Member Reviews
I'm loving this series. A great detective and good storyline. Definitely looking forward to more to come
My first Gibney novel and now I have to go back to the beginning of the Lottie Parker Series as I am hooked!
A complicated detective novel with believable characters and horrible crimes to solve.
All interwoven but what and who are the connections and missing links.
Despite being the 3rd in the series, easy to follow but now I NEED to know what happened to Eddie and so back to the beginning I will have to go!
Fabulous, gritty, dark, thought provoking and moreish!
This was a solid murder mystery/who-done-it/detective story! The author did a great job keeping you guessing until the end. It was fast paced and twisty but not confusing! Great read!
I would like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Lost Child’, the third in the Detective Inspector Lottie Parker series, and written by Patricia Gibney in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Lottie, together with her colleague and friend DS Boyd, investigates the violent murder of Tessa Ball and disappearance of her daughter Marian Russell. Marian is later found dumped outside the hospital but cannot tell the detectives what happened as her tongue has been brutally cut out. Lottie is also trying to find out what happened to make her father kill himself many years before, as well as taking care of her children and grandchild.
‘The Lost Child’ has been very well written with interesting characters. I liked Lottie who was spirited and at times reckless, and Boyd who was the perfect foil for Lottie. The plot was powerful, involved and at times complicated with the various sub-plots of murder, drugs and domestic abuse. There were lots of twists and turns and a conclusion that was completely unexpected. I was very pleased to read at the end of the novel that Patricia Gibney intends writing a fourth in the series, I can’t wait to read it!
The Lost Child is a fantastic thriller. I was pulled immediately into the intense plot and could not put this book down.
I've been reading this sucker for it feels like forever. I'm right at the halfway point. Should I keep going and then one star it with a bunch of cussing for my time I can't get back? Nah, I'm just going to call it done.
My feels is: Everyone else that has read this book loved it. I'm probably an idiot.
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.
I love the character Lottie Parker, so flawed and yet so brilliant! This will not disappoint! A great read!
This is the third book in the series featuring DI Lottie Parker. It can be read as a standalone but you understand Lottie and her team better if you have read the previous books. Lottie is still struggling with her drinking and tranquillisers and keeping her family together. This books starts with Lottie and her partner DS Matt Boyd investigating the murder of an elderly woman found in her daughter’s house. The daughter is also missing and seems the likely suspect. The book also starts with a child in an asylum and this story also continues through the book. Lottie also discovers a link to a case investigated by her late father, what answers will she find?
Another brilliant book and one which will keep you on the edge of your seat trying to work out who is the killer and the secrets that are revealed Lottie may not want to know! I can’t wait for the next book in the series.
Thanks to Net Galley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.
Excellent book. I loved it. A fast paced thriller that has you glued to it. A real page turner. I couldn’t put it down. I have read all this authors books and loved them all. I can’t wait for the next instalment. Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Patricia Gibney for the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for my honest review.
This was a book I had to read! This is book three in the Lottie Parker series by Patricia Gibney. I will say this, if you haven't read books one and two (THE MISSING ONES and THE STOLEN GIRLS) then you'll definitely be missing out on a lot of the character development. Don't worry, they're all ones you'll fly through!
When an elderly woman is found murdered in her home, Detective Lottie Parker and her partner, Detective Boyd, are on the case. The soon discover that the woman's daughter is now missing - is the whole family in danger? To make things worse, two days after the murder, a house down the block is set on fire and the pressure is on Parker and Boyd as the body count rises.
Digging deeper and deeper into the case Lottie quickly realizes that these murders are linking back to a cold case that her father was investigating (just before he took his own life). As she and her team try to unravel this web of lies and secrets she gets closer and closer to the reasons why her father took his life. Does she want to continue down this road?
In this installment Lottie is reverting back to her old ways. As the stress of the cases and her denial over the feelings she has for her partner begin to grow she starts drinking again. I love how flawed and real Lottie is - as with the other two books the reader can really connect with her. There was also a portion of the chapters that were from an unknown narrator. From the information gathered, you can assume this person is in an asylum, but we aren't sure exactly why. Those were interesting chapters to see unravel and how they ended up connecting.
It amazes me how Gibney can consistently have solid thrillers throughout this series. Most of the time the series kind of drops off or the other books aren't as strong as the first, but not in this case! Each case is even more thrilling than the last. I'm hoping for a book 4!
Overall, if you want a great psychological thriller and new detective crime series, then I'd highly recommend picking up the DI Lottie Parker books. You won't be disappointed.
I give this one 4.5/5 stars!
