Dead Inside by Noelle Holten

I'm absolutely thrilled to be taking part in the blog tour for the fantastic debut novel by blogger extradonaire, publicist and all round beaut, Noelle Holten. Thank you to the lovely Sarah Hardy at Book on the Bright Side Publicity & Promo for inviting me, and to the publishers for my review copy which I received via Netgalley. I have since bought my own copy.

The Blurb:

‘Kept me hooked … excellent pace and a very satisfying ending’ Angela Marsons

‘An excellent read’ Martina Cole

'A brilliant debut – gritty, dark and chilling. Noelle Holten knows her stuff’ Mel Sherratt

A dark and gripping debut crime novel – the first in a stunning new series – from a huge new talent.

The killer is just getting started…

When three wife beaters are themselves found beaten to death, DC Maggie Jamieson knows she is facing her toughest case yet.

The police suspect that Probation Officer Lucy Sherwood – who is connected to all three victims – is hiding a dark secret. Then a fourth domestic abuser is brutally murdered.

And he is Lucy’s husband.

Now the police are running out of time, but can Maggie really believe her friend Lucy is a cold-blooded killer?

Dead Inside was published by Killer Reads/Harper Collins on May 31st 2019 and you can purchase it from Amazon.


My Review:

I had been looking forward to reading this debut from Noelle for so long, and so was hugely excited when it arrived. But a little anxious for her too. What if it wasn't very good? What if I didn't like it? Of course, I needn't have worried. It's fab.

Maggie Jamieson has just transferred to the Domestic Abuse and Homicide Unit (DAHU) and is immediately pulled into the murder investigation of a known domestic abuser. Two other killings quickly follow and the victims are again known abusers. All three have links to Lucy Sherwood, a probation officer, whose husband becomes the fourth victim.

Although this is the first in a series featuring Maggie Jamieson, I felt this was very much Lucy's story. I really liked Lucy. She's focused, composed, good at her job and liked by colleagues and her liaison within the police. But at home, behind closed doors, she's the victim of abuse at the hands of her husband Patrick. I found some of these scenes hard to read. I am lucky never to have experienced anything like this, but it seemed very real. I know that sadly the author does have personal experience and I think that knowledge is evident in the writing. It also goes some way towards answering the question "Why doesn't she just leave?" . The answer is because it's never that simple, and this comes across clearly in the book. Work is an escape for Lucy, an opportunity for her to be the confident version of herself, where she doesn't even use her married name. I can't remember another book that talks about the probation service in any great detail, and here the author's experience as a probation officer shines through.

There are a lot of characters featured in the story, particularly early on, and I did struggle a bit with that. Made me smile, though, seeing names I recognised! Characters, other than Lucy, who stood out for me were Patrick, simply because he was so detestable, Rory, who broke my heart a little bit and Mark, a man with strong opinions but kind intentions. I loved his sweet friendship with Lucy, and hope to read more about that in the future.

Although there is a lot of detail given about the characters, I definitely feel I still need to get to know Maggie Jamieson better. There was so much going on in the story, a lot of which is centred around Lucy, that I feel there is still much to learn about Maggie. I'm sure that will change in future books.

As I mentioned earlier, Maggie is thrown straight into the murder investigation, and from there, things never really let up. There is plenty of action, and the story is fast paced throughout. The descriptions given about the murders are detailed enough, but never over the top. We follow the police investigation and Lucy is soon a suspect, but Maggie just has a feeling that she didn't do it. I saw some of the ending coming, but definitely didn't guess all of it, and it made for emotional reading.

This is a strong debut, and a great beginning to a new series. Noelle's experience shines through in her writing, and she has delivered a story that feels authentic. I can't wait to see what happens next!


Author Bio:

Noelle Holten is an award-winning blogger at www.crimebookjunkie.co.uk. She is the PR & Social Media Manager for Bookouture, a leading digital publisher in the UK, and a regular reviewer on the Two Crime Writers and a Microphone podcast. Noelle worked as a Senior Probation Officer for eighteen years, covering a variety of cases including those involving serious domestic abuse. She has three Hons BAs – Philosophy, Sociology (Crime & Deviance) and Community Justice – and a Masters in Criminology. Noelle's hobbies include reading, author-stalking and sharing the book love via her blog.

Dead Inside is her debut novel with Killer Reads/Harper Collins UK and the start of a new series featuring DC Maggie Jamieson.


Author Social Media Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/noelleholtenauthor/
Twitter: (@nholten40) https://twitter.com/nholten40
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18489795.Noelle_Holten
Blog: https://www.crimebookjunkie.co.uk
Instagram: @crimebookjunkie