My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Joffe Books for the electronic copy.

This is the first book in a series featuring Detective Sergeant Helen Carter who's just starting a job in Edinburgh CID. Set in the 1970s the story and, particularly, the dialogue between Helen and the male-dominated team, is entertaining - I really rather enjoyed the way Helen stood her ground against her chauvinistic DI Jack Craven.

Helen and her DI go to a murder scene in an abandoned cinema. The victim has no ID; he's been battered, tortured and strangled with rope; but a business card has been left at the scene - belonging to an ex-policeman, now private investigator, George Stanley. DI Craven knows of him. This is not a dump-site - the victim died in the cinema seat in which the body now sat - meaning he must have gone there willingly. and on the wall a symbol resembling a clock face drawn in blood.

Four days later another body is found at a local landmark - perhaps a drunk who drowned in a puddle? But that clock face turns up again, along with George's business card - so what's the connection between the victims and the private investigator.

There are a few twists and turns which keep the reader guessing, and a rather dramatic ending.

I liked the characters and the writing. Looking forward to the next one!

Sadly not a book that I enjoyed, but then again, that is simply my opinion as others might find it a decent read.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I actually enjoyed this book, had a great storyline and liked all the characters. Basically a good read. Would recommend.

It's never easy being the first of anything. And to be the first female DS in 1977 Edinburgh CID, well, Helen knows it's going to be tough. She's got a good partner in DI Jack Craven (even if he seems awful at first) and a not so good partner in Ted, her fiance. A series of murders, which may be linked to a former police officer, is her intro to CID. It's standard procedural stuff, in a way, elevated by a good character in Helen and her personal and professional challenges. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Not as gritty as some Scottish noir. Looking forward to the next one.

The Uniform by Jodie Lawrance is virtually a Scottish version of Linda La Plante's "Tennison" series ,with both featuring young women Police Officers battling against misogyny and prejudice in their respective Police forces in the 1970's.

Very much against her retired Detective Inspector Father Helen Carter has joined the Police and worked her way up to the CID. This being the 1970's she bears the brunt of the sexist and laddish culture or the time and younger readers might be quite shocked at her being told to "make the coffee" and being the victim of innuendo and being told to get a job more suited to her gender on an ongoing basis.
Set in Edinburgh there are a series of grizzly murders that it soon becomes obvious are linked. As well as being a female in a male-dominated profession there are also snide comments about nepotism due to Helen's fathers contacts and suggestions that he have been less than squeaky-clean.
As big a part of the story as the murders is Helen's relationships with her colleagues and her boyfriend Ted,all of which fluctuate as the tale progresses.

This is good rather than great but shows promise as the first in a series. Quite a lot of time is spent setting the scene and introducing the characters and it does chug along a bit until the main characters have been fleshed out when things improve rapidly.
There's a good sense of time and place with plenty of contemporary references, the male fashions of the time being quite amusing..

I liked this rather than loved it but it did keep me interested enough to want to read the next book in the series, Helen's life and career certainly move on by the end of the book, setting things up nicely for future episodes.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy of The Uniform, the first novel to feature Acting DS Helen Carter, set in Edinburgh in 1977.

Helen has been recently promoted to detective and it’s not easy with the sexism and male culture, so she’s determined to make a success of her first murder enquiry, even if DI Craven doesn’t want her there. A body has been found tortured and murdered in a derelict cinema. The only clues are a watch stuffed in the victim’s mouth and the business card for a former police officer turned PI.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Uniform which is a good start to a new series. It has a multiple point of view narrative, not something I’m overly fond of, but in this case it works well, rounding out Helen’s narrative and giving the reader more information but still keeping the who and why a mystery. I liked guessing at this, but have to own up to failing miserably at getting anything right. It kept me glued to the pages, my curiosity overcoming my current poor attention span.

I think the novel is mostly well paced, although the ending feels a touch rushed and seems to just appear with no real lead-in. I like the gradual piecing together of clues and bits of information to build a credible whole. Of course, there was no DNA at the time and the forensics are rudimentary, so the case relies on witnesses, research and critical thinking. It is engaging for the reader.

I’m not quite sure about the period detail. Some of it is good, but it seems to be more early 70s than the era of punk. It’s a small niggle. I also think the author underplays the sexist culture of the era. Making the tea and being overlooked would have been the least of her problems.

The Uniform is a promising start to a new series, so I have no hesitation in recommending it as a good read.

Set in Edinburgh in the 1970's and Helen Carter is a young DS in Edinburgh police at a time when there were few women in the force. She is investigating a murder and the body count quickly rises as she struggles to find a connection between them and find the killer. This is a good start to a new series, it's well written, has a lovely setting and has an interesting plot as well as good character development. I felt the ending was a bit rushed but I still enjoyed the read. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

DS Helen Carter works for Edinburgh CID – but the book is set in the 1970s when it was a novelty to have female detectives. What doesn’t help is that her father was a DCI in the same force, and she has to prove that she’s not there because of him. Her first case is a murder, with the body found in a derelict picture house, but then more bodies turn up in different places.

Helen is engaged to Ted, he doesn’t seem like a very pleasant person at times, and I’d think twice about staying with him.

