ARC REVIEW: Before She Falls – by Dylan Young @bookouture

Title: Before She Falls
(Detective Anna Gwynne #3)
Author: Dylan Young
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Crime
First published: November 1st 2018
Publisher: Bookouture
Finished reading: October 21st 2018
Pages: 338

“And there it was. The big, lumbering elephant that stomped into the room whenever Rainsford mentioned Whitmarsh prison. Hector Shaw.”

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

Before She Falls is already the third book in a detective series that has quickly become one of my favorites. I have been looking forward to meeting detective Anna Gwynne again, and once again it has been one hell of a ride. This series so far has been a perfect mix of an interesting cold case angle and a disturbing serial killer thriller. Before She Falls doesn’t disappoint and brings us more of this mix, more of the serial killer we’ve been following since book one and a new case that will manage to give you goosebumps. The writing is razorsharp, engaging and will make you fly through the pages as you try to figure out what is going on… And we will see a whole lot more of Hector Shaw as well. Because of the importance of this character in relation to the rest of the plot (and because the previous books are excellent in the first place), it is a MUST to read the books of this series in order. They are well worth your time! It has been interesting to see the main characters evolve over time and I really like Anna Gwynne as a character. The plot in Before She Falls is once again fascinating, disturbing and will definitely make you think about just how far the reach of the internet really is. The way everything connected was very cleverly executed! And there is no doubt the ending will leave you wanting for the next book. If you are looking for a well written, thrilling and dark detective series with an original twist, you should definitely go meet detective Anna Gwynne.

WARNING: Possible spoilers! Please don’t read this summary if you haven’t read the first two books yet. I’ll keep the summary short but it’s almost impossible to keep it completely spoiler-free…

Kimberley Williams decided to take her own life and jump off Southdown Cliff, leaving everyone close to her shocked. They can’t understand why she would end her life like that, and the investigation brings something very disturbing to light. Detective Anna Gwynne and her team are called in after it is discovered that Kimberley has been receiving messages that eventually made her do what she did. And it turns out she wasn’t the only one… And serial killer Hector Shaw has a personal interest in this case as well. Will Anna Gwynne be able to get to the bottom of this?

The Detective Anna Gwynne series just keeps delivering and Before She Falls is another excellent edition. This story has everything I could want of a thriller: a creepy serial killer, a clever plot, suspense, plot twists, interesting characters, an original touch… All blended together into a perfect detective thriller smoothie. Before She Falls is creepy, dark and disturbing with a lightning fast pace and a few heartstopping moments; any fan of the genre will be in for a treat with this series is general.