Eeny Meeny (Helen Grace Thriller, #1) (Detective Inspector Helen Grace)

by M. J. Arlidge

[violetpeanut]

Imagine you wake up with your husband/wife/loved one to realize that you are trapped in an emptied diving pool. There are no ladders, nothing to climb on, no way out. You have no way of communicating with anyone, and there is no one to hear you call for help. The only thing with you in the pool is a gun with one bullet. Your captor has told you that only one of you will leave. The person left alive will be released. What do you do? Do you shoot yourself. Your loved one? What kind of person would put people in this situation? Why? This is the premise of Eeny Meeny.

Detective Helen Grace is the lead investigator working with a team to try and catch this twisted serial killer. Part police procedural, part character study, the plot was exciting and surprising. I thought more than once that I had it all figured out. Three-quarters of the way through I was sure I knew what was going to happen. I was wrong. I wasn’t even close. I love it when a book can surprise me. The book moves quickly and kept me wanting more but the timeline was also quite realistic. Many crime novels seem to take place over the course of a few days or weeks. This investigation took months which is much more true-to-life. Despite that, the book is fast-paced and exciting.

The main character, Helen, is quite complex. She has a dark past which affects her present and her personal relationships but is only revealed to the reader in mall pieces. I was just as interested in what was going on with her as I was in the police investigation. She’s an extremely private person with a little bit of a dark side but she’s still human and still has a need for personal relationships. Her dedication to the job comes first, though and her personal relationships suffer for it.

As a whole, this is a very dark book. The type of killings, the personal demons that the characters are fighting, the motivations – all dark. While there is nothing overly gory or explicit, the descriptions and mood will be enough to turn some readers off. I, however, loved the atmosphere and the twisted nature of the book. If you’re a sensitive reader, you may want to stay away from this one. If, however, you like a twisted read with complex characters, a plot with some great twists and taut pacing, I encourage you to give this a go. I’m looking forward to the next in the series.

I received this book for free from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Originally posted on