Find out what Mumsnetters thought of Rattle by Fiona Cummins

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We gave away 50 copies of Rattle, a spine-chilling thriller by Fiona Cummins, and the next installment in our Crime and Thriller Book Club.

This serial killer lives two lives. In one, he's just like anyone else, but in the other, he's the caretaker of his family's macabre museum. Now the time has come to add to his collection.

Rattle is a glimpse into the mind of a sinister psychopath to rival even Hannibal Lecter. Only those with nerves of steel and a night light should take on this terrifying cat-and-mouse game between a sinister collector and a troubled detective.

We ask all winners to share their thoughts about the book on this discussion thread. Everyone who gives detailed feedback on Rattle by midday Monday 10 April will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 Love2shop voucher:

Obsessed with crime and thrillers? Get involved and find out what other books you could win in Mumsnet and Thin Blue Spine's Crime and Thriller Book Club.

This giveaway is sponsored by Thin Blue Spine crime writing blog

Book giveaways T&Cs apply

Thanks for my copy - arrived yesterday and I'm nearly finished already. It's creepy and I have a son same age as the missing boy so I can empathise with the parents. Really well written for a first novel and a proper page Turner- more please

Thank you for my copy of "Rattle" which I've just finished reading.

I thought it was quite a good book on the whole, especially at the start, but I felt the book was definitely too long and found the ending very unsatisfactory.
Also I believe the so-called ending was far too long drawn out and became almost unbelievable at stages.

I've never read about anyone called "Erdman" and hadn't heard the name before reading this book, it just seemed a very strange name to use somehow. That said, he was the best character by far for me, and the most convincing up until the last 75 pages.
The detective I found very very annoying indeed, the back story with her husband was never developed - he hardly got a mention, and the constant references to her sister I found intrusive and distracting from the plot.

The children's characters were very well portrayed I thought, especially Jakey, and this aspect of the book was illuminating and poignant.

I was annoyed by the number of ridiculously short chapters - one being the grand total of 37 words long. The brevity of many chapters didn't add anything to the plot and merely served to unnecessarily elongate the book into nearly 500 pages, many of which were half-filled or mostly blank of script.
It would have been better to shorten the book and condense some chapters in my opinion.

I'm glad I read it, and would definitely read another book by Fiona Cummings, but don't really feel that the main malevolent character is comparable to Hannibal Lecter, despite the book's inside sleeve boast that he is.

my kind of book, my partner has read and said is brilliant

Brilliant Book!!! Couldn't put it down. Wonderful debut novel. Fiona Cummins will definitely be a name to watch out for. Thanks Mumsnet. Very much appreciated.

Thank you for my copy! I'm a third of the way through so far, and wanted to Coke and read other people's reviews of this book. The first few pages I wasn't sure if this was something I could get into. It's very sinister and a very dark subject matter- a man who collects bones, the rarer the better, like his father did before him. The abduction of a child with a bone abnormality to add to this collection- its all very difficult reading but I am now hooked, and trying to race through this book to find out what happens.

Only just finished this, as I had a couple of books I had to read first, but I certainly saved the best till last. What a pageturner! It is gripping, scary Stone man syndrome being creepy and causing inner torture. This book is right up my street, and I will be looking for more from this author.

Thank you for my copy of this book which I have just finished reading.
I was a little nervous of starting it at first, knowing that the story centres on child abduction and a serial killer. However, most of the violence is implied rather than heavily described and I did find myself really enjoying it.
It is a unique and unusual story whereby the killer, dubbed The Bone Collector, preys on children who have a disability such as cleft hands or a skeletal deformity. He is very similar to Hannibal Lector, hiding in plain sight, and I did guess where he worked.
The author, Fiona Cummins tells the story from several different viewpoints including the victims families and the detective involved. I really liked this as the voices were different and it gave us more insight into how the families dealt with the unbearableness of not knowing what has happened to their children. Short punchy chapters make it easy to read and kept me turn ing pages late into the night.
The author has created a perfect character in Etta Fitzroy, obsessed with a previous case, her marriage imploding and still coming to terms with the loss of her baby.
The ending is fast and action packed with more than a little violence.
There are a lot of loose ends left and I really hope that there is a sequel or even better a series to come.
Thank you again for this book which I loved.

Couldn't put it down it was gripping!

Only just started to read, but seems interesting so far.

