I've been a fan of the D.S. Grey and Miles books since being bowled over by the first book in the series, The Teacher. Unfortunately for me I haven't yet read book 3, The Angel, which sees the introduction of some characters who make a reappearance in this book. It didn't disadvantage me too much, and you can definitely read Truth or Die as a standalone, but I did feel like I had missed out on a great back story so it has spurred me on to read The Angel as soon as possible.

With such multi-dimensional and established characters as D.S. Imogen Grey and D.S. Adrian Miles, Katerina Diamond writes one hell of a police procedural. Add to that her dark and twisted imagination and you are guaranteed a crime thriller you will never forget. Often grisly in its level of detail, one particular method of murder is spine-tinglingly chilling but there's a pun attached to the victim's name which did make me smirk.

There's almost a dual storyline running through Truth or Die with Grey and Miles getting a little more up close and personal as well as chasing down a killer of students and professors at Exeter University. These murders aren't random by any means and Grey and Miles discover that there's a dark and disturbing game afoot. Can they catch the ringleader before more bodies turn up? I certainly couldn't read fast enough to find out!

I deliberated a bit over my rating for this one; as a standalone I would rate it 4 out of 5, but as part of the series I have no doubt that it would scoop the full 5 stars. I now want to read the whole series all over again to see what I've missed and to revisit Grey and Miles from the start.

Fast paced and gripping, Truth or Die is another outstanding page turner from Katerina Diamond that sees the D.S. Imogen Grey series go from strength to strength.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion. ( )

When I requested this book, I didn't look into it beforehand and therefore didn't know that it was a part of a series. That being said, the writing was very well done and I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything having not read the previous books in the series (though they will be promptly added to my tbr now).
I found this to be an enjoyable read that got my attention quickly and kept me hooked throughout. I hated having to put my kindle aside to take care of anything/everything, and looked forward to stealing a few minutes here and there to get in as many pages as I could whenever I got really busy. It was a good story to get lost in and try to figure out.


*Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
( )

I was really excited to catch up with the latest instalment in the DS Miles and DS Grey series. I’ve only read the previous one, The Promise, but as with that one anything that happened in the earlier books is referred to in enough detail so that it’s easy to keep up with current events. This time there is a large part of the story that refers to what has gone before and it’s made me kick myself even harder for not getting round to books 1-3.

There are murders taking place in the academic world. A university professor is found dead and Imogen Grey and Adrian Miles are tasked with finding out what happened to him. However, as I’ve come to expect from Katerina Diamond, this is a tangled web of a story with strands taking them off in all manner of directions. There’s also a part of the storyline that could really mess up Adrian’s career and I really felt for him at this point.

Exciting as the murders are though, the really exciting part for me was the simmering tension between the two colleagues and the way their working relationship is edging over into possibly being something more. It’s quite the dilemma really (both for them and for me as a reader) because if they get it together then they can’t work together. My lips are sealed though so you’ll have to find out for yourself whether they take it to the next level or not.

Truth or Die is a really quick and thoroughly absorbing read. There’s some pretty gory scenes in it, one that really made me cringe in horror, but I don’t mind that at all! There were a few surprises and more fabulous writing from a talented author. What’s going to happen next with Grey and Miles? I can’t wait to find out. ( )