I am really mad at myself for not reading this sooner this was such a good and gripping book. Just when I thought I had figured it out there was a new twist. I read this so quickly it was just really addictive. Kind of hope they turn it into a film or a TV series. I really don't have a bad thing to say about it. The plot was good, I loved the pacing of the book and how each bit unfolded I never found myself frustrated. I didn't realise that @katerinadiamondauthor had written other books so I will definitely have a look into her writing more as it was just really enjoyable. 10/10 would recommend and think this might be one of my favourite books so far this year

I received an advanced copy of this book from Net Galley and the publisher in return for an honest review.

A well-written page-turner, full of twists and turns, great characters, good plot. A recommended read.

A dark psychological thriller, THE HEATWAVE is the latest tale from the venomous pen of Katerina Diamond, who has a knack for delving into the darker side of human nature and their crimes. It is her first standalone and it was quite different from the DS Imogen Grey series, but just as cleverly crafted and just as disturbing. Beginning with a slow build, it tells a sinister tale of a missing girl and an elusive killer that brings the past rushing back into the present.

It's been sixteen years since Felicity escaped her hometown of Sidmouth in Devon. She thought she had put her old life behind her but it's always been there on the periphery threatening to unbalance the life she has built herself with her husband in the Lake District, far away from Devon...and her memories. But when news of a young teenage girl going missing in Sidmouth reaches her, Felicity is so shocked that she drops everything and heads back to Devon in search of answers.

The truth is that Felicity hasn't set foot in Sidmouth since the disappearance of another teenage girl when she was just 16. Heather Torrance disappeared after the fair that summer and was never seen again. The similarities of both cases is not lost on Felicity and with this new disappearance, she feels compelled to return to the past and face her demons once and for all.

Rewind sixteen years and we meet Jasmine, Felicity's best friend. Jasmine lived a privileged life in a beautiful house with the perfect parents who devoted their time to helping others less fortunate than themselves. Every summer, Jasmine and her parents would travel to third world countries with their charity and help people rebuild their lives. But this summer is different. Jasmine's father has had surgery and they are unable to travel this year so for the first time Jasmine is able to spend summer with her friends in Sidmouth.

But then a stranger comes to town. Knocking on her door one day, Tim looks indifferently at Jasmine and asks for her parents. And suddenly, her parents announce that this stranger is moving into their guest house while he paints, builds and renovates the house for them. Jasmine is immediately put on edge. There is something unsettling about Tim. Something dangerous. This man is a stranger. And they are letting him live there? Just metres away from their teenage daughter? What do they know about him?

Then one morning Jasmine wakes to the news that a girl - Heather Torrance - disappeared after the fair the night before. Jasmine was there. She saw Heather. But then she was caught up in her own troubles. She and Felicity had gone to the fair together and while Felicity was lining up for tickets, Jasmine went to the loo but was accosted by their former teacher, Mr Morrell. She freezes. He pleads to hear him out. Mr Morrell was dismissed from his position for advances he made on Jasmine the year before. He kissed her and insisted she had flirted with him. Now he stands there and says he knows she wanted it too. Jasmine is frozen. He is not allowed within a hundred metres of her, or any child for that matter, and yet here he is. Suddenly Tim is beside her. The look in his eyes is like nothing she has seen before. It's threatening and dangerous. But she feels safe now. After that, she asked Tim to take her home. And now Heather was missing.

Then when news reaches her about Mr Morrell's suicide from the clifftop a few days later, Jasmine can't help but wonder if he had a little help. Tim had virtually threatened him. And there was something sinister about him. Did he have something to do with his death? The idea made her feel warm and safe, like he was looking after her. Despite there being something dangerous about him, Jasmine found herself attracted to Tim and was somewhat put out when Felicity flirted shamelessly with him. Felicity had a confidence that she didn't. But still, she felt safe with Tim.

And then...one night she woke to find him stealthily searching her parents bedroom while they were away. Why? What did he hope to find? This was someone her parents let into their home. Someone they had trusted with their teenage daughter while they went away. So what was he really doing here? Who was he really?

Suddenly, Jasmine didn't feel all that safe anymore. But then she uncovers something much more shocking, something she never ever anticipated...and she doesn't know what to do. So she runs to Felicity.

Now all these years later, Felicity has returned to face her demons and the memories of her past. She has returned to Sidmouth to get to the truth of what really happened sixteen years ago to Heather Torrance and the link to Mandy Green's disappearance today. But is she strong enough to revisit the past and get the answers that only she can provide?

A dark and disturbing psychological thriller, THE HEATWAVE is cleverly spun between the past and the present and the tale of two missing girls. Katerina Diamond has that knack of delving into the darker side of human nature and this is no different. She takes us where we would least expect it, though admittedly I had begun to figure it out and piece the puzzle together even if I still didn't have the complete picture. The links between the past and the present become clearer as does the sinister events surrounding Jasmine. I found myself immersed in Jasmine's story moreso than Felicity's. But how the two collide will shock you.

The story is told from the perspectives of Felicity in the present and Jasmine in the past and it is easy to become wrapped up in the tension as both girls try to puzzle out their respective mysteries. The links between the characters and the stories unravel well as secrets are slowly revealed. There are plenty of twists and revelations as well as that shocking surprise at the end. While some of the plot is a little far fetched, this is fiction and it is the probing into the dark side of human nature that makes it so appealing.

My only criticism is the pace. I found it quite slow and uneventful for a good 30% with Felicity pretty much drowning herself in vodka at every turn with a generous side of guilt. I am not particularly a fan of slow builds though I do see their value sometimes. It just makes it harder for me to engage with the story and the characters when the build is do slow. However, having said that THE HEATWAVE does come into itself and delivers that killer ending.

Deliciously dark, THE HEATWAVE is perfect for fans who enjoy slow burn psychological thrillers.

I would like to thank #KaterinaDiamond, #NetGalley and #AvonBooks for an ARC of #TheHeatwave in exchange for an honest review.

One summer. One stranger. One killer

This is my first Katerina Diamond read so I didn’t know what to expect. It took me a moment to get used to the then and now difference between the chapters but I ended up liking how it was written and how it all came together at the end.

The second half of the book was better than the first, I took me a good few days to get into it, but once I hit the 50/60% mark I got to that ‘I need to know who did it’ part. I did find that the ending felt a little rushed, it wrapped up quickly. I wasn’t shocked by the twist, but I also didn’t see it either. It could have been more dramatic if I’m being picky.

Over all it was an enjoyable read, didn’t love it, didn’t hate it. Would read something by this author again. I do think, if made by the right person, it would make a good film

This story opens dramatically, with a girl being kidnapped. We’re then introduced to Felicity, who seems to have a nice, ordinary life. She has a caring, attractive husband and two children.
When she sees an item on the news about the missing girl in her hometown, she drops everything and rushes there.

For a while, I found this really peculiar and couldn’t work out why she’d rush home because of that. Her behaviour seemed very odd to me but as we learn more about her and her childhood, it starts to make some sense.

The story is told from Felicity’s point of view, and is set in the present and in her teenage years when she spent a rare summer at home with her best friend.

There’s a few suspicious characters and gradually you realise that incidents in her past are linked to what’s going on in the present.

It’s an easy enough read and keeps you interested.

About 75% through the story it suddenly ramps up and everything seems to be revealed in a bit of a rush.

I didn’t expect the twists and it was one thing after another and definitely keeps you reading. I thought the twists were quite clever but did wonder how plausible it would all be.

I wasn’t a big fan of Felicity’s character but my opinion on her did change.

I thought the ending was a little flat and convenient.

The title of the book was an odd choice. Unless I’ve missed something, which is possible, the hot summer was mentioned a few times but I don’t see the significance? Yes, the summer was certainly eventful but for me the title doesn’t really link up with the story.

Overall it’s an enjoyable read with plenty twists and turns! It would be a great holiday read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for a copy for review.

This has more twists than a Curly Wurly. You might think you have it worked out. But you probably won't.

Felicity is shocked when a girl goes missing from her hometown. During a long hot simmer, sixteen years ago she witnessed the aftermath of another girl vanishing, never to be seen again. Now she's home, to another heatwave, another missing girl. And she's sure she's not the only one back....

So without giving too much away I thought I'd worked this book out. And I had. But then the author threw a curveball which left me brilliantly surprised. Which as a reader of many many thrillers of this type I can say it happens rarely these days. A excellent mystery thriller.

I really enjoyed this book, it has some clever twists and turns and the end was mind-blowing!
The book is told from two perspectives, from Jasmine, a young girl living in a comfortable home with her parents. Her parents decide to move Tim, a homeless man down on his luck into their guest house, and Jasmine is both enthralled and frightened of him. Jasmine has a best friend Felicity who comes from a broken home and is a wild child, but relies on Jasmine’s family for stability.
The other perspective is the now grown-up Felicity who has a husband and family.
When a young girl goes missing in Sidmouth, Felicity knows she has to head back to her childhood home and face her demons. Another girl disappeared in similar circumstances many years ago, can’t be just a coincidence can it?

The Heatwave by Katherine Diamond is a psychological thriller told in two different time frames and focuses on the characters, Felicity whose story is set in the present, and Jasmine whose story is set in the past. The women had been teenage friends when tragedy struck and Felicity is compelled to return to her childhood home town years later to follow up the circumstances of her past.

It’s a tense read and keeps the reader guessing from the start. I liked the technique of the two different storylines and found it an easy read. I must admit to not particularly liking either of the main characters but would still recommend it to readers who enjoy a psychological thriller.

My thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins Publishers for the opportunity to read this book.

Thriller set in SIDMOUTH

NOW. Felicity is now living in the Hartsop Valley in the Lake District, with her partner Chris and their children. She hears that a girl has gone missing in her old home town of Sidmouth and she is transported back to her adolescent years, when a girl also went missing. The parallels are such that she drops everything, to the astonishment of her family, and drives down to ascertain the circumstances. She rather wants to come to terms with her past experiences, none of which have really been divulged to Chris. It transpires she is inevitably sitting on huge secrets.

THEN. Felicity and Jasmine, in their mid teens, were friends and each had a very different background. Felicity’s mother, her main caregiver, was largely an irresponsible parent who dated unsuitable men and drank and smoked. Jasmine lived with her parents, who were both committed do-gooders and as such would spend the summer months, with Jasmine in tow, helping out on projects in less fortunate areas all around the world.

Jasmine’s parents have given Tim a home in the cottage in their garden, an ex military man who has fallen on hard times. Jasmine takes an instant dislike to him but, given she was assaulted by a teacher, she assumes she has lost her perspective and ability to judge character. Her parents assure her that he is an OK guy.

NOW. Jasmine is back in her old hunting ground and memories are coming into sharp relief. She is knocking back the alcohol and starts to feel overwhelmed by the unfinished business that is in her background life. Things have really come back to haunt her.

Long story short, there are twists and turns aplenty as the story evolves between the two time frames. As an overall storyline, it didn’t really work for me. The adolescent girls appraise their various situations through eyes that sometimes feel far too mature for their age group, to wit an adult has written the script for them without really getting into their 16 year old shoes; at other times the description of their behaviour swings towards the Young Adult genre.

The back and forth of the time periods never felt quite balanced and I didn’t find a rhythm to really pull me in. As the narrative comes to its conclusion, there is a lot of telling and unpeeling that just felt overly convoluted and generally beyond the realms of credibility. The motive for the identified killer in the end came down to simply portrayed childhood experiences – in novels this seems to be an increasingly popular way of explaining reprehensible and destructive behaviour but which, to my mind, is a quick way to come to a conclusion. This is particularly unsatisfactory when the psychological impacts of early years’ experience aren’t really fleshed out in the course of the narrative, and such motives are used as a kind of shorthand to provide a conclusive ending. This then actually just feels like such a lame device for justifying a killing. Apart from Jasmine, I just couldn’t get alongside the characters and feel engaged with them.

I am not really sure whether the book cover of the water’s edge is suggestive of the content. Personally I felt it indicated somewhere hot and perhaps a more traditional foreign ‘holiday destination’ than Sidmouth – a lot of the action takes place in the town and in dwellings, and events at a funfair are pivotal. Location isn’t really strong in terms of TripFiction.

It is quite a well written novel and many of the author’s other books have very high review ratings. She does have an ardent fan base, so I will definitely pick up another of her titles.

I did not like this book. For once, it was not the plot twist that put me off (as it is usually with thrillers and me). I respect the twist and has no quarrels with it despite having guessed it before the reveal.
What I had trouble with was the imagery that the narrative threw up. The girls are sixteen, and their behaviour is very off-putting, so is the implication that it is the norm and everyone behaves just the same way! Their age and the situations they find themselves in made me were uncomfortable.
We meet our lead protagonist leading a comfortable married life when she hears of a missing girl in her home town. The parallels are too many to ignore, and it forces her to head back. This decision throws her back into the past and the place she once thought she had escaped. In the dual timeline scenario, we are shown the 'then' images of the events, some of which make more sense after more revelations.
This has once again hinted at the fact that thrillers may not be for me- something I might not wholly heed the next time an interesting blurb catches my eye, only time can tell!

I received an ARC thanks to Netgalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

This is my first book by Katerina Diamond and it was difficult to put down.

The narrative structure goes back and forth between the past and present day.

The story is centred around Felicity who happens to see a news story (on the television) about a missing girl in her home town. She is struck by the similarities to a case that happened when she used to live. For reasons unknown to the reader, she then decides to go back home to investigate the case and it leaves the reader wondering why it’s so important to her.

The ending was unexpected and little peculiar, but worth a read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this ARC for an honest review..

A story that builds from beginning to end. Lots of twists and turns and an unexpected conclusion. Enjoyable read.

Wow what a page turner, I love a good thriller, and this definitely kept me reading to find out how the story unfolds, very cleverly written, loved how the story was told, from then to now! do you ever really know anyone? The shocking twists just kept coming and I couldn’t believe what I was reading! How far would you go for your best friend? 5 stars from me ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book had my attention throughout, it’s easy to read and fast paced which I love. This author has a real talent for keeping your attention but more so keeping you thinking right until the end of the book. At even 85% I didn’t really know what was going to happen and it definitely had twists in that I did not see coming. As a fast paced thriller I would recommend although in time I’m not sure it’s one I would remember.

There's something about Katerina Diamond books that just make me read them in one go. Her writing is fast paced, thrilling and just keeps you in its hold from the first line to the last.

I really like the dual timeline in books. In The Heatwave, Diamond has made the then and now chapters very easily distinguishable as we follow Felicity back to her hometown for the first time since she fled the horrors 16 years ago.

I found some parts of the story, and the actions of the characters, slightly far fetched and unbelievable, odd even. For example when Felicity up and left to go back to her home town without even saying bye to her children.

But as the dual timeline allows us a glimpse to the past and present, the author manages to tie the ends of the mystery nicely together.

There are twists aplenty, and there is no point where you'd feel bored. So, overall it was a positive reading experience and the book gave me what I expected.

The Heatwave is a perfect example to remind you that not all that glitters is gold and not everyone's life is as perfect as it seems.

The POV veering between then and now felt discombobulated at times, and it made for some whiplash as the past was in 3rd Person past, and the now was in 1st Person Present. Really made for some mental juggling throughout. The pace was very slow, but the whole book which felt a bit like a slog was 'redeemed' by the revelations at the end/in the last 80-100% of the book. It's strung up and far-fetched, but I could actually see it happening so that saved the read for me

This book is wonderfully full of twists that made sense but I didn’t see coming until the last minute! I found the middle a little weak and was almost ready to give up on this one but I’m glad I didn’t, all the action and reveals are saved for the last third!

I think my initial difficulty with this book was a result of it being told from two different points of view set 16 years a part. I find these sort of setups are really hard to to well, often one point of view is more engaging than the other and it can be a bit jarring switching between the two. This example isn’t jarring but I definitely preferred one over the other! What saved it for me though was the convergence of the two at the end which was really well done and pretty clever.

I found most of the adult characters a little run of the mill but Diamond did a great job of writing the teenagers. They can be really hard to write well but Diamond doesn’t fall into any of the usual traps, accurately capturing the experience of being a teenager and their reactions to the situations they’re put in feel realistic.

I do like a bit more suspense in a thriller but a some good twists almost make up for it! If this had a stronger middle I’d have rated it much higher but this book is certainly worth reading just for the ending!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I very much enjoyed this book. It has a good story and excellent main characters. I would definately recommend this book.

This is a great novel from a writer who knows how to develop a multilayered psychological thriller. Felicity ran away from home and vowed never to return when hears hears of a young girl missing in that community in a similar way to another when she originally left home. Suspicious, she is drawn back, in a timeline and in reality to see if they are connected. Easy to read, one of those just-one-more-chapter books that are perfect for a sunny afternoon beach read or a cold stay at home winter day. Heatwave is hot for sure.

I loved the synopsis of The Heatwave and wanted to read with interest.

I enjoy a psychological thriller, but one that’s fast paced. This is quite a slow burner for at least two thirds of the book.

But I’m glad I continued to read to the end as it’s ending does not disappoint