For Your Own Protection by Paul Pilkington.
Matt is trying to rebuild his life following the breakdown of a long-term relationship.  he wants to see his son, Charlie.But when Matt gets a sinister warning from a mysterious stranger.Then Charlie vanishes during a trip to the local pool, and it suddenly becomes clear that something is terribly wrong.
A very good read with good characters. Likeable story 3*.

Matt's little boy Charlie has gone missing and there's more to the story than he ever expected. This is a fast paced thriller with a good character in Matt and a twisty plot. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I really liked this author and this book did not disappoint, it was an appropriately paced, page-turner that will have me hooked throughout the story.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during that 2nd attempt, I have only managed to make it halfway through so I'd rather stop here and state that this book just wasn't for me.

For Your Own Protection, by Paul Pilkington, is a superb crime thriller involving an unlikely hero in Matt Roberts – a City banker turned teacher!

Matt Roberts has taken a year off from his job in a bank in the City of London after the long-term relationship with the mother of his son breaks down. His sister has persuaded him to do some voluntary teaching in basic maths and accounting for ex-offenders and he is enjoying it and finding it rewarding.

While trying to get on with his life he is convinced the woman he is seeing is stalking him. When an encounter in a pub gives him a sinister warning it sets off warning bells. When his 4½ year old son goes missing at the swimming pool he becomes more alarmed and soon learns some devastating news. He now has to try and unravel the truth in order to protect his family.

Overall, For Your Own Protection is a fast-paced mysterious thriller set in the world of City bankers and criminals of vastly different, but deadly, backgrounds.

With a great mix of eclectic characters, the story builds slowly with enough tension and twists to keep your attention and, more importantly turning the page.

The story is well-written and well told. It is complex but easy to follow and very believable with realistic and engaging characters, most people can relate Matt’s struggles of depression and tiredness with his job and need for change, break ups etc.

I would have liked the character of Harvey, the ex-gangster trying to get his life back on track, to have had a greater part but other than that it was a fantastic, thrilling read packed with suspense and some great twists and turns.

This is the first novel I have read by Paul Pilkington and will definitely be reading more.

I received an Advanced Review Copy (ARC) via NetGalley

I've been a fan of Pauls writings since I read the "The one you love", the first book in The Emma Holden Trilogy.
One of the Things I like the most about Mr.Pilkingtons books is that you can't let your mind rest for a single minute while Reading.
You're kept on your toes during the entire read.

When you think you have the plot of the book all figured out, Paul manage to put in New twists and turns.
So challenging to read his stories. And now With "For your own protection" he doesn't disappoint at all!
I just loved this book!

Read it!

Another gripping read from Pilkington, highly recommended

A gripping read. I really enjoyed it. Hope to read more from this author

Paul Pilkington continues his solid writing in the psychological thriller genre.

Who would have expected that a banker-turned-teacher could be such a badass?

Matt Roberts, the protagonist in Paul Pilkington’s For Your Own Protection, demonstrates just has much badassery you can expect from a man when what he cares about most in the world – his family – is threatened.

At the start of this contemporary thriller, we are introduced to Matt, who is working as a teacher in an adult education program for ex-cons at the behest of his sister. This position, which he enjoys, is only temporary, however. He previously worked at a high-profile bank – and will work there again as soon as he sorts some personal issues (or at least this is the plan).

Like many unlikely heroes, Matt’s life is a bit in shambles. His long-term relationship with Beth, a woman with whom he shares a young son, has ended and Beth has taken up with a former co-worker of Matt’s – someone who we can pretty much see right away will end up being an asshole.

Meanwhile, Matt’s planning to dump his current girlfriend because he’s pretty sure she’s stalking him – which is, you know, creepy.

Unfortunately for Matt, he is (at least initially) unsuccessful in sorting out his life. In fact, things get worse, spiraling even further out of control as he realizes that he’s somehow gotten himself caught up in something big and dangerous.

In typical thriller fashion, Pilkington starts this novel with an action-rich scene – that initially appears to have nothing to do with the central plot.

Unlike many other thrillers, however, the author doesn’t let the tension drop after this first smack-you-in-the-face chapter. Instead, he keeps you engaged from start to finish, creating a cohesive and complex – yet believable – mystery that you desperately want to see solved.

