Think the Lake District is a lovely place to visit? Think again.

A Psychological & Chilling Thriller set in and around the fictional town of Kirkdale in Cumbria.

One by one the young women of Kirkdale are being found grotesquely murdered, with no clues as to why.
Lying between the great lake Kirkwater and the base of Kirkby Pike, although beautiful, Kirkdale isn’t exactly the most exciting place on the planet. But after young reporter Jenny Flood moves into the relaxed Cumbrian town, it sets a catalogue of events in motion that brings this comfortable community to its knees.
When middle aged G.P. Charlotte Peterson discovers Jenny has followed her from Bradenthorpe, six years after a fling with her philandering doctor husband Miles, it stirs deeply buried mental health issues from her youth. In the run up to the Kirkdale country show, the arrival of this third and most recent adversary triggers the already edgy and emotionally scarred Charlotte into finally stepping over the edge. Her longing to destroy Jenny has been on a slow and very resentful burn for years, now the reality of achieving that presents itself as a genuine possibility
Can journalist Andrew Gale protect new colleague Jenny, girlfriend Gina and her best friend Molly from the psychotic GP’s insane agenda? How will sarcastic ex Met. Officer Harry Longbridge deal with Andrew’s continued interference?
Then there’s the unexpected arrival of an American mystery woman. And just who is on the Blood List? 

Published November 2018 by Troubadour (UK) 

~ Review ~ 

” Think The Lake District is a lovely place to visit?  Think again. ” – well, as I not only think it’s beautiful but live within a stones throw of the Lakes and spent a few years living in one of it’s most popular and scenic towns, this challenge is what attracted to me to reading Ali Carter’s debut – Blood List. I mean, I know what goes on behind the tourist scene – I lived-in as a waitress at a prominent lakeside hotel for a couple of years in my much younger days (remember that TV shows The Lakes – it was quite a lot like that!) and so I was keen to see it as the setting for a thriller.

Set in the fictional town of Kirkdale, Blood List is centered around the GP surgery, the pub and the local newspaper. This quiet, picturesque town, where everyone knows each others business, is in the grip of a murder inquiry. But then the body count keeps rising. No-one knows who’ll be next. Why is someone targeting this town – or worse, is the murderer already living among them? Blood List is a story of betrayal, secrets, jealousy, obsession and revenge.

It took me a while to get going initially. There’s a LOT of characters introduced very quickly and I had trouble keeping up with who was who in the first few chapters. however, once I’d got to grips with everyone I found this a really intriguing read, racing through the pages easily.

It has that quaint small town mystery feel about it with the collection of eccentric local characters and standard landmarks typically the linchpin of smaller communities, yet it also had an edge that makes it less cosy more thrilling. You know who the murderer is early on in the book, but working out why and who’s going to be next provides a compelling hook and kept my interest throughout. There’s also an occasional short chapter set in New York and I was really curious about how this fitted into the story. All is revealed at the end and it is quite a twist.

I really enjoyed Blood List. I loved the setting, the mix of characters with unique yet recognisable traits and the mystery which unfurled nicely over the pages. While it isn’t the most adrenaline pumping of books, it was tense enough to hold interest and the writers style was engaging and a pleasure to read. I think this is a book that would have broad appeal, especially to those who may be put off by more aggressive looking thrillers, and I enjoyed a sunny afternoon in the garden engrossed in it.

I read a paperback copy courtesy of Anne Cater at Random Things Tour and the publisher.