Keep Her Close

Keep Her Close
M.J. Ford

When a young girl goes missing from Jesus College Oxford, DS Josie Masters is plunged into a world of panic as fear grips the city. Along with Thames Valley Police’s newest recruit, the handsome DS Pryce, Josie must act fast – and when two more girls disappear from Oriel and Somerville colleges, she realises the killer is sending her a deadly message in a cruel game of cat and mouse. This time, the case is personal – but who is the perpetrator?In a desperate race against the clock, Josie hunts for the kidnapper, and soon discovers he could be a lot closer to home than she’d ever thought…M.J. Ford is back with a gripping new thriller, perfect for fans of Cara Hunter and T.M. Logan.

Praise for M.J. Ford (#uc930cf29-5619-5bdf-a5fe-3200af17044d)

‘Superb, gritty and realistic.’

Mel Sherratt, million-copy bestseller

‘Well written and sizzling with tension. A cracking debut.’

James Nally, author ofGames With the Dead

‘A fabulous, page-turning thriller.’

Jacqui Rose, author ofToxic

‘I absolutely loved this well written, riveting debut mystery and would have happily given it far more than five stars. I really hope this is the first book in a new series and look forward to reading more books by this author in the future.’

Goodreads reviewer

‘Hold My Hand is an absolutely brilliant debut novel from a very talented author. It has an elaborate plot which is both convincing and exciting, with twists and turns, an unbelievably scary and thrilling conclusion … in fact, everything I want from a crime thriller.’

NetGalley reviewer

‘A unique plot and storyline – I enjoyed the book immensely. It really makes you think.’

Goodreads reviewer

‘Spectacularly assured.’

Amazon reviewer

‘Excellent, and incredibly compelling. I didn’t want to put it down!’Amazon reviewer

‘A belter of a crime novel!’

Amazon reviewer

‘Very atmospheric, with acute observations, and full of twists and turns. Great characterisation.’

Amazon reviewer

Keep Her Close

M.J. FORD

Copyright (#uc930cf29-5619-5bdf-a5fe-3200af17044d)

Published by AVON

A Division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2019

Copyright © M.J. Ford 2019

Cover design © Charlotte Abrams-Simpson 2019

Cover [photograph/illustration] © Millennium Images

M.J. Ford asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780008293772

Ebook Edition © March 2019 ISBN: 9780008293789

Version: 2019-02-13

Dedication (#uc930cf29-5619-5bdf-a5fe-3200af17044d)

For Mum and Dad.

Table of Contents

Cover (#ufe205054-7f7e-5e89-9a51-2f64198faa89)

Praise for M.J. Ford (#uac5a2909-904a-593f-96b9-a1692af8d5ad)

Title Page (#ue511455d-a6f7-5f6a-bdd0-d76a29f685cb)

Copyright (#u2fc2b3d7-eb42-5199-8097-c5f4c5e07126)

Dedication (#ufda371ef-f77b-52b3-aa14-d994002ec7ae)

Chapter 1 (#u5c627147-96a3-5e58-98b6-77621e357d2b)