More and more this series is feeling like it’s my happy place. Not, I hasten to add, because it is all sweetness and light; far from it. But I love James Oswald’s characters and in the Con Fairchild novels he’s got all the ingredients for a cracking crime novel with a difference and when he mixes them together he gets the balance and texture spot on.

Con Fairchild is Lady Constance Fairchild, though her title is not something she would dream of using. The tabloids refer to her as ‘the Posh Cop’ ever since she uncovered a web of corruption which led to the murder of her old boss.

She’s been suspended since then, awaiting her opportunity to testify at the trial of wealthy businessman Roger De Villiers and D.S. Gordon Bailey who between them ran a murky business empire.

Con isn’t all that popular with some members of her own force, either, Cops died in the final fall out that Con was at the heart of and that won’t be forgotten for a very long time. So she’s returned home to her cold and stark London flat, where she does her best to avoid the journalists that seem to be dogging her every footstep.

She’s hardly back before she discovers a young black man by the bins behind her flat, badly injured, his tongue and testicles removed. DCI Bain of the NCA doesn’t want Con involved because of her profile and her suspension, but what she has stumbled on belongs squarely to an active investigation Bain is leading, dealing with similar bodies, except that these were all dead.

Con, aptly named for such a dogged, determined woman, needs to know what happened to this young man and a chance encounter with a young woman elicits a name, at least, before the woman runs off. To avoid the press and make herself useful, Bain agrees that she should go and talk to the young man’s mother, who lives in Edinburgh.

On her way she calls in home and stays with her Aunt Felicity. Her brother Ben is getting married to Charlotte shortly and Con needs to tell her mother that she won’t be attending. The last thing Charlotte and Ben need is a bunch of paps turning up at their wedding in search of the ‘Posh cop’ and her family.

Her mother introduces her to an imposing figure, The Reverend Dr Edward Masters of the Church of the Coming Light. She knows their name because she has seen them taking some of the homeless and drug addicts off the streets in London, near where she lives.

In Edinburgh, she stays with the delightful, mysterious Madame Rose, who as ever is able to anticipate her every need and it isn’t long before she becomes embroiled in another dead body case with remarkably similar hallmarks.

Con can smell the evil that’s surrounding these bodies and she’s got a pretty good idea where it’s coming from. The only question is whether she can stay alive long enough to solve the case and bring the perpetrator to justice.

Nothing to Hide can be read as a stand-alone as sufficient backstory is given, but with such a new series, I’d start from the beginning to get the whole picture. We’re learning more about Con as the story develops and she’s beginning to take shape a lot more clearly in my mind now, as I learn things about her personal characteristics as well as her attitudes and friendships.

Con is lucky to have made a tentative friendship with DC Karen Eve, as both women are likely to join the National Crime Agency and I hope we will see them working together more in future books in the series. One of Con’s drawbacks to date has been her isolation; the difficulty she has in making friends and having someone with whom to share theories and ideas, so a permanent friendship or sidekick would be a boon for her. I liked Con’s neighbour Mrs Feltham, and a new character, Superintendent Diane Shepherd is shaping up to be really interesting! I must say that Oswald does write his women characters well.

I really enjoy the sense of something other worldly that imbues these books; just out of reach of explanation, never tangible enough to grasp, but there in plain sight, all the same. The ambiguity of dealing with ritualistic crimes and looking for legal justice leads to a fascinating and utterly compelling tension that keeps the reader transfixed.

Verdict: Great characters, a complex murder investigation within a well layered plot with lots of action and some cracking, disturbing, moments. I loved Nothing to Hide.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Headline for an advance copy of Nothing to Hide, the second novel to feature DC Con Fairchild of the Met.

Still suspended Con has been out of London for months to escape the relentless pursuit of the paparazzi but now she has returned home to prepare for the court case responsible for her suspension. A quick trip to the communal bins leads her to find a badly injured youth and an encounter with DCI Bain of the NCA who informs her that this ritualistic attack is the latest in a countrywide series.

I thoroughly enjoyed Nothing to Hide which is an exciting read that held my attention from start to finish, to the extent that I read it in one sitting. It is told in the first person by Con which allows the reader to identify with her and get absorbed in her perspective and as there is always something going on this is easy. The plot builds well with two strands of interest, Con’s on/off involvement in the investigation and the fallout from her previous case, nastiness from her fellow officers, her suspension and constant attention from tabloid journalists. These strands often intertwine with her actions in one leading to events in the other or vice versa. It’s done seamlessly and while there may be a touch of serendipity it makes for an exciting read.

As ever with Mr Oswald there is a hint of the otherworldly. It’s incredibly nebulous and mostly there is a rational explanation but still... This is reinforced by the ritualistic nature of the mutilations which adds to the swirl, just because you don’t share the murderer’s beliefs and their reason for killing it doesn’t make the victims any less dead. I never know what to make of it but I enjoy the dubiety of it all.

I like Con Fairchild who wants to do a good job and is frustrated at every turn. She is dogged, determined and a magnet for trouble. It’s great stuff.

Nothing to Hide is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

Another great novel from James Oswald, the second in the Connie Fairchild series. Twists and turns galore make this an excellent novel to enjoy on holiday when you can read undisturbed. Probably best to read the first novel before starting this one as there are a lot of references to the previous story. Looking forward to the next one.

