#BlogTour #Review #TheLyingKind #Netgalley

Release Date: 7th February 2018 / Publisher: Bookouture

Series: Detective Rachel Prince #1

The little girl stirred and opened her eyes. A light from the landing played a shadow across her toy cupboard. It was then she realised… There was someone else in the room.

Six-year-old Lola Jade Harper has gone missing from her bedroom on a safe, suburban street.

Her mother says her ex-husband has stolen their daughter. Lola’s father denies it was him.

Family, friends and neighbours all say they didn’t see a thing. But someone must know where the little girl is. Who is lying? And who is telling the truth?

Detective Rachel Prince knows the longer a child is unaccounted for, the less likely they are to be found alive.

The clock is ticking. It’s up to Rachel to find Lola Jade, before it’s too late.

And then another little girl is taken…

Truly addictive from start to finish, The Lying Kind is a nail-bitingly tense crime thriller by one of the best new voices in crime fiction. Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Peter James and Karin Slaughter.

Buy It Here!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the Publisher, Bookouture, for this copy given in exchange for an honest review. Also thank you to Kim from Bookouture for organising the blog tour!

My first book by this author, and upon checking realised it was the first book written by this author! It is also the first book in the Detective Rachel Prince series. For information, this book is set in the UK, mainly around London and its surrounding areas.

Six year old Lola Jade Harper is taken from her bedroom during the night. Her mother is convinced her estranged husband and Lola’s father, Gavin has taken her. Five months later, and there is still no sign of what happened to the girl. The case is being run by the National Crime Agency with Detective Inspector Rachel Prince in charge. She and her partner, DS Mark Brickall are coming up with no new clues and Rachel is forced to go to Portugal to see if she can find the missing father. As the case goes on, they begin to find that all is not as it seems in the Harper family and begin to uncover more secrets and lies. Can Rachel and her team find Lola Jane and unravel the web of deceit?

I enjoyed this book. I have to admit, it did take me a while to get into the story, but once I did I could not put it down. Rachel’s character is an interesting one! Only relatively young (in her 30’s I’m guessing) she’s obviously risen her way through the ranks well to reach the post of Detective Inspector. Whilst there is no doubting her ability at work, her personal life seems to be a bit of a mess. Separated from her husband for the last 15 years, she’s still single but seems to like playing a dangerous game with a married man. Her relationship with DS Mark Brickall is an interesting one also as it feels like there should be much more going on between them – perhaps in future books there may be!

The story, for me, starts of slowly, but builds pace quickly as the story goes on. It takes you from the UK to Portugal to try and track the missing girl, and this is when the action starts to pick up. There are lots of red herrings throughout the book leading you off on the wrong paths, but you don’t actually get to find out what is going on until near enough the end. The twist at the end wasn’t totally unexpected, but the story to get to it and the ending was great!

DI Prince is professionally smart and concentrated but personally selfish and unguarded. I think you’ve got to either love her or hate her. Thankfully, I loved her and look forward to future books to continue her story. DS Brickall also adds a well-deserved humorous undertone to the story (why can’t I eat junk food and not put on weight!).

For a first novel, a very much enjoyed story, well thought out and with plenty of interest to keep me going to the very last page. Definitely well recommended and can’t wait for the next one!

Alison was born in the Cotswolds but spent most of her formative years abroad. She studied languages at Oxford, then became a journalist and author, returning to university after her two children to take a law degree. After a three-year stint as a criminal paralegal, Alison worked as a commercial copywriter and then a TV storyliner, before coming full circle to write fiction again.