This is the first book that I have read by this author and it certainly will not be the last.
This is the second instalment featuring DCI Robin Lyons, a transplant from the London Met who is returning to her home town, with a complicated professional and personal life. Her boss is DCS Samir Jafferi who was the love of her teenage years. This love affair ended traumatically, but is now responsible for recruiting her to Force Homicide. Robin is a single mother to daughter Lennie. Her best friend Corinna was murdered, and she feels on the outside of her family circle. Her brother Luke is at the centre, in her eyes her parents’ favourite, especially her mother. Luke has unpalatable political views, is an all-round nasty piece of work displaying pure hatred towards Robin and he feels no compunction in betraying her and trying to destroy her police career, and is exhibiting mental health issues after marital pressures.
Alongside all of this happening in her personal life, she has to investigate the cases of two murdered young women. Are these cases linked? Is there a serial killer on the loose?

I highly recommend this extremely well written suspenseful and thrilling read.
I am now going to have to backtrack and read Critical Incidents, which I was unaware of, and I will be certainly be front of the queue if there is another book with this great character
Thank you to Netgalley and Fourth Estate for an e ARC of Risk of Harm in return for an honest review.

3.75⭐
Risk of Harm is my first introduction to both DCI Robin Lyons and author Lucie Whitehouse, and it's certainly a solid police procedural.

But, I did struggle with the pacing, especially in the early stages and if I'm honest, I did put the story down a few times in the beginning because of it.

Furthermore, I found it a little heavy on the personal details and whilst I like to know the characters I much prefer to get into the meat of a case especially when it comes to a big and potentially high profile murder.

Yet, I did enjoy the investigatory aspects of the book, the twists and turns, and I thought it was very reflective of modern-day society and policing in the twenty-first century. And there's no denying as the story developed the pace picked up and all in all I did enjoy it in the end.

Really enjoyed this, an excellent thriller. Sometimes I was glad I hadn’t read the first one with Robin as the central character as there was quite a lot of filling in the backstory which I might have found tedious if I had already read it but that aside, the characters were strong and the story interesting and relevant. It kept me gripped and wanting more.

I had to DNF this at 48%.
I struggled from the beginning. This started off way too slow of a pace but also without something to grip me to want to carry on.
I also felt this had too much focus on the detective's personal life. Overshadowing the actual story of the murders. Which put me off even more. I don't mind a little of personal life stuff but not when it overpowers the thriller/crime part.
I also struggled to retain things. I would find I would forget what I have read by the time I picked up the book again the next day.

Lots of twists and turns in this engrossing storyline,it doesn’t matter if you have read the previous books as this can be read as a stand alone,a real page turner that enjoyed

My thanks to Netgalley for my copy of Risk of Harm. Lucie Whitehouse is one of my favourite authors and I think this is her best book to date. It is one of a series of police dramas but also works well as a standalone novel.

The pace is great, even from the beginning I was invested in the outcome. The character's developments and incites into their pasts progress well and there are many twists and turns which certainly kept me guessing. Unputdownable!

A welcome second outing for DCI Robin Lyons, who first appeared in the amazing ""Critical Incidents," she is now working for Homicide in her native Birmingham under the former (still?) love of her life, Samir, who broke her heart when they were teenagers and is now married with two daughters. Robin is now a single mum to delightful but complicated teenage daughter Lenny, and relies a lot on her parents for help. When the body of a young woman is found in an abandoned warehouse used by the homeless, she proves virtually impossible to identify, but when a similar murder follows, rumours of a serial killer begin and the police come under fire for their lack of results.
Robin's troubles are then heightened by conflict in the family, especially with her brother, Luke, who has resented and made trouble for her since childhood. But Robin is determined to find justice for the dead women, whatever it takes.
Robin is a believable and flawed character who it is hard not to get involved with. Lenny is also particularly well portrayed, and the joys and pain of watching your child grow up into an adult you can both feel pride in and fear for will be familiar to many parents, as will that feeling of not being a good enough parent. Contemporary issues such as poverty, racism, child abuse, refugees and depression are dealt with sensitively and compassionately. The narrative is tense and it is hard to guess what the outcome will be. The crime investigation is well balanced with the personal and family aspects of the story. Pacy, involving and intriguing, I can't wait to read the third in the planned trilogy and to get acquainted with Robin again.

A solid five star thriller. Fantastic read.. Page Turner. Plenty of suspense to keep me enthralled. First book I have read from this author but will not be my last. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

Brilliant book. I had read her other books but it doesn't matter if you haven't.
The plot wax very good and it kept me interested until the end. Few twists and turns.

