Cover Image: Lost Souls

Lost Souls

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A detective story, part of a series set in North Wales, an area I know well. Fine as a stand alone read, though there are hints of previous cases in the book, I did not feel that there was enough information to add to this story and that could have been left out .
Told from different perspectives , there are a couple of different cases, seemingly unrelated, though I had the suspicion early on that there was a connection. Ellie is a 10 year old who runs away, the reasons become apparent later. She luckily, runs into another (older) runaway who takes her under his wing. There is lots going on in the lives of the detectives, some of which could have done with a little more explanation for me.
On the whole I enjoyed the book, liked the writing style though I would have liked a bit more description of the places ( I know Llandudno and the Orme, but others would have no idea about the area) and the ending was finished off quite quickly But certainly not a bad read, I will look out for more from this author

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

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This is another wonderful book from Jenny O'Brien who writes tight storylines with interesting characters. This story centers on a ten year old run away, a young man reeling from a family tragedy and missing elderly women, are they connected and how will Gabby and her team solve their cases is the crux of the story. Very enjoyable book.

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A gripping page turner that kept me on the edge till the end. It's well written, the fast pace plot is full of twists and turns, the characters are interesting and fleshed out.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

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This was such a nail biter of a page turner. A great read. I loved the book. The plot was very well written and I cannot wait for another book. This was from a new to me and great author. I really enjoyed the book. Will definitely recommend this book.

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This enthralling thriller is voiced from the perspectives of numerous characters including acting DI Gaby Darin, the various individuals who made up her loyal team and a homeless and very likeable young man named Ronin. There is always added intensity and pressure when a investigation involves a missing child and the case was made more complex by the fact that the team had no idea if ten year old Elodie Fry had simply ran away or been abducted. The reader knew where Elodie was and I thought the author's portrayals of the conflicting emotions that she was experiencing were very realistic. Elodie put on such a brave front when inside she was just a terrified little girl.

Gaby was also a mixed bag of conflicting emotions, as well as leading the complex and frustrating investigation into Elodie's disappearance, she was also distracted by her feelings for resident pathologist Rusty Mulholland (I love that name) Throw into the mix a gruesome discovery at the crematorium and her uncertainty about wether she actually wanted to be DI, it was no wonder that she was struggling to think straight at times. And then, just when she thought that things couldn't get any worse, just like the proverbial bad penny, a figure from her past suddenly appeared back in her life. I really liked Gaby and her team, they were a very likeable bunch of individuals who worked really well together and I loved how each member of the team were given the opportunity to contribute their own input into the investigations. The question was, where was Elodie? Was she is any danger? And if she was, would team be able to figure out her location before time ran out on her young life?

Lost Souls is a addictive, thrilling police procedural with a intricate plot that keeps the reader guessing and glued to your kindle. The author cleverly draws all the various threads of her story together, pulling the reader and her characters into position for her final, unexpected revelation. She has created a fantastic cast of recurring characters, individuals that the reader takes to their heart and enjoys spending their time with. Although this is the forth book in the series and events from the past are referenced, the book can be read and enjoyed as a standalone. A very enjoyable, entertaining read and very highly recommended

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As detectives scramble to find missing ten-year-old Elodie Fry, a crematorium worker presents evidence of a second body found with another man's ashes. Acting DI Gaby Darin doesn't have the time to spare to look into it, nor into the sudden disappearance of a local pensioner, but has to spread her team even thinner to do so. On top of this, Gaby is trying to juggle a fledgling relationship and possibly apply to make her DI status permanent. With so many balls in the air, it seems inevitable that one's going to drop - and someone's going to get hurt.

A fast paced, tightly written mystery, this was my very first introduction to Gaby Darin and her bullpen of detectives, each with their own problems. Fourth in the series, this definitely made reference to (and possibly spoiled) previous books and key past events, so I perhaps wouldn't start here. It was a little difficult to work out what was backstory and what occurred in earlier books. Nonetheless, the multiple points of view helped provide insights into various characters, even if it was a little hard to keep them all straight at times. It's no coincidence that the titular Lost Souls are plural, as Elodie isn't the only one who needs help.

We spend the most time with Gaby, whose grim determination to get the job done is starting to falter against a backdrop of personal developments and an overwhelming caseload. I really liked Gaby and would like to see more of her, both what happened previously and where she goes from here. Rusty is really sweet (he seems like a great guy) and the tension in their relationship stems from his son, who is rather resentful of the new person in his father's life.

