Cover Image: Love Me Not

Love Me Not

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Member Reviews

Love Me Not, the seventh in the Helen Grace series, is another winner for author M.J. Arlidge. Helen is back at work following her release from prison. But she is not the same person; prison has changed her, made her doubt herself and all those around her. Taking charge of her department again, she finds herself uncertain that she can lead people she doesn't trust and as a result overcompensates, and commands and belittles rather than leads.

But there's not much time to adjust, a pair of serial killers are taking down victims at an alarming rate, and Helen is determined to discover who they are, what the victims have in common, and to stop the killings as soon as possible. Along the way, Helen learns more about herself, and starts to function with her team again.

She still has it - Helen still has it! And I want MORE!!!!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK for allowing me to read an e-ARC of this book.

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This is book number 7 in the Helen Grace series. Whilst it can be read as a standalone book, it does make sense for continuity of the story to read the series in order.

Helen comes across a body in the road on her way to work one morning. What appears to be a car-jacking gone wrong turns into a killer on the loose. Someone is going round with a sawn off shotgun and shooting people dead at point blank range. Why and who is doing this? It’s down to Helen, freshly released from prison, and her team to work this out and fast!

So excited for this book. I love Helen Grace and it was great to catch up with her again. This book is set over 24 hours in real time. You get to find out who is doing the killing quite early on in the story, but you don’t find out why until much later. It’s great to have Helen back where she belongs, leading her team and on more than one occasion straddling her big motorcycle in favour of a police pool car! Helen does have a few demons to put to rest though, the big one being having to work with DS Joanne Sanderson who was convinced of Helen’s guilt in the previous book.

The story focuses on a ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ storyline – two young people on a killing spree, but for what reason? The story is fast paced, with short chapters which kept the interest going page after page. There are so many murders, and some of the descriptions are a bit gruesome, but you just keep ploughing through to get to the end to find out how the hell Grace and her team are going to stop this pair.

This story is on a par with the classic fast paced American crime writers such as James Patterson….actually, this story and this whole series is much better! Set in the UK, it’s in places that are recognisable with people you feel like you know. Give me Helen Grace over Alex Cross any day!!

Five stars!

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Love me not follows our favourite policewoman on a hunt of a murderer on the streets of Southampton. It follows the usual vein and is an enjoyable gripping read as always

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The following is my review as posted on Goodreads and Amazon.

I have to say I'm fairly addicted to this series by M J Arlidge. When you do find yourself a few books in, it does feel like you have been on a journey with various characters. The books can be read as standalones but there's enough of a running theme to warrant starting from book one.

That all said we're here at the latest release and a few months have passed since the previous book. DI Grace is now back at work in her role where she should be but still struggling to shake off the aftermath of her stint in prison and all that entailed there. Grace is not dealing well with the fact that some of her team and lost faith in her and still harbors grudges as she throws herself back into work. DS Sanderson is bearing the brunt of it as she was the one that instigated of lot of what happened to Grace.

Grace and her team are now on the the hunt for a pair of killers that appear to be trigger happy as they take down victims without a shred of remorse. Grace finds herself constantly tracking where the couple will head next as it quickly turns into a game of cat and mouse. Though not the strongest book that Arlidge has produced, Love Me Not was still a very readable book which had me glued until the last page. There is plenty of action and suspense with a bucketful of tension thrown in the mix. In fact much of the story arc is told over a very short timeline with made it feel all the more gripping.

It's been noted that Grace's character was different here as she was moodier than ever and her judgement seemed off. Given what she had been through though ...... give the woman some slack ....... I'd still want her on my team fighting my corner with every inch of her difficult 'get out of my way, I have a job to do' self!

Thanks go out for my review copy.

Recommended.

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Great book! I am a huge fan of this author and the DI Grace series having been hooked on the first book - Eeny Meenie. Readers of the previous books in the series will not be disappointed as the series continues to twist and turn.

