A Mike Lockyer Novel
by Clare Donoghue
Three young women have been found brutally murdered in south London, their bodies discarded in plain view, the victims only yards away from help during each attack. And each time, the murderer gets a little bit bolder.
Detective Inspector Mike Lockyer is the head of homicide on the South London police force, and with three bodies on his watch and a killer growing in confidence, he and DS Jane Bennett are frantically trying to find the link between these seemingly isolated incidents. Slowly, the case is also invading Lockyer's life outside the office, and the fact that his daughter matches the victim profile is putting a painful strain on their already fragile relationship.
Meanwhile, Sarah Grainger has a shadowy stalker following her every move. Once an outgoing London photographer, Sarah has begun locking herself away, almost too afraid to leave the house. Now her stalker's actions are escalating. He's desperate to tell Sarah a secret
a secret that Lockyer needs to know.
In her compelling and tautly-written debut, Clare Donoghue traces the paths of these captivating, three-dimensional characters as their lives become dangerously and inextricably entwined.
"Donoghue's ability to generate some scary atmospherics and sympathy for her characters suggests she has what it takes to build a solid detective series." - Publishers Weekly
"A gutsy, gruesome, and compelling thriller." - Booklist
"An excellent procedural debut with depth of characterization and plenty of suspense." - Kirkus
"Excellent
Each carefully planned chapter adds to the excitement with its attention to detail... The climax is shocking and unexpected." - RT Book Reviews (4 stars)
"An atmospheric, authentic police story
a cracker of a book." - Elizabeth Haynes, international bestselling author of Into the Darkest Corner
"A compelling debut that blends the dark fog of a London killing spree with characters and descriptions that make you feel like you're reading a newspaper rather than a novel. Bravo!" - Shane Gericke, national bestselling author of Torn Apart
"A scintillating debut. It's clever and compelling, and anchored by a host of vividly drawn characters."David Bell, author of Cemetery Girl
"An assured and shocking debut from a talent to watch." - David Hewson, author of The Killing
This information about Never Look Back was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
After ten years in London, working for a City law firm, Clare Donoghue moved back to her home town in Somerset to undertake an MA in creative writing at Bath Spa University. In 2011 the initial chapters of Never Look Back, previously entitled Chasing Shadows, were longlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger award. Never Look Back is Clare's first novel.
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