HE’S THE PRIME SUSPECT. HE’S ALSO THE TARGET
Baz Swoon is on the brink of the biggest deal of his life when two brutal murders shatter rural Maine – and all the evidence points straight at him.
His wife, Melanie, already wary of his secrets and long absences, questions the man she thought she knew.
Detective Philippa Fraiser heads south to North Carolina, and together with Lieutenant Marquez, they uncover a pattern too precise to be a coincidence.
Someone is orchestrating the perfect frame — always one step ahead.
As Baz’s world unravels, his reputation, marriage, and freedom hang by a thread.
But the deeper Philippa digs, the clearer it becomes. This isn’t just a setup.
The killer is studying everyone.
Two States One Killer by Alistair Birch | #1 in The Philippa Fraiser Detective series
Published 13 July 2026 by Wonky Willow Publishing
Find out more on Amazon Goodreads and TheStoryGraph
I’m delighted to be taking part in the Virtual Book Tour for Two States One Killer, hosted by Zooloo’s Book Tours from 13 – 26 July 2026. You can see the full tour schedule here.
My sincere thanks to Zooloo’s Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book, and for providing a digital review copy.
As always, my review is based solely on my own reading experience and reflects my honest opinion.
About the Author
Alistair Birch is a thriller writer and occasional poet, penning silly and poignant rhymes. After two stints with separate publishers, he turned indie in 2024, producing a nineteen-eighties psychological thriller, The Evil Within, followed up by a co-authored epic historical thriller, The Girl from Berchtesgaden.
The re-release of his two-book, modern action thriller series, Shadow Pursuit and Shadow Play, came next and in 2026 he’s begun a new US-based detective procedural series. Book one is called Two States One Killer with the sequel, Cold Vein, well into production.
Outside of writing, Alistair works in IT and has volunteered as a facilitator in a mental health charity. He loves to cook, and occasionally head out for a run.
🔗 Connect with Alistair
My Review
When I signed up for this blog tour, it was the striking cover that first caught my attention. As a new-to-me author and publisher, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I’m always happy to take a chance on an unfamiliar name – especially when the premise promises a fast-paced psychological thriller and being part of one of Zoé’s (Zooloo’s Book Tours) blog tours made it an easy decision to take a chance on it.
The opening chapters immediately establish that Nick is central to everything that follows. Rather than building a traditional “whodunnit”, the mystery lies in understanding how his carefully constructed plan is unfolding, why Baz has become his target, and whether the police can piece everything together before it’s too late.
One aspect that initially took me by surprise was the narrative style. Instead of following one character closely, or alternating between individual points of view, the story is told by an omniscient narrator who moves between the key characters as events develop. This isn’t usually my preferred style of storytelling, and it took me a few chapters to settle into it. However, the short, punchy chapters made it incredibly easy to keep reading, and before long I realised I was completely invested in seeing how everything would unfold.
As the investigation gathered pace and the threads between Maine and North Carolina began to connect, I became increasingly absorbed in the story. Knowing who was orchestrating events from the very beginning created a different kind of suspense. Rather than trying to identify the killer, I found myself wondering how far ahead Nick had planned, what his end game actually was, and whether anyone would uncover the truth before it was too late. Every time I thought I had worked out where the story was heading, another piece of his carefully constructed plan came to light, making it incredibly difficult to put the book down. By the halfway point I was completely hooked.
For me, however, the final section didn’t quite maintain the same momentum that had made the earlier chapters so compelling. Although the pace remained brisk, I felt the story became more drawn out than I had expected, and some of the excitement I’d felt during the middle of the book began to fade. After feeling convinced I was heading towards a five-star read, I ultimately finished feeling slightly less enthusiastic than I had been only a few chapters earlier.
Looking back, this was a book that genuinely surprised me. It asked me to embrace a style of storytelling that I wouldn’t normally choose, yet it completely won me over. While the ending didn’t quite have the impact I was hoping for, the strength of the plot and the author’s ability to keep me turning the pages meant I’m still really glad I took a chance on this new-to-me author. I’ll certainly be looking forward to discovering what else Alistair Birch has written.
#AlistairBirch #TwoStatesOneKiller #PhilippaFraserDetectiveSeries
#WonkyWillowPublishing #ZooloosBookTours #bookreview #blogtour
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© [2026] [MoMoBookDiary]. This review is original content. Please credit and link back if you wish to quote.
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