THEY’VE FAKED YOUR CHILD’S DEATH. AND IF YOU DON’T GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT, THEY’LL MAKE IT A REALITY.
Things have been difficult for Annie since her husband left; her teenage daughter, Isla, has become a ghost of her former self. Annie’s terrified that Isla might do something desperate, and she’ll lose her, too. So when Annie receives a video of herself crying at Isla’s funeral, her blood runs cold.
Confused and horrified, Annie races upstairs to check on Isla, who is alive and well. The video has been faked. But who sent it and what do they want?
One dark truth soon becomes clear: Annie is the latest in a string of parents being blackmailed, and Isla will be killed if Annie goes to the police or if she fails to give the sender what they want. Annie has a deadly choice: comply with the demands, or try to unmask the dangerous criminal.
Welcome back to the blog! I have had a lovely, peaceful, two-week break from blogging and social media over Christmas and have come back – raring to go – for my first review of the new year. And what a way to start 2025, with a review of the new collaboration between M. J. Arlidge and Andy Maslen, Your Child Next. My thanks to Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers for inviting me to take part in the tour and to the publisher for my digital copy of the book, which I have reviewed honestly and impartially.
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.
Your Child Next will be published on 16 January in all formats and you can pre-order the book here.
This book is taking a tour of some great blogs this month, make sure you visit some of them:
About the Authors
M.J. Arlidge has worked in television for the last twenty years, specialising in high-end drama production, including prime-time crime serials Silent Witness, Torn, The Little House and, most recently, the hit ITV show Innocent. In 2015 his audiobook exclusive Six Degrees of Assassination was a number-one bestseller. His debut thriller, Eeny Meeny, was the UK’s bestselling crime debut of 2014 and has been followed by ten more DI Helen Grace thrillers – all Sunday Times bestsellers.
Connect with M. J.:
Facebook: M. J. Arlidge
Twitter: @mjarlidge
Instagram: @m_j_arlidge
Andy writes thrillers across a number of genres: police procedurals, vigilante, psychological, suspense and horror. He spent 30 years in business before turning to writing full time. He is the creator of best-selling series featuring Gabriel Wolfe, Stella Cole and Inspector Ford, plus standalone novels and short stories. He lives in Wiltshire.
Connect with Andy:
Facebook: Andy Maslen
Instagram: @andy.maslen
