I found Margaret Murphy a short while ago and have loved every book I have read so I am trying to read the ones I missed but I was offered an advance copy of Don't Scream which is book 3 in the Detective Rickman series so I can confirm these books work perfectly as stand-alone.

Jasmine is found having been horrifically tortured and her new born baby is missing.  The prime suspect is her junkie boyfriend but he is missing too.

This is an intriguing story with drugs, gang warfare and trafficking all playing a part and to add more suspense and twists into the mix there is a lot of personality clashes within and between the teams handling the cases.

There is history to Rickman that I need to find out about by reading the earlier books but he comes accross as a dedicated, compassionate detective but with a tough side when needed and he makes a brilliant job of separating his personal and professional lives.

Lee Foster is his friend and a member of his team but his past comes back to bite him.

I found this a very gripping book with well defined characters and the suspense and intrigue that I love in a detective book.  I am hoping for more in this series.

This is the third in Margaret Murphy's series set at Edge Hill in Liverpool series featuring DCI Jeff Rickman and his police team, but it is the first one that I have read.  This is a gritty addition revolving around the drug trade, with a big police investigation referred to as Operation Snowplough that is concentrating on Rob Maitland, but struggling to bring him down.  Heroin addict Mark Davis is involved in a drug deal that goes wrong and rips his life apart.  His partner, another heroin addict with problems, 17 year old Jasmine Elliot, is discovered is gruesomely tortured and murdered, suffering the horrendous death of a thousand cuts, and her very young baby daughter, Bryony is missing.  This is a intense, dark and compelling crime story with a police team that includes DC Naomi Hart and DS Lee Foster.  It is entertaining and engaging, if a trifle predictable, but one I think many crime and mystery readers will enjoy.  Many thanks to Joffe Books for an ARC.

Detective Jeff Rickman #3

Detective Jeff Rickman can't take his eyes off the body. There was do much blood. A lacing of fine cuts: parallel lines, curls, sunbursts, wheels and geometric patterns.  Rickman must dive into a world of exploitation and betrayal in a case that becomes personal for the whole team.

This is quite an enjoyable read even though it's a bit predictable. Set in Liverpool, the story covers a drug investigation and  murder. There's a mixed bunch of characters. I have not read the first two books and I feel kid missed out on  some of the background stories. There's lots going on in every chapter. The plotline is gripping. 

I would like to thank #NetGalley, #JoffeBooks and the author  #MargaretMutphy for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Great book! I was hooked from the start, thank you so much for providing me a copy of this book to read. This is something I would love to purchase.

It starts with a crime. Cops are closing in on a drug-trafficking group. One of the men grabs a bag of heroin and runs for cover. The 'big boss' thinks his employee is stealing the drugs, when all he's really doing is taking the evidence away. From there ... everything seems to go bad.

Detective Rickman is call to a gruesome crime scene. A very young woman has been tortured to death. It's called death by a 1000 cuts ... and it takes a long time for the victim to die. Investigation shows them that the woman's boyfriend was seen speeding away from her house. And much to the surprise of the detectives and crime scene the woman has an infant ... and the baby girl is missing.

Where is she? Who has her? And who so brutally murdered her mother?

While Rickman is front and center of this investigation, it's one of his team that makes it personal for all of them. Having been in foster homes when he was young, he knows the boyfriend they are all looking for .. he was also in the same homes and they became friends. He is adamant that his friend could not have hurt anyone, much less murder the mother of his baby daughter in such a manner.

This is an action-filled page turner. Following the detectives in their search is riveting. Characters are solidly drawn .... they are all determined in their chose profession and the personal side of their lives bring them to the forefront and lends credibility. The conclusion was explosive and unexpected.

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

This is the third book in the Detective Jeff Rickman series. It's filled with secrets, a drug investigation, murder and a power struggle going on. I really liked the writing style, the cast of characters and there was plenty action going on within the plot. I would recommend reading the first two books in the series for background information. A good solid crime thriller. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

Don't Scream is the third instalment in the Detective Chief Inspector Jeff Rickman series, set in Edge Hill, Liverpool. Vast resources at Edge Hill station are presently going on Operation Snowplough, a substantial drug investigation, as they seek to bring the, so far, indomitable Rob Maitland to justice; this includes most manpower as well as a chunk of the annual budget. The story begins with heroin addict Mark Davis meeting Maitland to partake in a drug deal. Down by the river Mersey they meet at Maitland's fortress, with the deal going down behind a thirty foot wall and steel gates at a remote warehouse location in the dead of night. His henchmen keep a lookout as the four sports bags are about to be exchanged. Suddenly a chopper is overhead bathing the area in bright white light before another one appears; Maitland’s heavies start shooting at the choppers but soon their guns are firing at Mark who’s dived behind some rusting oil drums for safety. The shooting subsides and Mark tries to escape with the drugs. Meanwhile, elsewhere, Rickman is called in from leave to investigate the murder of troubled and drug-addicted seventeen-year-old Jasmine Elliott, mother of six week old Bryony, who happens to be Mark Harris’s baby daughter.

