The book starts in 1996 in Skegness, Lincolnshire, with the arrest of a young man Jonathan Egan-Walsh who is a serial killer as it becomes clear he has murdered at least thirteen young boys. Detective Inspector Caroline Turner has to build the case against Jonathan.
The case goes to Court and Jonathan is jailed for life with no remission. There is a True Crime book called "The Collector" based on Jonathan's life and the killings by author Alex Frost. Twelve of the thirteen boys have been found and buried by their parents. The seventh victim Zachary Marshall has not been recovered.
The second part of the book starts in 2017 and which is the most interesting, concerns Zachary's mother Diane trying to bring her son home. Diane cannot move on with her life, she is completely obsessed with writing to the murderer pleading for where her son is buried. Her marriage broke up. Her husband Nick remarried and has a new family. Their son Marcus moved with his father, upsetting Diane.
Diane enlists the help of Caroline ( now retired from the police ) and author Alex to try and work out where Zachary could be. Their investigation takes them around the Lincolnshire area and to Wales. Alex is hopeful for a second book, but his home life in London is difficult. His wife is in a vegetable state with their young daughter her carer.
A book that keeps you reading. Well written and researched. Very much recommended.

WOW! I am out of words to describe this book. It's a Michael Wood novel so I was pretty sure it's going to be a fantabulous read. But the story, the emotions, the grief and final twist... mind blown.

The story begins with the events that led to Jonathan's arrest and conviction. Then, the story shifts to the family of one victim - the little boy whose body was never found. At the end of the book, the author has pointed out that in most cases of child murder, the parents break up. The grief and guilt are too much for them to bear. This particular point is highlighted throughout the story.

Diane and Nick's son Zachery went missing and he's believed to have been a victim of Jonathan. But Zach's body was never found. Within a couple of years of his disappearance, his divorce.

But Diane cannot move on until she buries her son. Of course, there's a slight possibility that Zachery might still be alive. But a mother's instincts are always right - and she knows he's not around. The Johnatha Egan-Walsh case brought misery to not just the family of victims, but others involved in it.

A journalist named Alex wrote a true crime story on Johnathan. The book was a great success, but it took a toll on his personal life. Meanwhile, DI Caroline Turner was in charge of the case. It affected her so much that she finally quit her job and started a dog walking business.

Twenty-five years later, Diane, Alex, and Caroline, are once again haunted by the case - but this time, they have written proof from the killer himself. He claims he never killed Zachery.

Diane's struggle brought tears in my eyes. She suffered a lot, lost her family, her child, friends, and everything else. It was as if, she was a zombie - emotionally. It was emotionally exhausting for Diane to not give up hope when everyone around her had.

I was hooked on to the story and couldn't put it down until the end. Diane, Alex, and Caroline's personal lives are no better - each of them seems to be struggling with family issues. Looking into the case once again brings more conflicts in their personal lives. But they cannot back out this time, not when they feel they have a lead from the killer himself.

The second half is where things get murkier. The last few chapters are nothing short of a nail-biting adventure. The whole story keeps you not only hooked, but on the edge of your seat. Suspense is at an all-time high. Twists and turns keep you guessing till the end.

The Seventh Victim by Michael Wood is a page turner. Riveting. Interesting. Unique. Engrossing. Highly recommended!

I was only one page into this review copy when I realised I knew this story. In fact I realised I had bought and listened to the audiobook when it came out in 2020. Only now is it being released in paperback and e-book though.

Like Michael Wood’s D.C.I. Matilda Darke series, this is a really fast and easy read with terrific characters, a strong storyline and a seriously horrible villain.

Diane Marshall’s son Zachery disappeared over 25 years ago and his body has never been found. The police believe he was the victim of a serial killer, Jonathan Egan Walsh, convicted of killing thirteen other boys whose bodies were discovered, wrapped in a white sheet. Egan Walsh has been in prison since his conviction but will not disclose where Zachery is buried, nor will he confess to his murder.

All Diane wants is to be able to bring her son’s body home and bury him in peace. Since Zachery’s disappearance her marriage has broken up and she is also estranged from her other son – all because she has been unable to move on from the grief of losing Zachery.

Now Jonathan, who has terminal cancer, has written to Diane confessing to the murder of thirteen children but saying he did not murder Zachery.

The police aren’t inclined to investigate: Jonathan was notorious for messing with the minds of his victims parents and this is likely just another example of his specialty cruelty.

But Diane can’t let it go and so she enlists the help of the now retired DI Caroline Turner, who originally investigated the case and is now running a dog walking business. Caroline gave up working for the police after a bad experience while working this case.

Caroline teams up with Alex Frost, Jonathan’s biographer who now wants to write a second book on Jonathan Egan Walsh and together they set out to find the truth by re-investigating this case from the beginning.

Michael Wood does an excellent job of creating the character of Diane and of conveying the anguish and interminable pain that she feels. His understanding of the way in which a series of murders, or indeed any murder, can impact on all those involved is really well done and the emotional impact resonates well with each of these characters.

This is a deeply disturbing story and Wood creates palpable tension alongside heart-breaking pain as more revelations come to light.

The conclusion, though not hard to detect, comes after a slew of more disturbing revelations and leaves the reader feeling heart-broken for everyone involved.

Verdict: A tense and emotional read with strong characterisation.

Disturbing and gripping the storyline is one we can hardly bear to think about. The story gets Inside the mind of an peadophile, the dreadful thoughts he has, and the devastating emotions his actions have caused in his victims families. Well drawn characters make you feel involved in their stories and the twisty end is unexpected.

I’d like to thank HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Seventh Victim’ by Michael Wood in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

In 1996 Jonathan Egan-Walsh is sentenced to life in prison for the murder of thirteen boys, the bodies of all but one found buried. The thirteenth boy, Zachary Marshall, was not one of them and over the years his mother Diane Marshall has written to Jonathan asking where Zachary was buried. Jonathan never replied but when he dies a letter is found in his cell addressed to Diane saying that he didn’t kill Zachary. Diane contacts retired Detective Inspector Caroline Turner who in turn asks Alex Frost the journalist who published a book about the murders for help in finding if Jonathan lied in his letter, but if he didn’t then who was responsible for abducting Zachary twenty-five years ago.

‘The Seventh Victim’ is a dark and chilling thriller about loss and deceit and is told through the words of Alex, Caroline and Diane with excerpts from Alex’s book ‘The Collector’, newspaper articles and pages from Jonathan Egan-Walsh’s diary. Having previously read several of Michael Wood’s DCI Matilda Darke series this book came as a huge surprise as it’s brilliantly written and feels more like a documentary than fiction. The further I got into the book the more spellbound I became with the investigation and the characters’ private lives until I was unable to stop reading. This novel is completely captivating and I have no hesitation in recommending it.

Imagine receiving a letter from your don's murderer. Imagine starting to trust him. What if the only person who can help you find your son is the man in prison for killing him? A child taken. A mother on the hunt for the truth. Twenty-five years after her son Zachery disappeared without trace, Diane Marshall receives a letter that overturns her world once again. The man convicted of killing her thirteen boys, Zachery among them, finally confesses to it all - except the murder of her son.

Jonathon Egan Walsh is a serial killer, kidnapper and rapist. For twenty-five years Diane Marshall has been desperate to find out what had happened to her son Zachery. This led to the breakdown to her marriage and the bond she had with her other son. Then she hears the news that Jonathon has died in prison.

I quickly found myself caught up in this story. It has some jaw-dropping revelations. It's also quite a dark read. Secrets were revealed., the characters were flawed. You could feel the rawness of Diane's grief through the pages. This is a well written intense and gripping read.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #HarperCollinsUk #OneMoreChapter and the author #MichaelWood for my ARC of #TheSeventhVictim in exchange for an honest review.

A story where you know there perpetrator from close to the beginning. Or do you? Could it be a case of the wrong person having been locked up - okay he admitted to some murders - so why not admit to this last one? Is the real killer still out there? Answering these questions makes this book both intriguing and engaging. I found myself swinging from one side to the other from: of course he did, to of course he didn't.

Loved it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher One More Chapter, I read a free advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

The subject makes this a dark novel, but instead of dwelling on the crimes, this is a portrayal of the effect that terrible crimes have on the families of victims, destroying lives especially when those victims are children abducted and murdered. Jonathan Egan Walsh murdered 13 boys and confessed but refused to say where the seventh victim was buried. He died after 25 years in prison and left a letter for Zachery’s mother who had been asking for the gravesite throughout his sentence, denying all culpability. She has been unable to move on with her life without closure.However together with a journalist and. retired policewoman they begin to start again as a cold case. The characters are well written and it is a sympathetic and believable portrayal. With an unexpected twist it was a thoughtful and engrossing read.

🚴Tragic wait for a break in a missing child case😢

Yes, it was a bit long but I loved it anyway because the author is a master at drawing you into this superbly-constructed story.

Twenty-five years after Zachery's unexplained disappearance from Skegness in Northern England and two decades after a serial killer of young boys is convicted for his murder, his grieving mother Diane is still waiting to bring Zachery home to say her final goodbye. She's hoping that before he recently died in prison, the killer left behind clues about Zachery's death and his remains' location. It's moving stuff.

I had a feeling there would be significant twists; I was right! And the lives of Alex, the reporter who gained fame through his book about the serial killer and his victims, and Caroline, the policewoman whose career was cut short by the case and its aftermath, added even more poignancy to the plot. Diane, Caroline and Alex were all in some way broken by the case and are relentless in their renewed search for the truth about Zachery's death or disappearance and the people involved.

I remarked that the book is lengthy but it is not padded with excessive description or flights of introspection. Ultimately I believe every word was relevant in building the picture of how a child's presumed death at the hands of an unrepentant killer and the lack of closure when no trace of the victim is found affect the lives of those who remain. Though I am accustomed to the faster pace of Wood's Matilda Darke series, I am really glad I picked up this standalone. The quality of the writing stands out and, though the ending is bittersweet for several of the main characters, it's a great story.

Thanks to HarperCollins UK/One More Chapter and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

I am a great fan of Michael Wood's series featuring DCI Matilda Dark, so was keen to read this standalone.

This was an oblique view of crimes/criminals seen from the perspective of Diane whose son disappeared, assumed killed, twenty five years ago and whose life/family/marriage has been destroyed by needing to find her son's body. Her hopes have been pinned on an imprisoned serial killer who killed local boys of Zachary's age, but he dies telling Diane that her son was not one of his victims.

In an attempt to find resolution she teams up with Alex, the journalist who profiled Jonathan Egan-Walsh, his victims and his crimes and Caroline, the retired detective who ran the original investigation. A maverick band barely covers it. These Three Horsemen of the Apocalypse, all with their own demons, blaze the trail (in Skegness!) in an unlikely search to solve the mystery.

Whilst I enjoyed the plotting, the setting and the novel's premise, I found it barely registered on the tension scale as it was endlessly repetitive, had too many handy coincidences and felt contrived rather than immersive. The denouement was predictable and went round the houses once too often to get there.

Disappointed.

With thanks to @NetGalley, @HarperCollinsUK and @OneMoreChapter for the opportunity to read and review

The Seventh Victim is a dark stand alone book about one mothers quest to find her missing son's body. Jonathan Egan Walsh was convicted of the murder of Zachary Marshall but unlike his other victims his body was never found. When he dies in prison he leaves a letter for Diane with possible new information. With the help of retired DI Caroline Turner and journalist Alex Frost they set out to find the truth. Michael Wood gives us a fast paced novel with great well rounded characters and cleverly interwoven back stories. Although the subject of missing children and child abuse is a difficult one I did enjoy the book and recommend it. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advance copy of this ebook.

Well written but disturbing reading. Difficult subject matter and I found the pacing a little uneven.

I am afraid I struggled with this book, I blame myself for requesting it .I found the subject matter too disturbing.it was well written, but I found it a hard read.

If your child had been murdered and the body never recovered, would you be able to move on?

This is the position Diane Marshall has been in for 25 years, since her little boy, Zachery went missing. It ruined her marriage and her relationship with her son, Marcus.

When the killer of twelve boys (presumed 13 due to Zachery never being found), dies of cancer, Diane receives a letter after his death saying he never killed Zachery.

If he didn’t kill him, then who did? With the help of a retired Detective Inspector and a journalist who wrote about the murders, they look into the possibility of someone else having killed Zachery.

Someone doesn’t want this case solved and with everyone involved still being taunted by the dead killer, they are all walking on eggshells.

This is my first book by the author and I shall definitely be reading more. This is a dark, intense and gripping story. An extremely difficult and emotional subject to read about but written very well.

The characters were believable and the scary thing was thinking that some of these could be your neighbours!

A take full of lies and secrets, as well as grief and hope.

My thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is my first book by this author. having not read any of his previous work, I had no expectations going in.

Diane has been suffering for 25 years wondering what happened to her young son. He is presumed to be a victim of a notorious serial killer. The killer will not reveal where Zachary's body is buried.

Diane, along with a journalist author and a former DI set out to get some answers. What clues will they be able to find all these years later? Will Diane finally get the closure she needs so she can move on? Read it for yourself and find out.

Secrets are revealed along the way that point to various people as the responsible party. I had my suspicions early on but didn't know the how or why. I stayed interested till the end wanting to get the answers along with Diane.

Every character had their flaws, which made them realistic. Some emotional scenes and surprises thrown in.

I will definitely read more by this author.

Thanks to netgalley and One More Chapter for the arc.

For me this was a totally compelling read and once I started it I just had to keep going to find out all the answers. I had a few ideas about what might have happened to Zachery and even though one of them was a correct guess, it was still a surprise to read those scenes where it is revealed to us.
I thought the characters were believable, the settings were well described and easy to imagine and so the story flowed well through the multiple time and voice changes. The author skilfully knitted together these changes so that none were abrupt but each voice gave us what we needed to hear or see in a way that made sense right then and moved the story forwards
This was a really moving story mainly focused around the aftermath of a serial killer. Often we know who they are after the fact and possibly a little about their victims but there is usually little about the victims families and what they go through. I’m guessing this is mostly because ‘we’ don’t want to know as it is something we fear, the loss of someone we love to a human predator.
Finally, thank you to the author also for the giggles when reading that Alex found the weather in Skegness bracing. Having spent many childhood summer holidays there I remember The Jolly Fisherman fondly!

One thing I like about Michael's books is that there is no long, dragged out introductions into the story, it starts off and your immediately submerged into whatever plot lays in wait.

A mother's courage starts this one off with a bang, unknowingly capturing a serial killer in the most unlikely way. John, born out of cruelty inflicted on his mother, lives up to his mother's prediction that he is evil born from evil. This book is brutal with lots of different emotional baggage. 13 victims, one that was never found and a mother who can not move on until her little boys body is found. A twist not anticipated keeps you invested.

There are a few characters that have been touched emotionally by John, who is behind bars and spans over 20 years. The emotional levels in this book touches the reader in different ways. I felt angry towards one, admiring another who steps up and saddened that it worked out the way it did.

Another great, gripping, gut wrenching book from Michael, I wouldn't expect anything less!

I adored this authors previous series featuring Matilda Darke, so I was eager to see if he could make a thriller as compelling as those books. While Michael Wood is an excellent storyteller, I have to say that this book just wasn’t for me. I found it to be a bit drawn out in parts, and I just couldn’t keep my attention focused on it. That being said, I would still recommend this author every time because he’s a solid crime writer.

I’ve read all of the Matilda Darke series and I’m OBSESSED, so I know this stand-alone from Michael Wood would be exceptional.

How would you feel if you was Diane ?

You think your son was murdered by a prolific serial killer but you have no body to lay him to rest and get closure but when the killer dies he leaves you a letter denying he murdered your son.

Diane is a woman after my own heart she’s not stopped trying to find out what happened to her son and now 25 years later aided by ex DI Caroline Turner ( part of the original investigation) and Journalist/Writer Alex Frost, they will try to uncover the truth.

I was gripped all the way to the last page, Diane’s grief, hope and determination to find out what happed to her son Zachary carried me all the way to the end.

The whole story was so raw and real, in parts I felt like as an intruder into Diane’s struggles.

I can’t spoiler too much but please pick this up it’s the perfect book if you love Crime/Thriller/Dark/Mystery.

Thanks again Michael Wood, you never disappoint.

Not quite sure on my feelings on this one. Michael Wood is an author I’ve heard lots of book reviewers and bloggers shout about in regards to his Matilda Darke series so I was excited to start this one. So maybe went in with higher expectations than I would have usually.

Whilst it’s certainly well written and clearly from a talented author, I just found the pacing difficult and really tried hard to get into it but just couldn’t.

It’s quite graphic which is understandable ad you need that with the child killer element but certain things didn’t sit right for me.

It’s I said it’s well written but it’s all set out quite unusually and I wander if that’s just the editing process as I believe it was originally and Audible book.

It’s certainly not put my off the author, I will start those Matilda Drake books at some point and for people who enjoy a slow and dark thriller I wouldn’t hesitate to suggest reading it but for my own preference it was an ok/good but probably not for me