I could not leave this book alone once I started reading, it's totally unputdownable!

It's an engrossing story which draws you in, makes you care about the main characters, need to know what is going on and why. It's not an easy book to read, it really shows the darkness that hides inside some people but once the ending comes so does relief from all the tension that has been expertly crafted to keep you on edge.

There are some guessable twists and some which were a total surprise but understandable really. I'm going to have to find more books by this author!

3.5 stars

Ah, the box. It got your attention in that blurb, didn’t it? As it did mine. What is this mysterious thing not everyone comes out of alive? You get a sneak peek at it in the opening chapter and it’ll send chills down your spine. But after that, the box just kind of disappears until halfway through the story when you’re almost at that point where you completely forgot about it. My point being, if said box is the reason you’re picking up this book, you may end up being slightly disappointed because ‘The Box‘ is more not about the box than it *is* about the box. If you catch my drift.

The set-up of this story reminded me a little bit of something Harlan Coben might do. In ‘The Box‘, the reader is introduced to Ed Truman. Ed is a perfectly normal every day family man, married, father of two and working as a lawyer. But suddenly he finds himself in extraordinary circumstances when his daughter is the target of an alt-right incel organisation. Things get ugly really fast. Ed’s family home is picketed by members of Men Together, former clients turn on him and accuse him of sexual assault, he and his wife seem to do nothing but argue. And then Ed’s daughter disappears. He’s convinced Men Together have something to do with that but before he can act, Ed finds himself the subject of a manhunt when his DNA is found on the body of a murdered young woman. And now this ordinary man must find a way to survive these extraordinary circumstances, keep his family safe and find his daughter before it’s too late. Piece of cake, really.

Doesn’t Ed sound like a character to root for? Yet, I can’t say I entirely was. I didn’t particularly like him, to begin with, although I wasn’t quite able to put a finger on why. He made mistakes, seemed to miss things I thought were glaringly obvious and definitely wouldn’t be up for a Father of the Year award. No, my loyalties were elsewhere.

Enter Detective Jackie Rose. Intelligent, intuitive, relentless, determined and hugely damaged Jackie. This week couldn’t possibly be worse for her as she is forced to relive the worst day of her life but she has a job to do. Will she be able to keep her head on the task at hand? I got behind Jackie from the minute I met her. She has no time for rules, or new colleagues that drive her up the wall. Actually she came across a little bit as a total not-people person and boy, can I relate to that! Jackie has no time for your bullshit. She was a character I just really liked and if at one point maybe she could get another murder case to solve, I would not be averse to that. Not so subtle hint.

‘The Box‘ is a complex and unpredictable thriller. I struggled to get to grips with it at the beginning, I must admit. It felt as if I had been thrown in at the deep end, unable to find my bearings, not seeing which way was up. It was almost as if I’d somehow missed the set-up and I was dropped into the middle of this story where things seemed rather random and little made sense to me. Now obviously, this could just be me because if you’ve been reading my reviews lately then you know my one remaining braincell is barely functioning at half capacity these days. But on the off-chance that you happen to feel the same way when you start ‘The Box‘, stick with it. It will all start to make sense at some point. I promise.

This is an author who doesn’t shy away from current and tough subject matters. ‘Men Together’ will make your blood boil, especially because it’s unfortunately utterly believable and realistic. There were some things I didn’t see coming, there were some that were a bit too predictable. It’s a chilling storyline for sure but I think I could have done with a bit more suspense and tension. That said, I enjoyed my introduction to Dan Malakin’s work and I’ll be sure to check out more.

With thanks to the publisher!

⭐️ 4 ⭐️

A slow-burning, addictive read.

I thought the first few chapters were slightly slow-paced and it took me a while to get into, but once it really got going I was hooked and couldn’t put it down.

I particularly like Dan Malakin’s fluid writing style; I found it extremely easy to read and the short chapters heightened the feeling of tension and suspense. There’s also a gentle humour in the mix that helped lighten the mood.

The Box features diverse, relatable characters and the dialogue between them always feels authentic and believable.

The title is a little deceiving as the box doesn’t actually feature that much in the book. Overall, it’s a dark, atmospheric thriller that will keep you guessing right until the very end.

Many thanks to the publisher for my proof copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

This is a book that stats with a bang, becomes a slow burning thriller and keeps you hooked till the end.
There's a lot going on, an average man involved in something very big and an interesting detective.
I loved the storytelling and the solid plot.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Lawyer, Ed Trumans family is going through a rough patch that’s about to get much worse. When Ed’s daughter Ali goes missing and he is charged with the murder of a young woman his life goes into freefall.

Hard to say too much about this one without giving it all away and I think you’ll enjoy it more if you just jump in blind like I did.

Some thrillers throw you straight into the action but I found this to be more of a slow burn before hotting up.
The opening really grabbed me but sadly for me despite the promising start that rest of the book didn’t really live up to expectation for me.

The premise of the eponymous Box itself is really dark. Probably because it deals with obnoxious attitudes we see almost daily and it wasn’t too much of a leap to think that this could be happening somewhere in real life. However although it was a great idea I didn’t feel particularly gripped by the execution of the story.

In terms of the characters, I found the Ed to be a bit meh (and don’t even get me started on Gabrielle) but I liked the character of DCI Rose who seemed more human and relatable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Viper/Serpents Tail/ Profile for a chance to read an early copy of this book