Thanks to Netgalley for my copy

DI Kelly Porter has returned to the Lake District from the Met. She is back living in her childhood home with her mother and back to constant arguments with her older sister.

Kelly is investigating a cold case of a ten year old girl who was brutally murdered.
Meanwhile a baby is found abandoned and her mother an illegal immigrant in a pitiful medical condition.
Then a local businessman is found dead in his hotel.

Kelly becomes embroiled in prostitution, people trafficking and violent gangs. The first 80% of this novel was a solid 4* for me and I was enjoying a strong female lead character. Unfortunately the final 20% was a 2* due to implausibility in the plot and some really stupid decisions. I still liked the book and will definitely read the next in the series.

Dark Game is a well executed crime thriller about the sex trafficking industry. I’m normally wary of books that claim to tackle this issue, as it can be gratuitous and sensationalizing, however, Lynch nails the tone well quite well here through the voice of her feisty, compassionate protagonist DI Kelly Porter. It’s quite refreshing to see what a female author does with this subject!

While Porter is the main character, the story is also told from other perspectives throughout, which serves to round out the story – which I think is important given the different ways in which people can become victims of this industry. (Although now that I’m thinking about it why wasn’t an actual person that has been sold into sex slavery given a perspective?) It also serves the narrative well as it’s very tense watching all the components come together gradually. It can be really boring watching a detective try and crack a case from only their P.O.V. and nothing’s really happening but Lynch gives us just enough of everything to maintain the mystery and pace really well, and each perspective is an engaging story in itself!

This was a 5* read for me until about the last third, and unfortunately the ending was kind of anti-climactic for me personally. Without giving anything away, basically Kelly makes a really stupid decision which was extremely unprofessional and that didn’t really make sense in terms of her character. For that reason felt really unrealistic and it was difficult to have any sympathy for her as it was an arrogant choice to make.

That being said, this is a great start to a new police procedural series, with bags of potential and I’m looking forward to future installments.

3/5*

~Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I am not associated with the author or publisher in any way. My opinion is completely unbiased and entirely my own~

An interesting thriller set in the Lake District but not the quiet Lake District of my experience but a much more gritty and less appealing one. Necessary to make the story more exciting I’m sure. The lead female DI Kelly Porter seems as troubled as the area she has moved back to with lots of baggage. This is the first in what I am sure will be a popular series of books with this clever lead character.

I had heard good things about this book and was so excited when it became available to read on netgalley. This book certainly does not disappoint. It has everything you would want in a thriller. Extremely well written with lots of twists and turns. Very complex characters who develop very well through the course of the storyline. Definitely recommend this book to others and cant wait for the next instalment.

This book follows detective Kelly Porter who returns to her native Cumbria. For a sleepy town Ambleside has a lot of dark goings on. Kelly uses her intelligence and acumen to uncover a Human trafficking ring and forced prostitution. Tense, sometimes gory but very well written!

A fast paced, at times grim and brutal, crime novel with a credible and feisty female detective lead character. The usually serene and beautiful Lake District contrasts with the blood and criminality portrayed in the book. I enjoyed this, but it was hard hitting and therefore sensitive readers should perhaps approach with caution. I’ll be looking out for DI Kelly Porter’s next case!

This is the first book in the DI Kelly Porter Series by author Rachel Lynch.
Detective Inspector Kelly Porter has recently transferred back to her home town in the Lake District. She is living with her widowed Mother and this increases the daily pressures and stress she is currently enduring. Kelly is working on a cold case, the abduction and brutal murder of ten-year-old Lottie Davies that shook the local community. At the same time Kelly is also investigating two seemingly straightforward crimes, a case involving an illegal immigrant, and a robbery following the death of local businessman Colin Day. But evidence comes to light that reveals a web of criminal activity beyond anything Kelly imagined. Behind the veneer of sleepy, touristy towns lies a dark and dangerous underworld.
This is a gritty detective novel, with a good lead character that has plenty of opportunities to develop further in future novels. A very good read and I would recommend it.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Canelo for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first in a dark, gritty and twisted police procedural from Rachel Lynch featuring DI Kelly Porter, who worked at the Met in the MIT where things went belly up and her personal life experienced betrayal. She's returned home only to discover the Lake District has changed and developed a murky criminal underbelly. She is living with her mother who is hiding her serious health issues, her relationship with her sister, Nikki, is fraught and she has to a lot to live up to with her dead father's reputation as a police officer. The last thing that Kelly can expect is a quiet life as she begins to delve into a cold case where a 10 year old Lottie Davies was abducted and murdered, a crime that shocked the local community.

