Enjoyed this debut book very much although I did work out the killer a lot sooner than the police did. That didn’t spoil the story much however because there was plenty of dots to be dotted and i’s to be dotted before I was ready for the ending. 
Interesting characters who I expect will be appearing in future books.

A debut crime novel that feels anything but a debut. At last a female character over a certain age that has a stable if a little bit crooked life. Is seemingly content with her place in work and life and is strong enough to take on authority at work and more importantly her mother. The author won a competition in collaboration with Harper Collins and Gransnet as not only a writer over 40 but also to write about a main female character over 40. The proof is in the reading as to why she won this amazing prize. The character is both brilliant and realistic to me as an over 40. The plot line is one that will take the character to some dark places yet see her come out the other end slightly jaded but with a sense of satisfaction. It is a police procedural novel that is shows the amount and depth of investigation that goes into an enquiry of this magnitude. The build up of tension to the revelation of the identity of the body was intense and gripping. When it was revealed it was with a sense of at last now we know the who the body is we can get on and figure out the why and ultimately find the killer. A book that absorbs you into its pages and finds you pulling away at the end realising what a rush that was.

Wow - I can't believe this is a debut novel and I'll admit right now that I also can't wait to read more in this series! It is a superb read - highly recommend you get yourself a copy if you enjoy police procedural, murder, mystery or family drama - this has the lot in a fantastic, well paced read!

When the Whitworth twins start renovating the property they recently bought at auction, they are shocked to discover skeletal human remains. However, they're probably not quite as shocked as DI Isabel Blood, the investigating officer called to the scene, as the property is her childhood home, the place where she lived until her father left them when she was fourteen. When the forensic team suggest the body could have been buried when she lived there, Isabel is concerned this could be possibly be her father . . . . 

There is more than one mystery to be solved in this great police procedural - as well as discovering whose body has been found and what happened to them, Isabel also needs to discover just what happened to her father and why. This story is packed with intrigue, family dramas, historic events and is set in an area I know well! Whilst the main location is fictional, there are other places named that I know well as they are relatively local to me.

The characters are well developed and easy to relate to, each with their own backgrounds which are skilfully shared through the story. The heroine is married with a family of her own and juggling her job and home life is an intricate part of the story, including so many aspects which are part of normal life making them all seem even more believable. The story is brilliantly paced, keeping you turning the pages and guessing as more evidence is uncovered. It is a fascinating read and one that I have no hesitation in highly recommending. Congratulations to the author on writing such a superb debut novel - I can't wait to read more by her in future.

Thank you to HQ Digital and NetGalley for the copy of this book which I have read and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

In Cold Blood is a police procedural with a family drama element,

DI Isabel Blood is married, has a teenage daughter who is being a teenager!

Isabel gets a call, a body has been found when a houses new owners are digging in the garden….Isabel knows the house well as it was her childhood home. She finds the remains had been there many years…..she has a horrible sense of dread, as her father had disappeared when she was young and living in that house. Is it his body?

Well, this is a solid police procedural with great, likeable characters and a family drama at its heart. So much happening in the story to keep you engrossed from start to finish. 

Thank you to The publishers and NetGalley for an eARC of In Cold Blood. This is my honest and unbiased review.

I loved this book, and am glad to have picked up on it via Twitter. Jane Bettany won the HQ and Gransnet prize for women writers over 40 whose book has a protagonist in the same age group.

It's easy to see why: DI Isobel Blood is a great protagonist who represents our age-group well, without making a Thing of it. The passing incidents in her life are just normal things that happen to middle-aged women, and it's shocking just how refreshing this is in the Year of our Lord 2020 in the most popular genre - crime - in which according to statistics women form the main reader population.

Another thing that really appealed to me was the main storyline's roots in the past. While all the action happens today (even including references to Brexit, that's how Now this is), the murder took place in 1986 and the age of the victim means that Blood and her team have to go right back to the 1930s and 1940s to find out the whole story. This is all really well handled, with the detectives (and us readers) finding out piece by piece as they figure out the right questions to ask, and of whom.

