You Die Next by Stephanie Marland

Today is my stop on the blog tour for You Die Next by Stephanie Marland! Thank you so much to Alex for organising the tour and don’t forget to check out the rest of the stops!

The Synopsis

You can run - but you can't hide...

When a group of urban explorers stumble across a murderer's kill room in a derelict film studio, terror strikes. And when one of the group is found dead, the team realise - they're being hunted.
DI Dominic Bell is investigating the murder, but as the body count rises, time is running out. The only person who can help him is a figure from his past, Clementine Starke - but Clementine is haunted by her own demons. Can the two of them pair up to catch the killer? Or is it already too late?

My Review

I was on the blog tour for the first book in this series, My Little Eye, and I absolutely fell in love with Marland’s writing. As soon as I started reading You Die Next I instantly remembered why that was. The short chapters which flick between perspectives keep the pacy, fresh feel while the multi modal aspects such as the messages and live streams make the plot totally original and contemporary and Marland’s skilful writing keeps you hanging on to every word.
As I mentioned above, this book is the second in the series and while the case from the previous book plays a big part in this one, it’s explained in enough detail so that you’ll have no problem understanding if you haven’t read the first book. Additionally the main plot regarding the ‘Urbexers’ is standalone so you can jump right into that, however I think that to get a proper insight into the characters’ relationships, particularly Clementine’s relationships with others and specifically with Dom, you’d benefit from reading the first book too. (And trust me, that’s far from a chore!)
The plot has a really up to date feel with unique and well-developed characters and themes throughout. I did guess who the culprit was towards the end, but this didn’t spoil my enjoyment at all as not only was I compelled to keep reading to see if I was right, but the tension and action really ramped up so I couldn’t have stopped reading even if I’d wanted to!
Overall, I’m giving You Die Next 5 out of 5! It’s riveting, contemporary and entirely unique. I’m going to have to try really hard to be patient for the next book in the series!!

Click to buy from Amazon UK

This book was provided free in exchange for an honest review

About the Author

Stephanie Marland has worked in the University sector for over ten years and published research on how people interact and learn together in virtual environments online. She's an alumni of the MA in Creative Writing (Crime Fiction) at City University London, and an avid reader of all things crime fiction, blogging about books at www.crimethrillergirl.com. Steph also writes the Lori Anderson action thriller series (as Steph Broadribb) for Orenda Books, the first book Deep Down Dead is out now.