A fantastically creepy book which I really enjoyed. Heather's mum commits suicide and when she is sorting through her belongings she finds letters to her mum from a notorious serial killer who is in prison, as Heather starts to unravel her mum's history she realises her mum had a horrific hidden past and Heather finds herself in mortal danger. I loved the 'fairy tales' that Micheal shares with Heather and I loved the sense of lurking danger that was present right through the book. A really good read!

My thanks to Netgalley for my copy of Dog Rose Dirt which is a very dark story with a lot of twists. I found it quite slow in places but then it would speed back up and I would reconnect. Overall I enjoyed this book although it was very grim at times and I had to stop reading before bedtime.

Heather, a journalist with a difficult past, returns home after her mum commits suicide. Their relationship was strained but Heather had to unearth why her mum did this terrible thing. As she starts to look through her Mum's things she realises she didn't know her mother at all. Letters from a serial killer in prison, pictures taken in a
hippy colony and a suicide note. Killings have started again - could her Mum be connected in some way?

Grisly thriller with lots of twists and turns .A lot of secrets are uncovered after the death of our main character's mother.

A truly stellar thriller from the lovely Jen Williams. It's not that often that I leave the coziness of children's books for adult fiction, even rarer that I read a thriller, but I just knew that this would be a new favourite. Dog Rose Dirt is deliciously dark, with such a twisty, well-paced story that will have you guessing to the end. I only guessed one twist and felt super smug. This will make a terrific tv show which no doubt is to come. Excellent through and through and I can't wait to see it top the charts! - John, Marketing Officer, Walker Books

A beautifully written, creepy thriller.

The setting gets you hooked to start with as it starts with the apparent suicide of the main characters mother. This draws you in and helps you relate to the character who has good qualities but can be infuriating.

The book is well paced to keep you turning the pages. A very interesting read.

Dog Rose Dirt

Imagine a story that turns your life on it's head, a story that you aren't told but one that you live. Dog Rose Dirt is such a story it deals with emotions, people, family, origins and history.

In Dog Rose Dirt, we live that story alongside Hev, who learns about her mum's life, indeed who her mum was, only after that mother's death. The twists and turns, in this murder drenched crime thriller, keep the reader interested and involved, from beginning amongst the outskirts of London to the satisfying conclusion amongst the forests of Lancashire.

I found the beginning of this book a little slow but once I had read a few more chapters,wow it had me gripped until the end .This is a story about a serial killer and urban legends ,it is creepy and a little scary but what a great story .Imagine finding out your Mum who has just commited suicide has been writing for years to an infamous serial killer ?The story goes back and forward in time which I really like in a book as I feel you get more of the story that way .The ending was a surprise but all was explained .Many thanks to the Publisher ,the Author and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review .

Loved this one! So easy to read and lots of twists and turns along the way. Definitely a quick read and one I recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jen Williams and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This isn’t the usual type of book I would go for but I really enjoyed it. It is a bit of a slow burner but worth continuing. A good read.

With thanks to #NetGalley for the early copy!

A clever, twisty and curious tale hinging on fairytale, unspoken pasts and a convicted murderer with a story left to tell.
Williams draws a realism in the protagonist which creates some shades of instant connection for the reader. Heather Evans, a grieving daughter, and a journalist who has walked away from the profession, returns to her childhood home on the news of her mother's unexpected and inexplicable suicide. Haunted by ghosts of her own past, we are embroiled right there with her, as she makes a chilling discovery - hundreds of letters between the mother she just lost, and that convicted murderer with the story to tell. All of which leads to the kaleidoscope of her memories shifting and refocusing in an utterly fearsome way.

A well pitched and subtle use of the two parallel timelines works well to elaborate on the expositions readers need to know - Heather's journey is coupled with her mother's own in the decades before her suicide. But even more intriguingly, Williams only presents her mother - the catalyst for the events of the book - through the eyes of others; further drawing us into the uncomfortable, underlying idea that runs through both timelines - that we can struggle to really know the truth of who those we love are at their core. Equally we are left with the unsettling extremes at which this links to.

One element which really does set this book on a pitch somewhat above the usual genre offerings is the carefully drawn characters that Williams writes. Not just relying on the typical nuances of protagonist/antagonist roles, it was really engaging as to how she orchestrates confusion in a reader's reaction to a character. Best poised in this is Reave - chaotically psychopathic, extremely flawed, manipulative and disliked. Yet, drawn through the story of Heather's mother and the enigmas he trails behind him with when conversing with Heather, the young boy we meet in early chapters presents the dichotomy of a sympathetic reaction too. Or in the very least, a curiosity sparked about his motive. As a reader it was hard to just settle on the presumption that he was evil and a serial killer. Williams convinced me there was something more beneath the surface - and I kept reading to find out.

Shrouding this familial mystery, the over-layer of the narrative is the crime mystery more familiar in the genre - as Heather arrives home, it seems the imprisoned serial killer has struck again. A woman's body is found decorated with flowers, The Red Wolf's signature. From her it is made clear that Reave is the only person alive who could help - if he breaks his silence after all this time. And thus the story continues its twisting and terse climb to an apt conclusion.

