This is my first read by Emma Kavanagh, it won't be the last, this book intrigued me, the start was explosive but the first part of the book for me was a bit slow but stuck with it and a complete turnaround, I was hooked in Part 2 when they travelled to New York, it seemed like they were chasing down a ghost, what do you do when the murderer seems to be always one step ahead, just when they think they're close..... BAM he's more than one step ahead. I ended up really enjoying this twisty book, to me, this book would be perfect made into a movie.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

A consideration of what identity means and how evil can hide in plain sight. This book kept me awake at night, both trying to finish it and turning the themes over in my mind afterwards. I sussed the killer fairly early on and was disappointed that the end was left as it was but otherwise an engaging read.

To Catch A Killer is a twisty crime novel from Emma Kavanagh where nothing is as it seems. The book does have a complicated plot, but it is immensely enjoyable, and the suspense never lets up. It also sets the scene perfectly for the next book in the series. And I really am hoping that there is going to be another book.

Straight away we are thrown into the midst of a crime scene which is just taking place. A woman has been brutally attacked in a London park and the police may have just arrived in time to save her. But who would have the guts to attack someone in broad daylight with such a high risk of being seen? What follows on from this point is an intense ride as the police try to track down the woman’s attacker, but they soon begin to realise that this case isn’t going to be straightforward at all.

Having read some of Emma Kavanagh’s previous work, this did feel to me as though she has gone in a slightly different direction to what she has written before. Her latest book moves along at a very high-octane pace as the police begin to piece together who their victim is and who the attacker might be, and we begin to learn some very disturbing details. This book was so twisty. I had so many ideas going around inside my head as I tried to think just what was going on here. Emma Kavanagh will have you thinking one way about her characters and then she’ll throw a new twist in that will completely throw you off course, it really did make it a head-spin of a read.

DS Alice Parr is the lead detective in the case. We know that she has suffered from devastating events in the past, she is someone who I took some time to warm to but once I did, I was rooting for her to get the results she was after. I loved her work colleague Polly who added some brilliant humour to the book, I thought she was the perfect friend for Alice to have around.

Immensely enjoyable with some killer twits, To Catch A Killer is perfect for thriller seekers who like a book to leave their head in a spin. Well done, Emma Kavanagh, I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

#ToCatchAkiller #NetGalley What a cracking read!! This book kept me on the edge of my seat and wanting to read 'just one more chapter' Lots of action and twists and turns as Alice tries to catch the killer. I loved the story being set in both UK and USA. I did have a sneaking suspicion early on that someone was not what they seemed but it didn't spoil the story or my enjoyment one little bit. I do hope that this is the start of a series because I would definitely like to hear more about DS Alice Parr!

After reading the blurb for this book i just knew that i had to read it. OMG what a thrill ride.
A horrific and brutal murder in London in a park and in broad daylight is only just the beginning.
This is a game of hide and seek. OMG this book got my adrenalin going as our hero Alice gets closer and closer to her prey but he always manages to stay one step ahead. I DEVOURED THIS BOOK. I could not put it down. This author certainly knows how to hook you then reel you in. I could not put this book down.
This another of one of my favourite reads of this year, this author is at the top of her game. Highly recommended, no THIS IS A MUST READ. I loved it. I am already searching for more books from this author. You do not want to miss this rollercoaster of a read. An easy five stars.
I would like to thank the author, Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for the ARC of this book in return for giving an honest review.

I wanted to love To Catch a Killer as I’ve enjoyed this author’s books in the past. However I struggled to get into it as I found the first part quite slow. The book did pick up pace but I wouldn’t say it gripped me as her previous books have.

Thank you to NetGalley, Orion Publishing Group and the author for the chance to review.

Excellent book! Loved the characters and it was a great storyline. I would highly recommend this book.

A great tense read! Full of gripping moments and twists and turns.
The story was exciting to read and the characters were fleshed out well.

This is, hopefully, the start of a new series featuring Alice Parr. It is fast paced, full of action and well written. Just a bit too unbelievable at times but a gripping read despite this. It ends on a cliffhanger and is a good holiday read. My thanks to Net Galley for my copy. Reviews on Goodreads and Facebook.

3.5 stars

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
I never warmed to Alice,the main character,at times I even found her irritating,but she definitely has some great ideas,and determination.
I'm not thinking of this as a story with a twist,rather a story turned completely on it's head... when you find out the bad guy isn't the bad guy you thought they were.
Whilst still getting my head around that,another surprise was thrown at me.
Those two things will make this book stand out.
Especially as I was 50% sure it was going to be the cop... I mean how else did he keep so far ahead??

