Another great Helen Grace book! I really enjoyed this story. It kept me hooked from the beginning and I would definitely recommend it. Really quite scary in places and a few red herrings which kept you guessing. I love M J Arlidge! Thanks to NetGalley for my free copy.

A police thriller with lots of twists,turns and suspects. Good characters, especially the lead detectives who all gel together. Gruesome murders and not many clues or connections.

5 Stars from me!

I've been hooked on the MJ Arlidge books since Eeny Meeny and I love the DI Helen Grace character so I was super excited to realise that book 8 was available to read!

Down to the Woods is yet another cracker in this well executed (no pun intended, honest) series. It has a solid storyline and still manages to weave in elements for the personal lives of Grace and her team. In fact it was good to witness a softer side to some of the characters.

It was good to meet a new player in the team - DS Joseph Hudson - and the relationship between him and Grace is interesting. I feel there is a lot more to come in future books regarding his past and his reasons behind joining the team.

Small confession... I hadn't actually realised before the M J Arlidge is a man! It kinda makes sense in that Grace is, or at least can be, quite a masculine woman. Or do I now think that because I know Arlidge is a man?!

There are some wonderful scenes in this book, along with the fast paced chase, the beauty vs terror of the New Forest and the grit and determination of hunter and hunted, there is also the deep love between a parent and a child and the soul searching that must be faced in one of life's most difficult of decisions.

Loved it and highly recommended - although I suggest a visit to the first book in the DI Grace series first and then enjoy reading your way through them all.



Synopsis: THE EIGHTH DI HELEN GRACE THRILLER BY BESTSELLING AUTHOR M. J. ARLIDGE

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.

I love the Helen Grace novels so when this came up on NetGalley I couldn't have been more excited. This doesn't disappoint. The storyline is dark and MJ Arlidge expertly weaves the tale of danger in the New Forest. Once I started this book I was immersed and finished it quickly, like I have with all of the books in the series. They grip you and then you find yourself awake until the early hours desperate to find out who the killer is. I would happily forgo sleep for knowledge in this instance. The author is a master of plot but not at the expense of character. I would heartily recommend this book. In fact I already have.

Thank you to M.J. Arlidge, the publishers and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

The anticipated return of DCI Helen Grace, as always left me wanting more.
In this episode M.J. Arlidge has taken a subtle change of direction with his star creation. Moving away from crazy, smart serial killers of the Patterson genre to the Anne Cleeves' style of investigation. The detective's connection to the killer less personal, more traditional
Helen, always the main protagonist in bringing the killer to justice, is her usual dynamic self.
This book doesn't develop either her character, or her relationship with the external forces that have done so much to shape who and what she is. Fair dos. Relationships web and wane, even for fictional heroines.
All in all a bit less edgy than previous outings, but still well worth the read.

This was a great police procedural/murder story. Great characters and an inspired geographical situation which added atmosphere to the story. The action was non stop with a believable story line. Sad conclusion but great closure.

Found this a hard one to get into but persevered to the end. Mj Arlidge is one of my favourite authors, however this book, in my opinion, didn't meet the usual standard of a Helen Grace story. Will be looking forward to the next one.

If you go down to the woods......

Down to the Woods should come with a warning - "highly addictive". I couldn't stop reading it and it resulted in more than a few very late nights and almost sleeping through my alarm the following morning!

This was only the second book I'd read in the DI Helen Grace series, the other being no 1 - which I enjoyed immensely. They can be read out of order as they definitely work as standalone novels, but as with any series, it tends to pay to read them in sequence to grow and know the backstory of the characters.

I knew I had to read this book with it being so close to Halloween - although it isn't specifically set during Halloween - the synopsis sounds pretty scary with the action centred in the woods, making it a great thriller/police procedural/crime book to read (particularly) in October!

A quick snapshot of the plot is there's something evil, cruel and sinister stalking and deliberately hunting people and animals in the New Forest. Immediately after the first victim is found, DI Helen Grace and her team are dispatched to try to work out who could be doing something so despicable. Not long after, another body is found, killed in exactly the same way. The team soon realise they have a killer on the loose and need to work out who it is before they strike again...

If this book was a movie, I would have had a stack of cushions to hide behind at the most tense moments. As it is my nails took a chewing. Down to the Woods is a seriously thrilling, dark, edge of your seat read, brilliantly fast paced, wonderful characters and with heaps of twists and turns. Another highly recommended read in the excellent DI Helen Grace series.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for the opportunity to read this ARC in return for an honest and unbiased review.

