The Witness

by Kevin Marsh

Landscape artist Josie MacDonald is coming to the end of her stay in Scotland. Whilst out on a painting trip early one morning she witnesses a horrific murder. Mr Mac, the deranged killer, is aware that she has seen him at work and sets out to kill her but Josie manages to escape by plunging desperately into the North Sea. Mr Mac, convinced that she has perished, discovers a few days later that she has survived and sets out to track her down. He follows her to London where he subjects her to terrible torment as one by one her friends are drawn into the nightmare. Josie returns to Scotland in order to discover the truth where her worst fears are realised. With time running out and a killer on the loose she must survive long enough to bring their horrifying ordeal to an end.

288 pages, Paperback

First published April 22, 2013

About the author

Kevin Marsh was born in Canterbury in 1961. He lived and went to school there attending the Technical College, (now Canterbury College), as an apprentice sheet metal worker. During his five years of training he worked at a small local company with his father and brother. In 1981 he was married and moved to Whitstable, (his father's home town).
His first novel, The Belgae Torc, book 1 in the Torc Trilogy, was launched on 30th June 2012. Two more books followed to complete the trilogy then a change of genre produced a psychological thriller then a series of crime novels.
He is now semi-retired from teaching steel fabrication and welding and spends more time writing, walking and cycling.

Reviews

[Linda Strong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Josie MacDonald is staying with her aunt in Scotland. Out on a particularly beautiful day, while painting the gorgeous landscape, she sees something awful ..something that took her breath away.

She watches as a man drags a woman a few feet and then shoots her dead. She absolutely cannot believe her eyes. But then the man turns around and sees Josie across the way. She has no option but to run, and run she does .... right up until she finds herself having to jump into the cold, cold sea.

The vicious killer is convinced that she died in the river. Imagine his surprise to learn that she is still alive ... and in London.

So begins a cat and mouse chase... and psychological torture involving friends that are close to her.

The very first chapter drew me in .... the run for her life was a real nail-biter. Lots of action kept me riveted to the pages with no warning of what was to be the ultimate end game. The ending is a little ambiguous ... leaving me to wonder if there will be a follow up story.

Many thanks to the author and Books n All Promotions for the digital copy of this psychological thriller. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

[Karen W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow........this story grabs you right from the start and you become engrossed in the main character Josie and the horrors that unfold at the hands of the sadistic and menacing mad man....one of the best thriller books i've read, and one the very last sentences brought me to tears as the emotions conclude.
VERY highly recommended :-).

Thank you Kevin..... fabulous :D.

[Books 'n' All Promotions · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kevin Marsh is a new author to me and I was unsure what to expect from this book but I was far from disappointed.

Josie is living the dream staying with her Aunt and painting landscapes when she is witness to a murder. The only way to escape is to risk her life by jumping off a cliff. The alternative is to allow herself to be caught. She escapes….. Or does she?

The chase is not over but before catching up with Josie he plans to make her suffer via her friends.

Josie is a resourceful character and a very likeable one. I wasn’t convinced that in reality someone would have acted as she did but it certainly makes for engrossing reading.

Family, friendship, love, torture (emotional and physical), evilness, suspense and murder. They are all there, All the components that make up a good Psychological thriller.

This is a gripping thriller that has the adrenaline pumping from the very first page and keeps the pages turning all the way to the jaw-dropping ending.

A brilliant read. I am looking forward to more from this author.

[Daisy White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cleverly written, and I loved the character development. Josie made for a strong and likeable lead an the twists and turns kept me reading. This was an interesting take on a psychological thriller and I would read more from this author.

[Simon Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first thing that got my attention with this book is the fact that the author is from Canterbury and I always try and support local authors when I can. The second thing was how brilliant this book sounds.

The book starts off with a woman witnessing a murder and then being spotted by the murderer. He chases her and she ends up falling into a river and being dragged down stream in the fast currents.

After this strange things keep happening to her and her friends and she knows that the man is after her.

This is a very dark psychological book, which kept me guessing all the way through as I couldn’t see how she was going to escape, if in fact she was going to.

This book is full of action right from the very first page all through the book as we are transported from Scotland down to London and back again.

I really enjoyed this book and will be on the look out for similar ones from Kevin in the future.

