There’s two sides to this story; we see what happens in the life and police world of DCI Sterling and we hear from the boy (without learning his name) who commits some of the crimes. Because we don’t know his name (but learn about his upbringing and why he turns to crime) the writer cleverly keeps the clues on show, but are difficult to grasp until the very end.

Having lost a close friend and police officer in the previous book, The DCI finds his replacement, the new DC, serious trouble when not fitting in, especially when the DC sets against the DCI and goes above him to the station chief. As a reader, you’ll want to shout out to better inform the chief, but time will tell.

The DCI’s former wife asks for help when a friend goes missing and eventually turns up dead. This provides plenty of insight into the DCI’s private life (his ex wife, daughter and deceased daughter) while truing to bring down a drugs ring in a local club and The Boy's murders.

This exciting story can be read as a standalone, even though it’s the latest in a shortish collection of DCI Sterling police thrillers. This book does reference past book events, but there’s enough information to not need to read the other books first BUT, the series is so good that I recommend reading the entire series, in order.

As in previous books in this series, the reader is led a merry dance by the writer and you strive for clues and answers. Wait until the end and you’ll be pleased. My free copy of this book doesn’t change my review and I look forward to more in this series.

DCI Paolo Sterling is still grieving the loss of one of his team, a good friend as well as a colleague. He's also dealing with a colleague that resents Sterling for his recent promotion.

Sterling is called in to investigate the finding of a dismembered body of a young woman. Then the woman's friend is abducted with no witness sighting or any clues as to motive.

The team has been leading a surveillance of a local club, thought to be involved in the distribution of illegal drugs.

The two cases seem to be related, but when one of his own team is nearly beaten to death, Sterling seems to be on the edge. His boss is on his back, he's down another team member, and he's desperate to find the missing woman before they find her body and shut down the local party club.

Well written and action filled, the reader is taken to the backstory of the killer. There are several suspects, and they're all being secretive ... but is any of them a killer ... or is it something else they are hiding? The characters are all solidly drawn .. .warts and all. Sterling is not a likeable person ... he comes across as angry all the time, however, his team...all but one ... respect him. Although 5th in the series, this is easily read as a stand alone. I highly recommend starting at the beginning of this most interesting series.

Many thanks to the author / Headline Accent / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Newly appointed DCI Paolo Sterling is not only trying to solve the death of a young woman by drugs whose father just happens to be an MP, but also he is given a new case when another young woman is brutally murdered in her flat and then her friend goes missing a few days later. Hampered along the way by the malicious Jack and still coming to terms with the death of his friend and colleague Dave, Paolo is teetering on the edge.
Although this is the fifth book in the series, it can be read as a standalone, as any previous relevance is given throughout. I liked the fact that the perpetrator was only referred to as 'Boy' as it gave no clue at all as to the real identity and this didn't become apparent until right at the end......so I didn't manage to guess who it was and that is a sign of a good thriller as the clues were all there. This seems to be the strength of Lorraine's writing as it was the same in previous books.
I read this book as an ARC for my book club.

Oh I just loved this outing for Paolo and his team! I've read all the previous books in this series and have been following Lorraine Mace's career with great interest. She's a real talent and this is a brilliant police procedural with all of her hallmark grittiness and complex characters.
In this novel, recently promoted Paolo and his team are staking out a local club, The Pipe, following the drug-related death of one of the club's clientele. But Paolo's investigation is put on hold when a local woman, Sasha Carmichael, is brutally murdered. Yet as Paolo and his team undertake their search for a killer, the investigation takes them straight back to The Pipe.
Several suspects are identified as part of the investigation and it's literally impossible to work out who the real killer is. When Sasha's friend Marissa suddenly disappears, the hunt to find the killer intensifies. Because Paolo is convinced Marissa has been abducted by the same person who killed Sasha. He has to find her before it's too late.
Alongside a truly thrilling police investigation, the reader is drawn into the world of Paolo and the people around him - his colleague CC, his ex-wife Lydia and the dreadful Jack who made me want to scream in anger several times throughout the novel.
A hard-boiled novel that combines grit with human warmth, this is a fantastic book. It has been great to see Paolo's character develop over the series and I look forward to more books in this series. Highly recommended for fans of Chris Carter and Karin Slaughter!

LOVE ME TENDER is the fifth hard-boiled crime/police procedural in the D.I. Sterling Series featuring Paolo Sterling by author Lorraine Mace. It can be read as a standalone novel, and is the first novel I have read by this author. I recommend that the novels be read in order to fully appreciate the ongoing character development, though the plots are standalones.

The books in the D. I Sterling Series Include:

1. Retriever of Souls (2018)
2. Children in Chains (2019)
3. Injections of Insanity (2019)
4. Rage and Retribution (2020)
5. Love Me Tender (2021)

Paolo Sterling is promoted to Detective Chief Inspector.

Sterling's team are leading the surveillance of a local club, “The Pipe”, thought to be involved in a drug operation. Chief Willows has announced his intention of shutting down the clubs known to be involved in drug dealing. This was initiated as a result of a daughter, of an MP, Sally Mendip, dying from a drug overdose.

But when one of his colleagues ends up in hospital close to death, Paolo begins to lose his grip.

Paolo is also working on his relationship with his ex-wife Lydia; they are both concerned for their daughter, Katy, who is volunteering overseas with her boyfriend.

Lydia tells her ex about her colleague, Sasha Carmichael, being stalked. Sasha is convinced someone is following her home from the bus stop. She has been receiving anonymous hang-up calls to her landline. Lydia asks for Paolo’s assistance to check it out.

