This was a brilliant whodunit book perfect for escaping into a thrilling story. I loved it. Twisty and turny, keeping you at the edge of your seat.

Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

First, I have to say that I love, love, love Katerina Diamond. I think she is a brilliant author and have read her entire back catalogue.

I was intrigued when I saw that she had a new standalone book out and couldn't wait to read it. I was not disappointed. This book was brilliant and I read it in one sitting.

The plot was tense and gripping and it held my attention throughout. I don't want to give spoilers but I would say that I would recommend this book to anyone for a riveting summer read!

I’m a huge fan of Katerina Diamond’s DS Imogen Grey series and I was excited for her first standalone book. Though it meant I have to wait longer for more Imogen and Adrian, The Heatwave was an enjoyable book.

The story is told in past and present timelines. In the present, Felicity feels compelled to return to her hometown and investigate when she finds out another teenage girl has gone missing. In the past, Jasmine tries to discover what the strange new lodger her parents have invited to live in their guest house is hiding. I have to say that I found the past chapters much more interesting than the present. The characters were more fleshed out and I felt invested in what happened to them. I thought Tim’s character was intriguing and wanted to learn more about him. In the present, I just didn’t really care much about Felicity. She honestly didn’t really do much besides drinking and wandering aimlessly around town, talking to whoever she happened upon. I found it frustrating that she was so vague and all character development was really saved for the end.

There was a reason for the vagueness, though. Things needed to be that way so the twists and turns revealed towards the end have an impact. However, if you’re paying attention, you will guess one of the biggest surprises very early on in the story. I did, and found myself just waiting for it to finally be revealed and I think that hindered some of my enjoyment of the story. While I did figure out almost every other twist, it did take me a little longer.

Overall, The Heatwave was enjoyable. I especially liked the past chapters. I think if you’re able to just sit back and take everything as it comes, rather than trying to figure things out, you will enjoy this one.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 3.5 Stars

16 years ago, a girl disappeared, and Felicity fled from her hometown. She's been running from her past ever since. Until she hears of a second disappearance. Felicity knows that she may be the only one who could solve these cases, but to do so, she must confront her past, and reveal the darkest of secrets...

I’ve never read a book by Katerina Diamond before, but she’s always been an author I’ve been eager to try, so I was really excited when the opportunity to review this book came up. Unfortunately, I ended up being disappointed.

I think part of the issue for me was that everything just felt very rushed and a bit silly. Felicity hears a story on the news, and within a very short space of time she’s decided to go off and investigate something to do with her past, irrelevant of what her husband and kids might think. This is because hidden in her past is a Deep Dark Secret. You won’t know what the secret actually is until quite late on in the book (although there is one part of the secret that is obvious from the very beginning), but what you get instead is repeated references to The Big Secret. Now, I will admit that I personally hate this in a book. Repeatedly referencing something that happened in the past without giving away what it is that happened is something that generally is annoying rather than intriguing. Obviously there are some exceptions where it’s been done well, but unfortunately this is not one of those cases. Instead, what you get is a plot we’re not much really happens for the bulk of the book apart from Felicity pondering her past, and randomly approaching people to ask about the missing girl, all of whom are mysteriously willing to answer the questions of a complete stranger without hesitation.

In terms of narrative, you get chapters alternating between Felicity in the present and Jasmine in the past. In both timelines, there is a missing girl, and it is the news of the present day missing girl that sends Felicity running back to her hometown, because it reminded her of her own Dark Past. What I found really weird that was that in the present day section there are numerous references to the missing girl from 16 years ago, but it’s barely mentioned for the bulk of Jasmine's timeline - you get a brief mention of it, and then it suddenly becomes relevant again right at the end. There's a lot of that sort of pacing issue with this as well - long sections where nothing really happens, and then everything just drops into place.

All in all, this one was a disappointment for me. It felt very rushed, the writing could’ve done with another edit (it's very simplistic in places in terms of both language used and syntax), and it’s a classic example of a book where nothing really happens until the end, when suddenly all of this information is thrown at you to trick you into thinking it’s brilliant. It’s a shame, as the truth behind what happened in the past was actually really good, and a very unique plot line. Unfortunately, it’s execution left a lot to be desired.

Disclaimer - I was provided with an advance reading copy by NetGalley. This has not affected my review in any way, and all opinions are my own.

I have really, really enjoyed Katerina Diamond's novels in the past - her first two novels were absolutely outstanding, really clever and violent without being OTT, so when I heard about The Heatwave I was really excited. A stand-alone thriller!

However, right from the off I didn't gel with this book. Felicity fleeing her family to go and investigate a random girl's disappearance was bizarre. Why did her husband just allow it? How did she manage to do it within hours of seeing the news report? Like it was completely implausible, sadly.

Then there was the vague-ness surrounding the whole novel. It's split between first-person present day with Felicity and third-person in the past with Jasmine. But Felicity is so vague. So many mentions of knowing what she knows now and naming people but not cluing us in to who is whom or what has happened, it was too vague. Like I understand you want to create mystery and keep people reading, but I read 33% of the book without ANYTHING happening. All I knew was two girls had gone missing, years apart, and Felicity was involved. But no word as to how/why. No details shared, etc.

