The Lollipop Man - I was hooked!

This booked was so gripping, I really enjoyed it. I was enthralled by the storyline in which a young girl was snatched by none other than a Lollipop man, who would think that such a trusted member of society would take a child!

I was really invested in the story and had to know what happened next! The characters of Adrian and Sheila, who are both haunted by their roles in the disappearance of three young girls eight years before, work brilliantly to carry this story of regret, redemption and resolution. It also touches on the subject of family secrets and being true to yourself. Adrian is battling with letting his parents know who he is, but they also haven’t been honest with him. Sheila is also keeping secrets from her friends but she can’t sit on them if she wants to repair the mistakes of the past.

I had never read Daniel Sellers before but will definitely be keeping an eye out for their other books, the book gave so many twists and turned to keep the reader interested.

3.5 ★

Not sure why I've kept pushing this to the back of my tbr but I'm glad I finally got round to reading it. This was a solid thriller/mystery that also touched on specific true crime cases in Yorkshire which I found intriguing & thought made the general story really immersive & added to the darker theme of the plot.

I loved the writing in this, I found it so gripping & Sellers is great at building tension as well as creating a setting so gritty & dark, it made this perfect for a nighttime read. The characters were well written in my opinion; they all felt believable & I thought the subplot surrounding Adrian's sexuality was done well & never took away from the overall story.

There were a couple negatives which notched down my rating for this— firstly, there were a lot of characters to get my head round, it made it confusing to read at times as I kept losing track of who's who. I also thought the end seemed rushed & felt weak compared to the rest of the book; not to say it was a bad ending, I just could have done with something more.

If you like your more slow burn mysteries, I'd recommend picking this up; there were moments at the start I thought it was going to be too slow for me but as I got further into it, this bothered me less & I came to really like the slower pace of the story. I also liked that I couldn't predict who The Lollipop Man was going to be & I wasn't unsatisfied with the reveal at all.

Overall, this was a decent intro to a new thriller series & I'm definitely up for reading the next book as well as other work from this writer.

Thank you to the publisher & Netgalley for the free eARC!

A good plot with twists you don't see coming. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more. The characters were believable but not necessarily likeable! I will happily recommend this book.

When a young girl is snatched from a West Yorkshire town there are eerie similarities with a cold case from many years earlier. It can’t be the same killer, can it?

Yorkshire, 1994. Eighteen-year-old Adrian Brown spends his days working at the local newspaper, and his evenings in his local pub. But under this ordinary surface lies a haunting story. Aged ten, Adrian was kidnapped by a shadowy figure known as The Lollipop Man, who had abducted three children before. Adrian was the only one to escape.

The Lollipop Man might well have returned when another missing child whips up a media frenzy. Journalist Sheila Hargreaves, troubled with memories of her own involvement in the reporting of the previous abductions, is determined to dig deeper, atone for what she did nearly a decade ago and bring the Lollipop Man to justice?

A book that will keep you turning pages. An absolutely riveting thriller that keeps the reader hooked.

I haven't read anything by Daniel Sellers before but, once again, I have discovered another great British author. This is the first in a new series and one I am very much looking forward to getting my teeth into if subsequent books are as enjoyable as this one.

After a bit of a slow start, this book gradually drew me in and by the end, had me hooked. There are a lot of characters to get your head round so you need to keep your wits about you but I loved Adrian and Gav's friendship; it was a breath of fresh air to read about a male friendship rather than the usual female one. The story is intriguing with plenty of twists, some of which I saw coming but others caught me unaware, together with tension and atmosphere.

Overall, a pretty successful start to a new series and I must thank the author, Allison & Busby and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this, the first in a new series.

A brilliant read
Lots of twists and turns
Which had me changing my mind constantly
Had me hooked from the first page
Thanks Netgalley

I received an email to read book 2 in this series. I thought, lets have a look on netgalley and see whether book 1 is still available and it was....but not really. I could read it (as it said) but once I clicked on that, I couldn't do anything anymore. So that's unfortunate and the reason for this 'review'. I can't rate it so I'll give it the average here and on Goodreads.

I really loved The Lollipop Man. It was fast paced with lots of twists and turns which I did not see coming. I enjoyed the characters and the writing style.

Thank you to NetGalley and Allison & Busby for my ARC.

I enjoyed this book and it was definitely a ride full of twists and turns, and I still couldn’t predict the ending

Many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I enjoyed it. A strong four stars.

This was an interesting read, and a great thriller! I was hooked, trying to figure out what was going to happen, and who was responsible.

You will lose sleep over this book! Get ready for a book hangover.

Some years ago three little girls were abducted, and one boy who was returned. The boy is now 18 and beginning to find his way in the world, but determined to hide his past as a victim of what became known as 'The Lollipop Man'.

However, another girl is taken and the same rituals concerning her clothing and a shrine have appeared, and Adrian fears the Lollipop Man is back. But other murders are happening around him, and he, with his friend Gav, is determined to try to solve them, helped by a journalist who interviewed him as a child and has her own demons to rest.

Its well written, twisty and gripping and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Allison & Busby for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fantastic book to read. It had me on the edge of my chair many times. There were lots of twists and turns to keep you interested. Good plot that played out well. Very well written.

