I loved this book!! It is set in places that I know and love and that always helps bring a story to life for me. I loved the characters and can’t wait to find out more about them in the future. The plot was great, just the right amount of detail and it was set at a great pace. I was gripped from the beginning and intrigued right up to the end. Really enjoyed the writing style too – five stars from me and looking forward to reading more in this series – this really is an excellent start!!

Enjoyed this book. The first of a series. Quite a dark thriller but gripping and quick to read

Read all my reviews at: https://brainfartsandbooks.wordpress.com

As the first book in the DI Kelly Porter series, I found this book to be absolutely riveting. Kelly comes home after being a big city London detective only to find herself in the middle of what seems to be a sex ring, prostitution, illegal immigrant scandal. Yes, the author threw all of those topics into this one book. The book starts out with Kelly working on a cold case of a murder of a little girl many years back. Little does she know, she will uncover more than just what happened to the little girl. On a wild cat-and-mouse chase, Kelly is one cat with oh-so-many mice to catch. Well done Rachel Lynch! I look forward to the next installment!

Thank you to Netgalley, Rachel Lynch, and Canelo for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DI Kelly Porter has moved home to live with her mum. Leaving the fast paced Met Police for a much more sedate role in the Lakes. At least that's what she thought. Whilst working on a cold case, she uncovers a whole world of other crime that starts to look as though it may be connected.
It gives you a glimpse into a dark world which may leave you feeling a little uneasy.
A brilliant read.

This book is a new series featuring DI Kelly Porter who returns to her home town to work . She's given a cold case involving a young girl's murder five years earlier and is investigating a local businessman's murder . Are they connected?? A deeply disturbing and dark thriller ! Dramatic storytelling with an intense and gritty well written plot . This is a incredibly talented author .
#Netgalley #Canelo #DarkGame

Dark Game by Rachel Lynch is a contemporary detective murder and crime novel. It is all the more chilling because it could be true.
Set in Cumbria, a beautiful landscape contrasts with ugly events. A cold case appears to be linked to modern day crimes. The reader quickly becomes embroiled in the underworld of trafficking, drugs, prostitution and murder. It is organised crime at the highest level and with far reaching arms. The plotline was intricate and well thought out but made for extremely uncomfortable reading at times.
For me, there was far too much detail in the 'bedroom' scenes which I skipped over. I do understand that it was there to add realism and some readers may want this, but I did not like it. Having said that, it did not spoil my enjoyment of the novel as it was an excellent serious crime story. I can imagine the story would translate well into a BBC drama.
The characters were well drawn, being realistic and edgy. The villains were menacing and evil to look at in my mind's eye. The leading female detective was likable. She was a strong character who would not suffer fools gladly.
Dark Game was an excellent read that will grip you from start to finish.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book, much darker and more sinister than I expected. Department twists and plot line kept me gripped all the way through

This is the first book in a new series featuring DI Kelly Porter who returns to Cumbria, her birthplace, following a ‘fall out’ with the Met. Kelly is given a ‘cold case’ which involves a young girl’s murder 5 years previous and also the case of a local businessman who is found dead from a heart attack. On investigating these cases Kelly finds they are linked and also finds some of her old school friends are involved in people trafficking and money laundering.
This is a book you will not be able to put down. I particularly enjoyed the graphic description of the Lake District which I love and have visited often. A great debut novel and I can’t wait for the second book in the series.
Thanks to NetGalley and Canelo for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

How are the death of a 10-year-old girl and a sex trafficker connected?

Kelly Porter returns to her hometown in Cumbria after a stint in London which did not end well. She wants to impress her new bosses and sets out to solve the three-year-old murder of a 10–year–old girl. She is also investigating the death of a well-respected businessman who dies while having sex with a Polish prostitute. How are the two crimes connected?

This book is good but there is nothing new about the plot or the characters which have not been written a hundred times already. Kelly returns home after working in London. She lives with her mother and is hated by her sister. Throw in a child murder, sex trafficking and blackmail and it is a clone of many criminal fiction stories.

I did enjoy it as a book, which written well and obviously well researched. The description of the Cumbrian area was superb, but not a page-turner. I think the author would be very good if she could come up with an original concept.

Overall a good book and worth a read if you are new to crime stories.

Shesat

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

Dark Game is a real page turner. The book had me hooked straight away with its two plots that intermingled. I couldn’t, for around half the story, work out how the two were connected. It was an eye opener when the dots were finally joined.

This is a real dark thriller containing scenes of a sexual nature, violence and plenty of bad language, some not easy to digest. If you are sensitive to any of these then this may not be the book for you. However, with the gritty, hard-hitting plot, these scenes are perfectly justified and the book wouldn’t work without them. They have been done with expertise and the author has clearly done her research.

