Review: RIGHT BEHIND YOU, Rachel Abbott

• format: Kindle (Amazon)
• File Size: 2389 KB
• Print Length: 409 pages
• Publisher: Black Dot Publishing Ltd (January 16, 2020)
• Publication Date: January 16, 2020
• Sold by: Amazon.com Services LLC
• Language: English
• ASIN: B082SWCGG5
• #9 in the DI Tom Douglas series

Synopsis (Amazon)

Some doors should not be opened.
Some can never be closed.

Jo Palmer’s peaceful and happy life is about to end.

Ash – the man she loves – will be arrested by the police.
Millie – her precious daughter – will be taken from her.

She will lose her friends.
She will doubt her sanity.

Someone is stealing everything Jo loves, and will stop at nothing.

But right now, Jo is laughing in her kitchen, eating dinner with her family, suspecting nothing.

It’s raining outside.

There’s a knock at the door. They are here.

My take

A police procedural/thriller set in Manchester, the characters are vivid, and the underlying plot believable.

Like most of the books in the series, this book can be read as a stand-alone, although there are threads that connect the book to earlier titles, mainly to do with the personal life of Tom Douglas. If you are new to the series, this one will send you looking for earlier titles.

My rating: 4.7

I've also read
4.8, ONLY THE INNOCENT #1
4.9, THE BACK ROAD #2
4.6, SLEEP TIGHT #3
4.5, STRANGER CHILD #4
4.6, COME A LITTLE CLOSER #7
4.6, THE SIXTH WINDOW #6
4.5, KILL ME AGAIN #5
4.4, THE SHAPE OF LIES - #8

Review: THE SHAPE OF LIES, Rachel Abbott

• format Kindle (Amazon)
• File Size: 2499 KB
• Print Length: 339 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Black Dot Publishing Ltd (February 12, 2019)
• Publication Date: February 12, 2019
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
• Language: English
•  ASIN: B07MJBP898
• #8 in the DCI Tom Douglas series

Synopsis (Amazon)

Yesterday, Scott was dead. Today, he’s back.
And Anna doesn’t believe in ghosts.

Scott was Anna’s boyfriend. She loved him, but he ruined her life. When he died, she should have been free, but today Scott is on the radio, threatening to spill her secrets.

Anna is a mother, a wife, and head teacher of a primary school.
And she’s a good liar.

She made one mistake, and now she is having to pay for it. Scott is the only person who knows the truth about her past, but how can he be alive?

Soon, DCI Tom Douglas is going to knock on her door looking for answers. But Anna is already running scared: from the man she loved; the man she watched die; the man who has come back to life.

She has one week to find him. One week to stop him.

My Take

In most of the earlier titles in this series I have had a lot of empathy for the main character.
And that was the way things started with this novel.

Anna's husband Domenic hasn't worked for 18 months, since he was kneecapped in a mugging. Since then he has been the stay-at-home dad, she the principal at  nearby public school. She is driving to school when she tunes into a chat show, where a participant reveals that he plans to reveal all about a former affair. His name is Scott and he calls his former girlfriend Spike, and she thinks she recognises herself. The problem is that Scott is dead. And her husband Domenic knows nothing about what she and Scott did.

I'm afraid the more I got to know about Anna's past, the less I liked her.

The other problem I had with this novel is that, for the main plot to work, there had to be rather too many other plot lines, and too many changes in the main characters.

My rating: 4.4

I've also read
4.8, ONLY THE INNOCENT #1
4.9, THE BACK ROAD #2
4.6, SLEEP TIGHT #3
4.5, STRANGER CHILD #4
4.6, COME A LITTLE CLOSER #7
4.6, THE SIXTH WINDOW #6
4.5, KILL ME AGAIN #5

Review: KILL ME AGAIN, Rachel Abbott

• this edition published by Black Dot Publishing 2016
• ISBN 978-0-9576522-7-9
• 391 pages
• source: my local library
• #5 in the DI Tom Douglas series

Synopsis (author website)

When your life is a lie, who can you trust?

When Maggie Taylor accepts a new job in Manchester, she is sure it is the right move for her family. The children have settled well although her husband, Duncan, doesn’t appear to be so convinced.

But nothing prepares her for the shock of coming home from work one night to find that Duncan has disappeared, leaving their young children alone. His phone is dead, and she has no idea where he has gone, or why. And then she discovers she’s not the only one looking for him.

When a woman who looks just like Maggie is brutally murdered and DCI Tom Douglas is brought in to investigate, Maggie realises how little she knows about Duncan’s past. Is he the man she loves? Who is he running from?

She doesn’t have long to decide whether to trust him or betray him. Because one thing has been made clear to Maggie – another woman will die soon, and it might be her.

My Take:

The thing with Rachel Abbott's plots is that they are so credible. Despite being married to Duncan Taylor for 11 years, his wife Maggie comes to realise how little she really knows about him. More importantly, snippets that she discovers prove that much of what he has told her is fiction.

Days pass and Duncan does not come home, Maggie gets a text message from him asking her not to contact the police, and then others contact her saying they are looking for Duncan, that he has a debt that must be paid.

There is a sub-plot running for most of the book that involves the disappearance and search for Tom's former girl friend Leo.

A very good read, with a characteristic twist to the plot.

My rating: 4.5

I've also read
4.8, ONLY THE INNOCENT #1
4.9, THE BACK ROAD #2
4.6, SLEEP TIGHT #3
4.5, STRANGER CHILD #4
4.6, COME A LITTLE CLOSER #7
4.6, THE SIXTH WINDOW #6 

Review: THE SIXTH WINDOW, Rachel Abbott

• this edition published by Black Dot Publishing 2017
• ISBN 978-0-9576522-8-6
• 402 pages
• #6 in the DCI Tom Douglas series (set in Manchester)

Synopsis (Fantastic Fiction)

Eighteen months after Natalie Gray loses her husband, Bernie, in a horrific hit-and-run accident, she finds love with his best friend, Ed Cooper, and moves into his home with her teenage daughter, Scarlett. But she begins to suspect Ed has a dark side - and even darker intentions. Natalie must get her troubled child to a safer place, but when Scarlett starts to hear voices coming from the empty apartment next door it seems she has unwittingly moved them into the heart of danger.

DCI Tom Douglas is also chasing the truth. As his investigation into the suicide of a teenage girl draws him ever closer to Natalie and Scarlett, will he be too late to protect them from the threat they face or from the truths that will tear their lives apart?

My Take

Each of the main stories in this series can be read on its own although the main detective DCI Tom Douglas and his back story hold the series together providing a thread of continuity.

Bernie Gray was a young policeman killed in a hit and run accident when he was out on his morning jog. The driver was assumed to be a young joyrider and the case was never solved. Eighteen months on, new evidence leads to a closer scrutiny of the case and some links to a current case. Tom Douglas's team interviews the widow and her daughter and some things emerge that they had not mentioned in the earlier interviews.

Another very enjoyable read from Rachel Abbott. Highly recommended.
Now I just have #5 in the series to read.

My rating: 4.6

I've also read
4.8, ONLY THE INNOCENT #1
4.9, THE BACK ROAD #2
4.6, SLEEP TIGHT #3
4.5, STRANGER CHILD #4
4.6, COME A LITTLE CLOSER #7

Review: COME A LITTLE CLOSER, Rachel Abbott

• format: Kindle (Amazon)
  
• File Size: 6326 KB
• Print Length: 406 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Black Dot Publishing Ltd (February 15, 2018)
• Publication Date: February 15, 2018
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
• Language: English
• ASIN: B079GYCX7R
• #7 in the DI Tom Douglas series

Synopsis (Amazon)

They will be coming soon. They come every night.

Snow is falling softly as a young woman takes her last breath.

Fifteen miles away, two women sit silently in a dark kitchen. They don't speak, because there is nothing left to be said.

Another woman boards a plane to escape the man who is trying to steal her life. But she will have to return, sooner or later.

These strangers have one thing in common. They each made one bad choice - and now they have no choices left. Soon they won't be strangers, they'll be family...

When DCI Tom Douglas is called to the cold, lonely scene of a suspicious death, he is baffled. Who is she? Where did she come from? How did she get there? How many more must die?

Who is controlling them, and how can they be stopped?

My Take

Once again Rachel Abbott has delivered a believable page turner.  There is just enough confusion related to who exactly the narrator of this story is to ensure that you keep reading to solve the mystery.

I have missed reading the 2 novels in this series prior to this one, but I felt I had sufficient understanding of the main characters.

Highly recommended.

My rating: 4.6

I've also read
4.8, ONLY THE INNOCENT
4.9, THE BACK ROAD
4.6, SLEEP TIGHT
4.5, STRANGER CHILD

Here is the series
DI Tom Douglas
1. Only The Innocent (2011)
2. The Back Road (2013)
3. Sleep Tight (2014)
4. Stranger Child (2015)
5. Kill Me Again (2016)
6. The Sixth Window (2017)
7. Come A Little Closer (2018)

Review: STRANGER CHILD, Rachel Abbott

• format: Kindle (Amazon)
• File Size: 3303 KB
• Print Length: 364 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0957652240
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Black Dot Publishing Ltd (February 24, 2015)
• Publication Date: February 24, 2015
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00T6MDXA2
• #4 in the Tom Douglas series 

Synopsis (Amazon)

One Dark Secret. One act of revenge.

