Dead Inside by Noelle Holten

Dead Inside by Noelle Holten
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 352

Publisher - Killer Reads

Source - Netgalley

Blurb from Goodreads

When three domestic abuse offenders are found beaten to death, DC Maggie Jamieson knows she is facing her toughest case yet.

The police suspect that Probation Officer Lucy Sherwood – who is connected to all three victims – is hiding a dark secret. Then a fourth domestic abuser is brutally murdered. And he is Lucy’s husband.

Now the finger of suspicion points at Lucy and the police are running out of time. Can Maggie and her team solve the murders before another person dies? And is Lucy really a cold-blooded killer?



My Review

A debut novel that grips pretty much from the get go. Domestic abusers are being beaten to death and DC Maggie Jamieson is on the case. These men are despicable creatures and trying to uncover why they may be a target isn't hard, figuring out who would want to is! The investigation is on, in between this we have the main character, Lucy Sherwood, probation officer and link to them all. When the fourth victim turns up Lucy is very much a figure of interest with her own secrets and issues can Lucy prove her innocence? Is she innocent?

There is a lot of focus on Lucy, her personal circumstance, her job and what she has to endure, these men are vile "human beings" and we see two sides of Lucy. Lucy the probation officer who takes no snash and faces these men, their intimidation/threats. Then we see Lucy Sherwood, abused wife living with a controlling, aggressive, violent always ready to trigger husband.

I do like a book where yes we have crime/action/murder etc but you very much get the human aspect with deeper insight into the characters. What they endure, survive and how they manage to put their face on to mask it to the world, their colleagues and those closest, very accurate of how some people live in the real word. Whilst we are getting better at talking about domestic abuse and admitting it exists we still have so much more we need to do. I think if you have experienced this in your lifetime this book will hit more than one emotive tone with you, memories, emotions may well be evoked. It is a book that deals with very disturbing scenarios, characteristics and hard hitting themes, it is hard to believe it is a debut. I very much look forward to more by Holten, a star is on the rise, 4.5/5 for me!

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The House Across The Street by Lesley Pearse

The House Across the Street by Lesley Pearse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 352

Publisher - Michael Joseph

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

Twenty-three year old Katy Speed is fascinated by the house across the street. The woman who lives there, Gloria, is the most glamorous neighbour on the avenue, owning a fashionable dress shop in Bexhill-on-Sea. But who is the woman who arrives in the black car most Saturdays while Gloria is at work? Sometimes she brings women to the house, other times they have children.

Hilda, Katy's mother, disapproves of Gloria. She wonders if these mysterious visitors have just been released from prison. Is Gloria secretly bringing criminals, or worse, into the heart of the community?

Then one night, the house burns down. In the wreckage, the bodies of Gloria and her daughter are found. Katy is sure the unexplained visitors must be responsible until her father is arrested and charged with murder. Have the police arrested the correct person? Are the rest of the street safe? Can Katy find the truth before it's too late?


My Review

Katy is always watching the house across the road, usually when ironing. Gloria is always bringing in women to her home but why, what is she doing, why the mystery? When the house burns down and bodies are found Katy can't rest, she needs to know what Gloria did and why her father is arrested.

The pace of this one is a wee bit different from the others I felt. We start off getting to know Katy, her sharp tongued mother, her relationship with her father and brother. The book splits into three main parts, the family dynamics, the murder and the investigation.

Katy's story is really involved in the whole book, we learn of the family interactions, Katy's friendships and the sheltered life and her complex relationship with her mother. Katy is such an innocent and pure character, loyal, fierce and brave if a little misguided.

The book takes a few dark turns, violence, murder, secrets and some tense scenes that kept me turning page after page. The story isn't continuous action or a thriller from the get go but Pearse has a knack of hooking you from the beginning even with the family build up scenes. If you like her previous books I think you will enjoy this one, 4/5 for me this time.

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Born Bad by Marnie Riches

Born Bad by Marnie Riches
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 328

Publisher - Avon

Source - Book shop

Blurb from Goodreads


A powerful, darkly comic novel set in the criminal underworld of Manchester from bestselling author Marnie Riches.

