I received a free electronic ARC copy of this British police procedural from Netgalley, Matt Brolly, and Amazon Publishing UK. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I will happily add Detective Inspector Louise Blackwell to my must-reads list. This is the first of this series by Brolly - I can't wait for number 2.

DI Louise Blackwell is thirty-something, has one brother, a recent widower, and the father of a five-year-old daughter, Emily. Her brother Paul isn't handling life well at all, and Louise and their parents are often required to step into the breach at the home of Paul and Emily. Louise is historically not catching many breaks.

Two years ago Louise's partner at MIT in Bristol and surrounds, is DI Finch. Together they worked the case of serial killer Max Walton, a trail they had been investigating for over a year. It is at last solved, but Finch has placed Louise in a career-killing position. Knowing they are at the scene of a fresh kill and they are finally closing in on their serial killer, Finch indicates Walton is carrying and asks Louise for cover as he moves in to restrain him. Tripping and falling, Finch shouts that Walton is holding, and as the killer's hand comes up from the shadows Louise shoots him. These were the facts, details that later Finch will deny. Under Oath. Of course, Louise takes the hit for killing an unarmed suspect and is lucky to be allowed to stay on in the police force at all. She gets transferred to the small rural coastal precinct of Weston-super-Mare and will most likely be stalled as a DI for the next twenty years. Her friend Tracey Pugh gets a job advancement to DI and takes Louise's place at MIT, and Finch receives accolades and advancement to DCI for his part in capturing Walton. And he is currently texting her most evenings with snips and challenges and signing them 'a friend'.

But Louise has to get past all that. Eighteen months later and despite its size and level of obscurity, Weston has its own killer running amuck. And he is vicious as he brutalizes his elderly victims for days before he finally kills them.

We know our bad guy fairly early into this tale. Geoff was a bullied and abused child who worshiped his father and was exposed to and leaned heavily upon the ceremony and rituals of Saint Bernadette's Church to comfort himself. Geoff goes off his rocker when his father commits suicide. Suicides never get to heaven, they are in purgatory forever... This is unacceptable. Knowing they will eventually be back together is all that keeps Geoff sane.

Geoff's obsession with the stations of the cross is not apparent during the investigation of the first and second victims, Veronica Lloyd and Father Mulligan. Veronica was a single retired school teacher. Father Mulligan, formerly the priest of St. Barts, was semi-retired and assisted Father Riley, the current priest at the second Catholic place of worship in Weston, St. Michael's. Father Riley is young, green and new to the area, but Monsignor Ashley was more helpful, as he had been working in the Weston area for many years, and as Louise uncovers the only fact that their two victims seem to have in common was their place of worship, St. Bernadette's, back in the 1980s, Monsignor Ashley brings into play other possible witnesses/or/victims from that era. Father Lanegan, who was the young priest at St. Barts in the 1980s had subsequently left the priesthood and settled into civilian life in the nearby community of St. Ives. But he has been missing for some time - a couple of weeks anyway, according to his elderly cleaner who reported him as a missing person. And it was rumored, Louise is told by older, mostly widowed parishioners, that Father Lanegan and Veronica Lloyd were involved in an affair back then.

And Finch, now a DCI with the Major Investigation Team in Bristol, comes calling, undermining Louise at every turn and attempting to squeeze her out of the investigation altogether. Because this will be a headline-grabbing criminal case and those headlines should be all his...

Parts of this story relies on a bit of back knowledge of the workings of the Catholic Church 40 years ago. It is all explained well but it helps if you understand the Stations of the Cross and the process of bringing children into the pageantry of traditional Catholic services. It is not, however necessary, nor is it a religious book per se.

After being let down by her police partner Tim Finch,Louise Blackwell is moved from her position in Bristol & sent to Weston-super-mare- a sleepy place in Winter, a contrast to her summer days spent there as a child. When an elderly woman is found on the beach with unusual wounds she finds herself as SIO in her first murder case in her new posting. When an elderly priest is found dead in his confessional with similar wounds it looks like they have a serial killer on their hands & Finch seems determined to unsettle her.

