Multiple murders in the capital

Famie Madden is a journalist at a London news agency. London is suffering the effects of a heatwave but that is soon to become the least of her problems. As she arrives at the office, she discovers that there has been a wave of knifings in the capital within the previous half an hour. All victims are dead. Gradually there is the numbing realisation that all are members of the agency’s investigative team. All were well known to her. Most were close friends. The team which she desperately wanted to join has been wiped out.

So starts the thriller and the chase to determine not only who is behind the slaughter but, perhaps more importantly, to understand why her colleagues were targeted. It also gradually dawns on her that her own life and that of her daughter, Charlie, may also be in danger.

The novel starts very well and the picture painted of a sweltering London is both atmospheric and accurate. It’s not a great place to be when no relief can be found from the oppressive heat. The next section of the book was its weakest in my opinion revolving, as it did, around introducing more characters and fleshing out the story. The appearance of the police and their attitude towards Famie suggested that the plot might descend into the realms of bright independent investigator versus dumb, plodding police detectives. Certainly, there was an element of that and it continued through to the finale but Mayo saved us from the more hackneyed, done-to-death version of that particular plot thank goodness.

Most of us will know Simon Mayo as the popular radio presenter. In time he may well be better remembered as a novelist; and justifiably so.

mr zorg

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book for review.

Brilliant. A gripping read which I read in one sitting. Very well written with surprising twists. Suspense right up to the very end.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

They say a cobbler should stick to his last, and the book world is littered with examples of authors who have turned to writing from successful careers as actors or journalists when it would have been a kindness to their readers not to have bothered. Just occasionally, however, a person like Simon Mayo comes along who, whilst maintaining his deserved status as a much-loved and respected radio presenter, demonstrates real skill as a writer. ‘Knife Edge’ is a fast-paced thriller that is so fresh and up to date that, at times, it’s almost like reading about a terrorist incident in the news. There is also a pleasingly convincing and, where appropriate, likeable set of characters embracing a news bureau, police and various family members.
The plot follows a route from a coordinated and brutal attack on several members of the news bureau to a shocking terrorist incident in Coventry that closes the circle and brings the story to a reasonably tidy and satisfying end. A nit-picking reviewer may quibble slightly with the relative incompetence of the police revealed in the unfolding story and, in marked contrast, the slick way in which a small group of journalists unpick the puzzle that leads to the eventual conclusion, but this did not detract in the slightest from the enjoyment of the book, nor from the urgent need to reach the end of this absorbing tale. Highly recommended.

To be honest I'm not really a fan of crime fiction, it isn't really my go-to genre. And if I'm totally and completely honest the only reason I chose to read this book was down to curiosity. The author Simon Mayo is what really caught my eye. I didn't even know he wrote books and thinking back to the affable breakfast time radio 1 DJ I certainly couldn't imagine him writing crime fiction, and so that is why I couldn't resist choosing it.

Initially I began to regret reading a book that was out of my comfort zone.  It did catch my interest but it had the usual ingredients of crime fiction - nastiness, murder, blood and gore. I don't like reading all that it makes me sad.  I wasn't keen on one of the main characters Famie Madden, a journalist who worked at the news agency.  She came across initially as quite a hard-nosed kind of person.  As I read on through the book however, the reader starts to see a more vulnerable side to Famie and I did grow to quite like her.  There were some quite dry, lighter moments between Famie and her colleagues, which I liked.

Perhaps in the middle part, prior to the run up to the 'grand finale', I did think it a little, I don't know, Sweeny-esque? But that could have been down to the plot which I won't go into but as it's terrorist related, and they like to keep off-grid so to speak then it could have been that which made me feel I was going back in time to the 70's. I kept expecting DI Jack Regan to pop up, screeching round corners in his Ford Capri. But who am I to critique crime writing really, after all I don't have anything to compare it with as it is so rare that I'll read a book like this.

So, to that grand finale then.  It was gripping, very edge of your seat stuff which I thoroughly enjoyed.  The further along into this story you get, the more compelling the read. In the end I couldn't put it down, thrilling and riveting and I'm glad I read it.  It made a change to read something that I wouldn't normally consider.  I give 5 stars to this book, because to give it anything less would just be a reflection of my personal taste - as a thriller, it was..... thrilling.  A great plot in the end.

All of the investigative team at a news service have been murdered. Fammie, a journalist is contacted about the murders and must work out the truth of what happened and why or she might be the next target.

I wasn’t sure I liked this book at first, but by the half way mark I was immersed in the plight of Fammie and her friends and family, especially the person sending Fammie the messages. I practically inhaled the last half of the book, although I wasn’t entirely keen on the last page.

I’d like to thank Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Knife Edge’ by Simon Mayo in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

It’s Tuesday 22nd May and the working day is just beginning when news comes in of seven people attacked within twenty-nine minutes, all of them in the Investigations Team at the International Press Service and friends of journalist Famie Madden. As the police are unable to find anything on their computers as to why they should have been targeted, and despite Famie realising her life could also be at risk, she decides to discover what they were working on in an attempt to identify the killers.

It’s clear that this author has a background in journalism and press offices which has been proved in this very compelling thriller and although ‘Knife Edge’ is fiction, reading it has given me a greater understanding of Islamist terrorist cells and al-Qaeda. The further I got into the story the more involved I became with the plot and the characters until it was impossible for me to stop reading. It’s very exciting yet disturbing at times and the tension increases considerably towards the final chapters which are tense, powerful and quite shocking. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel which is suitable for both male and female readers and congratulations to Simon Mayo for writing such a suspenseful thriller.

On 22nd May 7 people are murdered by 7 attackers on their way to work in London, all stabbed and all are colleagues, journalists for the International Press Service. This fast paced start grabs your attention and prepares you for what lies ahead.

Famie Madden sees these events unfolding live at her desk, as one by one, colleagues of hers are being reported as dead. All 7 make up the investigational team at IPS and one of the dead is an ex lover of hers. In the coming weeks she attends the funerals of her colleagues, at one of the funerals, as she goes to leave there is a cryptic note left under her windscreen wiper. Famie receives more messages. Alongside some of her colleagues, they take it into their own hands to find out who is sending the messages, how it is connected to the 22nd May attack and what other threats there maybe. This then makes them a target to.

This is a fast paced story and a good read. However, sometimes it feels a little rushed and at some stages I found myself saying “really?” It all builds up to a big event at the back end of the book, I was expecting there to be a twist and although there was one of sorts, it wasn’t compelling and came out of the blue, it didn’t feel in keeping with the story for me. I received my free advanced copy of the book from NetGalley in exchange for this review. I give this a 4/5.

“Seven deaths in 29 minutes” gives a clue to the storyline and we soon find out the connection. But who are the perpetrators? And why?
I found the main characters and their relationships interesting and raced through this book

This is a well written thriller about the deaths of a group of journalists and the subsequent impact. It's got a really fabulous beginning that immediately drew me in.

It's obvious from the writing that the author has an intricate knowledge of journalism and the storyline hooked immediately. I also really liked the lead character of Famie and her backstory. The issue for me came further into the book when it seemed to drag somewhat and I almost lost interest. I'm glad I stuck with it though, as it came through again in the end.

Overall, an easy 3* Good Read that I'd recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley, Transworld Books, Random House UK and Doubleday books for the opportunity to preview in exchange for this honest review.

This was a great read - gripping, and a real page turner. It was full of exciting twists and turn that kept you guessing until the end.

Loved this book, it makes you wonder who you can trust and is anyone who they say they are!
Thrilling storyline that had me gripped!
Will certainly be wanting to read more by Simon Mayo
Thank you netgalley

This is a very exciting book. I did feel slightly misled, as the description led me to believe it was a psychological thriller, whereas it is actually a book on terrorism. The reason I have not given it a fifth star is that there are far too many characters and it is too slow moving for most of the book. The last 15% is incredibly tense and exciting, but I did give up on it for a few days on two occasions, however wanting to know how it all tied together made me pick it up again. Everything doesmake sense in the end. A good read if this is a genre you enjoy.

Absolutely brilliant - it really does keep you on a knife edge of suspense from start to finish.
Like all the very best writers, Mayo has taken a simple plot and layered it up so that you are kept asking what happens next, right until the very last sentence - and even then! His characters are fleshed out just enough to make them believable and relatable. The pace is steady, but the tension grows as the story grows to its climax, so you find yourself pushing on to read the next bit, and the next, and the next... It's a gloriously long story too, so there's plenty to take you deep into the night!
I now really want to go back and meet the lead, Famie, at an earlier point in her life, when she was working in the world's political hot spots, a woman dealing with extremist Islamists in places where women have no voice... Please Mr Mayo - give us more of Famie!

Mayo may be best known now as one half of Wittertainment (although he’ll always be a Radio One DJ to me), but he has carved a second (or third) career as a writer.
This is a tense thriller, set in England, and opening with the shocking murders of seven journalists from one press bureau in London. The tone is set from the start and escalates through a series of events, including chases, which pull the protagonist, Famie, deeper into an investigation into what appear to be terrorist atrocities.
There is a parallel side to Famie’s story, that of a student called Hari, who is part of a terror cell. This bouncing of focus between Famie and Hari helps to progress the story from two sides, building up to a final few chapters of action during a terrorist attack.
Mayo writes well, and he doesn’t overcomplicate the story. That’s not to say it’s basic, it has the twists and turns you would expect from a thriller, but he doesn’t waste long passages on description or lengthy character exposition, just keeps the action moving.
I did see the final twist coming, but I think for hardened readers of crime fiction, it has become a very difficult task to truly make a reader gasp with shock at a twist, as we have computed so many possibilities whilst reading that it’s no surprise when one of them turns out to be right.
The only negative comment I have is that the initial attacks in the book take place on May 22nd, which was the date of the Manchester Arena bombings. Out of the whole year, choosing the same date as a recent terror attack in the same country felt ill-judged, and uncomfortable for survivors and families of the Arena victims.

I requested this book from Netgalley as I remember Simon Mayo from my youth and his radio days so it was a leap of faith. I really enjoyed the book and related to the characters with ease. The story starts with the stabbing of 7 reporters in various parts of London who were all killed with almost 30 minutes. Famie Madden who also worked for IPS and decided to check out why the murders took place. There was a department within IPS who kept their stories secret and this made her suspicions as those were the ones murdered. She gets deep into the investigation which in turns puts her and friends who were also trying to assist in this investigation in danger including her daughter. The story turns when Famie has help via the classifieds in a newspaper from a stranger which culminates with help although at the time she was not sure if it was misinformation. Famie decides she needed to pursue her leads and go to Coventry to try and find the culprits of the murders and to stop whatever is planned next. Enough said from so as not to spoil the story but well worth a read

This book is about a newspaper group and terrorist cells, it is hard hitting, realistic and absolutely brilliant. The story flowed well and kept a good pace. I found the descriptions of the places and characters well done and I could clearly visualise the story and surroundings in my head. There was a twist at the end of the story which I didn’t really see coming and was well done. Recommend this book and I look forward to reading more of Simon Mayo’s writing in the future.

Fantastic thriller that came as somewhat of a surprise - it honestly wasn’t what i expected from Simon Mayo and that took a few chapters to get used to. Knife Edge explores domestic terrorism and the effect of a horrific incident in the opening chapters on a core group of journalists who seek to uncover the truth before they fall victim themselves. It’s exciting, fast paced and - whilst broadly drawn - you become fully engaged with the characters - far more than i thought i would to begin with. Thoroughly recommended.

I am a fan of Simon Mayo DJ which is why I wanted to read the book even although it is not something I would normally choose. But it had me hooked right from the explosive start! Fast paced with good characters and an exciting, credible story line. An overall very enjoyable read.

Review
Famie Madden is a journalist working within a team as ‘Slot’ (what does this mean?) when a call comes in to say there’s been a murder...a knife attack, and it’s someone they know - one of their work colleagues from the Investigations Team.

Over the next few minutes, calls are received announcing more stabbings. Seven murders in 29 minutes and all of them from the Investigations Team.

This book started off OK, I didn’t understand where Famie actually worked, apart from that she was a journalist, nor what the term Slot was. I looked up Peterson-IPS building but couldn’t find anything. This is frustrating for the reader, I just want to read the book, not do a dissertation on it.

The story waned and I eventually gave up, which I rarely do.

I rate this book 2 stars for its potential and good start 🌟🌟

Thanks
Thank you to the author and publishers Random House for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an independent review.

Simon Mayo had me captivated from the outset with his book Knife Edge.
It should be a normal rush hour of any working day of the week. But on this particular day, seven investigative journalists are killed within the space of 27 minutes. As the news of this attack comes into the newsroom where the journalists work, Famie Madden deals with the horror surrounding the deaths of her co-workers, whilst trying to remain professional.
As the days unfold, Famie receives a cryptic message from an anonymous source. Will this message lead to Famie being the next target or victim, or will the message help her to solve what happened to her colleagues and to prevent further deaths?
I really loved the characters of Famie and her colleagues Sam and Tommi, who try to get to the bottom of what has happened and why.
Knife Edge is an aptly named book which really packs a punch and I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys thrillers.
Thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.