It is only book two in the series, but I have to say that they just keep getting better. Now settled into her new role as Sergeant back in her home town (city) of Stoke, Grace Allendale finds herself faced with a tragic and somewhat devastating case when a teenage schoolgirl is found by her friends, right in the middle of the school day, and only metres from where they had left her just moments earlier. How can a killer be so brazen. And while it's complicated enough dealing with a case involving children, with the investigation moving close to home once again, Grace finds the pressure not only on her and her team at work, but also complicating her love life too.

Now Grace is a very likeable character with a complicated family life. She never lets it affect her work, if anything it drives her to be even more successful and to prove she is nothing like her father, but it does add to her character, and provides plenty of conflict. It is less obvious this time around than in book one, but slowly and surely Grace is being drawn into the family, whether she likes it or not. There is a curious and intriguing dynamic between her and her half brother, Eddie, one that makes me smile probably every bit as much as it annoys Grace. I'm desperate to see how this keep developing moving forward, and how the strain between Grace and her other brother, Leon, grows too.

Now this case really ups the pressure on Grace and the first murder is not the last sadly. There are no end of suspects, but all the leads the police think they have go nowhere, leaving the team perplexed. It really adds to the tension and pressure that builds as you read onward. There are some moments which seem inevitable, where you can't help but marvel at the naivety of some of the characters, no matter how true to life it might seem. But there are moments that will surprise you too, and perhaps catch you unawares as the real killer remains well hidden in amongst a large cast of characters.

Mel Sherratt has done a great job of recreating that kind of teenage vibe - the sense that, no matter what, no matter that one of their friends has been murdered, they are still untouchable. Invincible. It adds authenticity and an edge of jeopardy to the story. She has also done a brilliant job of bringing Stoke to life and although employing some artistic licence, has captured the spirit of the city completely.

All in all Tick Tock was a thoroughly enjoyable, sometimes tense, cleverly plotted book where the killer remains hidden in plain sight right until the last. Full of edge of the seat moments, it'll keep fans turning the pages late into the night.

This is the second book in the series featuring DS Grace Allendale so I read it as a standalone. It worked well but I still intend to go back and read the first book to glean more background information on Grace. She is called out to investigate the discovery of the body of a schoolgirl, who got left behind on a school cross country run and when friends went back to look for her they found her dead. What is puzzling Grace is how it happened so quickly and in broad daylight. While investigating this case a young mother is abducted and later found murdered. Grace is sure that the deaths are connected but cannot find any links. We learn more about Grace’s relationship with Simon, her reporter boyfriend and about Grace’s family which feature in the first book, Grace and her team are really struggling with this case as there is obviously a killer at large and when will he strike again. Grace knows that the clock is ticking when a third woman is a target and begins to realise that there is a pattern to the attacks. This book had me gripped from the start, with so many twists and turns and brilliant characters. A highly recommended read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

thank you for allowing me to read this book. it was very easy to read. i enjoyed the story line and the characters. look forward to reading more from mel.

This was a great book to read, I got into it straight away and the story flowed well and kept your attention so I wanted to know what happened in the book and how the story ended. I liked the main characters in the book, DS Grace Allendale is a capable police officer and makes for great reading.

“Tick Tock” is the second book in the ‘DS Grace Allendale’ thriller series by best-selling author Mel Sherratt and I found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable and first-class read. The first book is ‘Hush Hush.’

In the city of Stoke, a teenage girl is murdered in the middle of the day, her lifeless body abandoned in a field behind her school. Two days later, a young mother is abducted. She’s discovered strangled and dumped in a local park.

DS Grace Allendale and her team are brought in to investigate, then a third woman is targeted and a sinister pattern begins to emerge. A dangerous mind is behind these attacks, and Grace realises that the clock is ticking…

Can the perpetrator be caught before another young woman dies?

The characters were well drawn by the author and I particularly liked Grace who I thought was top-notch and outstanding. The short chapters really helped to ramp up the pace making me want to keep turning the pages.

