Book Review & Blog Tour: The Night Caller by J.M. Hewitt

The Night Caller

Author: J.M. Hewitt

Publication Date: 15 August 2019

Genre: Adult Fiction – Crime Thriller

Pages: 327

Publisher: Bookouture

Detective Carrie Flynn has spent twenty years searching for her little sister, who was kidnapped and never found. The worst part for Carrie is that she was with Hattie on that hot summer day. Carrie saw her sister’s abductor, but she was just a little girl herself, and remembers nothing. She will never forgive herself for letting Hattie down. 

When the chance came to join the police force, Carrie didn’t hesitate. She would solve missing person cases and fight for justice – no more families stuck in limbo, no more grieving mothers, no more sisters growing up alone… But now a serial killer is stalking Carrie’s hometown of Manchester: late at night, people are going missing down at the canal. Six years, a dozen disappearances.

When another victim is taken, Carrie is sure the family is hiding something and she’s determined to find out the secret behind their silence. Why does the mother not want to answer Carrie’s questions? Who is the mysterious girl next door? Carrie knows that to track down the killer, she must find out everything she possibly can about the innocents they have chosen to hunt. 

Carrie holds on to one fact: last year, standing by the water, she caught a glimpse of the killer, and the distinctive tattoo on his arm. He slipped through her fingers, but she won’t let it happen again. She’ll never stop searching, for the grieving families, for her belief in justice, and her hope that, one day, something she finds will lead her back to her lost little sister. 

Can she finally solve the case that has cast a long shadow over her career and will the demons in her own past help her to catch this deadly killer?

If you love Val McDermid, Robert Dugoni or Angela Marsons you won’t be able to put down this dark and twisty thriller. J.M. Hewitt will keep you guessing until the very last page. 

In the town of Manchester, a serial killer who is referred to as The Pusher remains at large. The Pusher is so affectionately named this since this person pushes its victims to their death into the canal. Over the last six years, The Pusher has claimed at least a dozen victims without leaving a trace of evidence to confirm his or her identity.

Detective Carrie Flynn has been assigned to the case, and she refuses to give up. One thing becomes evident is that the killer’s motives have changed. Previously the killer targeted victims who were homosexual whereas now it seems the killer is going after those that are deemed the “bad boys” of society.

I really enjoyed watching the secrets unfold between Emma, the grieving mother who lost her son to The Pusher, and Jade, her best friend that lives next door. There were so many twists and turns that keep me on my toes.

For a debut thriller, I definitely think the author does a fantastic job of telling this unputdownable page turner. However, I’m dying to know the answers to all of the unanswered questions about DS Flynn (such as the disappearance of her sister Hattie). Since the series is supposed to focus on her, I would have loved for her to be the focal point of the story and investigation, whereas she does take a back seat to the story in favor of Emma and Jade. Regardless, I’m still excited to see what’s next in store for DS Flynn’s story.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for providing an eARC for review. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.

Get your copy of The Night Caller below:

• Amazon: https://geni.us/B07S35FB6SSocial
• Apple Books: https://apple.co/2VVYXSG
• Kobo: http://bit.ly/2QBoIa5
• Googleplay: http://bit.ly/2W6GDeB

Living in Felixtowe Magazine, Suffolk

J.M. Hewitt writes crime fiction and is the author of two previous crime fiction novels and has been published in two short story publications. Her work usually incorporates twentieth and twenty-first century events and far flung locations, and her novels explore the darker side of human behaviour.

In contrast to the sometimes dark content of her books, she lives in a seaside town in Suffolk with her dog, Marley. 

When she was ten years old she’d read all the books she owned, all those on her mother’s bookcase and everything the library had to offer. She decided the only course of action to take was to write her own stories. Thirty years later, she is still writing them.

Author Social Media Links:

• FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/j.mhewittauthor/
• TWITTER: https://twitter.com/jmhewitt
• WEBSITE: www.jeanettehewitt.com