I ended up skipping to the end and I don't feel like I missed anything in between the bits I'd missed. It all felt very run-of-the-mill thriller. I'm really disappointed, wondering where the gritty, compelling Katerina Diamond has gone. Because her first few books were absolutely immense. But this was just genuinely awful, too lost in being vague to be of any use to anyone.

The Heatwave by Katerina Diamond has a great storyline. Katerina built her plot nicely and kept me guessing for a good part of the book but at times the prose was a little too basic and lacked the descriptive turn of phrase which would have enhanced the reading experience. Not sure if I’m expressing that well to be honest. I suppose it just read in quite a basic descriptive way but overall the plot and characters overcame any lack of gripping writing to paint an absorbing story of two young girls and a hot, life changing summer which set the course of the rest of their lives. It’s difficult to say more without spoiling the plot but the main character’s return to lay ghosts to rest is well done and the unfolding story is shocking and sad. Overall a great read

This book is fabulous !a gripping psychological thriller that grabs you from the first chapter and doesn't let go .This thriller kept me on the edge of my seat and had some very surprising twists some I guessed and some I didn't .The story is told in two timelines ,Felicity in the present and back when she was a teenager with her best friend Jasmine.I actually like this way of telling a story as I think you get a more in depth story . Altogether a very enjoyable book .Many thanks to the Publisher the Author and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review .

I have read Katerina Diamond books before and always enjoyed them, however, with The Heatwave I was rather disappointed by it.

It begins with the main character - Felicity - hearing a news article then suddenly deciding to go to the place where the news event happened. Within a second, she has decided this, despite having two children and a husband and it being at the opposite end of the country. I just didn't see it as realistic at all. I continued to read, but then found it even harder to like, or even understand Felicity - she keeps moaning about her past and reminding the reader all too often that she was desperate to escape the village she grew up in. We knew that right away, we don't need constantly telling. I also thought she was quite skathing the way she spoke about people who still lived in the village, almost dismissing them and thinking they were lower than her. She obviously had demons and liked to drink to forget them. If I had cared about her, I would have been compelled to keep reading and find out why she has demons and what happened, but as it was, I found it a bit difficult to keep reading because I didn't care. I wish Katerina had made her have SOME likable qualities or something so that it helped me as a reader to care.

The other part of the book is about Jasmine and is told in the past - whenever this terrible event happened. I preferred Jasmine's chapters, I think it helped that they were told in third person (Whereas Felicitiy's chapter were first person which made it hard to relate to her). But there were still some odd things tht made the book unbelieveable such as the parents moving someone in right away and dismissing Jasmine's concerns, the fact that a sexual assualt by a teacher had been carried out yet almost just mentioned casually...

I kind of got the impression that this book was rushed- it had to be all action. It could have been better told if we had been gently introduced to the characters, given a chance to understand them and see their backgrounds, rather than jumping straight into the action.

Felicity tried to work out what had happened in the past and how it related to the present news article, I found her detective skills a little odd, the way people would randomly volunteer too much information. I would imagine, in a close-knit town which was the centre of two big news stories, that members of the community would be very guarded with talking to outsiders, but nope, not in this story.

It is such a shame because the actual bare bones of the story were good - what happened, how they could be linked, the 'who done it' feel... so it could have been so much better if it had been told in a more believable manner.

Unfortunately I don't recommend the book.

Incredible suspense story of two teenage girls growing up in two different families, Jasmine has a stable home, two loving parents who do charity work every summer. Her best friend Felicity, growing up in a one parent household, who drinks, smokes, has too many boyfriends, not the most stable environment. Then a stranger shows up, Tim, a good looking young ex soldier, homeless, now living in Jasmine's parents guest cottage. Jasmine finds him scary, odd, why don't her parents see there is something wrong? Felicity and Jasmine spend the most traumatic summer ever! A must read!
I highly recommend! Thank you Netgalley!
carolintallahassee.com

When i saw this was written by Katerina Diamond i assumed The characters Adrian and Imogen, from all her previous books would make an appearance. I soon realised this was a stand-alone book. As i read i became gripped into the plot and kept reading because i needed to know the answer. It wasn’t predictable, in fact the plot twist at the end surprised me! I love Diamonds books. The fact that these were new characters separate from Her previous books only made this book more interesting and showed her talents as a writer. This book has a completely different atmosphere and really shows a different world she creates. Looking forward to more stand-alone books in tje future!

I found this a little strange and unbelievable that a mother would just watch the news on the tv, and then announce she was off to the other side of the country to investigate a crime. And that her husband would be accepting of this? It just felt a little hurried - the author clearly wanted to get into the story quicker. The rest of the book was ok, and the end had a bit of a twist. But again, I'm not sure just how believable it all was.

