Danuta Kot – Life Ruins

‘Life Ruins’ by Danuta Kot is the first book in The East Riding Series. First I have a confession to make. I have read the second book and blogged it too. So in effect read this series the wrong way around. All I can say is I enjoyed returning to Becca and Yorkshire again.

Life Ruins is a character-driven thriller that is set in and around Bridlington, Whitby and Kettleness. The out of season time period does enhance the grim and gritty storyline. Three people are brought together by one terrible event that gives them a mystery they are hoping to help solve. Becca has moved from Leeds and helps out at the teen outreach centre. Jared is a climber and cave enthusiast who is suffering from serious health problems and finally Kay, who is struggling with the death of her husband.

All three of these characters end up as witnesses and the story is told from each of these characters points of view, so we get to know these people quite quickly. This is a slow burner of a book but as the build-up begins to get to the crescendo, there are criminal gangs, car chases and attempted murder that all serve to keep me hanging on to every word that Danuta Kot wrote.

A relentless thriller that just keeps giving. A worthy predecessor to ‘Someone Who Isn’t Me’.

Thank you to ZooLoo’s Book Tours and Simon &Schuster UK for the copy of the book.