Review: Kill Your Brother

Kill Your Brother by Jack Heath
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Another fast-paced thriller from Jack Heath!

I have to admit - the three stars is more me than this book. I've seemingly become a little jaded with reading about murder, assault, rape, etc. so it just doesn't quite hit the same for me any more.

So, that in mind, let me mention all the things that are great about this story.

First, there's the unique premise: Elise can go free from her captor, but only if she murders her (also captive) brother. If that's not an original hook, I haven't read as much crime as I thought! I found the sibling dynamic was quite fascinating, especially when their true colours started coming out.

The twists were aplenty, and while I did see a few coming there were still some that kept me guessing and had me surprised. This is a rather convoluted story with many seemingly disconnected characters that somehow weave together into the same narrative.

I found Stephanie to be a really interesting character, and would have loved to explore her story more thoroughly. I didn't particularly like Elise or Callum, so Stephanie actually attracted most of my sympathy.

This book travels at a fast pace which means you do have to put some things together for yourself. Sometimes I rather missed the lack of detail, and I do feel this story could have been fleshed out further by adding more meat to the characters.

As mentioned, I've become a bit jaded with crime, so for me it was the unique aspects of the story that kept me hooked. I got a bit tired reading about some of the details of the various crimes discussed in this story, and I think that's just because of how sad it makes me that these things are still happening for real all around the world.

An excellent crime novel and a brilliant follow up to the Hangman series that should leave fans satisfied.

Personally, however, I think it's time for me to disappear back into some fantasy.

With thanks to A&U for an uncorrected proof ARC

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