Book review: Your Child Next by MJ Arlidge and Andy Maslen

Your Child Next by MJ Arlidge and Andy Maslen is a suspenseful read that I raced through in one sitting. For me there was also an element of frustration because I’m a logic-lover and like to see ’cause and effect’ – even if there’s no trigger to a crime or action (a direct ‘why’ like revenge etc), there’s usually sufficient childhood trauma allowing one explain psychopathy. And here there’s a randomness to the way victims are chosen, with little care or connection.

Things have been difficult for Annie since her husband left; her teenage daughter, Isla, has become a ghost of her former self. Annie's terrified that Isla might do something desperate, and she'll lose her, too. So when Annie receives a video of herself crying at Isla's funeral, her blood runs cold.

Confused and horrified, Annie races upstairs to check on Isla, who is alive and well. The video has been faked. But who sent it and what do they want?

One dark truth soon becomes clear: Annie is the latest in a string of parents being blackmailed, and Isla will be killed if Annie goes to the police or if she fails to give the sender what they want. Annie has a deadly choice: comply with the demands, or try to unmask the dangerous criminal.

This is an enjoyable read and unfolds from several points of view with a focus on newly-divorced Annie and her anxious and vulnerable teenage daughter Isla and a newly-widowed Michael who is grappling with the death of his wife and grief of his stepson.

Michael discovers his wife had been paying money into a Cayman’s bank account every month, and cancels the transfer, not realising she was paying a blackmailer and now his son’s life is at risk. And the same blackmailer makes threats against Isla’s life, forcing Annie to pay up… even though she cannot afford it.

Through fortuitous circumstances (mad possible thanks to an unreliable thug hired by the blackmailer), Annie and Michael meet and decide to ferret out the perpetrators… not really realising who they’re up against.

I liked that the authors introduce the pair quickly and get them playing offense instead of defense given one of the perpetrator/s is also a narrator so we already know what they’re thinking and planning.

I enjoyed the cat and mouse game but the main thing I struggled with here was the lack of motivation or complete randomness with which the perpetrator/s choose victims. (And yes, there’s a lesson here about how much of our lives we share online.)

I found myself taken aback with the callousness of those involved and wasn’t sure there was enough background or backstory for us to completely understand that degree of socio/psychopathy.

That said, I whipped through this in a sitting keen to see how it played out.

Your Child Next by MJ Arlidge and Andy Maslen will be published by Orion Publishing in mid January 2025.

I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes.