This edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller offers an eerie sneak peek into the mind of the sociopathic killer, leaving everyone involved racing to save Grace.

About the Book

An ambitious reporter seeks a window into an obsessed killer’s mind—and is forced to take a hard look in the mirror, in this dark psychological thriller.

It starts when a Cornwall fisherman finds a body in the ocean. The blood of the victim has washed away, but the angry message etched deep into the victim’s back is crystal clear: Grace—Number 1.

It’s the kind of story that could make local reporter Jennifer Mack’s career—if she can keep her hypercompetitive colleague, Hayley, from undermining her at every turn.

When the next body turns up far away in London, another carved message makes the link unmistakable—a serial killer is on the loose.

Then, Jennifer receives a package from the killer. As she begins to communicate directly and publicly with a murderer-at-large, it appears she’s been chosen to write the headline story.

But as lines between right and wrong start to blur, Jennifer is forced to come face-to-face with her own inner darkness . . .

My Thoughts

With a list of content warnings a mile long, this book is not for the faint of heart. Books, movies, and shows like this seem to be getting ever more popular. Ones that offer insight into the killers’ point of view. Criminal Minds ran for sixteen years and then came back darker than ever as soon as streaming only was an option. Clearly, our society has a dark obsession with figuring out what makes psychopaths, sociopaths, and serial killers tick. And Cristina Slough is happy to deliver her depiction of one of these troubled minds.

Offering unique twists that make the story amazing, the author takes us deep – extremely deep – down the rabbit hole with the killer. An extra layer is added as the main character journalist is also digging deep into the criminal’s mind as well in an attempt to find them. I appreciated some of the flipping of various stereotypes within this book and some representational elements that I won’t go into because I don’t like spoilers. Jennifer was a complex, somewhat unreliable narrator. And obviously, the killer was an unreliable narrator. It was interesting to see the story unfold through the eyes of two such narrators and to see some similarities in their stories.

One interesting point always at least alluded to in stories like this is the idea that we could all be one bad thing away from being killers ourselves. Maybe that accounts for the utter fascination we all have with crime stories. The author does an excellent job of blurring the lines between friend and foe, misdirecting us, and making friends and enemies indistinguishable right up until the end. I figured out one big twist early on, but honestly, I felt I needed to look over my shoulder constantly while reading the book, which I devoured very quickly needing to find out what was going to happen.

I appreciate the author, the publisher, and Love Books Tours for including me on this tour. I look forward to reading more by the author.

Who’s It For

This book is for mature audiences only. It is very graphic in many ways. If you enjoy psychological crime thrillers, this is a great book for you. This book was incredibly twisty, fast-paced, and full of action. It is not appropriate for young or sensitive readers.

Content Warning: Graphic Violence and Death, Relationship Violence, Sexual Assault (including Child Rape), Drug Abuse, Alcoholism, Murder, Self-Harm, Body Mutilation, Divorce, Child Abuse, Parent Death, Kidnapping

About the Author

Novelist, movie addict, and animal lover, Cristina Slough is the author of: “Till Death Us Do Part,” “The Life She Left Behind” and “Saving Grace.”

Cristina is married with two children and has a passion for delivering killer plot twists.

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