Mel Sherratt’s fantastic writing style helped to make “Tick Tock” so enthralling and exciting and this was particularly true towards the end for the dramatic conclusion.

I really loved “Tick Tock” and I shall be reading ‘Hush Hush’ whenever I get the opportunity. I hope Mel Sherratt is planning another book in this series.

Thanks to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and the author, Mel Sherratt for my complimentary copy of Tick Tock. My honest review is entirely voluntary.

I can never get enough of Mel Sherratt's books. I just love how she reels you in and doesn't let you go.
I really took to Grace in this book and can not wait for the next installment.

Really enjoyed this book by Mel Sherratt. Based in Stoke a young mother is murdered in what seems like a random attack, when it is closely followed by another murder of a young girl there seems to be no link. A story with lots of twists and tension it is up to DCI Grace Allendale and her team to investigate. I haven’t read anything by Mel Sherratt before but will look out for more from this author.

Mel Sherratt serves up suspense, and paints an eerie setting like no one else!
Tick Tock is the very definition of a page-turner. Deliciously creepy as it all builds to a richly satisfying climax. A fantastic psychological thriller.

DS Grace Allendale has the unenviable task of trying to connect two murders. In the town of Stoke, the broken body of a teen girl is found. In two short days, a young mother is kidnapped and found murdered shortly after. With the time factor, there must be a connection and it is up to Grace and her team to discover it.

Before Grace can make any headway, a third woman is an apparent target. Is time running out? Will yet another person lose their life? In Tick Tock, which is aptly named, time is of the essence.

In the first book in the series, Grace developed a friendship with Simon, a local reporter. It did not come easy, due to her past, but in this story, they draw closer together. Their growing relationship grew even more difficult when Simon's own daughter comes into the picture in connection to what is going on. Will Grace keep everyone safe? What of her family that she has recently come to know?

I loved the first book, but, boy, this one was truly a whopper! There were a lot of elements in this story and it was quite fast-paced, with characters that kept my attention and concluded with a stunning ending. Although this book could be read as a standalone, Grace's background, especially regarding her family, might be better understood and appreciated if these books were read in order.

Many thanks to Avon Books UK and to NetGalley for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was an entertaining read. I found the plot interesting and the characters had good substance to them. I had guessed the ending before the end but if I'm honest it wasnt much before the end. I would read other titles by this author and would reccomend this book for others to read.

Gritty. Intense, Fast-paced. Riveting. Emotional. Suspenseful. An artful melding of twisted psychological thrills and nail-biting suspense. A MUST read!

#TickTock #MelSherrat #NetGalley

Great read. The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.

I was so pleased when I heard about Tick Tock, the second book to feature DS Grace Allendale and her colleagues. I loved Hush Hush, the first in the series.

So Grace is back. She's still with Simon, the journalist, which sometimes makes things a little awkward (the relationship between the police and the press is a tricky one) but she's determined to make it work. His daughter, Teagan, isn't all that keen, mind.

When a teenager from a school in Stoke is found murdered during a cross-country run (oh the hell of those!) Grace and her team are called in to investigate. What I do find interesting with these books is that Grace is a DS, so not the highest officer, and yet she's the main character. It's quite unusual I think. Anyway, she's a force to be reckoned with, especially when, a few days later, a woman is found murdered in a similar way. Is this a serial killer?

I think Tick Tock got off to a slower start than Hush Hush but I was soon completely engrossed by it. There's a lot less about Grace's family issues, although they do play a part. What I really enjoyed was the good old-fashioned policing that helps the police to solve the crimes. As one of the characters says, it's often about dotting the i's and crossing the t's.

Short chapters really keep up the pace and kept me turning those pages. Tick Tock is exciting and thrilling, particularly towards the end when the whole thing is coming to a conclusion. I hope there will be another outing for Grace as she's a stellar policewoman and a fabulous character. I really loved Tick Tock.

