This being the sequel to Alison Belshams The Tattoo Thief, I did feel a little bit behind, had I known it was a sequel I would have read the first one before this, especially as there were some references to the previous book, as well as the trial.

However, that being said this is a good read, if you like your crime thrillers a little more on the gritty and gruesome side this is for you. A cosy mystery this is not. A police procedural book, thriller. There are quite a few characters, some of them seemed a little bit pointless as they didn’t really add anything much to the story. The story wastold through the points of view of some of the characters, I’m not always keen when books do this as they flit back and forth but this wasn’t too bad and I managed to keep up.

Set in Brighton with DI Francis and his team and tattoo artist Marni Mullins. Tash Bradley phones her boyfriend after being attacked and is rushed to hospital, but unfortunately she doesn’t make it and dies the following day. This puts the boyfriend Alex Mullins under suspicion, when another girl linked with Alex disappears, he becomes prime suspect.

Marni Mullins will do anything to prove her son is innocent, and DI Francis doesn’t believe that Alex is guilty either, despite the rest of his team thinking he is guilty.

This is overall a really good read I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the first book before this one, but that is just my opinion.

The characters are well rounded and if there are more books to come I’m sure we will get to know more about them, I love seeing characters grow over time.

I would like to thank netgalley and Trapeze publishers for letting me have an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for an advance copy of Her Last Breath, the second novel set in Brighton to feature DI Francis Sullivan and tattoo artist Marni Mullins.

Tash Bradley phones her boyfriend, Alex Mullins, for help after being attacked. She is rushed to hospital but sadly dies the next day. After her death a strange tattoo is found on her back and this makes Alex the prime suspect. When another girl with links to Alex disappears he becomes the only suspect. Francis isn’t as convinced as the rest of the team of his guilt and Marni will do anything to clear her son’s name.

Her Last Breath is a roller coaster of a read with incident upon incident and a well concealed perpetrator which will appeal to many readers. I found it compulsive in parts but not enough to say I loved it. I found it a very choppy read with its constant switches between characters and the insertion of chapters about a young girl called Aimée which have no relevance until the denouement just seemed like a distraction. Having read the whole novel they are given much more prominence than they deserve. The murder plot is well conceived and executed but it gets bogged down in extraneities, mainly interpersonal relationships and the court case from the previous novel. This latter means that there is no going back to The Tattoo Thief after reading this one. The balance is not right for my tastes.

The characters are very well developed so the reader gets to experience their highs and lows along with them. This is fine if you like them but try as I might I really don’t like Marni, finding her impulsive and too quick to jump to conclusions. It’s harder to get a handle on Francis as his life seems to be one long confrontation with his workmates, his sister and Marni.

A brilliant sequel which is even better than the first
It is gruesome at times
I love the authors writing style as it pulls you into the pages and doesn’t let you go

Gripping, exciting and totally entertaining. Haven't heard of this author before but will definitely looking at more from alison. This book is a wild ride totally thrilling and descriptive. Loved it cant wait to read more.

Thank you to Orion publishers and NetGalley for this advanced copy of the latest Alison Belsham novel Wow what can I say but what a superb second novel. ‘This is a fantastic sequel to The Tattoo Thief featuring Marni , Francis and the rest of the team. You are gripped from the opening pages to the last. It is really well written and the characters and the story come alive before your eyes. Cracker of a read.

It took me a while to get into this story, but I found it very well drawn out when I did. There was a blooper in Chapter Sixty-Five: WPC's have not existed since the nineties and this book is based in 2017. A PC is a Police Constable, whatever their sex. SOCO's also no longer exist. They've been known as CSI's (Crime Scene Investigator's) since about 2005. I felt rather distanced from the characters in this novel, some of their motivations and behaviours didn't ring true or weren't fully explained. However the plot had an interesting concept and an original route that kept me intrigued throughout, so it deserves four stars.

This was a well written mystery with a wide variety of characters. The murders were definitely of the more gruesome variety. The story felt like a more realistic portrayal of a police investigation in comparison to other books I have read. I did feel that the story was told through too many different points of view but a great read nevertheless.

I absolutely loved The Tattoo Thief and in Her Last Breath we once again find DI Francis Sullivan and Marni Mullens involved in a spate of murders where the tattoo plays a deadly role - and this time it's Marni's son, Alex, who's the number one suspect.

Before I started reading, I was concerned that having another tattoo-themed set of murders would be too much like Alison's first book, but I needn't have worried. It's really quite a different set up and you will quickly be absorbed into the story to think too much about The Tattoo Thief.

That said, the The court case from The Tattoo Thief plays an important role in this book, but it is well-integrated to the plot - so don't worry if you haven't read that first book.

Belsham is a great story-teller, able to invoke a sense of place and mood very quickly - which helps things speed along at a good pace. I read the book over a couple of days, so it definitely passes the 'I'll read just one more chapter....' test!

We get to explore everyone's relationships a little more deeply in Her Last Breath and I loved the tangled web of the Mullins' family dynamics! Francis and his family really underscores the difficulty between having a work/life balance in the police force ... and the relationships between the police officers themselves is multi-layered. Who CAN you trust?! The story will keep you turning pages, right to the end.

What do I offer up as criticism? No complaints about the story or story-telling, it all works really well, for me. However, I do have a quibble - albeit minor. While I do like the cover of Her Last Breath, I feel that there is a lack of continuity between the appearance of the first book and the second book. I would have liked either some kind of tattoo image echo or title echo to show that they are in a series. BUT - that's minor!

I'm looking forward to the next one already!

A brilliant follow up book which I although it's hard to believe it was even better than the first. It's a bit gruesome in places but not over the top. I love the leading character Detective Francis Sullivan, he has his faults but the job always comes first. and when finds himself faced with two murders in quick succession he realises that they have a serial killer to catch. I love the author's style of writing it sucks you in and doesn't let you go while the very last page.

An excellent novel with a fascinating depiction of characters. I very much enjoyed this wonderful story and highly recommend it.