One for Sorrow: The new heart-stopping, page-turning crime thriller for 2022

You know those books that really make a mark? The ones that you just can't switch off from and that linger in your mind for a good while afterwards? Where the books is so intense and unforgettable that you just power through it with all your nerves on edge just preparing yourself for the next shock? Well that was One For Sorrow for me. It started with an 'awww - can't believe you did that', progressed to a 'awww - did you have to do that?' by the midway point and ended in an almighty 'OMG - WHAT DID YOU JUST DO???"Now, Helen Fields has never been one to shy away from the tense and dramatic in her novels, and the 'Perfect' series has some very memorable and sometimes macabre scenes, but if you thought that what has gone before was shocking, you have seen nothing yet. From the very beginning we are faced with a story that will provoke a rollercoaster of emotions, especially if, like me, you are big fan of the series and have become invested in all of the characters. You may think you know, but trust me - you know nothing. It is not just our favourite detecting team who are tested in this book. As readers we are taken to the very edge with a case that is set to rock Edinburgh to its very core. And it ruddy well shook me too.Now I don't want to say too much about the plot. The blurb tells you all you need to know. And yes, it is every bit as dramatic as the blurb suggests. A terrorist attack, the like of which the city has never seen, but as to perpetrator or motive - the police are clueless. The killer taunts them, providing just enough notice and clues to cause maximum devastation - and devastate it does. Helen Fields has played a very clever game as whilst the reasons behind these attacks may remain hidden from Luc and Ava, they are slowly being revealed to us as readers in slow and almost painful fashion. This is a story in two halves. The first part - the main part of the story - is the terror that holds the residents of Edinburgh in its thrall. The second part alerts us to the motive - maybe.But nothing is that straightforward. When I thought I knew the who, perhaps the why, I still had my resolve, my absolute certainty shaken, and my thoughts and feelings were turned on their head more than once. This secondary story is truly authentic, tragic in its own way, and almost as nerve wracking as the attacks on the city. Certainly by the time this part of the story reached its conclusion my emotions were heightened, and I couldn't help but shed a tear for all that had happened. The author has done a brilliant job of pulling us into this story. For making us as emotionally invested in it as we are shocked and broken by the main investigation. I was conflicted. Sympathetic and yet still angry, but not always in the ways you might expect.Now the tone of this book is very melancholic and, at times, very dark. It is packed with tension, and the emotional pull and impact of the case upon the characters is almost palpable. You can feel their anger, their loss and their determination. And not just between Callanach and Ava. I love the whole team in these book, and each of them, even the brusk and often objectionable Overbeck, has a real part to play in the story. But this book really belongs to Ava as she struggles to come to terms with what is happening all around her and the sense of futility that everything she does to try and protect the city still is not enough.If you have read Helen Fields' last novel, The Shadow Man, then you may well recognise one of the guest characters in the book. It was great to see Connie Woolwine pop up to provide some well needed insight into the mind of the killer, something that worked to reinforce my assertions about the who, if not wholly the what. She is a quirky character, but I do love her direct style and forthright attitude. She gives Callanach some much needed guidance, and not just into the case, perhaps allowing him the room to lay some old demons to rest. Even Lively seems to appreciate her style, and he is no easy character to win over.This is the first book not to feature 'perfect' in the title, and that makes sense as there is a real change in tone in this book. It is every bit as thrilling and pacey and intense as its predecessors, but you can feel something just a little ... different about it. It's hard to put a finger on it, but there is no doubt by the end of the book that nothing can or will be the same.And talking of the end ... My god. What the hell? I am ... I went to sleep thinking about this book. My waking thoughts were about the book. The if onlys and they why didn't theys of the story. Had one single thing been slightly different ... If a certain character hadn't made that choice ... And I know that these are just characters in a book. It's not real. But the emotions I was left with after reading this book were so intense, for so many different reasons, that I couldn't stop thinking about it. I think every author of a long running series has that book to write. The one that changes everything. The one that heightens the emotions, grabs your attention and makes your jaw drop. This is that book. And if you love this series, love the characters, I am sure you will feel the same.I may be too scared to see what, if anything, comes next, but I can't deny this is probably the best book in the series to date. Dark, intense, full of action and emotional in all the best and worst of ways. Highly recommended.

This story opens with a devastating personal tragedy for Ava. It’s simply heartbreaking and you are pulled right into her world of pain.As a series of deadly bombings occur one thing soon becomes clear those responding to an emergency call will become targets. Can Ava and her team to figure out what’s happening and who the killer is? Given Ava’s personal situation can she cope? Her boss wants her off the case but that’s not going to happen, not if Ava has anything to do with it!There is a great deal of loss in this story. It’s something that over the past two years many have had to come to terms with under the immensely difficult circumstances posed by the pandemic whether that loss has been due to it or not. This book does not deal with that but it does deal with the loss of people en masse through the bombings and on a very personal level. It is an integral part of the story which is well written and sympathetically dealt with by Helen Field.A young woman is falling in love, he’s a charmer but not everything is right and when she sees him for what he really is she make’s a decision that will have huge consequences. It will turn her world upside down.Helen Fields writes with empathy and insight into a world were bad things happen as a result of broken minds, injustice and heartbreak. A world in which Ava understands the desire to take justice into her own hands. Is that really what she’ll do? Will Ava remain on the job? As more bombs are found and the deaths mount will the team catch the bomber?Tension, anger and fear builds with each bombing. This is a dark story. The investigation needs clear minds, fast responses and courage. Still, there is also love and friendship. The personal situations and issues are important too. They explain, they bring understanding, they bring the characters to life, they engage you in the overarching story and help with why people do the things they do or don’t do.The Perfect Series is up there with the best of crime fiction. Helen Fields brings us yet another terrific story. Ava and Luc are great characters. In One For Sorrow we also have a cross over with Connie Woolwine, a character from The Shadow Man. I really liked her and would love to see more of her in this and/or her own book(s).One For Sorrow is a cracking read, heartbreaking, engrossing and the ending, well, it’s going to rip your heart to shreds and leave your mind reeling.I would absolutely recommend this book and the series to crime fiction lovers and all readers who enjoy well written stories. I can hardly wait for the next in this wonderful series and look forward to reading more from Helen Fields.Previously read and reviewed : Perfect Remains | Perfect Kill | The Shadow ManThanks: Many thanks to the lovely folk at Avon for an exclusive proof copy of One For Sorrow by Helen Fields.

Always a great read, this is no exception, terrific plot, good characters literally hard to put down, so tense.Cliffhanger ending.

Good writer

Another great procedural novel, but also developing the uncertain relationships with the 3 main characters. Then next instalment will be interesting.

Ava and Callanach. H Fields is great , don’t know how she keeps it up but all the books in this series have been page turners.

Have read all the Luc and Ava books which I’ve enjoyed. Have to say this was the weakest in terms of the Luc/Ava (will they/won’they) story line, it’s now a question of who cares?!In the early books Ava started out a likeable character but now she’s just an unlikeable, sad obsessive. Luc pretty much sidelined in this book despite being a main character in the othersIt was readable but certainly didn’t have you guessing the identity of the bomber and the ending seriously!

Brill book very good