This is the beginning of a new police procedural series & I hope it continues to be as good as this first one. The reader knows from the start who the murderer is & sees things from his angle. There are lots of things to keep the reader guessing & the setting & characters are well described & engaging- I could feel the rain & the wind!

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book- I am already looking forward to the next one.

Great new series from best selling author Matt Brolly. I live near Weston-Super-Mare and this book perfectly sums up the desolation of the place in the winter months. Great start to a new series about DI Louise Blackwell, a realistic detective with an interesting back story. Great plotting, although I personally don't like hearing the murderer's viewpoint. Look forward to the next one.

The Missing Link...?
The first in the Detective Louise Blackwell series. Western-super-Mare, a body on the beach and a new case for the newly transferred Detective Blackwell. It soon transpires, however, that this killing isn't random when more bodies are discovered. Can Louise find the missing link between the victims and prevent more deaths?
Well written crime with a solid cast and a likeable protagonist in the Detective.

I've never read anything by this author before, but I've heard such good things. So when I saw this was the start of a new series, I jumped at the chance to read it.
I do like a well written crime story and this seemed to fit the bill. On the whole, it was a good story, solid characters, that sort of thing.
Unfortunately, I found it a bit difficult to keep my mind focused. It was tricky to follow at times as it didn't feel like it flowed quite as well as it could have.
I will definitely read the authors previous books and hope that in the next installment of this particular series, that all those little things will be ironed out.
Thank you to the author, the publisher and netgalley for my arc. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.

EXCERPT: The smell of the place would never leave Louise. The farm was divided into a series of metallic barns and as they entered the outer shed she was hit by an unimaginable stench, the decay and waste of decades of animals. The ground appeared to move as she shone her torch over the various swarming mounds lining the barn floor, and she had to turn away and retch.

'Louise,' said Finch, his voice low and unnerved.

Louise battled her nausea and returned to the matter in hand. Finch was in one corner of the barn, his torch shining on the corpses of the missing mother and daughter.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: When a body is discovered, bled dry on a beach, the sleepy seaside town of Weston-super-Mare wakes up to a nightmare. For Detective Inspector Louise Blackwell, recently transferred to the town she last saw as a child, it’s her first case on the job.

The victim—Veronica Lloyd, an elderly volunteer at a local church—has puncture wounds to her hands. When a priest is found killed in a nearby church in a similarly grisly condition, it becomes clear that Blackwell is dealing with a righteous and bloody murderer. But the victims aren’t random. The killer has a vendetta and is hell-bent on exacting twisted revenge for a dark secret dating back years—and there are more murders planned.

As the body count rises, Blackwell faces a race against time to solve the mystery of the murderer’s identity and put an end to the carnage. She thought she knew Weston, but the town holds more secrets than she’d ever have imagined. Who can she trust and who knows more than they are letting on?

She must discover the crimes that unite the victims—before it’s too late.

MY THOUGHTS: I am a great fan of Matt Brolly's Michael Lambert series and was excited about this new series. Having just closed the covers on The Crossing, I must admit to feeling a little disappointed. It doesn't flow easily, as Brolly's writing usually does. Instead it staggers along, disjointed and floundering in parts.

The story is told mainly from Louise's point of view, the killer - whose identity is revealed from the start - and another case that is running concurrently in St Ives, the relevance of which is immediately apparent.

There is a definite lack of suspense, which is a pity. The story is, I think, trying to cross into too many genres, perhaps to appeal to a wider audience. But, for me, it doesn't work. It just muddies the waters.

Unusually for Brolly, I didn't find the characters well depicted. I felt no connection to any of them and Louise's whining inner monologue on Finch and his past treatment of her quickly became wearing. In fact, she is pretty stereotypical of the current trend in female detectives...

I know Matt Brolly can write brilliantly. I am hoping to see evidence of that in the next book in this series.

😕😐😕

#TheCrossing #NetGalley

THE AUTHOR: Following his law degree where he developed an interest in criminal law, Matt Brolly completed his Masters in Creative Writing at Glasgow University.

