A MUST for your TBR list! Fast-paced! Riveting! Exciting! Addictive! Chilling! Not only is this a very well-written book with wonderfully-interesting characters, but the suspense builds at just the right pace as the story unfolds. It was an artful melding of twisted thrills and heart-pounding action that kept me hanging on every word the whole way!

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK, Thomas & Mercer for the copy of Don’t Even Breathe. Wow, what a great read! Keith Houghton really knows how to write an intriguing book. The story really kept me in suspense and the ending was a shocker. It brings up questions about what traumas we carry with us and what we do about them. This is the first book in a series and I’m going to buy them all now.

Not read any of this author before, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I loved this! A well written, and thought out rollercoaster of a thriller!

Once caught up in the intrigue, Houghton pulls you through the story, like a trawlerman draws in all the fish caught in his net.

An entertaining read

First, a big thank you to the publishers at Amazon Publishing UK and Netgalley for this ARC of Don’t Even Breathe.

I must apologize for the extreme lateness of this review. Don’t Even Breathe was released in 2019, but I wasn’t able to read it then. I finished this in just a day though, so I think that will tell you how much I truly enjoyed it.

Don’t Even Breathe takes place in Florida through the eyes of Detective (Deathtective) Maggie Novak. On Halloween night, a murder interrupts her night out with her sister and niece and takes her to a place called Devil’s Landing. It’s here that she begins her trip back into the past, 20 years past to be exact.

Full of twists and turns up the wazoo, you really won’t see this ending coming! Even though you think you have everything figured out in the first chapter, you’ll find that you’re wrong, or are you? I was glued to my seat while reading Don’t Even Breathe. I especially liked the fact that the entire book was told from one single viewpoint, only because so many books are done with several viewpoints these days, which can sometimes be exhausting and confusing. The story was smooth sailing with one narrator. I loved her perspective on things as well. She was someone I could easily respect and look up to.

4/5 stars, and again, I deeply apologize for the lateness of my review.

More of a police procedural rather than a gripping thriller like it makes out. Really disappointing. This really needs more of a description in the blurb to determine the tone for this book.

This was a page turner for me; could hardly put it down. Maggie is a detective trying to solve a horrific crime that initially looks like a prank gone bad. However, during the investigation she starts noticing similarities in not only the bodies of the victims but the crimes; it takes her back to a nasty high school prank and she fears there might be more to these 'pranks'.

I would definitely recommend this read to people!

This one wasn't for me unfortunately. These sorts of books are a let down recently. I need to be more selective in what I request going forward.

There is nothing better than reading a story with a great character and Maggie was a great one. I was able to connect with her and the story held me on every page until I finished it. I would definitely recommend this book if you are looking for a fast thriller read.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Don't Even Breathe by Keith Houghton.

This is a crime thriller about Maggie Novak, a cop who comes upon a woman who has been found dead and burnt. This is a normal day working as a homicide detective, but when she sees the ID of the victim, she realizes that she knew this woman. Not only that, but she was her best friend who died twenty years ago...

Considering how many crime dramas are out there, I still enjoyed this. It was easy to read and had all of the fun bumps and turns that you hope for in a crime mystery. I can't say that it changed my life or blew my mind, but I'm going to be happy to pick up the next one.

A clever police procedural with multiple twists and turns, this was a fast and fun read. While I did predict several of the twists I still enjoyed myself along the way, and I would read more featuring this character, Maggie Novak or other books by this author. I enjoyed the Halloween setting and the way that the past and present timelines of the story came together.
I read and reviewed a copy courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

This book started out really well, fast paced and completely engrossing. However, it tapered off significantly and I found myself skimming the text to get to the end. It was just a bit wordy and seemed to drag on. Good twist at the end, i think I would read another book by this author.

This fast-paced, well-plotted crime book was the perfect read for a lazy Thursday. I really enjoyed Maggie’s character and enjoyed following her as she raced to solve a mysterious death in her hometown.

