A woman’s unexpected death, a mysterious letter, a connection to a serial killer who protests his innocence, and a copycat killer? ‘Dog Rose Dirt’ certainly has all of the elements to create an exciting and unique thriller.
Heather has returned to her childhood home after her mother’s suicide and discovers the suicide note addressed to “You both”. Rather unusual as Heather is the only living relative. She also uncovers letters between her mother and the convicted serial killer Michael Reave (the Red Wolf).
The story jumps between the present day of Heather’s investigation and another story which appears to be set in the past and tells of a young boy as he grows up and meets a young woman called Colleen, who may be Heather’s mother.
The story starts wonderfully and grabs the attention of the reader instantly. However, as the story progresses, the expected twists and thrills do not have the anticipated impact – the storyline quickly becomes predictable. Part of this is due to the slow attitude of Heather to pick up on the clues around her and also because the parallel storyline of the young boy, acts as a giveaway. Perhaps, if less information was included in his story, then the tale and ending would not be so obvious. I wanted to love this book, especially as it sounded so good. But ultimately, the storyline could not live upto the expectations created up the description and opening.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for the arc of Dog Rose Dirt by Jen Williams.

5 Star Read- This follows a daughter whom returns home and ends up making a horrifying discovery that there are stack and stacks of letters to her mum from a serial killer... she has been corresponding and writing to a serial killer. called Michael Reave.. He was nicknamed The Red Wolf and has been in prison for a whole 2 decades. He has always claimed that he is actually innocent but the police have no reason to re investigate the murders! Until another body of a young woman has been found the exact way in which the other murders which is the corpse planted with flowers! so what did her mum actually know and why did she end up comitting suicide and ending her own life????

This was an amazing read which was gripping and fast paced and it was written amazingly!

Highly Recommend
5 STARS⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Unemployed writer Heather Evans returns to her childhood home after the suicide of her estranged mother. She discovers that her mother has been corresponding with an imprisoned serial killer for a great many years. Not only are there strange things happening in her home but it appears that the murders have started again. Was the wrong person convicted or is there a copycat at work and how Is Heathers mother connected?
Although I would question some of Heathers responses to events this novel proceeds at a decent pace and manages to keep the suspense going to the end.
Thank you to Harper Fiction & Netgalley for allowing me to read a free advance copy.

An absolute riveting read which had me hooked from the first page. atmospheric, creepy and brilliant thrill of a book

A clever psychological thriller which included serial killers, hippy communes and dysfunctional families, this novel keeps you guessing until the end. Not for the squeamish or faint-hearted, we are told of how bodies were buried with flowers and of how those you know, including your immediate family, may be hiding secrets from their past. I thoroughly enjoyed this and will be keeping an eye out for further offerings from Jen Williams.

Absolutely loved this original thriller combining Grimm's fairy tales with a copycat serial killer. Particularly enjoyed the character of Heather, the flawed heroine, reeling from her estranged mother's suicide and looking for answers from a long incarcerated serial killer. She gave me vibes of the rookie detective Clarice Starling and the wounded journalist Camille Preaker as she delved in to her mother's past association with an alternative living commune. The ending was unexpected and kept me reading into the early hours.

A totally compelling read that was impossible to put down. Brilliantly written, the characters come alive from the pages, thoroughly gripping, total page turner

Creepy and atmospheric. You can really lose yourself in the sinister landscape of this book. I found it difficult to connect to the protagonist, but she’s not meant to be wholly likeable. A well-written thriller.

Enjoyed thiws book although found it a bit laborious in the beginning to get into the story of it but glad I stuck with that as it turned out to be very good!!

My thanks to Jen Williams, Harper Collins and Net Galley for the ARC of DOG ROSE DIRT.
What a roller coaster ride. Heather is a journalist, or was until she has a fight with one her colleagues in the news room and is promptly sacked. She then discovers her mother has committed suicide and returns to the family home, a house she has not visited since she was sixteen. Something about her mother's death does not ring true, and when she discovers some old letters written by her mother to a convicted serial killer, Michael Reave, known as The Red Wolf, the journalist side of her cannot leave it alone until she gets to the bottom of the story.
I really like Heather, and would like to see her in other stories. This was a brilliant thriller with some great twists and turns and kept me guessing until the end. Loved it.!

