Category: Patricia Gibney

Synopsis: Something whistling through the door behind her caused her to turn. A shadow spread across the opening. She clasped a hand to her mouth, stilling the fear that was rising. The menacing shadow was followed by a face that sent a cold shiver down her spine…

When the call comes in about Lucy, a seventeen-year-old girl murdered after the secret party she held in her parents’ home, Detective Lottie Parker is first on the scene. As she picks her way through the smashed glasses and the blood spatter on the perfect cream carpet, she is horrified to see Lucy’s angelic face, silvery-blue eyes forever closed.

As Lottie breaks the news to Lucy’s heartbroken parents and the devastated partygoers, she discovers that hours before her death Lucy had revealed a terrible secret about her friend Hannah. And when Lottie finds Lucy’s bloodstained clothing hidden in Hannah’s bedroom, she has no option but to bring the shy, frightened girl into custody.

But Hannah claims to have no memory of the night Lucy died and Lottie begins to question her guilt. Then a fifteen-year-old boy who also attended the party is pulled from the canal. And as Lottie investigates, she discovers something shocking. Her own son Sean was at the party. Why did he lie to her? Is her beloved child a witness or a suspect… or is he now in the killer’s sights?

My Rating: 4/5

My Review:

It’s been a while since I have read about Lottie and Boyd so I was keen to get a little more caught up and started back in on book 11. I have read all the books in the series and although like many books I am sure you can read as a standalone I think its always worthwhile having the background on all the characters and what they have been through. Lucy, a seventeen-year-old girl has been murdered after a party she held in her parents’ home. Detective Lottie Parker along with her colleagues are now investigating the murder.

One of the partygoers a supposed friend of Lucy, a young girl named Hannah is instantly put into the mix. Hannah has no memory of the party but when blood soaked clothes are found in her bag she has to be pulled into the station. Things then take another sordid turn when a 15 year old who attended the party is pulled from the canal. in addition to now working two murders Lottie finds out that her son Sean also attended the party.

It was nice to be back with the team and seeing how they are all getting on. Boyd is also back albeit ow with his son which makes for another interesting thread to this series. The team is certainly given the runaround with these murders but it was an enjoyable enough read. I did notice that Lottie seems a lot more brash in this book, maybe a lot less caring than I remember? However, still an enjoyable read.

Synopsis: When Isabel Gallagher is found murdered on the floor of her baby’s nursery by her mother, it’s a gruelling case for Detective Lottie Parker. Isabel’s pyjamas have been ripped, her throat cut and an old-fashioned razor blade placed in her hand. As Lottie looks at the round blue eyes and perfect chubby cheeks of Isabel’s baby daughter, she can’t understand who would want to hurt this innocent family.

That very same day she receives a call with devastating news. Another young mother, Joyce Breslin, has gone missing, and her four-year-old son Evan has been abducted from daycare. Lottie is sure that the missing mother and son are linked to Isabel’s death, and when she finds a bloody razor blade in their house, her worst fears are confirmed. Desperate to find little Evan, Lottie leaves no stone unturned as she delves into Isabel and Joyce’s pasts and when she realises the two women have been meeting in secret, she knows she must find out why.

But when Joyce’s body is found in a murky pond and some little bones are found on a windy hillside, it feels as if this merciless killer will stop at nothing. The bones aren’t Evan’s but can they give Lottie the final clue to find the innocent child before more lives are taken? Continue reading “Little Bones by Patricia Gibney (Lottie Parker Book 10)”

Synopsis: When Rachel Mullen is found dead by her only sister Beth, her body twisted in an arc of pain, Detective Lottie Parker knows that she has been murdered the minute she enters the bedroom. Lottie’s heart aches for Beth, all alone in the world, whose last memory of her sister will forever be the brutal way she was taken. And when Lottie finds a shard of glass placed in the young girl’s throat, she fears that Rachel may be just the first victim. The night before, Rachel had attended a party at a luxurious new restaurant in Ragmullin, and Lottie wastes no time in tracking down the other guests. But there are several things troubling her: Rachel’s handbag and keys are nowhere to be found, and no one at the party seems to have seen her leave.

Just as Lottie thinks she’s onto something, her worst fears are confirmed: another woman is found murdered… with glass in her throat. The brilliant, young doctor wasn’t a guest at the party and Lottie is forced to question everything. Desperate to find proof of what really happened that night, Lottie gets close to the hostess of the party, whose two daughters were friends with Rachel. But Lottie’s hunt for the truth must be getting under the killer’s skin, because then her beloved fiancé, Boyd, goes missing. Can Lottie get in the mind of this twisted killer before it’s too late? Or will the man she loves be silenced forever?

Kat’s Rating: 3/5

My Review: I am thoroughly enjoying this series and this book was another good addition, however it wasn’t quite as good as previous books in the series for some reason. The main storyline features the death of a young woman Rachel Mullen. Although we have the usual suspects back in this book such as Boyd, and Lotties other colleagues they featured very little in comparison to other books. In addition it feels like Lottie has an air of irritation throughout this book and I couldn’t quote understand why.