James Oswald's new series featuring DC Constance Fairchild has a barnstorming new addition with Con still suspended after the fallout from the 1st book, and returning to London to provide input into the trial of the hugely powerful and wealthy Roger DeVilliers and the corrupt Detective Superintendent Gordon Bailey, responsible for the murder of her old boss. Con has the forlorn hope that she will have ceased to be of interest to the tabloid gutter press, only to find their intense rabid scrutiny fails to diminish as they doorstep her wherever she may be. As she puts out the trash, she discovers the barely alive body of a young black man, with his tongue and testicles removed. The arrival of DCI Ed Bain of the NCA who is miffed at her involvement, has her learning there have been other male bodies all round the country, all dead, with similar MOs including the removal of hearts.

Con finds herself an unpopular figure with the other cops, hostile at the part she played bringing down one of their own but begins to develop a tentative relationship with DC Karen Eve, a woman with ambitions of joining the NCA. Con cannot let what happened to Daniel Jones go as he lies in hospital, and as she continues to make the front pages of the tabloid press as the 'posh cop', she takes off for Edinburgh, where Jones grew up to find out more about him. She stays with Madame Rose, slightly bewildered by odd incidents and finds herself coincidentally bumping into Constable Janie Harrison, and invited to view another dead male body with connections to the NCA investigation. The wedding of Con's brother, Ben, and Charlotte is a source of friction as Ben absolutely refuses to have the Church of the Coming Light Reverend Dr Edward Masters officiate over his marriage as his mother desires. As Con meticulously follows all leads, she has little idea of the horrifying nightmare of darkness and danger she is to find herself in.

With Oswald, you just know the supernatural will play a part, particularly with the inclusion of Madame Rose and what we learn here about Con's favourite neighbour, Mrs Feltham who has taken Con under her protective wing. Con is a great character, determined, a tough cookie, becoming ever less estranged from her family, and whilst the police force in general fails to recognise her abilities, this is not the case with the NCA's Superintendent Diane Shepherd. This was a fantastic read, totally engrossing, fast paced and totally compulsive. Cannot wait for the next in the series! Many thanks to Headline for an ARC.

Hi Karen,

My Next review is:-

“Nothing To Hide (New Series Constance Fairchild Book 2)””, written by James Oswald and published in Hardback by Wildfire on 25th July 2019. 352 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1472267337

This was a stunning, atmospheric and deftly plotted police procedural set in London and Scotland.
Coming home to her London flat, Constance stumbles across a young man, bloodied, mutilated and barely alive. She calls it in and is quickly thrown into the middle of a nationwide investigation . . . It seems that the victim is just the latest in a string of similar ritualistic attacks.
No matter that she is off-duty, no matter that there are those in the Met who would gladly see the back of her, Con can't shake her innate determination to bring the monsters responsible for this brutality to justice.
This book is James Oswald’s second in a series featuring “posh cop” Detective Constable Constance (Con) Fairchild. Although I had read the first book, if you haven’t don’t worry as, the author quickly sets the scene and explains the circumstances which have earned Con the “posh cop” title and also why she is resented by many of her colleagues, is hounded by the press and is officially suspended from duty in the Metropolitan Police.
Con is a lady with imperfections – well who among us has not? – but with determination, a very dry sense of humour, but very much a loner, not only in her career but also in terms of family and friends. When Con, almost literally, stumbles upon a dismembered body at the rubbish bins behind her flat, she decides to investigate despite being warned off by her boss. Alternating between events and locations in London and Edinburgh, Nothing to Hide moves along at a fast pace but is enjoyable despite the plot and events being somewhat convoluted and perhaps improbable in parts.
. I will certainly read the third instalment when it is published but at the moment I still think the Inspector MacLean series by this accomplished author is better but I wonder perhaps that it maybe because the the protagonist is a man unlike the Con Fairchild books.
I hope that we see many more stories from this very gifted author in the future. Very strongly recommended.

Best wishes,

Terry

A fast paced, high octane read with a twisted plot and engaging characters including cameos from several members of Tony MacLean' s Edinburgh team and the inimitable Madame Rose..
Well written with good attention to detail.
Definitely worth a read this summer

Really good story with interesting characters and lots of twists and turns. Revisiting characters old and new,and nearly a meet up between his two main detectives, maybe next time.

Detective Constable Constance Fairchild is still on suspension after uncovering a web of corruption in the police but has returned to London to prepare for the trial. While putting some rubbish out near her flat she discovers a young man - he’s barely alive and has had his tongue and testicles removed. Con is warned not to get involved but is asked by DI Bain from the NCA to get out of London for a while - it just so happens that she end up in Edinburgh where the young boy came from. Soon Con is fully immersed in the case and in mortal danger.

Fantastic second book in James Oswald’s new series. Love the links with the Inspector McLean series. Look forward to book number three.

Thanks to Netgalley, Wildfire and James Oswald for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

Constance Fairchild is a tour de force, brilliant character and hard to believe that a guy is able to write such a believable female character. As an Oswald fan, how pleased am I to encounter a large dose of Madame Rose, yet how frustrating for Fairchaild not to meet McLean. Hopefully next time ... fabulous plotting and character development. The seriously new and compelling force of Scottish Detective fiction. Seriously I can't wait for the next book. Congratulations Mr Oswald.

Loved this book it was clever with a great plot and loads of action I would recommend this to everyone