This story sees the return of the elusive lollipop man who evaded capture a decade ago after the murder of two school girls and the abduction of Adrian. .

Adrian has always lived in the shadow of that abduction and left with wondering why he was the lucky one?

Fast forward to the current date and the abduction of another young girl where the evidence is strikingly familiar to that of a decade also a copy cat or the return of the original suspect?

An unlikely duo team up to answer questions that have eluded them for the past decade.

This was a detailed read with a lot of description, especially the characters and settings which added depth and clarity to the read.

The lollipop man by Daniel sellers took some getting used to as I'm more used to American and Canadian words/writing.

18 year old Adrian spends his days working at the local newspaper and his evenings in the local pub. Adrian and Nige get a call from Linda to go take pictures of a scene as they are photographers for the local paper. They get to the scene and hear that it's suspected that the lollipop man is back.

The Lollipop man refers to a crossing guard as his sign on a stick resembles a lollipop. Children start to go missing, 8 years ago 11 year old Samantha Joseph, 4 months later 10 year old Jenny Parker , In October 11 year old Paula sykes, in December Matthew Spivey age 10. Matthew was taken for 2h but then let go. Traumatized but alive he changed his name and tried to move on with his life.

But Adrian has a secret, when he was ten he was abducted by the man the media is calling the lollipop man, but he was the only one to escape.

Does he risk exposing himself to help figure out who the lollipop man is? Or is there a way he can keep his anonymity and still get justice.

Thank you to Daniel Sellers for working with NetGalley. I received an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

This is a crime mystery about a serial abductor of small children. It’s set in 1994 in West Yorkshire, in and around Hebden Bridge, and although it’s just 30 years ago, it has the sense of a historical novel. Mobile phones are only just becoming commonplace, computers are rare and the internet is unheard of.

There are several protagonists. The first is 18-year-old Adrian, gay but not out to his family, and himself a victim of the abductor who had acquired the nickname of ‘The Lollipop Man’. Adrian has a low-level job at the local newspaper, The Calder Valey Advertiser, where he is the butt of homophobic jokes from colleague Kev. From today’s viewpoint, these are quite shocking and again give a sense of history. Adrian and best pal, Gav, set out to follow up clues as to the current whereabouts of the Lollipop Man.

The second protagonist is Sheila Hargreaves, local celebrity and anchor for the regional news programme ‘Yorkshire Tonight’ who also becomes involved in the hunt for the Lollipop Man.
The action is pacey and avoids being dragged down into lengthy descriptions. Instead the author drives the action along through well pitched dialogue. This allows us to get clear insights into the characters of Adrian and Sheila and the multitude of characters they encounter on their search. One of these is the eccentric character of Mrs Wormley who may hold the key to the Lollipop Man. The dramatic action in pursuit of Lollipop Man builds to a truly gruesome climax towards the end and the tone of the novel slips into horror.

I very much enjoyed this novel that is strongly driven through dialogue and characters’ interaction. driven. There’s an interesting dynamic set up by having two protagonists, Adrian and Sheila. But because the antagonist is not present for much of the novel (if indeed s/he is still alive) the story has insufficient jeopardy to really have the pace of a thriller. But if you enjoy regional crime thrillers with well-realised characters, then this may well be for you.

I’m grateful to Allison and Busby for making available a pre-publication copy so that I might make an honest review.

The book has its strengths and weaknesses. While the story had some interesting elements, it was marred by too many characters and repetitive plot points. I found myself getting irritated with the constant introductions of new characters and the repetitive descriptions of the same events. While there were a few minor issues with character development and pacing, the author's talent and potential shine through. I would like to read more from this author in the future!

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Lollipop Man by Daniel Sellers was a slow burner at the beginning, then Bang! the book started to come alive and had great twists and turns to keep you interested and I ended up turning the pages to find out what happens next.

This book is set in West Yorkshire and 18 year-old Adrian now all grown up, and spends his days working at the local newspaper, and his evenings in his local pub. But 8 years ago he was abducted, by a shadowy figure known as "The Lollipop Man," He was 1 of the 3 children that were taken. Adrian was the only one to escape. This has haunted Adrain all his life.

Now, a young girl has been snatched, but there are eerie similarities with a cold case from many years earlier.

Can it be the same killer, from all those years ago?

Journalist Sheila Hargreaves, is troubled with her own memories of her involvement in the reporting of the previous abductions, and she is determined to dig deeper, atone for what she did nearly a decade ago and bring the Lollipop Man to justice.

Will Sheila Hargreaves find him before it is too late?

Is any child safe?

WoW this book was a roller coaster ride and once I got over the slow beginning I loved it, so stick with it.

I highly recommend The Lollypop man,

This was really great! There were twists and I had a hard time putting this down. It's very fast paced and the characters are entertaining and well developed. The ending was unexpected which I liked. This is a well done thriller that I would recommend. Special Thank You to Daniel Sellers, Allison & Busby and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review

It seemed like a trimming down of the number of characters or at least some better development of them in order to help the reader identify quickly who was who. Add to that some reduction in the repetition and I might have enjoyed it more.