Trust me, I was up until 3am reading.

#AndNowImSleepy

#NoNapForMe

Dialogue is a definite strength of Pilkington’s. He regularly uses conversation to advance the plot, engaging his characters in realistic and engrossing verbal exchanges.

Even more impressively, in these conversations, we see characters take on their own distinctive voices. With great care, he manages to channel these different characters – be it the former convict-turned-student, the smarmy banker or even the protagonist’s young son – creating clear linguistic patterns and realistic verbal tics that add authenticity to the characters and – by connection – the novel as a whole.

Despite my overall enjoyment of the book, as it drew to a close I was left feeling like it was missing… something. Something small… but still… something.

Upon reflection, I decided that what I was missing was closure.

There were a few particularly rich secondary characters in the book who I didn’t feel were explored quite as deeply as I would have liked.

Specifically, the character of Harvey, the ex-con student who inspires the protagonist to give up his lucrative life of banking and move instead into teaching.

Hope you have some money saved it, buddy… ‘cause not only are you not gonna get paid much, you’re also going to have to buy your own pencils.

#TeacherLife

Pilkington did dedicate some attention to this character, giving him a scene on his home turf and, ultimately, allowing him to play a rather important part in righting some wrongs. But I still felt that there was unexplored content that, if unpacked, would have rounded this character out nicely.

The other character I wanted to see more of was Catherine… er, Natalie… the um-she-might-be-stalking-me girlfriend who ended up providing integral assistance to Matt as he worked to piece together the puzzle that was his life.

This character didn’t receive the same amount of attention as Harvey. There is so much unchartered territory with her that Pilkington could honestly write a spin-off featuring her in the lead role – which I would gladly read, Mr. Pilkington.

Ultimately, For Your Own Protection was a tightly written and original thriller.

I would recommend it to any fan of the genre, specifically those with an affinity for James Patterson and Harlan Coben, as Pilkington’s clean and economic style reminded me of these masters of suspense.

You must pay close attention when reading this book. It's kind of hard to keep track with the different plots going on. This is a good story, with exceptional writing. I thoroughly enjoyed this page turner, with it's twists!!

Matt Roberts is unknowingly connected to several incidents that may have put his son in danger. In the meantime, he is dealing with his ex & her new boyfriend, who is a colleague of Matt's. Will Matt be able to solve the mystery & keep his son safe?

Thank you NetGalley & Thomas & Mercer, Seattle Publishing for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Excellent thriller with loads of plot twists. This book was a real page turner, I could not put it down. I read it in one sitting. There was drama, drugs, murder and mystery. Highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Paul Pilkington and to Netgalley for the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

Matt is trying to rebuild his life following the breakdown of a long term relationship. His son Charlie is the most important thing to him now. But then Matt gets a sinister warning from a mysterious stranger and it sends chills up,his spine. When Charlie vanishes during a trip to the local swimming pool it becomes clear that something is terribly wrong. Desperate to protect his loved ones, Matt goes looking for answers. Who's is after them and why?

This is a fast paced thriller. Matt has taken a year of working in a bank and teaching ex-offenders at a college class while trying to get his life back together. Along with being tense and action packed, there are several twists and plenty of suspects to keep you guessing. I like the authors style of writing and the way all the loose ends were connected. I did guess some of where this story was going but I did not get it all right. I like when I have not guessed it all. So just who can you trust to keep your family safe? After reading this book it just might make you change your mind.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and the author Paul Pilkington for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I did enjoy ‘For Your Own Protection’ but the twists within it were pretty predictable and the ending was extremely neat and tidy with all loose ends tied up and tucked in. This didn’t detract from the actual story though, which is a good one and does give you a sense of unease and creepiness. I read it feeling that I needed to keep one eye on the book but the other on my child! (Isn’t it great when a book has that much power over our thoughts and emotions?)

Matt is a likeable character even though I wanted to reach into the book and give him a good shake to make him open his eyes to what was going on around him. I suspected everyone from his girlfriend to his ex-wife, his sister to his boss. I even doubted his 4 year old son, Charlie, as a credible witness and felt he was keeping things from us!

I enjoyed the style of writing and the book was a quick, easy read. Pilkington is the author of the Emma Holden trilogy, which I am yet to read. It’s a series that has completely bypassed me somehow. I only found out about it by stalking Paul online. I'll be sure to check this trilogy out...

