This is the ninth book in the series but it can be read as a standalone.
This is a crime thriller which gave me the chills. The ending felt unrealistic. The lead character was very unlikeable.

Another solid police procedural from M. J. Arlidge and DCI Helen Grace. All Fall Down could be read as a standalone book but works best as part of the series. The crime has its roots in the past and the story is told in the present and in flashbacks which works well. It took me a little while to fully get into the story and the ending was a little far-fetched but ultimately it was a good read with a very surprising twist.

I’ve had this on my kindle for a long time but somehow I managed to overlook it.

Another fabulous Helen Grace story from Arlidge. The series continues with excellent character development and convoluted plots which as always are nicely resolved.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This was my first time reading a book by M J Arlidge. I really enjoyed All Fall Down, I liked the plot and central characters. I look forward to reading more books in the series.

M J Arlidge never fails to let me down, this instalment of the series was incredible. The case was addictive and I just couldn’t put the book down, so excited for the next one.

Another fantastic installment for Helen Grace fans. Fast, furious and a whole lot of murder. Highly recommend.

My thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing for a copy of “ All Fall Down “ for an honest review .

I have read one of M J Arlidge ‘s previous books and enjoyed the writing and characterisation .
Unfortunately I struggled to get into this book, possibly as it refers back to a past case , and I think I would have got more from reading more of her past work, to get the best out of this one
I’ve given it an average score, which I will hopefully amend once I’ve caught up on the previous books in the series.

I love this author and this book didn’t disappoint. It was full of twists and turns and I didn’t guess the ending. Fantastic writing style and characterisation.

I have to confess to still working my way through the Helen Grace novels, they can be read as standalones, whereas I have been picking them up as and where I can. There are characters in the 'All Fall Down' which relate to an earlier case of Helen's, so readers more familiar than I am might recognise names from other books, but it does not detract in any way from this story. This is what I love about MJ's books-he makes you want to read his other ones by giving small, teaser-y details of other cases without being overly expositional. He draws quick pencil sketches of the principle characters such as Helen, Charlie(fellow police officer about to go on maternity leave)and Emma(trouble making reporter) which leave you wanting to know more .

This case, as previously mentioned, harks back to an earlier one where 5 teens were kidnapped, held hostage and only 4 escaped. The killer, who had previously attempted to abduct 2 young girls, managed to avoid capture, and his belongings were found at the seaside, some miles away, giving the impression he had committed suicide.

So there is a potential bogeyman who has haunted the police, intrepid journalist Emma who is fascinated by the case and one of the survivors, Martyna, who wrote a book about the experience. Another, Justin, has managed to put this behind him and nearly a decade later has a successful business and relationship. Until he gets stuck in a life at work, and in the middle of the panic, receives a phone call telling him he has an hour to live.

The suspense filled, short chapters leap back and forth between Helen, Charlie, Justin(in the beginning) and extracts of Martyna's book. M is fab at leaving cliffhanger endings which urge you to read on, you are convinced Justin is going to die in the lift over the next hour and then BAM! You are riding alongside Helen and her co-worker/friend with benefits Joseph on her Kawasaki motorbike. Breathe. And then back to Justin and you think, phew, he got out of the lift, must have been a practical joke. But then, he never actually gets home...

As Helen goes about tracking down the other survivors of the kidnapping, with a killer lurking in the background, there is a neat counterpoint to her 'not sure whether to commit to Joseph' storyline in Charlie's impending second baby. As the third part of the triangle, Emma, ace reporter is one of those characters whose tenacity and doggedness is either going to endear you to her or make her annoying(depending on if she is interviewing you or not!)

The constantly changing narrators make the pace snappy, other readers may find that they aren't left alone with them enough to get to know them, but personally I found it drove the plot forward and made it an easy read-this is hopefully coming across as a compliment as I find some crime novels tend to over fill short chapters and somehow slow down the pace.

Helen is hunting a killer who is working to a schedule-she has to stop them before they take all of the survivors and finish a job started 8 years previously.

A cracking thriller which will please fans of Helen Grace and have been eagerly waiting for her to return,I can recommend picking up a copy of this at your nearest bookshop or downloading it to your Kindle.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A brilliant addition to the series. This author doesn't disappoint. Good to see a different plotline from the standard. Recommended.