Parking his Hyundai i30 near the crime scene, Rickman watches the commotion and notices the paramedics leaving the house look as green as their uniforms. Neighbour Bill Stott across the street at number 23 called the crime in so Rickman goes to chat to him. He heard a car revving its engine and when he looked out of the window he saw an unkempt man with long black hair and piercings getting into a red Ford Focus. He was absolutely covered in blood and seemingly fuming. It is when Stott remembers the car having visited Jasmine’s house a few times, usually at night, that he mentions the time the guy brought a huge teddy bear for the baby and Rickman begins to feel queasy. He hadn't known there was a child involved. Where is the newborn and is she still alive? This is a riveting, compulsive and nerve-shredding police procedural, with more than enough drama and intensity to keep you gripped through to the end. The way the multiple plot threads converge is adeptly executed and involves a lot of clever thinking, which helps to make this the simply scintillating read that it is. Jeff and colleagues are a solid and efficient team who pull no punches and trust their instincts. A palpably tense and action-packed thriller and one I highly recommend.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy of Don’t Scream, the third novel to feature DCI Jeff Rickman and his team based in Edge Hill, Liverpool.

Rickman is called in from leave to investigate the murder of Jasmine Elliott because most of the station is involved in Operation Snowplough, a wide ranging drugs investigation centred on Rob Maitland. Jasmine has been tortured with multiple cuts before being killed and her baby, Bryony, is missing, so it becomes a priority to find her.

I thoroughly enjoyed Don’t Scream, which is the first novel in the series that I have read. It is a relatively long novel, but it contains several plot strands, all explored in the same detail, so it never flags or gets bogged down in the unnecessary and held my attention throughout. I think the way the various strands intertwine, both tangentially and directly, is clever plotting and probably quite realistic as crime doesn’t flourish in a vacuum. I found the plot interesting but quite sedate apart from the violence, just an accumulation of information and inferences, until the final showdown which is tense and action packed. It would have been interesting for the epilogue to show exactly what they could prove, but perhaps that’s more to do with my desire for neat bows.

I liked Jeff Rickman and his team who are nice people but no pushovers. The ongoing joke about the kettle provides light relief and the dialogue between team members raises a smile, if you like your humour on the rough side. I also liked the way Rickman dealt with the petty politics and oneupmanship between the teams. There was a certain feeling of just desserts by the end.

Don’t Scream is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

This is the third installment of Margaret Murphy's books about the detectives Rickman, Hart, Foster and Trunstall. There is a drug war going on and Rob Maitland seems to be invincible for the detectives. After discovering the horrible murder of a young woman and finding that her infant is missing the 4 detectives along with the drug detectives are on the hunt. The young murdered woman Jasmine's boyfriend Mark is also missing. When the find the bodies of Mark and the infant dead and buried under the collapsed roof of a rotting home clues lead back to the Foster Parents Foster had as a young boy.   

Is the drug detectives team, Operation Snowplough just inept or is one of their own corrupt? Who killed Mark and his family? Are the foster parents involved in a kidnapping and selling babies scheme? A good gritty detective series with plenty of suspense and some twists and turns.

Don’t Scream. .Margaret..Murphy
Edge Hill Police Station in Liverpool with the team. A story of gangsters, explorations and betrayal. Are all the cops good or is there a crooked one. Good thriller to enjoy.  Given ARC for my voluntary review and my honest opinion for Net Galley and Joffee

A decent plot involving gangsters, drug addicts, the vulnerable and easily manipulated. Add on a twisted killer, bent cop and well written cast and you have a solid, if at times predictable read

Don't Scream is the third book in the detective chief inspector Jeff Rickman series as we join the team once again at Edge Hill police station in Liverpool, such strong characters D.C. Naomi Hart and D.S. Lee Foster and of course D.C.I. Jeff Rickman.
This is a personal case for the team to handle it's a book of exploitation and betrayal.
Mark Davis lies shivering, the police will be here and he will either get arrested or die as he flees from Rob Maitland looking down into the water his only means of escape is to jump.
Rickman is on leave but the high profile drug enquiry Operation Snowplough and the super need him in. along with Hart and Foster they in it together.
Mark Davis partner and mother Jasmine Elliot to his baby is found dead but where is the baby? It's a race against time in every chapter of this book. what a fast pace story right down to the end, it's a book that you just keep turning and savouring every page. with lots of gripping moments.
you will feel yourself quivering as you read and leave you crying out for more.