I received this book a week ago, so thank you. A riveting read which kept me up late one night trying to finish it! A story about a man whose family were all fascinated by people with skeletal abnormalities and who was brought up to carry on the family obsession with collecting them. It starts with a little girl of five being abducted for his purposes. The author tells the story from the perspective of all parties concerned, the little girl, her parents, the kidnapper and the detective assigned to the case. An unusual style of writing, but one that works very well for this book and keeps the reader's interest alight. Needless to say, the little girl is not the only focus of the man's attentions, so the story branches out to another tragic family. As a reader I can say that I got totally caught up in the story and as a mother, felt the horror, fear and grief that the families were going through in this realistic portrayal of child abduction. The only fault I have with this book is that the ending was only partly resolved as if maybe, another book will be in the offing. I for one, would definitely read a second book should it be published!

Quite a page-turner but rather scary, so nothing for the faint-hearted... Enjoy.

A really good read, it was hard to put down. Would definitely recommend if you like thrillers.

I do love a good thriller and this book had me on the edge of my seat, very well written - chilling, gripping and unpredictable. I could not put this book down. Great read

Best book I have read in a very long time, its like living on takeaways then finally you get a great home cooked meal, I devoured every word, every paragraph, every chapter. I could not put this down, my nose was buried in the pages for nine hours solid, making tea, during toilet breaks, in the bath, everywhere, an asteroid could have hit the earth and I would not have noticed, thats how good this book was! I could not sleep until I had finished it, I was so consumed with the storyline and characters, the rest of my day just blurred into inconsequence. Every dark shadow in the corner of my eye made me jump thinking it was ol' bloody bones! Fantastic debut novel from a writer who I will make a point of reading in future as this was just my cup of tea. The fact the Val McDermid sings its praises says it all, being the absolute Queen of gritty crime fiction. I need the sequel NOW please, pretty please, PLEASE!!!!

Rattle, a cross between Hannibal (Lector) and a story about the bogey man, was incredibly creepy and chilling. It is a unique and inventive thriller, having a killer/abductor who preys on children with bone deformities/medical oddities. The adult characters are flawed and complex: the Friths struggling with marriage and a child with a serious illness; the Foyles somewhat 'self-absorbed', a pschopathic killer/abductor who can love and a detective with a difficult personal life and plenty of baggage .

Unfortunately, the plot did feel somewhat contrived at times: The Bone Collector abducting Jakey and C.. years apart; a convenient fire and Fitzroy being on the scene at the time to help save the day; what happens to the Bone Collector at the end.

I agree with the above poster that it would have been better if it had been edited and shortened somewhat. It was a little long winded at times. It does feel like there will definitely be a sequel to it (there are far too many loose ends for there not to be). I will be interested to see how it is adapted for TV (appears the TV rights have already been 'snapped up'). Thank you for my copy.

I am over halfway through and finding this quite gripping but disturbing. The villain has been compared to Hannibal Lecter but Rattle's particularly nasty character preys upon disabled children, making for an uncomfortable read. There are intimations of the supernatural at times and I am wondering if these are going to develop as I read on...more thoughts anon!

Love reading stories like this x

I enjoyed reading the book and the idea behind the storyline was good but it did not grip me like I expected it to. The charecteristicsof the people involved were real and believable but I felt that a few details were just skimmed over and could have been explored further. If characters are not central to the storyline but are needed to explain some aspects of it such as Nina, Axel or Amber, then I would have liked them to be more involved; otherwise leave them out and deal with that aspect in some other way.

Where the story fell down for me though was that I just did not find The Bone Collector scary at all and found him almost like a caricature. I normally enjoy stories that flit between past and present tense but it felt too cliched in this case. The book was well researched however and it's main strength was the relationships between the central characters. Well written for a debut novel and I'll certainly look out for more of Fiona's work in the future.

I'm only half way through this book but I can't put it down. It's so tense and 100% a page turner. I just wouldn't recommend reading before bed and you will be keeping your children obsessively close for a while XX

I'd never heard of stone man syndrome before. I enjoyed the book despite its dark side. Hoping we get more books with the policewoman Etta.

We only just started it last night, but we hope we are going to like it :)

very gripping from the start, a right page turner. really enjoyed it.

Sounds very interesting read and something that will keep you captivated for a long time.

I read this in one day as I couldn't put it down. Best book I've read in ages. Can't wait for the next one.

This book reminded me of the game I play with my hubby - ( no - not that one!) - the one where we people watch and imagine just what other folk might really be like - outwardly a lonely old housewife doing her shopping but in reality a closet drag queen or something.

This book is a bit scary as it shows that people can have an alter-ego - live two lives - a good and a not so good one. Take a look at your other half - do you really know him - no, I mean really know him!

Aaargh! - A good read.