Category: Crime, Thriller, Mystery

Synopsis: As funeral mourners stand in silence at Ragmullin cemetery, a deafening cry cuts through the air. Lying crumpled at the bottom of an open grave is the bloodied body of a young woman, and Detective Lottie Parker is called in to investigate.

Knowing the body can’t have been there long, Lottie wonders if it could be Elizabeth Bryne, a young woman who vanished without trace just days earlier. And with a new boss who seems to have it in for her, Lottie is under pressure to solve both cases quickly.

As two more women go missing from Ragmullin, Lottie and her team fear there is a serial killer on the loose. And the disappearances are strikingly similar to a cold case from ten years earlier. Could history be repeating itself?

As journalists begin to interfere with Lottie’s investigation, she fears the killer is about to strike again. Lottie is in a race against time to find the missing women, but the killer is closer than she thinks. Could Lottie be his next target?

My Rating: 4/5

My Review: I am very involved with this series now and know that I will continue to read until I am totally up to date (only 4 more to go!). After the end of the last series I wasted no time in launching straight into this book. An open grave is the opener for this storyline and as usual Lottie’s trusty colleague Boyd is by her side. In addition her colleagues Lynch and Kirby are back in addition to a new but familiar boss!

The storyline was more engaging than the last book but in this book we once again delve into the characters and their personal lives more. Lottie has her three children, her grandson and her Mother to deal with, and in addition we meet Boyd’s sister Grace! There are a lot of elements to this story and it kept me engaged from start to finish. 

Once I had finished this I literally opened page one of book 5…and then stopped myself. I decided to break it up with another genre so will eagerly go back to book 5 in a few days. This series is getting stronger with each book that is released and I would certainly recommend it.

Synopsis: ‘Let me out! Please…’ My tiny fists pound the door, but my voice reverberates off the stone walls and hangs in the air as if suspended by spider’s webs. No one comes…

Years later, a woman is found face-down in a pool of blood. Detective Lottie Parker is called to the remote farmhouse in the bleak Irish countryside. Inside, she finds a scene that speaks of uncontrollable rage: glasses smashed, chairs ripped apart, the woman’s body broken.

A black rain jacket makes Lottie think she knows the killer’s identity, but then she finds a disturbing clue: is the murder linked to an old case at St Declan’s asylum? A case investigated by her own father, just before he took his life.

When another victim is left without her tongue on the hospital steps, and a young girl goes missing, Lottie knows she has to act fast. Can she face her own demons and uncover the truth before another life is taken?

My Rating: 4/5

My Review: I have recently started this series and was pleased to move onto book 3. Lottie Parker is a character that I really enjoy reading about even though she has serious issues and isn’t actually a pretty selfish and screwed up woman (but in a likeable way if you know what I mean). Her colleague Boyd is back alongside her other colleagues Kirby and Lynch and they are as usual assigned to the newest murder. In this case its the death of an elderly woman who is found in her daughters house.

I have to say I enjoyed the actual murder case storyline less than the last two in this book, however the personal elements of the story mad up for that in my opinion. In addition to the murder enquiry we see Lottie’s friend Annabelle in her own crisis of a situation. IN addition we see Lottie’s relationship and more development of this in terms of her Mother, three kids and grandchild.

The murder case they are working made the story at times a little muddled as there was so much going on, but eventually it gained traction. Boyd her colleague is as usual taking the abuse that Lottie dishes out, but by the end of the book he was the best person to be there for her. The ending was a corker and made me want to just go straight through to book 4, but I’m trying to pace myself. I think this read was a little more middle of the road but the series is definitely one I am keen to continue.

Synopsis: One Monday morning, the body of a young pregnant woman is found. The same day, a mother and her son visit the house of Detective Lottie Parker, begging for help to find a lost friend.

Could this be the same girl?

When a second victim is discovered by the same man, with the murder bearing all the same hallmarks as the first, Lottie needs to work fast to discover how else the two were linked. Then two more girls go missing.

Detective Lottie Parker is a woman on the edge, haunted by her tragic past and struggling to keep her family together through difficult times. Can she fight her own demons and catch the killer before he claims another victim?

My Rating: 4/5

My Review: I really enjoyed the first book in this series so decided to go straight into book 2. The story kicks off with the discovery of the body of a young pregnant woman, followed by another body only this time it is found by the same man that found the first body. The storyline itself was certainly interesting, yet for some reason I found myself more drawn to the development of the characters.

Lottie as the main character isn’t actually that likeable but that just makes her so much more readable in this case. It sounds weird I know but having a character with SO many flaws actually makes this more of a hook for me. Seeing how badly she manages her personal life make me more and more intrigued. I also love her colleague Boyd.

You can probably read this as a standalone but I love seeing the characters lives unfold like this series seems to be doing. Lottie seems to be a car crash of a character, but it’s obvious she has her demons she is battling and it also seems to make her more determined to get each case right. I found this book flowed a lot easier than the first and it took me very little time to plough through it.

Although when finished I had to read a different genre, I am already well over halfway with book 3. I think this is a series I will quickly become very involved with and cannot wait to see what happens with Lottie and her friends and family.