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The Coop
Looking for a nail-biting psychological thriller you won't want to put down?
Everyone has a calling. His is murder...
When a woman staggers, naked, from a river, she has no idea that she’s been saved from a killer.
Laura Fell is horrified when she discovers of her friend Gina’s suicide.
Everton Bowe, a cop whose career is as dead as his marriage, is handed the case. Was it really suicide?
Meanwhile, DC Helen Lake, insists there are similarities between the traumatized river woman and the cold case of three missing women; the victims, she fears, of a serial killer.
Is there a serial killer on the loose?
If so, what is his motive?
- GenresAudiobook
322 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 5, 2019
212 people are currently reading
139 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
June 10, 2019
The Coop is Mr Deacon's debut police procedural crime thriller and despite a bit of a pedestrian start the story first intrigues and then by chapter two I was sufficiently hooked that I read through most of it in a single, solitary sitting. DC Helen Lake and police officer, ex-boyfriend Everton Bowe are a dynamic, intelligent and deeply intuitive pair in terms of their work with a bit of an odd aspect to their relationship given they're are former lovers. There are lots of twists along the way; some more surprising than others, but I felt that one thing that could've created more of a tense atmosphere was tighter editing to create a tauter plot as it did feel a bit drawn out in places, but a minor issue to me.
My biggest bugbear was that I predicted the killer correctly quite early on, and it came as rather a surprise to me that this didn't detract from my overall enjoyment as heavily as it usually would in these type of books. That could almost certainly be chalked up to how well written it was and the characterisation. The attention to detail in terms of the cast was some of the most impressive I've encountered in crime fiction for a while with extensive backstories and real, complex and flawed personalities. I have no idea whether this is the start of a series of not, but either way, I will be keeping my eyes open for Mr Deacon's upcoming thrillers (hopefully) in the not too distant future. Many thanks to Bloodhound Books for an ARC.
My biggest bugbear was that I predicted the killer correctly quite early on, and it came as rather a surprise to me that this didn't detract from my overall enjoyment as heavily as it usually would in these type of books. That could almost certainly be chalked up to how well written it was and the characterisation. The attention to detail in terms of the cast was some of the most impressive I've encountered in crime fiction for a while with extensive backstories and real, complex and flawed personalities. I have no idea whether this is the start of a series of not, but either way, I will be keeping my eyes open for Mr Deacon's upcoming thrillers (hopefully) in the not too distant future. Many thanks to Bloodhound Books for an ARC.
June 2, 2019
Gina committed suicide by hanging. The last thing she did was send a video of herself with a noose around her neck to .. someone.
When he receives the video, he immediately stops what he's doing ... which is killing a young woman. Surprisingly he dumps her body into the river, but she survives.
Laura Fell is horrified when she discovers of her friend Gina’s suicide. But when the autopsy reveals Gina died before her arrival at the house, she is perplexed. Who then answered her mobile phone?
DC Helen Lake investigates the attempted murder of the woman in the river and finds similarities between her and three other women who are missing.
The only things tying all these cases together are white feathers.
This was a rather slow start for me .. but the more I read, the more riveted to the pages I became. The story premise is a good one with lots of finely drawn characters. The suspense starts building and never lets up until the final page. The ending was a real nail biter.
Many thanks to the author / Bloodhound Books for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
When he receives the video, he immediately stops what he's doing ... which is killing a young woman. Surprisingly he dumps her body into the river, but she survives.
Laura Fell is horrified when she discovers of her friend Gina’s suicide. But when the autopsy reveals Gina died before her arrival at the house, she is perplexed. Who then answered her mobile phone?
DC Helen Lake investigates the attempted murder of the woman in the river and finds similarities between her and three other women who are missing.
The only things tying all these cases together are white feathers.
This was a rather slow start for me .. but the more I read, the more riveted to the pages I became. The story premise is a good one with lots of finely drawn characters. The suspense starts building and never lets up until the final page. The ending was a real nail biter.
Many thanks to the author / Bloodhound Books for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
September 30, 2024
This started off way too slow for me and too many characters.
September 10, 2019
Excellent thriller. Suspense. Twists. Messed up characters. Fast paced. Lots of action.
A woman commits suicide. An abducted woman is released. Tension between investigating officers.
A woman commits suicide. An abducted woman is released. Tension between investigating officers.