Tick Tock is a solid crime thriller that by the final pages will have you at the edge of your seat.
DS Grace Allendale is the main character and a great character is she, there is enough going on in her present life to make her interesting and likeable without touching her past. This is the second book in this series and although I haven’t read the first I don’t think you need to but I do think it would help at times especially when Grace is dealing with things from her past.
When we start this book we are straight into the action as a schoolgirl is strangled whilst out with her school on a cross country run. With no evidence, no motive or reasoning, DS Grace is left floundering as the school and parents want an answer now.
I enjoyed this crime thriller and will be reading the next one definitely!!
I would like to thank Netgalley and Avon Books UK for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

DS Grace Allendale heads up the team investigating when a teenager is murdered while on a cross country run at school. She was popular and well liked so who could have wanted to kill her.
Within a few days another young woman is abducted and strangled, wrapped in a rug and dumped. Grace and the team are struggling to identify a link between the two killings when another school girl is attacked and left for dead.
Grace notices a similarity in the pattern of another killing spree in Manchester a few years earlier but that killer was caught and is serving life in prison.
Could Grace have a copycat on her hands or is the original killer somehow pulling the strings from behind bars.
Great follow up to Hush Hush, Grace Allendale is a great character and I can’t wait for more!

Absolute cracker!
I fell in love with Mel Sherratt 's stuff after reading Hush Hush and she doesn't disappointed at all.
Another winner!

My first Mel sherratt book and she lives up to all that I've heard about her writing. This was a tense story with the clock ticking for DS Allendale to solve who is killing apparently random victims.

With thanks to the publisher for the copy received. I enjoyed reading Hush Hush, the first book in the Grace Allendale series a few months ago so was looking forward to reading this follow up. I do recommend that you read the books in order.

The book starts a few years ago when a woman is attacked in Manchester while out running. It then jumps to modern day in Stoke when a young girl is also attacked whilst on a school cross country run. Grace and her team are perplexed by the attack but the situation becomes more critical when other women are attacked within a matter of days.

One of the reasons I like this series is because of Grace. She has had a hard life, losing her husband to illness and an awkward relationship with her family. But she is determined to move on, with a new relationship and keeping her distance from the family. Typically, certain members of her family don’t have the same desire to stay at arms length. And it’s always nice to see Allie again, even if only briefly.

The case is a chilling one, the level of insanity and control becomes more apparent the further you read. I didn’t have a clue who could be responsible or how the victims were picked. The teenagers were convincing, the language used, the fears, grief and guilt over a close friend’s death and also the unfriendly attitude towards Grace from the daughter of somebody close.

I hope that there will be more books in this series, it is definitely one I am interested in following.

A solid second book in the DS Grace Allendale series. This time someone is strangling young women, with nothing connecting them and no leads. As another young girl is targeted Grace finds herself up against a callous killer, and she's running out of time...

I did enjoy this book, though I didn't find it to be as hugely gripping as the first in the series. It is a sound police procedural book, I just didn't find the tension as realistic as the first one. Having said that I will still be looking out for further books in this series.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

TICK…

In the city of Stoke, a teenage girl is murdered in the middle of the day, her lifeless body abandoned in a field behind her school.

TOCK…

Two days later, a young mother is abducted. She’s discovered strangled and dumped in a local park.

TIME’S UP…

DS Grace Allendale and her team are brought in to investigate, but with a bold killer, no leads and nothing to connect the victims, the case seems hopeless. It’s only when a third woman is targeted that a sinister pattern emerges. A dangerous mind is behind these attacks, and Grace realises that the clock is ticking…

Can they catch the killer before another young woman dies?

This is the second in the DS Grace Allendale series, and is just as fantastic as the first one, Hush Hush, so I was really looking forward to reading this one. I have to say I hadn't got a clue who the perpetrator was until it was revealed and loved that it was all woven together so tightly that I didn't guess who it was. This second book shows a bit more of Grace's background too so, even though you could quite easily read it as a standalone, it's better that you read Hush Hush first to understand the characters properly, it was also great to see the partnership developing between Grace and her team more in this book and how she was settling down so well back in Stoke. It's a fast paced edgy story with short, choppy chapters and I highly recommend it.

I'd like to thank Avon Books and Netgalley for the approval, I will post my review on Amazon and Goodreads.