The Day of the Roaring by Nina Bhadreshwar is a gritty, multi-layered crime thriller that weaves together social commentary, historical injustices, and a relentless pursuit of justice. Set in Sheffield, the story follows DI Diana Walker, a determined and resilient detective tasked with solving the shocking case of a severed head found in an abandoned school. What unfolds is far more than a murder investigation—it’s an exploration of systemic failures, generational trauma, and the silent battles women endure.

The novel tackles a myriad of serious topics, including racism, sexism, domestic abuse, and female genital mutilation (FGM), blending them into a deeply complex plot that keeps the reader both engaged and disturbed. The story also delves into the horrors of British colonial rule in Kenya, as recounted through haunting flashbacks from Diana’s mother’s generation. These elements add depth and historical weight, making the narrative more than a standard police procedural.

DI Diana Walker is a compelling protagonist, navigating a hostile work environment rife with misogyny while dealing with personal challenges, including her connection to the case through her mother’s book club. The group, composed of strong women supporting one another against a system that frequently fails them, provides a powerful counterpoint to the institutional indifference depicted in the novel.

While the themes are undeniably important and handled with care, the narrative occasionally feels overwhelmed by the sheer number of subplots and characters. The investigation touches on everything from organized crime and police corruption to community secrets and familial ties, which can make the story feel cluttered and disjointed at times. However, the writing is evocative, and Bhadreshwar’s vivid depiction of Sheffield adds an atmospheric quality to the book.

The novel is not an easy read, given its harrowing subject matter and the emotional weight of its themes. Yet, it is a necessary one, shedding light on issues that are too often ignored. Despite some predictability in the resolution, the journey to uncovering the truth remains gripping, with Diana’s tenacity serving as the emotional core of the story.

The Day of the Roaring is a thought-provoking debut that combines crime fiction with a deeper exploration of societal ills. While its complexity may challenge some readers, those who persevere will find a story that is as enlightening as it is unsettling. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this impactful book

This is so close to being a top thriller. The woman investigating the crime is an interesting character, and her battles with the men in her police station and her doggedness in solving the crime made for a good read. I enjoyed the setting and the other characters.

Unfortunately there is too much 'other stuff'. It reads as if the author had another book - about Kenya - that she was desperate to get out there so has shoehorned it in to this detective story. I am still not really sure why I had to learn about the grandmother and her trials and tribulations. I hope that the author continues to write but gets a more judicious editor and perhaps writes the Kenyan story in another form.

I'm not leaving a public review for this title as I don't want to hurt the author's rating but for me, the writing was so poor that I couldn't finish the story. I never DNF a book, buy this felt more like fan fiction, The accents, multiple points of views etc felt too jumbly. I'm really sad as the premise sounds awsome and it started amazingly well but I just couldn't get through it.

A debut police procedural novel set in Sheffield in 2010. Di Diane Walker is the protagonist.

The author includes many difficult subjects including FGM, of which the reader feels the subject has been written with knowledge and sensitivity.
Although the narrative is made up of various story lines they all merge together in the end.

I found this unfortunately a slow read, with multiple characters & narratives jumping between Sheffield and Kenya, with very little character development.
I discovered errors in punctuation & spelling, which surprised me at this ARC stage.

Thankyou to Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Whilst I enjoyed the main story, it was too much of a messy story to make it an enjoyable read. There were too many sub plots that started to lose the thread of the main story. Additionally it was written in a form of slang that I wasn't familiar with which was then making it exceptionally hard to read as I couldn't understand it!

There was some great potential with this story, it just got lost.

Enjoyed reading this, although at times it was a little confusing but was that due to differing police opinions of the crimes.

Highlights.a horrific crime that still happens to women , however doesn't make it the centre of the story..

I am so disappointed in this book to be honest!

I have persevered with what has felt like a never ending story! It started really great and reeled me in but unfortunately from there it went down hill.

The story went on for too long, had too much detail and too many characters. I also found the dialect difficult to read, having to re read over and over to understand what was going on.

I was hopeful that the story would reach a climax making the book worth reading but I felt it fizzled at the end.
There is a lot of deep and meaningful aspects to this book but as a mystery thriller it lacked the shock and plot twists as it unfolded.

Thank you NetGalley and the author for this advance copy to review.

I did not finish this book..

It started well but got a bit to triggering for me .. should come with a warning.... too distressing

A murder has DI Diana walker questioning
That comes to light
When she goes to Sheffield to find everyone is about untrusted
Will she get them or what
I had an ARC

I was really looking forward to reading this book, as it’s labelled as “award winning”, but tbh I was sadly disappointed.
The story started off really well, but I sadly became disinterested. There were a lot of stories within the story, but I felt that there were too many plots, and far too many characters, which became confusing, which is a pity, as it could have been a fantastic read if it had been a bit simpler.
NB is a very good author but the plots could have been broken up and probably saved for the next book.

Thanks to the author, Hemlock Press, and NetGalley, for providing me with this free ARC, with which I leave a voluntary review.

2 ⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGallery and HarperCollins for the arc of the day of the roaring first of watch out for the trigger warnings I did struggle to read it and it was slow paced but overall the first part of it was good when I got into different storylines and a lot of different characters I lost bit of interest and it confusing at times maybe if it was stuck to one story line I would have enjoyed it more but overall 3 stars

Thank you to Netgalley & the publishers for this arc.

I want to start off by saying you should definitely read the trigger warnings before reading this book. There are a lot of serious/sensitive topics within this book that may cause distress. However, the author has shown care & respect when discussing them and I do believe these subjects are extremely important and should be spoken about to bring awareness.

However, sadly I don’t think this book was for me. From the beginning it was hard to read and get into. It felt like sometimes the sentences were incomplete & they were not in the slang sections or northern dialect but within the plot of the book itself. The dialect I found was also inconsistent. The book did jump from scene to scene without explanation making it quite confusing and I found that a lot of the time sections just didn’t make sense. Some bits were also overly descriptive for no reason adding to the confusion.

I did also feel like I was reading a book within a series rather than a stand alone (unless I’m wrong that it is in-fact a stand alone) as there were many times things were introduced but not explained and just assumed the reader knew what was going on. I found that there were just too many things going on, too many characters, too many narratives & different storylines that made it overly complex and also hard to read. I appreciate the sensitive topics discussed and how they each deserve to be brought to light but it was just too much. I also found the book to be quite repetitive and felt like I had to drag myself through it, the main character is very hot and cold, to which I couldn’t connect and ended up (although admiring her determination) feeling quite annoyed at her random out bursts that didn’t serve a purpose, going round in circles and being inconsistent. Towards the end of the story it did really pick up and I was intrigued to see what happened but the plot seemed jumbled, things were happening in weird orders and actions were being repeated that didn’t make sense. There were also a lot of editing issues but I assume this is down to it being an arc.

Over all I think it had a lot of potential and some really hard hitting aspects that I respect being brought to light but I just really struggled with it.

This book has a lot going and honestly it all got a bit confused for me. There were so many characters that ad some points I wasn’t 100% sure on what was going on. Whilst I could see glimmers of potential, the writing style just wasn’t for me.

The Day of the Roaring follows DI Diana Walker as she investigates a gruesome case involving a headmaster’s severed head found in an abandoned school. Set in Sheffield, this crime thriller covers some serious themes such as racism, female genital mutilation, and the challenges still facing female detectives. While the story includes many subplots—such as British colonial history in Kenya—the main focus is on Diana’s determination to solve the case despite personal and professional obstacles.

A thought-provoking debut.

Got off to a great start but became cluttered and frantic with too many plotlines.
I loved the dialogue, which was authentic for a change, and referenced regional accents and slang.
I admired the DI, who was really up against it in terms of snarky male colleagues and a sinister ex, also a DI.
However.
The murder of a headmaster converged into numerous lines of investigation. Fraud at the school; FGM and outrage against former UK colonial rule in Kenya; police malpratice; attempts to frame everything as drugs related, involving an organised crime group, and trouble in the DI'S mother's book club.
Too much going on!
I appreciate the need for red herrings in crime thrillers, but a lot of dialogue among the "persons of interest" took the plot no further forward.

What a spectacular read this turned out to be. Totally blew me away with the storyline just an amazing thriller that kept me gripped.
Set in Sheffield DI Walker finds herself dealing with dead teachers secrets and lies and stories not told. Will Diana solve the crime ?? Have to read to find out and you will not be disappointed !

This started off well and I was invested in the story straight away. However, the slow pace and multiple storylines just felt a bit messy and unfortunately this format just didn’t work for me.

In my opinion it would have worked better if the author had stuck to one plot/storyline. I quickly lost interest and struggled to finish it to be honest. It’s a shame because I do think it had a lot of potential but unfortunately, for me, it just wasn’t an enjoyable read

When a severed head is discovered in a locked filing cabinet at a former school earmarked for demolition, Detective Diana Walker begins a murder investigation which leads to some unexpected discoveries which strike at the heart of the community.
The Day of the Roaring has a complex plot involving many characters but it all makes total sense, I guessed the culprit about two thirds of the way through although at that point the motive was not clear. The book tackles issues such as institutionalised racism and sexism within the police, failures to record or follow up allegations of violence against women and the abuse of power by those who should be in a position to serve justice. Part of the storyline relates to brutality by British soldiers in Kenya; the British government’s refusal to acknowledge that it even happened being an echo of Sheffield police force’s poor record in recognising present day cases of violence against women.
A gripping thriller, highly recommended.

I loved this book. For me it was full of suspense and started off slow with an ultimate climax. The characters were super interesting and I really dine tk ke what was going to Happen. This is my first read by this author but I would recommend.

Absolutely the genre of book I'd normally read, however i found this to be an extremely difficult read, partly due to the slang language utilised by some of the characters which I really struggled with. Consequently, I would in all honesty say this book at any point really gripped me and held my attention and as such I struggled to work my way to the end of it.
Thanks however to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC in return for my unbiased honest opinion.