Dead Wrong by Noelle Holten #BookReview #BlogTour

The serial killer is behind bars. But the murders are just beginning…

DC Maggie Jamieson’s past comes back to haunt her in this dark and gripping serial killer thriller.

Three missing women running out of time…

They were abducted years ago. Notorious serial killer Bill Raven admitted to killing them and was sentenced to life.

The case was closed – at least DC Maggie Jamieson thought it was…

But now one of them has been found, dismembered and dumped in a bin bag in town.

Forensics reveal that she died just two days ago, when Raven was behind bars, so Maggie has a second killer to find.

Because even if the other missing women are still alive, one thing’s for certain: they don’t have long left to live…

I'm absolutely thrilled to be hosting the blog tour for Dead Wrong today. Huge thanks to Noelle Holten, One More Chapter and Sarah Hardy from BOTBS Blog Tours for inviting me and for my advance digital copy of the novel.

The cliffhanger ending to Dead Inside, the first book in Noelle Holten’s Maggie Jamieson series meant I’ve been eagerly awaiting the second novel, Dead Wrong. For those who haven’t yet read Dead Inside, rest assured that the sequel can easily be enjoyed as a standalone. However, I think you’d be making a mistake by missing out the first because these are seriously addictive thrillers!
Unusually for a series opener, I felt Dead Inside’s main focus was on a different character, Lucy rather than DC Maggie Jamieson so I was looking forward to learning more about her this time around. She definitely has the starring role here although there are also chapters written from the perspectives of Dr Kate Moloney and Bill Raven. Raven is Maggie’s nemesis; two years earlier she was the officer responsible for ensuring he was tried and found guilty of the murder of three women. Their bodies have never been found but Raven confessed, so naturally the accusing eyes of the world fall upon Maggie when a body of one of the women is discovered and forensic evidence proves she was killed when he was already serving a life sentence for her murder. He claims he was coerced into providing a false confession and now Maggie stands accused of being responsible for the imprisonment of an innocent man.
One of the things I love about Maggie is that she can’t easily be put in a box; she is strong-minded and stubborn enough to pursue her own lines of inquiry even when advised - or even ordered - not to do so but she is also a supportive team player and tries to be considerate of her superiors and the ranks below her. She is however, rather hot-headed so isn’t always successful and I particularly enjoyed her interactions with Nathan who is currently Acting DS - having only recently been her equal, he is now her immediate boss. The occasionally awkward dynamics between the two are completely authentic and well reflect the period of adjustment that needs to take place after one member of a workplace is promoted.
I also loved Maggie’s friendship with Kate, especially the hints that romance could develop between the pair. Her relationship with her brother is another highlight and even just two books in, it’s already obvious that Noelle Holten exceeds in creating interesting, believable characters. Maggie’s bisexuality is touched upon here and I’m intrigued to see how this aspect of her character evolves in the future; it’s refreshingly clear that her sexuality will never define her, however.
There is always an underlying sense of tension in Dead Wrong, especially in the scenes written from Kate or Raven’s point of view. In Kate’s case it’s because it would appear that she has a stalker. As a criminal psychologist currently attached to the Domestic Abuse and Homicide Unit, there are already plenty of people who may hold a grudge or have developed a sick fascination for her but she has been helping Maggie with her investigation too...
Meanwhile, the scenes which give us an insight into Raven’s head are properly chilling. Although the evidence seems to suggest he can’t be responsible for the crimes he has been found guilty of, Maggie is convinced he is involved somehow. He is evidently a superb manipulator who knows exactly how to get under somebody’s skin and I loved and hated his scenes at the same time - they’re brilliantly written but even on paper I didn’t want to spend too much time in his company!
As the novel progresses and the body count increases, I couldn’t tear my eyes from the page and thought that the way in which the case was eventually solved through dedicated police work and a little luck was entirely realistic. I loved Dead Inside and am delighted to say the same about Dead Wrong; if a first book in a series has to reel readers in then the second has to keep them there and I’m convinced that Noelle Holten’s reading audience will just keep growing - and deservedly so, this really is a first-rate, compelling thriller. And if I thought that Dead Inside ended on an exciting cliffhanger, the conclusion to Dead Wrong almost gave me a heart attack! I’m desperate to read the next book now!

Dead Wrong is published by One More Chapter, it can be purchased in ebook now from Amazon and Kobo and will be available in paperback from 14th May 2020, pre-order links can be found here.

Don't miss the rest of the blog tour, details are below.

About the Author

Noelle Holten is an award-winning blogger at www.crimebookjunkie.co.uk. She is the PR & Social Media Manager for Bookouture, a leading digital publisher in the UK, and was a regular reviewer on the Two Crime Writers and a Microphone podcast. Noelle worked as a Senior Probation Officer for eighteen years, covering a variety of cases including those involving serious domestic abuse. She has three Hons BA’s – Philosophy, Sociology (Crime & Deviance) and Community Justice – and a Masters in Criminology. Noelle’s hobbies include reading, attending as many book festivals as she can afford and sharing the booklove via her blog. 
Dead Inside is her debut novel with One More Chapter/Harper Collins UK and the start of a new series featuring DC Maggie Jamieson.
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