The Dangerous Kind is Deborah O'Connor's spellbinding novel of 2019, sure to keep you hooked till the very last page. The story begins with a revelation, that 1 in 100 of us are labeled 'potentially dangerous people'. This detail establishes a unique setting for the novel and plunges us into a thrilling plot.

We follow the protagonist, Jessamine Gooch, an investigator that specializes in locating the 1 in 100. When she accepts a missing persons case, she finds herself engulfed in a whirlwind of dangerous events that escalate quickly. Her investigation takes her on a gripping journey to uncover the truth that lies hidden in plain sight and thrusts her into a conflict of epic proportions.

Deborah O'Connor masterfully navigates between suspense and character development in this psychological thriller. Throughout the novel, she effectively builds tension as we grow with each character, pulling us closer to their gripping personal stories. By the end, we are forced to examine the larger implications of this dark tale, leaving us feeling satisfied and inspired.

The Dangerous Kind is a unique and engaging tale, written to appeal to any reader looking for an unpredictable mystery and thrilling climax. It is sure to leave you begging for more.

I really enjoyed this book as it was written realistically and deals with a very topical current issue, namely child abuse, exploitation and violence in the household. Not for everyone, but do try it, you will enjoy it.

Unfortunately this book was not for me, it was a bit slower than I would like and it just didn't hold my attention. I am sure other people will love it!

I definitely see why this is getting the hype it is. The Dangerous Kind was a very engaging read with compelling, well written characters. It's a very good but unsettling read.

The task of repopulating the senior library has been an exciting and daunting task aS in a boarding school our aim is to encourage all members of the community to read. Because of this, I have been searching down a wide and diverse range of books to read that will entice a wide cross-section of the school to come in, browse and find books that they love.
Books like this will ensure that the senior students in the school see the library as a diverse, modern and exciting place with books that speak to them and they want to recommend to their friends, classmates, teachers and tutors.
It is an engrossing and exciting read with fully-formed characters and a plot that ensures that it's hard to look away. It is as far from formulaic as it is possible to be and kept me up far too late in order to finish it. I immediately wanted to read all of this writer's other books as I loved their voice and found that it really drew me into the story and made me think about it even when I'd stepped away from this tale.
This is a thought-provoking read which I'm sure will be a popular and well-read addition to our new library; I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to read it and I know that the students are going to absolutely love it too!

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

Unfortunately I was unable to get in to this story and had to put it down, however, I'm sure it is a highly loved book and appreciated by the right readers.

Well, this was such a dark book to read. I found it quite addictive and given the nature of some of the subjects I thought the author tackled it very well without going into too much detail.

The story flits back and forth between characters and time, gradually building up intrigue and suspicion along the way. as the synopsis for this book suggests, there is a darkness to some people, they are dangerous and appear to the outside world to be safe, respectable and “normal”. But what if these people are given an avenue to vent this dangerous side to their personalities. What if they are the ultimate manipulators and know how to control, coerce and compel vulnerable others into doing horrible and dangerous things. What if these manipulators go one step too far!

The book deals with domestic abuse and I saw one side of manipulation, abuse and bullying. This was not glamorised at all, the basic of details indicating the abuse was given. Then another type of abuse was brought into the story, that of children being used in horrific ways, again into details were gone into. What I read was the effect of how these people were treated, the fear, guilt and shame were apparent as well as the need to please their tormentors.

The story went down some dark paths and the work of one woman who is trying to find the whereabouts of a missing person. Jessamine is a radio presenter who focuses on this mystery and it takes her well outside her comfort zone. What she doesn’t realise is that while she is focused on the missing person, there is a shadow looming on her horizon.

This is a good read and even though it feels so wrong to say it I did enjoy it. I enjoyed the suspicion, the lies, the manipulation is used, the suspense and intrigue. It was well-paced and I found it very difficult to put down as I needed the answers and I wanted to know who was responsible. I did feel the ending felt a little rushed, I would have liked to have a bit more suspense. Maybe though I just wasn’t quite ready for it to finish.

