The synopsis really reeled me in to reading this one, I love a good DI book! The book starts off great and I was really intrigued to finding what happened. I found some of the dialogue & 'banter' between characters a bit annoying and just not really needed. There were a few other bits that were not really needed in the book.

However, overall I enjoyed reading this one and following them on the case of the missing girl. I enjoyed the mystery around the village, that enticed me to read more. The book definitely takes some unexpected turns and the end was satisfying and all loose ends tied up!

Even thought this was part of a series you could definitely read it as a standalone!

I would recommend this if you like DI thrillers.

Thank you to @hqstories for sending me this book in exchange for a honest review!

The synopsis of the book drew me in but after just five chapters I found myself becoming frustrated with the characters, including the main character DI Meg Dalton.

The dialogue felt forced and unnatural, especially when Meg was questioning people, and the banter between herself and her partner began to grate on me, surely no-one speaks to each other the way they did!

Add to this the story of the Pale Child and I was done and gave up.

The plot was intriguing and being the kind of person who loves a good thriller/detective novel I had high hopes but I couldn't get into it nor connect with the storyline or the characters.

I wanted to enjoy the book so much but alas it isn't a book for me.

I read this for a blog tour.

One of the grimmest things I've seen on TV was a drama where human remains were found in a pig pen. Pigs will eat literally anything, including each other.

Which is why I was a bit perturbed by this starting at a pig farm - disposal by pig being very efficient.

Roz Watkins is a cracking writer and this was a gripping read, her characters are believable and realistic, the Peak District a backdrop to twists and turns taking in animal rights campaigners, social media and farmers.

Cut to the Bone is the 3rd book in the DI Meg Dalton series and I’ve read all 3 in close succession

When a local social media star goes missing, this sparks a frantic search for DI Meg Dalton and her affable partner DS Jai Sanghera

Roz Watkins again succeeds in bringing an atmospheric darkly twisty tale set in the Peak District.

An author who sets her scenes with great aplomb, this is a well paced thriller steeped in local folklore.

Whilst there is a continuing back story involving meg and her mother and gran , this is easily picked up as a stand-alone but I would heartily recommend all of the series.

There is great chemistry between Meg and Jai and also the ever irritating DS Craig Cooper returns.

A creepy, twisty tale from an author going from strength to strength

Recommended

4🔥🔥🔥🔥

I enjoyed Cut to the Bone ,I have read the other two books in the Meg Dalton series and loved this book just as much .Set in the Derbyshire Peak District during a heatwave,this is a story about a young girls disappearance ,Animal Activists and a Ghost story ,The Pale Child . Told in two timelines 1999 and the present, I actually like this as I feel you get more depth to the story .The characters are interesting and the ending completely took me by surprise .I can't wait to read the next book in the series .Many thanks to the Publisher the Author and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review .

Cut To The Bone by Roz Watkins is an all-consuming contemporary crime suspense. It is part of the D.I. Meg Dalton series but can be read as a stand-alone. I loved my return to the Peak District to catch up with Meg Dalton as she fights crime.
Roz Watkins has an amazingly vivid imagination. Her plotline was fabulous – intricate and well thought out. I hung on for a roller coaster suspense as I failed, once again, to predict the outcome.
The characters were all well drawn. I love the leading lady, Meg Dalton. She is a perfect mixture of brains, reasoning, and strength of character with an Achilles heel that makes her so easy to relate to. She has compassion but is tough when she needs to be.
Cold case crimes bump up against present day ones as a sinister figure is spotted once more. Local legend re-emerges and the villagers believe this foretells death.
Families are at the heart of the novel. We expect our families to look after us but this is not always the case. There are some warped translations of love out there.
Cut To The Bone was a totally gripping and absorbing read which I loved. I am looking forward to more crime solving from Meg Dalton. I think the whole series would be fabulous on Netflix – any producers out there please take note.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

A solid four star read. Great premise. Well written. Good characters. Page turner. Plenty of suspense to keep me guessing. Would definitely read her next novel. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

I think I must have been reading a different book to everyone else 🤔 I found the storyline was all over the place and really disjointed and so unbelievable and silly To the point I found myself rolling my eyes ! The whole ‘pale child ghost’ thing just made the plot ridiculous. So this book was not for me and won’t be reading anymore by this author but I’m definitely in the minority as a lot of people loved it 📚

I really loved Roz Watkins' first books: 'The Devil's Dice' and, my favourite, 'Dead Man's Daughter', which were brilliant reads. So I was thrilled to get hold of the third in the series featuring the complex DI Meg Dalton and her team of disparate fellow detectives, still set in the familiar areas around Derbyshire. As usual, 'Cut to the Bone' launched into an engaging and unusual case with verve, this time set against a backdrop of Animal Rights within an abattoir-based initial crime. It gripped me with the details of the case, the families involved and of course the chaotic life of Meg Dalton herself. However my interest started to wane after around 85% of the book, when inexplicably the plot took an exaggerated turn towards the (to me) totally incredible, and became so far-fetched even for someone who had been willingly suspending disbelief to this point. So instead of being thrilled by an exciting ending, as is usually the case, I was disengaged and rather dissatisfied. Such a shame, after a typically engrossing beginning and exploration of the workings of this fascinating detective. I look forward to the next book in the series, in the fervent hope that the shark has not already been jumped.

