Dead Woman Walking by Sharon Bolton

Just before dawn in the hills near the Scottish border, thirteen passengers on a hot-air balloon flight witness a brutal murder. Within the next hour, all but one of them will be dead. Alone, scared and trusting no-one, she flees for her life, running to the one place she feels safe. But she’s seen the killer’s face, and he’s seen hers – and he won’t rest until he’s eliminated the last witness to his crime . . .

Click here to buy Dead Woman Walking by Sharon Bolton

A bonus, seventeenth, best crime read of 2017! (See Part One of my Best crime reads of 2017 here).

Thrilling, gripping, unsettling, disturbing and brilliant – welcome to the books of Sharon Bolton!

Dead Woman Walking is another incredible, complex and multi-layered story – THERE IS SO MUCH GOING ON! It is really difficult, in fact, to say much about the plot at all, as to give away almost anything more than the blurb has, would be to miss out on peeling back the carefully constructed and detailed layers in the way they were intended.

Sharon is able to draw vivid pictures with just a few well-chosen words and the first few chapters particularly – those covering the balloon ride – are as clear as a movie playing in front of you; the remainder of the book is just as eloquently described. She is also a genius at misdirection, red herrings and shocking twists throughout, so be prepared to gasp out loud and go back to look for any missed clues at least five times!

There are a few light-hearted moments which are good for balancing out the increasingly dark plot and I really enjoyed a lot of the scenes set at the Priory.

The revelations keep coming, right up to the end and I will be thinking about this book for some time to come. Dead Woman Walking is not only a great thriller but also a fascinating look at the extreme lengths people will go to in desperation, whatever their situation.