Down to the Woods is the eighth book in the Detective Helen Grace series. I haven't read the others yet but definitely feel like you can read this book as a stand alone and I thoroughly enjoyed it without having read the previous books. Something strange is happening in the woods and it seems like there is either a psychopath murdering people or the killings are something to do with the occult. I found the book to be a fast paced page turner and I powered through it really quickly. I will definitely be going back and reading up on the other books in the series!

Always concerned I giveplot away with review.
Another great read ..again can be difficult to continue to entertain the reader with same character m j Aldridge has succeeded.
Great read.

Bloody hell, may never go camping or wander through any woodland ever agiain! Gripping book to add to this series, need more of Helen and Hudson soon please!

DI Helen Grace and her team must race against time to catch a dark and dangerous serial killer before more blood is shed in M J Arlidge’s macabre new thriller. Tense and pacy, this is a truly unmissable read – the kind that will make you miss your stop on the bus and leave you on the edge of your seat.

A serial killer is hunting the New Forest, but who will be his next prey?

Down to the Woods is the 8th book in the Helen Grace series and the first one of the series I have read. I think if you are wanting to read more of the series, perhaps don’t start with this one as it does give away some spoilers on previous books and how those events are affecting certain characters. I must admit that I didn’t really find Helen a very interesting or strong character to keep me hooked on reading the rest of the series as a whole – although I see from other reviews this is unusual. The journalist character Emilia I also found quite frustrating as well – she just seemed to be a bunch of stereotypes rather than a well rounded character in her own right.

I liked the pacing of the plot – there are a lot of twists and turns and red herrings although I had guessed who it might be early on in the story. I must admit that from the blurb I was expecting a creepier read about a serial-killer with an unusual MO. However, although the setting of the New Forest is well described and had good atmosphere, I was quite disappointed that the crime itself and the motivations that were actually quite bland and standard.

Overall it sounds like other books in the Helen Grace series are a higher standard than this one so I wont judge too harshly – it may have inspired me to try another one at some point! Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin UK Michael Joseph for a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Gripping from start to finish, brilliant book!! Can’t wait to read more from this author!!! Will definitely recommend

This book was brilliant it had me hooked from the very beginning , I love DCI Helen Grice and she was at her best in this macabre murder hunt
Going camping is a cheap easy way to get away at little cost, unless you go down to the woods where it may well end up with one person dead and suspended from a tree by their feet
Yet still people want to do it despite the warnings
The police think they know who it is as a local man has been missing for almost 2 years and when Helen and her team find his woodland dwelling think they have their man, but do they?
The man they have lives in the forest it is his home and would he be able to slaughter victims and string them up?
Helen is not convinced and gets the teams looking over every scrap of evidence . But will they find their killer in time will they connect the dots between the victims?
Helen always gets her man even if it puts her in mortal danger ......

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 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.

Something dark and deadly stalks the forest. Helen and her team must race against time to catch the perpetrator, before more blood is shed. But the hunt will take Helen back into the eerie twilit woods and this time she might not make it out alive.

You better not go alone...

This is my first Helen Grace book, but it won’t be the last. Kudos, Mr. Arlidge, for a winner. Series fans will surely not be disappointed, and I can only hope others will commence this series sooner than later.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK Michael Joseph for an advance copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Going into the woods to be near nature and sleep under the stars, what could be better? Well the forest is dark and within in lies something even darker who is hunting, catching, torturing and killing. The police have to catch this killer before more deaths. Not an easy task. A great read that twists and turns with well written characters, you will enjoy.

This novel features my favourite female detective, Helen Grace and although this is the 8th in the series, all the novels can be read as stand alone stories.
In this book Helen Grace is up against a murderer using a crossbow who is preying on innocent couples camping in the New Forest. A real page turner as Grace investigates with her team. There are twists and turns in this gripping page turner. Thoroughly recommended and I cannot wait for the next in the series.
#DownToTheWoods #NetGalley

A gripping story from the opening paragraphs.

Even if you've not read the earlier stories in the series, this book stands alone, so don't let that stop you.

A thrilling story that keeps one guessing until the final few paragraphs, with mythology thrown in for good measure. The lead characters are mainly strong women and Arlidge fleshes the characters out so well that the fact they are female is an irrelevance.

A great plot, some good twists and strong, well developed lead characters, not much more needed for a good read, is there!?

I am a big fan of Helen Grace and this book is another fabulous addition to the series. Atmospheric descriptions, spine tingling suspense and a great roller coaster of a story. Lots of twists and turns and another grisly story line. This book had me hooked.