A well written book exploring a difficult subject matter. All of the characters had depth which enables the reader to be emotionally involved with them..
Each chapter drip feeds a little more information, slowly unveiling the horrors experienced by the childhood friends.
A creepy scary, sad book focused on monstrous souls.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Agora Books for the ARC.
This is a really intriguing and absorbing thriller. Very well written, with interesting characters and good dialogue.

In 2001 Heidi Bevan, then 13yrs-old, was subjected to a brutal attack which resulted in severe head injuries and burns to her body. Her best friend, Nina, lay nearby, dead. Heidi's 7yr-old sister Anna had disappeared, presumed to have been abducted by the assailant. Emerging from a coma, Heidi has no memory - of her life, her family, or of the attack, and remains mute.. DI Brenda Carver and DC Denise Gilzeen are tasked with the case but despite visiting Heidi, they are unable to progress as the memories just aren't there.

Now, 2016. In her small maisonette, Heidi asks Denise to tell her the truth of the crime. Her memories are starting to return. However, someone is watching, someone who doesn't want her to remember, someone who will kill if they have to, to keep the truth from emerging. She doesn't yet realise the danger she is in.

Written between the two timelines, the story picks-up on a vague memory Heidi recalls from 15 years ago and then takes the reader forward to her present day actions to try and make sense of those memories, where we travel to places, get introduced to people, and experience the relationship between Heidi, her best friend Nina, and sister Anna.

Twists and turns along the way as Heidi faces up to the truth, and her guilt, about what happened that day.

Gradually the horrifying reality is revealed. A story of betrayal, power and abuse. Does she wish she still had no memory?

Very cleverly written. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A girl ,Heidi, comes round from a coma in hospital suffering from amnesia. She had been severely attacked with a stone whilst she was with her best friend Nina , who had been killed by the attacker, and her sister Anna who had gone missing . Later parts of her memory begin to return and she contacts a police inspector Denise who had interviewed her when she came out of her coma . Denise decides to help her find out what happened and Heidi's memory slowly begins to recall more . She remembers that Nina had been abused by her mother's boyfriend Ken and some of his friends and that she had been told of secret photos that Nina had hidden and how one day she had stolen one of the photos showing the abusers and put it through the letterbox of a policeman she had met and trusted shortly before the attack . It becomes apparent that somebody from the police is leaking information and Heidi is followed as the abusers try to recover the photos that they believe she still has. Nina has 2 brothers Jason and Scott and Jason offers to help her find out what he can . Who can be trusted and who can't in this web of abuse and child murder over the years and who is the one that is referred to as The Chief the overall leader of the abusers . An exciting story with many twists as it unfolds to lead to the answers in the end .

MONSTROUS SOULS is a murder story that takes place over 2 timelines. In 2001, 3 girls are involved in a brutal crime.Nina is killed,Anna missing and Anna's sister Heidi is left for dead. 15 years later Heidi's lost memories from that time slowly start to resurface. She seeks help from the detective on the case and they pursue the story. Heidi is not ready to discover the shocking details of what happened all that time ago.
MONTROUS SOULS is an interesting read that will definitely hold your attention right til the end.
It's well written and a must read

This was a book that kept an intrigue throughout. Continually transporting back and forth 15 years to slowly unravel the plot like peeling an onion. Many thanks to NetGalkey and the Publisher for giving me a chance to read and review the ARC.

This was an interesting story told from several different perspectives and over two time frames and I felt that it was well structured and built up to a strong ending. I thoroughly enjoyed it despite the heart breaking story line. Recommended.

The blurb really jumped out at me as dark and sinister is right up my street, and what was on the inside certainly did not disappoint. There are some tense moments and Rebecca writes in such a way that grips and sucks you into the thick of it all. Add to your TBR immediately!

Monstrous Souls grips from the very first page, an atmospheric and ultimately very emotional read that is both thought provoking and very timely.

A violent crime echoes down the years for Heidi who has little memory of that terrible day..as flashes of the truth start to return a journey of discovery begins but danger lurks in the most unexpected places.

I loved this because it really allows the characters to inform the plot, a twisty mystery that has many layers, exploring both memory and consequence with a central theme that is sometimes difficult to absorb, dark truths about human nature that haunts..

Overall a tense, atmospheric and hugely addictive novel where the overall feel of it will stay with you long after you get to the emotionally resonant resolution. 

Recommended.

Gritty thriller moving between past and present as a young girl tries to remember the events leading to get memory loss.

This book was not perfect but it was impelling and had me pretty much from the beginning.

What we know:
Heidi was assaulted when she was a teenager and left for dead. This was over a decade ago and she has no memory of the attack.
Nina, her best friend, was murdered in the same attack.
Anna, her younger sister, has been missing ever since.

But suddenly she's starting to remember small details and she talks to Denise, the police officer who was involved in the case and still wants to solve it and find Anna, alive or dead.

That's the basic outline and it's hard to talk too much about the plot without giving quite a lot away in terms of suspects, etc. This is a dark book but it's done so well. At its heart, it's about finding out what and why and in pursuit of that we have to stare into the horror of child sexual abuse. This isn't easy but Kelly doesn't go into any details leaving us to imagine as much or as little as we are comfortable with. I liked this, too much detail would have made this book unbearable. Rebecca Kelly handled all of this so well.

This is an excellent debut novel and I don't doubt that I will be looking out by more from this author.