A local businessman, Colin, is discovered dead in a hotel room, and a child is found abandoned. A search finds the mother, an illegal immigrant, in a horrific condition, close to death. In a harrowing investigation, the multiple threads begin to slowly coalesce and connect. This is story with many echoes in our contemporary world with its focus on human trafficking, prostitution, money laundering, and criminal gangs engaged in depraved activities. I loved the main character, Kelly, a dedicated and determined police officer who finds herself facing terror and deadly danger. I know the beautiful location of the Lake District, it was quite a eyeopener to see that it harbours such deeply entrenched criminal networks. This is a great introduction to this series, I am so looking forward to the next in the series! Many thanks to Canelo for an ARC.

Dark Game by Rachel Lynch is her first crime novel that I have read and I really enjoyed it. The story was gripping and a fast paced read. A thriller full of twists and turns which held my interest throughout. A believable story with well developed, likeable characters. Roll on book two!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for my advance copy in return for an honest review.

Hard going, but got there in the end! DI Kelly Porter, new DI on the block, a good read intriguing story.

A debut from Rachel Lynch this early in the year bodes well for readers.
Kelly has returned to Cumbria from the Met as a Detective Inspector.
For the time being she is living with her mother and trying hard not to assault her older sister who stayed close with husband and children while Kelly fled.
Knowing the Lake District well I could follow the road journeys easily. Cursing the trips to Barrow in Furness which take forever. Crows may fly fourteen miles but roads add forty. I held my breath every time Kirkstone Pass was mentioned. It terrifies me.
The book covers the triad of people smuggling, prostitution and drugs adding some money laundering just because.
There were no Australian bar tenders...every cute holiday spot in the UK has an Australian bar tender. Maybe in the next book...I hope there is a next book.
Many thanks to netgalley for this advance copy.

DI Kelly Porter returns to her home town after being in the London Metropolitan Police. She starts with a cold case which leads to other crimes and turns this book into a page turner that cannot be put down. This is a refreshingly goods crime drama and a very enjoyable read.

A really dark and twisty read, this book gripped me from the start.

I wish I'd been able to read this book in a couple of sittings, instead I read in on my daily commute and at some points struggled to keep on top of who was who and how they linked to each case. That said, one of the book's best assets is that the author successfully sets up intricate and difficult cases which are all woven together into a satisfying conclusion.

DI Kelly Porter was an interesting and well developed character, I look forward to reading more in the series and would recommend to others.

Thanks to NetGalley, Canello and Rachel Lynch for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was soon drawn into this story. In particular I liked the use of so many real geographical locations. This helped to add a sense of reality to the story.

Rachel Lynch has managed to create an interesting group of detective characters, based around DI Kelly Porter.

What looks at firs to be a simple cold case police procedural novel, soon turns into something much more sinister.

I found the book to have a swift pace and the story opened up several possible perpetrators for both the cold case and the current murder case.

I notice that this is listed as book one. On the basis of this book I will certainly look out for other books in this series.

I pass on my thanks to Netgalley and Canelo books for a copy in exchange for this review.

A DI sent back to Cumbria. Who would have thought that Cumbria could be even more deadly than London? There are several cases linked here including the case from the past which starts it all off. I suppose tit’s a coincidence that one police officer would come across all of these cases but do you know what? it didn’t spoil anything of the story as the threads were so interesting.

A case of a murdered child, a case of a woman close to death and the death of a local figure....three cases which dictate and shape the rest of the novel. Three chunks of meat if you will to get your teeth into.

I think the setting really shone here as the rural countryside is not where you would expect such linked cases to happen. And it’s when the DI in question is trying to remain anonymous when this kind of spotlight is put on her.

Interesting cases, perfect setting and some very complex characters. Yup, a solid read this one.

