A great read with a timely internet safety reminder
When Solomon’s sister, Tiffany, is found almost drowned, drugged and in a coma, he refuses to believe, as the police do, that this is the result of some terrible accident. With the police refusing to help, he undertakes his own investigation, soon discovering that there are similar cases of women who have been attacked and murdered after arranging an online date. Convinced that he is a fantasist, the authorities still refuse to take him seriously, leaving Solomon with no option – he will put his own life at stake to bring the assailant to justice.
I enjoyed D. B. Thorne’s previous book, Troll, and was pleased to see that the follow-up book also deals with the dangers of social media, in this case, dating apps. Perfect Match serves as a perfect reminder of how not everything is what it seems online, as discovered by Tiffany when her online date is not the person she thought he was. It soon becomes apparent that this is not an isolated incident and that, in some respects, Tiffany has been one of the lucky ones as some of the methods used by the mysterious date are truly horrific.
The main protagonist, Solomon, is a fascinating character and one that I warmed to immediately. Having not left the house for two years after an incident which is referred to in the book, he overcomes his fears to spend as much time with his sister as he can, showing how important his family are to him. He is an incredibly brave man who is able to use his intelligence to try to outwit his sister’s attacker by predicting his next move. Ably assisted by his own online associates, I loved how they figured out the connection between the crimes and thought that the actual links were brilliantly constructed by the author.
In direct contrast, I could not take to Fox, the police officer in charge of the case, at all. Although the reasons for her dismissiveness were explained, she treated Solomon, a man whose sister had just been brutally attacked, with nothing but contempt. I shared Solomon’s frustration as she refused to listen to his theory and put the lives of others in danger. It was pleasing to see how she showed some remorse towards the end, but even then she had one eye firmly on the case she was determined to solve.
As Solomon’s plan is put into action, the pace moves on rapidly and I found it hard to stop reading. There are several heart-in-mouth moments when you don’t know exactly what is going to happen as there is literally a race against time to save the final victim. I did want the book to end in a slightly different way that it did, but that is just a personal preference.
Perfect Match is a great read and one which reinforces how careful you should be online.
With thanks to Readers First and Corvus for my ARC.
I enjoyed D. B. Thorne’s previous book, Troll, and was pleased to see that the follow-up book also deals with the dangers of social media, in this case, dating apps. Perfect Match serves as a perfect reminder of how not everything is what it seems online, as discovered by Tiffany when her online date is not the person she thought he was. It soon becomes apparent that this is not an isolated incident and that, in some respects, Tiffany has been one of the lucky ones as some of the methods used by the mysterious date are truly horrific.
The main protagonist, Solomon, is a fascinating character and one that I warmed to immediately. Having not left the house for two years after an incident which is referred to in the book, he overcomes his fears to spend as much time with his sister as he can, showing how important his family are to him. He is an incredibly brave man who is able to use his intelligence to try to outwit his sister’s attacker by predicting his next move. Ably assisted by his own online associates, I loved how they figured out the connection between the crimes and thought that the actual links were brilliantly constructed by the author.
In direct contrast, I could not take to Fox, the police officer in charge of the case, at all. Although the reasons for her dismissiveness were explained, she treated Solomon, a man whose sister had just been brutally attacked, with nothing but contempt. I shared Solomon’s frustration as she refused to listen to his theory and put the lives of others in danger. It was pleasing to see how she showed some remorse towards the end, but even then she had one eye firmly on the case she was determined to solve.
As Solomon’s plan is put into action, the pace moves on rapidly and I found it hard to stop reading. There are several heart-in-mouth moments when you don’t know exactly what is going to happen as there is literally a race against time to save the final victim. I did want the book to end in a slightly different way that it did, but that is just a personal preference.
Perfect Match is a great read and one which reinforces how careful you should be online.
With thanks to Readers First and Corvus for my ARC.