There was something about this book that felt flat. It never seemed to get out of first gear which is a shame because I feel like it could have been a twisty story.

I was hoping this book would pull me in, but unfortunately it did not. I couldn’t connect no matter how hard I tried. It was a DNF for me, which I absolutely hate doing.

An interesting murder mystery that seems to try a little too hard. The author is talented and I’m looking forward to reading more of her work. This one just got a little too convoluted.

I am unable to provide a review as this title was lost when my kindle updated and I had yet to read it.

Unfortunately this one just ended up staying on one note all the way through, and it never really grabbed me the way I like books in this genre to do. I found myself wanting to just start skimming about halfway through, and I am not normally someone who reads that way.

If it's the last thing she ever does, Iris will find Sophie's Killer and make her pay.

On a cold December night in Cornwall, nanny Karen Peterson disappeared with three-year-old Sophie Flynn. The next day, the child's body was found on a riverbank in Penhale Wood.

A year later, Sophie's mother, Iris Flynn, appears on the doorstep of investigating officer Rob McIntyre, determined to make him reopen her daughter's case. McIntyre has his own personal demons, but Iris hijacks his life in order to find the woman she thinks is responsible for Sophie's death. Following the slimmest of leads, they are soon confronting ghosts from the past and a chameleon-like killer who will do anything to stay hidden.



* * * * *



I really wasn't too sure about this book in the beginning. It was rather slow and I found the main character Rob McIntyre rather whiny. That changed however somewhere around the middle of the book. McIntyre started to grow on me probably because he decided to focus on someone other than himself. I think that what really kept me going was Iris. She is an interesting character who when she sets her mind to something, she is incredibly strong. She practically had to drag McIntyre kicking and screaming into re-investigating the murder of her daughter.


Ms. Thomas is a good writer and every word is perfect. I just found the pacing a bit slow which means that if I hadn't been reading this book for a review, it would have gone in that dreaded 'couldn't finish' pile. However this book would be perfect for anyone that enjoys a slower pace especially as it has such a wonderful conclusion. It is a great look at being a policeman in a smaller town in Britain and I am sure that some of my readers would really enjoy PENHALE WOOD.


*** I received this book at no charge from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed within are my own.

This may not be the most well thought out mystery novel.... but this was one of my favorite mysteries to read! There is something about this author's style of writing that is just absolutely addictive and I really could not stop myself from finishing the story, even as I questioned discrepancies and problems with the plot. The first problem was with Inspector Rob McIntyre. His character was very bland and just made up of mismatched cliches; it made for a very disjointed and unlikeable character. The other characters were a lot more interesting, and the author really kept the interest of the reader by switching up perspectives throughout the story. The plot, however, really lacked credibility on all fronts. For one thing, why did the mother wait one year before pursuing this with such eagerness? It made no sense. From the beginning, the author told us who the suspect was... so then why did the police have absolutely nothing in terms of leads? The way Iris and McIntyre went about looking for clues really didn't add up and the final solving of the mystery was just very lackluster. However, despite all of these drawbacks, I couldn't pull myself away from this story. That's why I'm willing to read more by this author and why I am giving this novel a 3/5 stars.

I had some real issues with this one, but I am giving it 2 stars because Ms. Thomas can write. Unfortunately, she needs to learn how to make the story real. This story is so flippin' UNBELIEVABLE - no way do I believe some of this stuff would happen in the real world.
Issues that I have:
The grieving mother shows up on a doorstep a year AFTER the death of her child. Mind you, the cop in questions tells us that he is not close with his staff and doesn't share his personal life much. NOW, the doorstep happens to be in London at the cops brothers' home,(not even the cops' hometown) yet AMAZINGLY, this woman finds him!
Cop then moves mother in with him!
Suddenly, they decide to look at tapes to find the killer (they couldn't do this a year ago???) and only after a few hours, they see the killer on the tapes!
I could go on, but my fingers are getting tired! :)
I would probably give Ms. Thomas another chance, she does have potential and I would like to see if she does a better job with the plot and characterization.

**Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley in exchange of an honest review**

The publisher provided me with the opportunity to read this in exchange for providing feedback. (via NetGalley)

The concept of the story intrigued me but overall, this wasn't that engaging of a story to me. It's written well but it was lacking something (maybe some depth?) for me.

I would read something from the author again as she did write well. This story just wasn't for me.

I enjoyed the writing style of this book, and the characters were interesting and quirky. I was a little disappointed by the ending, the reason that the nanny kidnapped and killed Sophie just didn't seem right. I would recommend this book for fans of British police procedurals.

My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really didn't know what to think or say after reading this book.I don't like giving bad reviews so I didn't post mine straight away, but I honestly cannot claim to have enjoyed reading this book.It just didn't flow well for me and I couldn't really get into it or care what happened .I'm sorry and hope others may like it more than I did.

I wanted to like this more than I did. It's got an interesting, if not original premise, and the promise of two interesting characters in Iris and Rob. Unfortunately, at least, for me, there weren't many surprises so while it was an easy read to while away some time, it wasn't a demanding one. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

I liked this book. I had trouble getting into it, but the plot turned interesting and the pace picked up about a 1/3 of the way through the book. After that I was invested in the ending, which was a surprise.

Penhale Wood tells the story of a mother named Iris Flynn looking for justice for her murdered daughter. She can't move on with her life until the case is solved. She knows the nanny, Karen Peterson, killed Sophie, but Karen disappeared over a year ago and the case has gone cold. The original detective, Rob McIntyre, is frustrated that he never closed the case but there are no leads to follow.