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Really liked this book. I felt that the story was back on track and was the better for less of the personal drama.
Looking forward to the next one.

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This is the 7th book in the excellent 'Helen Grace' series by author MJ Arlidge. I have enjoyed this series from the very start and it just gets better the more you read.
When a woman's body is found in the road it looks like a tragic accident. But when Helen Grace arrives on the scene it's clear she's looking at a coldblooded killing. Why would anyone target a much loved wife and mother? Across town, a shopkeeper is killed while his customers are left unharmed. But what lies behind the killer's choices? Who's next? The clock is ticking and Helen needs to solve this deadly puzzle before more blood will be shed.

The story is over a 24 hour period which adds to the urgency of the plot and the suspense grows and grows to a thrilling climax. The author keeps this series fresh and interesting and surely must soon get the true recognition he deserves for his work. A very good series that is well worth a read.

I would like to thank both Net Galley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

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I'm giving this book three stars. I have read all the books in the series. I feel left down by this installment. I hope that the next book is better.

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II do like MJ Arlidge books & I like the damaged character of Helen Grace. You couldn't read this without reading the previous books in the series. Helen Grace is now slightly surreal as I don't believe a police officer who was jailed by her team, even when innocent, would be allowed back as the boss of the same team.
I liked that it was set in a 24 hour period so was fast moving. In some ways the person they were hunting was a bit too simplistic and needed more depth.
I'm not sure how far the author can go with this character but I will be interested to read the next chapter.

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Thank you to Michael Joseph Books/Penguin and Netgalley for this advanced copy which I have read and reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

This is the 7th book in the series of DI Helen Grant books. Nine months after her wrongful imprisonment Helen and her team including her close friend DS Charlie Brooks are on the hunt for a killer. The first victim is found on a road by Helen in what at first glance looks like an accident, but she has been shot at point blank range. She dies in Helen's arms.The next murders happen in quick succession and it is a race to try and catch the killer.
Journalist Emilia Garanita is with holding some information that could very well aid Helen and the team and very nearly ends up a victim herself because of her foolish behaviour.

The clock is ticking and the people of Southampton want answers. Can Helen provide them and can she find the connection before it's too late?


As usual MJ Arlidge gets straight on with the plot making this a fast paced novel. A proper crime novel with plenty of twists, turns and surprises.
Another fantastic book in the DI Helen Grant series.

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While I don't think this was the best Helen Grace story to date it was an enjoyable read. I particularly liked the fact that the book takes place over a period of 1 to 2 days for the most part. It breaks down in 1 hour segments which is a different style for MJ Arlidge. Helen is struggling with her confidence in this book and it's a different aspect to her character. I would recommend.

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Hi Karen,

My next review is as follows:-

“Love Me Not:D I Helen Grace 7”, written by M.J.Arlidge and published in hardcover by Michael Joseph on 18 May 2017. 352 pages. ISBN-13: 978-0718183851



A woman's body lies in the road. At first it looks like a tragic accident. But when Helen Grace arrives on the scene it's clear she's looking at a cold-blooded killing. But why would anyone target a much-loved wife and mother?

Across town, a shopkeeper is killed whilst his customers are left unharmed. What lies behind the killers choices?

Who lives? Who dies? Who’s next? The clock is ticking. If Helen can’t solve this deadly puzzle then more blood will be shed. But any mistake and the life that may be shed may be her own.

In the previous book in this series, Helen was in prison charged with murder for a crime she didn’t commit but now she is out and back in charge of her Southampton detective squad and we get to see her back meeting yet another challenge. This compulsively written police procedural rushes on to it’s very exciting conclusion

The author, M.J.Arlidge published the first D.I.Helen Grace book, “Eeny Meeny” in May 2014, with huge success and I reviewed it the following year and was absolutely astounded at the massive quality of the writing which has been compared favourably to the Stieg Larsson book “The Girl With Dragon Tattoo”. Since then he has had published a further five books in the series which have received rapturous success.