But before Paolo could check it out, he responded to a tip-off and arrives at an apartment block to find the dismembered body of a young woman…Sasha Carmichael. And with no indication of a break-in, all signs suggest the killer was known to her. A brutal murder! Sterling and his team investigate.

When the victim's friend, Sasha is abducted, the team races to find her, before it is too late. With no witnesses and unanswered questions mount up.

Time is running out, and DCI Sterling must uncover the truth before it's too late.

This is a dark and gritty crime thriller that will keep you captivated to the end.I recognize the amount of research undertaken to portray the police investigation process.

Many thanks to the author, Headline Accent and NetGalley, for my digital copy.

Love Me Tender by Lorraine Mace, Pub Date 21 Jan 21
Book Five, DI. Stirling Series
This book is part of a crime series featuring Paolo Sterling.
Paolo is promoted to Detective Chief Inspector.
A local MP's daughter, Sally Mendips, has died after taking ecstasy. The police are under relentless pressure to discover drugs and suppliers.
Pablo is also working on his relationship with his ex-wife Lydia; they are both concerned for their daughter, Katy, who is volunteering in Africa with her boyfriend.
Sasha Carmichael, a colleague of Lydia's, has expressed concerns of being stalked. Lydia wants Paolo to look into it. When he arrives with DS Cathy Connors at Sasha's apartment, they find her brutally murdered body. Sterling and his team investigate.
This is a story that will keep you captivated to the end.
I welcomed the work/personal life ratio that bought the characters to life. I also appreciate and acknowledge the amount of research undertaken to be able to portray police investigation so precisely.
I read this as a stand-alone.
I would recommend that the previous books be read to benefit this story fully.
I want to thank NetGalley, Headline and author Lorraine Mace for a pre-publication copy to review.

Hmm, an interesting book. I have enjoyed the series with Paolo Sterling very much and it was good to re-connect with him and his team again.

Paolo is really up against it in this book, it has to be said. His lovelife is confusing, he is worried about his daughter and there is someone on his team who is actively but sneakily working against him. His boss is hardly supportive either, which doesn't help matters one little bit.

Then there are the young women who are disappearing and being killed by a madman.

This was a solid police procedural and I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. There is clearly a lot more to be explained!

4 stars from me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Headline Accent.

Ah this is definitely one of the best books I've ever read. This book is perfect for fans of twisty Police procedural books. This book has a cracking, mind blowing ending.

Oh my goodness, what an opening!! Lorraine certainly knows how to write a gripping thriller. This book was chilling but amazing. The characters were realistic and memorable, and there was plenty of action and twists to keep you hooked right to the end. I definitely recommend this to fans of dark and gritty crime. Lorraine is a talented author.

I've read all the Paolo Sterling books and this one doesn't disappoint.

As usual,, it's a mix of gritty crime, police procedure and Paolo's personal life. Promoted, against his wishes, to DCI, Paolo is faced with insubordination from a member of his team and disapprobation from his boss.

And if cracking a drugs ring, tracking down a murderer and finding a missing woman isn't enough, he also has worries about his daughter, who is out of touch in Africa, and a renewed relationship with his ex-wife to contend with.

This is a good solid story of detection and I certainly didn't guess the culprit before the end.

This is the second in this gritty series featuring now DCI Paolo Sterling by Lorraine Mace that I have read, the first being Rage and Retribution, which culminated in the death of DS Dave Johnson which Sterling is still grieving over here. The situation is exacerbated by a malignant, mendacious, malicious and manipulative member of his police team, DC Jack Cummings, who makes Sterling's life painfully difficult. A local MP's daughter, Sally Mendips, has died from a batch of bad ecstasy, which has resulted in the police under severe pressure to locate the drugs and the suppliers, and there is a reliable tip off that The Pipe club is behind this. However, round the clock surveillance, very expensive given the cuts to the police budget, is yielding nothing at all.

A stressed Sterling's ex-girlfriend, Jessica, has moved to Canada, leaving a hole in his life, refocusing his desire to get back together with his ex-wife, Lydia, but previous efforts in this direction have not worked out. As a mother, Lydia cannot stop herself worrying about their daughter, Katy, volunteering in Africa with her boyfriend, wanting her back home as soon as possible. Lydia has developed a relationship with a young colleague, Sasha Carmichael, who has expressed concerns of being stalked by an unknown stalker, and wants Paolo to do something about this. With no description and no real details, there is little he can do, but he agrees to visit Sasha to find out more, but when he arrives with DS Cathy Connors at her upmarket apartment, he discovers her brutally murdered body. With reports of a gas man visiting the building, Sterling and his team delve into Sasha's life, focusing particularly on the gym she attending with friends close to her home.

With a host of suspects to sift through, connections begin to emerge with The Pipe club, but with one of Sasha's friends, Marissa, abducted, the team race to find her, before she too is killed. This was an okay and enjoyable crime read, one that I think many crime readers will enjoy, but for me personally, Paolo, as the central and sole protagonist, is not as engaging as I wanted him to be. Crime fiction is littered with partnerships, and with the loss of Dave, Paolo is on his own, the situation is exacerbated further with his inability to build close relationships elsewhere, he has no-one he can confide in. He has has no support, no-one he can talk over the case with, or the troubles he is facing, and whilst there are characters who can shoulder that, for me, he is not one of them. Many thanks to Headline for an ARC.