5 Stars from me
A superb standalone thriller from Noelle Holten – author of the Maggie Jamieson crime thriller series.
Number 6 Ripley Avenue is a probation hostel (which made me think about the residents of 5 and 7 Ripley Avenue… that must have been an interesting meeting in the town planning office!).
The book sheds light on life inside the hostel, making it sound an equally fascinating and awful place. Respect to Jeanette and the team for working there!
Well, I say respect. So I wouldn’t want to work there, especially not at 6 Ripley Avenue as things seemed a little unregulated at times. However, hats off to Jeanette and her motley crew as it’s an important job and someone has to do it – but can her team be trusted?
Equally impressive in this story was Helen, the nosy neighbour and staunch protestor against the licensing of the hostel who opted for the ‘if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em‘ approach by working there as a volunteer. Helen and her reporter friend Sloane made for a great team and I read this wondering if they might end up with spin-off series! Although they both grated a little to start with I soon found myself warming to them both, and enjoyed their back stories.
Despite the obvious seriousness of the crime and the location, the police didn’t appear to always be on their A game, although there were some more great characters introduced here.
The book was chock full of red herrings and dead ends. The chapters were of a great length and flipped between key characters as the story unfolded – including the killer. I had several theories on who the killer was, including some far out ones and enjoyed the way that Noelle teased these potential plot lines throughout the story.
Needless to say, if crime thrillers float your boat then you’ll enjoy reading through the rest of Noelle’s books:
Blurb:
ONE HOUSE
EIGHT KILLERS
NO WITNESSES
Jeanette is the manager of a probation hostel that houses high risk offenders released on license.
At 3am one morning, she receives a call telling her a resident has been murdered.
Her whole team, along with the eight convicted murderers, are now all suspects in a crime no one saw committed…
Don’t miss the first nerve-shredding standalone thriller from Noelle Holten, author of the Maggie Jamieson series.
Read and Rated 