[Dermot Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a book that starts into the action from page one and doesn't let up until the final page and this is one of those books. The lead character, Josie is a landscape painter and who'd have thought that there could be any trouble resulting from that? Sometimes trouble has a habit of finding people that weren't looking for it and unfortunately for Josie, she has attracted the attentions of a killer and like a dog with the proverbial bone, he will hound her from one end of the UK to the other and back again, as many times as it takes for as long as it takes until he snags her. We are with her all of the way, which is edge of the seat stuff and the author doesn't cheat by making a bad guy's actions appear to be anything other than bad, no matter what his childhood was like.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoa! This is one heck of a psychological thriller that has you questioning what you would do in Josie's position. I love the cat and mouse chase, and the suspense had me on the edge of my seat.

I couldn't put The Witness down and as much as I wanted to get to the end, I didn't want it to end. I love when a book keeps you so invested that you are disappointed when the end comes and you can't read it anymore.

Definitely going on my list of favorites for the year. I highly recommend checking The Witness out!

*I received a copy of this book as part of a blog tour with Books N All. All opinions are my own.*

[Joanna Larum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Josie MacDonald is an up-and-coming landscape artist, on holiday with her aunt in Scotland. One early morning she is out near a river, catching the quality of the light. She sees a man kill a woman on the opposite side of the river and then he sees Josie. He chases her until she ends up jumping in the sea as the only way to escape his clutches. She is a strong swimmer but very nearly perishes until she is rescued by the lifeboat. The killer thinks she is dead but, when he discovers that she is alive and living in London, he goes there and begins a campaign of terror by abducting Josie's friends.
And so begins a race against time, to catch him before he tortures all Josie's friends and then finally catches up with Josie.
A very fast-paced book with some lovely description of the Scottish countryside, made all the more beautiful in contrast to the horrors which the killer commits. Not a book for the squeamish but one for those who enjoy psychological thrillers.
I have to add that twice I wondered why Josie didn't go to the police with her clues and evidence instead of going it alone, although the ending would have been impossible if she had.

[Misfits farm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Josie is on one of her early morning sessions painting as she stays with an Aunt up in Scotland. As she finishes up she hears a scream. Thinking it could be a bird of some description as she is away from anywhere, she carries on. When it repeats and she is then left in no doubt that someone is in trouble she takes a few steps to find out the source of the noise. She sees a woman being abused by a man and then shot , just across the riverbank from where she is standing. He turns and sees her and she flees for her own safety. Running but not really knowing where she is, she ends up at a dead end with only the river behind her. He is not far behind and she plunges into the icy water. She is swept along despite being a strong swimmer and manages to survive. A short while later things begin to happen and Josie realises that falling in the water was not the end of the incident, only the beginning of a trail of horrific incidents to her and her friends. Why is the man after her and why on earth her friends? This is a very well written book that draws you in. I liked several of the characters and felt for their predicament. The psychology of Mr Mac leaves you with chills. This is a dark read in parts. A different type of psychological crime read, one where you know who the perpetrator is (or at least his pseudonym) but not how he is going to be caught. A highly enjoyable read.
For more reviews please see my blog http://nickibookblog.blogspot.co.uk/
or follow me on Twitter @nickijmurphy1

[Eugenie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to read this novel as soon as I saw the title, cover and read the introduction. That was well over a year ago and I am so glad that I have finally gotten around to reading it. As soon as I started to read the first chapter I knew right away that it would live up to the expectations formed in my mind. And now that I have finished reading it, I still hold the same view.

The characters are well developed and either likable or (in the case of Mr Mac the villain), utterly deplorable.

I commend Kevin Marsh - he did an exceptional job of developing the character of Mr Mac. I fully believe that Mr Mac is a homicidal madman, hell bent on creating mayhem, suffering and death, without rhyme or reason. His antics are frighteningly real and as I read the novel, my psyche was at times overcome by palpable fear.

I recommend this novel as a goodread for those who enjoy psychological thrillers and possibly even to lovers of horror.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed 'The Witness' by Kevin Marsh. It is such a well written and engrossing story. It starts off dramatically and does not let you down as the story progresses. As you get to know the characters, I found them 'all' likeable! I know, even the killer known as 'Mr. Mac' is written with such realistic psychological insight, that I couldn't hate him. I didn't pity him either, which is a true credit to the writing of the author. Instead, I wanted to find out what made him tick and why he targeted Josie. Of course, the reader knows most of the why or at least we think we do!

[Anna Faversham · Rating 5 out of 5]

The words 'psychological thriller' always attract my attention and this book in no way disappoints.

Right from the start I was drawn into the events in Scotland which, page by page, got worse and were always surprising.

A good thriller from a great storyteller and a recommended read.

[Carol Creasey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very fast paced psychological thriller, which I enjoyed very much.