Blog Tour: The Hashtag Killer by A.S. French - Book Review

Huge thanks to Rachel's Random Resources for the opportunity to review The Hashtag Killer as part of the blog tour.  

The Hashtag Killer Blurb

Catch a killer or save a child. What would you do?

DI Jen Flowers thought she’d seen it all after fifteen years on the force, but when a vigilante serial killer hits the city and uses social media to gather supporters, she must fight the public and her doubts to catch a murderer and save her daughter.

Suffering from blackouts and abandoned as a child by her father, Ruby Vasquez has been chasing that one scoop to make her an internet star. Living with an alcoholic mother who hates her, Ruby discovers a secret about the vigilante’s first victim, which puts her in the killer and DI Flowers’ sights.

Jen and Ruby have to overcome the secrets in their past while battling each other to discover the Hashtag Killer’s identity. Jen will have to choose between keeping her daughter safe or finding a killer, while Ruby will need to decide if becoming famous is more important than doing the right thing.

Purchase Link

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08SPBY6QZ 

US -  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08SPBY6QZ

My Thoughts

What a wonderfully twisty book this is. Told from multiple viewpoints this is a topical and completely relevant police procedural thriller. The power of social media is everywhere and the propensity for it to do bad rests on a very fragile tightrope between morality and evil. I loved this as it was fast paced, yet with enough detail to really allow the reader to connect with the characters. the personal problems of the main detective, Jen Flowers, echoed the ongoing problems in the investigation. 

Raising questions about vigilantism and retribution  The Hashtag Killer goes right for the jugular (so to speak). As the body count increases, public opinion becomes key to unraveling the links between the no so innocent victims and their killer. The pull of social media and the lure of the dark web make their presence felt and with an overlying malevolence in the ever increasing social media posts, this is a tense, brutal and thrilling read. 

I have to admit that some of the twists caught me completely unawares and left me gasping at the audacity of the killer. I rate this book highly and hope you enjoy it too. 

Author Bio –

Andrew French is a man of no wealth and little taste. He lives amongst faded seaside glamour on the North East coast of England. He likes gin and cats but not together, new music and old movies, curry and ice cream. Slow bike rides and long walks to the pub are his usual exercise, as well as flicking through the pages of good books and the memoirs of bad people.

Social Media Links – Website, Twitter, Instagram, FB page

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