This is a book that would appeal to readers who like their crime thrillers a bit more on the darker side and I would recommend it.

Brilliantly constructed and featuring an unusual protagonist in the form of a fifty-one-year-old menopausal female, The Dangerous Kind is Deborah O’Connor’s timely and realistic look at the most reprehensible of crimes and the predators who walk amongst us in society in plain sight. Pulling in a number of strands, the story is a hard-hitting exploration of child abuse, power and corruption in an era of social media and uncovers a host of issues that have captured the headlines in recent years. Deborah O’Connor pulls no punches with a novel that is not only compelling but profoundly thought-provoking. With each individual thread linking back to one principal protagonist who unites them all, the novel coalesces in a realistic denouement and although readers will probably see the ending coming, it proves nigh on impossible to put down.

Fifty-one-year-old Jessamine Gooch is a single mother to her adopted fourteen-year-old daughter, Sarah, and as a former journalist she now hosts a long-running series on Radio 4 that looks at the concept of Potentially Dangerous People (PDP) and whether, despite never having convicted of a crime, it could be possible to spot and stop the individuals who will one day go on to commit an offence causing serious harm. By analysing the backgrounds of a single perpetrator each week Jessamine and the guests look back at signs including domestic violence, petty theft and a chaotic employment history to highlight the moral and ethical questions at root. Suffering from hot flushes and emotionally wounded after the ending of an affair with her producer, Mick, Jessamine is on the internet dating scene and also volunteers at a domestic violence helpline.

Accosted by a young woman after her show one evening she pleads for Jessamine to take a look into the disappearance of her friend and young mother, Cassie Scolari. A cursory glance at the facts intrigues Jessamine and when a heated moment at work gives her the opportunity to investigate, she delves into the disappearance. When teenage daughter Sarah suggests a podcast to harness public interest Jessamine employs the help of an anxious intern at the BBC, Jitesh Ganguly, with his own dilemmas using his social engineering know-how to crack passwords for some surprising reasons. Refusing to be invisible as so many older women often become, Jessamine is intelligent and tenacious with a normal life outside of her work and is unafraid to confront the people responsible. Combining her questions, findings and lines of enquiry into a podcast entitled Went/Gone, the project gives her a new lease of life as missing Cassie’s shocking story is gradually uncovered.

Running parallel to Jessamine’s present day narrative is that of a thirteen-year-old Rowena Garbutt, resident in an Oxfordshire care home and beginning in 2002. With an older boyfriend who manipulates and plies Rowena with alcohol her story is that of a vulnerable youngster used and abused who falls prey to some powerful men and the ‘parties’ they host. Far from gratuitous, Rowena’s situation is harrowing but honest as it heads to a devastating juncture. Draw in Jessamine’s dating woes, Sarah’s worrying online behaviour and and Jitesh being bullied by a manipulative student getting his kicks from taking advantage of girls, and this is one busy and riveting novel.

Well-researched, emotive and with some notably skilful characterisation in principal protagonist, Jessamine, The Dangerous Kind builds to a mesmerising and extremely tense conclusion. It is only as each of the threads slots into place that the reader can appreciate how cleverly constructed the novel is and Jessamine is a character who I would like to see more of. An impressive and highly recommend novel that has real depth and is incredibly readable.

An absolutely brilliant read. Very topical. Very believable and very more-ish. I do love finding a new author. Just ordered this to send to my daughter.
5/5.

Complete page turner, this kept my interest all the way through. I didn't want to put it down. I love this authors style of writing.

The central protagonist Jessie Gooch is a 50 something single mother and radio presenter whose programme has been running for years, investigating the background of what she calls PDP, or potentially dangerous people. What that means is that she takes criminal cases and together with an ex-policeman and a psychologist, analyses people who have been dangerous and suggesting ways in which they could have been marked as dangerous and perhaps stopped before they committed their crimes. Jessie also volunteers for a Domestic Violence hotline, so her world is full of the worst of humanity.

