This is the perfect Australian (based in Qld) authentic voiced, police procedural.

Time To Run

J M Peace

Pan Macmillan

ISBN: 9781743537862

Description:

A Time to Run is a tense crime thriller set in the Queensland bush featuring a cop-turned-victim and a Wolf Creek-style killer.

J.M. Peace is a serving police officer on the Sunshine Coast and over the past 15 years she has worked throughout south-east Queensland in a variety of different capacities.

J.M. writes with chilling authenticity and a strong Australian voice.

 

The hunt is on

A GRUESOME GAME

A madman is kidnapping women to hunt them for sport.

A FRANTIC SEARCH

Detective Janine Postlewaite leads the investigation into the disappearance of Samantha Willis, determined not to let another innocent die on her watch.

A SHOCKING TWIST

The killer’s newest prey isn’t like the others. Sammi is a cop. And she refuses to be his victim.

A RUN FOR YOUR LIFE.

 

My View:

I loved this read – with its authentic police voice, its gripping narrative, its wonderful strong female protagonists and its Queensland setting.

 

The details of policing/investigating that the author shares with the reader are intriguing and realistic. Too often crime fiction novels or movies/TV series based on crime fiction skip a lot of these type of details, giving their protagonists the power to do as they please, how they please. This narrative reveals the reality of the work, chapters alternate between settings in the police station where we see the hard work being played out and the legal requirements being adhered to juxtaposed against scenes of Sammi in the forest, scenes of the practical against the tense, emotional and terrifying.

Jay Peace subtly weaves important lessons into this narrative when she chooses a cop as the victim of this crime; consciously or unconsciously her voice is saying “this could happen to you, if it can happen to a cop it can happen to anyone.” She is saying don’t blame the victim, it is not her fault she was targeted, blame the perpetrator.

 

The pace is fast, the tension grows as we race to find Sammi. The reader often finds themselves asking “what they would do if in this situation.” Sammi is practical, focussed and realistic, the hint of paranormal/Angels adds an extra dimension to her character and to the read. Is she hallucinating? Is she dreaming? I loved this element of the story – just a wisp of “other worldly” adding interest and asking questions that the author lets you answer.

 

A great debut novel that only leaves one question unanswered, when is the next book in this series ready for release?

 

PS

During the week I will share a Q & A with the author and host a giveaway of the book on my Friday Freebies 🙂

To see what other book bloggers thing about this novel – check out the other participants on this blog tour here.

http://jmpeace.com/2015/06/18/blog-tour-a-time-to-run/