This is a real don't want to put down, fast paced page-turner. The plot is very complex with a combined current case and a cold case involving an abducted and murdered young girl in a red dress (see cover). This is set in the Lake District where a 30+ female DI has returned to her roots after a few years working for the Met. The author has obviously done extensive research into police procedures, autopsy and money laundering activities. Not for the squeamish though.

This is a cut above most police procedurals. Three interlinked cases, including the topical people trafficking. A strong and likeable main character in Kelly, and a decent annoying hate figure in her sister! Nearly, but not quite, spoiled by the common 'wait for back up' moment. I will definitely look out for further books by this author.

It’s been over four decades since rowing as part of a team from Wray Castle across Windermere to Ambleside. Seemingly a lot has changed. Gone is the Kendal mint cake, sturdy boots and woollen socks, replaced by enslavement, drugs, prostitution and murder. Well that’s the intrigue behind Dark Game. This novel doesn’t have pace, it has acceleration like a Saturn 5 rocket! It seriously damaged my sleep, I couldn’t put it down. David Baldacci, Lee Child et al need to up their game. Rachel Lynch is a great writer and I am glad I finished the book as I now need to sleep.

An exciting and very clever police procedural story. A likeable detective with a lot to investigate! Kept me turning the pages.

There were a number of reasons I wanted to read this.... Firstly, it sounded exciting and the synopsis really made me hit that download button rapidly! Secondly, the setting is pretty close to where I live -just across the border in Northumberland so this appealed to me a lot. Some of the best series' are those that are set in places I know well and love. E.g. The Scottish Highlands, Outer Hebrides. Thirdly, I KNOW WHERE SHE IS by S.B. CAVES, my first ever Canelo novel impressed me so much that I have been keeping my eyes open for another great sounding thriller from them and here it is.

Let me say, this hit the mark exceptionally well for me. It has everything you want or need in a thriller - fab setting, plenty of twists in the tale and well structured and written. I throroughly enjoyed this ride and I hope there are many more to come like this from Canelo in the future, I have high expectations due to these two amazing thrillers that have definitely blown my mind. Also, consider I KNOW WHERE SHE IS if you love dark, disturbing crime novels

Highly recommended.

Thank you Canelo for the ARC, this is my honest opinion.

A debut novel that is highly gritty and suspenseful.

D. I. Kelly Porter has returned to her home town after a long stint working in the Met in London. She's come back thinking the pace would slow down only to find herself involved in a high profile case that seems to be deepening by the minute.

This is a great example of the crime genre. A story that is both gripping and believable, with characters that really draw you in to the tale. I read it from beginning to end in less than two days asking the question not who but how.

This one comes highly recommended from me!

I absolutely loved this read which I raced through and plucky DI Kelly Porter. Roll on Book 2.

DI Kelly Porter had to leave the Met and decided to return to Cumbria. She's living temporarily with her mum until she finds a place of her own. Her sister Nikki is the thorn in her side, they've never got on and some things never change. She fits in to the new team easily - everyone is so friendly and accommodating. She's thrown in when the current DI leaves and finds herself with several cases which seem to be connected. She starts work on a cold case of the brutal murder and abduction of ten year old Lottie Davies. The cases alongside regard an illegal immigrant and her baby and a robbery. It's a fast paced read and I absolutely loved the character of DI Kelly Porter.

I’m ready for book 2
As this is labelled DI Kelly Porter book 1 we are presumably getting at least one more which is good news as there is definitely more mileage in the character. I really liked her to the point that I’m even willing to overlook a fairly reckless decision she made. Oh and don’t get me started on her relationship with her sister!! This book has triggered a desire to visit the Lake District and I just hope I don’t encounter such seedy characters as described in it.
A strong opener to this series and I will be keen to read more.

I would like to thank Canelo and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Dark Game’ by Rachel Lynch in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
After working for the Met, DI Kelly Porter returns to her home town to work for the Cumbria Constabulary. Whilst in charge of a cold case, that of the rape and murder of ten-year-old Lottie Davis five years before, Kelly is also investigating the death in a hotel bedroom of local businessman Colin Day, and as she finds evidence of illegal workers and prostitution she puts her own life in danger.
I’ve enjoyed reading this crime thriller which has been well-written with a bloodthirsty and often gruesome plot. There’s lots of action and an exciting ending that kept me glued to my seat. This novel is well worth reading and I can recommend it.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Canelo for an advance copy of Dark Game, the first novel in a projected series to feature DI Kelly Porter of the Cumbrian Police.

After a public relations disaster at the Met requires a scapegoat Kelly takes the brunt of it and decides to move home to Cumbria. She is settling into her new job, looking at the cold case murder of 10 year old Lottie Davies from five years ago when she is asked to investigate the case of a foreign woman found close to death who had apparently abandoned her newborn son. With all this on her plate she wonders if it wise to take on more work and look into the death of Colin Day, a well known local figure, but she's new and has to show willing. What she uncovers in these investigations is the meat of the novel.

I thoroughly enjoyed Dark Game which is a twisty thriller with developments in every chapter. It held my interest throughout and is one of those books I wanted to get back to as soon as possible. I admire the way Ms Lynch manages to draw the various threads and investigations together into a cohesive whole. It is crammed with plot developments so there is never a dull moment. It does mean, however, that some elements are dealt with more summarily than others. Obviously there is an element of coincidence in the one detective investigating so many linked crimes but it's not striking and did not detract in the slightest from my enjoyment of the novel. I think in this respect the setting helps as it's fairly rural and doesn't have too many detectives. It makes a change as a reader to get away from the bright lights of the big cities.

I like Kelly as a protagonist. She is a fairly standard fictional detective. Scapegoated and betrayed by her former boss/lover she returns home to lick her wounds and is soon making her mark. She is smart, feisty and dedicated with strong urge to lock up the bad guys and protect the innocent. Great stuff. Her relationship with her sister is standout. They can't meet without arguing as her sister is so negative and martyred. There is a reality to it that makes me wonder. I assume that jealousy is at the root of it but look forward to seeing more of this fractured relationship and where Ms Lynch will take it.

Dark Game is a good start to a new series and I have no hesitation in recommending it.

I haven’t read any of this author before so was keen to give it a try. I have to say I really enjoyed it, a great storyline with plenty of twists and turns and characters you can really relate to. It had a good ending and I look forward to the next instalment.

Thank you netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. I loved it. As soon as I noticed that this is set in a cumbria I wanted to read it as it’s where I live!! I really enjoyed knowing exactly where everything was taking place, really helps you picture the story! I also really like kellys character and I’m hoping this is going to be another of my favourite detective series. I read this all at once and couldn’t put it down! Definitely would recommend to anyone! Going to look out for more from this author!

What a fantastic read! I loved this book, the characters were interesting and likable and I can't wait for book 2! The plot was exciting and full of emotion and twists, it was just a really great book that I throughly enjoyed.

This is a very gruesome, dark and gritty police procedural tale based in the Lake District, which made for a refreshing change from the usual city setting. The beauty of the landscape contrasted well with the darkness of the criminal activities and made the plot very believable, because it would be easy to hide in this sort of area. I can't reveal much of the story in a review as it would contain spoilers - suffice to say, there is an intricate web of activities at play involving current and historic crimes.

I enjoyed DI Kelly Porter as the main character who has left her job in London after an embarrassment and come home with a point to prove and she is remarkably efficient in terms of turning up leads and cracking on with the job. As police procedurals go, the investigation flowed remarkably well, given the number of lines of enquiry and I would have liked a few false leads and a bit more suspense. However, the way the story was told, from the point of view of the criminals as well as the police officer, meant that surprises and suspense weren't possible and I can't help thinking that the author missed a trick here.

In terms of characters, they were a little hit and miss for me, with some of the characters a bit cliched. Darren didn't quite cut it for me as a key member of the criminal gang. He was far too flaky to ever be trusted and Marko would never have employed a person like him. Gabriela, however, was a great character.

There were definitely no holds barred in the telling of the story, which some may like, but personally I found it a bit much and the story would have been better if there had been less graphic violence and more was left to the reader's imagination. The writing was crisp and clear, but sometimes things happened too quickly, with little detail, and at no point was I emotionally involved, which was a shame, given the subject matter.

Thanks to Net Galley and Canelo for an ARC copy of the book in return for an honest review.

Exciting police procedural. Connecting a cold case to a present case involving a major crime operation -step by step. The heroine was all business with little time for romance. Great start to a new series.

Dark Game from Rachel Lynch is her first Crime Novel and I enjoyed it very much.
D I Kelly Porter after leaving the Met, transferred back to her old home town in Cumbria. Where her father served in the force all his life. So, she has a lot to live up too. She returns, to live temporarily with her Mother and also to support her after her dad passing. And back to her sister Nikki.
She is first given a cold case of a child abducted and murdered years ago. When a new case comes in that has some connections to the cold case that she is working on. Where a child is abandoned in the Dales. They eventually find the mother and it turns out that she is an illegal immigrant. The case develops into one of people trafficking, money laundering and prostitution.
This story gripped me from the start, starting from a simmer to a boil. I thought that the characters in the story where very well developed. Not only how she described the traffickers Marko and Curtis and Darren well but, the characters of her Mother and her sister Nikki and the sibling rivalry between them. I thought the police procedures was well researched too. I will be looking forward to see what Rachel Lynch as next in store.
Thank you Netgalley and Canelo for a copy of this book.

