Thanks to Oneworld and Netgalley for ARC. Journalist Tuva Moodyson is back from Malmo at Gavrik Posten, promoted to deputy editor and with a bigger geographical area to cover. This includes isolated hill town Visberg, where a grisly murder isn't the only terrifying thing going on . The opening chapter is terrifying and the pace keeps up until the last sentence. I really could not put this down but didn't want it to end. Especially not like that! This a Scandi-gothic chiller and Tuva and the ones she loved are in for more tension and danger than ever before. I love the Tuva series, and Tuva remains as spiky and engaging as ever. You could start here, but if you haven't met Tuva it would be more fun to start from the beginning and watch the whole thing unfold.

Thank you to the publishers for this early review copy, very much appreciated. This is a great series and this latest book will certainly have you reading it through your fingers... and I won't be booking any holidays to this town ever! Great characters as always, good pace, fabulous imagination - although perhaps warped? Don't accept any Halloween invites from this author is my advice. Very happy to recommend all of Will's books on to lovers of great thrillers. This one will certainly stay with me for quite a while...

Will Dean is on fire with his fourth book in the Tuva Moodyson series. Tuva is settling in to her new role as Deputy Editor, now expanded to take in the town of Visberg, which is to be Tuva’s beat following a takeover of their local paper by the Gavrik Posten. Visberg is a small, mountain town and Tuva is keen to get to know the local people and the key players, the better to garner stories for the paper. Visberg is a different kettle of fish to Gavrik. They have their own customs and festivals. It’s not a poor town by any means. But the local people aren’t keen on incomers and Tuva finds a culture of silence and suspicion. This Tuva Moodyson book is a perfect Halloween read. A blend of thriller and horror, it features my favourite characters, the troll making sisters Cornelia and Alice Sorlie who are, of all things, in a pop-up shop just ready for all Hallows eve. Surrounded by the dark and in elk hunting season, especially dangerous forests, all Tuva’s worst fears are confirmed when she is drawn towards a screaming woman to find the decapitated body of a man and the blood-soaked screaming woman. Bad Apples is redolent with oppressive smells, sounds and the atmosphere is heavy and full of malevolence. When I was young I used to love the satanic novels of Dennis Wheatley with their atmosphere of satanic ritual and abandoning all sense of propriety during the all-important Walpurgis Night, and that sense of total abandon is conjured up in Dean’s celebrations in the town of Visberg. As we watch Tuva size up the locals as she is introduced by the former proprietor of the local paper whose beat she is now in charge of, we are aware of the stench of rotting apples in the air everywhere she goes; the strangeness of the Watchmaker and his shop, and the endless gamers in The Hive, a dark hut where I could smell the unwashed musky male bodies. Even the local pizza parlour has some strange and unpalatable toppings to turn the stomach. If you think pineapple on a pizza is weird, you should see some of these toppings! As Tuva tries to get to know people and work out who might give her the best stories, she finds that what happens in Visberg stays in Visberg – quite literally. The town is presided over by one wealthy family, the Edlunds and a fault line runs through the town keeping them on one side and the rest of the town on the other. The Edlunds exclusively habituate the local golf club and being enabled to join is the pinnacle of achievement for any local business person. Danger is everywhere and Tuva is constantly being pointed at one man in particular as the potential perpetrator of decapitation city. As things heat up in Visberg, we are once more in fear for Tuva; perhaps more so because she has finally found personal happiness alongside one of the great female friendships with Tammy. Pursuing her murderer, Tammy isn’t always on the right track by any means and we know her fear of the dark forest which is only enhanced by the danger posed by the elk hunters blasting away. But Tuva is nothing if not tenacious and she puts aside her fears and allows herself to follow the evidence. Will Dean’s dark and compelling story leads her into very real trouble where I squirmed more than once as jeopardy battled with weirdness and won. Verdict: Rich and atmospheric and with a cast of weird and wonderful characters, Bad Apples is a gripping, thrilling story with lots of drama, not a little horror and some fantastic characters that linger in the mind. It’s creepy, tense and absolutely unpredictable. Will Dean gives us pace, drama, action, thrills and weirdness as well as a central character we can’t help but love.

Tuva Moodyson turns up to take over the local newspaper in the small town of Visberg. A close knit community who does not welcome outsiders and keeps its secrets hidden. So when the body of a local resident is discovered dismembered, Tuva jumps straight into the case and starts to investigate. However doors are closed in her face and she becomes incredibly frustrated as she’s see the case of a lifetime slipping through her fingers. Little does she know she’s about to become the main headline in this sick story. In the fourth outing of the Tuva Moodyson series, Will Dean has written the best book in the series so far. It’s scary, intense and highly immersive. A dark chilling novel of some renown. Will Dean is one of the best writers to come along in a very long time and Bad Apples is a perfect example of his outstanding talent. Just sensational.

Bad Apples by Will Dean is the fourth Book in the Tuva Moodyson series. Deaf Journalist Truva returns to Gavrik to take a job as deputy editor for the local paper. When in the nearby town of Visberg a body is found with its head decapitated. Once again, Truva gets involved to find out who the killer is with the local police. It’s October and its Halloween and while she is searching for answers weird things are going on in the town. Which coincides with the body that is found. Thanks, NetGalley and Oneworld publications for a copy of Bad Apples. I wasn’t aware this was the fourth book in the series, and I have not read the previous books. I enjoyed his previous book Last thing to burn which was a standalone, so I was looking forward to reading this. Let me first say, this is not a bad book. It is well written, gripping spooky thriller. But as I had not read the previous books in this series. I felt like I was missing something and had trouble connecting to the protagonist because of it. Maybe in the future I will start from the beginning and re read this book and re value my review. But for now it’s 3.5 stars from me.