I don't want to give any spoilers, but given the press coverage of a certain other novelist's transphobic plotline in their recent book, it was also refreshing to see how Bettany handled the introduction of a trans character to her plot. Being trans is a normal part of this character's life, and they are depicted as a whole person with a life that includes (of course) but goes beyond their gender identity. Almost everyone they know is unaware they are trans, and, of course, that's as it should be. Post-transition, general acquaintances have no need to question someone's gender at birth, and this character just fits in and is accepted as a woman, living a typical woman's life. More of this kind of thing and less of the crazed psychopathic-men-dressing-as-women-to-kill-women, please: JKR take note.

Finally, another favourite thing about this novel is the believability not just of its characters but of the motivations of the murderer. I grew up in a small town, and, trust me, although I'm not aware of people who actually killed for this reason, there were plenty who would have liked to had they not been afraid of the police!

In fact the only reason I'm giving this four stars and not five is because so much of the detail is explained in the final pages. It was possible to work out whodunnit, and why, but because of the murder's being set in the 1980s and the death of some potential witnesses in the intervening years, Bettany had to rely on the murderer to fill in some of the gaps of her tale. I could see why that was necessary, but it just tipped the book from being a perfect (5 star) read to *almost* perfect for my personal tastes. I'd give it a 4.5 if I could, and will be looking out for future books by this author. LOVE DI Blood.

‘In Cold Blood’ is Jane Bettany’s first novel.

As the Whitworth family begin renovations on their new home, their plans are brought to an abrupt end when they discover a body buried in the back garden. DI Isabel Blood and her team are called to investigate, but as she approaches Ecclesdale Drive, a feeling of unease settles in her gut. The property cordoned off is number 23. The house she used to live in as a child. The forensic team estimate that the body has been in the ground for up to forty years – coinciding with the time Isabel’s family lived in the house. Isabel’s father vanished without a trace when she was fourteen years old. And with her mother remaining tight-lipped about her father’s disappearance, Isabel can’t escape the unnerving sense of dread that it’s his body, buried in the garden.

As a debut novel, ‘In Cold Blood’ is a gripping story that introduces a new detective series with her own drama in life.

The story is seen from the narrative of DI Isobel Blood who’s been called to the scene of crime when a body has been discovered. Unfortunately, the location of the body is at her old family home and having to revisit the homestead brings back unwanted feelings and emotions. As she and her dedicated team investigate the crime, they discover it’s not a simple case of whodunnit it but an historical journey into the previous owners and nosy neighbours.

This book was easy to get absorbed in and right away, I enjoyed Jane’s style of writing. Isabel is a complex character, she’s an older mother struggling with a teenager as well as struggling with her own mother who lives in Spain. Having to revisit her childhood home, has brought back unwanted feelings of her father’s disappearance, so at times she gets emotionally involved in the crime. As her job is so demanding, this often causes some tension in the family, as her daughter Ellie feels that her job is her priority and not her family.

The story is fascinating in not only its premise but also the amount of research in the story is outstanding. As the team are investigating an historical crime, it’s interesting to see how police procedures have changed through the years.

The victim of the crime is also an interesting character, although we never meet Celia. There’s plenty of opinions on the elderly woman. Described as cold and private, as we delve into past, we find an interesting woman who has many secrets that she’s been hiding for years.

‘In Cold Blood’ is a cleverly crafted and well written story that is a great introduction to a new detective. An observational and insightful story about police procedures and a well hidden crime.

You can buy ‘In Cold Blood’ from Amazon.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher.   I actually quite enjoyed this book,  had a good storyline and also good characters.   Was not expecting it to be as good as it was.

Detective Inspector Isabel Blood is called away from her daughter’s parent’s evening by her colleague as there has been a body found. Upon arriving at the address she is hit by the fact that it is the place where she grew up. DI Blood is alarmed when it turns out the body isn’t recently deceased but has been in the ground for between 30 and 45 years, which could make it around the same time she lived in the house.

Luckily for DI Blood, the pathologist’s time scale is narrowed down and she is relieved that the body was buried sometime in the 1980s after her family had moved out. However, the timescale coincides with a missing person report in which the occupier, female, was declared missing, but the body is that of a man. Could the two cases be related?

The police canvas the area but with little to go on and most people who knew the homeowner now deceased it looks like DI Blood and her team have their work cut out to find out who the body was, how they were killed, and why?

In Cold Blood is a gripping police procedural thriller that had me engrossed from the first page. DI Isabel Blood is a fabulous character. She is in her fifties has two grown-up children and a teenage daughter, plus a loving husband. Whilst the main plot of the book is about the body and finding the killer we also get to read about DI Bloods personal life and her life as a child herself when her dad walked out on the family and was never seen again, leading her to fear the worse when a male body is found at her old address.

The storyline had me intrigued, so much so that I read it in one day as I kept coming back to it once I had put the book down as I needed to know who the body was and who the murderer was. There were a few surprises along the way, although a major part of the plot I had worked out quite early on – the joys of reading lots of thrillers!!

For the main the book was superb, Di Bloods’ work/home life revolved around one another and came together perfectly. However, I wasn’t sure on why there was a small plotline featuring DI Blood’s daughter and one of her teachers as it added nothing to the book and did feel like it was there as a filler to make up a few pages, but overall everything else worked well together and the book came to a nice ending.

I do hope that this is the first in a series as I would love to read more from DI Blood. The way she looks at a case and works things out logically and her realistic attitude kept my interest and enjoyment the whole way through.

In Cold Blood is set in the fictional Derbyshire town of Bainbridge and the novel’s main protagonist is Detective Inspector (DI) Isabel Blood (56), wife of Nathan, an illustrator and designer, and mother to Kate, a primary school teacher in Matlock, Bailey, who’s currently travelling with his girlfriend, and Ellie (14).

Amy and Paul Whitworth have recently purchased a 1960s house to renovate and sell. While digging out the foundations for a large extension, Paul is horrified to find a human skeleton at the bottom of the trench that he made. Although tempted to keep quiet and pretend they didn’t find the bones, the pair phone the police and tell them of their discovery.

DI Isabel Blood is attending a parents’ evening for daughter Ellie when she’s told about the body and has to rush off to the crime scene. She’s shocked to discover that the location is 23 Ecclesdale Drive, which is the house where she used to live with her mother and father, until he upped and left suddenly when she was only 14 years old.

When the crime scene investigator, Raveen Talwar, tells them that the body is of a male and it has been in the ground for 20 to 40 years, Isabel is concerned that it may be her missing father, Donald, as he hasn’t been in touch with her since he disappeared.

As the police make enquiries about previous residents of the house and talk to the current and past neighbours, we discover there’s a lot more to the murder than meets the eye and that a previous missing persons case was not investigate thoroughly enough. Investigating a historical crime brings its own problems and the team are limited by the availability of technology at that time and by the fact that several people connected with the victim are now long dead. It’s definitely not going to be straightforward case to solve and they’re going to need some lucky breakthroughs!

Isabel Blood is a great character and I really enjoyed getting to know her. She’s rather dedicated to her job – as most police officers are – often to the detriment of her husband and her youngest daughter but she’s also likeable, fair and very thorough, sharp-witted and shrewd at work. She’s never got over the abandonment by her father and it has affected her whole life and her relationship with her mother, Barbara, who now lives in Spain and has been keeping her own secrets.

Detective Sergeant (DS) Dan Fairfax (33) makes a good sidekick for Isabel and I’m curious to learn more about Detective Constable (DS) Zoe Piper (29), who seems to work far too hard and doesn’t have much of a home or social life.

I’m a great fan of police procedural novels and this was an excellent read! The case was a fascinating one and the story was cleverly plotted and well written and unfolded at a satisfying pace, keeping me intrigued with numerous twists and turns and some rather surprising revelations! There were several culprits, with various motives, and I must have suspected everyone at some point or another.

In Cold Blood was an engaging read with some good old-fashioned police work. I really hope this is the start of a new series as I thoroughly enjoyed this compelling and entertaining book and can’t wait to find out which case DI Isabel Blood investigates next!

Amy and Paul are brother and sister who have recently bought a house to do up. They do not bank on finding a body in the back garden...

The police are contacted and there is a conflict of interest. The lead inspector Isabel grew up in this house with her parents.

The story then follows the investigation, are Isabel's family in the line of enquiry, how long has the body been there, who is it, who murdered and buried him. Lots of questions need answering.

You are involved in the storyline, it's impossible not to be. I had my suspicions as to who was the killer which were completely obliterated by the end of the book.

The story ended on a cliffhanger and I loved the way it has set up for the next instalment which i cannot wait to read.

Being from a military background whodunnit, crime and thrillers are right up my street and this did not disappoint.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

If you’re looking for a cosy crime novel that is packed with suspense, then this is the book for you. I cannot believe that this is a debut novel with how well crafted the story is and how it maintains intrigue throughout.

