Tuesday, 12 February 2019

Where She Lies by Michael Scanlon

I'm delighted to taking part in the blog tour for Michael Scanlon's debut novel, Where She Lies. Huge thanks to Noelle Holton at Bookoutre for inviting me to take part and providing my review copy via Netgalley.


The Blurb:

In a town full of liars, who can you trust?

When Detective Finnegan Beck is demoted from his high-powered job in Dublin and relocated in disgrace to the small Irish town of Cross Beg, he predicts boredom will be his biggest threat.

But then a beautiful, local teenage girl is found strangled in the cold, dark woods a mile from town. The prime suspect is the seemingly-gentle drifter who found Tanya’s body.

Beck seems to be the only person who can’t escape the feeling that Tanya wasn’t killed at random. As he digs deeper into the shadows of Cross Beg, he begins to realise it isn’t the sleepy backwater he’d first believed. Everyone here has something to hide. Tanya had a boyfriend, whose name no one knew. A best friend with a loose relationship with the truth. And a habit she thought she’d kept hidden from everyone.

But, just as Beck believes he is making progress, the body of one of the suspects is found drowned in the river. Is the killer just getting started?

Everyone in the town seems to have something they would die to protect. But who has a secret they’d kill for?

This debut novel from a powerful new Irish voice is the first in a gripping series that will feature the brilliant, haunted Detective Finnegan Beck who won’t rest until justice is found. Perfect for fans of LJ Ross, Joy Ellis and Patricia Gibney.


Where She Lies was published by Bookoutre on 8th February 2019.

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://geni.us/B07KFM66BJSocial
Apple Store: https://tinyurl.com/y8sdtzrw
Kobo: https://tinyurl.com/yakupgk2
Googleplay: https://tinyurl.com/y9brnjjf

My Review:

Oooh, another debut for me! And this one is the beginning of a new series, so that's exciting.

I think this might be the first book I've read that features the Irish police force, which really interested me. And Finnegan Beck is a fabulous character.

When we meet Beck, he's been demoted and moved from Dublin to the small, seemingly quiet, town of Cross Beg.  Initially, we don't know anything about what caused the demotion, but we do know Beck's not happy about the move to Cross Beg, and determined just to keep his head down, keep under the radar, until everything is sorted out.

However, we soon discover Beck's not really one to keep his head down or even follow the rules. When the body of a teenage girl is found, Beck discovers that Cross Beg is maybe not as dull as he initially thought, and may also hold its own secrets.

Finnegan Beck is a great character with a great name! Although we don't know much about his past, we see that he's a man who is determined to discover the truth, even when it makes him unpopular. It would seem that he hasn't had a romantic relationship recently, and his tentative steps towards one here really don't go to plan. Beck also has his own demons to battle. Claire, his partner in the police force, is also brilliant, very down to earth, with a no nonsense attitude. She's a great partner for Beck - just what he needs.

The pace of the story is spot on. It hooks you in from the beginning, and keeps you turning the pages until the end. There are plenty of colourful characters and lots going on throughout. The plot builds up to a fantastic ending which I really didn't see coming.

I really enjoyed this book and found the writing style easy and entertaining, and Beck was a very engaging character, which is testament to Michael 's writing. I can't wait to see what he, and Beck, get up to next!

The Author:


Michael Scanlon is a civilian employee of the An Garda Siochana (the Irish police force), but a life threatening undiagnosed illness that struck while travelling in Spain in 2014 has rendered him on long term sick leave. He is married to Eileen and has a daughter, Sarah. He lives in the countryside outside the town of Ballina in County Mayo. The town has arguably the best salmon river in Europe, called the Moy. You can follow Michael on Twitter here.



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