Thank you, NetGalley for an ARC of ‘The Heatwave’ by Katerina Diamond.

After hearing about the abduction of a girl on the news, Felicity Musgraves is forced to confront her past and return to the hometown she left 16 years ago, as she believes she is the only one who can find the missing girl. Told from the perspective of Felicity (present) and Jasmine (16 years ago) 'The Heatwave' is full of secrets, lies, and a menacing undertone which will have you guessing from one plot twist to the next (none of which I saw coming!)

This is my first Katerina Diamond book and it won’t be my last.

Present day, and Felicity discovers that a girl, Mandy Green, has gone missing in Sidmouth, Devon. She is immediately reminded of 16 years ago when a girl disappeared in Sidmouth, in the same situation. Feeling that only she can help, she persuades Chris, her husband that she must go and she leaves him and the children to return to her old hometown.

Sidmouth – 16 years ago. Jasmine and Felicity are friends – more by default as they exist on the fringes of the ‘in-crowd’. Felicity’s mother is an alcoholic so she spends a lot of time at Jasmine’s home. Unusually this summer they are not going abroad to work on charity projects, so Jasmine will experience the full ‘Summer, seaside experience’; and this year it is a heatwave. Jasmine’s parents have enlisted the help of Tim, as an odd-job man in return for free lodging in their summer-house.

Sidmouth present day. Whilst Felicity seeks out information on the current missing girl she dwells on events of 16 years earlier and the different relationships. She is reminded of her ambivalent relationship with Tim; her jealousy of Jasmine’s blatant sexuality and her confusion about her place in life and relationships with others. She feels compelled to solve the mystery of Mandy Green and the other ‘disappeared’ girl from all those years ago. She is also drinking – a lot.

This is really, really well-written. I read it with a sense of foreboding and hesitant fear. What was Felicity doing – stop drinking – phone your husband – what are you risking here? Did I get answers? All of this plus the heaviness off that heatwave, leaving a sense of suffocation. The perfect location – marred by the abduction of teenage girls. What was Tim doing – was he playing with Felicity or did he have another agenda?

An absolutely brilliant book, well-structured with a carefully revealed twist in the tail. Thank you Ms Diamond.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

When a teenager goes missing in her home town, Felicity returns to the place and life she left, for the girl’s sake. Another excellent thriller with so many twists delivered in the author’s style. Highly recommended.

I have read every book by this author and I love her. This is why I was so excited to receive this ARC from Netgalley.
This is a standalone novel about family secrets and explosive plot twists. It did not disappoint. Thank you.

First book I have read by Katerina Diamond and it will definetly not be my last. I throughly enjoyed this book from start to finish. Great twists and turns, the story was well thought out and kept you guessing and wanting more. Will be picking up her previous books and getting stuck in. Excellent read that is highly recommended. Wish I could give it more stars!

Diamond has obviously found a formula. I loved her first novel, and remember it still. However, I can't help but feel that with each new novel, something is lost. This one felt rushed - half way through the first chapter I actually paused to check that it was in fact the same Diamond who'd written The Teacher (it was). It was partly for that reason that I persevered, and as the story got into its stride I found myself recognising her style, her intelligence and the subtlety of characterisation she is capable of. By the end, I'd enjoyed it. But to me it still tasted... slightly churned, and I believe that with time, and some careful editing, it could have been a lot more.

I have read Katerina Diamond before and the Imogen Grey series and thoroughly enjoyed it so was delighted to receive this ARC. This is a stand-alone novel by this author and it lived up to all my expectations.

On seeing the news about a missing girl, Mandy Green, in Devon, Felicity Musgrave decides that she is the only person who can find the missing girl and much to her husband, Christopher’s, dismay she sets off. It has reminded her of her childhood and a similar event.

Told in two times: the present as Felicity explores her old haunts trying to find out what has happened to Mandy and sixteen years ago when the first disappearance occurred.

This is cleverly plotted and full of twists and turns and characters well-rounded and mostly likeable.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and Katerina Diamond for my ARC in return for my honest review.

Great read, highly recommended.

I was really excited to read this book after all the great reviews, and I definitely enjoyed it but felt slightly let down. The storyline was great, mostly kept me guessing and certainly kept me turning the pages - I have read it in 24 hours - but I did find parts of the book a little repetitive and slow. Also guessed one of the big twists. Still a good read and a solid 3 stars.

I thoroughly enjoyed this well written book with good characters, plenty of twists and turns that kept me interested in the story line.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This is a stand alone story from the author of the Adrian Miles and Imogen Grey series, which I really loved, so I was keen to read this one. It didn't disappoint. Felicity left her home town in Devon after the disappearance of girl in her year at school. It is clear from the start that she knows more than she has ever told. When another girl goes missing years later, she decides she has to go back and confront her past. This is a story told in 2 different time frames, and is full of twists and turns. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

I read this along with a friend and we had great fun chatting about the story and guessing what would happen next. Safe to say, we were wrong about pretty much everything!

The story alternates between the past and present which I really enjoy in a book. It is interesting to see both stories slowly unfold and gradually come together for the big finale. One of the things I loved about this book is that there are huge twists in both that you just don't see coming.

I'm sure my neighbours heard my jaw hitting the floor numerous times! This is such a gripping and shocking thriller, with plenty of twists to leave you doubting yourself until the very end.

I love a good Katerina Diamond book and The Heatwave definitely lived up to the mark. A stranger, a killer, secrets and lies and some great twists and turns along the way. This book certainly has it all and will entertain from beginning to end. I would rate this book 4.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and the author for the chance to review.

Y’all... I loved this book! At first I was’t too sure but then once some suspense was thrown in there, it immediately captured my attention. I recommend it!

I love Katerina’s books, they always hook me in so I want to devour it in one sitting and The Heatwave was no exception. Flick lives up in the Lake District, and while watching the news one day, sees a report of a missing girl in Sidmouth, Devon - her hometown. It brings back memories of the summer she was 16, and memories that she’d rather forget. The disappearance of the girl is too similar to the disappearance of the girl back then. She knows what happened then but thought that she’d put a stop to it, so who has taken the girl now?
Flick travels down to Sidmouth to find the girl and put a stop to the demons that plague her from her past.
The story progresses using flashbacks between now and then, it’s pacey, and draws you in encouraging you to keep reading. 5 stars from me.

This is the first book I have read by this author and it certainly won’t be the last.

What a story! So many twists and turns and an excellent ending that I didn’t see coming. I look forward to the next one.

This is an honest review in exchange for an ARC from the Publishers.

This book was highly readable and I read it only three sittings over two days. I love Katerina Diamond’s narrative voice and she really knows how to inject darkness into the every day. I loved the Devon setting in lovely Sidmouth which I visited last year for a Hen Party, and this book really made me feel like this seaside town could have a seedy underbelly! (A note for the publishers - the cover does make it look like it’s set somewhere abroad rather than Devon, so this wasn’t quite the book I was expecting).

The storyline was very intriguing, in terms of Flick returning to her home town to find out what happened to a kidnapped girl - an echo of something that happened just before she left home in her teens - and to confront her past. I also enjoyed the points of view in terms and the ‘then’ and ‘now’ structure. There was also a great pace, and an unsettling feeling of oppression in Flick’s head the closer she gets in the present to finding out what happened in the past.

While I guessed one thing about the main character (no spoilers here!) I honestly didn’t see the ending coming in terms of who the serial killer is, which is unusual for me.

Without giving anything away, I would have liked the ending to be a bit more drawn out for dramatic effect, and for there to have been more in there about Flick’s new family (children and husband) but that’s just a personal preference.

Overall I really enjoyed this story and am excited to read more Katerina Diamond books.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

The plot sounded so interesting but the mystery was flat and took so long to develop I had long since stopped caring. Not even an entertaining guilty pleasure

It would be hard to imagine the devastation a Tsunami would reek upon a sleepy Devon coastal town. That exotic monster more at home in the Pacific Ring of Fire, that superimposes itself on the twice daily ebb and flow of the sea. Lulling us until the very sea pulls back like the pulling of a rug ‘neath our feet, destabilising whilst we gaze in awe and dread at that wall of water set to engulf us. So it was with The Heatwave by Katerina Diamond the majority of which was like the summer susurration of a pebble beach until the sea pulled back. As unlikely as a Tsunami might be on a Devon coast, so was the climax, the glue which gave the novel a purpose and in a way the solvent which lost it credibility. You must forgive my extensive use of metaphor because it would take but a sentence to spoil the plot.
If you like a novel which all hangs on the last couple of chapters, then this one is for you.

What a book! This was SO enjoyable, I raced through it! I'm a fan of Katerina Diamond and an a fan of the DI Imogen Grey series so was looking forward to this anyway but it did not disappoint!

It kept me guessing until the reveal - which doesn't often happen!

Couldn't recommend this more.

Wow, wow, wow. As always Katerina Diamond has not disappointed! This book had me gripped right from the beginning. I must admit I do love a book that jumps back and forth from past to present. I find it keep me interested. Fantastic twist at the end that I did not see coming. Would 100% recommend 😁