Oh how do I even begin to describe this book. I was really happy when this book came on NetGalley and I was ecstatic when Canelo gave me this book!! And I was so looking forward to reading this book and boy I wasn't disappointed!! I had fallen in love with Ridpath after reading the first book and this book carried on from where the last book left off. The story is brilliant and Ridpath is brilliant as usual. The way M J Lee creates the twists and turns in this book is just mind-blowing and at times seriously complicated but immensely enjoyable. And I loved the new characters that were introduced in this book, Claire Trent then new Head of MIT and Dr Schofield who's described as a teenager due to him suffering from Kallmann Syndrome among the few. And the rapport between Charlie Whitworth and Ridpath and Margaret Challinor and Ridpath were brilliant as well. The only thing that drove me crazy and to be honest quite scared me was Ridpath and his stubborn attitude of putting the job before his health . I was internally shouting at him when he was being an ass. But overall this is a brilliant book and not only carries on from where it left off in the first book but takes it a few levels higher. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who cares to listen!! And a big thank you to NetGalley and a big big thank you to Canelo for giving me a chance to read this ARC in exchange of my honest review.

Where the Dead Fall is the first book that I have read by M J Lee although it is the second book in the Ridpath series.

Even without having read the first book I still thoroughly enjoyed this book with there being just enough backstory to allow me to follow the story without any problems

The story moves along at a cracking pace with lots of action and it is definitely one that I thoroughly recommend

Crikey, it's rare that a book is even better than you think it's going to be, but this was. I'd loved the first book and this was just as good If not better. Slightly complicated in terms of numbers of characters but provided you keep that straight, it's great. Beautifully poised for yet another sequel which is a relief as I'd been a bit worried....

I really enjoyed this book. I took a couple of chapters to get into it and I felt that it was almost an "old fashioned" detective story as the main character and the rest of his police colleagues work to discover the answers. I felt that it was easy to identify with the characters and to feel involved with the events. The story was fairly complex and the rival gangs and therefore a fair number of characters, were working through the story.
If this is the beginning of a series, that is great to hear.
I am happy to recommend this book

Another five star for this author,continuing with his detective series. Again,there is a complex plot with all sorts of hints designed to make the reader think the outcome has been guessed. Wrong! There is nothing obvious about this ending but it fits the plot superbly. The least of it is the dysfunctional family setup so many fictional detectives are given but that is irrelevant to the storyline. The fact that this detective has a serious illness gives another interesting slant to what's going on. As before,I recommend this strongly. I read it very quickly!

Where the Dead Fall is an extremely good thriller, although not having read the previous Ridpath book in this series that in no way spoilt my enjoyment and did not cause any confusion. This is a fast paced exciting story.
D.I.Ridpath is now working in the Coroners office, in remission from cancer and sidelined from his role in the Murder Investigation Team, also separated from his wife and daughter, thinking things can’t become any worse whilst travelling on the M60 on his way to see his daughter a semi naked an runs out in front of his car, although Ridpath breaks in time the terrified man continues running and is hit and killed by a large lorry. During this event Ridpath sees another person behind the barrier with a gun in his hand. No one else witnesses this man and he has a hard time convincing his previous colleagues that he did see this man.
As he starts to investigate this incident all manner of things are thrown up, linking this person to two previous murders and also major criminal gangs in Manchester.
A rollercoaster of a read, well written with a cast of well rounded characters, good and bad. Great plot line and an ending I didn’t see coming. Well done, roll on the next, I’m going back to read the first book and probably loose more sleep unable to put it down!
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

I really enjoyed catching up with Ridpath and co in the second book of the series and look forward to the next one. Plenty of twists and turns to keep me enthralled. Would definitely recommend this this novel. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

This is a new author for me so wasn't sure what to expect. I enjoyed the story but I didn't realise it was the second book in a series and I wish I had read the first book first to get a bit of background on the characters, especially DI Ridpath who seems a very interesting character! It was a fast paced storyline but it had a lot of twists and turns that made me dizzy at times. I will definitely look to read the first book in the series now. All in all a great read and I just love discovering a great new author.

Really enjoyed catching up with this bunch of characters. Fast paced police thriller, gang warfare and old feuds. Great stuff,more please.

This is the second book in the series with D I Ridpath and what an excellent book.