★★★ 3.5 stars

Imagine clocking off at work, you're the last one to leave, you step into the lift that will take you to the basement...and then it shudders to a stop midway. You're suspended between floors 3 and 4, the lights have gone out in the lift, you're in complete darkness. And then...your mobile rings. At last! Someone knows you are stuck and is calling to let you know that help is on its way. But then, how do they know you are there? You answer. There is silence at the other end. And then...a voice speaks...

"You have one hour to live."

And then they hang up. Surely it's a prank? Someone having a laugh? A mistake even? A wrong number? Anything but the chilling truth.

This is what happens to Justin Lanning as he leaves work at 6pm on the dot. He calls his partner Adam frantically alerting him to what just happened, wondering what is going on. Between them, the pair decide it must have been a prank and bid each other goodbye and that they will see each other at home. Justin continues on his way to the basement where his car service is waiting to drive him home. As the familiar landscape passes him by, Justin mulls over the events that took place in the lift. He knows every twist and turn on these country lanes back to the little village where he lives. So when the car makes an unexpected turn, Justin becomes alert and tells the driver he has missed the turn to the village. But he drives on. The time is 18.47 as a chill sweeps over Justin. It's almost an hour since he received that call.

DI Helen Grace receives a call the following morning thata body has been found on an industrial site. She is joined by her team as they are tasked with the investigation. As soon as the victim's identity is revealed, Helen knows exactly who he is. Justin Lanning was one of a group of teenage school children who had been abducted by Daniel King eight years earlier and escaped his clutches. Although King was prepared to kill them all by torching the farm and fleeing, all of them but one was able to escape and alert authorities. Is Lanning's death now somehow related to his escape from it 8 years ago?

And then there is the impending release of a memoir written by one of the survivors, Maxine Pryce, who has taken their story and made it her own...as seem by Lanning presumably. There is publicity surrounding the case as well as Pryce's memoir and Helen must fight against it as well as a dogged outspoken journalist looking for her next big scoop, who is nothing if not a thorn in her side. But then when a second of the remaining abduction victims is murdered, Helen cannot help but see a clear pattern. Is Daniel King still out there and come back to finish the job he started?

I've only read one other book in this series, that being "Eeny Meeny" , and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I love Arlidge's grittiness and the realness he portrays in both the victims and those investigating. Helen Grace is battered female sleuth like no other. She gets knocked down time and time again, coming away with yet more scars to add to her collection, and yet she still gets right back up again and gets on with it. Sometimes I don't much like her and yet at others I admire her strength and tenacity. She always uncovers the truth and gets her man...or woman.

ALL FALL DOWN is another fast paced mystery, helped along by the short snappy chapters which keeps the reader engaged. There is plenty of action, plenty of twists and plenty of mystery to keep the reader guessing. This is another well plotted thriller from Arlidge and, although is the ninth in the series, it can safely be read as a standalone. But to appreciate the full background of Helen Grace and her team it is always best to start from the beginning of the series, but it does suffice on its own.

Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Stuart MacBride and Alex Gray.

I would like to thank #MJArlidge, #NetGalley and #OrionPublishing for an ARC of #AllFallDown in exchange for an honest review.

When I was invited to read All Fall Down a few months ago, I had no idea what I was in for. I haven’t read Arlidge’s work before or heard of this series BUT…within a few breaths and a few pages I knew this was going to be a series that I would come to binge read. A story with a strong female sleuth with a tattered background but always focussed on the end result. Six hours later and I was guts deep into a compulsive story and I was 100% in.

All Fall Down is an ambitious story that fulfils on everything it promises.

How on earth do you write a review with so many threads spinning simultaneously without giving anything away?

This story was pinpoint accurate, and the historical elements kept me guessing and I loved the backdrop of the downs. It was compelling, and the story gave us plenty room to grow into characters, to explore the circumstances and to breathe the rotten core that was spilling out, all for the reader to investigate. I’m not ashamed to admit my mind flitted between numerous suspects to which I was wrong each time. The author managed to emit feelings of empathy for such morally corrupt characters deserves to be applauded. This crime series has everything, and the author wraps it neatly, fires it out of the barrel of a gun and the reader has to watch out for the ricocheting bullet.