I'm usually more of a stand-alone crime novel reader, but am first in line with my hand up if I know there's a new book in the Meg Dalton series. And this is the third.

As usual, Roz keeps us turning the pages to discover what’s happened to the girl who disappeared at the local abattoir. Not only has she vanished, but she’s Insta famous, an advocate for meat-eaters across the world and an employee at the local slaughterhouse.

The story unravels, and we find out there’s a lot more involved in this than a missing, presumed dead girl, and it was a totally unexpected outcome for me which is always a positive. During the novel, we flick back and to in time exploring the past of some of the main characters and leading us to the final reveal. I enjoyed this aspect as well as some of the humour that Roz slips in along the way. Without giving too much away, an encounter with a pig towards the end of the novel genuinely had me laughing out loud.

So far, I’ve enjoyed the series immensely, and I like Meg, who’s not your usual flawed alcoholic detective. She's by no means perfect but a lot more relatable to than some cliche versions of detectives you get in other police procedural novels. Roz also has a way of putting across themes that make you think, and this book is no exception.

I wouldn’t say this was my favourite book in the series. I particularly loved book 2, however, when Roz releases the next, I’ll definitely be back for more.

I’d like to thank NetGalley, Roz Watkins and the publisher for enabling me to read an early copy of this book. But you’ve not long to wait as this one will be released later this month.

I chose to read this not realising it was the third in a series featuring DI Meg Dalton and her team. It does work as a stand alone novel, but there are possibly spoilers about what happened before in case you then wanted to go back and read the rest of the series.

In this book, a young woman called Violet Armstrong goes missing from an abattoir in the Peak District. She has become something of a social media star in her support of the meat industry, but it seems that there is more to the story. She has also angered the local animal rights groups who seem to know more than they should about her disappearance. DI Dalton and her team get involved and find that the story has links to the town's past and a ghost that foreshadows death for its inhabitants.

This is a solid police procedural; it is well plotted and the characters were credible, particularly the police team involved. In particular, DI Meg Dalton was an appealing character, being quirky and grappling with her own issues, and her potential romance with her colleague is something that would pull me into reading a sequel to this. I did find some of the events a little unbelievable, but still enjoyed the book. The setting, the Peak District and a reservoir with a submerged village, was engaging and well-presented.

Overall, I'd recommend this but suggest that you start at the beginning of the series to make most sense of it. It is quite dark though and has some unpleasant themes, so approach with some caution.

This is a real twisty read and it took a while to get going. DI Meg Dalton is looking for a missing woman and the pressure is on. This is another well written police thriller in the series. Set between 1999 and the present day it's tense, has a twisty plot and a beautiful location. Another good read from the author. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC

Cut to the Bone is the third book in the DI Meg Dalton series by Roz Watkins and whilst it has a good underlying storyline with an excellent ending there were times that it seemed to be a little bit scattered and tried to be too quirky with the main character.

This book can be read as a stand-alone although it would definitely benefit from being read after reading the previous books in the series.

Overall a decent crime novel

Although a slightly gruesome story line this book held my attention until the very end. Many twists and false leads and a very unexpected ending.
Many thanks to HQ and NetGalley for the ARC .

This is my first read of Roz Watkins's DI Meg Dalton series set in the beautiful Derbyshire Peak District, currently suffering under a sweltering, drought stricken, scorching heat, giving rise to numerous wildfires. Temperatures are about to rocket further when young, beautiful 16 year old Violet Armstrong, a controversial vlogger and social media star promoting the eating of meat, disappears, feared murdered at Gritton Abattoir where she works. She is famous for barbqing meat, sausages and burgers in her eye catching bikini, the poster girl for carnivores, particularly men.

Meg, her partner, DS Jai Sanghera, Meg is trying to dampen feelings she has for him, and her police team that includes the irritating DS Craig Cooper, begin to investigate the most sinister and twisted of cases. They find themselves under the intense pressure of traditional and social media, caught between the high profile animal rights vigilante group, threatening Violet and others working in the media industry on The Great Meat Debate Website, and the pro-meat eating Justice for Violet campaign group, men in their balaclavas, killing animals indiscriminately. Meg finds herself being threatened and trolled on social media, with aspersions cast on her competence, her vegetarianism blamed for her not arresting the animal activists for Violet's murder. There is a 1999 thread, featuring Rebecca 'Bex' Smith, separated from her sister and father after being sent to live with her aunt at the age of 3 after a traumatic incident.

In a narrative that features local folklore about the ghost of the pale child, Meg finds herself alone in thinking that perhaps Violet is not dead, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, whilst having to a host a controlling and manipulative father, who has been indifferent to her existence, at home. This turned out to be a wonderful and thrilling read, but it took me a while to get into and I did wonder at the beginning whether it was really a book for me as I was struggling to connect with Meg as the central protagonist. One of the major highlights of the novel is the terrific sense of location, so atmospheric, with the Ladybower Reservoir and the creepy and sinister woods. Overall, an intense and engaging piece of crime fiction with a surprisingly shocking denouement. Many thanks to HQ for an ARC.

