The Mind of a Murderer by Michael Wood

5 Stars from me ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Never have I clicked on a NetGalley link so fast in my whole life…

With more red herrings than one might expect in a red herring emporium, The Mind of a Murder is a superbly crafted foray into the murky mind of a serial killer.

Meeting new characters can sometimes be clunky to start with, but such is the skill of Michael Wood’s writing that they immediately felt familiar. Also, his ability to write female friendships is impressive – I’ve noticed this before with Adele and Matilda – and Olivia and Jessica were a delight to read about.

Dr Olivia Winter is a Forensic Psychologist who has deeply personal reasons for her specialism into the minds of serial killers. Against her better judgment, she is drawn into an active case alongside DI Foley and his team. Time is against them in their quest to stop an active serial killer who is clocking up an impressive body count in London and enjoying every moment of toying with his victims.

There are SO many twists, turns, love angles, deadends, red herrings (half of which are dressed as mackerel) all of which culminate in a fast and exciting thriller and it was all I could do to slow myself down so that I didn’t consume this book in one sitting.

Every character was well defined, distinct and relevant to the story and I was hooked – this book had me from the opening line.

The Mind of a Murderer is a skillful beginning to what is hopefully a new series – and I hope the next books in the series will be even darker.

Thank you Michael Wood, Net Galley and One More Chapter for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Blurb: A DARK PAST Dr Olivia Winter is a forensic psychologist whose job is to understand the minds of serial killers. There’s only one monster she can’t understand, her father.

A NEW IDENTITY Notorious and brutal, he held a reign of terror until he was caught. His nine-year-old daughter was supposed to be his last victim, but she survived.

A SERIAL KILLER WHO WILL STOP AT NOTHING Now, a serial killer is stalking the streets of London. As the body count rises, the police need Olivia’s help to profile him before he can strike again. But to do so, she will need to confront her own demons…