Pop Goes the Weasel by M. J. Arlidge is the second book in the DI Helen Grace series. In this outing Helen and her team are once again hot on the trail of a serial killer. The book opens with a man being murdered in an empty house and a memento then being sent to his wife and children. The murders are gruesome and Helen is quite a troubled soul, but she appears to working through her issues in each book and she is definitely becoming a more sympathetic character.

Although the book is over 400 pages, it is both a page turner and a quick read with most chapters being around 4 pages long. As men are being butchered in seedy locations, the police are quick to turn their attention to the prostitutes that work these areas. The author keeps the action fast, throws in a few twists and doesn’t hold back the gore. I do recommend reading the first book in the series, Eeny Meeny, as there are a few story arcs that continue from the first volume.

Although these books are definitely over-the-top I find them quite addictive. Personally I don’t take them too seriously, but I do enjoy the ride. Not for the faint of heart but this is a series that I look forward to continuing on with. ( )

My goodness me this is a bad book. Terrible plot, terrible writing. Just bad.

I started the first book with high hopes. Hopes were dashed. Read the second one just in case the series improved with time. Nope. There are soap operas with more believable storylines. The only sympathetic character is the killer, and she's basically a bunch of cliches drawn from fundie gossip forums coupled with some weird rape fantasies. ( )

Overall spends too much time recounting the events from the first book or that precipitated the first book as a means of character development in this book. Starts slow but picks up about a third of the way through and takes a few unexpected turns, often suddenly. Content warnings/tw for unwanted sexual violence and child abuse. Also note the violence/murders are very graphic and largely told as they happen. ( )

In some cases is it quite alright to read books out of order. But I have to admit that I felt when I started this book that I perhaps should have read the first Eeny Meeny first because the character in this book is still trying to put their lives together after the happenings in the first book. Also, now that I know the identity of the person behind everything in the first book will it be less "fun" to read the first book when I get to it.

Detective Inspector Helen Grace is back after her ordeals in the first book. Her private life is not as private anymore after what happened in Eeny Meeny, but she is trying to get on with her life, which is hard because Charlie is returning to work and their relationship is not that good and Helen had hoped that Charlie had been transferred to another unit. Charlie meanwhile has her own problems with her miscarriage and her worry about returning to work. They soon have to put their difference aside when a dead body is found with his hard cut out. And, then another body is found. It seems they have a serial killer on their hands...someone that is out to kill men that use prostitutes.

I didn't find this book truly intensive and interesting until I had read around 40% of the book. Since I haven't read the first book was I a bit lost with why Helen was so angry with Charlie. I mean I learned why Charlie had been away from the force, but I found Helen's attitude towards Helen a bit extreme. But then I started to learn more about Helen, about what she had been through growing up and everything that Happened in the last book. So I kind of understood.

But the story, the hunt for the killer and everything around the cops and their personal lives suddenly became very interesting and I had a hard time to put down the book. I came to care for the characters in the book and I even sympathized with the killer when I learned more about the motives.

M.J. Arlidge has written a really good book and I'm looking forward to reading the rest in this series.

Thanks to NAL and Edelweiss for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ( )

El cadáver de un hombre es encontrado en una casa vacía. Le han arrancado el corazón y se lo han enviado dentro de un paquete a su mujer y a sus hijos. Es solo la primera víctima y la inspectora Helen Grace sabe que no será la última. Pero ¿por qué un hombre felizmente casado estaba tan lejos de su casa en mitad de la noche? Los medios de comunicación hablan del culpable como de un Jack el Destripador al revés: un asesino en serie a la caza de hombres que llevan dobles vidas ocultas. Helen huele la ira que esconde cada asesinato. Pero lo que no puede predecir es lo inestable que es el asesino... o lo que la espera al final del caso.