The fourth book finds D.I. Lottie Parker and her team investigating the murder of Elizabeth Byrne, a young woman who was a regular commuter on the Dublin to Ragmullin train.

Simultaneously with her present heavy workload, Lottie is also looking into the cold case of another young woman who vanished after her train commute almost ten years previously...

As in the previous books in this series, during the first few chapters of this book, I was a tad impatient with Lottie Parker's self-destructive behaviours. Then, as I got into the book, I realized that those things that I was frustrated with were the very same things that make Lottie Parker so special to me. She is devoted to her three children and grandson, even though they try her patience sorely at times.

This is a crime novel rife with sad and tragic family histories. It would be fair to say that during this instalment in the series Lottie faces some very traumatic personal challenges.

Excellent characterization and compelling plots are the highlights of this series, and this fourth book is true to form. With themes of sibling rivalry, extreme jealousy, and prejudice, this book was a compelling read.

I highly recommend this novel, and this series, to readers of crime fiction who are not deterred by distressing scenes, and emotionally draining circumstances. I hope that not too much more time passes before I get the opportunity to read the 5th novel in this stellar series.

4.5 stars rounded up

I don't even know where to start! I am lamenting the fact that I always seem to start a mystery/thriller series NOT with the first book. I really need to give a serious talking-to to my brain! Ms Brain, kindly choose the first book please!

I am a visual person so you can easily guess how my eyes went to this book. The colour scheme of the cover is attractive and taking the title into consideration, you can know how and why I was jumping all over it. I actually expected it to be a very dark book with a serial killer and all. In that aspect I was disappointed! Very much so!

The downside of jumping headlong into a new series midway is that I go in blind regarding the characters. Reading this book made me feel that they had lots of flaws and drama in their lives. Yeah, that added a personal touch to the narration but still it had me thinking that Lottie especially was rather focused on her life than the case. She was easily distracted from her job sometimes. I liked Boyd being in the center and the background constantly. The characters were real and flawed while the writing had me racing through the chapters easily.

I was coming out of a reading slump (of a couple of years) when I read this. I am glad because temporarily it had me enjoying reading again. The plot had its holes and I felt it could have been solved sooner than it was. Always look to the people already in the scene is the point of view I took away from it. All in all, it was an enjoyable read!

I actually received this book on Netgalley for free (past) for reviewing purposes. The thoughts are my own. I have received no other compensation.

I love the Lottie Parker series!

I started to read this a few years ago, when I had received an ARC from Netgalley (Sorry Bookouture and NetGalley!), but about halfway through the book, life happened… I had set it down for too long, I needed to start the book over and kept putting it off. While I still have my netgalley copy, I actually ended up deciding to purchase the audiobook!

I’m so glad I FINALLY picked it back up again!

Lottie is a mess and Boyd is so sweet… 😁 The mystery in the book was well thought out and well written… I love that part of it takes place in a cemetery… Ragmullan is an amazing fictional town that has an eerie creepy vibe to it, so including the cemetery just amplified that.

There wasn’t as much about Lottie’s family in this book as there had been in books past, but the ending of this book leaves me wanting to dive further into her story!

I can’t wait to catch up with the rest of the books in the series, finally!!

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture - I’m sorry this was such a late one! But I ended up buying the book too, so hopefully that makes up for it. 😉

I am very involved with this series now and know that I will continue to read until I am totally up to date (only 4 more to go!). After the end of the last series I wasted no time in launching straight into this book. An open grave is the opener for this storyline and as usual Lottie’s trusty colleague Boyd is by her side. In addition her colleagues Lynch and Kirby are back in addition to a new but familiar boss!

The storyline was more engaging than the last book but in this book we once again delve into the characters and their personal lives more. Lottie has her three children, her grandson and her Mother to deal with, and in addition we meet Boyd’s sister Grace! There are a lot of elements to this story and it kept me engaged from start to finish.

Once I had finished this I literally opened page one of book 5…and then stopped myself. I decided to break it up with another genre so will eagerly go back to book 5 in a few days. This series is getting stronger with each book that is released and I would certainly recommend it.

Another excellent book from this great author! Really enjoyable, her style draws you in and you just can’t put it down!

No Safe Place is the fourth book in a very good police procedural series feature Detective Inspector Lottie Parker. I actually have the next two books in this series for review, but having read this series from the beginning, I thought I should go back and read this entry before continuing the series in order to get the full scope of Lottie's continuing story. And that is something that I would recommend for anyone interested in this series, start at the first book.

