Unfortunately this book was not for me, it was a bit slower than I would like and it just didn't hold my attention. I am sure other people will love it!

Thank you to Atlantic Books and NetGalley for the copy of High Pressure by Sam Blake.

This is the second book that I've read by Sam Blake. Overall, I enjoyed the book, but I felt that was one too many ideas thrown in. This stand alone book features Anna Lockhart who finds herself in the midst of a possible terror threat in London. Brioni has just returned from her trip to Asia, and it is during an explosion that her sister Marissa goes missing, presumed dead. In the midst of the chaos and heat of London in summer, Anna and Brioni meet and find that they have a mutual dislike of Marissa's husband Steve.

If you're looking for a thriller with a few twists this would be the book for you.

Gripping and twisty ... Blake's strength lies in her ability to combine tough and memorable characters with a deliciously complex and fast-moving plot that never wanes I was hooked from the first page. The writing is superb and enthralling and overall, I just loved this book.

Sam Blake is a very talented writer and this book is no different. It is fast paced and has excellent twists and turns. I started the book this morning and I finished it now! I think it would make an excellent tv show as the plot which centres around terrorist attack, and has strong female leads in Brioni. Sam is so talented and I can't wait for her next book.

I have a little confession to make- yes yet another one. Although I have several of Sam’s books on my ever expanding ‘to be read’ mountain, I haven’t actually read them yet. When I was invited to take part in the blog tour for ‘High Pressure’, I thought that it would be the ideal opportunity to become acquainted with Sam’s work. Having read and thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘High Pressure’, I am now rather cross with myself that I left it this long to discover how good her books are. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘High Pressure’ but more about that in a bit.
I was drawn into the story from the very first word on the very first page. The book seemed to develop a hold over me and it was a hold that I didn’t want to break. I started reading ‘High Pressure’ and I found that I just couldn’t stop. This story was so full of action that I thought that I might miss something if I was to put the book down for any length of time. I couldn’t turn the pages quickly enough as I worked my way through the book. This was a story that stayed with me even when I didn’t have the book in my hand. If I wasn’t actually reading the book, then I would be thinking about the story. If I had to put the book to one side then I would immediately look forward to being able to pick the book up again. The characters intrigued me and I couldn’t wait to find out what happened to them. All too quickly I reached the end of ‘High Pressure’. I found ‘High Pressure’ to be the true definition of a page turner. The story certainly kept me guessing and certainly kept me on the edge of my seat.
‘High Pressure’ is superbly written. Sam certainly knows how to grab the reader’s attention and draw them into what proves to be one hell of a story. For me, the story hit the ground running and maintained a fast pace throughout. Reading ‘High Pressure’ felt like being on one hell of a scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several twist and turns along the way. Just when you thought that you could take a moment to reclaim your stomach and gather your thoughts then off the action would go again. Sam clearly cares about her characters and this shines through in the way she describes them. She makes them seem just as real as you and I rather than characters in a book. I love the way in which Sam makes the reader feel as though they are part of the story and at the heart of all of the action.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘High Pressure’ and I would recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Sam’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

Terrorist attacks, a missing person and a murder all add together to make an interesting read. The strong female characters were the star of this book and what I love about Sam Blake books.

Good read, fast paced and great characters. Liked the way it focused on multiple angles, terrioist plot, relationships and friendships. It was my first read of Sam Blake and I certainly will look forward to reading her other books. Enjoyable thriller.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. This was a good read, with strong female lead characters. A thriller set during a terrorist situation in London it held my attention from the beginning. A solid read for thriller fans.

Absolutely adored Sam's story..
Great characters and I loved how she intertwines them with each book.
Fast paced for sure and a storyline that carries well.
Sam is fast becoming a must get to author

Absolutely loved this book by Sam Blake, It's her best yet. The writing is great. The characters are superb, and there's tension on every page. I love the fast pace of this book and there were some pretty great twists and surprises in store. It was lovely to learn more about Anna Lockhart who appeared in No Turning Back and I loved the new character Brioni and can't wait to learn more about her in Sam's next book releasing in 2022. This book had me gripped from the first page. The descriptions were perfect, not too much, not too little, and I was there with the characters throughout the story. The plot was great and you could tell that a lot of research had been carried out in the writing of the story. A big 5 stars from me and I can't wait to read the next book.

This is the first Sam Blake novel I have read, and it had it all. Terrorist attacks, murders, affairs and even espionage - so with all of that, why did I only give it 2 out of 5?

The story is set in the UK, with innings from the USA and ties to Ireland, at the start, the characters were well-formed, however as the story progressed additional characters kept being introduced which made it hard to keep track of who was connected with whom.

On paper, and based on the other reviews written this would have been my ideal read - regrettably, however, my personal view was that there was so much going on that my eyes absorbed the prose without building a connection to the plot.

That being said, I can certainly see why readers do enjoy Blake's work, and would certainly read her next work.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Atlantic Books for an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As temperatures soar across Europe during the hottest summer for forty years, a series of hoax terrorist attacks is generating panic in London. Then a bus blows up on Oxford Street and the hoaxes have suddenly become real.
Student Brioni O'Brien has been desperately trying to contact her older sister since she unexpectedly returned early from travelling, so when Marissa's bag is found near the site of the explosion, she fears the worst.
Teaming up with terrorism expert Anna Lockharte to search for Marissa, Brioni discovers that her sister had got herself into a very dangerous situation - and that now she and Anna could be caught in the fallout.

Very thrilling read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own honest voluntary review.