I like the characterisation and humour in this series which continues in this instalment despite a gruesome and complex case which highlights many of the problems in Tue today's world.

DI Meg Dalton and Ds Jai Sanghera are dealing with the case of a missing teenager. Violet Armstrong is well-known as a vlogger - championing the cause of meat-eating. She barbeques meat wearing only a bikini and has attracted the attention of animal rights activists. The meat-eaters (they wear meat suits) are determined that Meg Dalton is corrupt and not running a decent investigation (obviously she only got the job because she's a woman) because she's a vegetarian. As if the case wasn't enough, Meg's father is coming to stay with her despite having had little to do with her for fifteen years and Jai's convinced that his girlfriend, Suki, doesn't like his children and that she wants more, but he doesn't.

Anna Finchley owns the local abattoir and this was where Violet's car was found after she disappeared. There are suspicious circumstances too. Violet seemed to be in some sort of a relationship with Gary Finchley, Anna's brother, but Gary's married and he's also never come to terms with the fact that the abattoir was left to his sister and not to him. Gary has something of a gambling addiction to add to his other problems.

It's the Peak District and Roz Watkins takes full advantage of the local landscapes and myths. This time, it's The Pale Child. If you see the 'apparition' you're going to die and there are rather too many examples of this having happened for the locals to ignore the stories. The child appeared many years ago before the death of Lucas, Kirsty Nightingale's boyfriend in a drunk-driving accident. Daniel Twigg did time for causing the death and has been trying to atone ever since. Then there's the problem of the identity of Violet Armstrong's birth mother - and the even thornier difficulty of who fathered the child.

Now you're going to need to be in the wide-awake club with this plot. It isn't overly-complex and there aren't too many characters, but this story has been constructed carefully, with facts you might easily pass by having more impact than you'd believe possible. I lost count of the number of times I came to the conclusion that I had it sorted and knew the identity of the wrong 'un - only to find that I was completely off beam. The final solution is ingenious, to say the least.

I liked Meg Dalton: she's human enough to be gullible, particularly where the family's concerned, but with a real commitment to getting the job done. I'd like to see more of DS Craig Cooper - he's annoying enough to be interesting!

There's an important issue at the heart of this book and I don't think that I'm giving too much away by saying that it's animal welfare - but I'm not going to say more than that. I rarely suggest that people read Author's Notes at the back of the book, but this time I'm going to beg you to read it. It's important and I think a lot of people will be shocked.

This is book three of a series and I haven't read the two earlier books, but the plot read perfectly well as a standalone and I'm looking forward to seeing what Roz Watkins writes next. I'd like to thank the publishers for letting Bookbag have a review copy.

Roz Watkins has done it again, a brilliant read with the third book in the DI Meg Dalton series. A gripping read as the beautiful Violet Armstrong a social media star goes missing from an abattoir, in the middle of the night. The only thing left behind was her watch which had blood on it, what was she doing in the area the watch was found in? How does it link with the old story of the Pale Child ? A local ghost story.

The pressure is on for the team to find this missing woman, the weather is scorching hot, and online threats are ramping up. But then blood and hair of a young woman are found in an empty pig trough!

Meg becomes more and more concerned that something bad has happened to Violet, the press want more answers, and things are about to take a more terrifying turn. Not only is Meg dealing with the case but also her own home life, family worries and personal relationships with the team, but all is brought together with a brilliant climax.

This is a brilliantly written police thriller, the series just gets better and better as we get to know more about the characters. A story that is absolutely gripping from start to finish, and one I can’t recommend highly enough. A fantastic read. Looking forward to book 4.

I would like to thank #netgalley and #HQ for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest fair and unbiased review.

Animal activists, a missing girl and a ghost child. A twisty read which took a long time to get going and left me with an ending I never saw coming. The tale was good enough to keep me reading as I had to know the truth. All in all a good read and almost four stars.
Thanks to H Q and Netgalley for the ARC .

Thrilling, gripping and sinister I loved the story and how the complex team of characters were revealed.

I'm a big fan of DI Dalton and every book I uncover more and more I love about her.

I was overwhelmingly happy I'm a vegetarian when reading this book, it's grim, nauseatingly grim in parts and yet provides a fantastic balance of ethics and consumer/supply implications of intense farming and welfare of animals farmed for meat. It isn't preachy or board in my opinion just honest. Derbyshire is a very rural county with a lot of farming and agriculture so this was a fantastic element of its makeup to explore.

The setting of Ladybower had me nostalgic, I grew up walking its banks and neighbouring forests and I'm missing visiting in the current situation. It is a stunning reservoir with undeniable beauty but also a haunting allure when you know the sacrifice of the villages Derwent & Ashopton lie beneath it. I had the privilege in my childhood of exploring the dried silty bed of the reservoir and the ruins that are left exposed during a drought, it must have been in the 90s. What a fantastic back drop to a thriller.