The Gouge – M.H. David

I received a paperback copy of ‘The Gouge’ by MH David after a competition win on the authors twitter page. Originally, he was going to post a copy he already owned but due to the postage cost from the USA to the UK, he decided to purchase another copy from UK Amazon to send to me. I am very grateful for the extra effort the author went to, to fulfil the competition win.

This book is set in Cypress Creek, where over twenty years ago there was a serial killer at large in the woods killing teenagers and leaving their bodies in a shocking state.

The serial killer has been behind bars for two decades, but suddenly two more teenagers are found dead in the woods, killed in an identical way to the previous murder victims. Is it a copycat killer, or is there an innocent man in prison?

Carson Bates has a dark and troubled past and has moved away from Cypress Hill to start a new life, when news of the new murders starts to spread in the media, he returns to confront his past. What secrets will be unleashed?

Carl Yeager was on the original case twenty-two years ago and comes out of retirement to consult on the case. Were there mistakes made in the original case? And did he put the correct man behind bars?

I really enjoyed reading this book, as it had the right amount of tension and gripping storyline to keep you interested throughout. I read this in one day, which for me at the moment is unusual.

The characters all seemed genuine, and I could imagine this being portrayed on the screen as a series or a film. I especially like Carl Yeager’s character with his determined mind.

I couldn’t find anything to fault in this book as it is brilliantly written, and I would love to read anything else that MH David releases in the future.

Overall, a brilliant, tense thriller/horror which will keep you gripped the whole way through.

My Rating:

💜💜💜💜💜 /5