This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

Incredibly creepy addition to the series. Sarah Hilary's writing has a way of seriously getting under my skin, and I keep going back for more!

I'm a big Marnie Rome fan but this just didn't quite hit the mark for me. These novels are always slow burners but this one just seems to fizzle out. What should have been the main plot, London gang culture and the exploitation of the young there is a fascinating story. I got the impression that a lot of solid research was done there. But frustratingly much of this book is focused on Noah's struggle to cope with the loss of his brother. Somehow the way this is depicted just doesn't ring true.

Sarah Hilary is always a great writer but for me this is probably the weakest of the series so far.

Absolutely enjoyed from start to finish, u didn't want the book to end. Highly recommended, if you like books that keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat.

5 Stars from me

Quite a topical subject matter ran throughout the storyline of Never Be Broken, that of assumptions made according to ethnicity.

An important issue to highlight, unfortunately, although it is heartbreaking to know that it is necessary, it is dealt with well in this book.

DI Marnie Rome and DS Noah Jake, aren't they just the perfect pairing? 

DI Marnie Rome seemed stronger in this book than ever before, as if she has finally made peace with a lot of her demons.

Poor Noah though is being visited regularly by his dead brother Sol - this was so brilliantly written, I genuinely didn't want Noah to get 'help' for this as it was obviously so (unhealthy but) comforting for him!

Never Be Broken by Sarah Hilary is an 'of the minute' read and a fantastic crime thriller to boot - highly recommended! Although, it is book 6 so go get yourself back to the beginning!

Very drawn out and an extremely slow book to get going. Not a bad book but for me, it needs to have more action in it.

This is quite a bleak episode in the D.I. Marnie Rome series. Ostensibly it is about children on an estate in London being exploited for drugs and people trafficking by the Russians and yet it is more about Noel Jake and his demons and his dead brother. It is well written but quite depressing. There are so many unpleasant characters in this episode and it doesn't feel well balanced with positive characters.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Sarah Hilary/Headline for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thanks to Headline and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you enjoy books that combine the gritty realism of contemporary issues with a top-notch mystery, then you will love Sarah Hilary's 'Never Be Broken'. This is a superior police procedural of the highest order. Compelling, engrossing and simply brilliant are all words I would use to describe this book. DI Marnie Rome and DS Noah Jake are not only strong protagonists - the fulcrum of Hilary's creative processes, but also the human lens that reflects the dark-side of contemporary Britain. There is no light and shade in this novel. No grey that mediates the blackness of the sometimes stinking humanity that we encounter in 'Never Be Broken'. There is however a palpable sense of controlled fury about the wasted lives of victims of knife crime, drugs and the evils of human trafficking. This is no-holds-barred stuff, but all the more commendable for it. If this makes the contents of this book sound like a dry policy document, then let me assure you it is not. Hilary manages to combine the realistic social tapestry of her novel with an engaging mystery, where everything is not always as it seems. Some deft writing and pitch-perfect plotting make this a standout. Perfect for fans of Ian Rankin.

4.5 stars

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DS Noah Jake recently lost his brother to an instance of prison yard violence, and his investigation into who gunned down 13-year-old Raffa - a young girl trying to do her best to help others, takes a sinister turn when Jake sees a young woman fall from the window of a tower block. Was she pushed or did she jump to avoid the fire in her flat?

The author tackles some weighty and politically sensitive topics in the UK such as knife crime, and the safety of tower blocks after Grenfell. All the ingredients are there to make a memorable book, but I didn't feel emotionally engaged by it at all. I felt as if I were viewing it all at arms length. Overall it unfortunately felt like a bit of a slog to get through it.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers, Headline, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Really enjoyed this book. Full of twists and turns and Marnie is a great character, well backed up by Noah. Looking forward to more cases!

This is the sixth book in the series (and the first one I've read) and I found it gripping and very topical. Love the characters DI Marnie Rome and DS Noah Jake, and want to catch up on the back story. I'll definitely be reading all the previous books in the series now.

With thanks to Netgalley and Headline for a free ARC in return for an honest and impartial review.

I wasn’t all that keen on Never Be Broken. Sarah Hilary is a good writer, but the reservations I have about this series as a whole are rather greater for this episode.

Hilary is dealing with important issues of knife crime and the use of children as drugs couriers, but as a book this never really engaged me. Marnie Rome takes something of a back seat and the book is largely about Noah Jake – for me far too much about him personally at the expense of the plot and the issues at stake. I have had a sense of this imbalance in quite a few of the previous books, but here it really did spoil things for me, I’m afraid.

I’m plainly in a minority about this, but Never Be Broken didn’t really do it for me and I won’t be rushing to read the next in the series.

(My thanks to Headline for an ARC via NetGalley.)

A 13-year old girl is gunned down in drive-by shooting, not uncommon in London but in affluent Muswell Hill a shock. Linking her to the notorious Erskine Tower block, DI Marnie Rome begins to uncover a set of seamy goings on beyond even Operation Trident's gang information. Her DS, Noah Jake is literally still haunted by his dead brother and is struggling to stay focused on the job along dealing with his family issues. When a woman plummets from the 28th floor of the tower block then suddenly Rome's team is on to something.
Hilary has created a really strong set of characters in Rome and her team. In this the focus is more on Jake and the passages about him are written with extreme tenderness and care, the balance between sanity and madness is very fine. The plot is clever, picking up on the underlying themes of the series with its focus on gangs but spinning in an altogether different direction with race, human trafficking and money laundering taking the centre stage. As ever Hilary knows how to stay on the right side of cliche and to drive an interesting plot.

A tense and topical police procedural in the sixth installment of the DI Marnie Rome series. The action centres around a run-down London high-rise called Erskine House following a drive-by shooting and a jumper. Set in the post Brexit vote causing a rise in racism, the Grenfall Tower tragedy and escalating violence due to the 'County Lines' crime epidemic. A shockingly grim and gripping read.

Tense, topical, credible, disturbing and not always an easy read given the subject matter, this is a worthy sixth addition to an exceptionally good series of police procedurals featuring DI Marnie Rome.

I have only read a couple of the previous books but found little trouble in immersing myself in both the characters and story line.

I won't give spoilers regarding the plot but it deals with matters that we read about with increasing shock, horror and anger nearly every day.

Well worth reading and I will be filling in my gaps in the back catalogue.

This is the sixth book in this series featuring DI Marnie Rome and DS Noah Jake and is certainly one of the best. The opening chapter had me hooked and had me fearing for the life of one of the characters. The story then starts 48 hours previously when Marnie and her team are investigating the deaths of several children who seem to have been exploited by criminals, recruited by gangs to run guns and drugs. Most of the victims live near a council block of flats known as Erskin Tower. But when they are called out to the latest victim of a drive by shooting they find that she is a 13 year old white girl, from an affluent family and living in Muswell Hill. They are struggling then to make any connection between the murders. Marnie discovers from the girl’s father that she had been visiting Erskin Tower as part of a school project and on searching her bedroom she makes a shocking discovery. This puts Marnie under pressure to link the deaths of the teenagers and begins to investigate the people living in Erskin Tower. We meet up again with DS Noah Jake who is distraught over the death in prison of his younger brother and his own guilt in being the one who put him in there and seems to be heading for a breakdown The story of this highly complicated murder case and the struggle for Noah’s sanity is sensitively handled. This is a very compelling story with plenty of tension and is very thought provoking. I hope there will be another book in this series.
Thanks to NetGalley and Headline for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Be still my beating, broken heart – Oh Sarah – what have you done to me? This is the latest in the wonderful Marnie Rome series, however it really is “all about Noah” in Never Be Broken.

With an opening chapter that had me gasping and imagining the worst, my heart began to break worrying about Marnie and Noah and the rest of cast of characters I’ve grown to love and respect since book 1 (Someone Else’s Skin).

Never Be Broken covers Knife Crime, Gang Culture and the senseless killings of young adults/teenagers in London which is, unfortunately, highly topical at the moment. This makes the story line even more plausible and uncomfortable to read, but once again the author is sensitive whilst writing about these crimes and the youth of today.

Never Be Broken almost “broke” me emotionally, the raw and often brutal account of grief was breathtakingly, beautifully written and whilst there is a crime to solve Never Be Broken concentrates primarily on the main characters and digs deeply into their emotions.

Never Be Broken by Sarah Hilary is #6 in the DI Marnie Rome series, but can easily be read as a stand-alone.

The story is centred on DS Noah Jake who is struggling after losing his brother Soloman in a prison yard stabbing……he sees Sol everywhere, and talks to him all the time…..his grief and guilt just won’t let him go.

Set in London, this is a grim reminder of the current problems of gangs, knife and gun crime amongst young people and the tragic consequences.

Marnie and Noah are investigating the death of 13 year old Raffa who was killed in a drive by shooting….her father is angry, very…he doesn’t want his daughter death to be associated with gangs, but after a bullet is found hidden in Raffa’s room, suspicion falls that way……but there is so much more to the story!

This is not an easy read, with the terribly wasted lives and Noah’s struggle to cope after the death of his brother is heartbreaking……

This is a dark, gritty and supremely compelling story, with some truly tense moments. I felt it had an underlying message of forgiveness, grief and letting go and will touch your heart a little…..if only for Noah and Sol. This will stay with me for a long while and I would recommend you get a copy now…..

Thank you to The publishers, the author and NetGalley for a free copy of the book in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

Children are being killed and Marnie and Noah are assigned to investigate Erskine Towers, a local tower block, which appears to be the epicentre. Noah is not alone however; wherever he goes Sol goes too. Only Sol is dead and Noah needs his wits about him for this case or he won't be the only one...

I love the Marnie Rome series - I read them as soon as they are published, I recommend them to everyone and I always vote for them in any crime series awards; I love Noah and Marnie and their partners and friends but I mostly love the fact that they are intelligent stories that are three dimensional in their telling and in the sympathetic way that all the characters are portrayed.

"Never Be Broken" is no exception to the above and, once again, Sarah Hilary deals sensitively and carefully with a thorny issue (this time it's gang culture) in which many of the participants are just as much victims as criminals and in which nothing is ever as it seems.

I would recommend reading the series in order or, at the very least reading "Come and Find Me" before this one as there are a few loose ends from that tied up here (and it's fabulous) and because Hilary credits her readers with enough about them not to have to repeat the back story every time "just in case".

This is a wonderful, thought provoking read from one of my all time favourite authors and I can't recommend it highly enough. When's the next one?

# Never Be Broken # Netgally
This book started both really good for the first few chapters I thought it had me addicted . How wrong was I the storyline was a brilliant one, yet suddenly everything seemed to slow down. I have read books like this before brilliant start then perhaps hit a slow spot, then they pick up again, sadly the same can not be said for this one, it never really picked up again. Which I found very disappointing. As I said the actual storyline appeared to be brilliant, it's a real shame overall..