When Emma Joseph met her husband David, he was a man shattered by grief. His first wife had been killed outright when her car veered off the road. Just as tragically, their six-year-old daughter mysteriously vanished from the scene of the accident.

Now, six years later, Emma believes the painful years are behind them. She and David have built a new life together and have a beautiful baby son, Ollie.

Then a stranger walks into their lives, and their world tilts on its axis.

Emma's life no longer feels secure. Does she know what really happened all those years ago? And why does she feel so frightened for herself and for her baby?

When a desperate Emma reaches out to her old friend DCI Tom Douglas for help, she puts all their lives in jeopardy. Before long, a web of deceit is revealed that shocks both Emma and Tom to the core.

They say you should never trust a stranger. Maybe they're right.

My Take

Once again  Rachel Abbott has produced another page turner. There is quite a lot of improbability in this plot, but that doesn't seem to matter: you read on because you just want to find out what happens.

The book opens with a hook in the form of a Prologue - an accident occurs where Caroline Joseph is killed and her six year old daughter Tasha, a passenger in the car, disappears.  The plot jumps six years and a body is found in the nearby woods. The police fear it may be Tasha, but the problem is that this girl is older, the age Tasha would be now, and she has only recently died.

Again this is a case where DCI Tom Douglas really has a conflict of interest because he knows one of the victims, but on the other hand it can be argued that this is an advantage, because it gives him a degree of inside knowledge. The novel also explores Tom's professional relationship with his second in command, and with the woman who has become his lover.

If you haven't caught up with this series, then it is time to make a start.

My rating: 4.5

I've also reviewed
4.8, ONLY THE INNOCENT
4.9, THE BACK ROAD
4.6, SLEEP TIGHT

Review: ONLY THE INNOCENT, Rachel Abbott

• source: my local library
• first published 2011
• this copy published by Thomas & Mercer
• ISBN 978-1611-097849
• 459 pages
• #1 in the DI Tom Douglas series
• available on Kindle

Synopsis (Fantastic Fiction)

Every moment of Sir Hugo Fletcher's life has been chronicled in the British press: his privileged upbringing, his high-profile charity work to end human trafficking - even his two marriages. But when the billionaire philanthropist is discovered murdered in his London home, tied naked to a bed, the scandal is only a shadow of the darkness lurking off-camera.

Laura Fletcher returns from an Italian vacation to find her husband dead and her home under siege by paparazzi. Is she shocked? Yes. But is she distraught? Not exactly. Especially when Chief Inspector Tom Douglas reveals his suspicions that Hugo's killer is female.

Laura always knew she wasn't the only woman in Hugo's life. And she knows she wasn't the only one with a motive to kill. The deeper Douglas digs, the more sordid details about Hugo Fletcher he uncovers. And yet nothing compares to the secret Laura guards, a secret that could bring the guilty to justice - or destroy an innocent life forever.

My Take

This reads like it must be in the middle of a series, because there are events referred to that have happened prior to the action of this novel, but it is actually a debut title. I've found that a strategy other authors have used in fairly recent publications.

DI Tom Douglas is an unusual detective as he doesn't keep his distance. When he begins to investigate the murder of Sir Hugo Fletcher he quickly gets on to first name terms with Lady Laura Fletcher. He knows instinctively that she is the clue to understanding Hugo's death.

ONLY THE INNOCENT has a complex plot with quite an array of characters. It is not a novel for the faint-hearted reader either. The structure is interesting. There are letters that Laura has written to her best friend Imogen which have never been posted which explain what has happened to Laura since her marriage to the high-profile Hugo. There are also occasional passages which describe the plight of a girl who has been imprisoned and is waiting for a release that may never come. These strategies heighten the tension and suspense in the novel.

Excellent reading, and in particular an excellent start for 2015.

My rating: 4.8

About the author (collected from Amazon and Fantastic Fiction)


Rachel Abbott published Only the Innocent in November 2011. It raced up the UK charts to reach the top 100 within 12 weeks and quickly hit the #1 spot in the Amazon Kindle chart (all categories) and remained there for four weeks.

Originally Only the Innocent was a self-published title, but since the success of the early version, the novel was re-edited and the new version was launched in the US by Thomas and Mercer in paperback, audio and Kindle versions on 5th February 2013, hitting the number one spot in the Kindle Store in August 2013. Her second book, The Back Road, was also published by Thomas and Mercer.

Her third book, Sleep Tight, was published in February 2014.

Rachel Abbott was born just outside Manchester, England. She spent most of her working life as the Managing Director of an interactive media company, developing software and websites for the education market. The sale of that business enabled her to fulfil one of her lifelong ambitions - to buy and restore a property in Italy.


Rachel now lives in Alderney - a beautiful island off the coast of France, and is now able to devote time to her other love - writing fiction.