Aiden Cullen is a popular author whose crime fiction novels are best-sellers. He’s lived as a recluse in Gallowsfield, Derbyshire, since being stabbed six years outside a public house in Liverpool, with his German Shepherd Nanook for company and his best friend Luke Jackson turning up when he’s not working. Late one night Aiden sees flashing blue lights nearby and learns that a woman’s body has been found left on a road, and he’s shocked that the circumstances of her murder mirror the plot and characters from one of his books. ‘Chapter One’ is a dark and compulsive standalone thriller that’s had me gripped from the moment I opened my Kindle. The plot is so frighteningly intense that it’s made my spine tingle as the killer moves on from one victim to another, each time copying the plots from Aiden’s books. This is an exceptionally disturbing thriller that has twists, suspense and tension that’s gradually building to a crescendo, and final chapters so shocking that I was unable to stop reading even if I wanted to. I’m open-mouthed in admiration for an author who can create a plot of such magnitude that it had me cringing in shock and horror while dreading what was going to happen next, with a plot that’s realistic and characters who were perfectly described. It gets a huge five stars from me although I’d give more if I could!

This read completely consumed me at first it's quiet paranoia, then it's full on WHAT IS HAPPENING??suspense, and it never lets up. I loved the creeping tension that builds slowly. The" first chapters"from Aidans books are sprinkled throughout and are so strong they feel like little mini thrillers on their own that really make you want to read more of. I truly had no idea where it was all going. Every time I thought I'd figured it out, it all shifted again. For me, this was a really BRILLIANT read. Highly Recommended. Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins One More Chapter for the Arc. .

Chapter One by Michael Wood, on Audible is a psychological thriller about a copycat killer who has blood on his hands. Aidan Cullen is a successful crime writer and a paranoid recluse. For many years he dreamt of being a successful published writer and then on the night before his book is published he is attacked in a pub car park and left with serious injuries. The trauma leaves him paranoid and reclusive, he escapes to a country mansion where he can keep himself safe from the outside world with only his dog Nanook for company. Then a murder is committed nearby and then another and they all take on the details of his crime books and Aidan is convinced that he will become a victim again. Throughout the story Aidan perceives himself as a victim with only his dog and his one friend, Luke who really care about him. The truth will reveal who is responsible for all the deaths and end the serial killers reign forever. Highly recommended

After 10 years of struggle Aidan Cullen has become a published author. A celebration with friends turns to a nightmare when he is attacked, stabbed and left for dead in the pub car park. Told mainly from Aidan’s perspective, in dual timeline, this is a perturbing and claustrophobic story and I felt a lot of empathy for Aiden and his suffering with what is appears to be PTSD from his horrific near death experience. Briefly, six years after the attack Aiden is living a reclusive existence in the countryside of Derbyshire. He hasn’t left the house and lives with his best friend Luke, who job often means he has to be away from home, and dog Nanook, in a beautiful property with high levels of security. He has now written 6 successful crime novels and on the point of publishing his seventh. However, his solitary life is interrupted when a series of murders occur locally. But only Adam realises that there is a link between the murders. It seems like Adam was right to be paranoid about his safety. The tension in this book is palpable, I was feeling just as stressed as Adam! A dark thriller with a startling twist and whilst I guessed who the killer was it didn’t deter in any way from the enjoyment of the book. Fast paced and compulsive psychological thriller.

We start in the past, with Aidan Cullen who has striven for years to write his first book. He has finally made it and wants to share this moment with his closest friends. I say closest, they're not actually close as we will soon find out! So he hires the upstairs room of the uni pub they all used to drink in and, eventually most of them arrive. When the last one turns up, he is just announcing his success when he is gazumped by better news and, well, loses the crowd. His "friends" all leave to celebrate the other news, leaving him to dejectedly pack up his car. An event during which he is brutally attacked. An attack which leaves him traumatised and turns him into the recluse he is today. With only Luke - the friend that came back to find him that night, and dog Nanook for company in the big house in the country they all now live in, and which he hasn't left for years... One book became two and now he has a whole series under his belt with the newest just about to be released. But then he hears some shocking news. The death of a women in very similar circumstances to the opening chapter of one of his books. Long story short, more of his books start to yield further identical murders. All coming under the investigation of DS Katherine Marshall who kinda befriends Aiden as he is feeling vulnerable cos Luke is working away, again. Oh My Days. This book was all things brilliant for me. Although I did guess certain things early, I was never sure. I've been duped by this author on more than one occasion before so I am never wholly sure! He do love his curve balls! But my early tentative guess did in no way spoil the "moment"! I really loved his portrayal of Aiden who was a troubled soul but one who I felt a huge connection with as he knew his shortcomings and appeared to really want to get better. Luke was a bit of a funny fish and I wasn't sure of him but then again, his heart appeared to be in the right place as far as Aiden was concerned. Nanook however really stole the show. And the story - wow. Brilliant. Perfectly paced, tension and intrigue ramping up nicely all the way through. And the way that Aiden begins to unravel as it all descends into darkness... I'm trying to be oblique with my review but my best advice to you. If you are still reading reviews about this book then don't. Others may not be as kind and spoilers might slip in. I said that guessing ahead didn't mar my overall enjoyment of this book, but it did soften the blow when the penny finally dropped and the whole truth came out. And I don't want that for you. Me, I'm still working my way through the Matilda Darke series back catalogue, as well as pouncing on his stand alones and Olivia Winter books as they are published.