This seventh book is the kind that once picked up is very difficult to put down and I was equally gripped until I reached the superb ending. I do hope the author writes many more. Very strongly recommended.



Best wishes,

Terry
(To be published on eurocrime.co.uk in due course)

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I have read all the books by M. J. Arlidge, in the Helen Grace series and have loved every single one, however on this occasion with the latest instalment, it didn't quite hit the mark for me. Although I enjoyed this book, I felt it lacked something that the previous books all had and I was left feeling a bit disappointed. I would recommend reading this book, purely because the previous books were so good, but be prepared for an anticlimax.

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I was so excited to be lucky enough to receive a copy of this book. M J Arlidge is a master crime storyteller and Helen Grace has to be up there as one of (if not the) best characters to come out of crime fiction today.

Fresh from her release from Holloway Helen is brought in to track down a couple of spree killers rampaging the streets of Southampton. The book is set in real time and you literally cannot put it down without wanting to pick it back up again. From start to finish it's non-stop action and at no point do you feel as a reader that it's ok to put it down. You can't! My only problem with these is that he doesn't write fast enough!!! I can't wait for his next one already.

I would highly recommend these books to those wanting to start off on a new series.

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I really could not put this book down, have enjoyed all of the books by this author. The story was gripping and fast paced. I liked that Helen seemed more vulnerable in this story, but I was disappointed that Joanna was killed off, would have liked her and Helen to return
To a good working relationship. But overall a great story. Well deserved 5 stars.

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Helen Grace is one of my favourite fictional characters and I was eagerly awaiting book number seven from M.J. Arlidge. The story is a classic cat and mouse chase and takes place across a 24 hour period. I loved the way it was written as you could feel the urgency building with each chapter - I struggled to put this down. I can safely say that this is my favourite Helen Grace book to date! If, like me, you are an M.J. Arlidge fan then you will not be left disappointed! 5 out of 5 stars *****

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I like this series and love the character of Helen Grace.I really enjoyed the previous book in the series and thought it was very original, this book was good but not as good as that one, the action and settings were more mundane ,although maybe I am being unfair in comparing this book to the previous one as that was excellent, this was still a good read and the action was fast ,it centered around a Bonnie and Clyde type pair complete with long coats and sawn off shotguns who were on a killing spree with Helen playing catch up trying to stop them .I did enjoy this and will be looking forward to the next book in the series.Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

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Well what can I say.... Another excellent book by MJ Arlidge.Helen Grace at her best yet again.Loved it.

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I have really enjoyed all of M.J. Arlidge's Helen Grace book so I was delighted to get hold of the latest one in the series. Having followed Helen's story from the start of the book I was eager to see how she would cope with her return to work after her undeserved imprisonment. Although there were repercussions, the events of the book were so fast moving you scarcely had time to notice.

Told in short chapters it covers a brief twenty four hours when Southampton is reeling from one brutal shooting after another. Helen struggles to work out the clues as to where the killer will strike next.

Like many books, if you want to be picky you might say this story was far-fetched, but then when we read fiction we do so to step away from reality. I was totally swept up in the moment and loved every tense page. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for giving me this nail-biting ride!

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“Love Me Not” is one of my most anticipated books this year. I love the series about Helen Grave and her team and after her ordeal in the last book I was curious how she would go on with her life and work. And it is not an easy road for Helen Grace to get back to normal. She is seriously pissed and bitter, this making it hard for her to function correctly at work with her colleagues. Especially DI Sanderson, the one who betrayed her the most. Sanderson is doing all the foot work, even if she is high in rank. Helen just can’t forget and forgive. When a couple of teenagers go on a murder spree in Southampton everybody is working hard to find a way to stop them. And Sanderson sees a way to finally prove to Grace that she is a good cop worth to be on the team. In the end there will be three funerals, seven dead and Helen Grace has to accept that she might have made a mistake. I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK!

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