DS Grace Allendale from Stoke on Trent returns for Tick Tock, the second book in Mel Sherratt’s excellent DS Grace Allendale series.

A schoolgirl out on a cross country run with classmates becomes separated from them for a few moments and in that time is strangled by an unknown assailant. The murdered girl is a friend of Teagen, the daughter of Grace’s journalist boyfriend, Simon. A young mother is kidnapped and murdered in a similar way two days later and when a third girl is attacked, Grace suspects there will be more and knows that she and her team are racing against time to catch the culprit.

The story increases in pace and was full of tension and twists, especially towards the end. It had me holding my breath at times. As I read, I tried and failed to work out who was behind the brutal murders, thinking it one of the characters and then someone else.

The characters are excellent and I especially liked the interaction between the teenagers and Grace’s relationship with Simon.

Tick Tock is another brilliantly plotted case from Mel Sherratt and I look forward to reading what she brings out next.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for my ARC copy.