Some Shall Break by Ellie Marney

Today I’m bringing you a review of Some Shall Break by Ellie Marney. This review is part of the blog tour organized by TBR & Beyond Tours. Thanks for letting me participate!

I received this book for free from Little Brown to facilitate my review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This electrifying, chilling sequel to the New York Times bestselling thriller None Shall Sleep focuses on junior FBI consultants Travis Bell and Emma Lewis with a new case that may unravel everything they’ve been working for. 

After a harrowingly close contact with juvenile sociopath Simon Gutmunsson, junior FBI consultants Emma Lewis and Travis Bell went their separate ways: Emma rejected her Quantico offer and Travis stayed to train within a new unit of the FBI Behavioral Science division. But the unit’s latest case is feeling eerily familiar and Kristin Gutmunsson—Simon Gutmunsson’s eccentric twin—reaches out to Travis to send a warning: Emma is in peril.
 
When Travis and Kristin turn up evidence that points back to Daniel Huxton, the serial killer that Emma had escaped, things become more complicated. With a copycat on the loose, Emma returns to Quantico and is thrown back into her past traumas. Compelled to prevent more tragedy—even if it means putting herself in danger—Emma turns to Simon for help once again. But Simon is keeping secrets that could impact their entire investigation. Will the team be able to stop the Huxton copycat before time runs out for his next victims?

Content Warning: Murder, gore, trauma, sexual assault, sexism, violence, drug use, racism

Now you all know I love a good mystery/thriller novel and it doesn’t matter if it’s YA or Adult fiction. This one happens to be YA and it’s amazing! So let’s break down why I gave this book five stars, shall we?

First, we have our characters. I love Emma and Travis. Not so fond of Simon and Kristin… but that’s kind of to be expected. I mean, after all, the more you read, the more you realize their relationship is just… weird. But… Emma and Travis? LOVE these two. They’re just great characters all around. You know what motivates them, even if you haven’t read the first book, None Shall Sleep.

The plot for this book is quite interesting… the survivor of a serial killer helping the FBI to find a serial killer who is mimicking the very serial killer she escaped from. Deal with side plots such as the chemistry between Travis and Emma and the weirdness of Simon’s and Kristin’s relationship with each other. It’s a wild ride but it’s a great plot.

One of the things I like best about this book is that while you can tell it’s the second book in the series, you don’t absolutely need to read the first book to be able to follow what’s happening in this one. You can glean what you need to know to move forward with the story. Will you want to read the first book after this? Probably… I know I certainly do!

I also love the setting – we’re in 1982. There were a few things mentioned I had to make sure existed in 1982 because I didn’t remember them being around then! (Yes I’m old.) But it’s so much fun to see YA novels that go back in time to other eras – especially ones that today’s youth know practically nothing about.

All in all, this was a great read and one that was very difficult to put down. I’m definitely looking forward to reading more of Ellie Marney’s works. This one got 5 stars from me.

About Ellie Marney

Ellie Marney is a NYT bestselling author of crime fiction. Her most recent book is The Killing Code, and her other titles include the Aurealis-winning None Shall Sleep, the Every series – starting with Every Breath – and the companion novel No Limits, White Night, and the Circus Hearts series, starting with Circus Hearts 1. Ellie’s next book, Some Shall Break, the sequel to None Shall Sleep, will be released June 2023.

Ellie’s books are published in eleven countries and have been optioned for television. She’s spent a lifetime researching in mortuaries, talking to autopsy specialists, and asking former spies how to make explosives from household items, and now she lives quite sedately in south-eastern Australia with her family.

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