The Deadly Spark is told over dual timelines - the past and the present and told in several characters' voices. DC Eve Starling, DC Bella Cortez, DCI Gillian Harbrook, DC Tiana Banks (new), and DS Jason Hooper have been asked to investigate the killing of Lisette and her 5 yo daughter Slyvie! Lisette's girlfriend Anya has gone missing. How is she involved? What happened in the house? Eve and the team need to keep their wits about them whilst trying to find out why this happened? The book is well written, full of twists and turns, and very descriptive. There were a few nail biting moments before the big reveal! I hope there is a book 2 and I will be recommending this book.

'The Deadly Spark' is an ambitious debut novel told in different timelines from various pov's. There are twists and turns, red herrings and suspense aplenty as DC Eve Starling investigates an arson that attack leaves a mother and child dead. Once I had sorted everyone in my head I raced through this well thought out and well written novel set mainly in Brighton. Fingers crossed that this is the start of a series and there is more to come soon. Many thanks to the author, netgalley and publisher for an arc.

DC Eve Starling is investigating an arson case that left a woman and her child dead. Their main suspect has disappeared, and pressure is mounting from the media to solve the case. Can Eve catch the culprit before anyone else gets hurt?

This was a good read. I enjoyed the dual perspective and the flashbacks into the past. The way the story unravels is skilfully done and gathers suspense well. There’s some great little twists along the way that I didn’t see coming and the ending was explosive! I couldn’t turn those pages fast enough!

Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ for my advanced copy.

Thank you for my early copy in exchange for a honest review .
I absolutely loved this!
Well written, great characters ,alternate narrative and timelines which made it flow and feel fast paced and fresh .
Unpredictable and packed with suspense.

It had me hooked right to the end .

A fantastic debut in a genre that’s got a lot of top reads in for me .

I look forward to seeing this on everyone’s shelves and can’t wait to read more from Roxie !

The regional crime fiction genre is getting rather crowded of late and it is hard to imagine there is room for further debut works – but this arresting novel proves there certainly is! “New writer on the block” Roxie Key introduces to her fictional protagonist Eve Starling, a Dc who is investigating a series of blazes in her home town of Brighton. A mother and daughter have been killed in the latest arson attack and Eve has almost snared her main suspect when they disappear, setting in motion an avalanche of twists, turns and false assumptions … well-written and with a believable cast that just lend itself to another outing, I thoroughly recommend this novel and cannot wait to see if we will encounter Eve Starling again in a future novel by Ms. Key!

My grateful thanks go to the novel’s publishers HQ and to NetGalley as it was their advance copy that allowed me to produce this unbiased book review.

Loved the plot, loved the character of Eve!
The twists and turns were perhaps easier to deduce than in other novels in the same genre but for me that did not detract from the enjoyable time spent in Eve's world.

Well written with such an awesome main character. She was brought to pofe amazingly and not the stereotypical female lead you get in every other police procedural. The twists and turns were well plotted out and the plot was original. I didn't get as into it as I would have hoped for some reason but it may just be me having a bad reading day! Overall I still flew through it in a few hrs and really enjoyed it

Secrets and lies abound in this one. A rollercoaster of emotions and suspense, this domestic thriller will keep you guessing until the very end. Absolutely riveting I loved it….

#TheDeadlySpark #NetGalley
Brilliant.
Once secrets catch… they spread…
Deadly fires are lighting up Brighton, and the latest case is alarmingly close to home for DC Eve Starling. The blaze was deliberately set, and a mother and daughter didn’t make it out of the smoke. Eve’s investigation takes her deep into her own uncomfortable past. When her key witness disappears, and with the killer always one step ahead, Eve is desperate to solve the case – whatever the cost.
Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for giving me an advance copy.

It only took me a few pages to work out that The Deadly Spark wasn’t for me. The culprit was, of course, the writing style, so this is going to be a very brief review. There wasn’t anything outright bad about the book except that, which is a personal issue really. I’m very particular about writing styles and, if for any reason I dislike it, that’s it the book is a dud for me. And that was primarily the case here. I had a couple of other issues minor here and there — namely how ridiculous the plot seemed, and also that if you’re going to make the major twist that a certain character is not who they seem to be, it’d help if you didn’t only have two characters of that gender in your book (giving the reader a 50% chance of guessing who it was) — but I did find myself curious as to how it would end, and that’s what kept me reading all the way.

This book is everything you want in a psychological thriller:
Strong female lead ✅
harrowing storyline ✅
enough clues to keep you guessing ✅
twists and turns everywhere ✅
A very exciting and thrilling debut from Roxie Key! I love a book with time jumps but they have to make sense and be clear throughout and this book does this in an awesome way that builds suspense whilst explaining all the little details. Fans of @lisajewelluk and @alicewriterland will love this book!

Well written but I just couldn't get into it. Maybe it was me not being in the mood to read it. Apologies.

An amazing debut novel! I galloped through this book, unable to stop reading. To say I enjoyed it is an understatement, and I'm not easily impressed.
As a police procedural novel, it ticked all the boxes for me: excellent storyline, great characters, a range of emotions, and a plot twist that I never saw coming. The characters were well written, engaging and believable - who hasn't had chocolate for breakfast at some point! The plot was intreguing and well crafted.
I had to check that this actually was a debut novel, as it was written with such skill and aplomb.
I can't wait to read more by Roxie Key, hopefully featuring Eve Starling.

With many thanks to HQ and Netgalley for this arc and I am leaving this unbiased review voluntarily
WOW! Let me just get my breath back! This is an incredible debut - so good it felt like I was in the middle of a series. Fantastic storyline with a brilliant twist, this is proper edge of your seat stuff. Eve was such a likeable and believable character and I genuinely hope Roxie Key goes on to make this into a series of books. Debuts don’t come much better than this, take a bow Ms Key

Such a compelling read. I read this in one sitting as I just could not put it down.

The story is so clever and utterly unexpected.

I loved this.

A mother and her daughter have died in an arson attack, will their killer be brought to justice?

“The Deadly Spark” is an assured debut, complete with compelling characters and a layered mystery.

Due to one of the victims being a young girl, some may find this a difficult read but, in my opinion, that’s a testament to the quality of this incredibly well-written novel.

Roxie Key has crafted a believable story that hits the reader where it hurts.

Not only is “The Deadly Spark” a great crime novel, it’s full of humanity, too.

This was definitely an exciting thriller! I enjoyed getting to know Eve and discover her backstory. I would definitely like to see the series develop as I enjoyed the excitement and tension in this book.

DC Eve Starling is investigating a murder involving a deliberate blaze which was set. Unfortunately this is a bit close to home for Eve and she has to try and face the past. Eve, a long with her team, are desperate to solve this crime. Will they manage to find out who the perpetrator is?

This is a solid debut thriller with an interesting narrative. The story is told in a few different perspectives and in past and present, which I enjoyed and managed to pick up the backstory from. I liked most of the cast of characters and would be happy seeing them come back in a second novel and learning more about them. The story is quite evenly placed and it’s easy to follow the investigation. I did feel at times the story lacked a little depth and I guessed the twists early on but overall this wasn’t bad for a debut and I would read the next in the series. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this copy in return for an honest review.