He is the bestselling author of the DCI Lambert crime novels, Dead Eyed, Dead Lucky and Dead Embers. The fourth in the series, Dead Time, was released by Canelo in May 2018. In addition he is the author of the acclaimed near future crime novel, Zero.

2019 will see a new thriller, The Controller, released by Oblong Books and in 2020 the first of a new crime series set in the West Country of the UK will be released by Thomas Mercer(Amazon Publishing)

Matt also writes children's books as M.J. Brolly. His first children's book, The Sleeping Bug, is released by Oblong Books in December 2018.

Matt lives in London with his wife and their two young children.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Amazon Publishing UK via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Crossing by Matt Brolly for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon and my webpage

I’ve not read any of the author’s previous books, but this one has inspired me to check them out.

Detective Inspector Louise Blackwell has been transferred from Bristol to the seaside town of Weston-super-Mare. When an older woman is found murdered, Louise is put in charge of the investigation which quickly becomes more complicated when an elderly priest is killed. Both bodies have similar injuries, and there are suspicions that there may be more victims to come. Louise is anxious to prove herself in this, her first, murder case since her transfer.

Louise’s life, both professional and personal, is developed. Her transfer from Bristol is the result of an unfair judgment in a previous case, so she must deal with this demotion. She does not feel at home in Weston and is not fully comfortable with her colleagues. Louise is trying to escape the influence of a previous partner whom she knows will try to insert himself into her current investigation if she does not solve it quickly. And there are concerns about her widowed brother whose struggles are putting his daughter’s welfare in jeopardy.

The narrative alternates between Louise’s perspective and that of the murderer. His identity is revealed early in the book, but the reason for his actions is not. There are clues from the beginning; for example, there are statements like “The warmth and security made him sentimental, made him forget what his mother had done” and “He had to save his father.” Much of my interest in the book lay in trying to put together all the clues to figure out the motivation. This structure made me think of episodes of Criminal Minds.

There were a couple of issues that bothered me. After the discovery at the first victim’s home, wouldn’t a toxicology report be requested? There is an autopsy but never any reference to a toxicology screen. And that discovery is never explained. There is also some awkward diction; in Chapter 11, the word “object” is used three times: “He ran his hand across one part of the object” and “he would have to wait until nearer the time to complete the object” and “he spent another hour working on the object before locking up.” The word is used several times throughout the book. Obviously, the point is not to identify the object because it is central to Geoffrey’s plans, but perhaps just a reference to a wood-working project would have been better.

I read the book in one day; it is a quick but absorbing read. I will certainly read The Descent, the next book in the series which I understand is due for release this summer.

Note: I received a digital galley from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Crossing is the first instalment in a new police procedural series featuring Detective Inspector Louise Blackwell and set in Weston-super-Mare, a seaside town in Somerset, England. When the brutally disfigured body of elderly Veronica Lloyd is discovered on the beach, DI Blackwell lands this as her first case since being transferred from Bristol’s Major Investigation Team (MIT) eighteenth months prior. Then, a few days later, another body turns up. This time the victim is Catholic priest Father Mulligan who was found in the confessional box having just taken Mass. From analysing the bodies and the crime scenes Louise believes the two chilling murders could be linked and both the handiwork of a single perpetrator who appears to have a vendetta. She is under intense pressure to solve the case quickly before her nemesis DI Finch is handed it; he is the one who betrayed her leading to her eventual transferal to Weston and seems determined to sabotage her career. Can she manage to locate the killer before another body drops?

This book was structured in an original and unusual way as you know the killer's identity from relatively early on and this allows us to read chapters from his perspective as well as Louise’s. What drives the plot forward is instead the uncovering of the killer's motivations for committing the crimes, his actions and the polices efforts to locate and apprehend him. Despite this, I found it just as compulsive and gripping as conventional police procedurals and raced through it. It's cleverly plotted with plenty of action and suspense and is well written with a cast of intriguing characters; Finch and Louise were both nicely developed. The seaside setting added a different atmosphere to most procedurals and I enjoyed the descriptions which were vivid and stark. The cat and mouse game between the perpetrator and the police was completely captivating as you know they are in a race against time before he strikes again and another life is lost. A superb read. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Amazon for an ARC.