When a skeleton is found in a back garden, the police are called in to investigate. The last thing that DI Isabel Blood expects is to arrive at the house she lived in as a child. When the body is estimated to have been in the ground for anywhere up to 40 years, she begins to find out her family have secrets of the their own. Especially as her dad left in that time period and was never heard from again…

The story is set in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, both locations being very close to my heart having grown up in Derbyshire. It felt real to me as someone who has lived in this area for the majority of my life with a perfect description of the area.

It’s a great police procedural with plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing throughout. The characters feel realistic and it was refreshing to read a book with an older female protagonist as the lead police investigator. She’s married, has a family of her own, and is finding out plenty of her own family’s secrets along the way to find the killer.

There are so many secrets to uncover, this is a crime fiction book you won’t want to miss. A fantastic debut novel that I have no hesitation in recommending.

This is a fabulous debut crime novel. Its well-crafted plot has engaging and relatable characters and an authentic urban setting. Isabel Blood is a time-served police detective who juggles family and work life with the help of a supportive partner and professional colleagues. She is believable and easy to empathise, essential characteristics for the lead detective in a police procedural.

The  East Midland's setting in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire is familiar to me, as I lived there for many years. The author conveys it's idiosyncracies thorough dialogue and description so well. 

The plot has depth and unexpected twists that keep the reader absorbed and guessing.  The ending is suspenseful and concludes the case satisfactorily. Hopefully, there will be more books in this series with its realistic team dynamic, and likeable lead detective.

I received a copy of this book from HQ via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Really assured first full length police procedural. Great characters and a very intriguing plot, it's nice to have an older female investigator with a happy home life and supportive husband. I will definitely be looking out for more from this writer, a great read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ for an advanced copy of this book.

 DI Isabel Blood is called to the discovery of a body and is shocked to discover it’s location is the house she lived in as a child.  Worse still the death possibly coincides with the sudden disappearance of her own father.
Isabel and her team set about solving the mystery of the body buried in the garden and discover the many secrets surrounding the victim.
At the same time Isabel’s relationship with her mother is tested as she demands answers to the mystery of her father’s sudden departure from their lives during her childhood and discovers more untold secrets, involving her own life.
I loved this book from beginning to end and can not wait to read more from Jane Bettany.

In Cold Blood is an award-winning debut crime novel featuring DI Isabel Blood and set in the fictional Derbyshire town of Bainbridge. The Whitworth's are excited to be moving into a new house which makes a fresh start for the family. They immediately get to work renovating and invigorating their residence and altering it to suit their own tastes. They soon turn their attention the garden and begin digging to put their own stamp on it but shortly after starting they accidentally stumble onto what appears to be human bones in a shallow grave; this instantly halts the family's plans for a spruced-up garden for the foreseeable future as investigators are called in to identify the body, find out how the victim was killed and eventually who the perpetrator was. Enter Detective Inspector Isabel Blood and her intrepid team who arrive at the scene of the crime, 23 Ecclesdale Drive, with Isabel full of dread because this was the house she grew up in and has many memories of. She cannot stop the inevitable thoughts creeping into her mind that this may be her father's body who vanished when she was the tender of fourteen never to be seen again. The remains are forensically examined and are found to be approximately forty years old. Exactly the right age to be her father...but is it, and what exactly happened to him?

This is a captivating and compulsive read, which I enjoyed immensely, and I can honestly say that Bettany's first foray into the crime thriller/police procedural genre was a successful one. It's an original, fast-paced and compelling novel which is easy to race through and I found the plotting superb, especially for a debut. Mystery, secrets and lies abound. It was refreshing to see a female main character and protagonist who is over the age of forty as for some reason most crime novels feature mostly young guns. The advantage of being a little older is that you're usually a little wiser and have plenty of practical on-the-job experience and a developed gut instinct which all help towards solving cases efficiently. However, most of Isabel's instincts are taken over by intense emotion and creeping unease when she discovers the case hits a little too close for comfort. She is a fifty-something wife and mother who is dedicated to her job. Bettany has perfectly captured the essence of what it means to be a middle-aged woman in these times and one who is frequently torn between the demands of her career and her family. Many thanks to HQ Digital for an ARC.

I would like to thank Netgalley and HQ for an advance copy of In Cold Blood, the first novel to feature DI Isabel Blood of the Derbyshire Police.

