Cover Image: Hold My Hand

Hold My Hand

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Member Reviews

A great story that I cannot praise highly enough. Gripping, edgy, and thrilling fail to describe how great this book is. Recommend it highly to anyone.

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“Hold my hand” is a catchy and thrilling debut novel by M.J. Ford that will make you bite your nails in suspension.

When I initially picked this book up I thought to myself “not another clown horror story”, but to my surprise this book was everything but that.

Josie is 8 years old when she is a witness to a young boy being kidnapped by a clown at a local entertainment park. 30 years later Josie joins an investigation of a similar case, but this time as a police officer. The further the police investigation goes, the more connection Josie sees between the case she has been working on, and the one from her childhood.
The more she digs for answers, the more danger waits for her and her close ones.

The story line was brilliantly put together and I did not find it predictable, which is the case in many crime thriller novels.
The characters were well developed and easy to relate to.

I recommend this book to any thriller lover and looking forward to read another novel by M.J.Ford.

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I read this book on holiday may by the pool and it was a brilliant story line linking the past with the present. The characters were credible and complex and there were twists and turns a plenty! I will highly recommend this book to friends!

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I struggled to get into this initially, however once it got going, it didn't stop! Well recommended.

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I can’t believe this is a debut novel it’s so expertly written. Will be watching out for the next book. The book starts with the kidnap of a child from a circus. Years later there is a second kidnapping but is it being carried out by the same person. There was s couple of twists that I did not see coming. The investigator jo comes alive in the book and you really get a sense of who she is and hopefully we might get to see her story unfold in any further books.

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An excellent part police procedural/thriller. An excellent debut novel with a fantastic twist I did not see coming. M J Ford is very talented and is an author to keep a look out fot

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When she was a child Josie witnessed a child being led away from a fairground by a clown. Thirty years later she is a detective back near where she grew up & a body is found that appears to be the missing child. Josie has always regretted not saying something back then, even though she was a small child & she wants to get involved in the case.

This is a fast paced story that keeps the reader guessing. Josie was an interesting character & I hope to meet her again in a sequel. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book

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I loved this book from the start.ups and downs all the way through,never guessed what was going to happen

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Thirty years ago Josie Masters witnessed the abduction of Dylan, an 8 year old boy, at a fair by a clown. Now Josie is working as a DS in the Avon and Somerset police when another child goes missing. A body is then found, is it Dylan? Can the two be linked? This is an amazing psychological thriller, quite scary In parts and full of twists and turns. It is impossible to anticipate what is coming next and the ending is totally unexpected. An excellent debut novel and hopefully the beginning of a new series.
Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book..

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I found Josie to be a very likeable character and enjoyed experiencing the events through her own eyes. The book was written in a way which held my attention and helped me to create the imagery of events for myself. Although some parts could be considered slightly predictable, the ending still shocked me!

I think the book really makes you think about how vulnerable children can be and their involvement as witnesses in such a crime.

It is difficult to comment on much else without giving too much away.. but overall an enjoyable read for those that enjoy crime!

I was captured by each chapter but some of the events just weren't surprising enough! So a worthy four star review on this occasion.

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If your not keen on clowns this book will give you bad dreams. Josie saw a boy led away by a man in a clown mask when she was 8 ,the boy went missing .Thirty years later, as a police officer ,she gets the chance to help solve the mystery of the missing child. Jo as a character is fully formed and you warm to her .She turns out to have complications in both her professional and private life that have an impact on the case. Nothing is as simple as it first seems and things take a horrific twist towards the end ,it keeps you reading . I was gripped . A great debut and I look forward to reading more - hopefully this will ba a series

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I love this book and the twists not one but two that you don't see coming, a must read.

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I loved this book, I struggled to put it down except when I just needed to think about what I had read, after reading a particular chapter. What I said wasn't very ladylike at all! Was great writing, I was literally reading it so fast as I was enthralled by the pace of the story and the action.
I found all the procedures very interesting and not in too much depth that it became laborious.
Excellent story! Thank you to NetGalley, M.J.Ford and Avon Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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Brilliant. This story is really well put together and I was totally caught up in it from the start. The descriptions are so good that I could visualise everything. That brought the book to life. Every character is really well described and their back stories given life. The case of Dylan's kidnapping came to a shock ending that I did not see coming. I hope that there will be more books in this series.

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I am a huge fan of police procedurals so I was really excite to read it, and it met all my expectations!

A little girl at a carnival sees a clown leading a little boy away... and the little boy is never seen again. Fast forward several years. That little girl is now a police officer and another little boy goes missing in exactly the same way... just as the old skeleton of a little boy is found. Has the clown struck again after all these years?

I loved everything about this book: the plot, the characters, and especially the twist you don't see coming. Great read!

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I have just finished this book and WOW it was brilliant and well worth the sleepless nights it gave me when I couldn’t put it down.. I kept thinking just one more chapter and I will stop...😊
This is quite an emotional book and an excellent read. Its a gripping page turner with lots of twists and turns. Great characterisation and a very interesting plot. I highly recommend it.
Josie witnesses a kidnapping then years later, as a police officer, gets caught up in the case again when a body is found and another child goes missing. Soon things will hit close to home and with everyone looking in all the wrong directions things might not go so well for Josie..
Josie is a great character...she’s strong and determined and will stop at nothing to solve the case.
Thank you netgalley and the publishers for giving me the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

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#HoldMyHand has more twists and turns than roller-coaster and I loved every moment of it! MJ Ford offers a well written story that keeps you gripped throughout, there is a lot of emotions generated when reading this book as you have clear empathy to varying characters.
Only downside is that you can't put it down!

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Josie is going ti the circus. While she is there she is a witness to a horrifying event, that will haunt her fir the rest if her life.
Josie is grown and works for police department. A child is kidnapped by a man wearing a mask. It's a living nightmare. She is thrown back to that day at the circus. Little does she know, it only gets worse from here.
I enjoyed this story. It kept my attention. I was entertained and I couldn't wait to read the next page. The characters mesh well together. The time sequence is flashing back to Josie as a child and Josie trying to solve the crimes. It all ties in together to a complete ending. Recommended
5 Stars

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I really enjoyed this book.

It all starts when an eight year old Josie Masters is the only witness to an abduction of a young boy, wearing a Liverpool football shirt, at the fairground. 30 years later Josie is a police officer and a boys remains are found with what looks like a Liverpool football shirt. Is this the missing boy from 30 years ago ?

Whilst the investigation is proceeding another boy is abducted from a suspect that resembles the abduction 30 years earlier. Are these connected ? Is it the same abductor ? A copycat ?

The story is very much a police procedural book with lots of twists and turns plus a few dead ends. It is a very well written novel and kept me interested right to the end. It definitely keeps you guessing.

I really liked the main character, Josie, and loved how she absolutely relied and trusted her gut instincts, even when everyone else doubted her theories.

I look forward to reading more from this author in the future and hope to see Josie back for some more investigations.

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