The twists and turns as the disparate pieces of the story draw together kept me guessing almost all the way through and it all fell into place with a satisfying click, even if the motive wasn't clear. As for the more personal side of the story? There's definitely going to be a change to the status quo and I'm curious as to how this shakes things up.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley; all opinions are my own

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Lost Souls is the fourth installment of Jenny O'Briens' Detective Gaby Darin series. And, I hold my hands up and say I haven't read the first three. But, I will be making time to read these. If Lost Souls is anything to go by then the rest should be just as good.

In this story Gaby is now acting Detective Inspector. There were hints to the previous cases and stories, but I'm clueless as to what happened. Which proves this book is easily read as a standalone and doesn't spoil the plotlines to the other stories. Which is good for us that want to go on to read all of them ☺️

Elodie Fry is a ten year old girl. She discovers something and this unnerves her so much she packs her bag and leaves home. What has she seen? What is so bad she would choose to leave everything and live rough?

Gaby and her team must find out the answers to these questions. But, things aren't that easy. Especially when you throw in missing old people, and extra limbs turning up in cremators. There are so many mysteries and twists in this story it's just fabulous.

I got to say I absolutely loved the setting of this book. I may be biased though. It's set in the best part of the world. The North of Wales. Land Of My Fathers. (Yes I'm Welsh 🏴󐁧󐁢󐁷󐁬󐁳󐁿 and super proud) I loved reading about places that I've been to. And, Jenny O'Brien threw in some Welsh words just to set my heart fluttering. Even the mere mention of the Llandudno goats got me smiling. Especially as they've been taking over Llandudno during lockdown. Claiming back their land ☺️

Lost Souls had plenty to keep the reader hooked. The characters we meet in the story are well written, I absolutely fell for Ronan. I loved how he took Elodie under his wing despite going through tough times himself.

A gripping read, full of mystery. What exactly did Elodie see? Such a fantastic read set in exquisite beautiful scenery.



I would like to thank Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for the invitation to join this blog tour, and HQ Digital and Jenny O'Brien for an advanced copy of Lost Souls.

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Lost Souls is the fourth book in the Detective Gaby Darin series and after enjoying the first two books (I haven’t go to the third one yet!), I was really keen to read it!

The story begins in Colwyn Bay, one Friday lunchtime at the end of July, with 10-year-old Elodie (Ellie) Fry making a shocking discovery in the shed while her mum is cleaning the house. A few days after this nasty experience, Elodie decides to run away from home, taking a rucksack of supplies with her.

Acting Detective Inspector (DI) Gabrielle (Gaby) Darin is part of the North Wales Major Incident Team and gets the call about the missing girl and arranges to meet DC Jax Williams and family liaison officer, DS Amy Potter, at the family home to speak to Ellie’s mum, Anita. Ellie is an only child and doesn’t know her father but Anita, who works as a cleaner, has done her best to provide for her daughter. She’s shocked by Ellie’s disappearance and can’t understand why she would have run away from home.

Meanwhile, DC Owen Bates, who is just returning from paternity leave and has a week-old baby daughter, speaks to a man called Martin Penrose from the Welsh Hills Memorial Gardens in Colwyn Bay who has come to the police station at St Asaph to report a crime. Penrose works at the crematorium and, while cleaning out the furnace, he found three prosthetic hip joints, a rather surprising discovery because, as he says, ‘How many people do you know with three legs?’!

We also meet a character from a previous novel, the reclusive 18-year-old Ronan Stevens, who is currently sleeping rough in a cave on the headland of the Great Orme in Llandudno and he ends up playing a key part in this story.

The novel is set over the course of a week as Gaby Darin frantically juggles several investigations, instructing her colleagues to follow many different lines of enquiries and tries to solve the curious cases. Poor PC Diane Carbone ends up reviewing hours of CCTV footage in the hopes of spotting Ellie. She comes up with some intelligent suggestions/observations so I hope she’ll feature more in future books.

The story can be read as a standalone but there are a few passing mentions of previous cases and events so it’s probably best to read the series in order to get the full experience and learn more about Gaby Darin and her life. She has a good working relationship with her colleagues and manages to support and encourage them while getting the best out of her team and successfully solving cases. I also enjoyed seeing Gaby’s tentative relationship with resident pathologist, Rusty Mulholland, continuing to develop, despite a few obstacles and uncertainties.

