Having read the first in the DI Eve Hunter series, I was very excited to get back into Eve's world of crime scenes and of course, murder.

Deborah Masson continues to flesh out the characters who we've come to know and love, subtly touching upon previous events that do not overburden readers of the first book in the series, but is equally beneficial for bringing newcomers up to speed. That being said, the book could easily be read as a standalone without the need for prior background context, if desired. I would definitely recommend reading Hold Your Tongue though as it's a cracking debut.

There is effective use of multiple narration and points of view throughout the story, which keeps it edgy and fresh throughout. Deborah has also presented a well-thought out story which commends her level of research into police procedures, and has all the red herrings, tense confrontations and jigsaw puzzle pieces we need to remain hooked.

It is worth noting that that this book takes a different direction to the first in that it doesn't focus on a series of continual serial murders, but has a tighter focus on police procedural and the underworld of crime (the corruption we don't see happening on a mass scale behind closed doors). This therefore sets a different tone for the book, but certainly shouldn't be considered as a fault. Masson does an excellent job of bringing our attention to the world of the rich, where status is regularly abused - something that has been quite prevalent in the media recently. Similarly, there is much to be covered about human trafficking, toxic masculinity and female empowerment throughout the book which makes it all the more worthwhile to read.

I thoroughly enjoyed 'Out For Blood' and would like to thank both Netgalley and Random House UK for giving me the opportunity to read it. Masson has certainly crafted a solid and original sequel with an intricately woven plot that ticks all the boxes you want out of the genre.

Dean Johnstone had everything to live for, rich, successful and going places, but now he's also very dead, his body found in his luxurious apartment in Aberdeen. It's now down to DI Eve Hunter's and her team to solve their latest investigation. At the same time the body of a teenage girl is discovered hanged in the trees surrounding a local golf course.

As the hunt for two killers begins the differences between their circumstances come to the fore as the expectations of those who knew them come starkly into focus. As things move forward it becomes clear that for everyone the past has a lot to do with the present and the possibility of a successful future.

Once again Deborah Masson has provided an different take on a murder mystery and although the main topics have been used many times before there is a freshness and originality about the way they have been handled. Amazingly this is just the second book by this author and the story flows and has main protagonists who work really well together. I hope that this is just the beginning of a long successful run of Eve Hunter stories.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the opinions are mine alone. I highly recommend this book either as a standalone or follow on novel in either case you won't be disappointed.

Is there a link between the body of a 25 year old from a wealthy family called Dean Johnstone and the body of a suspected suicide victim who is a Jane Doe?

DI Eve Hunter has returned to work after her last horrifying case. Much to her disgust she is still being made to see a psychiatrist, although it’s now monthly instead of weekly.
DS Mark Cooper is her work partner and he is having problems at home and trying not to bring them into work.

A story of human trafficking and the awful life led by these victims of it, this is a plausible story. The flashbacks in the story were not what I was expecting at all, very cleverly planned out and it all tied up well at the end.

A great police procedural that kept me interested throughout. This is the second book in the DI Eve Hunter series and is well written.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review

This is the 2nd in the series of D I Eve Hunter novels and this is almost as good as the first. The first is always a bit special. There is still plenty of bad stuff going on in Aberdeen, and the team is still coming to terms with the personal effects of their last case. Effects that could cause at least one person to act badly - for their career, if nothing else.

Really enjoyed it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I read a free advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

This is the second book in the DI Eve Hunter series the first book being Hold Your Tongue and it was really good to be back with Eve and the team once more. I have to admit that I did struggle at times with the book the plot line somehow just didn’t grab me as much as the first book and I was a little disappointed somehow. But maybe that’s just me.
What I did enjoy was being back with Eve who is a fabulous character and very believable and I always find myself rooting for her. In this instalment we also get a lot more insight into the character of DS Cooper with all the troubles in his home life and his relationship with Eve they make an excellent duo.
The writing was spot on and it’s a good police procedural but something for me just seemed to be missing however I did enjoy the read and look forward to reading the next in the series.
My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Corgi for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the arc, which I have enjoyed reading.
Out for Blood by Deborah Masson is the second book in the DI Hunter series and it is a very accomplished second book. The police team are developing their own personalities and histories and the storyline is extremely intricate and well thought out.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend reading the book.

