A terrifyingly good thriller perfect for Cara Hunter and Sophie Hannah fans, Your Life or Mine is a spine-tingling chiller best read with the doors and windows bolted shot.

Dangerous serial killer Barratt had been taken down by an all female team who had done their utmost to ensure that justice was served. Now behind bars, Barratt no longer poses a threat to others…or does he? Barratt is in prison where he can no longer harm anybody or be a danger to others – until one of the detectives who helped take him down goes missing. Was it a mere coincidence? Or is there something sinister going on here? Is Barratt’s reign of terror over? Or is it only just beginning?

When the missing detective’s body is discovered, it becomes clear that this was no accident. Somebody is intent on making every single member of the team pay for putting Barratt away and they will stop at nothing until they’ve wreaked their deadly revenge. When another detective goes missing, the women realise that they must keep their wits about them and their eyes and ears open. A dangerous killer will not rest until every single one of these women pays with their life for what they did and another victim is already in the ruthless murderer’s sights: Alana Loxton.

Alana was also a member of this team and she is adamant that she will not be the killer’s next victim. But will she manage to nail this cold-blooded murderer and save herself? Or is she no match for this merciless butcher?

Vicki Bradley certainly knows how to send shivers of terror and apprehension racing down her readers’ spines. Your Life or Mine is a brilliantly constructed thriller that is deftly layered with tension, menace and foreboding and will keep readers completely and utterly glued to the book’s pages desperate to find out what is going to happen next.

Full of twists and turns readers simply will not see coming, Vicki Bradley’s Your Life or Mine is a top-notch thriller that will have readers looking over their shoulders weeks after they’ve turned the last page.

A psychological roller coaster!

Phew!! ‘Your Life or Mine’ will certainly take you on a taut, psychological roller coaster!

Alana Loxton is work hard, play hard lady, who enjoys her police investigations. She is invited to a reunion with her previous all-female detective team who had successfully brought down Barratt, a heinous serial killer. Luckily, he is incarcerated in prison.

From the outset, I found myself totally immersed. Even after the ‘girls’ night out’ the tension started to build on the way home when one of the ladies was about to put her key in the door when disaster struck! Soon it becomes clear that not only is she missing, but her body is discovered, having suffered at the hands of her torturer.

Strangely enough, the horrific style of her murder seemed to fit in with the methods used by Barratt, but he’s in prison! Unfortunately, several days later, another body from the team is discovered, suggesting that they are all very vulnerable. Alana feels the alarm bells ringing and is on ‘red alert.’

I enjoyed her working relationships with her current team, which sent me veering in many directions as to who could be trusted. The pace is fast and furious and such a high octane read. Utterly shocked when I discovered who was the perpetrator, making me determined to read more from this author. Thank you, Vicki Bradley.

Galadriel.

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of this book to review.

Your Life or Mine is a great read. interesting characters and a plot that has enough twists and turns that you are compelled to keep reading.

Firstly a big thank you to the publishers for my copy to review on netgalley. This is a new author to me and she didn’t dissapoint.

I raced through this eager to know the truth and identity of the killer /abductor. Fast paced and written expertly .

A fresh voice in the crime /psychological thriller genre. Perfect for fans of Nell Pattison and Angela Clarke.

Great characters each with their own flaws that shape their story.

Really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from Vicki.

Published 27th May

I liked the sound of this book, and I was not disappointed .I did think in places it wasn't as fast paced as it could be, but I am an impatient reader. Good story, great characters, and a good read..

Your Life or Mine is framed as a police procedural which within a few pages grabs you by the labels and refuses to let go as you shadow Southwark's DC Alana Loxton. Loxton was part of an all-female group of detectives who had arrested Edward Barratt, a serial rapist and murderer a few years before. The women have drifted apart in the time since, and are introduced to the reader at a rare reunion pub night. There we meet Emma, Sarah, Jane, Gabriella, and Alana. These women are beautifully written characters, each living lives as real as yours and mine. The problems start when Emma doesn't show up to work and Alana and her fellow officers are assigned to look into her disappearance.

