Committed is a standalone thriller featuring Ellen McGinley, a former undercover operative and asset of the CIA. She's a badass protagonist in a male-dominated working environment that can more than hold her own against the patriarchy which makes you really root for her throughout. She also suffers from PTSD due to an incident in her past and the trials and tribulations this causes and the impact it has on her day to life is handled realistically and sensitively, with it being one of Doctor Merritt's particular areas of speciality in terms of patient treatment. This is one of those immaculately crafted, exceptionally well-paced thrillers with exactly the right amount of action, twists, turns, intensity, character development and exposition. I have read almost all Chris Merritt books and must say that while they are all compulsively readable, he hit a whole new level with this one - when everything comes together beautifully and merges into a tense, insanely palpable tale with characters you care about whether they are to be loved or loathed, you can't get any better than this. Highly recommended.

“Committed” is one of the best action thrillers I have read in a very long time and one I’m not going to forget either. I absolutely devoured each page with fervour, it was addictive, engrossing, thrilling, tense and had the action speed of a non stop rollercoaster. I’ve often said certain books would make a good movie BUT this one really would be epic! I enjoyed how the threads of the story flowed seamlessly and connected to the main plot perfectly. The descriptive narrative was utterly superb, so much so, that I could picture each scene as if I was watching it on the big screen and actually hear the live action taking place. The only frustrating (but equally exciting) thing is the story continues into a second book after a major plot reveal, so I’m now chomping at the bit for the author, Chris Merritt to get writing, so I can satisfy my curiosity and be entertained once again. I do hope I don’t have to wait too long and in the meantime I’d recommend “Committed” to any and all thriller readers, you really don’t want to miss out on this blockbuster of a read and Chris, if you’re reading this, please get a move on!

Wow. I have read other previous books from Chris Merrit which I have enjoyed but Committed by the author is on another level. This is an Excellent high octane read that I couldn’t put down and kept me reading into the small hours of the morning. If you are a fan of ‘ Jack Reacher’ type of stories. This book will be for you. Ellen worked for the CIA. But when a major incident in Paris that went wrong that left a lot of people dead. She blames herself and suffers from PTSD. So now she is a mum with a six-year-old boy name Josh, and he is her world. When she overhears details of a terror attack going to take place in six days. Her old CIA instincts kick in and vows to herself that he needs to stop it before it happens. It might get rid of the guilt of what happened in Paris. But she gets arrested and instead of going to Jail she is committed to a Psychiatric unit when she tries to get help with the attack. They think that she is delusional. And when another inmate is trying to kill her, they think Ellen is making it up and getting worse. Even her own husband Harry, at first doesn’t believe her. Until she gets lucky and one of the doctors helps her escape. She carries on the hunt of the terrorist. Thank you, the publisher, for a copy of Committed by Chris Merrit. This is another brilliant book from the author. It is a fast-paced thriller with Ellen trying to escape danger in every turn. I found the story original and some instants quite breath taking and all for the protagonist to be female with her maternal side and doing the right thing and her instincts as an ex- CIA agent. What a great mix. I kind of guessed the outcome at the end. But it didn’t spoil it for me. Will there be more of Ellen? I do hope so. I would love to see this develop into a series. 5 stars from me.

Can I give this more than 5 stars? This was soooo good! If you enjoyed watching Homeland, you will LOVE this. Gritty, gripping and absolutely unputdownable, I devoured this book in two sittings. I felt like I was watching it, not reading it. The characters were believable and my adrenaline was racing during this action packed thriller that follows ex CIA agent, Ellen, in her attempts to stop a terrorist attack. I’ve not read a Chris Merritt book before but I will 100% be reading another one. Huge thanks to NetGalley and Headline for my advanced copy.