The Blurb
YOU HAVE SIX SECONDS TO READ THIS MESSAGE…
The body of a 15-year-old is found hours after she sends a desperate message to her friends. It looks like suicide, until a second girl disappears.
This time, the message is sent directly to the Metropolitan Police – and an officer’s younger sister is missing.
DS Nasreen Cudmore and journalist Freddie Venton will stop at nothing to find her. But whoever’s behind the notes is playing a deadly game of hide and seek – and the clock is ticking.
YOU HAVE 24 HOURS TO SAVE THE GIRL’S LIFE.
MAKE THEM COUNT.
My Review
Wow - I finished reading this last night and was left breathless. The book felt like an episode of '24' - tense, dramatic, nail-biting, complete with each chapter counting down to the deadline for saving the sister of a colleague.
Gone is the brash, prickly Freddie Venton of Clarke's first book in the series, Follow Me. Freddie has been reduced to a nervous wreck by the villain, who is now locked up. He has left physical and mental scars on poor Freddie, who has been unable to cope and is living back with her parents. She suffers from panic attacks and anxiety, and the last thing she needs is old friend Nasreen turning up on her doorstep begging for help.
But of course Freddie agrees to help - after all, the case is similar to last time, and Freddie feels partly responsible.
Nasreen has moved up in the world; she's on a new team, but still has to fight the prejudice of one of her colleagues. The usually by-the-book Nas finds herself discovering an inner strength and resourcefulness, going against the rules to get the job done. After all, she is guilty too.
Social Media is again the star - or culprit - of this series; showing just how it can influence and damage our lives. The media used this time is Snap Chat; various Snaps are sent to Nas and her team, showing them videos of the poor abducted girl. (I'm guessing for the kidnapper to put a panting doggy filter over the poor victim would have been a bit too sick and twisted here).
The writing is taut, the dialogue natural and the humour as sharp as a blade, and again Angela Clarke has written a story that should strike fear into the hearts of the self-obsessed frenzied society of today.
You don't need to have read Follow Me to read this, but I highly recommend you do because it is a cracking series.
You can buy Watch Me, and it's predecessor Follow Me, from Amazon, Waterstones and other retailers.
About the Author
Angela is an author, playwright, columnist and professional speaker.
Her debut crime thriller Follow Me (Avon, HarperCollins) was named Amazon’s Rising Star Debut of the Month January 2016, long listed for the Crime Writer’s Association Dagger in the Library 2016, and short listed for the Good Reader Page Turner Award 2016. Follow Me has now been optioned by a TV production company.
The second instalment in the Social Media Murder Series Watch Me (Avon, HarperCollins) is out January 2017. And the third Trust Me (Avon, HarperCollins) is out June 2017.
Angela’s humorous memoir Confessions of a Fashionista (Ebury, Penguin Random House) is an Amazon Fashion Chart bestseller.
Her play, The Legacy, enjoyed its first run at The Hope Theatre in June 2015.
An experienced and entertaining speaker, Angela has given talks, hosted events, and masterclasses for many, including Noirwich Crime Writing Festival, Camp Bestival, Panic! (in partnership with Create, the Barbican, Goldsmiths University and The Guardian), Meet a Mentor (in partnership with the Royal Society of Arts), Northwich Lit Fest, St Albans Lit Fest, BeaconLit, and the London College of Fashion. She also hosted the current affairs radio show Outspoken on Radio Verulam in 2015, and has appeared regularly as a panel guest on BBC 3 Counties, BBC Radio 4, and the BBC World Service, among others.
In 2015 Angela was awarded the Young Stationers' Prize for achievement and promise in writing and publishing. She also works for The Literary Consultancy critiquing manuscripts and mentoring. Angela, a sufferer of the debilitating chronic condition Ehlers Danlos III, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, volunteers with Womentoring, Meet a Mentor and at HM Prisons. She is passionate about bringing marginalised voices into the industry. You can find out more about her at www.AngelaClarke.co.uk
Find out more at: http://angelaclarke.co.uk and Follow Her (see what I did there?) on Twitter @theangelaclarke
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