Iris returns to England from Australia and tracks down Rob McIntyre over the Christmas holidays. She convinces him to take another look at the case, and they find a new lead.

The plot was well conceived and the writing was good, even though the book took a while to get going. The characters were interesting but a little shallow. I liked the ending.

I recommend this book. It was a good read, and I hope the author writes more mysteries.

Thanks to Midnight Ink and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Penhale Wood depicts every parent's worst nightmare - the loss of a child at the hands of a trusted carer. Who can one trust? How does one know if that trust is well placed? This is a riveting book which draws the reader into all of the emotions evoked by the loss of a child - devastating sadness, hopelessness and, not least, an overwhelming guilt. The plot with its surprising twists keeps the reader on the edge of the seat. The characters are well portrayed and I hope that DCI Rob McIntyre makes an appearance in future books. Thanks to Midnight Ink and NetGalley for the ARC.

Actually 3.5 stars.
I really wanted to enjoy this story and, in a strange way, I did enjoy parts of it. Others I did find a bit implausible and a little illogical so the ending never really convinced me as the story didn't really flow nicely and occasionally came across as a tad contrived.
The story starts a year in the past with the abduction/murder of three year old Sophie. It has always been suspected that her nanny was responsible but she has never been caught. Fast forward a year and Sophie's mother Iris is back. She turns up one night at the doorstep of the investigating officer Rob McIntyre's brother where he is staying for the holidays and literally bullies him into helping her, insisting she tags along for the ride. They then follow tenuous link after clutched straw to eventually come to a somewhat bizarre and not wholly satisfying ending.
I think one of the main reasons I didn't get on brilliantly with this book is that I failed to engage with the characters enough. I didn't get on with either of the main two and there was not enough connection there for me at all on any level with any of the others. This could however be a me thing rather than the author's fault but sadly, it did mar my enjoyment somewhat.
There were also a few plot anomalies along the way. There were times when the characters avoided what I would call "the bleeding obvious" for no apparent reason other than I guess to drag it out a bit. I'd love to qualify this statement with examples but they would all be a bit spoilery. Well, either that or the characters were being a bit dense momentarily! Either way, it irked me a tad on occasion.
I did get to the end so there must have been something keeping me going but, again sadly, that wasn't really as good as it could have been. I know that not everything in life is tied up with a neat bow and I am happy to embrace endings that are a wee bit ambiguous but for me there was too much left unexplained and I wasn't left satisfied. Either that or I missed something, which is perfectly possible.
So, we are left with the eternal question... would I read this author again? I would have to answer that yes, I probably would but I would pay attention to the reviews before taking the plunge.

My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Rob McIntyre thought he was going to have the family vacation that he so desperately needed after his girlfriend of ten years had left him however when Rob arrives he finds his brother and his family needed to leave due to an emergency. Finding himself alone and away from home Rob is surprised when the doorbell rings and he finds Iris Flynn on the doorstep.

Iris is the mother of Sophie Flynn, a three year old that was murdered the year before and Rob had been a detective on the case. It was believed that their nanny at the time, Karen Peterson, was responsible for the death having left with the children that night and disappearing. In the past year there hadn’t been any luck locating the mysterious Karen though and now Iris wants Rob to reopen the case.

Penhale Wood had the promise to be a completely gripping thriller but unfortunately I found it fell a bit short of that mark while reading. My first complaint really would be some of the actions of the characters really did read as realistic to me with the situation going on in the story making me a bit disconnected with the story afterwards.

Also, while we knew from the beginning of the book who was suspected of murdering the little girl what the reader didn’t know was what had happened to her. Now to me there didn’t seem to be enough twists to really throw my suspicions off in this one although I’m happy to say I wasn’t quite right. But that led me to my last though which was I would have liked more of an explanation on the how and why at the end. Overall the story just ended on a kind of average and possibly forgettable note for me.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

Penhale Wood was a quick and not challenging read. It is the story of a mother's quest for the truth as she tries to uncover the story of what happened to her three-year-old daughter a year before this novel opens. Sophie was with her nanny, Karen, when she disappeared but her body was later found on the banks of Penhale Wood.

Iris Flynn enlists the help of the original investigating officer, Rob McIntyre, arriving back at the scene of the crime in England from her new home in Australia. Although the murderer was never found and the case closed, the nanny was and remains the prime suspect.

While this book didn't grab me immediately, I was eager to find out why the killer murdered this little girl. However, the pace wasn't quite as fluid as I had hoped and, for me, the story lagged a little. I didn't engage with any of the characters, if I am honest. In fact, I found the characters of Iris and Rob to be a little irritating. I was intrigued by the story of Rob's previous girlfriend, a crime writer, and thought it worked well alongside the plot.

Overall, I felt unsatisfied when I finished Penhale Wood: when the killer is unmasked we are still left in the dark as to why they did what they did. I needed more.

A Thriller with Twists & Turns Galore - Superb Characterisation:
This is a thriller sure to keep you up late. Featuring Detective Chief Inspector Robert McIntyre, who has recently separated from his wife , now an accomplished author, he is soon on the trail of a devious and resourceful killer. The plot features many twists and turns but the suspense is truly ratcheted up as the killer turns personal. An original storyline which mixes personal and public life and produces a really excellent thriller. This is the first book by Julia Thomas I've read but it won't be the last given the talent she shows in her second novel. An excellent thriller for fans of murder mysteries.

Meh. Felt like I was reading two different books that they tried to mash together. Interesting to focus on the grieving mother and not so much on the suspected murderer. Not sure it worked.