The Twenty by Sam Holland

When a body is discovered on waste ground closer inspection turns up further bodies. Someone has used the derelict land as a dumping site and five bodies are uncovered, each with a number ranging from 12 to 16. The police realise that the killer is counting down and need to find him before he gets to one. When the ex-wife of the senior investigating officer hears of the numbering it triggers a memory from 25 years ago. A notorious serial killer scratched the numbers 20 to 17 at his kill site. Are the new murders connected? Is someone continuing the countdown?

The Twenty from Sam Holland is labeled as book 2 in the Major Crimes series, the first book in the series being The Echo Man. Apart from a few characters there isn't a lot connecting the books so this could easily be read as a standalone novel without any impact.

Right from the opening pages we have a stomach churning story that moves at a blistering pace, it certainly didn't feel as if I was reading a book of over 400 pages. The vast majority of the story takes place over a two week period. This condensed time period really adds to the gripping story-line as you really understand the pressure the police are under to solve the crimes before anyone else dies.

The lead police officers are a likeable duo, DCI Adam Bishop and DS Jamie Hoxton. Bishop is a damaged man after the break-up of his marriage, this means he's living life on the edge and involved in risky behaviour. Thankfully his partner, Hoxton, is a stabilising influence. As we learn about the pair of detectives you get an ominous feeling and worry sets in whenever they leave the safety of police headquarters. This feeling also makes you wonder what, or who, is at the end of the countdown.

As the modern day killer is hunted we also learn about the events of 25 years previous when a pillar of the community abducted and murdered young women. The police begin to wonder if he's controlling the current killer.

I had my mind firmly set on who the killer was but Sam Holland has thrown plenty of twists into the story to keep you guessing right to the end.

The Twenty by Sam Holland will be published  on 11th May 2023 in hardback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for a review copy.