This book was amazing to be honest I was not sure if I would like it but it was brilliant.
I really felt for Matt because he has been through a lot then you hate him because he has cheated on his girlfriend and they have split up and because of that he only sees his son once a week.

You could really tell that he really loves Beth and Charlie and he will do whatever he can to get them back which you really want to happen as the book goes on. You should really hate Matt for cheating but for some reason you want him to get his family back.
I liked the story where Matt becomes a teacher and meets a student called Harvey you could not see where he came into the story but he was such a strong character and even though he sells drugs you really feel for him it's quite an emotional book. I love the twist where for a moment you think Harvey is not on Matts side but when he is it completes the book.

Also the book is cleverly written because even though Matt has left the UGT bank the whole story comes back to it and the people who work there. Also I liked the way the drugs and the casino is all related to the bank and Sean Beths brother and friend of Matts is up to his neck in drugs he hires someone to watch over his nephew. It shows that he really cares about his family and will do whatever he can to keep them safe.

This book has it all it's thrilling full of suspense,you do not see what is coming next and it's gripping without not feeling real. I also liked that it was set in London and being from London just made the book more amazing.

Then there was James who by the end was rooting for him to get what he deserved because of the things he did to try and split Matt and Beth up and that he hated Charlie

This book was brilliant and I really enjoyed it

I am a big fan of Paul Pilkingtons Emma Holden Series so when this new book came up on Netgalley I was very excited. This is a great book.. great characters who make you wonder who can and who can't be trusted. The story is so twisted and surprising- loved it! Thank you to Thomas and Mercer for an advance copy of this book to read and review via Netgalley

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
FOR YOUR OWN PROTECTION starts with a bang and continues with many more! The suspense doesn't let up in the tight and taught plot. I couldn't put the book down as the mystery kept mesmerizing me! I was 85% in the book and thought this author is AMAZING! But then, but then..... the plot starts losing its grip as it "scatters" in different directions. Although the author ties up all these various threads, the proverbial " nice and tidy bow" is forced and doesn't ring true. Furthermore, several important threads are left dangling and not addressed at all. (Catherine, the very dangerous Gabriel, etc) This is very frustrating. And the one who is the main culprit comes from left field. Not a satisfying ending. Therefore, the promising 5 * suspense thriller falls to an okay 3*.

Good suspenseful plot with likeable characters an some interesting twists.

I have just finished reading an early copy of this book which I received through netgalley. And I can honestly say that I'm glad I did.

I loved how fast paced it was, and I just wanted to carry on reading as I needed to know what happened next. The plot of the story isn't all easy to work out from the very start at the beginning and it builds as the book progresses which I liked about it as it kept me in suspense.

It tells the story of Matt who is a bank worker that has been taking a year out of work and teaching ex-offenders at a college class, it extends to those closest to him like his ex Beth and son Charlie as well as people that are just work colleagues as well as bringing in people he has never met..... sounds boring but I don't want to give too much away... honestly it is an excellent read. It is written just brilliantly and it all fits together perfectly for the end which still contained a couple of surprises!

The official release date is 28th September so keep your eyes peeled!

I received an ARC from NetGalley to read and review. The below is my honest, unbiased opinion. Thank you, Paul Pilkington, the publisher, and NetGalley, for allowing me to review.

FOR YOUR OWN PROTECTION follows Matt Roberts, a man trying to rebuild his life after his girlfriend, Beth, ends their long-term relationship once she discovers Matt's depression-induced affair with a co-worker. Beth and Matt share custody of their son, Charlie. One day, Matt is sent a cryptic note, and then Charlie is kidnapped. Matt stops at nothing to find his son, but as he embarks on the journey, he must question who he can trust with the ones he loves.

This was a fast-paced thriller with a whodunit mystery. I greatly appreciated that Pilkington offered several plausible suspects, which made for an interesting read. Twists and turns were thrown in to keep the reader guessing until the very end, and I was impressed with the author's execution of this method. In the end, everything was connected, and I was surprised I didn't see everything as it unfolded in the story. It's rare for me to make it all the way to the end without guessing the correct assailant, so I give major props to Pilkington.

I highly recommend this book to fans of thrillers and whodunit mysteries.