This was another excellent, compelling read from Jenny O’Brien, with some astute police work, and I really enjoyed this cleverly plotted and gripping police procedural. The puzzling storyline was well written with some good twists and turns and it had me frantically turning the pages, curious to see how all was going to be resolved. I had a few theories but couldn’t put all the pieces of the jigsaw together and was rather surprised by the conclusion!

The Detective Gaby Darin series is very engaging and entertaining, with a good pace, as well as a fascinating team dynamic and intriguing character development, and it makes for satisfying reading. I can’t wait for the next book!

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Another emotional and exciting medley of police procedural and psychological suspense featuring Detective Gaby Darin. Set in Wales, this is an atmospheric mystery beginning with a young girl running away, a strange discovery in crematorium ashes and an unsolved missing person's case.

As events in Gaby's life continue from previous stories, it's best to read all the books in the series in order. The crimes are menacing and well-described. The investigative team dynamic is authentic, and Gaby Darin is a likeable protagonist.

Well-plotted with believable characters, there are plenty of twists and an addictive balance of action, emotion and investigation in this story. It keeps the reader engaged and guessing who committed the various crimes.

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

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I recommend reading the first book in the series, Missing in Wales to understand the characters more...
Lost Souls is a detailed fast paced story that is well written and doesn't fail to draw you in from the first page.
I like how O'Brien has labelled the headers of each chapter so you know who it is about. O'Brien has created a captivating plot and really sets the atmosphere with the use of detail.
The character development of Lost Souls is good.The characters are likeable. Gaby does everything in her power to find the answers to the cases that come before her and has a great chemistry between Owen...
I would recommend reading Lost Souls to lovers of Police Procedural and Physiological Thrillers, as it is a interesting blend of surprises, twists! O'Brien takes the reader on a compelling journey so make sure you fasten your seatbelt....

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‘Lost Souls’ is the fourth book in the series featuring Detective Gaby Darin. I haven’t caught up with all of the three previous books but I am getting there. I read the synopsis for ‘Lost Souls’ and it certainly sounded like an intriguing story. So without further ado, I grabbed my Kindle, grabbed a cup of tea and settled down for a reunion with Detective Gaby Darin. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Lost Souls’ but more about that in a bit.
I got into this story from the very first word on the very first page. The book seemed to develop a hold over me and it was a hold that I was not willing to break. I found that I just couldn’t put this book down for any length of time. My Kindle wasn’t exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me. I couldn’t bear to miss a single second of the story. I had my own theories as to what was going to happen and I had to keep reading to see if I was on the right track or if I had wandered down the wrong path entirely. I found ‘Lost Souls’ to be a gripping read, which kept me guessing and which kept me on the edge of my seat.
‘Lost Souls’ is superbly written. The author knows how to grab your attention and draw you into what proves to be a compelling story. For me, the story hits the ground running and maintains a fairly fast pace throughout. I love the way in which Jenny makes the reader feel that they are part of the story themselves and at the heart of all the action. Reading ‘Lost Souls’ felt like being on an at times scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several twists and turns along the way.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Lost Souls’ and I would recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Jenny’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

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After a quieter spell, new cases all seem to come at once for acting DI Gaby Darin based at St Asaph police station in North Wales. First ten year old Elodie Fry runs away from home. What could have been so awful in the garden shed to leave her thinking she had no other option? Whilst Gaby and most of the team, being DC’s Jax Williams, Malachy Devine and Marie Morgan, start searching for the missing girl, senior DC Owen Bates deals with a worker who comes in from the crematorium in Colwyn Bay with three hip replacement joints left in the debris from a single cremation. How could that possibly happen? And finally an elderly lady fails to show for a bridge party with friends. Completely out of character, her friends fear the worst and call the police. Could she be another name to add to the list of elderly people who have simply vanished in the area lately? And as if things weren't bad enough, unless Gaby applies for the permanent DI post, there is the very real threat of the noxious DS Bill Davis from Swansea getting the job and making all their lives a misery. The missing child case clearly has to take priority on the detectives’ resources, even when the other two investigations start to point toward murder, but as they work the cases, the team are unknowingly all heading for the same connection.
This is a great police procedural, with a team of well defined and very likeable detectives who work brilliantly together. The cases are solved by hard graft and eagle-eyed spotting of clues from evidence, giving the reader every chance to follow the clever plot to an exciting end and satisfying conclusion. I do hope there are more stories to come in this series, especially as the reader was left on a little bit of cliff-hanger. Highly recommended. 5*

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Really loving this series and how each book has the personal thread of Gaby’s personal life and relationships. This story Kept me on the edge and full of twists and turns highly recommend.

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I couldn’t wait to read Lost Souls by Jenny O’Brien because I really enjoy this author’s writing and I suspected it would be entertaining. I was correct. Lost Souls was awesome!

This is the fourth book in the series. I’m really enjoying the series and the character Gaby. I think she is an excellent main character and I love her growth as a character.

This book hooked me from the beginning. I couldn’t wait to keep reading Lost Souls. I recommend giving it a shot!

Thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources For allowing me to join this blog tour. I recieved a free copy of this book to review honestly. All opinions are my own and unbiased.*

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A thrilling crime series and I have so enjoyed this fourth novel!

Now that Gaby is acting DI, her days are no easier; her latest case is that of a 10 year old girl who has gone missing from her home. The big question is, did she run away or is there something more sinister behind her disappearance? And, as if one case wasn’t enough to keep the team fully occupied, there is the matter of a local cremation which produces proof that there was more than one body among the ashes. Another enigma to add to the list. The only way to solve both cases is to follow the evidence – but what if they are connected?

I’m rather fond of Gaby Darin; she manages to juggle life and career whilst dealing with the ordinary problems which face us all. These are complicated cases and I found myself fully engrossed quite quickly, reading long after I should have tucked myself under the duvet. This is a really enigmatic read – I suspected everyone (or so I thought) but still didn’t get it right. With twists and turns galore, Gaby manages to cope with office politics whilst keeping an eye on those under her care and never lacking in the attention she gives to her current workload. As always, the author has created an entirely plausible and rather puzzling scenario for the reader to really get their teeth into; this is proving to be a cracking series to follow and I find myself already looking forward to the next one. Riveting and exciting from beginning to end, this is one I’m delighted to recommend and give five full sparkling stars.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy and to Rachel Gilbey for my spot on this tour; this is – as always – my honest, original and unbiased review.

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I will start by saying I absolutely love this series. Jenny O'Brien does it again by pulling me into the hectic lives of Gabriella "Gaby" Darin, Rusty Mullholland and the team of likeable detectives in Northern Wales. The Welsh setting is beautiful and I sent my Welsh friend Jo a list of the unpronounceable names (for me) so she could translate.

Some place names are Rhos-on-Sea, Llandudno, Ystad golygfa'r mor and Aberystwyth.

We begin with Gaby Darin is the position of acting Detective Inspector, her leading the team of detectives in the search for a missing ten year old girl, Elodie "Ellie" Fry. The little girl has a happy home life with her single mother but something she discovers terrifies her and she runs away. You will discover later on in the book what the horrific finding was and why she ran.

To complicate matters there is a case about a missing elderly woman who failed to show up at her bridge club meeting. Her fridge is stocked with food, a tea cup is left on the counter and it appears she simply vanished into thin air. After the crime scene folks arrived to investigate they find traces of blood which were hastily cleaned up. This opens up much older cases of missing elderly residents in the area.

But wait - there's more! A man who cleans the crematorium arrives at the police station to report three hip replacement prothesthics were found after the last cremation. Apparently someone is disposing of "body parts" in a way no one would ever discover, until an employee is spot on about his job and reports this discovery.

The hunt for the missing girl takes priority yet Gaby's team of detectives, torn in three diferent directions, work tirelessly to solve all three cases. I will say I was surprised by the way everything came together. Another excellent mystery tying up all the loose ends. I can't wait for the next book to see where Gaby's career is headed. Her temporary appointment to D.I. could become a permanent position but we won't know until the next book. There is some drama about that appointment and the competition.
Publication date May 21, 2021 by HQ Digital. Genre: General Fiction, Mystery and Thrillers.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy of this book. I was not compensated for the review, all opinions are mine.

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday.

