The write up was very good but sadly in my opinion the book didn't live up to it.

Oh wow what a book it is a gripping page turner that I could not put down.
Thirty years earlier a brother and sister go to a carnival and the sister who is called Josie sees a little boy being taken by a clown. The boys mum realises her son is missing and that Josie is the last person to see him.
Thirty years later Josie is now a D.S investigates the death of Dylan the little boy who went missing 30 years ago.
Josie still feels guilty that she did not do more at the time to save Dylan but she was only eight years old.
Her ex boyfriend, who won't accept their relationship is over, is now her superior officer.
Plus on a personal level, Josie has decided to have IVF treatment.
If that wasn't enough to deal with another child disappears, and the case is full of red herrings and not plain sailing.
Can Josie deal with this and find the killer and deal with everything in her personal life?
A brilliant book which kept me reading late into the night it’s a brilliant book with lots of twists.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Avon Books for an advance copy of Hold My Hand, a début police procedural featuring DS Jo Masters of the Avon and Somerset police.

When a child's body is discovered on a building site and the clothing dates it to the late 80s everyone thoughts turn to Dylan Jones, the seven year old a young Jo Masters saw walking with a clown. Excluded from the investigation Jo is in Oxford visiting family when another young boy is reported abducted by a clown. She ends up seconded to the investigation.

I enjoyed Hold My Hand which has some unexpected twists and turns. The plot is not the usual run of the mill procedural so it held my interest throughout. I found it impossible to guess or anticipate what was coming next which makes a very pleasant change. I can't say that the ending was particularly believable but it was unexpected.

I like the writing style. Mr Ford has injected tension into the novel from the start. I didn't read the synopsis before starting the novel so I had my attention fixed on young Josie and was surprised that it was Dylan who went missing in the prologue. It is this kind of misdirection that peppers the novel and makes it such an absorbing read.

With it being such a plot driven novel characterisation takes a back seat. Jo is a fairly stereotypical detective. She has relationship issues which get a bit boring as the novel goes on, is dedicated to her job and is quite happy to go off piste and conduct her own investigation when her bosses won't listen to her theories. I think, however, that she has more to offer and would be interested in reading a sequel.

Hold My Hand is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

The premise is good but the style isn't my cup of tea. Seemed plodding at times and lack of emotional connection were less than I'd hoped for

How long do you hunt for the missing?

A horrible vanishing act…

When a young Josie Masters sees a boy wearing a red football shirt, Dylan Jones, being taken by a clown at a carnival, she tries to alert the crowds. But it’s too late. Dylan has disappeared…

Thirty years later, Josie is working as a police officer in Bath. The remains of the body of a child have been found – complete with tatters of a torn red football shirt. Is it the boy she saw vanish in the clutches of the clown? Or is it someone else altogether?

And then another child disappears…

This gripping,riveting mystery is voiced entirely by Josie from the third person pov.I really liked Josie,she was a feisty,complex character who had some major personal issues that she was struggling to deal with.She carried around a lot of guilt because she felt she hadn't done enough to help Dylan when he was abducted.She wasn't very close to her mum and brother and she also had the added problem of her ex boyfriend who just happened to be her superior officer at the police station she was based at in Bath.He didn't want to accept that their relationship was over and seemed to do everything in his power to cause problems for her character,can't say I liked him very much.The other officers she worked with throughout the story where a likeable,mixed bag of believable characters.I especially liked retired detective Harry Freeman who had been part of the original investigation into Dylan Jones disappearance.The opening chapter covers the events leading up to Dylan's abduction then the story moves forward thirty years.After a few pages of character building Josie receives a phone call about the discovery of the body of a young boy..She swiftly finds herself caught up in a investigation packed full of false leads,red herrings,life threatening situations that will push her to the limits of her endurance both physically and mentally and culminates with a spine tingling final confrontation and a absolutely shocking OMG twist that I definitely didn't see coming although now I think about it there was a tiny hint that I really should have picked up on.

I absolutely loved this well written,riveting debut mystery and would have happily given it far more than five stars.I really hope this is the first book in a new series and look forward to reading more books by this author in the future.