I really enjoyed this, Maggie is a great character, determined to find the killer of her childhood friend despite it making her face her past. Finding her friend who she thought had died 20 years previously makes her question everything she has been through. I really didn't expect the twist at the end!!

Very good suspense book with a few good twists. Ending was a definite surprise. At times some of the book had to be skimmed because of all the typical police who did what but it didn’t take away from the story Good characters and plot. Would definitely recommend. Thank you netgalley for letting me give an honest review of this book.

When it comes to murder-mystery crime novels, Don't Even Breathe by Keith Houghton is up there as one of the good ones.

This is a genre I'm always very wary of reading; when written well, murder mysteries can be haunting and grip at your mind. But, unfortunately, this genre is also stock piled with books that just aren't good. Every murder mystery I've ever read at some point in time falls into into the same-old same-old cliches... and this book is no exception to that.

Yes, I have admitted this novel does have its cliches,

Like the classic "I don't have time for a personal life, I'm all tunnel vision work-only" detective, the "The best friend was the killer the whole time???!" trope, the epilogue/first chapter is the killer's thoughts, and the SUPER classic investigation-forces-detective-to-confront-her-past plot line.

And yes, these cliches definitely weigh down this novel

But, I will give the author credit still. For one, I was thoroughly entertained reading it, and as soon as Maggie found the "Leave me alone" note I definitely couldn't put the book down.

Maggie, the lead detective in the story, is definitely very....intense. But, her character is well balanced out with Nic and Loomis's light personalities that give the comedic relief.

One thing I loved about this book was the diversity. The cast wasn't cookie-cutter; it featured characters with vitiligo, characters born in South Africa, characters raised in New York streets, and all different sets of personalities: goth, preppy, intense, light, funny. The diverse set of characters brought so much life into this story, so many different backgrounds and specialties, I loved it.

Overall, I would recommend this story. As far as cliches, I have never read a murder mystery that didn't fall into them; and Keith definitely makes it up with fantastic characters and chair gripping fight scenes.