I love Helen Durrant's books, but to me, there was just something missing from this one. Not too sure about the new detective pair, maybe they need the character development of a second book. I also guessed the  identity of the 'boss' early on, which is unusual with Helen Durrant. I know people trafficking is a real and serious problem, but so many books recently have similar plots. I'm sorry that I didn't love it, but it's still a good read.

Lennox and Wilde Book one in a new series by the author
A thriller that will shake you and set your blood pumping
a Sharp and gritty read
D.S. Jesse Wilde and Detective Harry Lennox are a team, and Harry's life is a bit of a mess as we get to know the two character's.
Three year's old Lucy Green has been found wandering out of Cheetham Park alive she has been missing for five weeks and looks like she has been giving sedatives she doesn't even know her own name, but she had to be questioned, Albert Sykes had admitted to killing the child and was on remand and attacked so was now in hospital on a ventilator, Lucy's mum Kelsey Green wanted to just take her home and was more interested in telling her story to the papers, but was later found after taking a drug overdose, the question is where did they come from.
Rye Bridge is a small northern town and when Marsh and Sutton both disappear and their hands are left on their home doorsteps this cannot get any more gruesome, this is looking like a drug barren on a killing spree around the place, so the investigation goes on.
Wow this book will churn your insides as you read.
its full of twists and turns around all the character's with a slap bang ending.
I hope to get more from these two in the coming reads from this author a good start to a new series.

Really enjoyed this a first in a new series.  I liked the characters and I’m looking forward to seeing them develop in future books.  This was a thrilling and tense book which kept my interest throughout.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy of The Guilty Man, a thriller set in the fictional Northern town of Ryebridge.

DI Harry Lennox and DS Jess Wilde are investigating the disappearance of 3 year old Lucy when they are diverted to investigate the disappearance of a local gangster and contaminated drugs on the local estate. 

I quite enjoyed The Guilty Man but it’s hardly the edge of the seat read advertised. It’s slow and somewhat clumsy in its execution with the set piece action scenes seemingly inserted for thrills rather than logical extensions of the plot. In mitigation, however, the last couple of twists are a surprise. 

I can’t say that it held my attention or pushed me to keep reading. It’s easy enough to put down and pick up later and I think that part of the reason is the scope of the crimes. Obviously the novel widens from a simple missing persons case and it tries too much in a simple format, leaving no room for nuance or empathy. It’s a series of scenes, not all of which fit together seamlessly.

The characters aren’t particularly likeable either. Harry has a secret past that he won’t talk about and a dysfunctional present that he also won’t discuss. Jess doesn’t do much except moan about Harry’s lifestyle and try to prise his secrets from him. She’s the adult in the room and I actually liked her better than Harry.

The Guilty Man is a solid, if uninspiring, read.

A really good start to a series. Plenty of action and characters that I want to find out more about.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Another great story from Helen Durrant, main character D I Harry Lennox has a secret in his past life in Scotland and whose current personal life a total disaster. Despite all of his problems he manages to investigate the various avenues the crimes have taken, leading to a successful but surprising end.

I always enjoy books by Helen Durrant but this one, not so much. It was slow paced, took me some time to get into and there were a few inconsistencies in the story. The character of Jess left me really irritated with her constant repetitions and criticism of Harry. The plot had great promise and I liked the twist at the end. Overall, an average read. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

I don't normally pick a read now but this description really intrigued me.

This started off really so well with so much promise poor little Lucy.
For me nothing much was happening and I got distracted in the middle.

An Ok read but not something I would rush back to unfortunately.

I’m afraid I didn’t enjoy this book at all. I have enjoyed the Rachel King series that I have read by this author and haven’t given her anything lower than four stars before. So, I was really surprised by how terrible I found this new crime series.
For only 208 pages it really dragged, I just felt like I was taking ages to get through it. I think this is because I just couldn’t connect with the characters and there were so many little plot holes it was distracting. The characters jump to conclusions with nothing to back up their thoughts. They then state these thoughts as fact. For example, the guy leaving Bab’s house, they have no idea who this or why he was there but later on it is stated that he lives there and they know who he is. How do they know this, when was this information discovered? This is just one of many examples of inconsistencies. It was very off-putting, and I had to keep going back in the book to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. Another factor that added to how long it took me to read such a short book.
The writing felt stiff, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say this was the author’s first-ever book. I’m even wondering if someone else wrote this on her behalf as it was miles away from the standard of her other books that I have read.
Jess is a very annoying character, and I felt like she was just on repeat saying over and over again that Harry needed to sort himself out and save a deposit to buy a house. This was the least of the man’s worries, yet it was all she seemed to harp on about.
The story itself was over-complicated; there was too much thrown at it. There were too many characters to keep track of, and like I have said a lot of the storylines were based on nothing to back them up. They just seemed to be plucked out of thin air by the detectives, treated as fact and then developed on. It was all very bizarre.
The only slight positive I can find was the small twists at the end. I didn’t see them coming, and they were a welcome addition.
So, I’m afraid I won’t be reading any more in this series as I was terribly disappointed.

Having read everything by Helen Durrant I was excited about a whole new series. What a great start, Loved Harry and feisty Jess, an explosive read I can't wait to read more.

A fast paced new series from this prolific author. A dark and twisted case and a well balanced humorous police duo.

I’d like to thank Joffe Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Guilty Man’ written by Helen H Durrant in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Three-year-old Lucy Green is found wandering around Cheetham Park after being missing for five weeks.  Meanwhile, local villain, Nick Sutton, is reported missing by his wife Caroline who shortly after finds his severed hand on her doorstep.  DI Harry Lennox and JS Jesse Wilde are soon investigating his disappearance and evidence points to his rival Andy Marsh as being responsible but when Marsh’s wife finds her husband’s hand in their garden Harry and Jess realise it’s likely both men are dead.   
‘The Guilty Man’ is the first thriller in a new series featuring DI Harry Lennox and DS Jess Wilde.  Harry has personal history from a traumatic incident that happened when he lived in Glasgow that caused him to move away and although he’s worked with Jess for two years she still has little knowledge of his background and the cause of the scarring on his hands.   
I’m a big fan of Ms Durrant having read and thoroughly enjoyed the majority of her thrillers so it’s interesting to start a new series with completely different characters who have no connection to any of those in her previous series.  Harry Lennox has this big secret that he doesn’t want to talk about and Jess gets annoyed that he’s happy imbibing too much alcohol and living in squalor in a camper-van with no desire to find a proper home.  But they do get along well, working off each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and eventually discovering the truth.  ‘The Guilty Man’ has an interesting storyline, there’s lots of drama, suspense and twists and turns that add to the complexity of the plot as they strive to discover the truth.  I’m looking forward to reading the next in the series and seeing how the characters of Harry and Jess develop.  I can definitely recommend this thriller which I found so easy to read I finished it in just over twenty-four hours.

THE. GUILTY. MAN......Helen Durrant
Three year old Lucy Green had disappeared without a trace, now found playing with other three year olds at a park. Found with no shoes on an expensive smock, sleepy, probably from a sedative. A mother that seems unaffected that she is now home.
A detective with a past, a story of alcohol, drugs, a story with twist and turns. Given ARC for my voluntary review and my honest opinion
by Net Galley and Joffe Pub