Dead Perfect by Noelle Holten | Blog Tour

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Dead Perfect (Maggie Jamieson thriller, Book 3) by Noelle Holten
Published by HarperCollins UK on October 16, 2020
ISBN: 9780008383657
Genres: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Women Sleuths, Thrillers, Psychological, Crime, Hard-Boiled, Police Procedural, General, Suspense
Pages: 448
Format: ARC, eBook
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

‘Hugely confident ... harrowing, visceral ... recommended’ Ian Rankin
‘Kept me hooked’ Angela Marsons
‘An excellent read’ Martina Cole
'Gritty, dark and chilling’ Mel Sherratt
A murdered woman...
When the body of a young woman is found in a local park, DC Maggie Jamieson knows she’s dealing with no ordinary killer. The murder victim has been disfigured; her outfit changed to resemble someone else. Someone Maggie knows all too well...her close friend Dr Kate Moloney.
A determined detective...
Maggie is determined to keep her friend safe, but with Kate already struggling with a threatening stalker, Maggie now fears Kate’s life is in real danger. Who else would want to harm Kate and why else would the killer be turning his victims into exact replicas – his living dolls?
Can Maggie find the depraved killer? Or will Kate become his next living doll?

Thanks to Sarah Hardy at Books on the Brightside for a place on the blog tour and for a copy of the book. As always it’s a pleasure to be involved.

Some authors just punch you right in the feels and Noelle Holton just keeps on living up to that reputation with every book she releases.  When the invitation to join the blog tour for the next DC Maggie Jamieson adverture, Dead Perfect, landed in my email inbox, there was no chance I was going to pass up on it.  Reading Dead Perfect was like meeting up with a best friend that you haven’t seen in months and it’s comforting to know that Holton will ease you through the story with grace because she is one author that knows exactly what she is doing.

Maggie Jamieson has been around the block a few times.  A few knocks and dents on her confidence hasn’t stopped her from turning up and getting the job done.  When we meet her for the third time, she’s out of her mind with worry – a body has turned up in a park and the resemblance to her friend, Dr Kate Moloney is quite frankly, uncanny.  Maggie’s mind is on red alert – Dr Moloney has been targeted by stalker, is it possible that they could have gone rouge and killed someone?  Maggie’s worried but that certainly doesn’t mean her mind is off the game, quite the opposite.  She’s determined and her attention to detail is sharper than ever. 

Dead Perfect doesn’t hesitate on delving into the dark and depraved and Maggie Jamieson is more than equipped at dealing with this type of person.  She has skills that goes over and above what she has been taught by the police.  She can solve riddles and puzzles with a laterally universal mind.  Regular people just can’t keep up with her detective prowress.  She can often appear aloof to some of her work colleagues, but I genuinely believe she is just a super intense but confident female that just has her whole being set on catching the bad guy.

The case in Dead Perfect is personal and harrowing for Maggie but that makes her determined to divert the course that our delightful serial killer seems focussed on making a reality.  The integration of multiple different departments working alongside the main investigating team is a nice realistic touch and I’d be surprised to find an author that knows more about the criminal mind and processes of policing than Noelle Holton.  She certainly knows just how to weave a web of brutal and broken psyches.   

It’s a known fact that I’m an avid reader of mostly British crime so sometimes it can become jaded and forced through until its completion but that’s not how Holton plays the game.  The research is authentic, we have a storyline with genuine, hard graft and legwork, misdirection and suspects that need cracking.  We have the rare human side displayed in crime and we see emotions taking over for both Maggie and Kate and we, as readers, are reminded of the stark reality that these are human beings that we are reading about.  They feel and bleed, just like us. 

Dead Perfect just proves why Noelle Holton is quickly becoming the queen of British crime.  The prose contained is simply incandescent and she has created characters that will stay with you long after the book has concluded.  She exudes a visceral skill for storytelling.

ABOUT NOELLE HOLTON

My official author info says the following: I’m an award-winning blogger at www.crimebookjunkie.co.uk. I am also a PR & Social Media Manager for Bookouture, a leading digital publisher in the UK, and I was a regular reviewer on the Two Crime Writers and a Microphone podcast. I worked as a Senior Probation Officer for eighteen years, covering a variety of cases including those involving serious domestic abuse. I have three Hons BA’s – Philosophy, Sociology (Crime & Deviance) and Community Justice – and a Masters in Criminology. My hobbies include reading, attending as many book festivals as she can afford and sharing the booklove via my blog.
Dead Inside – my debut novel with One More Chapter/Harper Collins UK is an international kindle bestseller and the start of a new series featuring DC Maggie Jamieson.

I tend to review on Goodreads, Amazon UK, Netgalley, and share reviews on Twitter/My CBJ facebook page, Facebook via my author page and various book clubs I am a member of. I have been fortunate enough to be put on a few Publishers reviewing lists.

You can look on the Writing & News tab on this blog for further updates on my book adventures!

Oh..and I was obsessed with my chocolate Lab Buster (who sadly passed away May 21st 2018) and gorgeous Tabby cat Pebbles, who sadly passed away in Oct 2015 (RIP Pebs x).

Here are some pics of my other two obsessions.  Meet Buster (my gorgeous, big nosed, loveable chocolate lab -RIP #BusterBear 21/5/18) & Pebbles (aka “Pebs” the slightly psychotic  princess tabby RIP 25/10/2015)

NOELLE HOLTEN