Pop Goes The Weasel by M.J. Arlidge (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"The body of a middle-aged man is discovered in Southampton's red-light district - horrifically mutilated, with his heart removed.

Hours later - and barely cold - the heart arrives with his wife and children by courier.

A pattern emerges when another male victim is found dead and eviscerated, his heart delivered soon afterwards.

The media call it Jack the Ripper in reverse; revenge against the men who lead sordid double lives visiting prostitutes. For Grace, only one thing is certain: there's a vicious serial-killer at large who must be halted at all costs . . ."

My Thoughts:

This book!  This series!  Oh my goodness- I can't even.  It has been decided two books in that this is one of those rare authors that has jumped on to my must read/will read anything written by this author list.  I love a dark and thrilling read and this book didn't disappoint!  I'm preparing to gush for the entirety of this review so I'm warning you now to be prepared.  The first book in this series, Eeny Meeny, knocked my socks off as my final read of 2015.  Heck, it easily made my top ten reads list of the year without any hesitation.  I fully admit going into reading this book with ridiculously high expectations because I loved book one so much.  It didn't matter though because Pop Goes the Weasel was just as addictive, thrilling, and heart pounding as the first one.  I am hooked and I loved every minute of it!  I read this book entirely too fast stay while staying up way too late just so that I could finish.  It was worth the loss of sleep just to see how it was all going to end!  Seriously, all I can say is if you are a mystery/thriller fan then you need to check this series out soon!

One of the things that the author has done so well is creating a main character that I can't help but like even when I don't fully understand all of her motivations.  Helen makes questionable choices at times but it makes the book that much more intense and suspenseful because of it.  I never know what she is going to do which make the book so interesting.  I'm constantly asking myself how in the heck is she going to handle/deal/get herself out of the situations that she finds herself in.  I'm trying not to share too much because I don't want to spoil anything for those readers that haven't had a chance yet to try this series.  This book was just as intense as the first book but in a different way.  I'm trying really hard here not to share too much so you are just going to have to trust me on this.  The way this book ended was so completely not what I was expecting which caused me to love this book even more!  Gah- I wish that I could tell you more but I just really can't.  I will leave off with all of the reasons that I love this series instead.  One, it has great characters that the author isn't afraid to put through the wringer.  Two, it has mysteries that keep me guessing the entire time which means that I read as fast as possible.  And finally, these books are dark and twisted- I just cannot get enough of them!

Overall, this is a superb follow-up to the first book in this series and has rocketed this series on to my must read list!  I love it so very much!!  Which feels really weird to say when you think about the subject matter but let's not look too closely on what that says about me.  Ha!  I've already been recommending this series and author to just about everyone, and after finishing this book I can tell this isn't going to stop anytime soon.  Try this series if you are a fan of thrillers and mysteries but definitely start with book one.  This could be read as a stand-alone but I feel like you would be missing out on some of Helen's history if you don't read book one first.  Don't worry as both books are completely worth it and you will be pining for the next book along with me.  Highly, highly recommended!

Bottom Line:  This book is almost guaranteed to be my on top reads list for 2016! So good!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book from the publisher as part of a Goodread's giveaway.

Here are my thoughts on Eeny Meeny if you are interested (book 1).