As you may imagine, this is a dark book and the focus on child exploitation, abuse and grooming is not a subject everyone will be comfortable with. The atmosphere is dark and oppressive and this is not a book for the faint hearted.

Leaving Broadcasting House after her programme one day, Jessie is stopped by Marnie Clark. Marnie wants Jessie to look into the disappearance of her friend, Cassie Scolari, whose husband, she knew, was abusive.

Jitesh is working as an intern at the BBC, training to be a sound engineer. Academically bright and intending to take up a place at Cambridge he is using his job to scope out opportunities at the BBC. Jitesh is an accomplished hacker, and Jessie ropes him in to helping her look into Cassie’s disappearance.

O’Connor utilises a dual timeline approach to good effect as we follow 13 year old Rowena Garbutt whose care home fails to stop her from taking up with an older man, Sunny, who she thinks loves and who exploits her mercilessly.

The narrative flows back and forwards as Jessie investigates Cassie’s disappearance, uncovering devastating information and putting her own life in jeopardy. Utilising multiple voices, each chapter is told in the present through Jessamine, her adopted daughter Sarah and Jitesh or via Rowena in early 2000. The flashback chapters are the most difficult to read.

Though the subject matter is very dark indeed, this is not a graphic book but O’Connor manages to create a very real atmosphere of fear where the young women in this book are faced with the most awful things that they never anticipated.

Anyone who has followed some of the more recent cases of child exploitation will recognise the inherent truth in O’Connor’s writing and I found some of it too close to home for comfort, which may be the point.

Verdict: Though there were some moments where coincidence or a bit of odd behaviour left me questioning, overall this is a gripping and compelling read for those who like their subject matter on the dark side. I’m off to look at photos of kittens and puppies.

Here's my review, hosted on Medium (Crime Podcasts/TV Shows and this book): https://medium.com/@LexBrookman/rise-of-crime-the-dangerous-kind-2d7e7c8be51b

Filled with atmosphere, tension and a gripping premise, The Dangerous Kind is the crime thriller we all need. It’s unique, drawing on current events that leave it relevant and relatable, while also managing to remain compelling and well written throughout. It follows Jessamine, who runs a radio show discussing dangerous criminals of the past - what turned them into killers, and why. The success of the shobrings it’s own foibles, and Jessamine ends up embroiled in a missing persons case that unravels a serious of disturbing secrets from the past and leaves Jessamine’s life in danger.

I really liked Jessamine. She was tenacious and head strong without it bordering on over the top, managing to maintain a certain amount of empathy for the victims that made her relatable and easy to warm to. The inclusion of her own difficult home life and relationship with her daughter also added another to her personality that I appreciated. I wasn’t as overly interested in the other subplot involving the Cambridge student and at times I thought it detracted from the main plot and slowed the otherwise fast pace.

The plot itself is well written and explores a number of dark concepts that managed to be thought provoking and interesting. It really delved into the idea of human nature, and the depravities certain individuals do and examining why they do them. It was a great spin on what otherwise could have been another standard crime novel. The twists and guessing of what had happened to our missing person also kept me gripped, and I had no idea where it was leading.

Genuinely unique and insightful psychological thriller, that promises a lot and manages to deliver.

I tried to get into this book but failed to finish it. The storyline was a bit confusing despite an interesting premise.

I really ejoyed this book! I like how we get to follow the mystery of Cassie's dissapearance in the present yet also got to see a previous mystery which is shown throughout the main storyline and also though a past POV. I'd definitely recommened this book!

The Dangerous Kind by Deborah O'Connor

Jessamine Gooch presents a radio programme that examines crimes, questioning whether there was something in the character of the perpetrator which made them more likely to commit such an offence and if clues should have been spotted in advance, meaning that the crime would never happen. It’s a grey area as Jessamine would herself admit. How do you punish a potential criminal that has as yet committed no crime? But Jessamine cares intensely. She spends her spare time volunteering at a helpline, taking calls from the victims of domestic abuse. She also adopted her daughter Sarah so that she could give her a happy, safe life. But everything is reaching boiling point. Her radio station want to change the show, Jessamine has also found herself caught up in a missing person case involving a young mother, and then there’s Sarah. Jessamine has yet to notice it but something is going on with Sarah.

