Into The Fire by M.J. Arlidge

‘Nowhere to hide. No one to turn to. Nothing to lose.‘
– Into The Fire

[ About Into The Fire ]

Helen Grace is sure she made the right decision quitting her job as a detective. Until the day she looks out of her window to see a desperate young woman being pursued by two vicious thugs.

Still a force to be reckoned with, Helen races into the night, swiftly downing the young woman’s attackers. For a moment, it feels like Helen doesn’t need her badge to do good, but as she leads her charge to safety, she’s struck from behind, regaining consciousness just in time to see the terrified woman being driven off in a white van.

Helen’s determined to find the woman and save her, but begging her former colleagues for help gets her nowhere. It’s clear that this time Helen is on her own.

Racing against the clock, Helen soon discovers a whole group of vulnerable women who desperately need her help. But fighting crime as a maverick is a dangerous game. One that could cost Helen her life, and the life of those she holds most dear…

[ My Review ]

Into The Fire by M.J. Arlidge published July 3rd 2025 with Orion Books and is described as ‘gripping and intriguing’. This is book 13 in the bestselling Helen Grace series, and admittedly my first, but let me immediately tell you two important facts – it is an absolute belter of a read and it can easily be read as a standalone.

Helen Grace quit her job as a detective, for reasons that are explained, and is a bit unmoored by her decision. Her life had been previously subsumed by the police force, where she had thrived in her role, but now she finds her days have no specific purpose and her long-standing connection to her old colleagues is fractured. As she actively considers one of her many options she becomes aware of a dramatic scene unfolding outside her hotel room where a young woman is being assaulted. Helen, without fear for her own safety, races out onto the street, unarmed and only half-dressed, but prepared to do what she can to help this struggling young woman. But, during the altercation, Helen is blindsided with a blow while the woman is bundled into the back of a white van disappearing into the night.

Helen Grace is a fighter but with no welcoming assistance from her old police acquaintances, she has to take her life in her hands and look for this woman herself. There is no love lost between Helen and many of her former colleagues which disappoints and frustrates her in equal measure but time is of the essence with any ruminating to be temporarily shelved. On board her Kawasaki, Helen can move around the streets at speed but she is lacking in leads until an unexpected incident occurs that provides her with a starting point.

In a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse, Helen Grace is in a race against time. On her own she can only do so much but she is relentless and fully prepared to see this through at any price. As Helen peels back the layers she soon discovers that there are many women in need of her help, all trapped in a brutal existence. But can she be the one to rescue them?

Into The Fire is a heart-pumping, page-turning stonker of a read with a gutsy protagonist at its centre. Helen Grace is a fantastic character and, although I am not familiar with her trajectory over the previous books, I was completely sold on her authenticity and her sense of justice. Her passion for fighting the good fight and her belief in striving for truth and integrity is brilliantly depicted. With more than one pacey plotline weaving its way around this one central investigation, the reader is treated to a really exciting and sensational story, one that I guarantee will leave you hungry for more…

[ Bio ]

M.J. Arlidge has worked in television for the last twenty years, specialising in high-end drama production, including prime-time crime serials Silent Witness, Torn, The Little House and, most recently, the hit ITV show Innocent. In 2015 his audiobook exclusive Six Degrees of Assassination was a number-one bestseller. His debut thriller, Eeny Meeny, was the UK’s bestselling crime debut of 2014 and has been followed by twelve more DI Helen Grace thrillers – almost all Sunday Times bestsellers.