In the partial humanising of a monster, the relatability of Heather - despite her obscure situation - and the parallel ran, symbol-ridden narratives, this is a rare example of the crime thriller done well. A stand out in what is often an overly saturated category. Read it and enjoy a thoroughly satisfying page turner. #DogRoseDirt #JenWilliams #NetGalley

Dog Rose Dirt is a bit of a departure for Jen Williams, this is a beautifully written and addictive novel featuring a daughter searching for the truth about her mothers suicide. The why of it will take her back into a haunted past and put her firmly in the sights of a serial killer…

Heather Evans is a really well layered and intriguing protagonist in a very human way..her taut relationship with her mother has always somewhat informed her sense of self..she takes the reader with her on this journey of discovery and the story is emotionally complex in the underneath of it all.

Added to that you have a strong horror vibe in the serial killer aspects and a terrific unpredictable plot with a well honed mystery element that will keep you turning those pages into the early hours. Then, probably, jumping nervously at every creak of the house.

Overall a terrific read. Quality writing and a right old page turner.

Watch out for this in July. Recommended.

Oh wow, this was one hell of a read!

I felt confident I would able to put it away and get some chores down, but much to the dismay of my partner, I had to finish it in one go!

What a thrilling read

Heather never really knew her Mum and when she dies a stash of letters from an imprisoned notorious serial killer sets her on a course that will change her life! A copycat murderer is causing terror on the streets and romance is blossoming with the detective in charge of the case. Friend Nikki joins Heather in her search for the truth and a journey back in time. The story gathers momentum and begins with great promise though unfortunately this rapidly diminishes towards the end. Loopholes begin to appear and the conclusion had me speed reading as I knew it would disappoint. It did!

Very enjoyable read and very well written. After a slightly slow start the pace picked up and you wanted to find out what, why and who. Will certainly look out for more books from this author.

A slow burning psychological thriller that slips between past and present day. Although this book is well written it didn’t ‘grab’ me into the story. I found it a bit too slow.

This book was unsettling from the outset, dark and disturbing.
I knew I was either going to love it or hate it - but it was very much the former.

We are introduced to Heather, in the aftermath of her mother’s suicide, and this sets you on a harrowing and brilliant path of self discovery. Everything that Heather knew about her mother seems suddenly uncertain, and I struggled to put this book down at night, because each chapter left me wanted more and more revelations. I became so invested in finding our the truth. The chemistry between Heather and DI Parker was fantastic, and I found myself really rooting for them as they fought to solve the mystery of Micheal Reave and Fiddler’s Mill.

Great thriller!

Dog Rose Dirt is a fairy tale. Not the happy ever after kind but the original Grimm folk tale version. Though this is Jen Williams first thriller she is an established fastasy writer and this gives more than a nod in the direction of fantasy horror.

Heather Evans, estranged daughter, returns home after her mother commits suicide, totally unexpectedly, out of character leaving behind an enigmatic suicide note, the first question is posed. While clearing up her mother’s home, Heather comes across a stash of letters written to her mother by a notorious serial killer nicknamed the Red Wolf: the second question. And is this related to the resumption of Red Wolf style killings even though he's still incarcerated?

It's the questions that keep you turning the pages. Is there any chance they've imprisoned the wrong person? How is all of this going to come together? You know it will for you're in the hands of a writer who knows her craft; the plotting is excellent.

This is a great read.
With thanks to HarperCollins and Netgalley for the ARC.

Contrast catches our attention. It's a natural instinct we have, it's kept us alive since the days we lived in caves. "Dog Rose Dirt" plays on this, with a stunningly dark introduction that shows us Before, the, followed swiftly by a far more restrained Now. And... the contrast was actually too much to grab me. It happened time and time again. As interesting as both aspects of the story were, the switch between them ultimately just gave me a chance to put the book down. No matter how much the tension built up, no matter what clue was slipped in, what further questions might arise, I just knew that nothing was being resolved soon so I never felt I was missing out if I just took a break to make a cup of coffee or go for a walk. I never wanted to give up on the book - the story was interesting and kept me curious for the resolution. It's just that the normality is normal. It gives the dark madness too much room for it to sink into you.

So a well-written book that never quite had me hooked then? Nope, only the first part is right. Because eventually, the wolf's teeth did catch hold of me. As the story concludes there is real tension, and that "one more page" feeling snuck up on me. By trickling tells at a steady pace throughout there's no real shocking revelation, you know what's coming, but it did make me care about the resolution. I wanted the small loose ends tied up and they were. Simply and elegantly. I really enjoyed that there were no laboured efforts to force a final blind twist in. It didn't leave any "yeah but..." thoughts as you tried to reconcile a red herring you'd been sold.

That's the whole thing about this book. It has solid writing, and although the plotline could be fanciful and farfetched it isn't. If you'll forgive the pun, it's grounded and natural. It's an old fashioned fairy tales of monsters in the woods - and the very that that's visible is thanks to the author's skill.

So, what we have here is a book with more layers than you can imagine when you start reading. And those initial ones are fine. But as you dig deeper you discover the beating heart buried inside. This book comes alive.

A very dark book. It's not for the squeamish, with its graphic details of the murders. I have to admit that I hadn't seen the part of the ending coming but it wasn't that much of a shock either. Some bits, like Lillian, were more easy to spot.
An okay read but not really memorable.