OMG Conrad Jones has done it again.
This author never disappoints and this one is WOW WOW WOW !!!!!!
This is the third DI Braddock book. He is married to the job. Braddock and his team find a body washed up on the shore. It has been seriously mutilated and encased in chicken wire.
This case rings a bell with a cold case from seven years ago. The similarities between the two cases is identical.
A teacher is sat at home when he gets a message on his phone claiming that he is a peodaphile. His life and world implodes.
A vigilante group hunting peodaphile is now being hunted themselves and once they are found they are never seen alive again.
I loved this book and read this in one sitting. It is fast paced, gritty and hard hitting.
The premise of this book has been done before, but this book is by far the best.
As a human race why are we so gullible?? If it is in print or on the media it must be true. ISN'T IT???
We never think of the consequences and repercussions of our actions.
This book is fantastic, Conrad Jones has done it again, his imagination is deep and dark.
An excellent crime thriller and must read.
I would like to thank the author Conrad Jones, Bloodhound books and Net.galley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for giving an honest review.

I really enjoyed this read and almost finished in one sitting.

It's one of a series, but, one of the things I most enjoyed was that this is not obvious and you certainly can come to it (as did I) not having read any previous books written by this author.

It begins with a body being washed up on a beach in Merseyside, wrapped in mesh and from there, the detectives are led into a world of paedophiles, murder and social media and how it can be misused, even by those thinking they are doing good. I enjoyed the interaction and relationships with the Murder Investigation Team and especially when the police detectives bring in a retired colleague to help them.

The element of the story about a teacher who is 'outed' on social media is a heartbreaking lesson to us all about what we believe and how easy it is to judge via social media.

Overall, I struggled to put this book down, so mesmerising did I find the characters and the storyline. It's well paced and well told.

Thanks to Netgalley, Bloodhound Books and the author, Conrad Jones, for the opportunity to preview via ARC in exchange for this honest review.

How many times have you seen a post on Facebook that people have shared without checking the facts first? Would you like to be found guilty before having your innocence proven? How would it affect your life?

This book explores the presence of social media in our lives and how quickly people assume that what they read is true. Add a serial killer intent on getting revenge in the worst possible way and you get a well written, compelling book which will have you hooked from the beginning to the very last page.

Highly recommended!

Conrad Jones is not new to me (I have read his Soft Target series) but although this is the third in the series, DI Braddick is. No need to worry that you have missed the first two books because this certainly stands on its own.

Richard Vignes, married with twins, is a school teacher and he loves his job. All is well, if not exciting, in his world. Then it crumbles. A vigilante group has investigated him, collected evidence, and has outed him on Facebook and his informed his wife, family, school and the police and media. Richard has had sex with a 13 year old girl who they have named. He has no knowledge of the girl he assures his family and goes to school. The nightmare continues as he speaks to the headmaster and two uniformed police offers come to school and arrest him.

As a separate strand, DI Braddick is called upon to investigate a murder when a body is pulled from the water but it is encased in wire netting and has suffered multiple stab wounds. Something about this is ringing bells. This is our introduction to the killer, beyond sadistic, really warped.

The story unfolds through different points of view and it quickly becomes clear that Richard’s story is just one very small part of the plot, which incidentally is brilliant. The biggest villain of the piece is social media and tabloid journalism, but despite this being a familiar strategy it still works, and works very well.

I am very slightly disappointed by the ending and I am not really sure why. Perhaps I didn’t feel the urgency or excitement that I did in the first two-thirds or so of the book. That said, although some issues had been resolved by this place in the plot, it still managed to make me take pause and a really big breath and the surprise.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

Bloody hell Conrad Jones!!!! Another disturbibg but absolutely gripping book. Made up to hear about some old characters again. Really loved this book, cannot wait for the next one

A brilliant read. Conrad Jones brings something new to every book he writes.
Richard. Vigne , a schoolteacher is thrown into a situation he could not have envisaged in his worst nightmare. This book had me gripped from the beginning. Several men are found tortured and murdered in a cleverly written plot. Some gory and gruesome acts. Which zi found relevant to the plot. I enjoyed the joining of forces between DI Braddick and dear old retired DI Alec Ramsay.
The tension throughout this book is nerve wracking. Another roller coaster read with several shocks along the way. Highly recommend.

Another excellent story from Conrad Jones. Some thoughtful insight into being wrongly accused of a crime society is repulsed by. But never fear Mr Jones soon replaces social commentary with the high body count and grisly crimes you would expect from him. Good to see the return of two of the few characters that survived previous novels and clever use of chapters which make you wonder if two of the main protagonists are one and the same viewed through a time lapse lens.
Definite page turner
- Peter Rogers

Oh wow! It' seems like an age since we have had a release from Conrad Jones and boy was this book worth the wait! Conrad doesn't hold back on delivery and there are enough twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat. It's great to see one of the original characters working with one of the newer additions, it's a great partnership and one I hope is revisited. Thanks Conrad, devoured this in two sittings as I couldn't put it down!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 gruesome stars

Conrad has done it again; fast paced story telling, twisted characters, crime, drama, violence and a few brave choices in plot developments.

I really enjoyed this book, especially the chapters told from the bad guy point of view. Braddick & Ramsey were almost secondary characters but that was ok as we had bad guy and Richard to learn about.

Just lost that last 5th star due to the plot development regarding one of the families involved, which led to an overall negative end to the book in my humble opinion....but of course others may love the dark ending....

Thank you Conrad for another great book. Now onto The Journey.

