Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this by M J Arlidge. This is the first in this series I have read and I was not disappointed. It was nice to come across a crime novel in the UK in an area that is not far from where I am writing this - very refreshing. The characters were well crafted and vulnerable but entirely people you could relate to. I will definitely be seeking out more from this author. Ideal Sunday afternoon reading when the weather is cold and the fire is glowing in the grate.. I commend this book.

Another brilliant read from one of my favourite series and detectives - Helen Grace. In this book, a seriel killer is on the loose in a local beauty spot. Seemingly innocent campers are being picked off one by one with an arrow yielding faceless person and being hung from the ancient oaks for all the world to see... This is a gripping thriller that leaves you on the edge of your seat till the end - a really great read! Many thanks to netgalley for an arc of this book in return for my honest opinion.

My thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.I requested this book because I’d heard good things about this author and I wasn’t disappointed. This is a police procedural crime tale, based in Southampton and the New Forrest. The Major Crime Team is led by DI Helen Grace who seems to have had a colourful background, as is almost a requirement of all fictional lead police officers. It’s a very pacey story. The short chapters make for quick reading. There is one major crime enquiry, not numerous cases all happening at once, as happens in some books. This focuses the reader's attention. Before a quarter of the book is reached the reader has experienced the sort of thrill and chase that is usually reserved for a novel’s climax. One after the other we are presented with several very credible suspects. Who is it?

The murders are horrifically savage. Only a deranged mind could have committed them. The bodies are each hung upside down by their feet from a tree in different parts of the New Forrest, seemingly killed by bolts from a crossbow. But first, they were subjected to a terrifying chase. Is there a connection between the victims? The ending is very dark and tightly written. This author must have spent many hours in the New Forrest, in both day and night conditions to achieve such a feeling of reality. This book has prompted me to want to read all the previous work by M J Arlidge.

Another cracker in this fabulous series. Helen Grace and Charlie Brooks are back with a new DC in their team (the handsome and slightly mysterious Joseph Hudson) and they have another horrific case on their hands.

This time there is a murdered on the loose within the darkness of the New Forest, his victims left out to be found in a staging that just doesn’t make sense. Well at least for a while. Helen and Charlie race against time to ensure the safety of all holiday campers, but the murdered always seems to be one step ahead of them.

Help comes from an unexpected direction this time and people’s dislike for another has to be put aside. This is a brilliant case, set in the beautiful forest (which slightly puts me of camping there!). It’s a proper leaving-you-on-the-edge book and one that you just have to keep reading to find out the truth.

Even though this is the eights book in this series, the author never seems to lose that spark the books need to keep the reader engaged. Well played!

This was only the second book of the Helen Grave series, but I have enjoyed both of them. I found this pacy tale quite absorbing and thoroughly enjoyed it. I did find some of the parts rather grisly and I really had to suspend disbelief at the situation she found herself in. As I live close the New Forest, I was really struggling to think of a place where you would run and run and end up at the edge of a cliff. Also how Helen managed to plummet down one 100ft.in the middle of the forest.I am sure it is too flat for that. However it was a good book and I look forward to more in the series.

Now I have read all of these books and look forward with great excitement for the next one. However, while it was good I don't think it was as gripping as the usual ones. I often can't put it down while reading slowly to make it last. Will definitely continue to read the next books as I love the character of Helen and Charlie and want Helen to be happy!

For a crime novel, Down to the Woods is a very underwhelming story. There isn't any real suspense, fear or sense of foreboding in the narrative. The book is supposed to be set in southern England but one doesn't really get a sense of the place and its culture from the descriptions. In fact, the language used sounds more American with words like "poleaxed" being used several times.
The background of the main detectives also appears jarring and not in sync with the rest of the narration. The author was perhaps trying to familiarise first-time readers with the characters, but the attempt turned out to be one of telling rather than showing. One has read other series where the history of lead detectives has been handled in each book with far more finesse.
The one thing that can be appreciated is the number of female leads in the book, all powerful, independent women leading different but complete lives. An extra star just for that.

Apologies for the delay in this review. Mj Arlidge has become one of my absolute favourite authors and this series is top of my series list. This book did not disappoint at all. Twists and turns aplenty along with the contuining story of the main characters. Already waiting with bated breath for the next instalment.

Another excellent offering in this series - I have to admit that I have missed a few of the books in the middle of this series, which put me off reading it, but I need not have feared - apart from one massive event that has happened in the intervening books, it didn't really matter or affect my enjoyment of this one. I thoroughly enjoyed the book - great characters and a well built story with a very satisfactory ending - recommended.

I cannot believe we've already reached book eight! It doesn't seem that long ago that I was embarking on this brilliant series.

Melanie Walton and her boyfriend have gone camping in the New Forest. Even though she wasn't keen preferring to go somewhere warmer, Melanie relented and camping it was. All is well until the next morning when she wakes to find that Tom is missing. Cut to later and Tom's body is found hanging in the woods having been brutally murdered. Later another body is found in the shape of Lauren Scott again in the woods. Are the murders related? Do the victims know each other? Questions to be answered by our protagonist DI Helen Woods. I love the character of Woods and how she has progressed through the books. I especially like her working relationship and friendship with her sergeant, DS Charlie Brooks. They have seen much heartache together which has gone on to cement a true bond of trust and professionalism.

Down To The Woods is another gripping read which kept me enthralled until the last page. Long may this series continue and I look forward to the next instalment. *Looks around. Wonders how long I have to wait!!*

Another fabulous read from MJ Aldridge-I love all this series fantastic stuff. I can't wait for the next one.