The vast array of characters are all well formed and have all been cast in their roles perfectly. They are exceptionally realistic, which is also quite scary to think about.

The twists in the plot came thick and fast, and there were plenty of surprises along the way. I found it completely unputdownable and although I had to once, the second time I picked it up I read for a few hours straight, right until the early hours of the morning. I needed to know where the story ended.

I was left satisfied with the closure, then, the author added the epilogue which left me open mouthed. Looks like we have a contender for who is going to show up in book two. Fair play to you Ms. Lynch I really didn’t see that coming, even-though looking back there had been a few hints along the way.

This is a thriller that has been well written, full of surprises, has hard to swallow scenes and one I couldn’t put down. Now bring on book two, I can’t wait.

This is a cut above most police procedural. 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!
This book was very captivating and Rachel Lynch had a great way of telling a story.
A must read.

Kelly had left her home town in Cumbria years ago to work in the bright lights of London. Moving back home working as a DI in the local police force was certainly different. To start off Kelly looked into an old case involving the murder of a young girl 5 years before. A new case of a dead local business man of a heart attack gave Kelly plenty to work on. Little did she know how investigations would lead to both cases being linked. Kelly was drawn into people trafficking and money laundering which would involve old school friends. This was a good book with lots going on I highly recommend it.

I would like to thank the author Rachel Lynch, Netgalley and Canelo.

DI Kelly Porter has come home from London to the Lake District. She takes on a cold case and then she gets another case to do with people trafficking, illegal immigrants and a prominent local businessman who died? What are they all hiding and who is behind this terrible murder of a 10 year old little girl. You have GOT to read this author's 1st book in a series that looks to be really good.

I read this within 24 hours. I couldn't put it down. It had me engrossed from beginning to end.

This was a brilliant read, all the characters were believable and the Lake District setting made it even more interesting, drugs and violence in such beautiful surroundings. I enjoyed every chapter and would love to see follow on books with the same police line up. Really excellent. and highly recommended.

This book was very captivating, for the most part the storey was excellent. It was let down for me, by just a couple of really gory bits. I felt that the book could have done without. Loved the Detective, Kelly Porter especially her enthusiasm for solving the crime, like a dog with a bone she would not give up, and had an empathy with the Victim, which was refreshing.

I loved this book! I love finding new authors in the hope that it will eventually be a series of stories so I have the opportunity to read more and watch their character grow. This book didn’t disappoint. I was in the edge of my seat, eager to finish just to know what happened. I will be adding RL to my reading lists in the future.

the review:

DI Kelly Porter returns to the Lake District, to her family home. Behind she leaves London and the Met, a disastrous love affair, and a bit of a scandal and disciplinary problem. Her father has died recently; and, in her opinion, her widowed mother needs to start living again. She’s not looking forward to sharing her life with, or giving any satisfaction of her actions to, her mother, and least of all to her sister, as if she had suddenly gone back to being sixteen again. Besides, relationships are tricky in the household, especially due to her opinionated and bellicose sister, who does not waste any opportunity to put Kelly down, or making her look bad in front of her mother. But Kelly does want to have a role in her mother’s life, and is determined to hold her ground, whether her sister likes it or not.

Kelly loves her police work, and couldn’t imagine her life without her career. She is looking forward to taking over from the retiring DI, and to run her own team on her own terms. She starts familiarizing herself with her team, which she seems to like instantly, and with all the current processes and files, including a hard, unsolved case from years before. And it’s at this point that things start going very, very awry in that supposedly quiet and safe part of the world.

Bit by bit, Kelly introduces us to the well hidden, seedy and dangerous underbelly of those seemingly idyllic villages, with their hotels and B&Bs and their staff of young female migrant workers, and their secret nocturnal trade of organised prostitution.

Sensing a connection between her cold case of child abduction and murder, and some of the developments she starts investigating in the aftermath of a local prominent figure being found dead in a room of one of his hotels, what Kelly uncovers is a web of corruption, prostitution and human trafficking, where lives only have a value equal to the profit they can generate.

Along the way, Kelly acquires a new love interest, who might or might not be the real thing and have some sort of future. She meets her teenage love interest again, and discovers that he is not so desirable after all, or as good a catch as she had thought when she was young — and neither is his family, whose haulage company is implicated in the smuggling and trafficking of migrant workers.

She successfully networks and establishes solid work relationships with her own team and those of other stations, paving the way for future cooperation and collaboration. Following her gut feeling, Kelly pursues clues and links to exhaustion, which allows her to solve both the cold case and all the present day crimes and to identify the whole criminal network and its workings. She eventually arrests the crime boss (but not without disregarding procedure once again and putting her life on the line).