DI Kelly Parker is transferred to the Lake District and has three major investigations to solve. I was brought up in the area and don't recognise it. In my time there were just climbers, ramblers and campers in the towns and plush hotels as well as the sailing community. I found it unsettling learning about the illegal immigrants being used and abused by pimps and money-grabbing men. Some of it was distasteful and raw. It was interesting revisiting cold cases and learning how an autopsy is performed. I hated the dog-fighting. There were a lot of interesting sub-themes like the problems of returning home after living independently, the poor relationship with Nicki and so forth. A most interesting read. Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo for giving me the opportunity to read it. I shall post this review to Amazon after publication.

Thank you Net Galley. An interesting new series. Despite the fairly standard protagonist, the book was good reading. The author kept you hooked and turning the pages.

Firstly I need to give kudos where kudos are due. This novel had a great, intricate plot that was very well woven together and well delivered.

My overall enthusiasm however waned after a very eager start. My main vexation being the way conversations, which there are many of, just didn’t seem to flow. They didn’t seem natural and deterred from a pretty great story.

Regardless, there is a ton of potential here and I am intrigued to see how both Kelly Porter and Rachel Lynch go from strength to strength.

After leaving the Met, DI Kelly Porter has returned to the area of her youth – the Lake District. In a part of the world where crime tends to be minor, the detective takes on a cold case – the abduction and murder of ten-year-old Lottie Davies. Cumbria is not as quiet as it seems, however, and she soon finds herself embroiled in several cases including the death of a local businessman and human trafficking. Maybe life in the Lakes is going to prove to be just as, if not more, dangerous as London.

When I picture the Lake District, I think of beautiful landscapes, Beatrix Potter, walkers taking on the numerous mountains and a general air of peace and quiet. After reading Dark Game however, my image may just have been shattered! Who would have thought that Cumbria was such a hot bed of crime?! After returning from London, Kelly must have thought that she would have had an easier time of it, but this was definitely not to be!

Dark Game deals with some very dark subjects and, from the start, when local businessman Colin Day dies under rather bizarre circumstances, the scene is set. We soon realize that the hotel where he is staying is a front for something else and that it forms part of a much bigger criminal organisation. What follows is, at times, quite graphic but when you are dealing with prostitution, gangland crime and human trafficking, it is essential to the plot. Whilst I was reading, there were several occasions when I found myself totally despairing in how vile some humans can be, not least when illegal immigrants were being forced into fighting each other to the death.

One of the strengths of this book is the characterization. I found Kelly a likeable protagonist and felt that enough of her back story was shared to pique my interest. Like many lead detectives, she is a flawed character but I was pleased that her back story did not take precedence over the crime as this means that more can be revealed in a later book. Rachel Lynch has also done a fantastic job with how the criminals are portrayed. They were a particularly heinous lot and definitely made my skin crawl.

I really enjoyed Dark Game and think this could be the start of a fantastic new series.

This book is outstanding!
It is the first in a hopefully long series of books that centre around D.I. Kelly Porter who has relocated from the brashness of the Met and London policing to her childhood home of the Lake District and its relative quietness ( or so she thinks!!)

Firstly got to say that in some books I find the descriptions of areas and towns etc uninspiring and even boring but the author obvious love of the Lake District and Cumbria shines through and I was picturing the areas as was reading them, some from childhood memories and some just from the writing alone, wonderful scene setting, probably
some of the best I have ever read....

Onto the story itself, without giving too much away it is a very tense and action packed story about people trafficking and the horrors that go with it.....at times a scary and chilling read it brilliantly portrays the evil that this trade really is and how it affects every age group, it makes harrowing reading in places and will definitely stay with you long after you finish the book

It is very fast paced, tense, dramatic and seriously is a ‘page turner’, you wont be settled until you find out what happens to the characters in the book

The writing is flawless,seamless and flows from page one until the final word, the characters so well written that you have an immediate picture of them in your mind

I loved the little mini stories that featured as well, the rivalry between D.I. Porter and her Sister was an added bit of humour that brought a wry smile

I absolutely loved this book, it’s compelling and addictive and one of the best books I have read for a long time

I am not overly keen on series books but I am looking forward to book 2 already

10/10
5 stars and highly recommended