Lost by S.J. Bolton

          "Someone was watching.
          "...and with that certain knowledge came a knocking in his chest as if his heart had suddenly moved up a gear. Here he was, in the city where five boys his age had disappeared in as many weeks, on his own in the exact part of London where they had all lived, and someone he couldn't see was watching him."

Five boys have been murdered, their bodies drained of blood, and the police have no suspects.  Still recovering from her previous case, D.I. Lacey Flint is not only avoiding fellow detective, Mark Joesbury, she's determined to avoid this latest investigation, too. Not so for her eleven-year-old neighbor, Barney Roberts; he and his friends are convinced they can solve the case before the police. Too bad Barney never considers that he just might be the killer's next victim. Or that the killer might be someone he knows. His involvement in the case ends up involving Lacey Flint...whether she's ready to return to work or not.

S.J. Bolton has written another compelling psychological thriller--one of those books that keeps you guessing. And when you do reach the end and discover the truth, it only makes you want to reread the entire book from the beginning. Bolton is an amazing writer. I love the way she creates tension in her novels, and her characters live and breathe on the page, making them unforgettable. Especially Lacey Flint and Mark Joesbury! If you haven't read their previous books, Now You See Me and Dead Scared, definitely read them first. You won't be sorry!

Dead Scared by S. J. Bolton

DI Lacey Flint is back in S.J. Bolton's Dead Scared, and so is DI Mark Joesbury.  A series of unusual suicides at Cambridge University rouses suspicions and Lacey is sent undercover as a student to Cambridge to see if there's someone or something more sinister behind the suicides.  Joesbury's feelings for Lacey are as complicated as ever; it doesn't help that he's her handler on this case, or that there's more going on than he can tell her.  It isn't long before some very unusual things start to happen to Lacey; it's as if someone is trying to scare her to death.  Or scare her into taking her own life.  And this time Joesbury might not get there in time to save her.
     I loved Now You See Me, the novel that first introduced Lacey Flint and Mark Joesbury, and I was very happy to discover that Bolton had written another book about two of my favorite characters.  And once again, nothing in this book is as it seems.  Bolton is great at building tension.  I found myself racing through the last chapters of this book to the very end.  This is a book that is hard to put down!

Now You See Me by S.J. Bolton

     The first murder looks like a Jack the Ripper copycat killing.  So do the second and third murders.  But as the police continue their investigations, they start to realize that the motive might not be 'ripping' but revenge.  Nothing in this novel is what it seems.  Even the main character, a young detective constable named Lacey Flint, has some dark secrets.  The lead D.I., Mark Joesbury, finds himself attracted to Lacey, but he doesn't trust her.  In fact, he suspects she might have something to do with the murders...
     I read this book in two days.  There are enough twists and turns to keep you guessing until the very end.  It's only in the last few pages that the truth finally comes to light.  I love a good plot twist, and this book has plenty!  The interplay between the characters, the secrets and hidden truths, and the mounting tension as the murderer moves inexorably closer, make this a gripping novel that is hard to put down.  This is a must-read!