DI Kelly Foster leaves the Met for a position in the Cumbria constabulary in her home town where her father had served his whole career. The move is not so much by choice but of necessity. Her old boss and lover didn’t support her in a controversial case and she’s pretty much being frozen out by her former colleagues. She ends up moving in with her sick mother who has been looked after by Kelly’s older sister. Kelly starts reading up on cold cases to familiarize herself with her new job. She becomes fascinated by a case where a young girl was abducted and consequently killed but it has been years and the case has grown cold a long time ago. The more DI Foster learns about the case the more involved it gets and she and her team soon find themselves embroiled in money laundering, trafficking of people who are just trying to find a place to live far away from their native countries. The book seems to have been greatly researched and you find yourself caring very much for the victims. There are several gruesome scenes such as people being iincited to fight to the death for their survival. I sincerely loved the book and received it from #NetGalley for my unbiased review. I would strongly recommend this book and would gladly have paid for it. I can’t wait for more books from Rachel Lynch.

A well done effort from Rachel Lynch. I enjoyed much of Dark Game. The few things I didn't would be spoilers so I won't delve into these. Suffice it to say the problems are in certain actions that seem to affect many police procedurals.

Kelly Porter is a CI for a small town having come from London after being thrown under the bus by her partner. She has been assigned a cold case of a murdered child. She is also given a new case which begins to share names with the cold case. This is a police procedural so things can seem like they aren't moving quickly enough. As Kelly begins to piece the puzzle together the tone and tempo of the book increases.

Rachel Lynches style of writing kept me engaged throughout. New evidence is presented as it might be in a real life investigation. Kelly's character has a bit of flesh on her to make her an intriguing protagonist. The strain in her relationship with her sister is relateable as is her mothers concern over her choice of profession. Her love interest is little more than a shadow but he is so,ething that can be built in further books. I can see a bright future in for her in new novels. Other characters are not fleshed out nearly as well. Darren the junkie, Marko the boss, Curtis his hired muscle are all stereotypes. This doesn't work against the book since we know more than Kelly Porter does. There are loose ends but they didn't necessarily need to be tied off.

Not sure how the title and book cover fit the story but once you start reading it becomes a moot point.

The best praise I can offer is wanting more.

I'd like to thank the publisher, Canelo, Rachel Lynch, and NetGalley for my free revoew copy in exchange for my honest review.

Dark Game Rachel Lynch

2017 has seen the publication of some fantastic psychological thrillers, and if this book is anything to go by 2018 is going to see even more.

Kelly Porter is a 36-year-old DI in Cumbria; but that was not where she started her Police career, she has recently moved home from the Met, and she brings with her all the experience of an officer who has served time on an MIT in London.

However; she is not like most protagonists in this situation, she actively tries to not come across as the big-city-girl and is very easy to like. She is struggling with living at home with mom, and having an over-bearing sister living nearby, but as far as her job goes, she’s good and she just lets her professionalism speak for itself.

To start with she is given cold cases to review whilst she is mentored by her predecessor before he moves on to his new job. So, when she digs into the case of a girl who was murdered after being kidnapped during a family outing, and there appears to be a link to a current crime, she is soon thrown into the thick of a serious investigation and takes over as the SIO.

Amongst the small towns of the Lake District there is a growing community of immigrant workers. Amongst these workers are a community of illegal workers held against their will and forced into prostitution and drug abuse.

When one of the local businessmen dies whilst engaging the services of one of these sex workers it starts a chain reaction that uncovers layers of evil that unfortunately do not only exist in fiction.

The young girls forced into working as prostitutes; the human trafficking that gets them into the country, the vicious gangs that are responsible for the trafficking. Then there’s the other crimes that the gangs bring with them. Dog fighting, humans forced into fighting, rape and murder.

This book holds no punches, and certainly has no filters, as it follows Kelly Porters investigation into an ever increasingly serious criminal investigation.

Each new chapter holds another revelation, some of which I didn’t see coming; each of which seems to get more violent as the higher ranking criminals realise that Porter is working her way up the food-chain and is getting close to them.

People who read this blog regularly will know that I place a lot on reality. Rachel Lynch has done her research. The story is frighteningly realistic; the crimes, as they take place are described brilliantly. The crime scenes, and the effect they have on the Police, are stunningly written. The chain of events that transcribe the investigation are logical with no big leaps of faith. In fact, the way the investigation opens up, and the processes the officers go through, are perfectly written.

I hope this is the first of a series. If it is, the next one can’t come soon enough.

Published by Canelo
Publishing date: 29th January 2018.

A rare 5* review from me.
A fast paced, complex and absorbing storyline with intriguing characters and solid conclusion.
I look forward to the next instalment.