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DI Benjamin Kidd #2
Just Keep Breathing
The truth haunts...
When Sarah Harper, a young girl from a rich family with a seemingly perfect life vanishes without a trace, there is an outpouring of grief from the community and all eyes are on DI Kidd and his team to get her found and get her found fast.
But nobody’s life is as it seems, DI Kidd knows that more than most, and it isn’t long before secrets start surfacing about Sarah and her family, cracking the veneer of their seemingly ideal existence. Suddenly everyone is a suspect and time is running out to bring the girl back alive.
With his boss breathing down his neck and the eyes of the world on him, Kidd is having to juggle his personal and professional life once again, a tightrope walk he has fallen from once and cannot afford to do again...
DI Benjamin Kidd is back in an electrifying thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Perfect for fans of JD Kirk, LJ Ross, Harlan Coben and Will Harker.
When Sarah Harper, a young girl from a rich family with a seemingly perfect life vanishes without a trace, there is an outpouring of grief from the community and all eyes are on DI Kidd and his team to get her found and get her found fast.
But nobody’s life is as it seems, DI Kidd knows that more than most, and it isn’t long before secrets start surfacing about Sarah and her family, cracking the veneer of their seemingly ideal existence. Suddenly everyone is a suspect and time is running out to bring the girl back alive.
With his boss breathing down his neck and the eyes of the world on him, Kidd is having to juggle his personal and professional life once again, a tightrope walk he has fallen from once and cannot afford to do again...
DI Benjamin Kidd is back in an electrifying thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Perfect for fans of JD Kirk, LJ Ross, Harlan Coben and Will Harker.
369 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 19, 2021
180 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 29, 2025
Breath… I’m sure it will get better
So l am two books in and l am enjoying this series so far. I think partly because they are fairly short books and the plot nips by at a pace. I think also, the characters are quite interesting and l enjoy spending time with them. However, the characters, or more particularly the writing of the characters, is where I have my biggest problem with the series and why I cannot rate it any higher.
With the first book, everything was new and a lot of time was spent setting up the world and introducing us to Ben Kidd. Now that we are one book in, some of the weaker character writing has started to appear more obvious. It is once again a case of "telling" and not "showing", which can sometimes be due to lazy writing. You see, we are told Kidd has this simmering anger and told he gets very short with colleagues and the suspects he interviews, but we don't really get to see it, well not from the character writing. We never get to see enough from inside his head to believe he really is like this. I found myself reading from Kidd's POV as he casually interviews a suspect... all sweetness and light… then bang! Kidd suddenly slams his fist down on the table, "seething with anger". As a reader I am left thinking, where did that come from?!? The writer never gives us a peak into his thought process, so we don't get to really see what is truly going on in his head. Almost as it was too difficult for the author to write those parts. as if he just thought, “I’ll just tell the reader he’s like this rather than show them”. And this happens with some of the other characters too. Everyone is supposed to not like Owen, but aside from him turning up late or being told he keeps asking Zoe on a date, I can’t see why everyone dislikes him or is annoyed with him all the time. The result is that when we see everyone laughing at his expense, it just seems cruel.
I really hope we get to see some of this deeper character exploration in future books, and they go deeper, beyond the surface level. You have only to read any Ripley Hayes to see how brilliant this can be done within crime fiction. Even when writing in partnership with other writers (as Alex Henry) we get wonderful character writing. In her Detective Leon Peterson Mysteries they even have their own annoying detective in the form of DC Gary Morgan, who is brilliantly written to be both annoying and incredibly sympathetic. Her characters are fully explored whilst still creating a page turning plot.
I see a lot of potential here, and I do see some improvements in the writing between book 1 and 2, so I wont give up. I found this mystery element intriguing, though the motives for murder were quite far fetched. I just wish we got more under the skin of the main characters so we understood them better. On to the next, and fingers crossed we dig a little deeper this time around.
So l am two books in and l am enjoying this series so far. I think partly because they are fairly short books and the plot nips by at a pace. I think also, the characters are quite interesting and l enjoy spending time with them. However, the characters, or more particularly the writing of the characters, is where I have my biggest problem with the series and why I cannot rate it any higher.
With the first book, everything was new and a lot of time was spent setting up the world and introducing us to Ben Kidd. Now that we are one book in, some of the weaker character writing has started to appear more obvious. It is once again a case of "telling" and not "showing", which can sometimes be due to lazy writing. You see, we are told Kidd has this simmering anger and told he gets very short with colleagues and the suspects he interviews, but we don't really get to see it, well not from the character writing. We never get to see enough from inside his head to believe he really is like this. I found myself reading from Kidd's POV as he casually interviews a suspect... all sweetness and light… then bang! Kidd suddenly slams his fist down on the table, "seething with anger". As a reader I am left thinking, where did that come from?!? The writer never gives us a peak into his thought process, so we don't get to really see what is truly going on in his head. Almost as it was too difficult for the author to write those parts. as if he just thought, “I’ll just tell the reader he’s like this rather than show them”. And this happens with some of the other characters too. Everyone is supposed to not like Owen, but aside from him turning up late or being told he keeps asking Zoe on a date, I can’t see why everyone dislikes him or is annoyed with him all the time. The result is that when we see everyone laughing at his expense, it just seems cruel.
I really hope we get to see some of this deeper character exploration in future books, and they go deeper, beyond the surface level. You have only to read any Ripley Hayes to see how brilliant this can be done within crime fiction. Even when writing in partnership with other writers (as Alex Henry) we get wonderful character writing. In her Detective Leon Peterson Mysteries they even have their own annoying detective in the form of DC Gary Morgan, who is brilliantly written to be both annoying and incredibly sympathetic. Her characters are fully explored whilst still creating a page turning plot.
I see a lot of potential here, and I do see some improvements in the writing between book 1 and 2, so I wont give up. I found this mystery element intriguing, though the motives for murder were quite far fetched. I just wish we got more under the skin of the main characters so we understood them better. On to the next, and fingers crossed we dig a little deeper this time around.
May 28, 2022
Social media, a missing girl. DCI KIDD and his team are on the case
A girl is missing after a nasty 'outing' on social media. Has she flounced off? Is she safe? Lots of suspects, lots of drama and surprise
A girl is missing after a nasty 'outing' on social media. Has she flounced off? Is she safe? Lots of suspects, lots of drama and surprise
April 20, 2022
Another good book. Can’t wait to follow the journey DI Kidd is going on. Like all the characters and how they work together
October 29, 2023
5 stars
I am really enjoying this series so much. I'm loving the characters. I can't wait to read more in this series.
I am really enjoying this series so much. I'm loving the characters. I can't wait to read more in this series.
January 2, 2026
This is an excellent mystery with great characters and a page-turning plot. The story features Detective Inspector Kidd who has recently returned to work after a medical leave. Along with his trusted sidekick Zoe, he has to solve the disappearance of a young girl who, as they discover, has made herself disappear in the past for days at a time. This time seems to be different, however, and they think that she has been kidnapped. As they investigate, they uncover layers of secrets that surround the girl, from her parents to her friends. This is a good read and will leave readers eagerly awaiting the next installment in this series.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews