When you reach a certain stage in life the phrase 'going home' when it refers to your childhood home is best if it means a short and hopefully harmonious visit. The woman who used to be DCI Robin Lyons, but was now just Robin Lyons, went home with her thirteen-year-old daughter after she was dismissed from the Met. She was going home to the room which she'd had as a child: she would have the bottom bunk and Elena - Lennie to those who knew her well - would have the top bunk. The room was redolent of the time she'd shared the room with her brother Luke - and they weren't good memories.

Her mother - Christine - did her best, but she was still her mother and thought she should act as such. Her father, Dennis, was more understanding - he was ever the peacemaker. The job with MH Investigation Services at least got her out of the house. Maggie Hammond was a friend of her mother, so there was a bit of 'doing a favour' to it, but even chasing benefit fraud suspects was better than sitting in her parents' home all day and it brought some money in, albeit much less than she was used to. Then Becca was reported missing by her mother. Valerie had been to the police, but they didn't seem overly concerned as Becca was an adult. The trouble is that Michael Sams, kidnapper and murderer, and Fred and Rose West were reasonably local and thoughts tended to jump to the awful possibilities.

Oh, but this was a cracking read. I was confident that I was in safe hands by the time I was at the bottom of the first page, and by the end of the first chapter I knew that the book would have to be wrestled from my hands if I was to put it down before I found out what happened. I read it in less than twenty-four hours, delighted to find that it was the first in a new series and only disappointed that there wasn't another book in the series to pick up. Why? Well, the plot is excellent with plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing, but it's completely unforced. I felt as though a good friend was telling me a story - and towards the end I was urging her to tell it a little faster! It was all completely believable.

The writing is classy. Do you need to know any more about this young lady:

Cheap black trousers, slightly scuffed high heels - career-dressing on a budget.

Or on the feeling of having to return to your parents' home when you're in your thirties:

The powerlessness - the complete, stifling powerlessness.

I loved the book. It was a delight to find a new author and best of all that it was the start of a new series. I'd like to thank the publishers for letting Bookbag have a review copy.

Very good story I liked all the characters and kept you drawn in to know more, jumping to the wrong conclusion from the beginning then realising you were so wrong it was very well written and easy to follow overall I would recommend this book and look forward to reading about Robin.

Wow! I have only just stumbled upon Lucie Whitehouse but I will certainly be reading more of hers! Captivating, clever and chilling, I was on the edge of my seat throughout this story and the ending intrigued me and left me wanting anothet installment, I hope this becomes a series!

Fun, sassy, topical and engaging, this is the first in what should turn into a successful series featuring Robin Lyons and ex Detective Inspector dismissed in disgrace for trying to do her job properly and trying to redeem herself and salvage her career when exiled back to her home town of Birmingham..

There are a plethora of characters, plots and sub plots which do make this slightly hard to follow and you need to keep careful count of who is who but the effort is more than worthwhile as this is an excellent and well written thriller that shows real promise for the future.

Disgraced and dismissed cop, Robin, is forced to return home, with her thirteen year old daughter, to live with her parents in Birmingham. She takes on some private investigator work with Maggie, a friend of the family. It is mostly fraud work but occasionally involves missing persons. Robin is side-tracked from this work when her best friend, Corinna is murdered. The police are convinced that Corinna’s husband is responsible; Robin is not and sets out to investigate for herself, putting at risk the appeal she is going to make in relation to her sacking. Running in parallel to this is a legitimate private investigation into the disappearance of a young woman.

Robin is infuriating but that is part of her charm. She is headstrong, very independent and prone to taking some rather unprofessional decisions. She does herself no favours with the local police, in particular, her ex-boyfriend Samir, while she looks for Corinna’s killer.

This is a pacey novel with a good plot and a lot of interesting characters. The story has a dramatic conclusion which suggests there might be a sequel under production.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley and publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.

This is the first book that I have read by Lucie Whitehouse. I will start by giving my thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins 4th Estate for a copy in exchange for this review.

In all honesty, I nearly gave up during the first couple of chapters.

Now, half a dozen chapters in, I am becoming intrigued. Lucie Whitehouse is developing a set of well crafted characters and the style of the writing includes some humorous lines.

As the book progressed, the plot certainly thickened. By the end of the novel, it developed in to a police procedural book with numerous twists and turns.

The conclusion is very dramatic.

I ended up enjoying the book a lot. On the strength of this story I will look out for future books by Lucie Whitehouse. From the ending,I fully expect the character: DI Robin Lyons to feature again soon.

I really wanted to like this book. It was billed as a gripping thriller but I just didn’t find that.

There were a lot of characters and seemed to be a lot going on so it felt slightly overwhelming and confusing at times. The main character was not likeable at all and the book seemed to jump between present and past without any clear differentiation. I persevered with the book bit found that it lacked pace. Sorry but this book wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK and the author for the chance to review.

I thought this was a great start to what I really hope is a new series.I loved the fact it was set in Birmingham, some where I used to live and still remember fondly I could visualize the places ,but even if you have never set foot in Birmingham you should still enjoy this.I do like a flawed and interesting lead character and this one was certainly that.I thought she was great and I was on her side, the other characters were well fleshed out as well.The plot was quite complex and certainly kept me interested and guessing,I loved it.Really good , and well written.Hope there is another one in the pipeline.thanks to the publishers and netgalley for an ARC.

Robin out leading lady, its hard to find away she hasn't messed up booted out of the MET after running a team with 50 under he she lets her jobsworth of a boss get to her too many times and boom fire there goes her career. And of course it can get worse she has to take her 13 year old daughter back to Birmingham and move back with her Mum where her they share a bunkbed her daughter has to go to a comp school where she knows no one. And then for good measure her best friend is killed when her house is burnt down and the husband of best friend has gone missing.

So not a bad start to the action and well it doesn't really let go till the end, so if you like a good crime sorry with plenty of action and action female lead then this is definitely the book from the right shelf for you. Page turning edge of your seat type of story you get the picture. There a annoying brother (this time he's older) who is his Mother's favourite.

However don't get going down the road of good old stereo tours because this isn't like that the characters are very believable and it flows even with the sub plots. If you have read any of Lucie Whitehouse books you know your in for a great ride and I haven't been disappointed this time in fact for me this is her best yet and the rest have been pretty good

So what I'm saying is I really recommend this book and hope it hooks you as much as it did me and that you enjoy it even more. The twist at the end is a total shock that obviously I didn't see coming and there are plenty of twists throughout that continue to turn the story to entertain you and they get better the deeper you get into this book. Leading up to the biggest at the conclusion

Have fun I did, just don't forget to breath and eat.

Detective Inspector Robin Lyons is dismissed from her job in London and has no choice but to return home to Birmingham. There she accepts a job helping a family friend, Maggie, with her private detective business. However Robin ends up investigating another case when her best friend Corinna is found dead in her home, and her husband missing.

It took me a little while to get into this, but once I did I was hooked! At the beginning I felt it was a bit difficult to remember who all the characters were and how they linked together, but once that was clear in my head I was able to enjoy the story. I couldn't put the book down trying to figure out what had happened to Corinna. The investigations developed quickly and I found it very addictive!

I liked the way Robin was helping out with Maggie's cases while also trying to figure out what happened to Corinna, and I thought the way the seperate cases come together was cleverly done. Robin was a strong female lead, and I enjoyed following her investigations. As a character she started to recoginse her flaws and began to work on the strained relationship with her family, particularly her Mum, which helped me warm to her character.

The book ended in a way that suggests it could be the start of a series, so I hope there's more to come from Detective Inspector Lyons.

Thankyou to Netgalley, 4th Estate and William Collins for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Loved this book.
Well written, fast paced and interesting characters.
The main protagonist Robin, a single parent, returns home, to Birmingham, with her teenage daughter after losing her police job in London. She is appealing this but has no money so the only option she sees is to live with her parents.
Robin has always had a difficult relationship with her mother and brother and this continues on her return.
Her daughter Lennie is upset at leaving her nice school and all her friends in London.
Robin starts working for Maggie, a P.I. , investigating fraud and Missing Person cases, she meets her first love Samir who is also now a policeman.
Her best friend Corinna dies in a fire and her husband Josh disappears - leading everyone to believe that he killed her and left his son to die.
Whilst investigating a missing girl Robin also investigates the murder of her best friend and tries to trace Josh. She discovers secrets about her best friend's life which causes danger to her family.
I read this book in one sitting as I found it difficult to put down.

An adequate mystery but one that does not capitalize on the author's earlier promise, particularly her excellent first two novels. There are many books like this on the market and, while I'm sure it will sell, there's nothing that would make me recommend this above many others.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Harper Collins UK - Fourth Estate for the ARC.
This book is an absolutely cracking beginning to a new crime and detective series featuring DI Robin Lyons. It's extremely well-written and reasonably fast-paced, with excellent dialogue which keeps the story flowing.
Robin has been fired from her job with the Metropolitan Homicide & Major Crime Command in London through her misconduct in judging a known criminal to not be guilty of a particular crime; she let him go and he disappeared. She is a single mother of a 13yr-old daughter, Lennie, whom she loves more than life itself. With no other financial choice she has to return to her parents' house in Birmingham. Her best friends of 20years, Corinna and Josh, with son Peter, she looks forward to meeting up with. Her mother's friend Maggie Hammond, who herself is ex-police, has offered Robin work assisting her in her private detective agency - mainly benefit-fraud cases but she tries to help women in other difficult circumstances.
Rebecca, in her early twenties, has gone missing - she's not a police priority vulnerable persons case and Maggie takes on the investigation on behalf of Valerie, her mother. During their first meeting Maggie takes a call from her police contact. Corinna and Josh's house has been set of fire - Corinna is dead, Josh and his car are missing, and Peter is in hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The police investigation is focussed on Josh being the killer; Robin cannot accept this and begins questioning the competence of the local investigation. Samir Jafferi, OIC of the investigation, had also been friends with Corinna, Josh and Robin - in fact he'd been Robin's love of her life until he dumped her without a seemingly good reason.
Between her work with Maggie on the missing Rebecca and benefit-cheats, Robin begins her own enquiries regarding Corinna and Josh, along the way she's treading on the toes of the local investigation and at times over-steps the mark.
Peter's child-minder Ana has something to hide. Rebecca's work at The Spot bar in the City comes under scrutiny and provides leads for Robin which branch in surprising directions. Did Corinna really have a black eye when Robin's dad saw her? Was Josh really violent towards her best friend and she never knew about it? What else did her best friend hide from her? Surely the secret they had all been shielding for 20+ years hadn't come back to haunt them?
This story has a complex plot. Lots of characters introduced very quickly and you need to concentrate to keep-up. The characterisations are really well-developed and intriguing. There are tentative strings to Robin's investigations which gradually become cemented into a plausible scenario, with shocking results. Can she stand living with her parents for much longer? Will Maggie ever forgive her? Will she get her job back?
Read it - please! - it's great.

Thank you to net galley for the ARC copy of this book. I struggled with this book there were too many different things going on in the first half. Characters I couldn't fix in place and movement in the narrative that made no sense. If anyone asked me to tell me what the book was about I would not have been able to say. It was not a book that i wanted to read just wanted to finish. However it did improve in the second half as the author brought the threads together. Robin is a women with a problem - she seems to hate authority in any guise. Likes to fly against the grain. Act first and think later, So that there was a certain frenetic style to her work as a private detective. I am not sure I would look for something else by this author.

A thouroghly good read that holds your interest throughout even during the times when you ar3 being given the back story and that’s unusual for me as I often glaze over during those bits. I had no idea how the plot would resolve itself and that’s great especially as there ar3 a lot of characters so you need to concentrate. If I have a criticism it would perhaps be the number of characters you have to hold in your mind.
I almost gave this five stars and I cannot say why it’s only got four from me or I would be giving away some of the plat but suffice to say it didn’t ruin it and if four plus was an option that is what I would have scored.
I think it willl be ( at least it certainly should be) a great success for the author.

This book did not engage me in any way. There are far too many characters who are really difficult to keep track of. I would find myself staring into the distance trying to remember who was who, and where they were coming into things.

There are at least 3 different plotlines (there may be more that I lost through the confusion) and this didn’t help with my struggle to figure things out.

Oh, and it dragged.

I think, I would say that I probably enjoyed the last 13% but again, things were resolved a bit too quickly and cleanly for me.


Robin Lyons and her 13 year old daughter move to Birmingham. Back to Robins childhood home.
Robin is newly fired from her role of DI in the Met and Robin has had no choice but to go home while she tries to get on her feet again.
Unhappily, Robin does not get on particularly well with her mother but at least Robin’s best friend will be close.

Until the best friends house catches fire, she dies, her son is in a coma and the local police are sure that the husband is the culprit.

Robin is sure that her friends husband is innocent and desperate to clear his name, find out who is truly responsible for the death of her best friend.

Unfortunately, Robin seems to be rubbing everyone up the wrong way. Nobody is happy and Robin is trying to keep her balls in the air and keep everyone happy.

I’m assuming that this is going to become a series but I won’t be reading anymore.

I have given this book 2 stars on Goodreads.

The first instalment in the Det Robin Lyons series and a good kick start to a very well thought out police procedural mystery, after being fire from her position heading up Homicide in the Met in London, Robin moves with her daughter Lennie back to her parents house in Birmingham. She is given a trial job with her mother's friend who is a private investigator, a step down but she needs the money being a single parent! Things start to go downhill the day after arriving home with the death/murder of her best friend, a deliberate fire at her house, Robin feels the need to investigate, where her husband Josh, with their son Peter in the hospital on life support, Robin feels helpless..... a great story and loved how it unravelled with a few twists to spin you. Will look forward to more instalments in this series, I'd love to know whats next for Robin & Lennie.

Many thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK 4th Estate for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this book. There was loads of action the whole way through and a well thought out and surprising plot. There are good strong likeable characters. This is a really good start to a series and I am looking forward to reading the next one.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I've enjoyed Whitehouse before but for an established author this feels messy and unpaced, as if it's still at draft stage and needs polishing and finalising.

There's too much of Robin's messy personal life for my taste, both her long and short-term past history and her own secrets and connection to the central crime. Things are slow, slow, slow, then there's a flurry of revelations at the end.

The thing is, there are so many police series out there now with a female protagonist and a messy personal life, that it's hard to stand out unless the writing is immaculate and the characters step alive off the page - neither happened here for me.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42204790-critical-incidents

had to dnf this one; too many characters and confusing story that drags along and does not catch me; will put it on hold for the noment