High Pressure is a riveting, high stakes psychological thriller, set between London and Wexford, featuring Anna Lockharte, a character from Blake’s previous books but it isn't necessary to have read any of them prior to this. Professor Anna Lockharte is a terrorism expert based in Dublin’s Trinity College. Her brother-in-law is the US Ambassador to Moscow and his wife, her sister Jen, was killed in a terrorist attack in Paris. Suffering from PTSD as a result of the attack that she survived while shielding her niece Hope from gunfire, Anna becomes Hope's guardian in Ireland. We are then introduced to free-spirited jet setter Brioni O'Brien who has recently been travelling in Thailand during her gap year when she’s mugged. When we meet her she’s just arrived at Heathrow airport from Bangkok and is coming back to London to meet with her sister, Marissa. But she soon finds the bad luck isn't over as her bag never arrives on the carousel and ends up having been stolen. And the situation goes from bad to worse when she realises she can't get hold of her big sister. Londoners have been increasingly on edge recently due to a spate of hoax terrorist attacks all across the city with constant chatter on social media of tourist spots being hit with gunfire.

Anna and Brioni's paths cross when a bus blows up by way of a bomb near Selfridges on Oxford Street in Central London. Brioni later discovers her sister's bag and belongings in the vicinity and begins to panic. Meanwhile, Anna finds herself landing right in the middle of things when she is invited to talk at New Scotland Yard. As she walks into St Pancras Station, a series of life-threatening events begin to unfold, very fast. Will the two women safely locate Marissa? This is an enthralling, nail-biting and compulsively readable terrorism-based thriller with a ripped from the headlines plot, a plethora of twists and turns and a real feeling of fear in the air. Anna and Brioni are both strong, opinionated women with three-dimensional characters and the tension simmers as the book progresses. It's full of action and examines the relationships between the characters and their families, and Blake knows exactly how to make you feel the impending sense of danger and escalating suspense. Anna Lockharte and Brioni are both fascinating, with totally different backgrounds but a common goal to help Brioni’s sister Marissa – if they can track her down in time in this exciting, rapid-fire paced read. Highly recommended.

'High Pressure' is the latest thrilling adventure from author Sam Blake, the pseudonym for Vanessa Fox O'Loughlin. The novel is a stand-alone story but fans of her Cat Connolly series (#3, 'No Turning Back') will recognise some of the characters here. As a fan of the Cat Connolloy trilogy, I particularly enjoyed the opportunity to 'catch-up' with some characters, who feel like old friends.
'High Pressure' is a brilliantly twisty novel and in this gripping tale, we initially meet Brioni, who has unexpectedly decided to return from her travels in Asia. Her arrival in the UK, coincides with a wave of possible terrorist attacks in London and she soon discovers that her older sister Marissa, may well be one of the victims. As Bri struggles to determine the truth, she meets Anna Lockharte (from 'Turning Back') and together they endeavor to find the truth as the situation turns increasingly critical for them all.
'High Pressure' is certainly an accurate title as our heroes race against the clock to uncover the truth behind Marissa's disappearance and determine what is truly happening in London.

I was gripped to this book from the start, it was my first by the author but won’t be the last.

I throughly enjoyed the writing style, enabling readers to fully grasp and visualise the settings of the bomb explosions and the characters within.

I liked that the books not only focused on the terrorism plot but the relationships within and the friendships made.

This is a fast paced book and a must for any thriller fans.

Thank you to @atlanticbooks and @netgalley for my advanced readers copy, in exchange for an honest review.

High pressure is a story of terrorism but is also a story of relationships. The book is set over a short time period and is full of action and relationships.

Brioni has been travelling for a year and returns home hoping to see her sister and start uni. Her sister is not replying however and Brioni fears her brother in law is becoming increasingly controlling.

Brioni meets Anna Lockharte during a suspected terror attack. The two join forces when it turns out Brioni’s sister has gone missing.

From here the story is fast paced and we learn of the complex relationships going on between many of the main characters.

I would have liked to learn more about the relationships involved, but I feel this may come in future books.

High Pressure is the latest stand-alone by Sam Blake and whilst the main underlying story is excellent I found that the overall book felt less than the sum of its individual parts as it did not seem to fully flow and was slightly rushed in parts.

Overall an ok read

High Pressure By Sam Blake.
As temperatures soar across Europe during the hottest summer for forty years, a series of hoax terrorist attacks is generating panic in London. Then a bus blows up on Oxford Street and the hoaxes have suddenly become real.
What a read. An excellent read with creepy menace in it plus some Gripping and twisty suspence too. Absolutely loved it. Couldn't put it down. I loved Brioni. She was my favourite. This is the first book I've read by this author. But it won't be the last. 5*.

A standalone novel with a teeny tiny crossover works for us. In a thriller that feels especially close to home, Londoners are experiencing the fear associated with a series of hoax terrorist attacks. Only some are not so fake, as passengers on a bus travelling up Oxford Street can testify. Suddenly the city is in panic as residents attempt to find loved ones before it’s too late. Irish student Brioni O’Brien has returned from backpacking (or in her case, suitcasing), hoping to meet her sister Marissa and have a much needed family reunion. But no one has heard from Marissa since the afternoon of the bomb, not her oddly behaving husband or the food kitchen where she volunteers. When her sister’s bag is found near the explosion, Brioni feels like she has to give up hope. Fortunately she has an ally in terrorism expert Anna Lockharte, someone who knows all too well what it’s like to attract the wrong sort of attention. If she aids Brioni, is she causing more fuss for herself? And is it the same from Brioni’s point of view? The tension almost vibrates from the page and it is another must-read in my book.