June 12, 2019
Women have been going missing. Three of them in fact, nice respectable middle aged women, the most unlikely group to just disappear on their own. A fourth woman is found naked, rescued from a river with no clue how she got there and no idea how lucky she is. But was it luck that she made it back or did her abductor suddenly have something more important to attend to?
Laura Fell is part of a group of forty somethings who love the arts and have formed a spin off group of their own. Another member is her best friend Gina Lewis. After a no show at an evening meal Laura is concerned about her friend and after the police are called Gina is found to have committed suicide. Laura is convinced someone else was in the house at the time and answered Gina's phone but no evidence can be found by the first officer on the scene, PC Everton Bowe, and it turns out she died an hour earlier. Everton is a plod, suffering from tinnitus and vertigo, and is resigned to remaining a constable. His former lover and now just good friend DC Helen Lake is working missing persons and thinks there might be a connection between the river woman and the missing women. Then two identical pieces of evidence are found that link the river woman to Gina. Everton and Helen fear a serial killer may be operating and are granted a few days to investigate. They find that Gina and Laura were part of a rather strange circle of friends, mainly women who seem to pounce on the rather short supply of eligible men and who all seem to harbour their own secrets that they need to protect at all costs. As Laura discovers truths about her friends that turn her life around, Everton and Helen have their work cut out to find out what has happened to the women. I really liked the character of Everton who has a kind and loyal nature, despite all his flaws and problems, and I found I was rooting for him to do well. The story drew me in right from the start although there is a bewildering array of characters to get to grips with in the first few chapters and it took a little while to establish exactly what was happening. The only downside for me was that the book felt a little long, not drawn out but maybe just that "first book thing" of wanting to pack absolutely everything in. It didn't exactly detract from the story but sometimes I wanted more plot and less background. Overall though a great story and I look forward to the next part of the trilogy.
Laura Fell is part of a group of forty somethings who love the arts and have formed a spin off group of their own. Another member is her best friend Gina Lewis. After a no show at an evening meal Laura is concerned about her friend and after the police are called Gina is found to have committed suicide. Laura is convinced someone else was in the house at the time and answered Gina's phone but no evidence can be found by the first officer on the scene, PC Everton Bowe, and it turns out she died an hour earlier. Everton is a plod, suffering from tinnitus and vertigo, and is resigned to remaining a constable. His former lover and now just good friend DC Helen Lake is working missing persons and thinks there might be a connection between the river woman and the missing women. Then two identical pieces of evidence are found that link the river woman to Gina. Everton and Helen fear a serial killer may be operating and are granted a few days to investigate. They find that Gina and Laura were part of a rather strange circle of friends, mainly women who seem to pounce on the rather short supply of eligible men and who all seem to harbour their own secrets that they need to protect at all costs. As Laura discovers truths about her friends that turn her life around, Everton and Helen have their work cut out to find out what has happened to the women. I really liked the character of Everton who has a kind and loyal nature, despite all his flaws and problems, and I found I was rooting for him to do well. The story drew me in right from the start although there is a bewildering array of characters to get to grips with in the first few chapters and it took a little while to establish exactly what was happening. The only downside for me was that the book felt a little long, not drawn out but maybe just that "first book thing" of wanting to pack absolutely everything in. It didn't exactly detract from the story but sometimes I wanted more plot and less background. Overall though a great story and I look forward to the next part of the trilogy.
January 31, 2021
This was an excellent psychological thriller by Eric Deacon, I haven’t read any books by this author before but I will read more of his books in the future. The Bird House had a very clever storyline and the outcome wasn’t as the reader had expected. There were many twists and turns in the storyline and it was an interesting psychological thriller.
Highly recommended
Highly recommended
April 10, 2021
The book was a bit difficult to "get into" because the disturbing nature of the antagonist was off-putting. I did get past that because of the interesting group of women and two men who eventually fell apart because of their secrets. It felt authentic. The author was skillful in getting me to believe the killer/psycho was someone who had nothing to do with it. I especially liked the ending.
June 14, 2019
Members of the Chill Out group are on an evening out, but Gina hasn’t arrived….instead the troubled woman has hung herself in her home and sent an MMS of it to a special friend….
The special Friend was in the process of creating his angel…..Tessa Hayes, drugged, abducted and shaved, but interrupted by the MMS he dumps her…..alive but with no memory…….
“I am Nephilim… My spirit shall not abide in mortals… for they are flesh.”
