No rules. No choice. No turning back.

He played by the rules – until the only rule that mattered was survival.

Book blurb

Recovering from a gunshot wound that nearly cost him his life, DCI Tom Douglas isn’t focused on himself – his concern is for his brother Jack, who seems to have vanished without a trace. Jack’s past is as dangerous as it is complicated. Years ago, he faked his own death to escape an organised crime group, and ever since, he’s been living in the shadows, always one step ahead of those who want to hunt him down.

Now, Tom’s worst fears are coming true. Has Jack’s past finally caught up with him? And what does that mean for his family? Tom has to find them, but the answers he seeks are hidden in a brutal underworld – one more threatening than anything Tom has faced before.

With time running out and his own life on the line, Tom must decide how far he’s willing to go and how much he’s prepared to sacrifice, knowing it will mean crossing a line he swore he never would.

But there is another player in this game – one who will stop at nothing to find the answers she seeks. And if Tom makes the wrong move, he, and everyone he loves, will lose.

He’s spent his life chasing criminals. But to save his family, he might have to become one.

My thoughts

To save his daughter Jack has to help a criminal who is trying to prove himself to a notorious Italian mafia family, who he is soon going to be a part of, that he is capable and will be a useful asset. Jack, who has previous experience of crime, has been living with his family under assumed names to keep them safe. Jack is great with IT and has a business which specialises around high end security. It’s because of his work putting in a high tech security system in an Italian gallery that has brought him to this predicament. The criminal wants to steal one of their paintings and has had Jack’s daughter taken to ensure Jack has to help.

Jack’s brother is Tom, a DCI in Greater Manchester Police, who is on sick leave having been shot in the line of duty. So when he is unable to contact Jack he goes off to find him. This leads him to Wales, back to Greater Manchester and finally to Italy. He finds out that it isn’t only Tom’s daughter that has been kidnapped but his whole family! Whilst finding all this out he has had some help from a colleague but then his boss finds out.

When Tom meets up with Jack and finds out what he is being forced to do he faces a serious dilemma, can a serving U.K. police officer help in criminal activity? Can a brother not help save family?

In this unusual story we are transported to the beautiful waterways of Venice whilst being treated to a fascinating, heart rending and tense thriller.

We also have an interwoven storyline of hurt, loss and the search for truth that has, perhaps, rendered the seeker almost as black hearted as those who seem responsible for causing this tragedy.

It’s easy to get into this book even if you’ve not read any of the previous books in the series. Rachel Abbott gives sufficient insight into Tom’s world both family and work to understand what has happened previously.

It’s a story that looks at how the police work in the U.K. and how colleagues will support each other when they need help. It also has the added insight into police officers operating in a country in which they have no jurisdiction.

Venice is a beautiful setting and the author creates a great atmosphere with it.

Ultimately though this is a story of two brothers who come together in order to save family from harm. Abbott creates a terrific scenario that builds into a tense and emotional story. Will Jack’s family be saved? Can Jack and Tom find Jack’s daughter and bring her safe home? Will Jack’s wife and other children be found and freed from their kidnappers? In two operations, one in the U.K. the other in Venice, that must be timed to perfection will Tom and Jack get their desired result or will they die trying?

As for the mysterious searcher will they find out the truth and if they do will their revenge bring them the satisfaction they want?

I thoroughly enjoyed this tense, often heartbreaking and cracking story and highly recommend it to all readers who love crime fiction and wonderful story telling.

Thanks

Many thanks to Anne at RandomThingsTours for the invite to joins this blog tour also to the author and publisher for providing an ebook of Whatever It Takes to read in order to share my honest opinion on.

BlogTour

Why not take a look at these fabulous blogs and then scoot on down to the links below to get your copy of Whatever It Takes by Rachel Abbott from your favourite book retailer.

Published: Black Dot Publishing | 11th MARCH 2025 | ISBN: 978-1-9999437-6-9

Buy: AmazonSmileUK | Hive | Bookshop.org (affiliate link) | Waterstones | Your local bookshop | Your local library

Author: Rachel Abbott

Rachel Abbott is the bestselling author of the Tom Douglas series of books, which have sold over 5 million copies in the English language and have been translated into over 20 languages.

Whatever it Takes is the 12th thriller in this series, and Rachel Abbott has released four novels in the Stephanie King series with Headline under the Wildfire imprint. The first in the series – And So It Begins – was listed as one of The Times best crime novels of the year.

Born and raised in Manchester, Rachel Abbott founded her own interactive media company in the 1980s before retiring in 2005. She then moved to Italy where she wrote her first novel, Only the Innocent, which she went on to publish via Kindle Direct Publishing, topping their chart for 4 weeks.

A true self-publishing pioneer, Abbott now lives in Alderney in the Channel Islands.

Rachel’s Website

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Books

DCI Tom Douglas series

Only the Innocent : The Back Road
Sleep Tight : Stranger Child : Nowhere Child : Kill Me Again : The Sixth Window : Come a Little Closer : The Shape of Lies : Right Behind You : Close Your Eyes : No More Lies : Whatever It Takes

With the exception of Only the Innocent and The Back Road, the Tom Douglas books are set in and around Manchester, England.

Nowhere Child: A Short Novel (Kindle Single)

Stephanie King series

And So It Begins : The Murder Game : Don’t Look Away : The Last Time I Saw Him

The Sergeant Stephanie King thrillers are based in Cornwall, England.