Loved the book not sure about the title.
When I first picked this book up to read I thought not for me. Not sure if it was the title or the opening but I put it back down. Came back to it a couple of days later and was glad I did
I liked the way it changed between 2001 and 2016 and between Heidi and Denise. The story once you got into it was quite gripping and the twist at the end was definitely unexpected.
Great read. Thank you Netgalley and Agora for the ARC copy.

I have to give this a 5 star rating as I did not want the book to end...I kept delaying reading the final section, wanting to know, yet not wanting to know.
Kelly''s prose works its way under the skin, under the fingernails and into that place we hold our fear.
I guess I would call it "pre-emptive". If the sunset is streaked with red, there is blood to come; the chill in the air warns us to beware. And it is done beautifully.
Heidi has lost her memory of a brutal attack 15 years before in which her best friend died and her little sister ,Anna, disappeared. But her memories start to return in glimpses and waves. The case is reopened and the ugliness of the past makes the present murky and dangerous.
What starts as an idyllic friendship, summer and a secret hide-out becomes more and more sinister as Kelly alterates 2001 and 2016 in crisp chapters.
She tells us enough but never too much.
What could be over wrought prose and a cliched story never threatens in this beautifully wrought and thrilling, but chilling, story.

A great debut novel! I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It kept me guessing most of the way through and while I normally hate time jump books, the moving backwards and forwards between 2001 and 2016 really added to the story.

The story was realistic, disturbing and well told. You keep going back because you need to know what is going to happen.

I would say I wish we had known more about the characters outside of the story - for example, Heidi is the main character and we don't know if she had a job, any friends, anything else about her life - it made it all a little less real. I'd have liked an epilogue too but I love a solid ending, particularly if it's a happy one!

Monstrous Souls by Rebecca Kelly should come with a warning. First, once you start this book, you won’t be able to stop reading. And second, after you finish you will have a book hangover. This novel is dark, gritty, memorable, nerve-wracking. You might want to cry. You will be nervous and anxious for the main character, Heidi.

Fifteen years ago, a brutal crime was committed and Heidi was left for dead. She remembers only bits and pieces of that awful day when her best friend was killed and her sister was abducted. Its what leads up to that day which holds the clues and secrets. Monstrous Souls switches between 2016 as Heidi starts remembering everything and 2001, as it happens.

Synopsis:

Over a decade ago, Heidi was the victim of a brutal attack that left her hospitalised, her younger sister missing, and her best friend dead. But Heidi doesn’t remember any of that. She’s lived her life since then with little memory of her friends and family and no recollection of the crime.

But lately, it’s all starting to come back.

As Heidi begins retracing the events that lead to the assault, she is forced to confront the pain and guilt she’s long kept buried. But Heidi isn’t the only one digging up the past, and the closer she gets to remembering the truth, the more danger she’s in.

When the truth is worse than fiction, is the past worth reliving?

I began this novel late last night and finished it first thing in the morning; I was hooked. It’s hard to believe that this brilliantly written, pitch-perfect thriller is a debut novel. I rarely give five stars on Goodreads, but this one is definitely a five-star read. The writing, pacing, story, characters, plot are all done as if written by a seasoned pro.

This is available on NetGalley if you are a reviewer or librarian. If not, this will be out on June 25 and is available for pre-order now. Only 99 cents for the kindle version, how can you not get it?

Have just finished reading this great book which I loved from start to finish. Well-paced short chapters which I always like, which leave you wanting to keep on reading. Also liked reading from the different characters perspectives, while the flashbacks filled in the past events. Brilliant!

Firstly, thank you to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book prior to publication.

This is a very good book. It is set in two time lines - in 2001 when the main character Heidi is a teenager, and then 15 years later.

When she was a teenager Heidi was attacked and left for dead. Her best friend, Nina, is lying dead beside her, and her little sister, Anna, has disappeared. As a result of the attack she has no recollection of what happened to her, her friend or her sister. However, as time passes her memory slowly returns, and after 15 years, she is forced to revisit what happened that day.

There are a lot of twists and turns in this book, and the subject matter is very disturbing. The author conveys the horror of it very well - it felt very realistic . As a result my overriding feeling after reading the book was of extreme sadness - both for Heidi’s and Nina’s lives before the attack, and also Heidi’s life as it is now, all as a consequence of what happened that day.

Well worth reading.

A great debut book by Rebecca Kelly! In 2001 Heidi was a victim of a brutal attack and recently she is starting to remember. The book jumps between the past and present day (2016).
I read it in one sitting, the book is captivating, thank you Netgalley!

Despite the dark theme in this book I did enjoy reading it, unfortunately it is something that happens far too much in real life. You just want to know what happened to Heidi, Nina and Anna, especially as Heidi is so damaged she can't remember. Once her memories begin to come back you then start getting a sense of what horrific things might have happened to these girls. Who is 'the chief ' and how far does this reach? What happened to Anna and will they find her?

Thank you Net galley for letting me read this book I will be looking for more from Rebecca Kelly. It would be nice to have a follow up maybe a novella to say what happened next to them all!

Monstrous souls had me from page one! What happened to Heidi, Nina and Anna all those years ago is a mystery until Heidi’s memories start to return and that’s when you can’t stop reading! As Heidi finds out the truth of why Nina died and why Anna was taken you cling to hope she’s out there somewhere. The mystery soon unravels to be far more terrifying than you realised and you just want to know who, how far this thing stretches and will Heidi get any answers!!

A must read!!!!!

Dark and gripping read. Took a while to get started but once it did I was hooked. Will look out for more books by this author