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Lost Souls is the fourth instalment in the Detective Gabriella ”Gaby” Darin series, set in North Wales. It's July in Colwyn Bay and Elodie ”Ellie” Fry has recently broken up for the school summer holidays and is only a fortnight in when she decides to head down the garden to the head to look for a ball to play with despite being told by her mother not to venture in there. After unexpectedly experiencing something inside that terrifies her so much she leaves home in the middle of the night with a rucksack believing she can never return, Ellie sets off with Ted the teddy bear, a book, a few quid and as many lightweight food items as she can carry, a steak knife for safety, a wind-up torch and a few other items. On her way out of the door, she draws a heart on a Post-it note and sticks it to the kettle; her last sentiments. Fast forward to Monday 3 August and in Rhos-on-Sea, Acting DI Gaby Darin is in charge of the North Wales Major Incident Team at St Asaph Police Station since her DC, Owen Bates had recently taken paternity leave. She's about to sit down for breakfast when she receives a call from DC Jax Williams informing her about Elodie’s disappearance. It's all hands on deck; they immediately head to the Sea View estate, the largest housing development in Colwyn Bay to interview her mother and a quickly assembled search party is out scouring the neighbourhood, but in number 312, the forty-something Anita Fry looks dumbfounded. Time is of the essence if Ellie is to be located safely and so ensues a race against time for the 10-year-old. Why would such a young child seemingly willingly run away from a place she presumably felt safe?

PC Diane Carbone had been given the Herculean task of watching CCTV camera footage from in and around Colwyn Bay and Llandudno and she had caught a fleeting glimpse of Ellie walking along Greenfield Road at 3:01 AM. A short time later, a problem arises at Welsh Hills Memorial Gardens, the local crematorium. Groundsman Martin Penrose had found something unexplainable and extremely disturbing that warranted investigation when he was cleaning out the furnace on a Saturday evening after a burning; he had found three metal hip replacements and unless someone has been going around North Wales on three legs, there is an issue. This also coincides with a smattering of elderly people going missing. The third case brought to the police’s attention on that same first Monday in August is the vanishing of 80-year-old Barbara Matthews who had received an impromptu visitor in a grey pinstripe suit at her home, Wisteria Cottage, in Deganwy Quay before she vanished. Can the police find those who are missing and work through several connections that link the cases together? This is a compulsive and absorbing multithreaded mystery set against a quaint rural backdrop and peopled with an idiosyncratic cast. With a sadistic killer on the loose, the story becomes very cleverly woven and with few clues the team must dig deep in more ways than one. Protagonist Gaby is a hardworking, tenacious detective, and there is just the right amount of twists, turns and red herrings throughout to truly pull the wool over your eyes. It’s a tale of two lost souls on a road trip across North Wales, with Gaby Darin and her team hot on their heels.

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This was a fast past read and had alot going on. We first get into the dissapearance of a 10 year old girl name Elodie. She runs away from home after seeing something in the shed at the edge of her property.
There is also the strange case of a creamatorium finding 3 metal hip replacements in the creamatory.. As people don't generally have 3 legs this was very very suspicious.
I did think that the second case was definitely a more interesting one to follow. We do follow alot of different perspectives. I think 4 or 5 different people and it seemed like to many which I think made me have a hard time connecting with the characters.. With all of the different characters the story also did feel a bit disjointed at times.
When we finally figure out how the cases connect it was definitely a surprise.
I hadn't read any other books in the series and had no trouble figuring out what was going on.
While I didn't totally love this book, I would definitely check out other books by this author and in this series.

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4.5 stars

This is the fourth book in the Gabriella Darin series.

There is a lot going on in this book. A runaway girl and the mystery surrounding a cremated man with three mechanical joints among the ashes when there only should have been two. Strangely enough, these two cases are connected.

We get to see Elodie run away but not what she saw in that shack to cause her to skedaddle. Lots of twists and turns in this detective fiction thriller. I definitely enjoyed this author so much that I purchased the previous three books in this series on my kindle.

This has all the mystery and thrills of a British detective series plus you see everything through the eyes of Gabriella Darin. Her heart for the job just makes you want to read all the things.

Definitely pick this up if you are a detective fiction mystery lover.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title. Opinions are completely my own.

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A cracking installment in this wonderful series. If you’re looking for a well-developed procedural, filled with office politics and seemingly real-life police drama, this series is for you!
This latest installment of Jenny O’Brien’s wonderful series doesn’t disappoint. DI Gaby Darin is dealing with a missing child, a missing elderly woman, and an extra hip-joint showing up at the local crematorium. Set in Wales, the reader is quickly enmeshed in the sense of place as the author gracefully weaves all three tales into a nail biting conclusion. This series just gets better and better!

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