Child X

There are subjects which many authors are not prepared to tackle and whether a child can be “evil” is one of them. With the clarity of purpose and dedication to detail which surely comes with being a private investigator, the author asks us to face questions to which we may not even want to know the answer. Despite the darkness of the plot, there is a constructive and subtle optimism in its message. Nothing is as it seems and judgement of good versus evil is not straightforward.

Thanks to NetGalley and Matador for this copy of Child X by Mick Lee.

Child X tells the story of two men struggling to keep their lives on track. One, with a serious gambling addiction and the other hiding from the boy he used to be. Ray Mercer is a private investigator and gambling addict tasked with finding someone who doesn't want to be found by a man whose intentions are unclear. Ray struggles with his moral obligations and his inability to stay out of the local bookies. Is Ray looking for Child X or some other poor soul? You'll have to read Child X by Mick Lee to find out.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable thriller, with just enough twists and turns to keep you guessing until the very end. I was a little confused by some of the place names, as an American, but that was a minor detail in an otherwise very enjoyable read. The ending was very surprising and rewarding, depending on how you feel about some of the characters.

For anyone looking for a twisty-turny thriller to keep them guessing, look no further.

Where is Child X

Ray is a private investigator hired by a Mob boss to find a child killer named Child X. He has to take the job to clear debts owed from his gambling habit.

The book is about Ray, a private detective with a gambling addiction. He is hiding a secret from his past that eats away at him. When he finds the man he is searching for he cannot turn him over and tells him that he is in danger.

The story is about murder, secrets, more murder and cover ups. It is about strange twists in life and how the person you see may not be who you think they are. It's about what life was, what it could have been and what it never will be.

The book is a good detective story, however, it changed people and time periods so often that I was lost a bit of the time. There was a good twist at the end.

Thanks to Mick Lee, Troubador Publishing, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy for an honest review.

I enjoy the back and forth of time in each chapter. The book started slowly for me but I did enjoy it in the end. It got slightly confusing in parts with the many characters, some seemed a little unnecessary but never the less the ending satisfied the story! I would read more from this author in the future !

Twenty years ago, while two young boys watched in secret, another 12-year-old purposely killed a boy of the same age. The two watchers never told anyone what they had seen that day.

It's now 1999 and Ray is a struggling private investigator who is addicted to gambling. He bets on anything and everything .. and it's cost him big time. He owes a tremendous amount of money to a violent creditor.

A retired gangster pays off Ray's debt and in return for finding a certain man, he will mark the debt as paid in full ... giving Ray the chance of a new start.

BOOK BLURB: His target is hiding in a cult that masquerades as a telemarketing company. He has changed his identity several times and becomes embroiled in a death that promises to make him more visible.

Ray discovers a secret about the man ... a secret that may link their lives together... a secret from Ray's past and now he is confronted with a dilemma.....

Does he hand over a child killer to a gangster?

This was a bit of a slow starter for me. Seems like everyone involved has numerous aliases, depending on where they are and what they're doing. Throw in a woman who goes undercover at the telemarketing company for some reason and it can get real confusing. And going back and forth in time without any names at all makes it more so. As the author is a former private investigator, I was expecting a bit more credibility written with cleaner lines. The ending was unexpected but satisfactory.

Many thanks to the author / Troubador Publishing / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Does a child that kills with no remorse deserve a second chance?
What if another child did nothing to prevent the death, and is offered a chance of redemption?

This was good! I enjoyed the setting in this read.
The plot was good.
The characters were...... They were ok. Kind of hard for me to relate to.
But overall good story!

A good premise and a lot going on in this busy book,no chance to get bored as the story goes between different characters and past and present
I didn't warm to the characters but then I don't think that was the intention
Uncomfortable topics covered ie child murderers and cults etc
Crawley seems to be a town to avoid at all costs!!!
A very different read

Down on his luck, Ray, has a chance to clear his gambling debts if he does one job for Bad Leckie. I was interested in the actual story but the characters were hard to keep up with. This story has several main characters and some of these characters go by more than one name. Once I was able to sort out the characters and their relation to each other, I was very pleased with the ending.

This surprised me a little - a dark subject matter, child killers grown up, echoes of the Jamie Bulger case ... but with another element in there, a rather hopeless (or is he?) private detective who owes big money to nasty people with no choice but to track down a child killer as an adult. And a personal link to the case becomes clear ... It was hard to root for any of the characters apart from Ray the detective, but over time the case of the grown up killer grows on you. Really liked the ending, wrong footed me

A great detective story with some twists I didn't see coming. I don't typically pick up this type of read but was pleasantly surprised.
The only thing that threw me was the back and forth, I had a hard time keeping up and felt a little lost at times.

Plot wise I enjoyed this book it had an interesting premise and the main characters were all flawed which I think makes for a better read. The story is told from the point of view of multiple characters and different timelines but isn’t too convoluted to follow and at times I didn’t really know where it was going but all the strands tied up at the end.
Don’t be put off by the ‘child kills child’ aspect of the book as there’s much more to the story than a depiction of murder.

A fascinating book looking at the reality of good versus evil.

It's not an easy read and you can find yourself getting lost but it is an absolute triumph by the author.

I love to read fiction that makes you think about the concept in the wider world.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The cover definitely caught my eye... Moreso for the large red X.

So let me start by saying, this is definitely a thought-provoking read. This is a topic that not many want to cover due to how controversial it can be. Does a child that kills with no remorse deserve another chance? How would you honestly answer that question? We all have our opinions, right?
This book was well-written.
The characters are deep and relatable in some way.
Overall, I'd definitely read more books by this author.

Thanks to Netgalley and Troubador Publishing Ltd for the arc of this book.

This was a great read and follows two people - one in whom has a gambling addiction and the other whom is hiding from the boy in which he used to be... it has a lot of twist and turns to make you guess right up to the end of the book! it was a compelling and intriguing read.

4 stars⭐⭐⭐⭐