This book finds D.I. Lottie Parker once again trying to juggle all of the aspects of her life. As she continues to struggle to cope with her ever-present grief from the death of her husband four years prior, a recurrent drinking problem and the new addition of a grandson to the household dynamics, she is faced with one of the most challenging murder cases of her career. And, the bodies keep piling up. In addition, she learns some utterly shocking and devastating things about her personal heritage. The pressure mounts as she rushes to catch a killer and put the elements of her past into perspective.
Lottie is a character that is so well-written, that when I start a new book in this series, I feel like I am sitting down to read an extra long and uber informative letter from a friend. Gibney has penned Parker so lifelike and relatable, that it is hard not to feel a personal investment in the details and direction of her life. I find myself looking forward to each new story in this series with more anticipation than the serialized books of any other author that I read on a regular basis. Every time I get a new "Gibney", I feel as if I have hit the jackpot in the literary lottery. And, to my delight, each book tops the riveting genius of the previous one.
If you're looking for a suspense-filled thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat and turning pages far past your bedtime, The D.I. Lottie Parker series are the perfect books for you!
*I received a complimentary ARC of this book from NetGalley & Bookouture in order to read and provide a voluntary and honest review, should I choose to do so.
I love Lottie Parker! She is a great character, far from perfect but totally believable and extremely likeable. Still recovering from the events in Book 2, struggling with the need for drink & tranquilisers, she tries to keep her family together whilst doing her job. What she'd do without side-kick Boyd I don't know!
A woman is found murdered in the kitchen. Shortly afterwards her daughter is dumped at the hospital badly beaten with her tongue cut out and her teenage daughter has now disappeared. What is behind these events? When the alleged boyfriend of the teenager dies in a fire, the big wigs in the Garda are convinced that drugs are at the root of it but Lottie isn't so sure. There seems to be something that dates back a long way- even right back to when Lottie's father committed suicide.
Throughout the book there are sections narrated by 'The Child' revealing abuse and a terrifying life in an asylum. What does this have to do with the story? It takes along while before we can finally join the dots.
This is the third book in the series and I don't think it can be taken as a 'read alone.' if for no other reason that the reader needs to know what Lottie has gone through to this point as they are all connected. It is not a book for the squeamish either. There are some very original - & gory ways of dying!
Patricia Gibney is really onto a winner with this series. I love them and can't wait for the next one- only give Lottie a bit of a break please Patricia! Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for this five star read.
Oh wow I just loved this book with its back drop chapters to the past and The Child, what a poor little mite The Child is, not even worthy of a name. The Child is of course only half of the story. My heart still aches and my goose bumps rise when I think of so many of these chapters. They rose even more as the past catches up to the present I and literally shuddered……..
I loved this book that enveloped me in the past and present within the first couple of chapters and my mind began to whirl to put events, facts and red herrings into the right slots not an easy task but if it had been it wouldn’t have seemed real.
Lottie Parker is certainly a Marmite character with no grey area in the middle. A drinking problem, drugs out of control and an inability to connect with either her family or work colleagues makes Lottie a character that you would think could not function in any job let alone as a Detective. Well things have got rather darker for her and people are definitely taking note so Lottie has to fight her own demons as well as some she doesn’t know about yet in order to regain control. I love this character and want to cheer at every hurdle she manages to stumble over and fall on the right side. She has a fire in her that makes her defensive and at times mouthy but I must admit I did enjoy her knock some people off their pedestals scenes and her don’t give a damn attitude that goes with it.
This story is violent from the start, with some pretty wicked murders along the way with characters that have more than one reason for wanting some of them dead. It is a little like untangling xmas lights that you know it is going to be quite spectacular when you solve the puzzle. The short sharp shocking chapters just create the fast pace of the story even more as it just goes from one discovery to another. There are some pretty big shocks in this book that open up larger holes rather than solve problems which makes the thought of the next book even more enticing.
Many thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for this book which I have reviewed honestly
What an exciting read this was. Book three in the Lottie Parker series and you will not be disappointed. A very well written plot which has you spinning to keep up with all the little twists. Lottie is a determined detective with a home life full of turbulence due to three children and a small grandson. With her rather dodgy parenting skills, and demands of her job, she struggles to find time for her family. A missing child, drug ring, murder and a prostitute who keeps getting pregnant will be sure to keep you engrossed from the start. My thanks to Net Galley and Bookouture for my copy. I reviewed on Goodreads, Facebook and Amazon.
The Lost Child is the third instalment in Patricia Gibney’s excellent police procedural featuring DI Lottie Parker. Although it could be read as a stand-alone, it helps if you have read the previous two books as the characters are developed and we learn more about the circumstances of Lottie’s family.
The fictional Irish town of Ragmullin is quite a hotbed of crime and we have a number of very gruesome murders, as well as issues with drugs, corruption, domestic violence and mental health. Interspersed with the live action there is the tragic story of a child abused and abandoned since the seventies and eventually the two threads knit together and we discover how this person’s life evolved and what relationship it has to the present events facing Lottie.
There were many twists and turns in this story and the ending took me completely by surprise. I really enjoy this series and I was delighted to discover there is another book waiting to be published.
Title: The Lost Child
Author: Patricia Gibney
Amazon Links:
UK http://amzn.to/2tZQ2ps
US http://amzn.to/2v3Xn44
They placed me in here and threw away the key. I look down at the gown they’ve put on me. I want my own clothes. I don’t know how long I’ve been here.
An elderly woman is found murdered in her own home, and Detective Lottie Parker and her partner Detective Boyd are called in to investigate. When they discover that the victim’s daughter is missing as well, they start to fear for the safety of the whole family…
Two days later as a nearby house is set on fire and with the body count rising, Lottie and her team begin to unpick a web of secrets and lies, as the murders seem to link back to a case investigated by Lottie’s father before he took his own life.
With little knowledge of what really happened to her father, Lottie knows this is a case that could give her some answers. But how much does she want to know? And how far is Lottie prepared to dig to uncover the truth?
The Lost Child is a thrilling page-turner from the bestselling author of The Missing Ones and The Stolen Girls
This is books 3 of the D.I. Lottie Parker series and I have jumped straight in having not read the first two book and that's ok! I don't feel like I have missed a ton of stuff where I couldn't get into the book. I do advise you pay attention throughout the book as Patricia has a very cunning way of throwing you off the trail, or leading you down the path and then making you double back and then question yourself and that's what I loved most about this book. At one point I sat there thinking that eveyine was the killer.... impossible I know but that's what Patricia did to me!
I liked how Lottie's character isn't the perfect role model, she has issues, her kids have issues, her life isn't perfect and that made her more relatable. I love her relationship with Detective Boyd (does he love her? Someone fill me in!)
Now let me warn you, this book has 100 chapters BUT don't panic! Some of those are only a few pages long BUT Patricia usually ends it with something that has you reading the next 5 chapters..... the nights will be long but sooo worth it!
I totally loved this book, in fact I now need books 1 & 2 to fill in the small details I have missed. There's plenty going on so pay attention! There's twists, turns and bodies piling up galore, so if you like a good thriller this is definitely a must read for you. I can, hand on heart promise that you won't be disappointed. It's a thrilling page turner and so worth the 4 golden apples that I'm giving it and I my top 5 reads of 2017!! Now when's the next book out, Patricia??
With thanks to the publisher for the copy received.
Wow. It is hard to put into words how I feel about this novel. It is book three in the series and I went into it without knowing anything about any of the characters, any back story or what this new book was about. Whilst this did cause a bit of confusion initially I just decided not to think about what I had missed out on and concentrated on what I was reading. If anybody is worried, you don’t need to be. There are no spoilers, just a bit of personal information and I can easily go back and read the earlier novels without knowing too much detail. I plan on doing this at the earliest possibility.
It’s fast paced Irish fiction. Unusually, for me, I liked every member of the team. Even Lynch, who seemed to bear a grudge for some event in the past. Lottie, is an older detective than the ones that I have ‘met’ before. She is a mother of three, grandmother of one, and a daughter to a woman who she clashes with. There is no mother/ daughter bond at all. Lottie feels anxious a lot of the time, and takes more alcohol and prescribed drugs than she should do. Boyd, aware of all her faults is devoted, even though I did feel at times that she would push him to far.
The case is a devastating one for all, I could feel the pain and despair when they were not quick enough and people suffered. Some of the events are gruesome and I was quite relieved that there wasn’t too much detail. I never had a clue about who was responsible for the crimes. It worked, I was just duped into thinking about who it could be. It’s clever, at times amusing, and full of compassion. I loved it and downloaded book one immediately after finishing it.
Do you remember that show where a girl gets it by a toilet falling from the sky? This is how I felt after reading The Lost Child. I was the girl crushed by that weird flying object.
Somehow, I have been prone to starting series in the wrong order, so I read the second book in the Lottie Parker story and got hooked by the perfect imperfection created by the author. I rushed to read the first installment (you can find the review here) and now here I am, about to talk about this third… How to call it? You know when you play squash and you’re getting hit after hit until the ball smashes you in the head? That’s The Lost Child!
This town was a town of secrets. Open secrets. People knew everything and said nothing.
It was a pleasure to head back to Ragmullin and its awful weather! I’ll admit the reasons why are not all happy and joyful, that’s not what we look for in crime fiction, but there is something oddly appealing in that town, and I am not talking about Boyd! Seemingly calm, this place is like any other and Patricia Gibney makes it so normal it could be your town! What a scary thought for the wuss I am!
