Ransomed

By M. A. Hunter

What it’s about?

What it’s about?

Some secrets are too big to bury…

Investigative journalist Emma Hunter never thought she’d be a bestselling author. Especially not for a blistering exposé of the brutal horrors committed at a children’s home.

Some secrets breed in the dark…

All she wants is to return home to the anchoring salt air and solitude of Weymouth where questions still fester unanswered and a twenty-year-old secret binds her to the beach.

And some of them always escape…

But then she finds herself sucked into the chaos of another cold case and soon realises the search for the missing girl will not only unearth the rot ravaging the safety of children across the south of England, but could even solve the mystery that has tortured her since she was seven years old…

Ransomed marks the beginning of a nerve-shredding new crime series of feral reckonings and found family in the face of harrowing inhumanity, perfect for fans of Angela Marsons and Ann Cleeves.

What I think?

This is a multi-layered thriller.

Protagonist Emma Hunter is an investigative journalist who has been somewhat reluctantly thrown into the media spot light. Her investigation into historic child abuse at a Weymouth children’s home has led to a trial, conviction and justice for some of the victims. Her book about the case is a bestseller and she is being recognised after media appearances.

Emma shies away from the attention as she does not want to take anything away from the victims. Her pushy agent, Maddie, is try to encourage her to leave Weymouth and move up to London to further her writing career, but Emma feels uncomfortable in the city and her ties to Weymouth are strong.

Emma’s next case drags her into a missing child investigation. Six year old Cassie was snatched from a car and hasn’t been seen since. Lord Fitzhume, Cassie’s grandfather has pulled strings to keep the case out of the media and she has been missing, presummed dead, for a year. Emma could be his last chance to find out the truth about her disappearance.

Emma teams up with PC Jack Serrovitz who investigates cold case to look back through the original investigation and see if they can uncover the truth that has left the HIlliard family devastated.

Emma has a personal connection to the missing child investigation as her own sister disappeared when they were children. She has never forgiven herself for the disappearance and hopes that one day she can understand what destroyed her own family.

The ending of this book was really shocking. It’s certainly no the family reunited cliche you might expect. As the first book in the series, it ends on a great cliffhanger which I won’t spoil but it will mean you want to read the next book.

I particularly liked the fact that this was set in my local area.

Emma is a interesting character who I think is going to continue develop as she works with policeman Jack and friend Rachel to investigate the case.

This is a compelling read with some surprising twists and turns that will definitely leave you wanting more.

You can order a copy using the links below:

UK: click here

US: click here

About the author:

Hi, I’m M.A. Hunter and have been a huge fan of crime fiction since a young age, and always fancied the idea of trying to write some myself. That dream became a reality when One More Chapter signed The Missing Children Case Files series.

Born in Darlington in the north-east of England, I grew up in West London, and moved to Southampton to study law at university. It’s here I fell in love and have been married for fifteen years. We are now raising our two children, on the border of The New Forest where we enjoy going for walks amongst the wildlife. We regularly holiday across England, but have a particular affinity for the south coast, which formed the setting for the series, spanning from Devon to Brighton, and with a particular focus on Weymouth, one of our favourite towns.

When not writing, I regularly binge-watch the latest shows from streaming services, or have my head buried in the latest story from Angela Marsons, Simon Kernick, or Ann Cleeves.

Social Media Links –

Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorMAHunter

Twitter: @WriterMAHunter

Thank you Rachel, from Rachel’s Random Resources and One More Chapter for inviting me to take place on this thrilling blog tour and for gifting me a copy of the book via Netgalley.

Check out the other stops on the blog tour this week.