A tense and dark thriller . Aidan Cullen is a writer of crime fiction and a best selling one at that . He lives a very reclusive life , keeping himself to himself. He shares his home with Luke a friend from university and the dog Nanook . Things are quite stagnant in Aidan’s life until a murder takes place near by to his home . When the police come calling Aidan realises that the murder is the same as one that took place is one of his books . He finds himself in the middle of the police investigation, which he’s not entirely happy about . The murders begin to mount up and they are straight off the pages of the crime novels , even the latest one to be published. Who can be doing it? It must be someone close to the reclusive author , but how close? This book is deliciously dark and perfectly written , I’d expect no less from the author. Pull up your favourite chair and hold on for a rollercoaster read ! Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, Chapter One.

4.5 It should have been a night of celebration for about to be published author, Aiden Cullen as his novel Out of Darkness will shortly hit the shelves. Instead, he is stabbed and left for dead by three thugs on the floor of the car park of The Bucket of Blood pub in Liverpool. Six years later, he lives in Derbyshire with Nanook, his two year old German Shepherd in Gallows View House, an 18th century property, which is his safe haven, his forever home, purchased with his book sales. He has no close neighbours, he rarely goes out because if they don’t see him, he can’t be attacked. When he’s writing (and he’s very successful and onto his seventh novel now) the world ceases to exist and he's as secure as he can be in his house with its multiple safety features. One evening, blue flashing lights catch his eye and closer scrutiny reveals a forensic team and a white tent - it’s a murder and close to his home. As things worsen, Aiden finds himself at the heart of DS Katherine Marshall’s investigation. How will Aiden cope? One thing is for certain it will increase his already heightened sense of paranoia. You know that feeling as an avid reader of being in safe hands? That’s how I regard Michael Wood who, in my opinion has done it again and produced an excellent psychological thriller. His portrayal of the damaged and troubled Aiden is outstanding. His panic, anxiety and paranoia are palpable. They’re so well conveyed. I can sense his tension and stress which is frequently off the scale as he unravels. It’s gripping and intense purely and simply because of the characterisation of Aiden. Not only does he seem to be very authentic so does his mental state which is described so well that it makes me root for him and worry about his increasing fragility. As a consequence of the focus on Aiden, as events in Derbyshire go dramatically wrong with a consequently huge police investigation, so the claustrophobic sensation increases exponentially. Aiden feels trapped and snowed under and so does this reader. The novel starts in a dark way (it is Michael Wood after all!) It gets progressively blacker and bleaker as the situation barrels out of control. What is real and what is not? It’s brimful of suspense, it’s fast paced, exciting and shocking. It’s a clever novel and although I do guess the outcome, it doesn’t in any way impact on my enjoyment of it, in fact, it’s satisfying to be right!! As for Nanook - he is the star of the show! Although I read this as an e-book, I think it will work brilliantly as an audible.

Chapter One is a dark and twisted compelling thriller that will have you turning the pages as quickly as you can. Aidan Cullen is a famous author who suffers from PTSD and is a recluse in his secluded home in a small village and you can bet he is the talk of the town. When gruesome murders begin to occur and Aidan realizes that someone is using his books as a guidline and he reaches out to the police. Michael Wood takes you down a twisted and dark path with well developed characters and all the while you just know this isnt going to end well. Although I did predict the ending the journey to get there was a tense one and I could not put the book down as I rushed to see what transpires. Michael Wood has written another amazing stand alone thriller that is not to be missed.

This latest standalone thriller by Michael wood totally messed my mind. It had me hooked from the first to the last page. It's full of many twists and turns . I loved the idea of it being a story based on an author and including first chapters of his book . Definitely read this one .

Loved this book it hooks you in from the very first page with the reclusive Aidan Cullen, a very successful crime writer who is very happy in his reclusive home and his dog as he was stabbed several times and left for dead years ago, but is dragged back into the world when a murder near where he lives pulls him into a chilling investigation, as there are more murders he thinks he could be the next target. The story is very good the paranoia is palpable and the stakes keep climbing and blurs the line between obsession and insight. Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for an ARC