I'll definitely be reading more Kavanagh in the future.

Emma Kavanagh is now one of my favourite authors. Her books make me think about them even when I'm not reading them. To Catch a Killer is no exception. It starts with a badly injured woman, nothing on her to identify her and escalates quickly into a story so suspenseful I couldn't stop reading! DS Alice Parr is investigating the case. She too has her own problems. Rushing back to work after a horrible accident she needs all her strength and courage to solve this complicated crime. I liked Alice, nothing was going to stand in her way. I can't recommend this book enough, highly enjoyable and brilliant writing.

Thank you NetGalley for my copy.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for an advance copy of To Catch a Killer.

Sergeant Alice Parr is on her way to work when she gets diverted to a stabbing. A woman has had her throat slashed and is close to death. Alice thinks the woman whispers a name to her but isn’t sure but before she can investigate she needs to establish the woman’s identity. This proves extremely difficult despite numerous appeals but slowly the team make progress, slowly because the attacker always seems several steps ahead of them.

I thoroughly enjoyed To Catch a Killer which is an exciting, fast paced read, full of twists, turns and heart stopping moments. It grabbed my attention from the start and never let go although I was slightly disappointed to find a cliffhanger at the end, paving the way for a sequel. I will look forward to it but worry that by the time it is written I will have forgotten the detail of this one.

I think the blurb is slightly misleading on the novel’s content because it implies that the novel is written from the attacker’s perspective when, in fact, his perspective is never shown and it concentrates wholly on Alice. Thank goodness as I hate the cod psychology often employed in dealing with killers and it was only the pull of Ms Kavanagh’s writing that made me choose to read it. I’m really pleased about that decision as it is an excellent read, both well paced and logical as it builds a case. I’m not saying it’s all entirely believable, like the perpetrator being so ahead of them, but it’s a thriller and a well done one so who cares?

I like Alice who is a smart, resourceful detective whose tenacity brings her to the attention of a man on a mission. She is damaged both mentally and physically after an accidental house fire, although after reading the novel I have my doubts about the accidental bit, but she has squared her shoulders and carried on. I like the fact that she wobbles internally and isn’t quite the superwoman she’d like to believe she is as it makes her more human.

To Catch a Killer is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

If you're a detective on a murder squad one of the first things you learn is detachment. You develop a distance from the victim: it allows you do do your job with the minimum amount of emotion. That's relatively easy when you encounter your victim when they're already dead but DS Alice Parr met the woman they would need to call Jane Doe when she was alive, albeit only just. She was being tended by an off-duty paramedic who was struggling to cope with the fact that the woman's throat had been cut and she'd been stabbed several times. The attack had been called in by a dog walker and Alice had been walking to work when the call came over her Airwave radio.

She did her best to help the paramedic, holding the woman's hands and trying to soothe her. The woman could hardly speak but before the ambulance took her away she struggled to say something to Alice. Did she really say ''wolf''? Over the following weeks and months Alice would doubt that she really heard the word. But who was this woman? She was beautiful, patrician looking and obviously well-to-do. There were children's toys in her pocket: why had no one missed her?

If tracing the identity of the victim was difficult, the attacker seemed more like a ghost. He was there, but not there, taunting the police - and he seems to know a lot about Alice, to be obsessed by her. Why can the police not track him down? The chase takes Alice from the UK to the USA in her desperate attempt to find her killer and to prevent more deaths.

Alice Parr was struggling with her own demons. She'd nearly lost her life in a fire at her flat some months before and whilst she'd survived her face was badly scarred. Concealer did little to hide the marks. There'd been one Alice Parr before the fire and another one afterwards: Alice was still trying to come to terms with the new version.

Five days, I said to myself. Five days. This book should nicely last me five days, reading for a couple of hours a day. In the event it took me just over a day to turn the final page and I'm left hoping that there will be a sequel. It's a cracking story. I did wonder when I realised that Alice was scarred: was this going to be another story which relies over-heavily on the problems of the detective? In the event I needn't have worried: it worked well and wasn't over used. It lent some depth to Parr's character, explained why she was sometimes lacking in confidence and at other times rather brusque. I liked her and by the end of the book rather invested in her character. She's feisty.

I did work out who the attacker was and what was behind the attack but it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the story at all, not least because I was never totally convinced that I was right. It's an ingenious story, written well and if the publisher is reading, might I just mention that sequel again, please?

A highly detailed and absorbing read. Clever, complex and full of unexpected twists. Would be a 5* read had the conclusion provided answers