DI Eve Hunter returns in Deborah Masson's Aberdeen based crime series, with a police team that has begun to gel after initial difficulties, even DS Scott Ferguson has become less arrogant and more bearable. Eve's leg is still problematic although considerably better, and after the harrowing traumas she has experienced, her boss DCI Hastings still has her visiting the psychiatrist, although thankfully it is now only monthly visits. Hastings is insisting that DS Mark Cooper reports to him how Eve is doing, specifically if she is managing to control her temper, which has got her in trouble recently in a domestic abuse case. In the centre of the city, a young IT consultant, Dean Johnstone, from a wealthy and privileged family, is found murdered in his flat. At Hazlehead Golf Club, the body of a young woman is found hanged, a suspected suicide.

After the post-mortem conclusively proves that the young woman was murdered, Eve is desperate to have the case, managing to convince a reluctant Hastings to let her team handle both murder inquiries. Each case presents their own particular difficulties, Dean's father, Robert is less than forthcoming about information on his son, and the silence from others is deafening too. Dean was part of a tight trio of friends from the exclusive Hermitage Boys School, known as the Trinity, and a year ago, one of the group, Andrew Shirriffs died, and the other boy, Finn Miller, is the son of Peter Miller, one the most powerful and influential men in the city. The young woman turns out to be a Eastern European trafficked woman, one of many, abused and exploited, with a tattooed barcode on the back of her neck. Could there possibly be any connection between two such different murder victims from opposite ends of the social and economic strata?

Masson throws a light in the harrowing world of human trafficking, with young women conned into the brutal world of prostitution, with little hope of escape from their desperate circumstances, sharply contrasting with the horrifying behaviour of those from more privileged circles, abusing their power and position, protected and immune from the consequences of their reprehensible actions. One of the best parts of this series is the glimpses we get into the personal lives of those on the police team, such as DC Jo Mearns with her over-protective parents, and Cooper experiencing problems in his marriage. This is a engaging and absorbing well plotted addition to the crime series, with a unexpected twist that emerges at the conclusion of the story. Many thanks to Random House Transworld for an ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This book is the second instalment from DI Eve Hunter and her team, set in Scotland. I read the first in the series and really enjoyed it, and this one was just as enjoyable.
This book focuses on the death of a wealthy businessman’s son, and then shortly after an unnamed girl hanging from a tree on the edge of a local golf course. The team struggle to find out who the girl is, and pursue a lead based on the barcode style tattoo shoe has on her neck. The team decide that neither case is as clear cut as they look, and upon digging deeper the cases start to intertwine. The storyline involves powerful men, privilege, and human trafficking. I enjoyed the way the author portrays wealthy young men born into privilege, and also the focus on such an important issue in current society.
We also see the development of the regular characters in the series which is great to read. There were lots of twists and turns in this book, and it was very cleverly written, as what I thought would happen actually didn’t.

A great follow up to the first book, and I’d happily recommend.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

i have to say i really enjoyed this book and can recommend to all that want a good police procedure book

Thank you Random House UK and Netgalley for this advanced copy
Having read Hold Your Tongue which has been my favourite book of the year so far I had great expectations for this but feel a little let down.
Although it was a good story and the characters were good and you learned a little more about the, I felt the story dragged and could have been better. The last third of the book things came together due to something that happened years ago but for me they were a bit rushed and I felt the ending was a bit obvious.
I would recommend and do hope the series will continue but would have liked to give 5 stars but just can’t. This is my opinion and no one else.

Deborah Masson's debut, Hold Your Tongue, was excellent, and Out For Blood is even better. DI Eve Hunter is a fascinating character and Aberdeen makes a great backdrop to the crimes depicted here. The son of a prominent businessman is found dead in his flat, a young woman is found hanging from a tree on a golf course, and Eve is tasked with working out what connects the two. There is an interesting theme here of privilege, a striking contrast between the haves and have nots, and this fine novel has a real authenticity. More please!

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Deborah Masson’s brilliant detective novels are beginning to rival those of the legendary Ian Rankin. Both write immersive thrillers oozing with a gritty social realism, but there is something more, something undefinable, that both share. Perhaps it is the ability to harness all the elements of storytelling alchemy that both have in common, the magic that holds readers in thrall of a particular author’s imagination. Whatever it is, Masson has it in spades. Unlike many crime novelIsts, too, Masson as the ability to make the reader feel, becoming emotionally invested in the fate of her main protagonists. This book is no different, displaying all the hallmarks of detective fiction at its very best. The irascible DI Eve Hunter is back. Bruised and battered, undoubtedly, but with a commitment to justice that is undiminished. ‘Out For Blood’ is a seething and explosive cocktail of social injustice, privilege and the reverberating echoes in the present day of the ubiquitous ‘sins of the father’. Twisty, meticulously plotted, with characters that leap off the page, ‘Out For Blood’ is the best British detective novel of 2020 bar none.