Another winner from Ms Whitehouse. It was good to spend more time in the company of Robin and her colleagues, and to travel with her through the complexities of who murdered two young women and the seemingly equally complex emotions surrounding her family relationships!
Thank you to netgalley and fourth estate for an advance copy of this book

A woman is found stabbed to death in a derelict factory. But who is she?
DCI Robin Lyons is back in her home town of Birmingham, with her one time lover Samir her boss. They are under pressure to solve this quickly but when another woman is found in similar circumstances it looks like they have a serial killer on their hands. But is there a connection and what does it have to do with a missing person case from two decades ago?
Can Robin solve this along with the mounting pressures of her own family.

I really enjoyed this crime thriller from Lucie Whitehouse. The plot was convoluted but the author's skill., most particularly in her portrayal of the heroine detective Robin, kept my attention all the way through. I loved it . Thank you to NetGalley and to the publishers for a free ARC.

We meet Robin, a DCI who has just transferred to a police force in Birmingham, as two girls are found murdered just days apart. We then follow Robin as she tries to determine whether the cases are linked, who the victims are, and how she can catch whoever killed the girls.

There was so much backstory to this – Robin’s daughter having recently survived something traumatic, previous relationships with colleagues, some dark event in her recent career history, her tempestuous relationship with her horrible, racist brother, an adolescent friendship with her current romantic interest, a strained relationship with her mother, previous cases of missing women, the recent death of her best friend – that it felt like a second or third installment in a series of books rather than a standalone novel. These past events and associations are referred to so often that I kept feeling as though I had missed something, but think it was actually just the author trying to give her protagonist more depth. However, I found that they, and the numerous other subplots that the author adds in, distracted from the actual plot of murders to be solved.

The ending also wasn’t what I expected and was all a little “convenient” for my taste, although I’m sure others would enjoy the various twists. I did, however, like the author’s style of writing so would be interested to see what comes next.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the arc to review.

I so enjoyed this clever police thriller and it was easy to warm to the main character, Robin. She does her best and has lots of difficulties to contend with. I was so hoping everything would work out well for her. The novel is tightly plotted, well-written and full of interesting themes and memorable characters. I didn’t realise Risk of Harm was the second in a series and it stands well on its own but having read it and discovered this talented author, I’m now going to buy the first one. Five stars!

DCI Robin Lyons has moved back to her home town of Birmingham, recruited by her boss DCS Samir Jafferi, an old flame, to Force Homicide. Robin is a single mother to daughter Lennie and has had a lot of tragedy in her life with her best friend Corinna being murdered and her daughter was nearly murdered. Plus her racist brother, who has hated her since she was born, is making life difficult for her.

It's a good police procedural - a young woman is found stabbed to death in a derelict factory and there is nothing to identify the body. Then another woman is found killed with a similar MO and it's looking like the cases could be linked. Good plot but I found the way Robin discovers the identity of the first victim a bit of a leap.

Although Robin is a flawed character, putting her work ahead of spending time with her daughter Lennie, I didn't dislike the character and enjoyed the book and the ending.

I adored Lucie Whitehouse's first crime novel and this is equally as good, if not better. DCI Robin Lyons is back in the thick of various murder investigations blighting Birmingham whilst balancing her work relationships, tricky family and teenage daughter. I like the fact that she's struggling with the balance and that some of her decisions are the wrong ones, it makes it feel much more realistic. And the issues that the book throws up - immigrant workers facing hostility, changing economic make up - all help to build up an unputdownable story.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A little slow to start, but once the pace got started it was a great story. Recommended.

My type of novel and quite typical of it's genre.
I found myself liking Robyn and her team and the writing style was engaging throughout.

3 for neutral, unfortunately, this was a bit too slow for me and I was not able to finish. Will update if able to finish at a later date, as I am a moody reader, but did give it a couple tries.

Robin Lyons is back in her hometown of Birmingham and now a DCI with Force Homicide, working directly under Samir, the man who broke her heart almost twenty years ago. When a woman is found stabbed to death in a derelict factory and no one comes forward to identify the body, Robin and her team must not only hunt for the murderer, but also solve the mystery of who their victim might be.

This is a very typical crime, murder mystery come thriller book. I did not realise it was part of a series of crime books but that book was able to stand alone without the need of reading the previous ones. The plot is uncomplicated but with lots of interesting content reflecting modern-day society. There is a surprise ending which I could never have anticipated.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.