This is my first book by Matt Brolly and I really enjoyed it. It is the first in a new series and I was engaged in it throughout and look forward to reading more of his work.

DI Louise Blackwell has been shifted the backwaters of Weston-super-Mare after a disputed police shooting, and is not doing well away from the big city of Bristol where she was moving up the ranks. Now she’s a small fish in a smaller pond and the body of Veronica Lloyd, found murdered on the beach, is her first case here. A second murder of the old local priest raises questions in her mind about the connections, as both were pierced through their palms and wrists. It’s not until a mysterious monsignor nudges her towards St Bernadette’s church that what seemed like unlikely clues start to form a possible motive.
As the crimes escalate with still no decent suspects discovered, the pressure to take the case off Blackwell increases, most especially in the form of DCI Finch who has been harassing her since their involvement in the shooting. Now he tries to horn in and use his influence to further disrupt her career. Which of her fellow detectives can she trust to help her?
Brolly does a good job of creating a female detective in a position of powerlessness against someone who is out to discredit her. We understand her self-doubt and insecurity in the face of harassment, and the efforts she goes to to keep faith with herself and her investigative skills, without it becoming melodramatic. The fact that she does have male officers and a boss who back her and trust her judgement makes the situation more realistic, not less. Like many crime fiction protagonists, Louise is alone and lonely, but thankfully not jumping out of character into stupid decisions, learning from past mistakes.
My personal preference is for novels that don’t go into the point of view of the killer – I like the detection and the mystery more that way. But Brolly does create a villain whose obsessions are well explored and those chapters don’t give too much away in terms of tension. A good read, and I’ll look out for more his books.
https://sherrylclark.blogspot.com/2020/02/book-review-crossing-by-matt-brolly.html

I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for allowing me to read and review this book.

I like British police mysteries, and this book was a good example of how these stories usually play out. However, this book gave us the viewpoint of the police and the killer at the same time, making it a true game of ‘cat and mouse’.

DI Louise Blackwell finds herself in the small town of Weston-super-Mare, because her former partner ‘threw her under the bus’ on a previous case. When an older woman’s body is found on the beach, Louise is again in charge of a murder investigation, that forces her to manage the team that all know about her past.

As the team struggles to find the killer, additional victims are discovered and more connections to events in the past are uncovered. As clues become known, everything seems to show a connection between victims, and DI Blackwell must dig deeper to find the killer.

This book is a great read, starting high action with Louise and Finch's last case together then diving the reader straight into an intense investigation years later. While the primary plot centers around the multiple homicides, there's an underlying subplot of harassment and intimidation when the reader learns Louise has been receiving texts from an unknown number. The first half of the book has good build up and background context, though there were moments of boredom - mostly around Louise brooding. The second half of the book was full of action and incredibly difficult to put down without reading straight through.

The only place where this book was a bit of a let down was character dimensionality. While I found Louise very likeable and despised Finch, most of the other characters I felt pretty neutral about. The ones I did care for seemed a little one-dimensional. Information given about the killer's background didn't provide solid foundation for his actions in my opinion, and while I thought him fascinating I didn't form much emotional connection / sympathy for Geoff despite his background. It also bugs me that we never quite learn why Finch acts the way he does except to attribute it to a severe personality flaw.

These points were, however, outweighed by the highlights and I really enjoyed the book for what it was - a solid suspenseful crime mystery/thriller. The ending was fast paced and sucked me in, securing an extra 0.5 star reflected in the rating I'm giving (edit: though unfortunately not all platforms support half stars so I'm rounding up in that case). I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a 'cozy' small town killer crime book that's a straightforward, easy read.