The battle is on…

When gang leader Paddy O’Brien is stabbed in his brother’s famous nightclub, Manchester’s criminal underworld is shaken to the core. Tensions are running high, and as the body count begins to grow, the O’Brien family must face a tough decision – sell their side of the city to the infamous Boddlington gang or stick it out and risk losing their king.

But war comes easy to the bad boys, and they won’t go down without a fight. So begins a fierce battle for the South Side, with the leading Manchester gangsters taking the law into their own hands – but only the strongest will survive…



My Review

Paddy O'Brien has had enough, when an attack makes him question his position, maybe it is time to sell up and enjoy his later years. However it is hard to walk away from the life you know, harder still when folk are attacking your people. Insults must be addressed, attacks must be countered and family always come first.

This is my first book by Riches, sure I have bought a few but this is the first I have read. It shows the darker side of that lifestyle, infidelity, violence, spousal abuse, the criminal underbelly, killers for hire and that is just scratching the surface. It makes for difficult reading at times because it is very gritty and realistic in some of the scenes, little value for human life. The organised crime is set in Manchester and we are immersed in the dark dealings and lifestyles, how it is funded relatively quickly. If you are easily offended this book isn't for you, if you like your crime raw, dark and ruthless you will love this. 4/5 for me this time, whilst this is my first dance with Riches, it won't be my last.

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PRR - Someone Else's Skin by Sarah Hilary

Someone Else's Skin by Sarah Hilary
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1.5 days

Publisher - Headline

Pages - 420

Blurb from Goodreads

Some secrets keep you safe, others will destroy you...

Detective Inspector Marnie Rome. Dependable; fierce; brilliant at her job; a rising star in the ranks. Everyone knows how Marnie fought to come back from the murder of her parents, but very few know what is going on below the surface. Because Marnie has secrets she won't share with anyone.

But then so does everyone. Certainly those in the women's shelter Marnie and Detective Sergeant Noah Jake visit on that fateful day. The day when they arrive to interview a resident, only to find one of the women's husbands, who shouldn't have been there, lying stabbed on the floor.

As Marnie and Noah investigate the crime further, events begin to spiral and the violence escalates. Everyone is keeping secrets, some for survival and some, they suspect, to disguise who they really are under their skin.

Now, if Marnie is going to find the truth she will have to face her own demons head on. Because the time has come for secrets to be revealed...



My Review

The book opens five years ago, DI Marnie Rome arrives at her parents home, cordoned off by the police. She knows it is bad, the way the scene is, the glimpses she can have from the house, the way her colleagues talk to her. Then we flick to present day, almost five years to the day it happened. The book teases the details along of what happened to Marnie's parents. But the world of crime stops for noone and she has a job to do. Arriving at a refugee house for abused women, to interview one of the woman who can help with an investigation they happen upon a bloody scene, one of the women have stabbed her partner she had fled from. Each of the women need to be interviewed, each has reason to hide, distrust and secrets are something they all have. As DI Rome tries to cope with her personal trauma and do her job, she needs to keep her wits about her to figure out what truly happened and how to solve the case.

The opening chapter pulls you in, your given enough to know something bad has happened but you don't know who done it or what they actually did. Present days packs quite a punch as one of the women meant to be kept safe has attacked her husband in self defense. There is a lot of tension within this book, the topic of abuse these women have endured is always present. It is a subject that if you have been touched personally by it the book will pack more of a punch with you. If you haven't it gives an insight into what these women endure and why they behave as they do.

I would say it is a psychological thriller, laced with crime and violence. Whilst the matter is dark and may be close to home for some readers, it is handled in a way that I feel didn't cheapen the subject but stayed true to the issues and reflected real life.

For a debut novel it packs quite a punch, I was up past 6am reading this, I could have gotten through it in one sitting had I not had other things to attend to. The chapters are nice and short which I do light in stories, it makes it easier to read more when you have other things to do in between. The time period jumps about a bit, between some of the characters although it is sign posted well enough, in parts it took a wee bit or getting used to. A great introduction to some new characters that I hope to see more of, 4/5 for me this time. I would certainly read more by this author and think Detective Inspector Rome and the other characters (especially Stephen) have some great tales still to come. Thanks so much to Headline for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, and for introducing me to a new author.

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