Digital Reads Reviews

Many thanks to Kim Nash and Bookouture for my spot on this Blog Tour.

This was fabulous!! What a twist!! Before I started this book, I had only one wish to the book gods – let this be a different police procedural. I wished someone would write a story which had a twist that I wanted. And it happened. Geraldine Hogan in her debut in this genre did exactly that.

A police procedural has certain routine things like cops, team, friendly banter, forensics, investigation. But what this brilliant author did was put those routine stuff in a box, shake it well, and write the story so different from the regular formula. It felt as if she knew where the ending ought to be and then developed the story. She almost read my mind. Amazing.

The author Geraldine Hogan went against the flow.

A great team with supportive partner and friendly banter, you ask? What’s that, the author said. Not even close. Iris Locke, our main character, who was transferred to Murder, had to come home to take up that post. A new face in a group which had years of working together, most times, Iris was not told much and had to prove herself to this group. Her partner too had me rolling my eyes, alcoholic with secrets and a rough bedside manner. Not too friendly, was he?

A larger than life main character, you ask? What’s that, the author said. Not even close. Iris Locke was real, she had her strengths and flaws. She was a normal human being, she was scared, she made mistakes. But what she had made her a great cop. Her intelligence and her determination and perseverance brought a lot of secrets to light.

Friendly banter, you ask? What’s that, the author said. Not even close. Iris had to come back home where her father was a well known ex-cop. She hardly had anyone to speak to. She was the outsider and kept there in most of the book.

A routine murder then, you ask? What’s that, the author said. Not even close. A murder, a mother and her 2 kids shot and burned, the most dreadful of deaths. A file opened on the current case had its links to an old one with a disappearing newborn. Iris opened the can and worms fell out, most wanted to stay buried.

Subtle subplots and normal twists in the story of the murder victims and identity of murderer, you ask? What’s that, the author said. Not even close. She took a whopping risk and brought these twists in a way that the story turned upside down. All that had been laid down in most of the book suddenly took on a new flavor and interpretation.

A faster pace and adding a bit of shine and emotions to the prose would have made it perfect. This was the first book in the series which was paving the way for Iris Locke and the team, so it was understandable. Overall, a fun read with a massive twist. A great debut.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley and publisher, and this is my journey into its pages, straight from the heart!! STRICTLY HONEST AND UNBIASED.

All my reviews can be read here

Geraldine Hogan is an Irish award-winning and bestselling author of four novels. Her books have featured as Book Club Favorites, Net Galley Hot Reads and Summer Must Reads. She writes grown up women’s fiction which is unashamedly uplifting, feel good and inspiring.

Geraldine Hogan was born in Ireland. She gained an Honours Degree in English Literature and Psychology from Dublin City University and a Postgraduate Degree from University College, Galway.

She is the author of several well received women’s fiction novels under the author name, Faith Hogan.

She is currently working on her next novel. She lives in the west of Ireland with her husband, four children and a very busy Labrador named Penny. She’s a writer, reader, enthusiastic dog walker and reluctant jogger – except of course when it is raining!

Website

www.faithhogan.com

Facebook

www.Facebook/FaithHogan.com

Twitter

@gerhogan

When Detective Iris Locke returns home to Limerick, her father thinks she is making a terrible mistake. Jack Locke worked on the force for forty years, and he doesn’t want his beloved daughter coming up against the same twisted individuals he has. But when Iris is called out to a ramshackle cottage in the nearby countryside where a mother and her two children have been shot in their beds, she knows she can’t stand aside. Especially as she knows the woman who has been killed, Anna Crowe.

Iris remembers Anna well. Nobody from Limerick could forget Anna, whose baby sister Janey was snatched from her pram, never to be found again. It was the one haunting case that Jack Locke couldn’t crack and Iris can’t help but wonder if Anna’s death has something to do with Janey’s disappearance.

But by reopening the old case, Iris is also reopening old wounds for the team. She’s determined to untangle the dark secrets that lead to one sister vanishing and the other’s death – even if it means digging into the past of her old friends and family, and revealing truths they’ll do anything to keep hidden …

Publication Date: 23rd August 2019

Publisher: Bookouture