PC Everton Bowe, Ménière’s disease sufferer with a broken marriage, is sent to Gina’s home, after a call from her friend Laura, who insists there was someone in the house…..he finds poor Gina’s body….
DC Helen Lake, who had a short lived relationship with Bowe, is ambitious and ruthless, sees there maybe a link between Gina, Tessa and other missing women…..a white feather is evidence there is more to these events than it first appears……
There are a lot of background stories, that for a while may feel a little disjointed, but they do start to link and show the characters backgrounds, secrets and their place in the overall tale. Some of these characters are truly reprehensible, and others, like Bowe, are endearingly human with all their flaws.
Plenty of red herrings and twists to make this a clever, well plotted thriller. The final few, shocking, tense and totally gripping chapters bring this to a marvellously taut ending. If you like dark, twisty thriller then you’ll love this.
Thank you to Bloodhound Books for the opportunity to participate in this blog tour and for the promotional materials and a free copy of the ebook in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.
The special Friend was in the process of creating his angel…..Tessa Hayes, drugged, abducted and shaved, but interrupted by the MMS he dumps her…..alive but with no memory…….
“I am Nephilim… My spirit shall not abide in mortals… for they are flesh.”
PC Everton Bowe, Ménière’s disease sufferer with a broken marriage, is sent to Gina’s home, after a call from her friend Laura, who insists there was someone in the house…..he finds poor Gina’s body….
DC Helen Lake, who had a short lived relationship with Bowe, is ambitious and ruthless, sees there maybe a link between Gina, Tessa and other missing women…..a white feather is evidence there is more to these events than it first appears……
There are a lot of background stories, that for a while may feel a little disjointed, but they do start to link and show the characters backgrounds, secrets and their place in the overall tale. Some of these characters are truly reprehensible, and others, like Bowe, are endearingly human with all their flaws.
Plenty of red herrings and twists to make this a clever, well plotted thriller. The final few, shocking, tense and totally gripping chapters bring this to a marvellously taut ending. If you like dark, twisty thriller then you’ll love this.
Thank you to Bloodhound Books for the opportunity to participate in this blog tour and for the promotional materials and a free copy of the ebook in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.
June 13, 2019
An interesting cover. Next, a scripture sets the tone for this tale at the front. Next thing we know, a man called Nephilim meets his targeted date, who's confused because he used a fake profile on a dating site.
Gina sends a photo of her suicide by text. She's not sending it to just anyone, but to a killer. Thus starts a chain reaction. The victim he just "killed" is dumped into the river. This victim who now staggers from her would be grave, more than just half drowned. She's been saved from being killed in the most unusual way, but why? Why would the killer care that his woman killed herself when he is killing other women? Why would Gina's body, a suicide, be in a house that wasn't where she died? Who moves a suicide victim, and why?
With a body count of four, maybe more, now tying together DC Helen Lake has a puzzle to solve to catch the killer before he kills again. The tie-ins are interesting and the writing style is descriptive. I was not bored with this book. It's a rather good debut for what I hope will become a series with DC Lake.
My copy came from Bloodhound Books. My review is my own, contains my own thoughts about this book, and is left freely.
Gina sends a photo of her suicide by text. She's not sending it to just anyone, but to a killer. Thus starts a chain reaction. The victim he just "killed" is dumped into the river. This victim who now staggers from her would be grave, more than just half drowned. She's been saved from being killed in the most unusual way, but why? Why would the killer care that his woman killed herself when he is killing other women? Why would Gina's body, a suicide, be in a house that wasn't where she died? Who moves a suicide victim, and why?
With a body count of four, maybe more, now tying together DC Helen Lake has a puzzle to solve to catch the killer before he kills again. The tie-ins are interesting and the writing style is descriptive. I was not bored with this book. It's a rather good debut for what I hope will become a series with DC Lake.
My copy came from Bloodhound Books. My review is my own, contains my own thoughts about this book, and is left freely.
June 11, 2019
This is a debut novel with a psychological / serial killer theme. Lots of descriptive writing and detailed research has been done to heighten the feeling of being there in the story.
A woman has a profile on a dating website. He sees her profile, likes her. Arranges to meet to met her but little does she know that he has used fake details and a fake picture. He gets to the place early and gets a table so he's ready. She arrives and looks around. Cannot see her date, he asks if she's alright etc. In the end, she sits at his table and they have a drink together. When she leaves with him a little while later, she's very woozy, not sure why but he has drugged her. He helps her to the car and into it. Then he drives her to her destination where she might not walk away from.
I normally like these sort of books as read them all the time but this one I struggled with a bit. A little bit disjointed for me. Good twist towards the end though. Most of the characters were likeable but some turned a bit flaky.
A woman has a profile on a dating website. He sees her profile, likes her. Arranges to meet to met her but little does she know that he has used fake details and a fake picture. He gets to the place early and gets a table so he's ready. She arrives and looks around. Cannot see her date, he asks if she's alright etc. In the end, she sits at his table and they have a drink together. When she leaves with him a little while later, she's very woozy, not sure why but he has drugged her. He helps her to the car and into it. Then he drives her to her destination where she might not walk away from.
I normally like these sort of books as read them all the time but this one I struggled with a bit. A little bit disjointed for me. Good twist towards the end though. Most of the characters were likeable but some turned a bit flaky.
June 16, 2019
This is my first book by this author, I enjoyed it from beginning to end. It is a well written story with characters that are well developed as well as engaging. The twists and turns in this story kept me sitting on the edge of my seat just waiting to see what would happen next. It is in the point of view of all the characters and the author did a great job in the transitioning between them. I enjoy all of the characters good and bad. They were supportive of each other and kept the story going. I highly recommend this book.
October 30, 2019
Because you want to know why.
This is a new author for me and I was sceptical -however this is well written and deftly steers the reader through a maze of possibilities. The characters are strong and hold their own. I like the way you both like and dislike them but feel compelled to keep reading - and ultimately realize that they are only human with all of the frailties intact. A good story well done.
This is a new author for me and I was sceptical -however this is well written and deftly steers the reader through a maze of possibilities. The characters are strong and hold their own. I like the way you both like and dislike them but feel compelled to keep reading - and ultimately realize that they are only human with all of the frailties intact. A good story well done.
August 3, 2019
Well written story with a scary theme. A man renders his women victims senseless by drugging them and then doing horrible things to them. His identity isn't revealed until near the end. Lots of profanity.
July 8, 2019
I tried to like this book but I just cant. It was disturbing and I just cannot get into books like this.
August 4, 2021
It took a bit longer to read this book, as it did not always keep my attention. However, it is not often that the ending surprises you. Interesting twist to the tail.
June 14, 2019
Thanks to heather at Bloodhound for the ARC of the debut psychological thriller from E.C Deacon.
Part police procedural , part psychological thriller, this is a very good and very different debut novel.
Based around a group of middle aged friends who form the “chill out group”, a group for single friends to watch movies and read books and the like. The story revolves around one of their group apparently committing suicide in her home.
At the same time a woman is found barely alive, on the banks of a river, her body has been completely shaved and left for dead.
Everton Bowe, A cop troubled both with his home life and his health starts to investigate along with his partner and sometime lover Helen Lake , Helen begins to link the near dead body in the river to some other missing women of the same age and social status.
The back stories of Everton and Helen are quite prevalent in this book. I believe this is to be part of trilogy so your getting some information on the main protagonists.
Police procedures and the science used is quite important in this book and the writing is descriptive and well researched by the author.
Twisting, chilling, dark and brooding , this is a cracking debut which is fast paced and never stops to allow you to take a breath..
Highly recommended. I’m looking forward to part 2!
4🔥🔥🔥🔥
Part police procedural , part psychological thriller, this is a very good and very different debut novel.
Based around a group of middle aged friends who form the “chill out group”, a group for single friends to watch movies and read books and the like. The story revolves around one of their group apparently committing suicide in her home.
At the same time a woman is found barely alive, on the banks of a river, her body has been completely shaved and left for dead.
Everton Bowe, A cop troubled both with his home life and his health starts to investigate along with his partner and sometime lover Helen Lake , Helen begins to link the near dead body in the river to some other missing women of the same age and social status.
The back stories of Everton and Helen are quite prevalent in this book. I believe this is to be part of trilogy so your getting some information on the main protagonists.
Police procedures and the science used is quite important in this book and the writing is descriptive and well researched by the author.
Twisting, chilling, dark and brooding , this is a cracking debut which is fast paced and never stops to allow you to take a breath..
Highly recommended. I’m looking forward to part 2!
