By Elodie Harper

Hodder, out now

Women are disappearing, and there may be a serial killer out there in East Anglia – but one of the victims is determined to survive…

Elodie Harper’s second novel moves more firmly towards crime than her debut (The Binding Song, reviewed here), but there’s still enough horror elements in it to justify its inclusion here (and there’s a “shared universe” with the first book). The story is told in two threads which inevitably tangle towards the end – the first from the point of view of Ava, one of the victims, the other from TV reporter Frankie who finds herself drawn into the investigation. The death knock of the title refers to something that’s almost a rite of passage for novice reporters – going to those close to a recently deceased to get as much information as possible – but there’s an underlying extra meaning here.

Harper brings the world of TV journalism to life well, using jargon that’s clear in context without the characters needing to tell each other what they already know, and her gift for ratcheting up the tension is honed further. There’s a delve into the darker side of the internet that I wouldn’t be at all surprised is only very loosely altered from real postings, and I suspect the real nastiness in that will stick in the mind for a long time.

Thankfully, Harper plays fair with the reader, giving us the information we think we need but still cleverly hiding other information in plain sight, and the relationships between the characters are credible. It all adds up to a strong tale that will resonate in the #MeToo era, but not  in such a way that it will badly date in years to come.

Verdict: Another gripping and well-written tale. 8/10

Paul Simpson

Read our interview here with Elodie Harper