A very engrossing novel about the sex trade problem. It is set in Ireland and is a good mystery with unexpected twists and turns.

An enjoyable read, with a strong story line and believable characters based around a very topical subject of sex slave trading. This is not something I have ever associated Ireland with but it did not reduce the harshness of the plot.

When Cat Connolly’s best friend and training partner fails to turn up for a gym session, Cat knows something is wrong. This isn’t like Sarah Jane. Cat immediately begins looking for her and the more she learns the more worried about finding Sarah Jane she becomes. Just what was the journalism student working on before she disappeared?

In Deep Water isn’t as captivating as Blake’s debut and it’s more than a tad far-fetched in parts, but it’s still an enjoyable read.

What a great read and a good follow up to the author's first book. Cat Connolly is stubborn and won't leave a stone unturned in her investigations but will this case prove too much for her as she races time to find a much loved friend who as gone missing. I loved the book thank you for the ARC

A really enjoyable mystery with well thought out plots and excellent writing.

This is the second in the Dublin based Cat Connolly series. It is very different from the first book with a more personal missing person case. Whilst I really enjoyed the first, Little Bones, from Sam Blake, for me this more a treading water second book. After the heart stopping ending of Little Bones, the nightmares have not left Cat. She lost her unborn child and has had to endure a long road to physical recovery before returning to the police. She is back to testing her limits with her beloved kick boxing. We are introduced to a new character, Sarah Jane Hansen, a journalism student, who apparently is Sam's best friend and training partner.

Sarah Jane fails to meet Cat, which is so unlike her that Cat begins to fret. Her concerns lead her to making her way to Sarah Jane's home, which has been broken into and left a mess. Cat makes the rookie error of compromising the scene. Cat's close relationship with DI Dawson O'Rourke has her confiding in him about Sarah Jane and so the police begin to make inquiries. Sarah Jane's father is a famous Pulitzer prize wining war journalist, Ted Hansen, who reveals that he warned off Sarah Jane on pursuing a particular story. Cat knows that this would only have made Sarah Jane more determined to continue investigating. The gruesome discovery of a dead body sparks concerns that it might be Sarah Jane, but it turns out to be someone else. Cat and O'Rourke find themselves drawn into the dark and dangerous criminal underbelly of Dublin and the deadly human trafficking trade.

This novel lacked the ability to engage me with either the characters or the narrative in the way that Little Bones did. Cat's character seems to have regressed from the initiative and spark she previously displayed. This is a significantly tamer police procedural which lacks the necessary character development I would have preferred to have seen. I hope that the next in the series has Cat bouncing back on form!! However, I did enjoy the focus on Dublin as a location. Many thanks to Bonnier Zaffre for an ARC.

I am conflicted in writing this review because I really wanted to love this book. The blurb is right up my alley and exactly what I prefer to read, if I had to rank genres. However, the main character, Cat, fell a bit short for me. It may be because I started the series at book #2 and didn't read book #1. It may have been because part of the book was told as if I was in Cat's head pilfering through her thoughts instead of actions. The plot was interesting to me, and I will likely have to read another book in this series (at least) before I determine whether it is/isn't for me.

Thank you for allowing me to read this early release so I can review. This book was worth the time and I highly recommend it

Oh dear. Ok…..deep breath…..

So here’s the deal. This is a new author for me since I haven’t read book #1 of the Cat Connolly series & if that affected my enjoyment of this one, mea culpa. I’ll give a brief rundown of the plot then try to explain why we’re just not a good match.

Cathy “Cat” Connolly has recently returned to Dublin’s An Garda Síochána following a close brush with death on her last case (book #1). Now she’s fighting fit thanks to long hours of physio & rehab. She’s a national kick boxing champ & when her usual sparring partner doesn’t turn up one day, Cat knows it’s time to get worried.

Sarah Jane is a hard working journalism student, Cat’s best friend & training buddy. She’s also known for her punctuality & an anxious Cat is soon on her way to Sarah’s house. There, she finds Sarah’s room has been broken into & completely tossed.

Cat wastes no time getting her colleagues on board including potential romantic interest DI Dawson O’Rourke. From there the plot takes off & as Cat & her crew search for Sarah, they’ll encounter violent creeps & woman preyed on by human traffickers.

Whether or not you enjoy the book will depend mostly on 2 things: your opinion of the MC & how believable you need a story to be. Let’s start with Cat. She’s a very young copper who’s already been promoted out of uniform. We’re repeatedly told it’s because of her intelligence, cool head & skills. But I’m afraid her actions tell a different story. She’s prone to reckless decisions that endanger others & has a tendency to go haring off on her own, despite being surrounded by experienced cops who actually pay attention to procedure. Sorry, but I have to believe some of her actions would end up with her having her ass handed to her by a superior officer in the real world. Also, the lone wolf approach is tough to swallow & usually has more credibility when ascribed to older characters with more miles under their belts.

We also spend a lot of time in her head as she dissects every thought & emotion, a real pace killer. Case in point: during the opening sequence when Cat decides to check on her friend, we’re meant to feel a mounting sense of dread. You’d assume Cat would hightail it to Sarah’s. Well, it takes 21 pages (I counted) for her to reach her destination during which we share Cat’s every memory, historical anecdotes & emotion plus Sarah’s complete life story. They’re best friends & Cat’s worried…I get it. But there is waaay more back story than I need to understand them or their relationship & any sense of urgency has long since died by the time Cat arrives. And immediately contaminates a potential crime scene. Sigh…..

As for the investigative aspect of the plot, I think my problem (besides the credibility issues) is I’ve read a lot of books in this genre & the sex slave/human trafficking angle is one that’s been done many times. In this case, that’s actually a minor point because although it’s ostensibly a police procedural, it’s really all about Cat. Peripheral characters & events are constructed to showcase the MC. The result is we know her really, really well but other characters suffer from lack of development.

But you know what? At the end of the day, this is just one person’s opinion. The points above are MY pet peeves & it’s very likely there’s a horde of readers out there who aren’t bothered by them. My Gramma used to shrug & say “Not every hat fits” (although I think she was referring to dating…) & that holds for any art form be it book, film or music. If you read & enjoyed the first book, by all means get out there & grab this.

Yes, another missing person case set in a Dublin police station with the occasional trips to the countryside. Sounds dull? No, the detective Cat Connolly is a terrific character well worthy of a TV appearance. However, the sheer joy is little Jacob a boy on the spectrum who is very well described and totally believable.

Another great book, excellent story line and characters, would highly recommend this book.

I received a copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What I liked?
It was an average mystery with several good twists and turns I did not see coming.

What I didn’t like?
-I was tired of reading the word “feck”. It’s a book. You can write the word. Even the disguised four letter word was irritating to read over and over.
-The book had a slow start.
-I didn’t love the writing style. At times it was unbelievable and silly. One of the main deceives was always overdressed when it was time to capture a killer and there would be an unnecessary conversation about him not wanting to get his expensive clothing dirty.

4.5 stars

This is the second book in the series by Sam Blake. The first is Little Bones.

Cat Connolly is a detective with the Irish police. A champion kickboxer, she is smart and tough, and has a nose for seeing things before everyone else. It's a handy trait to have as a detective, but it lands her in trouble too often for comfort.

She is training six times a week with her best friend Sarah Jane, a student reporter who also has a nose for trouble. When Sarah Jane doesn't turn up one night, Cat knows that something is wrong. It is just too out of character for it to be anything else. So when Cat finds that Sarah Jane's room has been trashed and her computers are missing, she brings her colleagues and her boss in on the search.

The writing in this book is more assured than the first in the series, and there is more about Cat and her boss O'Rourke, and her colleagues in and out of uniform. O'Rourke is a little too good to be true, but I also really like him as a character, so I forgive him for that. There are lovely little tidbits about the potential attraction between Cat and O'Rourke, but Blake handles it well. It is a charming bit of unresolved sexual tension, to spice up the relationship Cat has with her boss, without it ever overwhelming the relationship or the story.

It is lovely to see Blake spending more time with Cat and with her colleagues in this book. I think the book is more compelling with the inclusion of more background and more interaction with some of the rest of the team, and I can see this now developing into an interesting series.

There is a bit of detail about the setting, which is unusual. I don't often read crime dramas set in Ireland, and I think Blake handles the setting well. There isn't too much detail to bog down the plot, but the setting frames the interactions, giving it a subtly different spin from some of the other crime novels I've read.

I think Blake is developing as a writer, and this series will get better as she goes along. Cat and O'Rourke are interesting characters, and I think it will become even more compelling. Enjoy.

Thank you to Netgalley, the Author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in return for my honest opinion.

This was a great book. I really enjoyed the main character, Cat. I will definitely be getting and reading book one, to find out more about her past and the relationships with her co-workers, as well any up-coming sequels. I liked how the book was written and found it interesting how the storylines interconnected and I found the storyline kept me reading and interested; that when the action picked up, it was edge of your seat. I found the ending satisfying yet I wanted more, and hopefully the next book will come out soon...

Great plot, well crafted characters and a believable storyline with twists a plenty. A new heroine I'd love to read more about.

I do like it when despite being part of a series, the author takes an entirely different scenario for their subsequent book. Yes we have Cat Connolly, a boxer, feisty and willing to do what she thinks is right in her role in Garda Síochána, but rather than a crime that spanned generations which we had in Little Bones, In Deep Water focus is on a crime which is very much of the present when journalist, Cat’s best friend and training partner Sarah Jane Hansen goes missing.
The first inkling that all is not well is when Sarah Jane fails to make a training session with Cat and her coach and doesn’t answer her phone. When Cat takes a call from Sarah Jane’s mother saying that she’s worried and her husband Ted Hansen, a reporter for CNN currently on location had warned her off a story, it isn’t long before Cat formally reports her friend as a missing person.
One of the pleasures of reading series is that the successful ones develop the key characters by adding layers to what has already been gleaned; Sam Blake has fully achieved this brief as by the very nature of having Cat investigate the disappearance of her friend, we get to see more of her vulnerabilities. After the investigation in the first book we have more of an insight into her relationship with her boss, DI Dawson O’ Rourke, a man who has become more protective of her following the mental and physical scars that resulted from their previous investigation. This interplay is entirely convincing, a bonus as I do like to feel that what I read in crime fiction is realistic. Fortunately despite the horrifying end to the last book, it soon becomes clear that Cat, despite her struggle to regain her previous fitness levels, was her desire to be a profiler within Garda Síochána and so she is studying as well as training and working. I have to be honest Cat’s schedule exhausted me just reading about it.
Sam Blake doesn’t neglect the secondary characters either, each one was well-drawn and yet distinct and pleasingly quite diverse while avoiding the easy short-hand clichés. We meet the highly successful business men and women, the coach with his own battle scars, a young boy with autism and some young women who are living a life I simply didn’t want to imagine.
There is no doubt that this was a superbly well-researched novel, a proper police procedural with the aspects of the investigation qualified with plenty of explanations which only rarely impinged on the flow of the storyline.
In Deep Water steps into the darker areas of crime, giving the book a real edgy feel helped along by plenty of action. This is one scary ride as the team retrace Sarah Jane’s last known movements, a journey that takes in the seedier aspects of life, one that if dwelt upon could be very depressing. Fortunately with many strands of storyline to juggle there is no time to dwell as this accomplished author pulls the strands skilfully together.
I’d like to thank the publishers Bonnier Zaffre for allowing me to read a review copy of In Deep Water and for Sam Blake for writing such an enjoyable read. This review is my unbiased thanks to them.

The one blew me away - a 5-star thriller. Cat Connolly is searching for her missing best friend and, in the process, trips over a human trafficking operation. The search for the friend, Sarah, Jane, and the investigation of the various clues pan out at just the right pace to keep you glued to the page. I enjoyed the read and like the character Cat Connolly. I like that she's tough and intuitive - wanting to be a profiler - but that she's impulsive and vulnerable as well.

Thanks to Sam Blake and Bonnaire Zaffre through NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

What an amazing read!!! I read the last 70% of.this book in one night... I couldn't put it down. I kept waiting for it to get to a slow place where I could stop, but it never did! I hope to see more of Cat Connelly and O'Rourke.

This is an outstanding story on many levels. Although I have read the previous adventure, I did not need to read it to fully enjoy this story. I couldn't help but wonder where it was going at the beginning, but quickly discovered a very deep emotional attachment to the characters and the story. Cat is a most intriguing detective, with strong emotions bubbling under the surface. She has obvious sexual tension with other characters, but struggles to keep attachments away. The emotions this time are for her dear friend who has suddenly gone missing. The clues unravel as step by step police work uncovers a horrible situation. My heart was pounding every step of the way as Cat moves into perilous situations. I finished the book with a feeling of "wow."

Second book in the Cat Connolly series and on a par with the first one. Cat's best friend has gone missing and she is worried that Sarah Jane is in danger. A very good, fast paced book with an excellent plot. One to watch out for in Irish fiction. Thank you Net Galley for my copy. I reviewed on Goodreads.