happens. The way it creeps into a relationship and catches a person off-guard, how initially you make excuses for the abuse and then you find you’re tiptoeing around the home to try not to trigger another assault. The main character, Lucy, that we follow in this novel is one such woman. She has a good career, she has good friends and yet her husband is beating her. It’s not just the physical violence, it’s the psychological abuse – the being watched, the lack of freedom and autonomy, that Patrick has done to Lucy. I very much appreciated the way this was shown because this is how it often is in real life. A person is trapped in the situation slowly and then it seems there is no way out. It’s not as easy as just leaving, it’s incredibly complex and difficult. Noelle Holten shows this so astutely.

Dead Inside is the first book in the DCI Maggie Jameson police procedural series and I already can’t wait for the next one. I found it interesting how Maggie isn’t the central focus of Dead Inside, although she is a prominent character, so there is still so much to learn about her in future books. I also liked that followed all sides of a story, it made for such an interesting novel.

This book kept me guessing all the way to the end. The reveal of the killer was a surprise to me, but it did all make sense. It’s not often that I don’t work out whodunnit so kudos to this book for keeping me on my toes!

This is a really gripping, fast-paced book that will keep you turning the pages long into the night. There is a real sensitivity to the story but at the same time Noelle never shies away from the reality of domestic abuse. It’s a really accomplished debut and I’m so looking forward to reading more by Noelle Holten!

Many thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

Dead Inside is out now and available here.

 

About the Author

Noelle Holten is an award-winning blogger at www.crimebookjunkie.co.uk. She is the PR & Social Media Manager for Bookouture, a leading digital publisher in the UK, and a regular reviewer on the Two Crime Writers and a Microphone podcast. Noelle worked as a Senior Probation Officer for eighteen years, covering a variety of cases including those involving serious domestic abuse. She has three Hons BA’s – Philosophy, Sociology (Crime & Deviance) and Community Justice – and a Masters in Criminology. Noelle’s hobbies include reading, author-stalking and sharing the booklove via her blog.
Dead Inside is her debut novel with Killer Reads/Harper Collins UK and the start of a new series featuring DC Maggie Jamieson.

 

You can find the rest of this tour at the following blogs: