Your Child Next: A pulse-pounding and heart-wrenching thriller about every parent’s worst nightmare (Mj Arlidge Co Writing Project, 3) Paperback – 16 Jan. 2025

I have read Andy Maslens books for a number of years and always found them to be excellent. This was a departure for him, cowriting, and, again, the plot and twists are excellent. No spoilers from me but worth a read. Maybe then discover his other books and series.

I always like to start the year off with some fast-paced reads to kick off my reading challenge with a spurt and this book really filled that brief. An intense, psychological thriller that really had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.Single mum, Annie, finds herself horrified when she received a video showing herself at the funeral of her daughter, Isla, because she knows Isla isn’t dead, doesn’t she? Turns out the video is a threat and Annie is being blackmailed by person or persons unknown who are threatening the life of her precious daughter. And she isn’t the only parent being targeted, as she soon discovers. A game of cat and mouse then ensues as Annie tries to unmask the perpetrators without putting her child at risk.You have to suspend your disbelief quite a lot for this book as some of it is quite far-fetched but isn’t that the point of this type of fiction? Its aim is to thrill and entertain, whilst asking some underlying questions of importance to the reader. What would you do in this situation? And do you really understand how much information you are putting out into the world via social media, who is seeing it and what are they doing with that information?Is this a scenario you are likely to find yourself in in real life? Probably not. Does this in anyway temper my enjoyment of the book? Not one jot. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride from beginning to end and was fully invested in the characters and the plot. M. J. Arlidge is a writer adept at grabbing the attention of his readers and holding them in his hand until the final page and it is clear from the book that both he and Andy Maslen had as much fun with the plot of this book as the reader does, it oozes from the page. Despite the subject matter and genre, there is even a vein of humour running through the book alongside the tension and it makes for an extremely enjoyable novel.A great book to kick off the blogging year and one I highly recommend for fans of the authors and of psychological domestic thrillers in general. I hope all the books I read this year and equally rewarding, a high bar has been set.

Rollercoaster ride of a book. Read from cover to cover in one sittingGreat strong mother, feckless dad and threatened child. One to savour.

Very slow starting, I found it hard to stick with, a good ending. Definitely not a M J Arlidge book.

In most thrillers I read I think what would I do & come up with a vague plan but in this I had no idea how I would cope. Yes the vague plans probably would all quickly fail but at least I would try but this is a terrifying scenario. Which made the book compulsive.

I really enjoyed this book and the many twists it gave us however the fact Maya escaped justice didn't sit right for me. So it lost half a star. The other star was lost to the murder of the poor defenceless dog.I would have liked Maya to have been arrested and made to admit her psychopathic crimes along with her younger brother Ollie.I was pleased Annie & Michael became a couple and that their children were able to support each other after the ordeal they had all been through.

An absolute triumph!A terrific collaborationLoved the plot and charactersHighly recommended

Thrilling non stop nail biting stuff. Well written and brilliant storytelling .It is suspense throughout . Difficult to sleep afterwards