The Dangerous Kind is an extremely intelligent thriller that asks questions of society around us, about our complacency and about the safety or otherwise of the most vulnerable members of that society. It moves between the present day, a long winter in London, and 2002 when a young girl, Rowena, finds herself caught up in a trap from which she cannot escape. Years may separate these stories, at least initially, but Jessamine knows that this behaviour defies time. There are predators out there all of the time. Spotting them is what drives Jessamine on, as well as the frustration and tragedy of sometimes not being able to do enough to prevent what feels like the inevitable.

Along with the stories of Jessamine and Rowena, we have Sarah, and this is where the novel becomes particularly frightening as we realise what serious danger she’s in. We can see the clues. Unfortunately, Jessamine doesn’t. This behaviour is hidden by design. Not even a woman like Jessamine can spot it.

I think that The Dangerous Kind is a powerful and well-written thriller but, unfortunately for me, it tackles subjects which I find just too hard to read about, mostly involving the manipulation and grooming of young children by paedophiles. The book isn’t explicit but there were sections that I passed over, unable to read. Many readers, though, are made of sterner stuff than me and rave about this book and I think it deserves the praise.

There is one thing that I absolutely loved about The Dangerous Kind and that is the character of Jessamine Gooch. She is a menopausal woman suffering all that this entails, such as hot flushes and a short temper. I could empathise entirely with this woman who is so gripped by a sudden hot flush that she has to open bus windows on freezing days, ignoring the angry glares of fellow passengers because she recognises that there are other women on the bus who are going through exactly the same thing as she is. It’s not often that you read a thriller with a main character who is a woman of this age. I really welcomed it and liked Jessamine enormously. That’s what I’ll take away from this novel.

I enjoyed this book and was really gripped by the story of what happened to Cassie. Lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing. I was gripped from the very first sentences and was highly intrigued to see how that shocking opening scene played out in the plot itself. Highly recommended!

Is it possible to spot and stop the individuals who will one day go on to commit murder?

Jessamine Gooch worked in the newsroom at The Times until she adopted her daughter, Sarah. Sarah’s father killed her mother and thanks to Jessamine she was not put into care but came to a loving home. Jessamine needed a job that allowed her to be a full-time mother without running all over the country covering the news, so when she was offered a job presenting the radio show “Potentially dangerous people” – which takes you inside the criminal mind and looks at signs that killers left throughout their lives – it was ideal, the job was part-time and allowed her to spend time with her daughter. One cold day a woman comes up to her outside the broadcasting house and asks her to look into the disappearance of her friend, Cassie Scolari, who has gone missing, leaving behind a husband and eight-year-old son. Jessamine is initially reluctant but after her show is put under review, she decides to investigate the disappearance and ventures into the sordid world of child sex-abuse.

A great read and I really identified with the lead character – I too know what it is like, as a fifty-something woman, to be looked through as if you are invisible and dying your hair ash blond because it hides the grey. The storyline exposes the depraved, usually powerful, men who prey on under-age girls and boys, especially those that, due to no fault of their own end up in care. The story weaves many threads which the author masterfully brings together in the end to a conclusion that I was absolutely not expecting.


Saphira

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

I had to get my hands on a copy of this novel as soon as I first heard about it as the premise is so intriguing to me. The novel is about whether it’s possible to foresee whether someone would go on to commit violent crimes by looking at convicted criminals’ pasts, and that is so fascinating! The book sees the host of a podcast looking into this when one day a woman comes into the office begging for help to find her missing friend. The book then goes back and forth in time, and explores really difficult issues such as grooming and sexual exploitation. It’s such a well written book that keeps you reading even when you might want to look away. I found this book near impossible to put down as it was just so engaging and thought-provoking. I definitely want to read more by this author and I absolutely recommend this book!