This is eerily chilling! It all felt so real and I expected to do a Wikipedia search and find a real life serial killer called Michael Reave.
I don’t think I have read a book with so much darkness that is lurking amongst the story and it haunts you the idea of how and why the murders were / are taking place.
Now there are few parts of the ending I’m not sure I completely buy into but if nothing else I do appreciate that serial killers and the stories that go with them are chilling, bizarre and gruesome.
This story is going to haunt me for a while!!

This was a great, atmospheric thriller - with elements of the Silence of the Lambs for sure. When Heather's mother kills herself unexpectedly, all is not as it seems - and when dead bodies start showing up years after serial killer is behind bars, it falls to Heather to stop the body count.

A truly dark book, not for the faint-hearted. When ex-journalist Heather’s mother dies, lots of strange events lead Heather to wonder just how well she knew her mother. Why had she been writing to a famous serial killer. And why are more women being killed in the same way when The Red Wolf is already in prison? A true chiller.

I'm afraid I gave up halfway through this. I just couldn't get into this book at all. And the second the mothers neighbour was elusive about her address I knew it was time to bow out because I knew exactly what was coming. A shame really.

Scary, unique and fast paced, this far surpassed my expectations. This is a thriller really worth reading with some excellent twists. Would love to this made into a series!

Heather Evans, having recently lost her job as a reporter, returns home to sort out her mother’s funeral. Her mother unexpectedly committed suicide and she and Heather have been estranged for some time.
Whilst sorting out her mother’s things she finds some strange letters from a convicted serial killer.Michael Reave She takes these to the police as someone is currently ‘copycatting’ his crimes.
A lot going on in this book so you would expect it to be exciting and a real page Turner unfortunately I found it a bit of a slog.
Heather’s behaviour, thoughts and actions make no sense at times. She rushes into some things - like visiting a serial killer in prison and being more interested in her mother’s relationship with him than the fact he killed women.
The backstory behind his actions is so over the top it doesn’t ring true.
Was left disappointed by the book.
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for a fair review.

Jen Williams tells the story of a daughter finding out she knows nothing about her mother who has just killed herself in fact the daughter doesn’t know anything about herself! A thriller with just the right amount of horror and chilling feelings keeps you spell bound until the end, only disappointment was the end wasn’t upto the standard of the rest of the story. Authors need to make sure the end doesn’t just finish the book as fast as possible but needs to keep the feeling of the book till the natural conclusion apart from that this is well worth a read

Dog Rose Dirt by Jen Williams is a Crime thriller with a touch of Silence of the Lambs horror.
Former journalist Heather Evans returns to the family home she left as a teenager after her mother ,Colleen, commits suicide. They'd always had a difficult relationship,which led to Heather leaving home at an early age after being blamed by her mother for the death of her father after a massive heart attack. Surprised that her mother would even contemplate suicide Heather is even more surprised to find correspondence between Colleen and notorious serial killer Michael Reave, also known as The Red Wolf. Reave has been in Belmarsh Prison for over 20 years but a copycat killer is at large.

This is something a bit different and combines a touch of Gothic horror with a fast-moving and involving crime story with Heather's investigation of the link between her mother and Michael Reave . As she looks strange things start to happen and she feels as if she's constantly being watched.

Author Williams successfully maintains the sense of menace throughout the book and while it does stretch credulity at times it's a great read with very flawed but feisty and believable main character in Heather.

I was going to stop reading this book at 10% as I wasn't feeling it but persevered and I am so glad I did, after a slow start it gripped me and I couldn't put it down. Heather character isn't really likeable infact I was more interested in the serial killer but if you like dark thrillers with dark fairytales then this is for you. Thank you to netgalley for my advanced copy

This book has been completely and utterly impossible to put down. I have been completely gripped, suspicious of all the characters involved and completely unable to predict where this book was going. This is well-written, completely addictive and all round a wonderful gem. I absolutely recommend this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️