Once again, it's a joy to explore my old stomping grounds in Aberdeen through the eyes of Deborah Masson's characters. I can only imagine how intimidating it might have been, having come out of the gate with an award-winning debut, to write that "difficult" second novel. Suffice it to say, with book two Masson has skillfully cemented her position as one of Scotland's finest crime writers. As we rejoin DI Eve Hunter's team it's interesting to see how relationships (both personal and professional) have developed since book one. The oftentimes fractious relationship between Hunter and her subordinate Scott Ferguson is amusing as their mutual frustration bubbles off the page. The plot is engaging, current and keeps us guessing till the nail-biting denouement. In terms of lasting memories, I will never forget the plight of poor David Carnegie the social worker. Masson's creative mind is warped but brilliant. With "Out For Blood" she hasn't pulled any punches. I highly recommend this series and would urge you to read "Hold Your Tongue" in the first instance as there's some important backstory in there. It's also a first class read.

I've read other books in this series and loved them all.
This one, however, didn't leave me quite as impressed. Don't know if it is the similarity of character events and happenings.
The book is very good, nevertheless, and should be read.
Maybe I was hoping for something to happen that wasn't there

Another very good crime thriller. DI Eve Hunter and her colleagues have two murders to investigate, which soon turn out to be linked. Out for Blood features many of the same satisfyingly rich characters as Hold Your Tongue and again is well-paced and a very enjoyable read. For me, the plot and the twists in Out for Blood didn’t quite meet the dizzyingly high standards set in Hold your Tongue but it remains a very good police procedural with endearing characters.

Di Eve Hunter and DS Mark Cooper are back and I am so excited to read their new book .I really enjoyed the first book in the series and this book didn't disappoint. The story is about murder ,human trafficking, wealthy Fathers and their Sons, a brilliant Police Procedural story .The story is fast paced full of twists and turns with great characters ,I very much like Eve and look forward to the next book in the series .Many thanks to the Publisher the Author and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review .

Out for Blood by Deborah Masson

Synopsis
A young man, the son of an influential businessman, is discovered dead in his central Aberdeen apartment.

Hours later, a teenaged girl with no identification is found hanged in a suspected suicide.

As DI Eve Hunter and her team investigate the two cases, they find themselves in a tug-of-war between privilege and poverty; between the elite and those on the fringes of society.

Then an unexpected breakthrough leads them to the shocking conclusion: that those in power have been at the top for too long - and now, someone is going to desperate lengths to bring them down...

Review
This book started well then went slowly downhill. What a drab uninteresting story and a predictable ending. I wouldnt recommend at all. Very disappointed as the first book in this series was pretty good.

Rated 2/5
Thanks to net galley for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed Masson's previous novel with DI Eve Hunter and this new novel didn't disappoint.

A great thriller touching on people trafficking and class divides -as well as the usual politics and conflict found in good police proceedurals.

📖BOOK REVIEW📖⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
#outforblood by #deborahmasson

This is a really well written book and it was nice to be back with DI Eve Hunter and the team. It’s just what I like, a good police procedural with a plausible and entertaining story. The clues are drip fed at a nice pace and your interest is kept easily. The story is mainly told from an investigative perspective following different members of the team as they discover or investigate lines of enquiry thus allowing the story to be presented in a methodical and linear way. At times I found it a little confusing with all the names of the characters involved as the storyline became more complicated and this detracted from the story slightly. However, this is a minor thing and doesn’t take away from an overall excellent, immersive and enjoyable read! Looking forward to more in this series.

➡️for synopsis! Out 10th of December! 🙌

Thank you to author Deborah Masson, @netgalley, @penguinrandomhouse - @transworldforbooksellers (corgi) publishing for allowing me to read this one early!

-Emily

Firstly a big thank you to the publishers for approving my request to read on netgalley. I loved the first book in this series so was excited to read this one.

The covers and titles alone set this series up for success and enjoyment.

Another great gritty installment of the dark murky side of scotland. Gripping and thrilling.

This is written excellently and clearly well researched . Compelling and enticing read.

Perfect for fans of Katerina Diamond and Helen fields.

Published 19th November