Book Synopsis:
ONCE UPON A TIME LIKE YOU’VE NEVER READ IT BEFORE . . .
DI Lyla Rondell is on the case of a lifetime. Tasked with investigating a series of perplexing deaths, the only lead she has is that each appears to be based on a different classic fairy tale. Far from the stuff of bedtime stories, the press is having a field day with what they have named the Grimm Ripper Murders.
But as the bodies stack up, Lyla’s whole world is about to flip on its head. Because the killer’s bloody trail stretches deep into her own origin story, and when she discovers the truth, nothing will ever be the same again.
Faced with the fact that everything she knows is fiction, Lyla will have to take a little creative license of her own if she’s going to turn the final page on the killings . . .
My Review:
Little Red Death is a gripping, fast paced crime novel unlike anything I’ve read before. It’s going to be a difficult book to review as I don’t want to give anything away.
The story is told from two points of view, one following DI Lyla Rondell as she tries to solve the mystery of a serial killer who is murdering their victims in fairy tale themed murders and Katie a writer who the murderer has kidnapped to write the fairy tale murders he then carries out in real life. I quickly found myself drawn into the book and into the nightmare scenario the characters find themselves in. It soon becomes clear that the murder has a personal vendetta against DI Rondell as they continually taught her with notes and reminders of her missing childhood friend Alison. The story is a mainly a crime book but has elements of horror and folk tales cleverly woven into the narrative which I really loved as I’m always a fan of unusual crime books.
I thought the book was very fast paced and I found it very difficult to put down as I desperately wanted to find out what on earth was going on. The twist in the middle had me gasping out loud, much to the amusement of my children, and I soon found myself reading faster and faster as the different layers to the story are revealed. The ending was amazing, so well done and took me completely by surprise as I thought everything had already been solved. I finished the book three days ago and have continued to think about it since, often having to go back and re-read the last few chapters as I kept thinking of certain bits of the story.
Huge thanks to the lovely Rhys Thomas our Simon and Schuster rep for sending me a copy of this book to review.
If you are a fan of unique, gripping and twisty crime books I highly recommend this book.
About The Author:
Alexandra Benedict has been a composer, singer-songwriter, actor, and lecturer in crime fiction, and is now an award-winning writer of novels, short stories and scripts. As AK Benedict, she writes high-concept novels, speculative short stories and scripts. Her first novel, the critically-acclaimed THE BEAUTY OF MURDER, was nominated for the eDunnit Award; her short stories have featured in many anthologies; and her audio drama has been shortlisted for multiple awards including the BBC Audio Drama Award 2020, and, twice, for the Scribe Award, winning it in 2019. As Alexandra Benedict, she writes contemporary tributes and takes on Golden Age crime fiction. THE CHRISTMAS MURDER GAME was an Amazon Fiction Bestseller and was long-listed for the CWA Gold Dagger Award. Her latest novel, MURDER ON THE CHRISTMAS EXPRESS, arrives on November 10th. She lives on the south coast of England with her fiancé, writer Guy Adams, their daughter, and their dog, Dame Margaret Rutherford.
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