Book Review: Down To The Woods by M.J. Arlidge - the 8th in his DI Helen Grace series.

Available here

It seems that recently, I've been reading a lot of these unsettling, edgy thrillers that have a larger than life, ominous, yet enigmatically bogeymanish killer. First there was Luca Veste's The BoneKeeper, then Liam McIlvanney's The Quaker and now we have Arlidge's New Forest scary killer - and I bloody love them!
I love being spooked and a sort of almost inhuman killer gets my adrenalin pumping. I love the edginess - the almost supernatural feel these sort of novels have. The frisson of fear that makes my spine tingle, feeling that we (for of course I'm right there on the detective's shoulder) are up against something more than just human evil - for how could a human be quite so evil - quite so frightening - quite so indestructible.

In this 8th offering in the DI Helen grace series we're taken Down to the Woods where one of the most scary killers is targeting visitors to the New Forest . The fact that Arlidge doesn't shy away from making this character so scary by killing  some of the beautiful creatures we associate with the New Forest is testament to how chilling this read is.

Like The Quaker,  Down to the Woods is a slow boiler, but when it grips you, it keeps you in its tentacles right to the end. Arlidge's cast of characters are fascinatingly varied and are beautifully drawn. He really makes us care about them and keeps them fresh by introducing new elements for them to butt heads against. I love Grace herself - tough, yet vulnerable, intelligent yet not big headed, a people person, but very private - She is a woman of contrasts and that makes her an enigmatic leader. I'm already looking forward to Helen Grace number nine.

Blurb

There is a sickness in the forest. First, it was the wild horses. Now it's innocent men and women, hunted down and murdered by a faceless figure. Lost in the darkness, they try to flee, they try to hide. In desperation, they call out for help. But there is no-one to hear their cries here...

DI Helen Grace must face down a new nightmare. The arrow-ridden victims hang from the New Forest's ancient oaks, like pieces of strange fruit. Why are helpless holidaymakers being targeted in peak camping season? And what do their murders signify? Is a psychopath stalking the forest? Is there an occult element to the killings? Could the murders even be an offering to the Forest itself? Helen must walk into the darkness to discover the truth behind her most challenging, most macabre case yet.