I love police procedurals but am always hesitant when trying a new author as they can be a bit of a hit or miss situation. So when I do find a new one I like, I tend to be very loyal and this author does a great job at describing a complex mystery but also intertwining the personal lives of the investigators into the story. Lottie is a favourite of mine and I think it's because of her flaws that she is so likeable. Don't get me wrong though, she can be just as tough as any lead investigator; I don't think you can be a lead investigator without having some bite, but there is a softer side to her as well, one who is struggling with managing her family after her husband's death and I like this about her. The earlier books focus a lot more on Lottie's personal life, so it was good to see a bit more emphasis put on the case and the investigation in this one and I like the better balance here. And Lottie has a lot on her place this time; an annoying boss, rape, women disappearing, fires, and an aggressive crime reporter who seems to have it out for her. The author also takes the time to develop the secondary characters although I would love to know even more about them as they seem pretty interesting.

Lottie is definitely the focus of the book and I like her a lot. She is a bit of a mess in this one, popping anti-anxiety meds to help her get through the day and I wondered when it was all going to come to a head but that didn't quite happen so I need to wait for the next book. The investigation itself however, kept me interested enough that Lottie's issues weren't at the center which was kind of nice. And while there is always closure for the investigation, the reason I tell readers to start from the first book is the author has this way of keeping some things dangling at the end and this book is no exception. However, the concept was started in earlier books and people may not fully understand the significance unless they had read the earlier books. Normally I'm not a big fan of these types of endings but it seems to work in these books.

No Safe Place was a pleasure to read and I am looking forward to continuing this series. The plot was fairly intricate and I really enjoy the secondary characters, although I would like to see even more character development with them as the series continues. It also moved fairly quickly, with lots of twists and turns, and although I figured out who did it fairly early on, it didn't diminish my enjoyment one bit. I highly recommend this series to anyone who likes good police procedurals.

was a gripping thriller that took you to every aspect of trying to figure out what was really going on and what was going to happen next! This was such an amazing book and I can’t wait to see what else is released from this author!

I suppose I should start by sending you to previous gushes about this, the Detective Lottie Parker Series: Book 1 here, book 2 here, book 3 here . All three books I raced through, gobbling up every-single-word. I’ll be honest, I don’t even know how to begin this review. This was without doubt my favourite of the Lottie Parker series. I’m pretty sure that i haven’t said that before and if I have apologies but I honestly cannot think of how it can. And breeaathe.

Okay, so we begin, as you do, with a young girl running through a graveyard, trying to get away from someone. What happens next of course, I can’t tell you but I can tell you it’s been done before (and not just in my nightmares as a child), but never this well! I was shocked and sat up straight and then ran out of the room to get snacks as I knew I was in for the long haul. So with what just happened (read the book), you’d really expect that the next thing would be that this the DI Lottie Parker heads off looking for this particular person but no, the way this book is done, as you look at it with the unforgettable team at Ragmullin, there is nothing to look for, only a whole lot of local tales (special mention to the first witness, what an amazing lady!) and thoughts and speculation on people who are missing.

There are a lot of characters in this book but they are all easily traceable and trackable, you remember each of the missing women through encounters both on and after their train journeys, you remember the suspects through their quirks and attitudes, the police force are of course always unforgettable and very entertaining. There were some changes in the usual faces, most notably with Superintendent Corrigan, and I hoped upon hope that it wasn’t the end for a character that I always look forward to hearing.I loved getting to know some new characters, in particular a viper of a reporter whose making life difficult for Lottie and on a fully different spectrum, the lovely Grace who defin superseded any relations they usually arrive in books to make things difficult for a character. I loved Grace and was excited at her involvement which meant more air time for Boyd who I also adore.The baddie came in the form of a stranger who we hear on the train and who is worrying in his thoughts throughout the book.

There are of course a few unlikeables scattered throughout and at many times there were boulders in my stomach as I watched women being stalked on the train and then was passed over to suspects homes, where things were as dark and worrying.

