You Are Next

Dominos have always held a special place in my heart – the game that is not the pizza! I remember as a kid, constantly playing the game with my lovely gran in front of a burning log fire that warmed the small cottage effortlessly. We had no central heating in those days – didn’t really need it – the fire was more than a match for cold winter evenings. We played relentlessly – neither willing to admit defeat!

I also remember sticking a piece of freshly cut bread on a fire fork and sitting impatiently, introducing the bread to the heat, tempting it to toast so I could feed my hunger – those were the days! Katia Lief has taken those magical memories from me in the space of two days with her new novel “You Are Next”! Comparing my childhood memories and a serial killer with a penchant for Dominos rather takes away the gloss of toasties, packets of monster munch and freshly made cuppas!

To be fair I knew, or at the very least an inkling, what I was letting myself into so I really have no excuse! “You Are Next” is a psychological thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat as you anticipate the killer’s next move.

“Detective Karin Schaeffer was a happily married mother in New Jersey when her life was shattered by a serial killer who murdered her husband and daughter. Martin Price is known to the police as JPP for Just Plain Psycho because of the brutality of his attacks. To the press and the public he is known as The Domino Killer because he systematically murders whole families one by one, after leaving a trail of dominoes as clues. Now JPP has escaped prison…and with the help of her former partner and close friend, Mac MacLeary, Karin struggles to overcome despair and save her remaining loved ones as the clock ticks on all their lives.”

Available from Amazon in the UK and Amazon in the US.

Karin is a highly complex character and is in a deeply disturbing and dark place throughout the book – there is no sunshine, her outlook on life is bleak – the temptation to give in to the killer’s demand for her life ever so tempting, but she learns to fight back despite her traumatic past all the while rebuilding her life step by painful step.

Dominos!

In JPP, Katia Lief appears to have created an intelligent monster who is always ahead in an ever changing game of cat and mouse. He holds all the cards, or should that be dominos? On the run, he is an incredibly assured individual who appears to take a great deal of satisfaction from the psychological torment he imparts. Confident in his own bubble he silently stalks until he is ready to strike – he decides – he calls the shots.

The narrative is sharp and fluid, Lief intelligently changing gears throughout the tale, she takes you one way, then inexplicably changes attack and approaches from an altogether different angle. The pace is constantly changing, the author lulling you into a false sense of security and then Bamb! Cleverly done, she offers respite from the psychological hammering on offer in large sections of the book and then cranks the volume just when she deems it necessary – you are along for the ride and you can’t get off.

One more than one occasion I found myself so deeply immersed in a scenario that all superfluous background noise evaporated. Rapid page turns and an ever increasing breathlessness monopolising the sound waves.

A mesmerizing debut thriller, Lief introduces us to a new heroine in Karin Schaeffer. A woman struggling to come to terms with the murder of her daughter and husband we follow her quest for survival and a deep desire for revenge. A wonderfully evocative psychological thriller that is multi faceted and intelligent – one not to be missed.

Published by Ebury in the UK “You Are Next” is available from Amazon in the UK and Amazon in the US.