A great start to the DS Helen Carter series, and I’m looking forward to reading more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Joffe Books for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

Wonderful intro to what will be a great series. Detective Helen Carter, her dad was a Detective Inspector and not really pleased that she was going to join the force. Being a woman in a mainly male environment means she needs to hold her own. Her first case has roots into her dads’ early days on the force.
Looking forward to book 2
Thank you to NetGalley and Joffe Books for a copy of this book in exchange for my opinion.

Very readable detective story with a character that is engaging and well written. Will be happy to read more in the series. Many thanks

Edinburgh Scotland.
Book one in the Helen Carter series.
That takes us back to the 1970s when theres a few women officers and she finds it hard going working with detective Jack Craven. An excellent start to a new series and I sailed through the chapters as dead bodies keep turning up in unusual places and Helen is determined to track down the killer.
Her private life also with her partner Ted is very up and down who's very difficult doesn't help her tough day job. This is one excellent read as we are introduced to the characters a good start to hopefully more in the series.

Such a. Great debut story. I loved it and can't wait till the next one. I loved it and it was amazing great story, greatly written
Recommended for anyone who wants a new detective story to get into

Thank you to the obligatories.

After a suspicious shaky start, this ended up being a tense and enjoyable read, one that I'd like to continue. Set in Edinburgh in 1977, a female sergeant investigates some odd serial murders and deals with toxic masculinity of a like I've rarely seen portrayed so banally. I'm no spring chicken, I've heard the same directed at myself and my peers, but it got so old so quickly in this book. I'm sure it was deliberate because as the story picks up pace, so does the respect Carter's male peers have for her. Because she's really smart and cool and she sees patterns where no one else does. Mind you, I don't know how small Edinburgh is at all, but if it's anything like Melbourne I will believe the coincidence that the plot hinges on. The world is a small place.

This is half written in (tamed down for its audience) Scots vernacular, half middle class diction. I usually dislike books written in vernacular, I'm an audio transcriber, I can write accents, but this somehow worked with the written English - I thought the dialogue was a bit stilted at first, but it can be put down to the characters themselves not being comfortable with each other. Really clever.

When's the next one?

2.5 stars rounded up to 3

DS Helen Carter #1

DS Helen Carter is having difficulty making her mark in the male-dominated Edinburgh CID, working under the difficult Inspector Jack Craven. But when she gets her first case: a murder in an old abandoned picture house. Whoever did it left a mysterious clock-like symbol on the wall, drawn in blood. Stranger still, the killer has left a clue: the business card of an ex-cop. Corpses keep turning up in the strangest of places.

Set in the 1970's Edinburgh, Scotland: Helen Carter is the only woman in the CID. Her first case is to solve the murder of a body that was found in an old abandoned picture house. Then more bodies turn up in strange places, Helen has her work cut out to solve these murders and prove to her male dominated colleagues that she can do he job just as good as them.

Helen is engaged to Ted who I really didn't like and i didn't like her boss, Inspector Jack Craven either. There wasn't anything special about this book, it was just another run of the mill police procedural. There was a lot of scene setting that didn't seem relevant. I did like Helen and I will read the next book in this series. The ending felt a bit of a let down and felt rushed.

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

Not bad for a debut, characters settling in nicely. Great sense of time when women were disregarded. A little muddled in places, but good denouement.

There's a lot of scene setting in this,that is going to pay off nicely in future books,but for this one ,I felt it was too much setting the scene and not enough crime.
Am I allowed to be a little disappointed it wasn't grittier? That the cops weren't more outright sexist? That's what I was expecting,but it seemed a bit tame.
I'll be picking up book no 2 to see where we go from here,building on a decent start.

Thank you Netgalley and Joffe Books for the eARC.
The premise of this book is 1970's Edinburgh and a young female (Detective Sergeant Helen Carter) as the only woman in the police team. Being a female officer in those days meant misogyny as a daily scourge,
I was really looking forward to the read since I love Edinburgh and the 1970's, but found it slightly confusing at times and was disappointed in the ending, as the' heroine caught by the killer(s) and rescued in the nick of time' is so predictable. Plus, her fiance is detestable, how can she stand him? Craven, who she works with closely, misogynist and curt, was my favorite character, he has promise.
Helen is likeable, I'm hoping she'll grow more on me in the next in the series.
All in all it was a decent book with a good mystery in a lovely setting with lots of Scottish dialect (my favorite!).

A promising start from an exciting new author . Its a police procedural based in Scotland, set in the 1970's. Featuring newly promoted Detective Helen Carter, its well researched into attitudes towards women at that time. An addictive read, cleverly plotted. I am looking forward to reading the next in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Joffe Books for my digital copy.

I am thrilled to have a new series to look forward to published by Joffe Books they are becoming a favorite pub of mine! 😍
The Uniform is a new series the first in a thrilling new Scottish crime starring DS Helen Carter.
Sergeant Helen Carter is having trouble making her mark in the male-dominated Edinburgh CID, working under the difficult Inspector Jack Craven. She has her first case A murder in an old abandoned house.
There is a odd paining of a clock on the wall but its drawn in blood!
She keeps looking in the house and finds a clue.... A business card of an ex-cop.!.
The bodies keep piling up... Can Helen get to the bottom.of this case before people die??

WoW! I devoured this book in literally one sitting
This was a fast paced thriller. With amazing characters. I'm so excited to have another book to look forward to reading! I'm hoping its released sooner than later! Can't wait!

Thank you Joffe Books and NetGalley for this awesome new ebook!