As she collects all her bits and pieces of information, Kelly meets a very strong and determined young woman who finds a place, through her integrity and honesty, in Kelly’s and everyone else’s affection. We grow to love this young woman too, and can but make a mental comparison between her and our DI Kelly Porter: stubborn, determined, intelligent and impulsive, incorruptible women who know what they want and what they think is right, and go after it… and damn the consequences.

Last but by no means least, Kelly mends her relationship with her ageing mother, and embarks on a bit of a journey of self-discovery.

the verdict:

Dark Game has been touted by the publishers as Rachel Lynch’s debut novel in the genre. It is satisfyingly well plotted and very well written, so much so that you’d be hard pushed to tell this title was but a writer’s very first effort in the genre. Her authorial voice is strong and clear, mirroring to perfection the personality, values and voice of her main character. All the characters have depth and demarcation, and the action is so well paced that it keeps you hooked on, suspended, at the edge of your seat and with your heart in your hand, right until the very end: you cannot contemplate putting the book down, lest whatever it is that is going to happen next suddenly happens while you’re not there to witness it.

We know from its cover that it is Book One of DI Kelly Porter, and in fact, just before this story ends, suddenly there is the thread you know will be pulling the story forward and into its second instalment; however, the book stands perfectly well on its own — as the saying goes, it is in fact quite perfectly formed and very, very well rounded.

As we read on, we are pleasantly surprised at the depth of knowledge and the astounding amount of research Rachel Lynch has put towards this first title, and arguably the other two books in her trilogy.

As you turn that last page, after all the threads but one have been pulled together and successfully tied up, you do know that you do want more of DI Kelly Porter, her policial adventures — and, why not, her romantic ones as well — and of all the nice Lakes people she meets and the landscapes she runs and drives through, and which she so naturally introduced us to.

It is a good thriller. And if thrillers are your cup of tea, you’d better catch this one. I can guarantee you will not regret giving Rachel Lynch — and DI Kelly Porter — a chance, and a little bit of your leisurely time.

Genre pegging: thriller
Verdict: recommended
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
Shelves: mystery & thrillers;

I have been waiting to read a book which not only contains crime, but is predominantly police procedural based - I'm sure you can guess how excited I was to read 'Dark Game'! Rachel Lynch's book really does live up to it's not so bright title as yes, the storyline is exceptionally dark. If you're easily offended, then I suggest not reading this book as the author has incorporated a lot of shocking events into a relatively small space and, whilst I was absolutely hooked from the get go, some readers may find the theme a bit too twisted.

Not me, obviously! That said, if you had mentioned this book to me a couple of years ago -  I would have raised my eyebrow at you and told you not to be so daft (I was a wuss!). Now when I get asked to read dark, crime books such as this one, I jump at the chance whilst also holding on tight as I know it's going to be a bumpy ride!

Kelly is determined to do her best in her new role in the Lake District. After working in the busy Met, Kelly is used to fast paced, tough criminal activity and, even though she has adjusted her mindset to accommodate the pace change, Kelly has no option but to give it her best shot. Oh, she certainly does that alright!!

Clearly I do not want to give anything away as that would be just pointless, so, all I will say is that this storyline is one that just keeps on giving, even when you think everything has slowed down. It hasn't; the story is just taking a couple of second breather. Basically, keep your attention on the events in this book otherwise you literally will blink and miss something vital. I know I did....once or twice!

I did find some of the themes covered in 'Dark Game' exceptionally hard to read, but, it is what it is and unfortunately things like this happen in real life. Even though there were times where I thought to myself 'what on Earth was that?!', I refused to put the book down as I was enthralled by Kelly's confident persona, as well as the gritty and chilling storyline. As far as I was concerned it was a winning combination - I fluffing loved this book (yes that sounds weird considering what it contains, but y'know!!).

'Dark Game' is dark, twisted, shocking, chilling, gritty, and exceptionally fast paced. I would love to give this book more than five stars, however, I am not magic by any means but at least the thought was there!

Absolutely brilliant and very, very cleverly written, 'Dark Game' will knock your socks off time and time again!

I enjoyed this first book of the Kelly Porter series. I was engrossed throughout and loved the characters. I would definitely recommend this book and thank Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

Darker and more psychological than the book I usually read it was a really good read.
I appreciated the style of writing and the plot was really sound and contains no hole.
The relationship between the characters are realistic and well developed.
It was entertaining and thrilling at the same, a page turner.
Many thanks to Canelo and Netgalley