A skeleton is discovered in the back garden of a house under renovation. CSI estimate that it has been there for 20-40 years and that brings a dread to DI Isabel Blood because she used to live there in that time frame and her father disappeared from there, never to be heard from again.

I thoroughly enjoyed In Cold Blood which is a procedural with some interesting and unusual plot developments. It held my attention from start to finish, no mean feat given my current malaise, and I read it in one sitting. It is told mainly from Isabel’s point of view with no word from the perpetrator. I loved this as it means I could guess along with her and get fully immersed in her personal dramas as well. Some of my guessing went better than others. I also enjoyed the methodical and rather relentless build up to a solution. I’m not sure what I mean by this but my overall impression is of a clean and clear plot and while there are the distractions in Isabel’s domestic life the novel is very task oriented, find the killer. It is a very assured debut and I will be looking out for any sequel.

I like Isabel who is in her late 50s and is still trying to juggle motherhood due to a late baby and a demanding career. As an incidental I was impressed by the simple fact that she and her detectives too time off for pressing and not so pressing family matters which seems a lot more realistic than the usual nothing gets in the way of a case. She still, however, has to walk that tightrope from time to time. She seems sensible and level headed but devastating personal news puts this to the test.

In Cold Blood is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

As a debut novel, In Cold Blood is a flawless example of its genre. With a steady pace, an interesting murder mystery and an in-depth investigation, it doesn’t fall short on any of its standout qualities. I read this in one sitting and loved every minute of it.

When a book is the first in a series, you usually find the same issues creeping up. There’s either too much of something or not enough of something else. Mostly, there’s not enough time spent on getting to know the main character to make you want to read more about them, or there are too many names mentioned that you can’t get to grips with the story properly. But there’s none of that with this book. In Cold Blood has the perfect balance of story, mystery, and development, and you come away knowing enough about every single character.

It’s a really easy book to enjoy. The detective story itself reads like an episode of Vera, which I mean as a huge compliment. The author is obviously a fan, too, as they even mention her at one point which made me smile. The promotion for this book alone says that it’s for fans of Ann Cleeves, and you can see why. Isabel is likeable, committed to the job, and uniquely funny, and the mystery is complex but easy to follow.

It follows a similar pattern to others in its genre in that it makes you question every character, and you don’t know how it all links together until the very end so you are constantly kept on your toes. But what it does best is that it links together Isabel’s own story with the case she is working on, meaning that they are both given the attention they deserve to allow us to feel connected to everything that’s going on.

I wouldn’t say that it’s a gripping or a shocking read, which is the only reason that I haven’t rated this a five-star book as I really couldn’t find any fault with it, but it is interesting, engaging, and enjoyable to see unfold. Bettany has obviously done her research and looks at the police procedural side of the investigation from all angles. I also like the use of the odd northern phrase and occasional mention of an accent as it shows that she pays attention to details.

Most of all, the book deals with its central theme brilliantly. I won’t say what that theme/issue is as it would spoil some of the revelations, but I really like how it was used to add more mystery, but also to tackle a few stereotypes and prejudices along the way.

In Cold Blood is a quality first instalment and will certainly remain one of my favourite reads of this year. I will be looking out for the next DI Isabel Blood book without a doubt, and already look forward to seeing what mystery she has to solve next.

This is the first book i read by this author and won't surely be the last as it was a gripping and entertaining read.
I liked the solid mystery, the well thought characters and the plot that kept me hooked.
Can't wait to read the next instalment, recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

#InColdBlood #NetGalley 
A must read. 
Whitworth family begin renovations on their new home, their plans are brought to an abrupt end when they discover a body buried in the back garden.
DI Isabel Blood and her team are called to investigate, but as she approaches Ecclesdale Drive, a feeling of unease settles in her gut.The property cordoned off is number 23. The house she used to live in as a child…The forensic team estimate that the body has been in the ground for up to forty years – coinciding with the time Isabel’s family lived in the house. 
I loved DI Isabel. Other characters were quite funny but good. Narration of the story was crispy. 
Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for giving me an advance copy.

When human bones are discovered in the garden of a house being renovated, DI Isobel Blood and her team are called in to investigate. As she approaches the house she realises that it’s where she used to live as a child. When she was 14 her dad left and was never heard from again, could she have finally discovered his whereabouts?

A good book which was an easy and enjoyable read.