This is the first book by Charlie Gallagher that I have read and it certainly won't be the last. The novel is part psychological thriller and part police procedural with a strong pair of lead detectives. As the tension ramps up you can feel it flowing through you as a reader, that is powerful stuff making this justifiably a page-turner. Would highly recommend.

This is a very intense story, one that focuses on a human contest, betting one person as pawns against each other. The stakes are high and the lives of you and your family are balancing on the edge and there is really no way out, you have to play the game.

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.

This is a great read.
A refreshing new twist on Escape games where your life is literally at stake.
A girl is found dead near a phone box and Joel and a Lucy know people are hiding things when they speak to her family.
The story is fast paced and as the killer likes to play games, you’re never sure whets going to happen next.
Joel is determined to stop these lethal games as only one of the pair chosen comes out alive.
The killer then involves Lucy in a game and it’s the final straw for Joel.
This is a clever crime thriller that I really enjoyed.
Thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

When the body of a young woman is found in a phone box, on a quiet country lane. She has been tortured then brutally killed. DI Joel Norris and DS Lucy Rose can`t even imagine what lies ahead.
This one takes off at breakneck speed, its a dark and sinister tale, involving a twisted killer who likes to play games.
His victims are pitted against each other but only the winner can survive.
Inquiries lead the team to believe the killings are based on the board game "Escape". A game of survival presided over by "The Captor".
Though it seems initially as if the victims are unrelated, slowly a pattern starts to emerge.
Will Norris and Rose be able to stop "The Captor" before a new round begins and more people lose their lives?
Or will they find themselves becoming pawns in his Lethal Game?
Its a real race against time thriller and had me hooked from the off, the suspense, tension and nail biting finale make this an absolutely brilliant read.
Thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books for the advanced review copy.
Cant wait to see whats next for Norris and Rose!

Oh wow. I read the first chapter and I was totally hooked. What sort of sick mind thought up this game? I had to know!

The plot is so dark and twisted with plenty of action right from the start. There was twists and turns galore to keep you guessing right to the end.

I loved the two main character's and Eilean is just fabulous!

This is the first book I've read by this author but it certainly won't be the last. It's everything I love about a police thriller. Can't recommend it highly enough.

Loved this book hadn't read the first book in this series, but that didn't spoil it. Joel and Lucy are detectives looking for a killer, what they don't know yet is this is all part of a game being played out in real life! It's only when another murder victim is found that they realise it's part of a strategy game called 'escape' and the stakes are extremely high not only are the players in danger, but so are their families. He knows everything about them, where they live, work and who their family is, how can he know this and why is it targeted or are these pairs of people random. It's definitely kill or be killed! Will they find the murderer in time and work out the motives or will it be too late?!

Many thanks to Net galley for letting me read this book and will be looking for more from Charlie Gallagher, will also be recommending to friends and family.

A very exciting read about a game by humans which has dire consequences you have to play the game to survive. Detective Inspector Joel and Detective Sergeant Lucy Rose have to find this monster behind the killings before it’s too late. It’s very tense and keeps you on the edge of your seat,

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy.

I absolutely loved this book, it pulled me in from the start and I was recommending it to a friend before I’d even finished it. The murders had an essence of the ‘Saw’ movies about them in terms of it being pitched as a game for the victims to play, but the investigation and gradual piecing together of motive and was brilliant with some twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. I hadn’t read the first book in this series but that didn’t hinder my enjoyment, and I bought The Friend immediately after finishing.

I’ve never read this author before and will look up his back catalogue to read more. Loved the story and the fact it wasn’t just a standard thriller but had lots of police procedure entwined with a pulsing car and mouse. Just great. Do t read before bed though as it gets your heart pumping !

A new author to me, Charlie Gallagher, I loved the fact that I live in the area where this book was based and could relate to the places in the story.
It wasn't just this that I liked though, the investigation was a sinister one, playing a dangerous game where only one person knew the rules. I loved the relationship that formed between DI Norris and DS Rose in their new investigation team. They not only had to prove the teams worthiness but had to prove their investigative skills too,
Great book.
Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Wow, another amazing offering from someone fast becoming one of my favourite writers. A total rollercoaster, that barrels you along at breakneck speed, from one intense action scene to another.
The story picks up with Joel and Lucy, after their last horrific case (The Friend)
A young woman is found in a phone box, she has obviously been horrifically tortured before she was eventually killed. The team have no idea what they have on their hands until the mother of the dead woman reveals the truth about the phone call.
This story is complex, clever, believable, engaging.
I like the emerging relationship and back stories of Joel and Lucy. It was fractious at first, and there were still hints of that throughout but a thawing towards the end.
A new DCI has joined and I liked him from the beginning. Not much has been revealed yet, so I look forward to learning more as time goes on.
As the case progresses you become convinced that the killer is one person and then are sure it's someone else, so when the reveal is made you are shocked.
There is one scene near the end, written in a storm on rocks that is just incredible. I could imagine being there, feeling the battering wind and cold sea spray.
This is book two of a series but works perfectly well as a standalone. There are few mentions to the previous book and they are fleeting. This was an easy 5 star, wow this book was awesome review.

Charlie Gallagher who is best known for the George Elms series continues his stories with this D.I. Joel Norris and D.S. Lucy Rose one.