Alana is known for having "bad feelings" that are usually spot-on, and her alarm bells are warning her that something is terribly wrong. When Emma is discovered dead, in a way reminiscent of Barratt's MO; and both Sarah and Gabriella disappear, Alana knows that somehow Barratt is involved. Despite a recent escape attempt, Barratt is incarcerated at Broadmoor, and Alana's insistence of his involvement has her being censured by her peers and superiors. As her friends die, Alana is forced to rely on her partner Domminick Kowalski, profiler Lena Trawinska, and Sarah's SO, DS Anson.

It's well known amongst my friends and family that I can't stand most horror, but love psychological thrillers and suspense. Despite the fact that both genres tap into a need to scare ourselves silly, it's the combination of heart-racing anxiety paired with desperate hope and the reality-shifting revelations that ensnare my imagination. Vicki Bradley's Your Life or Mine delivers this and so much more! Told primarily through Alana Loxton's eyes with occasional vignettes from the other women, this book effortlessly builds layer upon layer of breathless terror and dogged determination with a painter's deft hand. What you are left with is a story that stays with you hours after reading.

Ever since I can remember I always found interesting the crime shows, those that showed us the hard work police officers, detectives and everyone involved did to solve the crime. Now, I even listen to podcasts and learn about the victims as well, not just the criminals or the procedure. So, it's not really strange that I'm enjoying crime/mystery novels.

When I read the synopsis of "Your Life or Mine" I was intrigued. Then I learned that the author has a background in the police force, which gave me some confident in going into the story. I can say I was not disappointed.

As we follow Alana and the mystery around the disappearance of detectives of the team that took down a serial killer, we go on a rollercoaster journey. The grip the story had on my mind, I couldn't stop reading, I needed to know the truth and what was really going on.

The book had a fast pace that helped with the way my mind was racing to read the next page and the next chapter. I had some thoughts on what may be the reason behind everything, and as I read and was left hanging at some points, I also was wondering what Alana and all the other characters would do next. The curiosity the book left me with from beginning to end, combined with the fast pace was something that made me stay at the edge of my seat.

Overall, it was an exciting adventure, with the right amount of twists and turns. A story that was realistic and exciting, just what I was hoping when I started reading.

[I want to thank Rachel, at Rachel’s Random Resources, Vicki Bradley and Simon & Schuster for the eCopy of this book, via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.]

I read the synopsis for ‘Your Life Or Mine’ and it certainly sounded like the sort of genre I particularly enjoy – a gripping, fast paced crime thriller. This is the first of Vicki’s books that I have had the pleasure of reading and reviewing. Although I do have a little confession to make- yes yet another one. Although I have Vicki’s first book (‘Before I Said I Do) on my mountainous ‘to be read’ pile, I haven’t actually got around to reading it yet. What a mistake to make. Having enjoyed reading ‘Your Life Or Mine’ as much as I did, I am rather cross with myself that it has taken me until now to realise how flipping fantastic Vicki’s work is! I flipping well loved reading ‘Your Life Or Mine’ but more about that in a bit.
It didn’t take me long to get into this story at all. In fact by the time I got to the end of the prologue, I knew that I was going to enjoy reading this book so much. To say that reading ‘Your Life Or Mine’ became addictive is a massive understatement. I picked the book up only intending to read a couple of chapters but I became so wrapped up in the story that I read way more than I had initially intended. I couldn’t put the book down. The book wasn’t exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me. I just couldn’t bear to miss a single second of the story. I had my own theories as to what was going to happen so of course I had to keep reading to see is I was on the right track or if I had wandered down another path entirely. I found ‘Your Life Or Mine’ to be an unputdownable page turner of a read, which kept me guessing and which kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.
‘Your Life Or Mine’ is superbly written. Vicki certainly knows how to grab your attention from the start and draw you into what proves to be one hell of a story. Her writing style uses such vivid and realistic language that the reader feels as though they are part of the story themselves. That’s how I felt at any rate. The fact that Vicki is a serving police officer makes the story seem that bit more authentic. For me, the story hit the ground running and maintained a fast pace throughout. Reading ‘Your Life Or Mine’ felt like being on one hell of a scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several twists and turns along the way. Just when you thought that you could take a minute to reclaim your stomach, catch your breath and gather your thoughts then off the action would go again.
In short, I flipping well adored reading ‘Your Life Or Mine’ and I would definitely recommend this book to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Vicki’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.