All Fall Down highlights everything that is human about every person you meet. They are all hiding secrets, hiding pain and anguish and everyone is dysfunctional to a certain degree. We have characters disguising in plain sight, disguising at being good people but deep down they just can’t chase the darkness creeping in at the edges. Like I mentioned before, I haven’t read the previous books in the series, but it is easy to read the story without knowing a ton of background. Undoubtedly however, there has been a lot of groundwork already carried out.

All Fall Down brings back DI Helen Grace to investigate a whole new dark and disturbing case. A body has been found on a building site, a well-known man, mainly due to his traumatic past has turned up dead with ligature marks around his neck. His notoriety becomes the talking point as he was part of the group of schoolchildren who were held against their will and nearly killed by Daniel King. King was livid that they escaped but he managed to take back one of the kids and torch his farmhouse with the child still contained within. How is it possible that a person could survive such horrors only to be taken out in such a brutal act of violence.

DI Grace has her work cut out for her in this case. She needs to find a quick resolution to the crime before the publicity from it spirals out of control. She is fighting against a tsunami as another victim, Maxine Pryce has recently released a memoir outlining the details around their ordeal. Has this just put a mark upon all their heads and just why are some of the victims so reluctant for the truth to come out?

DI Grace also has trouble in her private life and although she mostly gets it spot on in her professional life, she sometimes gets it wrong in other avenues of her life. I felt really bad for her in this situation because even the best cops can’t see rat even in the heavy embrace of passion, it gets in the way, but once a cop, always a cop, she will route it out.

Arlidge creates characters that are so morally incomprehensible that rage is a common emotion whilst reading his books. He should be called the spider because his development of webs and strands and hooking the reader in with one whisper. The first chapter is an absolute doozy. A quick read that builds to a crescendo with the blink of an eye.

All Fall Down cements Arlidge as a highly skilled crime fiction writer. If you like the kind of book where you are constantly picking your jaw off the floor, then you need to pick up this one.

Absolutely amazing. I love MJ Arlidge. His novels never fail to keep me engrossed. Can't wait for the next one

MJ Arlidge’s Helen Grace novels are superb. Helen has grown as a person along the way, and she always solves the case, but not without some obstacles along the way. Highly recommended.

I love M. J. Arlidge's DI Helen Grace series, I do. But this one didn't live up to it's predecessors.
Usually, I am so wrapped up in the fast-pacedness of these books that I don't pick apart their little flaws but this one had such an obvious formula that I couldn't ignore it. There's a crime, here's a suspect. Oh it's not that suspect... Slowly, slowly, catchy monkey... TWIST. Everything unravels, why did no one say anything before?
I am sick to death of Emilia Garanita, she no longer adds to the narratives. Helen seems weak in this one, which is a hard pill to swallow with everything we know from the previous eight books. Charlie is her usual self: should go home to her long-suffering partner and child but doesn't; which is beginning to grate as there is no character development for her anymore it seems... I want to be more positive and I do hope this won't be the last book but this one was such a letdown that I feel like there's an uphill struggle ahead of Arlidge. This book was at least 100 pages too long and I just didn't care by the end.

I have loved all the books in this series. But for some reason I couldn’t get into this one quite like I did the others. I left it and then went back again but felt the same. Sadly As I had so been looking forward to it. It was very much the same. I don’t know if that’s the problem there have been so many good books it’s run it’s course

I received this ARC through Netgalley, thanks to them and the publishers.

Helen Grace is back and what a return I lapped this book up and cannot wait to see where she goes next or with who, a feisty woman who always seems to get her man

Love Helen Grace. Love M J Arlidge. Never yet been disappointed by any of his books and this one is just as great as a preceding 8! As normal, fast paced, full of action and a real page turner.

M J Arlidge is back on form with this one. I really didn't like the last book and was disappointed with the storyline, however, with this it's just one thing after another and the characters are just fabulous.

I love Helen, for me she can do no wrong at all

5 stars and a huge thank you to Netgalley, publisher and author for a copy of this book

I really enjoyed this book and will give it a huge thumbs up. With a great story line and excellent main characters - I would highly recommend this book.