A very promising start to this new series. DCI Jack Lambert is a police detective with his fair share of dodgy secrets and bad decisions in his past, both personal and professional. But aside from all that he loves his job and is very good at it, even though he doesn't always stick rigidly to the rules. Still getting over a botched case last year where he was injured and a vicious killer nearly got away, he and his team are faced with a double murder. The recently deceased bodies of one man and one woman are discovered in a grave that has deliberately been re-opened. Whilst the detectives are searching for connections and motives, another pair of bodies is revealed. Jack has his work cut out, especially whilst also trying to solve the cases of the killing of a lad working for the local drug lord and the harassment of a local girl turned celebrity. It's a great story with lots of suspects and twists right up to the discovery of the killer and leaves the reader waiting keenly for the next book in the series.

who's on a killing spree and displaying the bodies in such a macabre fashion that's what the seasoned D.I. Lambert has to discover. Although used to death and all its indignities sometimes even the most assured detectives can be unsettled, especially as his past is brought into play. Those close to him are not safe either but how does he tackle the problem. By doing what he does best getting in deep in detail and often going rogue but never deterred or wavering in his quest to bring a murderer to justice. So the bodies mount up and time becomes a precious commodity for our reckless D.I. but like the Mounties who always got their man so does Lambert and what an unexpected killer it turned out to be.
so buckle up and enjoy this fast paced thriller.

DCI Jack Lambert is back working and his first case involves the discovery of two bodies in a open grave. Are these the first for the killer and will there be more. Meanwhile his team also have the case of the stalking of a minor local celebrity.
I found it to be an interesting mystery with a variety of different characters. A good solid start to a series which I look forward to reading more.

Detective Chief Inspector Jack Lambert is struggling not only with a vicious knife attack that seriously wounded him several months ago but also with coming to grips with his coming out as gay and how others are handling this. In particular, his ex-partner, pathologist Rosie Lynnes is hurt and cannot forgive him for his treatment of her. Added to these difficulties, he has an ongoing problem with a local journalist and his immediate superior appears to be going to pieces.

In his team, there is an ambitious detective inspector who is keen to get into Jack's shoes. There is also his earlier relationship, before becoming a policeman, with a local crime boss; his father is dying, and he is scared he is losing contact with his daughter.

The scene is set in South Shields, about 3.7 miles south of Newcastle. Lambert is called to the site where two bodies lie in an open grave. With his team, they discover the names of the victims but can't find a link between them. The problems increase when two more bodies are found in yet another open grave. Retired criminal psychologist Frank Pritchard is called in to help the team solve the murders.

Into all of this comes Nell Stevens a local media personality who is being stalked and a missing person reported by his pregnant partner, who was known to work with the local crime boss. There's also talk of somebody trying to take over the boss's patch.

So there's plenty going on in South Shields.

The book is cleverly written and keeps the reader involved through to the very unexpected end. There are few clues as to who the murderer is, or in fact who the stalker is. The protagonist and his team are believable as are all the characters on the periphery.

I would certainly recommend this book to any mystery readers.

If you like to give your brain a workout, then this is definitely the book for you!

With the discovery of two bodies, DCI Jack Lambert has a new case to work on. When this is followed by another body found in the river, Jack's team has plenty to be getting on with. A local celebrity stalking is added to their workload - is there a link? With the press on his back and more bodies added, it's time for some good old-fashioned police footwork. Add in family issues, office politics, personal problems and Jack has more than enough to keep him busy.

DCI Jack Lambert is the type of detective who works the case and follows the clues. There is a lot of grunt work in this one and at times it's hard to work out where it's heading, but the results make it well worth hanging in there. This is a well thought out scenario; plenty to grab your attention and make sure you guess (wrongly) several times over! It's not an over-glamorous novel, but rather a well written, gritty, warts-and-all police procedural with gruesome details and overworked officers following the clues along with the odd hunch. There is a really good cast of characters in this one, but the personalities don't dominate - the story does. The result is exciting and gripping, and it's certainly a series I would like to follow in future. Fully recommended!

My thanks to Bloodhound Books for my copy via NetGalley. This is my honest, original and unbiased review.

Set in and around Newcastle, this book is a very good debut. I enjoyed the mystery of the plot but it was a bit repetitive. DCI Jack Lambert is on the hunt for a murderer after the discovery of two bodies in an open grave. It just failed to grab me and finished just too quickly. I would read the next in the series. Thanks to Net Galley for my copy. Reviewed on Goodreads with Amazon to follow.

This is the start of a new police procedural series set in Newcastle (England) featuring DCI Jack Lambert. There is, of course, a serial killer, as well as the obligatory team dysfunction, broken relationships and tortured hero. It was quite good, but there was nothing particularly original here.

Two bodies have been found entwined, their shallow grave having been recently dug up to make their discovery inevitable. The victims did not appear to know each other, and had nothing in common. Jack Lambert has recently returned to work after recovering from injuries sustained in a previous serial killing case that left both he and the force bruised by press criticism, his confidence lost. Then a member of a local drug dealing gang, which Jack was involved with in his previous life, is found dead, and a pop star reports being stalked. Overworked and understaffed, Jack and his underlings, ice cold Christensen and borderline sex-pest Watkins, are getting nowhere even when more bodies show up, and have to battle hostile journalists and solicitors, office power struggles and try to get help from Jack’s angry ex, the pathologist, and alcoholic friend the psychological profiler. Throw in gang turf wars and a horribly unhealthy lifestyle and it’s no wonder Jack is having headaches...

I don’t really know Newcastle, apart from a few weekend visits in the very early 90s when my sister was studying there - and neither have I read much fiction set there - most of my UK based series seem to be set in London or Yorkshire. I like it when the location becomes almost another character, but this certainly didn’t suggest anything appealing about the place - it never seems to stop raining, for a start.

The plot was okay, with quite a lot of threads introduced, things ended up being wrapped up very quickly, as it’s not a particularly long book.
I was disappointed that the author missed the opportunity to take the main point of difference here - an openly gay detective who has recently come out, and go somewhere with it - maybe this is being kept for future books, but the hero is neither in any kind of active relationship nor even attracted to anyone. He doesn’t even really get any kind of grief or bullying for it, his colleagues just tip-toe around the subject, showing a sensitivity that doesn’t ring true compared to the rest of their behaviour (rampant sexism and misogyny, for example.)

I also kept feeling that I had missed an earlier book, with all the references to the Newcastle Knifer case that are made, but this is definitely the first in the series. I’ve read so many detective series that I’m used to the lead being a misunderstood genius, so Lambert being a complete dimwit felt a bit odd. He rushes into danger alone, on the say-so of a bad guy, not once but twice, and doesn’t really solve the case apart from one moment of insight.

I’m possibly being a bit hard on this, especially as it’s a first novel. I did enjoy reading it for the most part, the writing was fine although as others have mentioned, the ARC has some errors with names etc that have hopefully been corrected for publication, and there was a serious lack of spacing between sub-chapters that made it hard to follow at times. I probably would read the next one to see where Peacock takes his amiable Geordie hero, but the genre is crowded, and for those who don’t read as much crime fiction as I do, this is not the best out there.

My thanks to Bloodhound Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a voluntary honest review. Open Grave is published on 26.09.18.

'Open Grave' is the first book of the DCI Jack Lambert series set in and around Newcastle, UK and A. M. Peacock's debut novel. The location was one of the aspects that initially drew me in - one mention of the River Tyne and i'm sold. I know the Newcastle area very well having lived in the vicinity for years a while back. It's also pretty rare, even though it shouldn't be, that the investigators in a police procedural are described as wrestling with their sexuality and turn out to be gay. I am an advocate for more diverse books, so this thoroughly appealed to me. Jack Lambert is a fascinating character and I am eager to know more about him in upcoming books. The struggle regarding his sexuality adds a different facet to the whole case, I thought it was believably portrayed and felt authentic. He is the typical tough guy who is loveable and a big softie at heart. That definitely fits with the Geordie profile!

I found the writing style had a great flow to it, and the pace was ideal, with many twisty surprises in store for the reader. The references made to the local area made the book feel much more personal to me as I knew the places that were mentioned. The climax was really well done and satisfied me as a thriller reader. However, there were issues that could've been resolved by tighter editing - frequently people were referred to by different names e.g. PCC Nadine is referred to as Nadine Dorris, Nadine Doris and Nadine Guthrie, which makes no sense at all, and I have no idea how this escaped the eagle eyes of the editor and the author.