The storyline was okay but I felt like it fell short of other stories in the series. It gathers a little momentum towards the last quarter of the book however I felt like it didn’t have the same connections that were in previous books whether that be to family or colleagues. I definitely recommend this series andlook fotrward to the next book, but in all honesty this wasn’t my favourite.

Synopsis:

When Faye Baker discovers a fragile child’s skull behind the walls of her new home, Detective Lottie Parker is called to investigate. The house has been owned for years by the family of Faye’s boyfriend Jeff, so when Jeff starts acting suspiciously, Lottie wonders what he might be hiding…

Lottie doesn’t have long to dig deeper before a child’s bones are found by eleven-year-old Gavin on nearby railway tracks. The bones don’t match the small skull behind the walls, but Lottie can’t ignore the coincidence. Someone out there must be missing their loved ones and it’s up to her to put right a terrible wrong.

Unable to shake a feeling of foreboding, Lottie goes to speak to Faye, and discovers that she hasn’t turned up for work. When Faye’s body is found stuffed in the back of her car, Lottie needs to find out who wanted her to keep quiet.

As Lottie hunts for Faye’s killer, the case takes a darker turn when Gavin goes missing. Faye and Gavin are connected only by the grisly body parts they discovered. But who are these little victims and why has their killer come back? Can Lottie find the answers before another precious life is taken?

My Rating: 4/5

My Review: I was very pleased to get stuck into this latest book. I have been a little gripped with this series and it’s characters, although I am finding I would love to see some changes. The opening of this book (and ending of the last one) may well be what I was waiting for. The storyline this time around involves a LOT of people. It starts with a lady named Faye when decorating her new home discovering a skull. What follows is the discovery of a childs bones on a nearby railway track. The story and writing were as previously very engaging, but with each book I read I feel like maybe there are some things missing.

This storyline although good involves a lot of characters, and sometimes it seems like the plot could have done with being more simplified. In addition I am coming back to the same things I have mentioned in previous reviews. As an avid reader part of the draw for me with a series is the characters and the investment and time we as readers make for them. I feel like Lottie continues to make the same mistakes and additional characters never get a look in. I would really love to see some characters such as Kirby get their own air time as well as Lottie maybe finally learning a few lessons. I do feel like her personal life and the decisions she is making with Boyd will maybe create a basis for more stability (Jesus I would hope so) and hopefully will enable the readers to get a feel for other people.

This is certainly a series that has grown on me and the writing is fabulous. It would be great to see changes in future books and I will still eagerly read the next installment.

Synopsis: One dark winter’s morning, bride-to-be Cara Dunne is found hanging in her home, dressed in her wedding dress, with a lock of hair removed. Detective Lottie Parker is first on the scene. Looking at Cara’s bruised and battered body, she wonders who could have hated her enough to kill her at the happiest time of her life.

The case takes a darker turn that afternoon with another shocking discovery – the broken body of a second young woman, pushed from the roof of the hospital where she worked. Fiona Heffernan was also due to be married, and her body is clad in a wedding dress, a lock of her hair cut off.

The killings seem so personal that Lottie is convinced the girls have been killed by someone they knew. When she goes to break the news to Fiona’s family, she’s on the alert for anything suspicious. But then she makes a discovery that causes her blood to run cold – Fiona’s eight-year-old daughter Lily didn’t return home from her dance recital that afternoon. Terrified that Lily will be the next victim of a twisted and dangerous individual, Lottie takes the case into her own hands, risking her life when she comes face-to-face with the killer…

My Rating: 4/5 Continue reading “Broken Souls by Patricia Gibney (Lottie Parker #7)”

Synopsis: When Amy Whyte and Penny Brogan leave a local nightclub in the early hours of Sunday morning and don’t arrive home, their families are beside themselves with worry. Conor Dowling has just been released from prison, a man full of hatred for Amy, the girl who put him behind bars in the first place.

The case is given to Detective Lottie Parker, when the girls’ blood-soaked bodies are found, days later, in a derelict squat. Chillingly, both girls are clutching silver coins in their hands – what message is this killer leaving behind? All the signs point to Conor but his alibi is water tight.

As Lottie examines Penny and Amy’s final days alive in a desperate search for clues, two more girls are found stabbed to death in a luxury apartment complex. Caught up in what is fast becoming her toughest case yet, Lottie is unaware that somebody is watching her every move.

Then Lottie’s two daughters, Katie and Chloe suddenly disappear from the town centre. Terrified that the killer has her girls, the stakes have never been higher for Lottie.

But as Lottie puts everything on the line to find her daughters and solve the case, she’s about to find herself in terrible danger – someone has a personal axe to grind with her and they know the best way to get to her is to hurt the ones she loves the most.

My Rating: 3/5 Continue reading “Final Betrayal by Patricia Gibney (Lottie Parker #6)”

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.