Book Review | Like This, For Ever by Sharon Bolton

"Bright red. Like rose petals. Or rubies. Or balloons. Little red droplets.

Barney knows the killer will strike again soon. The victim will be another boy, just like him. He will drain the body of blood, and leave it on a Thames beach. There will be no clues for detectives Dana Tulloch and Mark Joesbury to find. There will be no warning about who will be next. There will be no good reason for Lacey Flint to become involved... And no chance that she can stay away.

Keep telling yourself it's only fiction."

Ooo look another book review... What can I say; I read a lot and I read fast, hence the book blog in the first place ;)! Before I start this review, I'm going to put a disclaimer in and say that Sharon Bolton is my favourite author of crime thrillers. I just felt like you should know that because it may make my review biased? On the other hand, it says a lot about her that she's my favourite author. I read so much and so many authors that to get the number one spot is impressive.

Sharon Bolton is the absolute master at dark, twisted and psychologically haunting thrillers. Her plots are easy to follow, and yet strangely complicated, with hundreds of twists and turns that you don't expect along the way. I have read three books by her already and all of them focus on the protagonist Lacey Flint - a police officer, obviously. This is the third in that series. I'm an intelligent person and I can usually figure out the whodunnit long before the end. And yet, out of all of the books I've read by Sharon Bolton (which admittedly isn't a lot), I have never been able to figure out the ending. The first book in the series, Now You See Me, is in my top three favourite books of all time, and is also one of the most gripping and twisting book I've ever read.

She writes with a graceful elegance and all of the words just naturally flow. Bolton has also perfected the art of chapter lengths. In some books, there'll be repeated chapters of two or three pages in a row, leading to a disjointed and difficult to read book. Bolton only ever writes short chapters if it slots into the rest of the plot easily and effectively, and all of the chapters are of appropriate lengths. I honestly cannot fault her style of writing. Simple perfection.

I read this 400ish page book in a day and a half. I was on the edge of my seat and I couldn't put it down. Sharon Bolton, you are a genius and an artist, and both you and this book have received my highest recommendation and regard.

5/5 stars, easily!

I hope you all pick up this book!