All in all, this was a compelling, veritable thrill ride and one that kept me entertained for the duration. There were a few minor issues but that didn't affect my overall appreciation of the book, and being a debut, this is a promising start to the authors career. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to Bloodhound Books for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Not my normal type of book but i like a challenge and i found this a great story and i love jack lambert a change from so many other policemen.will recommend this book 5*

3.5 Stars
This was a good read but it didn’t really hook me in.
Jack Lambert is SIO on a murder case involving two bodies found in an open grave. The book goes on a bit too long without any tenable leads so I found I’d lost interest when they did eventually find the killer.
I really liked Watkins and his rapport with Lambert was good fun.
There are other storylines in this book and whilst the criminal world was related to Jack’s past, the celebrity being stalked was a bit of a red herring.
I might give the next book a go to see if it’s a more gripping story.
Thanks to Bloodhound Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Once again Bloodhound Books has introduced me to yet another fabulous author and series! Always a fan of police/detective stories I was sucked right in with great characters and curious circumstances. Jack Lambert is an interesting yet loveable character, tough yet a good guy with a soft side. Having an ex-wife, child and girlfriend, all of whom he lost because he was honest with about his sexuality, yet he tries to maintain a good relationship. Simply the fact that we have a gay tough a$$ detective was enough to draw me in! Highly recommended and can't wait for more books in this series!

Another new author for me and the start of a new series.
It features DCI Jack Lambert who is based in the North East of England. He is given a case The Open Grave Murders. Two dead bodies, one man one woman locked in an embrace and no clues. If this isn't enough he also has a turf war which is getting very violent.
As more bodies are found Jack now knows what he has been dreading. He is now looking for a serial killer.
This is a fast paced thriller full of loads of twists and turns. It is a very entertaining read, I look forward to the next in this series. This is really good writing, it was thoroughly entertaining and so engrossing I just had to keep on turning the pages.
I would like to thank the author A. M. Peacock, Bloodhound books and Net.galley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for giving an honest review.

Through NetGalley I was able to read a pre-publish copy of this book.
I have to admit I was a bit confused early on because of the feeling of chaos that's going on in the Police department. Various cases going on at the same time. A couple of old-timers with regrets that they can no longer beat the suspect in admission of the crime. One character who is a bit of a womanizer. A female who is a bit over ambitions and would prefer to eliminate the old-timers and in house politics leave you with a lot to absorb. Or main character DCI Lambert has a complex personality. Feeling quality about been the cause of the breakup of his marriage. Having conflicting feeling about having been open about his sexual preference and in the process having hurt the feeling of a person he really cared about. On top of it the nagging feeling that the current series of murders have something personally to do with him. This is a the first book I read by this author and I didn't see any other books by him so this might be his first.
I found this to be a very good book and looking forward to a follow up in this series.

This is the first book in the DCI Jack Lambert series. There is a murderer that is leaving the victims in pairs of two left in ditches. DCI Jack Lambert is on the case. He has some personal problems that keep him depressed a lot of the time. With his staff they investigate the cases and come up with possible suspects.
I enjoy detective stories set in Great Britain and this is a good one. I look forward to other books with this character.

Great book, 5 stars.

Detective Lambert is a great cop with flaws, interesting life and I'm intrigued to see what becomes of him.

More than meets the eye with Christiansen, I have a potential theory about him.

Watkins, bit of a sleaze with woman but young and still naive.

Lots of twists and turns, unpredictable right to the end. Lots going on but not too much you lose track of all the individual stories.

Pace was really well done, leading up to a great climax. Can't wait to read more from Adam.

This was a great start to a new detective series, DCI Jack Lambert’s complicated personal life was cleverly woven into the story. I certainly didn’t see the final twist coming! I really enjoyed meeting all the characters and look forward to the next book to see how they develop.

This debut novel by A.M. Peacock was most enjoyable. The main character DCI Jack Lambert was very likeable and the storyline was very interested. I am certainly looking forward to No. 2.

Open Grave is the first book in the DCI Jack Lamber series and the debut book by A M Peacock.

Lambert and his team are based in Newcastle and the author uses the location to produce a very good fast moving story that lays down the groundwork for future books in the series.

Recommended

I really loved the main characters and the brilliant plot. I read this book in one sitting and could not put it down. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

This is the first in the DCI Jack Lambert series and my first read by A.M. Peacock. Open Grave had so much going on in it, a brilliant police procedural mystery and the daily pressures that they are under to solve/close cases both from high above and from the press, they really don’t get much leeway.

Lambert is called to the scene of two dead bodies, one male and one female in an open grave, this is just the beginning and soon the bodies are mounting up, as if Jack hasn’t enough on his plate to solve this one quickly, a body of a local thug who is known to work with the local drug lord, McGuinness turns up and to top that off, a local celebrity, Nell is being stalked, are all these linked?

Jack and his team are up against it, this is a great plot story with plenty of twists and turns to keep your interest, I love these types of genre so this was right up my street. I hope to read more of Jack Lambert in the future as he is a complex character with so much history/baggage, I would love to see how his character develops.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bloodhound Books for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.