REVIEW: Lie Kill Walk Away by Matt Dickinson

Pages: 320
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Vertebrate Publishing
Genre: Thriller, Action
Release Date: October 6th 2016
Buy The Book: Waterstones

LIE
I check the Range Rover dash. The keys are in there.
The sirens are closing in. There s a police helicopter coming over the hospital.

KILL
I have to decide. Decide right now. I can keep out of trouble. Not get involved. Just run away through the park and go home and pretend none of this has happened.

Or I can help Becca.

WALK AWAY
I stare into her eyes. Those deep blue eyes. Just for a split second.
I tell her, get in the car.

Joe and Becca uncover a deadly secret. A lethal bioweapon is about to be unleashed. Millions will suffer a terrible death.

Now they are being hunted down.

And their problems have only just begun ...

Lie Kill Walk Away is the latest teen thriller from Matt Dickinson, author of The Everest Files and Mortal Chaos.

My Thoughts:
This story follows two separate characters, Becca and Joe, as their worlds collide in a dangerous way. Becca’s father works for the government and a uncovers a sinister plot surrounding a biochemical weapon that could cause world devastation if released. After he leaks information to a journalist about the recent death of his colleague not being all what it seemed, Becca’s world is turned upside when her father is left in a coma. When she ends up meeting Joe, he decides to help her, getting himself involved in the process.

The book is super faced paced and exciting from the very start. The chapters are short, sharp, and to the point, but still manage to clearly showcase the characters’ strong personalities and allow us readers to get to know them. Though we are pretty much pushed head-first into the drama, nothing feels rushed. We’re immediately swept up in an action-packed race against time. Let me warn you now: the final quarter of this book is unbelievably tense. I was stressed just reading it!

Joe and Becca are delightful characters. I pretty much loved Joe from the minute I saw the opening of the first chapter from his POV. He’s witty and has a believable voice, and I loved his adoration for graffiti art (though not when he admires it in the middle of a fast-paced car chase - NOW IS NOT THE TIME, JOE). Becca developed so much throughout the course of the book. Considering she’s thrown into this with only Joe for help, completely out of her depth, she handles it well and learns how to stand up for herself and her father. I was so proud of her during the final parts of the story! The relationship that built between them was sweet and provided some welcome lighthearted moments.

What is truly creepy about this book is how easily a situation like this could become a reality. Bioweapons are as equally fascinating as they are terrifying to read about. When I put down the story, I was interested to know more. Matt recently wrote a guest post about the real life inspiration behind his story, which you can check out here. To know that a fictional story has potential to actually happen makes it all the more thrilling.

Lie Kill Walk Away is exciting from the very moment it starts, introducing us to some awesome characters whilst unravelling a danger-filled mystery along the way. The quick and intense chapters keep us on our toes and eager to find out if the characters will make it out safely. With it’s smart and polished plot, it certainly makes for a compelling read.

Royal Rating:

 

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BLOG TOUR: Guest Post from Matt Dickinson, author of Lie Kill Walk Away

My guest blogger today is Matt Dickinson, author of the brand new YA thriller Lie Kill Walk Away.

GOING VIRAL! Why Bioterror (and a love story) are at the heart of my new thriller Lie Kill Walk Away’ 

One of the questions I often get asked in schools is:

‘What’s the most dangerous journey you’ve ever done?’

The expected answer is probably Everest (four per cent fatality for every 100 who reach the top and return) or perhaps K2 (twenty-nine per cent fatality for every 100 that reach the top and return alive).

No. The most dangerous journey I ever made was a clandestine one, sneaking across the border into Uzbekistan to visit an abandoned Soviet bio-weapons testing facility in the heart of the Aral Sea. I was the director of a documentary film for Channel 4, following presenter Nick Myddelton in a series called Going to Extremes.

It was certainly extreme. In forty-two degree heat (and dressed in bio-hazard protection suits) we travelled with a band of smugglers across the salty Aral Sea. It was a spooky voyage, passing the wrecks of Soviet trawlers that now stand abandoned on the salt flats of this polluted and almost desiccated lake.

When we reached the island of Voz the real terrors began. We filmed the laboratories where sinister bio-weapons were concocted at the height of the cold war.

Anthrax. Equine Flu Virus. Ebola. Really lethal stuff. 

Toxic cocktails cooked up in the minds of Soviet war mongers and stored by the ton ready to be deployed against the west.

A teaspoon of some of those bioweapons could kill everyone in London if it was ever deployed.

It was a terrifying experience, especially to witness the testing rooms where we found beds with restraining straps on them. Rumours say they tested deadly bio weapons on prisoners? Was it true? We couldn’t verify it but the evidence was there in front of our eyes.

I still have nightmares about that filming trip to this day … and that was why I chose a bio-weapons theme at the heart of my new thriller Lie Kill Walk Away.

I chose two teenage characters, Joe and Rebecca, and plunged them into a fast-moving terrorist threat with a bio-weapon at the heart of the tale. Of course I couldn’t resist sprinkling a bit of chemistry into the mix ... by which I mean Lurvvve! Thrillers are always far more interesting when the protagonists end up fancying each other don’t you think? Just ask James Bond!

I am proud of the book but I will never forget the terrors of the place where it all began.

Huge thank you to Matt for stopping by on the blog! Like Kill Walk Away is available to pre-order now!

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