The plotting in this blew me away, I really had no idea what had happened and the final twists were amazing. I know Sidmouth really well, so loved the location too; especially as I’m in lockdown miles away! Will definitely read more from Katerina Diamond. Masterful.

Although the title of the book Didn’t seem to fit the story, I still enjoyed this thriller. Interesting twists and fast paced.

This is the first book I have read by Katrina Diamond and I absolutely loved it. I devoured this book in a day and a half. A great whodunit which leaves you guessing. I now can’t wait to read some more books from this author.

This book was very slow to start and took some time to suck me in. I failed to relate to any of the characters but the book was easy to read and well written. It just didn't grip me unfortunately. The ending left me with some questions to answer and I ended up really disliking the main character.I would class it as mystery, more than a thriller. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

I am a huge Katarina Diamond fan and jumped on this book as soon as I saw it on Netgalley.

Felicity and Jasmine are best friends one hot summer in Devon. Felicity or Flick as she is known, doesn't have the most stable homelife, her mum is an alcoholic with a revolving door on boyfriends. She is envious of Jasmine's stable home life and her happily married philanthropic parents. When a formerly homeless stranger arrives into Jasmine's life as her parents' new lodger, and a girl from their school disappears, their world as they know it is upended.

Fast forward 16 years and Flick has been running from her old life ever since when she hears another girl has mysteriously disappeared in very similar circumstances to the still missing girl from that summer. Flick is forced to face the demons of her past as she returns to Devon in the hope that she can save the missing girl.

Told in a now (Flick) and then (Jasmine) format, this is a really good thriller. It has a slow build up with tidbits of information dropped in here and there. With short, snappy chapters, a few rabbit holes and plenty of twists to keep you guessing, it definitely grabs your attention from page 1 and runs with it. The ending completely took me by surprise and absolutely wasn't what I was expecting. In fact, I'm still thinking about it. An ideal holiday read 4/5.

I have read every one of the Imogen Grey series and enjoyed them all, This is different, a one off thriller with a different pace and set in two different times. I wasn’t sure at first, as it changed between time frames, but it quickly pulled me in with its slow burning tension and many questions unanswered until the end. A creepy plot and a totally unexpected ending; all very satisfying and an ideal holiday read. I really enjoyed it.

The Heatwave was a compulsive read that I found impossible to put down. The prologue immediately hooked me and from that point, I devoured the book in less than three days.

Flick refuses to think about that summer where she escaped from her old life. Nobody knows her past and she'd like to keep it that way. Until she sees the news - a young woman has gone missing from her hometown. The circumstances are hauntingly similar to a kidnap that happened 16 years ago, that last summer. Unable to forget, Flick must go back and face the past. But is she ready to admit what really happened?

This was a fast-paced thriller, with a slow build-up as the author gradually revealed the past with flashbacks to that summer. In the present day, Flick must piece together the events of the summer in order to save the missing girl. But the sleepy sea-front town is harbouring more secrets than Flick can count.

I really enjoyed the plot and thought it had quite a unique angle. It was realistic and written well enough for me to think that this could actually happen in real life. I guessed one of the twists quite early on but there were plenty of others that I didn't see coming. There was a good mix of characters and red herrings, just enough to have a handful of suspects. The writing style was strong with short chapters that always left me wanting to read on. I wouldn't say it was the cleanest narrative in the world but it didn't detract too much from the overall story. The ending was a little too neat but I was glad to see all the loose ends tied up and not rushed.

I'd recommend this one for fans of B.A. Paris, C.L. Taylor, and Ruth Ware.

I will definitely be reading more from the author in the future!

Thank you to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Better known (by me anyway) for her Imogen Grey series, this is a standalone book. Felicity lives with her family in Devon but when she hears the news about the disappearance of a girl in her home town of Sidmouth, her world shatters and she ups sticks to Sidmouth, desperate to find out more about what has happened. It soon transpires that the case in the resent day has similarities to something that happened in Felicity's own past. We then have a dual timeline with Felicity in the present and Jasmine (Felicity's best friend) from when they were 16.
And that's really all I want to say about the narrative for fear of spoilers. Suffice to say that the plot is delicious and extremely well executed, interconnected as it flits between the past and the present, fleshing out the bones of the plot as it goes.
As I started the book I was quite confused by how Felicity could just bog off and leave her family and it did take me a while feeling a bit confused, But, as I already have some trust in this author from her previous books, I was able to sit with these feelings and believe that all would eventually be revealed. And it was, and to my satisfaction to boot.
The action and intrigue slowly ramps up until it suddenly explodes towards the end as everything is finally exposed and the whole truth of past and present is revealed. Phew... what an exhausting ride.
All in all, a cracking read that ticked all my boxes. Hopefully the author will continue with standalones in and among her series going forward. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

3 stars. This is my first book by this author. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy on exchange for an honest review. While I did not love this book, I also didn’t hate it. It was just okay to me. I did like the way the chapters were written and the authors style of writing. I am curious to read more by her, I just don’t think the storyline of this one was that great.