Once again Conrad smashes it . In this book it shows the dangers of a rumour getting onto social media and being accepted as fact before it is proven , ruining peoples lives . It also brings together two old favourites from previous novels , now retired Detective Inspector Alec Ramsay and Detective Inspector Braddick , but saying that it reads well as a stand alone book . As usual I was gripped from the outset .There appeared to be two separate storylines running but eventually they match up and how!! I do not want to give any spoilers about the plot but to say it is very relevant to the world today is an understatement . I always hate getting to the end of Conrad's books and having to wait for the next one .

Anyone that is a fan of the author will already know Braddick and Ramsay who are both in two separate crime series'. In this book the two come together to try and solve a case. I love both of the authors series' so to have the two main characters come and work together, I absolutely loved. What's even better for new readers, is that it really doesn't matter if you haven't read the authors other books as it reads easily as a stand alone.

This book highlights the worst side of social media sites like Facebook. When Richard a teacher gets accused of being with an under age girl, him and his family's world is turned upside down. It shows how quickly things can spiral out of control and how people will jump on the bandwagon spreading lies. It is quite scary to read as so many people are always ready to believe the worst and makes you think what you would do if you were in a similar situation.

The author as usual had me hooked right from the very first page. It really makes for compulsive reading and ensured I kept turning those pages. I loved the collaboration between the two detectives and thought it worked extremely well. Guilty... until proved innocent is a must read regardless of whether you have read the authors previous books or not. It is an edge of your seat read that is guaranteed to thrill and chill it's reader.

This is the second book of this series I have read. It did not disappoint me.

The opening in the Prologue and the first few chapters were scintillating. First we read about the unknown killer's methods and his warped mind, then it moves on to another POV, that of Richard Vignes, a schoolteacher accused of having sex with a 13-year old schoolgirl.

He has come to the attention of a Facebook vigilante group who "out" paedophiles. We are left wondering whether he is guilty of the allegations and my heart was thumping at the injustice of it all as the reader is not certain he is guilty. That whole scenario is written so brilliantly by author Conrad Jones. Therein lies a moral. The author encapsulates what is wrong with social media when it is used for the wrong purposes.

The rest of the story moves on at a fair pace. The switches from character to character, chapter by chapter, and their respective POVs keeps us guessing right to the end.

We are even introduced to one of the author's characters from a previous series - Detective Superintendent Alex Ramsay. He fits in to the story line neatly and plays a key role in unmasking the mystery serial killer.

This book is #3 in the DI Braddick series. I still know so little about him. As a protagonist, he seems to be almost peripheral. But it works!

I did find the ending to be a little flat but still enjoyed the book immensely. One could say the champagne-popping start to the book was bound to end up with some flat bubbles once the cork had been popped in such a thrilling opening. Still four stars from me.

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley. I was under no obligation to review the book ant any opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Bloodhound Books and Conrad Jones for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of Guilty... Until Proven Innocent.
What a storyline. I thought it was well written and fast paced. It certainly kept me on the edge of my seat.
Definitely well worth a read.
3.5 stars from me

This is the first book I have read by Conrad Jones and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Easy reading, an exciting page turner and kept me in suspense throughout.

I liked his style of writing and I will probably read more from this author. The only negative thing for me was the ending, I would have liked it to be a happier one but that is purely my own opinion and I would definitely recommend this book.

Conrad Jones has done it again, this book is absolutely amazing. If paedophile vigilantes make a mistake it can have far reaching consequences, not just for the accused and their families but for the vigilantes themselves. The story is told brilliantly with Braddick leading the police investigation into some gruesome murders that have connections to the past when Alec Ramsey was in charge. It is a huge horror filled jigsaw but the pieces do fit together in a mid blowing hold your breath ending.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bloodhound Books for an advance copy of Guilty...Until Proven Innocent, the third novel to feature Detective Superintendent Marcus Braddick.

When a body is discovered on the Mersey shoreline it raises all sorts of questions as the victim has been tortured and is wrapped in intricately woven chicken wire. This is not the first time as seven years previously three Albanians were killed in a similar manner so Braddick consults retired detective, Alex Ramsey who led that case. In the meantime teacher, Richard Vigne, is undergoing his own nightmare when outed by a vigilante predator hunting group as a paedophile.

I thoroughly enjoyed Guilty...Until Proven Innocent which is an absorbing read that held my attention from start to finish. I have read some of the Alex Ramsey books before although this is my first Braddick book so I had a good idea of what to expect and wasn't disappointed. The novel is told from several points of view, the unnamed killer, Richard Vigne and the investigators, both Braddick and Ramsey. There are plenty of twists and turns, some more obvious than others, as the novel progresses. I think that Richard Vigne's ordeal is particularly well done with Mr Jones showing the hysteria around such an emotive accusation from many angles. In contrast the killer is extremely cold blooded as he goes about his mission. There is a kind of warped logic to what he's doing but as usual with these people it's all about him.

I don't think I got a very good feel for Marcus Braddick in the novel. He's obviously good at his job, has a good, informal rapport with his team and nothing in his life but his job but it's the retired Alex Ramsey who propels the novel forward with a series of discoveries.

Guilty...Until Proven Innocent is a well plotted and executed novel with plenty of forward momentum so I have no hesitation in recommending it as a good read.

Conrad Jones is a tremendous writer and the DI Braddick series has everything you would hope for in a contemporary crime novel, pace and power, tension and twists. Braddick is a very interesting creation and in this excellent novel he is faced with vigilantism and paedophilia. It is a fast-paced story which grips from start to finish--I loved it!