Many thanks to the author and publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This is a really good read. There is plenty of action and suspense and some interesting characters. It is definitely a page turner and I hope that there are more books to come in this series.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I'm sorry to say that I could not even finish this book, and I hate to leave a bad review.
Maybe it was just me, but I felt the style of writing was kind of childish, again I'm so sorry. I am well used to reading Police procedurals and was a civvy for 12 years in the Police, so when I read books that aren't that factual on Police procedures, I struggle. But my main problem was how its written, the story was actually good but i just could not get past the writing style.
Please accept my apologies for the negative review.

I’d like to thank Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Crossing’, the first in the Detective Louise Blackwell series written by Matt Brolly, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

The body of elderly Veronica Lloyd is found on the beach in Weston-super-Mare and shortly after Father Mulligan’s body is left in the confessional box following his taking Mass. These murders appear to be connected and DI Louise Blackwell is asked to investigate. Louise was transferred from the MIT in Bristol eighteen months ago under a somewhat dark cloud and has a lot to prove to her new team. Can she discover the identity of the murderer before someone else is killed?

I was keen to read ‘The Crossing’ as I enjoy police thrillers and like to get in at the start of a new series so I can watch the characters develop but unfortunately I found this one flat, unremarkable and uninteresting. I didn’t like the character of Louise who to my mind did a disservice to any female in the police force as she came across more as a caricature than a real person. Knowing the identity of the murderer from the beginning and guessing why the murders had been committed took away a lot of the excitement and left me feeling that I didn’t really care. After seeing the reviews I’m sure a lot of readers will have enjoyed this novel but I’m afraid it just wasn’t for me.

Matt Brolly hit it out of again! This is my second book by this author and he does not disappoint. If you want a fast pace action packed book you can pretty much guarantee you’re going to get it with one of his.

The first book in a new series! You will be hooked.

We have Louise Blackwell A detective who feels she has something to prove. A fellow detective has it in for her. When a mass murderer is on the loose in her small town, she will not stop until she finds him. Although she has a past that haunts her I felt she was a strong woman.

Then we have Geoff who I feel never quite grew up. Living in his fathers shadow. He will make those who tore his father down pay!

If you have not read a book by this author yet wait no more!!! Pick one up!

The Crossing is a British crime drama which is not badly done, just not great. The story could be interesting but I was distracted by the inner voice of DI Louise Blackwell. She has so many problems, not the least her inability to effectively deal with her former partner. Here’s the deal, she was stabbed in the back by him and savaged by her superiors. Well you had to believe one or the other and why not the Alpha male. Bottom line the guy makes DCI and the female gets booted to the boonies, the outer environs. Now what would a righteous woman, who happens to be a wrongly accused police officer, do? In my story she subscribes to the position that is is pointless to get even, she needs to get ahead and she has to do it from the strongest feminine perspective. That was the issue - her voice and thoughts never rang true - It felt as if she was written by a man who wasn’t fully able to get into the mind of a this female. Brolly never gave her the uppercut she deserved to throw.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for a copy.

I have never read this author before but would definitely read his next offering. Intriguing storyline. Great characters. Plenty of suspense to keep me guessing. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

The Crossing by Matt Brolly. First book in a new police procedural series featuring DI Louise Blackwell. Her first case on the job is interwoven with DI Blackwell's personal turmoil. There was a lot of focus on her past which at times detracted from the investigation. The killer is known from the beginning and the investigation reveals his motives in a well written and intriguing plot. Looking forward to the next book in the series and revisiting DI Blackwell's squad.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Louise is the new kid on the block, after a disastrous case sees her leave her old police station. She is trying desperately to concentrate on being head of the current case, which happens to involve ritualistic killing, but her past haunts her still and it is hard to keep her cool.

I liked the character of Louise, she was certainly real and flawed, just as you might expect a police officer to be. I liked the secondary characters too, and Finch was just awful. I could smell the smarminess coming off him, the author did a great job with him. I also liked the way that we knew who the killer was early on, and then we could just enjoy reading about the police putting the pieces together from there. That format worked in this book.

Solid police procedural, looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer.