Cover Image: White Is the Coldest Colour

White Is the Coldest Colour

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Member Reviews

I would firstly like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. That was something else.
Disturbing to the point that were some points that made me feel a little sick.... but yeah strangely enough I couldn't put the book down. I just had to know what was going to happen next!
Superbly written, dark, and definitely not for the faint-hearted!

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Was good to experience and get to know a younger Grav. Very tense throughout as I willed the investigative team to “get a move on”.

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I would like to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book even though I did not finish this book.

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Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to have read this book. I finished it, but did not like the basic subject matter and I think it wasn't really my cup of tea. Recommended to anyone who likes a more gritty type of crime novel.

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After reading the first few pages of the book I wasn’t sure if I could/ want to read this story. Too much detailed information about how a little boy is abused and then murdered by a well respected doctor. But I stuck to it and, while it wasn’t a read I loved, I found it interesting and it got me thinking. Who can you really trust? I’m glad I didn’t give up, because overall it was a good, solid debut. I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.

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Excellent! This is a scary, suspenseful thriller, full of taught, dark and disturbing moments. It is quite graphic in places, and the subject matter is obviously not a nice thing to read about, however don't be put off, this is a heck of a read!

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Wow! What a story, despite its horrendous subject matter this book had me gripped from the outset. A story with three strands, the psychopathic Dr Galbraith, who will stop at nothing to satisfy his deviant needs, desperate Molly Mailer wanting to help her son Anthony, but unsure how best to do this and the Police investigation into paedophile activity in the Welsh community where the story is set. These stories skilfully ran parallel, interwoven into one with the reader knowing what was coming, in terms of Anthony's fate, thus creating a level of suspense that remained until the very last page.
The characterisation was superb, Dr Galbraith despicable but so believable in terms of his arrogance and power. Respected in the community, familiar with the networks in place to protect children and in a position discordant with the private persona. Preying on targeted individuals, Anthony in his dysfunctional family, keen to please and susceptible to deception is the perfect victim. A positive portrayal of police and social care working together was pleasing and stereotypes of the latter were nicely absent.
The Author draws well on his own professional background in Policing and Child Protection Social Work to create an authentic story, detailing the aspects of grooming and control necessary to act in this predatory way plus the joined up investigations between agencies required to respond to crimes of this nature. This aspect of the story provided additional tension in terms of the amount of intelligence the police had coupled with their strategic arrest plan to maximise prosecution opportunities. This slower paced police work was at odds with the 'live' criminal investigation which overlapped, the need for sensitive handling was evident but was an excellent aspect of the story.
A five star read from me, yes some of the content was disturbing and uncomfortable but never gratuitous and told as part of a well formulated story, cohesive in content and plot. Definitely recommended!

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Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Dr Galbraith is a sadistic paedophile who is also a psychiatrist who works with children. He has a new client, 7 year old Anthony and wants to make Anthony his latest plaything.

This left me cold and disturbed and I’m in the small minority that didn’t like this book. I have read some depraved books before but this one didn’t work for me.

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So creepy yet so relevant and SO good. Completely depraved subject yet I could not put it down. Thanks so much for ARC.

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Brilliant a great story and from a new author for me. I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it. Now to read book two.

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This review is also posted in my blog :
https://onewordtoomuch.wordpress.com/2018/04/20/white-is-the-coldest-colour-dr-david-galbraith-1/

Thank you to Bloodhound Books and Net Galley for a free copy of this book in trade for an honest review

It’s a disturbing read from the get go, just like the note from the author. It sure is a dark psychological thriller and could be classified as crime and mystery genre as well. A fast pace read with a plot that is not too twisty. The story is easy to follow but makes me left in tethering edge on waiting of what’s going to happen next. The background story is interesting and well researched. There is no weepy stuff or romance going on in this book.

The story started from the point of view of Dr. David Galbraith, a child psychiatrist who happens to be a pedophile as well. It’s a scary point of view on how I could describe he’s like a drug addict and with no remorse at all. He seems to take that his action is permissive do to his “condition”. And when he didn’t get a “fix”, he got shaky and got headaches.

As the story progressing, we follow Dr. Galbraith’s quest to find his next victim. How he lured his next patient and his family is cunning. I’m not going into details here as the danger of giving it a spoiler, but rest assured the story is gripping from the beginning until the end. It’s a reading process that left me chilled to the bones on how the seemingly normal and respected individual was actually a psychopath. No matter the reason on why he became like that, it’s just scary if that kind of person is around our life and you really have no idea.

The characters have both strong and weak attitude. Molly Mailer as the mom is strong headed and loves her children dearly. I like her strong character. Cynthia Galbraith, Dr.Galbraith’s wife is a weak character who shows strength at the end. Dr. Galbraith as mention above is pictured as a respectable individual but deep inside he resent the people around him. A bully and psychopath, he is pictured in quite detailed manner. Other than that, the police team are focusing on finding Anthony before it’s too late.

The end is quite shocking and unpredictable. It’s a bit of a floating end that left you to imagine the faith of Anthony, but it’s easy to picture.

Recommend for those who like psychological thriller with a point of view from the psychopath, not afraid of a disturbing read about child molestation and good police work theme.

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John Nicholl is an exciting new author for me and one I intend to read more of.
Not for the feint hearted this is an extremely dark and disturbing novel about child abuse and paedophiles.
Dr Gslbraith is a well established and respected children's psychiatrist but does he have a secret life too ?
After the break up of his parents marriage seven year old Anthony Mailer is referred to Dr Galbraith for therapy and the nightmare begins for the Mailer family.
Although dark and disturbing this is also a thrilling read my heart is still racing a well deserved 5 stars from me.

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A very well written, dark and disturbing story. The charectors are well discribed and the plot draws you in from the beginning right to the explosive ending. I would have liked to find out what happens next..maybes there will be a sequel? I certainly hope so....
Will be checking out more from this writer.

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A creepy chilling book which left me feeling quite uncomfortable

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My Review: 5/5

Oh my word….this book. I new it was going to be a good one as soon as I read the prologue by the author. Knowing that he had first hand experience in the subject automatically drew me in. And boy did it!
After the prologue we are introduced to Dr. Galbraith. Wait, let me rephrase. There is no tiptoeing into his mind. There is no easing into what he is thinking or how he is as a person. Nope! We are instantly submerged into his demented, psychotic mind. And it was absolutely brilliant. Most books ease you and in keep the element of mystery, a ‘whodunnit’ theme. Right from the start the who is revealed, and IT IS TERRIFYING. I can honestly say in all of the books I’ve read, I’ve never hated and been so disgusted by a character before.
The writing is different, and at first was a little difficult for me to follow. After I learned his style it was easy going….and captivating. Seriously, I could not read this book fast enough. As disturbing as it was, it was also very GOOD.
I have to put the warning that the subject matter was upsetting. As a mother, it is always hard for me to read about child abuse. This book is raw. While the author doesn’t go into grave details, it is enough to make your skin crawl and at times made my stomach nauseas. Even with the warning, if you can get past those parts, I highly recommend this book.

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Good read and twisting tale - strong characters who lead you on a twisting story

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Yet again, Bloodhound Books has unearthed a very promising author! Sometimes when an expert in a particular field decides to use their experience in writing novels, the result can be unnecessarily detailed and somewhat turgid; this is not the case with John Nichol! He uses his years of police work to tell this shocking tale of child exploitation and sexual abuse, and the resulting novel is highly readable. I look forward to more!

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I really loved this book! Excellent story with brilliant main characters. I would recommend this book.

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I received this book from Bloodhound Books via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This is a disturbing story of child abuse, written by a former policeman and social worker. From the opening pages, we know the name of the child murderer as we read how he videos his killing of a young boy. The reader knows the name of this man - he is Dr David Galbraith, who hides his sadistic crimes behind the facade of his work as a caring professional. Galbraith works as a consultant child psychiatrist and we are given an insight into his state of mind as he goes about his daily routine at home and at work.

Since we already know he's a vicious predator, it comes as no surprise to discover that Galbraith treats his wife Cynthia and two daughters abominably and despises his office secretary. He considers himself a superior being and becomes distraught when anyone fails to treat him as such. He has already chosen his next victim, a 7-year-old boy named Anthony. Anthony's parents have separated and we learn of his mother's struggles to cope, allowing Galbraith to manipulate mother and child to get the information he needs for Anthony's abduction.

Meanwhile, we are given an insight into the work of the police and social work department as they investigate a large paedophile ring, uncovered after they gain evidence in interviews with children, some of them abused by their parents as well as by the likes of Galbraith and his ilk.

The book is set in South Wales in 1992 when not only members of the public but legal, social work and health professionals were not as aware of the massive scale of child abuse in Britain as they are today.

As I've stated, it's an unsettling read, but I found the dialogue somewhat stilted in places, although the author doesn't fall into the trap of using too much psychological jargon. It's a difficult subject to read about and I feel this may have affected my lower rating of the book - wondering if I should really enjoy reading about such horrible crimes.

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The premise of this book is unfortunately quite topical: a respected doctor in a Welsh community preys on young boys, yet the police, child protective services, and parents have a hard time believing such an upstanding citizen could be a monster. The author uses a variety of story strands to tell the story: police detectives investigating a pedophile ring in the area; a family in crisis with a young son who needs counseling; a social worker that knows what is going on yet cannot inform a friend to remove his son from the doctor's care; and the creepy, insane, evil doctor. The problem I had with this book is what I would call "unrealistic predictability.' Instead of focusing on how deft and insidious many pedophiles are at grooming their young victims, the main focus is more on the unraveling of this doctor, as we watch the wheels go spinning off in remarkable fashion as the police close in. The psychiatrist does insanely ridiculous things, yet it seems almost how it goes in this book. The family story is the most compelling, as the parents try to get past an affair and mend their family. The creepy doctor is such a flat character, who show only his evil side in the telling of this book, that it is impossible to believe anyone in this town would have liked and respected him. And as far as the doctor's own family...so damaged that the ending is completely unrealistic. Potential here, but a miss for me.

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