An addictive thriller with a plot line that draws you in and leaves you wanting more

A tense read but well worth it

Elevator pitch:


The past you try to leave behind will take you down.

What I liked:


Plot! I repeat it: the plot. It is refreshing to read a thriller that leans heavily on its narrative construct and delivers a real puzzle. The first two chapters offer a seemingly unsolvable mystery, and watching how logically it all comes together is gratifying. A lot of thrillers these days rely too much on the psychological struggle of the protagonist and forsake the story.
Don't even Breathe delves into the guilt and shame of the very sympathetic Homicide detective Maggie Novak, without forgetting to build a fictional case, not relying solely on the troubles of the hero. Maggie Novak is a straight arrow, competent, and determined, The return of a capable female lead. Hooray!
The beginning of Don't even Breathe is the gripping part, the story tapers a bit towards the wrap-up, but the last action scene has enough tension and evil characters loaded with malice to slide in between the goalpost ( I guess I still have football on the brain).

What it is about:


Homicide detective Maggie Novak and her partner get called to a crime scene, where they find the charred remains of a female. Soon Maggie discovers these belong of her former best friend in high school. The problem: Rita died in a fire twenty years ago. And how come a budding psychopath and the most popular girl in school, he intended to kill, were the ones that discovered this body?

I found the premise of this book very interesting. A detective is called to a crime scene on Halloween, with the scene seeming like from a horror movie, only to discover that the true horror lies in the victim. With a secret from twenty years ago, and a victim that should never even been alive to this day, this story was promising.


While I did enjoy reading it, I couldn’t help but feel like there were some things that were left a little less than satisfactory. And the characters could’ve used some polishing up, I somehow couldn’t connect with them with the intensity that I wished to fully enjoy this book.

All in all, this was a good read, one that’s easy and quick if you’re in the mood for a thriller. I won’t say this was light hearted, sine there were issues that the characters dealt with that are quite something in real life too.

I’m adding three spoonfuls of this story into my hodgepodge.

Good, quick read. DON'T EVEN BREATHE will make you think about any cruel thing you did in high school and you will want to seek out the victim and apologize for your misdeeds. How the past comes back to haunt us in unexpected ways. Lots of great plot twists and Sheriff Maggie Novak is a good , strong protagonist. I look forward to seeing her again.

One of my new favorite books! This author has such a way with words the pages flew by in no time! I can’t wait to see the next work by this author! This was such a joy to read!

I wanted very much to love this book. The main characters were connectable and enjoyable. The story starts on good footing but never reaches the finish line.

Most of what I want to say about the book would be to basically give spoilers and I try to avoid that as much as I can. Essentially it’s yet another version of King’s “Carrie”, a concept entirely too predictable in my opinion but with bullying being a current hot topic I’m not surprised to see it popping up again.

What really throws this version off is the censored style of writing. For instance, at one point a murder has a gun pointed at a naked woman and as ‘his gaze moves up and down her body” his hand moves toward his crotch. Five minutes later, same lascivious murder tells woman angrily to shut the “heck” up. In a few short paragraphs we go from Rated R to PG.

By 80% I had figured out the who, what, where, when, and why. What surprised me was that none of the story characters had done so. There are multiple reveals but let’s focus just on the crime that starts this story, the dead body of a friend who should have been dead twenty years before. STOP. At the end comes a big reveal about this woman, but the story has a glaring error that no medical examiner with so much as a high school education would have missed.

If as you’re sorting clues you happen to notice the error as I did then reading the rest of the book is quite a yawn fest and eye rolling-ly awful. From that point on it reads like a young adult novel.

I wish I could give it a better review but it just couldn’t hold up under scrutiny.

Thank you to NetGalley and Publishers for allowing me to read this title.

My apologies for delayed review. My health is still not well.

This was a fantastic tale with a great story. The characters were good and this was a real page turner. twists and turns a pleanty! I would recommend this book.