Book review: Tick Tock by Mel Sherratt *

‘Tick tock’ is the second novel in the new Grace Allendale police thriller series by Mel Sherratt, and is set in the year after the events of the first book ‘Hush hush’.  Grace has moved from Manchester, back to her home city of Stoke-on-Trent. She is reacquainting herself with the city, getting used to working with new colleagues and building herself a new life. In her latest case, a teenage girl is murdered in the middle of the day, her lifeless body abandoned in a field behind her school. Two days later, a young mother is abducted. She’s discovered strangled and dumped in a local park. DS Allendale and her team are brought in to investigate, but with a bold killer, no leads and nothing to connect the victims, the case seems hopeless. It’s only when a third woman is targeted that a sinister pattern emerges. A dangerous mind is behind these attacks, and Grace realises that the clock is ticking… 

Can they catch the killer before another young woman dies?

What I thought of the book

I was intrigued to read this novel as I’d heard about Mel Sherratt’s writing from friends and was looking forward to being familiar with some of the locations, as the story is set in Stoke-on-Trent, where I work. Although you don’t need to know the city to enjoy the story, it added extra interest to be able to imagine some of the scenes happening in places that I’m very familiar with.

I thought that the story struck a very good balance between telling the reader about the lives of Grace and some of the other characters, and driving the plot forward with plenty of action.

Finding out about why Grace had relocated back to Stoke, her extended family and her new relationships gave me empathy towards her and helped explain some of her decisions and actions. Grace’s character was very realistic as, although her work is unusual, she has more normal problems with her relationship, her boyfriend’s daughter and members of her family that she’s not so keen on.

This clever move also made me want to read the first book in the series, ‘Hush hush’ to uncover more of her family story.

Whilst I was getting to know Grace, Mel’s research meant that I was understanding the more routine duties of the police, which gave a realistic contrast to the faster-paced thriller scenes. The descriptions of the crimes themselves had enough detail to allow me to pick up clues, but weren’t grisly for the sake of it – which I’d been worried about before reading the book. The circumstances around the crimes were also thought-provoking – the murder linked to a school made me think about social media and how a close-knit community can be affected by something which happens on the doorstep. These elements combined to make the book more appealing than a straight-forward body-count murder mystery and I was hooked into it all the way along.

As the background story was told, the links between some of the numerous characters were revealed and lots of red herrings were dropped to keep the reader on her toes! In the later chapters, a creepy link and unusual motivation behind the murders came to light and the tension began to build. So many threads from different locations, families and characters eventually tied into the story that the identity reveal at the end of the book came as a surprise, and really seemed like a race against time.

Although the case was solved, plenty of questions about Grace and her family were asked along the way, so ‘tick tock’ is now the sound of me waiting to read the third book in the series.

How much is the book and how can you buy it?

The paperback retails for £7.99. You can buy a copy here.

About the author

Mel Sherratt is the author of thirteen crime novels, all of which have become bestsellers. For the past four years, she has been named as one of her home town of Stoke-on-Trent’s top 100 influential people. She also works alongside the National Literary Trust as an ambassador on The Literary Project, to support their ongoing work in the city, aiming to raise literacy levels. She lives in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, with her husband and her terrier, Dexter.

About the book

ISBN: 9780008271077
Publisher: Avon, an imprint of Harper Collins
Trim Size: 198x129mm
Pages: 376

Review by : Sharon Corbally

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* We were given a copy of the book in return for a feature. All opinions are our own.