4🔥🔥🔥🔥
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June 12, 2019There are several things that I have come to expect from any Bloodhound book — a well-presented story with an interesting serial killer and suspense or psychological twists. However, there were a few things that prevented me from enjoying the novel as much as I could. This one took some time to get into. I found it difficult to follow the story at times with the number of characters introduced right at the beginning and jumping around to them frequently. I could tell the author was used to writing screenplays as the novel often read better as a movie, when the scenes can change without much description.
Another bugbear of mine has to do with the description of women. We do not stand in front of mirrors inspecting our bodies and then rubbing lotion into our skin. Sorry, that just doesn’t happen!
However, in saying that, I did enjoy the quick read and the twist at the end, and would most likely read other novels by Deacon in the future. Thanks to Bloodhound for the ARC!
Another bugbear of mine has to do with the description of women. We do not stand in front of mirrors inspecting our bodies and then rubbing lotion into our skin. Sorry, that just doesn’t happen!
However, in saying that, I did enjoy the quick read and the twist at the end, and would most likely read other novels by Deacon in the future. Thanks to Bloodhound for the ARC!
June 12, 2019
From the start of the book we are introduced to a quite a number of different characters whether they be victims, police or family and for me it did become a bit of an overload of information , however that being said, the plot carried the story along nicely. Unlike another reviewer, I, for once, did not guess the killer and so was hooked until that moment revealed all.
For a debut novel it was a good read and I would recommend it.
Thanks to Bloodhound Books for the ARC to review.
For a debut novel it was a good read and I would recommend it.
Thanks to Bloodhound Books for the ARC to review.
June 12, 2019
The Coop follows the lives of several people, all of whom are involved in some way in the suicide of one of the characters. This includes the policemen investigating as well as the friends of the victim.
I struggled a bit to keep track of the large number of characters in the earlier chapters, however as the story developed and they became more than just names, I found the story starting to capture my interest.
Guessing who the murderer is was a bit easier than I would have liked, as I do prefer a story with a bit of a twist.
All in all though, this was an enjoyable read, and I would definitely look for future books by this author
I struggled a bit to keep track of the large number of characters in the earlier chapters, however as the story developed and they became more than just names, I found the story starting to capture my interest.
Guessing who the murderer is was a bit easier than I would have liked, as I do prefer a story with a bit of a twist.
All in all though, this was an enjoyable read, and I would definitely look for future books by this author
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 8, 2019
An intriguing debut novel full of twists and turns. A bit muddled at times but I expect great things from this author. I highly recommend and give it 4 of 5 stars.
June 1, 2019
A really great debut novel. Probably a 4.5* rating if it were possible but certainly nothing less than 4*. The story was creative and intriguing with plenty of twists and turns. Really rounded characters that you want to either love or hate, with one particular male character that I could have easily punched! A few police investigations going on at once, but the question is, are they all related? I got hooked right from the beginning, although I found myself getting a little lost in the plot towards the middle. However, as I read on everything gelled together perfectly and had me guessing and re-guessing towards a very intense and nail biting end. This author is definitely one to look out for.
June 11, 2019
A decent read but overly long. A new set of characters starting each of the early chapters made it hard to identify who was who and it was about 10% in before I started to understand the plot st all.
Every character and bit player has an unwarranted amount of information making it hard to invest in them. More significant guest characters and their relatives and friends also had long, complicated back stories. This distracted from what was actually quite a good mystery but far too convoluted.
Every character and bit player has an unwarranted amount of information making it hard to invest in them. More significant guest characters and their relatives and friends also had long, complicated back stories. This distracted from what was actually quite a good mystery but far too convoluted.
May 30, 2019
Another debut from the excellent Bloodhound Books and another impressive read. This is a well-written book with interesting and rounded characters; the main detectives have intriguing personalities, fascinating back stories and tantalising relationships. The plot is well thought out with lots of surprising twists and turns to keep the reader engrossed. I look forward to future releases by Eric Deacon.
June 2, 2019
I loved this book, lots of twists and turns made it great reading. My only complaint is that I found out who the killer was to early.
Would definitely recommend you give this book a read.
Would definitely recommend you give this book a read.
June 12, 2019
I think this was a good read overall...I'm just not sure the twists there were here 'grabbed' you. Also not totally sure that 'psychological crime thriller' is an actual genre...surely it's either a psychological book, or a crime thriller? Anyhow, this is a decent read, and a good debut from Eric Deacon, an author I'll look out for in the future⭐⭐⭐⭐
November 18, 2019
I didn't finish this. Too many characters and I didn't have a clue who was who.
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