Reviews

Tastes Like Fear by Sarah Hilary

cheekylaydee's review against another edition

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3.0

Although this is DI Marni Rome 3 this is the first one for me, and I do have a weakness for detective series. Yet, this is an average 3 star rating for an average thriller. Nothing to write home about, just a run of the mill with a "surprise" twist towards the end, although I did like the regular characters which would encourage me to read the other books in the series so I could find out more about them. But the case they were on? Distinctly average crime thriller stuff, which is no bad thing by the way, it's just not blow your socks off brilliant.
Still worth a read if you like detective series.

calturner's review against another edition

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5.0

I've already read the first two books in this series and have loved them both, but Sarah Hilary has completely out done herself in this third outing for DI Marnie Rome. I'd been looking forward to getting my hands on 'Tastes Like Fear' and I'm happy to say it did not disappoint.

It was as fast paced and thrilling as you would expect a DI Marnie Rome book to be, with a memorable cast of supporting characters, including the wonderful Noah Jake. I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good psychological thriller. Roll on the next one!

A thrilling 5 star rollercoaster of a read.

lucycatten's review against another edition

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3.0

Sarah Hilary does it again with the third in the DI Marnie Rome thriller series.

This story takes us into the world of the vulnerable and homeless. What better group of people for our murderer to prey on? The investigation starts with a missing teen before we are taken on a roller-coast ride of a story where absolutely nothing and nobody is quite what it seems. Absolutely fantastic writing once again from Sarah Hilary – you can’t help but be hooked from the start.

It sounds odd for a thriller fan to say, but one of the things I really liked about this book was the lack of blood and gore. The violence all took place off the page and as a result, the story was somehow even more creepy and insidious. I was far more interested in WHY the perpetrator was doing things than what was actually done. Sarah Hilary doesn’t just get crime; she gets psychology which adds real depth to the writing.

I’ve rated this book in the trilogy slightly lower than the other two, only because I guessed ‘who-dunnit’ fairly early on. Maybe that’s unfair as I have loved the whole series, but I do like to be kept guessing. It certainly won’t stop me following DI Rome’s future cases…

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with an advance copy.

mpr2000's review against another edition

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5.0

There's been a car accident, but the girl who caused it has disappeared... Who is she? Why was she running? Is she injured? There are a lot of questions, and D.I. Marnie Rome will have to answer all of them, in the most lonely case she will ever face...
In this book you will read a quite different case, there are some girls missing, they have escaped from home, searching for something different, a new family... until they found Harm. He wants them on his family, they just have to follow a few simple rules... everything will seem perfect until it will be too late...
Reading D.I. Marnie Rome cases is always a unique experience, the cases are always entangled and with some unexpected twists. You never know who the murderer is till the end of the book! I normally guess who is the murderer since the beginning but in all Sarah's books, I never know who could be the "bad", and I love it!
Sarah Hilary books are never predictable, she always surprises me with her gripping but intelligent cases, making me want for more. I am not surprised that she has won the Theakstons Old Peculier for the crime novel of the year.
I think every crime lover has to read at least one of Sarah Hilary books, they are unforgettable and addictive.
Are you searching for a new family? Harm is waiting for you...

jmatkinson1's review against another edition

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5.0

A young girl runs out into the road, a car swerves to avoid her and crashes into another vehicle. Later a girl is found in Battersea Power Station, she's been missing for months but only recently killed and has been looked after. A day later another body is found, this time she is dumped in the trash around a council tower block. The two are linked - but how?


I hadn't read the first two Marnie Rome novels so came to this one with fresh eyes. The story is very clever with enough twists and turns to really engage. What I also liked was the fact that although there is an established team of investigators, they aren't really made the focus. There is little back-story but clear character development and it doesn't feel as though one must have read the previous two books in order to really get into this story. The juxtaposition between the luxury developments and the council estates, the middle class and the homeless, are beautifully described but develop in a natural way as part of the plot.

hpstrangelove's review against another edition

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5.0

Audio book review. Narrator: Imogen Church

Another winning story in the DI Marnie Rome series. I especially love the fact that the setting takes place around Battersea Power Station, one of my favorite sites in London.