She could live with the memories but not with the ghost.
Remember my remark about imperfection? That’s Lottie’s second name and the reason why I root for her. Lottie escapes the cop cliché, despite the bottle and the complicated life, because there is something more, something different, something human about her. Before the cop, I see the woman, the widow, and I talk to her as if I were a friend who could help, although the pages never answer me, even when I shake the Kindle in disbelief!!!
This third book is a milestone. Hard and cold. I suggest you start with the first books before getting here, because you’d miss out on so much otherwise! Lottie’s private life plays a big part in everything she does, and her job, although taking most of her hours, is tainted by the ghost and issues her home hides. My heart ached for her loss, even years after, and Adam’s presence keeping Lottie from moving on. Or rather she’s the one refusing to move on, and this is a subject I am particularly fond of, as saying goodbye is not a science, and can change a person forever. The happy Lottie we never got to know died with her husband, and she hasn’t found a way to cope ever since… The author beautifully explores the subject of going on with your life, riddled with guilt, struggling with memories. Everything we have read so far have led to the situation Lottie finds herself in during The Lost Child. I was wondering how much more this woman could handle before asking for help, before letting her guard down…Then the author decided to plant another bomb in her main character’s life and I never saw it coming…
We all get hurt. But we are the grown-ups. We can handle it.
Rain, a call, a new investigation. Nothing new? Hahaha, you are so wrong! This book is a tailspin but instead of watching the character go down, you are going down yourself! It’s like falling into a rabbit hole, being slapped with questions along the way, losing yourself in a inquiry that doesn’t make any sense. I was a little lost. Okay, completely lost at times, just like Lottie and her team. The more you read, the more questions were raised, and the closer to home we got. So close you reach a point of no return, and you create wrinkles because your eyebrows are doing weird things while you are digesting the information. Don’t count the bodies, you won’t have enough fingers for it. Heads drop and mud is stirred, for better or for worse, to reveal some of the biggest twists and turns I’ve read!
The investigation is both personal and professional, Patricia Gibney uses work to push her characters, and their lives to alter the course of their inquiry, mixing both to get you hooked and begging for more. I could pinpoint moments when I shook my head, swore, “tutut” at what was happening, and this is the key. Life’s mess and imperfection. The life of the woman next door. Very unlucky woman next door in my opinion!!!
The Lost Child is gripping, heart-stopping, and frantically insane in the best way possible!
I am not sure what to think of these (so far) three books about Lottie Parker and the crimes she investigates in Ragmullin. After receiving the third, I bought the other two books, and throughout all three stories the main character is nothing but flat.
The same troubles keep haunting her and (the weirdest and most annoying) in all three books are the crimes, she is about to solve, linked to her past and her family. One time, sure, that I am willing to believe, but a second and a third time?!
That said, a fourth book seems to be on its way, and somehow I feel tempted to try again.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.
I need to catch my breath, calm my heart and recover my senses, I think I have invested every emotion possible into The Lost Child, Patricia Gibney has floored me with the third book in Detective Inspector Lottie Parker series and all I want is more.
The Lost Child is a perfect example of the ultimate page-turner, building up the series of books which lead us to this point. The Missing Ones and The Stolen Girls have been parts of the puzzle linking up to The Lost child and it doesn’t disappoint.
Well where do I start, Patricia has pulled no punches in book three, I’m wound up tighter than a spinning top all due to the opening chapter. A historical crime depicting the horror of what one mother can do to her children left a taste in my mouth, a sourness, but it becomes apparent later why, a vital piece, a conundrum to solve.
DI Lottie is plunged deep into an investigation of an elderly woman, who was brutally attacked and murdered, the victims daughter is also missing, all clues start to point Lottie’s father who committed suicide years earlier, the death toll is rising can Lottie and her team prevent any more and the save this family.
The persona of Lottie manifests at lightning speed throughout the book, she’s a tough cookie especially at work. Nothing seems to phase Lottie until she falls of the wagon again, the crutch of alcohol and pills, are they muddying the water and affecting the investigation only time will tell. Oh Boy was I getting excited, Boyd seems to have ignited his candle for Lottie again, will it smoulder and extinguish or will Lottie reciprocate Boyd’s feelings, only time will tell.
The plotline in The Lost Child tumbles, twists, yanks you back and forth, it even screams at you I Know Who Committed The Crimes, before pummelling you into submission almost laughing You Are Wrong Again, a game of Tug of War With Words. I thoroughly enjoyed the games Patricia played with my mind, Touché Patricia I didn’t anticipate the end, the surprises just kept coming roll on book four.
Thank you to Bookouture, Patricia Gibney and Kim Nash for an advanced readers copy to read of The Lost Child in exchange for an honest review.