Charlie Gallagher has quite a following and this one , Lethal Games should not disappoint them.. A game re-enacted from a board game called Escape pit two unknown rivals . The difference here is they are fighting for their lives. But who is the "puppet master" . Who hold the strings that manipulate the scene as well as the police who are trying to track him ?

A book of combination police procedural and page turning thriller and good read that moves with lightening pace. I can see that the numbers of readers who have discovered Charlie Gallagher, are going to grow with this his latest .

Norris & Rose #2

When DI Joel Norris and DS Lucy Rose are called in to investigate the death of a young woman, found brutally murdered on a quiet country lane, they have no way of knowing what lies ahead. The killer makes his own rules, using victims like chess pieces in a life-sized match of strategy and escape, with the highest stakes imaginable. Norris and Rose are now pawns in the killers twisted contest.

The plotline is complex with lots of twists in this addictive read. The pace is fast in this, the second book in the series. There's so much going on in this jaw dropping read. I liked the character development. Norris and Rose have to pull out all stops and race against time to solve the case. Another page turner by the author that I couldn't put down. This book could be read as a standalone.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #AvonBooksUK and the author #CharlieGallagher for my ARC of #LethalGame in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! My first Charlie Gallagher book but it won’t be my last.
Were to start? The opening is puzzling, I wasn’t sure what was going on. The plot is unusual and very very clever. This is apparently the second in the series but that didn’t take away any enjoyment, it’s perfect as a standalone. It’s not a short read but it’s definitely a read you wont want to put down.
A book you want to finish, because you need to know the outcome, but you don’t want it to finish because it’s such a great read.

A complex twisting tale of murder and revenge that will put you off board games for a long time! Starting with a race to a phone box after being kidnapped the winner goes free, the loser dies in a horrific manner the investigation by DI Joel Norris and DS Lucy Rose reveals personal details of them and others in this nail biting yarn. More deaths follow as the story races along and the pattern using a board game becomes apparent. All very exciting stuff culminating on the shoreline at Dover with even the RNLI involved all hinting at further adventures ahead hopefully!

This was an excellent fast moving thriller with great twists. It’s funny how sometimes thrillers that involve the police feel bogged down with explanations on procedure, but this author manages really well to both outline the process, be informative but keep the story moving. This is the first novel I have read by this author and although discussions in the novel seemed to suggest this was maybe the 2nd in a series I couldn’t find a listing for a first novel for Norris and Rose. It was a brilliant opener if not and I can’t wait to read his next novel. Eileen was also a brilliant character. I can imagine this a great action film too. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read a preview copy of this great story.

With the vast amount of crime novels available something has to make one stand out or grab your attention straight away. This book does just that I was hooked from the first few pages. The plot, which is based on victims being murdered as part of a game, is not unique but is written in a new and interesting way. This is the second book in a new series but I found it worked ok as a standalone although I will now read the first book as I found the main police characters to be portrayed in in an interesting way. I can confidently recommend this book to lovers of this genre.

DI Joel Norris and DS Lucy Rose have a mystery on their hands- and a murder to solve fast. Someone, some devious fiend, has been kidnapping young women and making them play a twisted version of escape, The discovery of a corprse and footage of a woman similarly dressed on a bus lay the basis for the investigation. Norris and Rose (along with their analyst Eileen) must cope with red herrings and the reluctance of victims to talk. Both Norris and Rose have issues in their lives but these don't overwhelm the characters, simply make them more realistic. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. It's a good read with twists so no spoilers from me.

You (should) know you’re dealing with a psychopath when someone else is to blame

The above headline does not betray the plot of the second Joel Norris/ Lucy Rose novel (the author is clever), but in real life this is a good guide to dealing with psychopaths. The problem the two detectives in the novel have with their psychopathic killer is the level of sophistication with which blame is transferred -and that also translates to real life.

This is an effective page-turner of a thriller and much of the urgency comes from the poor relations the two leading characters have with colleagues: it’s a race against incompetent or uncaring intervention as much as it is a race against a clock set by the murderer. (One is reminded of the real life case of Stephen Port, now being examined in the coroner’s court, where a less dramatic but equivalent race was lost.)

What the public sees is a police service rendered helpless by its own rules, procedures and above all, assumptions. What they want are police detectives who will cut through all these to get to the truth and this is what Charlie Gallagher supplies in this novel. Doing the same thing in real life is going to be much more problematic, but if this novel succeeds to the extent that I think it will, it will be proof that the public are currently very frustrated with the police. “Dixon of Dock Green” spoke to a public who could trust the police and not be let down all that often. The Joel Norris and Lucy Rose series speaks to a public who expect senior officers to queer the pitch for any officer who’s actually trying to do the right thing against the odds. Full marks to the author for tapping into this, but the fact that the public is receptive to such a narrative is a serious problem.

This is the first book I’ve read by Charlie Gallagher but it won’t be the last. The book kicks off with a very tense scene, and from there, the tension never lets up.

Charlie kept me guessing as the intrigue was layered on and potential suspects were investigated. I couldn’t wait to find out who was behind the game!

The relationships between the members of the police team are nicely drawn and the officers worked well together. A really enjoyable, exciting read.

My thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for an advance copy of this book.