I must say I hadn’t a clue who was behind it all and why and we are left wondering why no one saw the naked man and gunman on the motorway, only Ridpath and no-one believed him.

As the story moves forward, I was getting more and more concerned about Ridpaths health and whether his cancer had returned. He is not a well man and the constant pressure to do his job and find the murderer is crushing him.

This coupled with his wife and daughter and the fact that they are estranged leaves poor old Ridpath in a dilemma. What does he do? I hope there’s another book that will let us know.

There are some new characters in this book and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it, and of course, coming from Manchester it was all familiar to me.

My thanks to Netgalley, the author and publishers for the ARC.

It really shouldn't have happened. DI Ridpath, conscious that his relationship with his wife and child is hanging by a thread, is off to collect them at his mother-in-law's house for an evening out. Traffic was heavy on the M60 (a match at Old Trafford wasn't helping) but it was moving steadily. Then a man wearing only a pair of blue boxers dashed out into the traffic, briefly put his hands on Ridpath's car then ran into the path of an articulated lorry. The driver had no chance of stopping and the naked man was killed instantly. Glancing to the hard shoulder Ridpath glimpsed a man with a gun. This was now a crime scene and the resulting seventeen-mile tail back of traffic would be the least of Ridpath's worries, although no one would let him forget about it in a hurry.

Ridpath's in a strange position. Technically he's part of the Major Incident Team, but he's not that long back from extended sick leave and he's been sidelined into a job as Coroner's Officer. Only Ridpath is incapable of looking the other way, of restricting himself to what will pass muster, serve his current job and leave the rest be. He's the only one who's seen the gunman on the M60 but he's not going to let anyone suggest that perhaps, just perhaps he was mistaken.

There's a new head of the Major Incident Team - Claire Trent. She's immaculate and well groomed but she knows her job, although DCI Charlie Whitworth can't see that it's right. He was expecting to get the job. It's not the fact that Trent is a woman - he's not a misogynist, for heaven's sake. He puts a lot of value on the women in the job: he doesn't know how he'd manage without Christie who's on the support staff.

It's a good story. Manchester comes gloriously to life, including the bits the mayor and his cohorts would prefer that you didn't see. You get a real sense of what it's like trying to police a city that diverse and with a gang culture which is constantly on the verge of bubbling over into open warfare. M J Lee does an excellent job of bringing it to life and making it realistic. Characterisation is good too: even relatively minor characters come off the page well.

It's the plot you want to know about though, isn't it? It's good and not at all predictable. I had my own views as to who the wrong 'un was but got it completely wrong. This story is completely wrapped up, but it ends on one helluva cliffhanger. If you enjoy this book you will have to read the next in the series.

I'd like to thank the publishers for making a review copy available to the Bookbag. Where the Dead Fall reads perfectly well as a standalone, but you'll have a better feel for the characters if you read the first book in the series.

I had very mixed feelings on reading this book. The story was compelling, and different from the usual run of police procedurals. However, the book was let down by a number of irritations. The major irritation was that the characters were cliched and rather unbelievable. A policeman with a failed marriage and drink problems. An assertive female boss. A frumpy clerk with thick glasses.. A precocious pathologist (and who in the real world would ever say "I remain your obedient servant" even as a joke?) There are a number of spelling mistakes (hearby for hereby was especially annoying, as were the rogue apostrophes) and the phrase "so help me God" is never heard in any English court. With a bit more polishing this could be a great page-turner, but I felt that it just needed more polish.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read book two of this brilliant series

ridpath still recovering from his brush with cancer is still working for the coroner...even though his heart is back at the station with his colleagues....

on the way home a man runs out into the path of his car...how he managed to not get hit but no sooner as ridpath stopped the car he sees a man out of the corner of his eye with a gun...the near naked man in front of his car looks and then begins to run but is hit by an artic lorry and dies.....

and so begins a brilliant story of how ridpath brings to halt a busy motorway lane and becomes popular with several counties...he is considered a laughing stock until the post mortem is done and the dead man is identified....

its then a race against time

what a story...i am loving this author and how he writes...cant wait for the next one in this series

A sequel to the previous Redpath book, and what a great series. I enjoyed this one as much as the first and the other works by the author that I have read, his superb Inspector Danilov series.

Excellent plot and great characters, I recommend it to fans of detective fiction, as well as the auhtors other books too! You know you'll get a good read from MJ Lee, and this one is no different.

Thank you NetGalley and Canelo for this arc.

This is the 2nd in the DI Ridpath series and even better than the 1st. I didn't notice any of the obvious plot contrivances and implausibilities that I found in the earlier book. This also had a nice twisty, twisty plot. It started off a little slow with 3 seemingly disparate death investigations, one of which Ridpath shouldn't have even been involved with, except he was the main witness. Poor Ridpath didn't seem to know who was his primary boss in this one and kept bobbling between the Coroner's office, the DCI of the MIT and his former MIT supervisor ( who was trying to run around the DCI). So the same office politics and gamesmanship as before, just some different positions. The pace did accelerate with seemingly disparate death # 4 and Ridpath kicked into high gear in his investigations.

I was a little frustrated with the "cliff-hanger" ending however and am waiting on the next book (I hope) to see how that resolves.

Before I read this I read the first one and I'm glad I did, I got to know Ridpath and his colleagues. I actually preferred this book and was racing through it to find out how they'd tie all the murders together. It's also left me hoping there's another but at the same time that may mean his marriage is over so I don't want that.

This is the second instalment for DI Ridpath, after recovering from cancer and moved from Manchester MIT unit to the coroners office also his wife and daughter leaving him, Ridpath was really not doing very well.
On a evening drive home to see his daughter Ridpath was driving along the M60 a semi naked man ran out in front of him, he managed to stop in time but the man was hit in the next lane by a lorry and was killed instantly.
This book has so many twists and turns that will leave your head spinning.

I was fortunate enough to read the first book in this series and was very impressed with the characters and storyline. So I was rather ecstatic when I saw the second book in the series listed. I was very happy to see that M J Lee had been given another opportunity and was even more happy that I was given the chance to read this one too. Sometimes the second book in a series can be a bit of a let down after the first, especially if the first one is really good, like this one was. However, Where the Dead Fall was just as good, if not better, than the first book! I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where the main character is a Coroner’s Officer and DI Ridpath is just so interesting. He loves his job so much he will literally nearly kill himself doing it. That’s dedication for you.

Great read - bravo Mr Lee.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Canelo for an advance copy of Where the Dead Fall, the second novel to feature Manchester based DI Ridpath.

On his way back from a training course Ridpath is forced to brake suddenly by the appearance of a young man running across the motorway, only for him to be hit by a lorry who couldn’t stop. Ridpath believes he saw a gunman chasing the young man and shuts down the motorway as a crime scene. Unfortunately this causes a gridlock and calls Ridpath’s judgement into question as no one else saw the gunman.

I thoroughly enjoyed Where the Dead Fall which is a compulsive read, full of twists and turns as the bodies pile up. It is Ridpath’s story as he struggles with the politics of policing and his own personal problems but it also gives the perspective of other detectives and the killer. This latter is intriguing as they are mission driven but there are no hints as to the mission until very late in the novel. I like the pace of the novel which is brisk and fast moving with few dull moments and an ever changing landscape. The novel is interesting when it comes to the politics of policing. It seems to be every man for himself (or woman) so I particularly enjoyed the politics in the motorway shutdown scene. The new head of MIT, Claire Trent, constructs her own narrative which conveniently puts all the blame on Ridpath until it can’t. It seems very realistic to me.

Ridpath is a good protagonist with an interesting quirk (it wouldn’t be crime fiction without a hook for the protagonist). He is a smart detective with good instincts and was a rising star in MIT until he got cancer. Now in remission he was transferred to the Coroner’s office as a way of easing him back into work. Well, that was the plan but he’s still investigating, often on his own as Trent isn’t particularly receptive to his theories. He also has marital problems, mostly related to his commitment to work and inability to look after his health.

Where the Dead Fall is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

DI Ridpath is back but still not back in the job he loves. Although now seconded to the Coroners Office he still manages to get involved in a major crime investigation. When a semi-naked man runs onto the motorway in front of his car before stepping in front of a lorry, Ridpath cannot accept that it was a suicide - particularly as Ridpath had spotted a gunman on the embankment only seconds before.

Fast paced and dramatic this is a crime series that I am reall6 starting to love.