The Sholes Key - Book Review

The Sholes Key by Clarissa Draper. I give it a full 5 out of 5 stars!

To be honest, it's been a while since I've read anything other than John Grisham or chick lit... so I was a little hesistant to start this new release by Clarissa Draper. In fact, I probably wouldn't have even tried it if it wasn't published by WiDo, the same place that published my novel.

But... I read it... and...

I LOVED THIS BOOK! :)

I was reading it at night and managed to freak myself out so much that when I went to bed, I placed my baby on one side of me, made my husband go on the other, and put my dog at my feet, all to form a kind of protection around me.

Here's what it's about: All across London, single mothers are vanishing. Margaret Hill, mother of two, walked out of her house two months before, never seen again. A month later, Carrie-Anne Morgans takes her two-year-old son for a walk in the park and disappears leaving him alone in his stroller. Lorna McCauley leaves her London flat in the early hours of the morning to buy medicine for her sick child and disappears.

Newly promoted Detective Inspector Theo Blackwell is assigned the case of Lorna McCauley, which, on the outside seems to be a simple case of mid-life crisis and child abandonment.

Elsewhere in London, MI5 analyst, Sophia Evans, is working undercover to catch an animal rights group responsible for targeted bombings. As her case (and her personal life) fall to pieces, she receives a strange envelope in the mail. It contains a picture of Lorna McCauley s lifeless face along with a daunting code.

Now the police and MI5 are forced to work together to stop the murders, and Sophia must find her way into the terrifying mind of a serial killer.

This was a very captivating book. Right from the first chapter, it sucks you in and makes you keep turning the pages. It is like CSI only in book form. There was the right amount of tension, suspense and drama. I was kept guessing right to the last page. There was also a nice amount of code-breaking, which reminded me of The DaVinci Code in a way. The characters were unique, funny, sweet, jealous, everything that good characters need to be. There was a hint of romance (which I loved) and a ton of action.

My only complaint is that I had to read it very carefully, some parts I even had to go back and re-read because it got complicated with the codes. If you're looking for a light fluffy beach read, it's probably not for you. However, if you love a bit of mystery, I 100% recommend it!!

PS - if you do want a nice, fluffy beach read, check out TANNED, TONED AND TOTALLY FAKING IT. Mikayla Rivers is the perfect BFF for a hot summer day, as she tries to hide her mega-star identity from the love of her life while dealing with a cheating ex-boyfriend, a psychotic manager and meeting (among other famous faces) Ellen Degeneres, Nick Lachey, Kim Kardashian, Ryan Seacrest and David Letterman in the process. :) xox