There is a sickness in the forest. First, it was the wild horses. Now it's innocent men and women, hunted down and murdered by a faceless figure. Lost in the darkness, they try to flee, they try to hide. In desperation, they call out for help. But there is no-one to hear their cries here...

DI Helen Grace must face down a new nightmare. The arrow-ridden victims hang from the New Forest's ancient oaks, like pieces of strange fruit. Why are helpless holidaymakers being targeted in peak camping season? And what do their murders signify? Is a psychopath stalking the forest? Is there an occult element to the killings? Could the murders even be an offering to the Forest itself? Helen must walk into the darkness to discover the truth behind her most challenging, most macabre case yet The hunt will take Helen back into the eerie twilit woods - and this time she might not make it out alive.

The last thing Tom Campbell remembers is camping in the New Forest with his girlfriend, Melissa. Now he is helpless, alone and consumed by fear, hunted through the woods by a sinister, masked figure...

When Tom's body is found, displayed with grisly relish, Helen Grace takes the case. But before she can catch her breath, a second victim is taken - a serial killer is on the loose.

You better not go alone . . .

Something dark and deadly stalks the forest. Helen and her team must race against time to catch the perpetrator, before more blood is shed.

I’ve had this book on my Kindle for a while and kept putting off reading it. Not because I don’t like this series of books but because I wanted to take my time and savour reading it.

I never expected the murderer to be who it was (no spoilers here).

I always feel quite sorry when the books come to an end, because I almost feel like I’m a part of the team investigating the murders. Another brilliant book. 5*

I was unable to download this to my kindle for some bizarre reason 🤔

Sorry I was unable to give feedback this time.

I have read the full Helen grace series and have loved catching up with her again - down to woods - doesn’t disappoint- it was hard to leave down can’t wait for the next instalment

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC of this amazing novel. I've read each and every one of Arlidge's Helen Grace series and they just get better every time.
Luckily I have never much liked camping, and after reading this book, I will not change my mind soon....
Helen has to investigate a killer that targets campers in the woods. Several suspects appear through the book and it keeps the reader glued to the book from the beginning to the end!
Highly recommended.

DI Helen Grace is back. A forest ranger finds a body in the New Forest - young man who had been reported missing from a nearby campsite - and it’s a particularly gruesome death. Nothing in the victim’s life can give a motive for his death. A twisting tale of revenge that makes you think you’ve discovered the culprit and then throws you another curve ball. Been looking forward to reading this book for ages and it didn’t disappoint. Can’t wait for the next one.

Thanks to Netgalley, Penguin Books and M J Alridge for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

This felt like a long read! Despite that it was more than worth it. The twists and turns were interesting and involved and the characters were well described and likeable! One that will leave you guessing but then well sated by the outcome.

Thanks for letting me read this really gripping book, though this is book eight and had only read up to book five it never spoilt the suspense of the story. A sadistic killer out in the forest killing not only people but ponies as well. Why is he killing these people when there is no connection between them.
There is also a poor girl laying in a hospital bed with no,possibility of living, what has she got that is connected. It is down to Helen and her team to find out.
Another wonderful exciting book and hope to,read the books I have missed out.

Hi Karen,

My Next review is:-


“Down To The Woods:D I Helen Grace 8”, written by M.J.Arlidge and published in paperback by Michael Joseph on 20 Sept. 2018. 480 pages ISBN-13: 978-0718183882

This is the 8th book by this very gifted mystery author and one of the strongest yet since I read his first really outstanding one “Eeny Meeny” back in 2015.:-https://eurocrime.blogspot.com/2015/04/review-eeny-meeny-by-m-j-arlidge.html

The murders start in the New Forest, Hampshire where young couples are camping in small tents on registered camp sites. The innocent victims are grabbed during the night and their bodies disappear into the middle of the forest and then days after the bodies are discovered. Often the partner of the victim is oblivious of the disappearance until they discover the person missing the following day.

When the body is discovered it is apparent that the victim died a horrible painful death from the bolts of a crossbow, several of which are stuck in the body.

Helen and her team have a very difficult task ahead of them as they don’t know how the victims are being chosen nor which of the ten registered camp sites in the New Forest will be used by the killer. Naturally, when the press hear of the deaths and are briefed the police searches for the killer are hampered by this unwelcome attention.

There is a lot of interaction between the various members of Helen's team in the usual police procedural fashion and a new detective sergeant is introduced who replaces a member of the squad who died as described in a previous book.

M. J. Arlidge has worked in television for the last fifteen years, specialising in high-end drama production, including the prime-time crime serials Torn, The Little House and Silent Witness. Arlidge also pilots original crime series for both UK and US networks.His first thriller, Eeny Meeny, was the UK's bestselling crime debut of 2014. It was followed by the bestselling Pop Goes the Weasel, The Doll's House, Liar Liar, Little Boy Blue, Hide and Seek, Love Me Not, and now this one Down to the Woods.

The story rushes on to the very dramatic and nail-biting conclusion and we have to wait another year before seeing another high end police procedural from this very exciting author. Strongly recommended.

Best wishes,

Terry
(To be published on eurocrime.co.uk in due course)

Scary and Macabre - a tense, atmospheric thriller:
"Down to the Woods" is the eighth novel in the DI Helen Grace series by M J Arlidge and lives up to the publisher's blurb about being creepy and scary. A series of murders in the New Forest seems set to dampen the tourist trade especially for one new campsite. The killer is selecting his victims carefully, so find the common link and you might unravel the case. Not only will this case prove difficult to solve but unknown to Grace her own life will be endangered. A great series written by a talented author. I would recommend "Down to the Woods" to all readers who are addicted to the Crime Fiction genre.