murphysmate's review against another edition

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4.0

Although it was well written, the first chapter particularly so, I found two-thirds of the way through the book I wanted it to be finished because I had had enough. The storyline had become overridingly repetitive and didn't seem to add anything, and then at the end the conclusion came very quickly, and seemed rushed.

thebooktrail88's review against another edition

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4.0

Booktrail the locations in Tastes like Fear here

I’ve just had what I am now calling a Hilary heart attack. A shock that I may not recover from unless a lot of air and TLC is now administered (along with a cup of tea and a biscuit of course). Why do I subject myself to these novels? Beacause they’re damn good that’s why and I don’t like actual rollercoasters so I have to get my thrills somehow. Tastes Like Fear? Well yes it does Miss Hilary and it’s shocking as it really could happen and god forbid probably is. There’s certainlty been stories in the papers recently about girls getting taken from the streets, ‘helped’ by men who claim to want to look after them and keep them from harm. Keep them from Harm……when you read this you’ll know why that sentence starts the heart going again.

Sarah Hilary always writes about subjects which give me the chills. Someone ‘helping’ lost and runaway girls by setting up a house where he is control certainly fits into that category. Harm is his name – very apt and it’s his story I found very interesting. The girls plight is also very well evoked and the you hear the sound of footprints on the web cobbled streets of London as you read. Next time I pass by Battersea, I’ll certainly see it in a different light!

It wasn’t just the story but the writing and the imagery that stood out. I mean the way Harm talks to the girls, the way they talk to each other trying to make sense of their situation. And the girl who is nearly run over! Freaky in many ways but Sarah Hilary literary prowess at her best.

Tastes Like Fear? It most certainly does. That was exactly the taste I had in my mouth after reading this book. Disturbingly brilliant I would say.

auscaz's review

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

4.5

bibliobethreads's review against another edition

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5.0

Sarah Hilary is hands down one of my favourite crime fiction authors writing today. I was lucky enough to do an interview with the lovely lady just after the release of her second book in the Marnie Rome series, No Other Darkness. If you fancy seeing what she had to say, please see my post HERE. I highly recommend both books in the series and from the first fantastic novel, Someone Else's Skin, to this phenomenal third novel, Tastes Like Fear (which I have waited WAY too long to read!), she is an author that I will automatically buy, regardless of what she writes. A huge thank you to the lovely people at Headline for sending me a copy of Sarah's third novel and apologies that I'm only getting round to reviewing it now.

In Tastes Like Fear, Marnie and her sidekick Noah Jake have a new, frightening case to manage and solve. A young girl walks out into the path of a car one night causing a horrific accident. In the aftermath, she disappears and cannot be found. The driver of the car that crashed into another as he swerved to avoid the girl gives an interesting witness statement. He is certain that the girl was half-clothed, dishevelled, clearly not on this planet, with marks all over her body (which later is discovered to be writing). After further findings, the case turns out to be much more complex than Marnie could have imagined. It involves a house filled with homeless young girls that have been specifically chosen to live in the house and be kept "safe." Although the perpetrator's idea of safety is very different from what you and I might envisage. Especially when one of the girls turns up dead. Marnie and her team must hurry to discover exactly what's going on, why and by whom if they are going to save any more vulnerable girls.

Once again, Sarah Hilary has pulled me into the amazing, twisted world of Marnie Rome with a strong female lead that has demons of her own but fights desperately to ensure that no else should suffer. Again, it was wonderful to see her teaming up with Noah Jake, one of my favourite characters and it was also lovely to get an insight into his personal life with his partner, Dan and his troubled kid brother Sol. Of course, Marnie is also given a good chunk of time which is fantastic and I enjoyed her ongoing struggle with the person who is serving time for killing both of her parents. From certain things that happened throughout the novel, it's certainly set up some tense proceedings for the next few books in the series I'm sure and I cannot wait to see how it all pans out! I can safely say that Marnie Rome is my favourite female detective of all time and Sarah Hilary's plots and character development just keep going from strength to strength. The fourth book in the series, A Quieter Killing was released on the 9th March 2017 and I'm very excited to say that I've been approved to read it on NetGalley. (Thank you again Headline!) One thing is for sure, I won't be waiting so long to read it this time!

For my full review and many more please visit my blog at http://www.bibliobeth.com