There were shocks and tragedies of ASTRONOMICAL proportions and at one stage I found myself cursing out loud in surprise. As said above this is my favourite book in the series. I may have said this for other books (I don’t think I have), but without a doubt it really is, pacing, setting, thrills, spills, shocks, tragedies and some very magnetic off kilter romance. Exceptional. Thanks so much to Netgalley and Bookouture for the book in return for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

NO SAFE PLACE is the fourth book in the Lottie Detective Parker Series, by Irish author Patricia Gibney. I found this was the best book in the series to date. While I think it probably works fine as a stand-alone, I recommend starting with book one for clarity and context. A fabulous read!

Set in Lottie’s home town of Ragmullin, Lottie has returned to work after recovering from a knife attack. We are immediately involved in Lottie’s personal and professional life, still drinking and popping pills, her boss is off on medical leave, and the replacement is not well liked. The opening scene is of a girl gone missing and a body found in a dug grave. Could this be the same person?

Is there a serial killer on the loose?

Time will tell…

This book was a pleasure to read, with its intrinsic plot and believable well- developed characters.

Give yourself a treat and read this series.

Many thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for my digital copy.

What should be a solemn and sad occasion descends into chaos when a body is found in a grave at a funeral. Not so unusual you might think however this body doesn't belong to the person the funeral is been held for. Detective Lottie Parker knows the likelihood is that this is the body of Elizabeth Bryne, a girl that went missing on her daily commute home. But before that investigation has really got going another two girls are missing too and Lottie Parker finds herself under pressure to act quickly to stop more deaths...

For a small Irish town Ragmullin has a serious crime problem....Lottie's new boss keeps accusing her and her team of been incompetent and although he's a eejit he may have a point. This bunch are seriously distracted by their personal lives! But it's all good because it's just pretend and those distractions are rather compelling. Lottie's life has more drama than your average Christmas soap opera. If you don't like your police detective stories to have a lot of personal and domestic detail this isn't you. But if you like a good mix of mystery, drama and even a touch of romance Lottie is your woman.

I was little nervous requesting No Safe Place on NetGalley as I hadn’t read the previous three books in the series, but kept hearing such great things about it I couldn’t help but cave in to peer pressure and add this sucker to my TBR. And let me tell you, as a Lottie Parker newbie I had no difficulty being thrown into the deep end of some dark and twisty crime, while simultaneously being guided gently through the hot mess that comprises the tatters of Lottie’s personal life. I can say with confidence for those considering getting in on this series, but are hesitant to go back and read the previous instalments (which I will be doing in the coming weeks), you can start right here and feel like you haven’t missed a beat.

I think the only, and I mean ONLY, reason why this ended up at a 4.5 instead of 5 in books is because I felt that there was too little variance in Lottie’s moods. She was angry, annoyed and spitting fire almost all of the time – and if this is how she presents across all of the novels I can see how she might get tired and fast. Don’t get me wrong, handling a stressful and complicated family life while working as a homicide detective is no bed of roses, but I was left wanting a touch more than doom, gloom, hellfire and pills. But, and hear me out here, I am willing to acknowledge my bias in not have read the previous books and the fact that they almost certainly inform on Lottie’s sustained levels of intensity and subsequent need for Valium.

At the same time though, that constant intensity and paranoia does wonders for establishing the mood and pacing of the book. It just kept gaining in speed and power until I found myself caught in a vortex where people’s homes were being torched, the past was being relived, and young women were inexplicably going missing. Now add in the fact that Lottie’s character is tempered by the variety of personalities found on her team – Boyd, Lynch, and Kirby – and the dynamic is absolutely golden.

It was comforting to have have Lottie’s family in the mix as well, as they were a needed balance for a mother who was starting to spin out of control. The maternal moments provided a touch of tonic in Lottie’s crazy little world, and it welcome and refreshing when the kids were unafraid to call Lottie out on her crap. I really enjoyed watching the plot lines develop around Katie and New York, as well as Sean and his growing closeness to Boyd. I can see that there is lots of material to explored along both avenues in the future, and I cannot wait to see where these stories go.

I also really loved Grace’s role in the story. Sure, she’s awkward and makes more than just the people she encounters on the train uncomfortable but she’s also sweet, innocent, and utterly endearing. I appreciated her persistence that Molly was missing, even when it was clear that no-one believed her, and loved how Grace and Guarda Gilly’s stories eventually came together and collided with Lotties case to make for one of the best climaxes I read in a while.

Dark and twisty in all the right places, this is one that will surely keep you guessing! Exquisitely written and paced to keep you on the edge of your seat, Gibney has left just enough loose ends to keep you itching for book number 5. I mean seriously?! What about McMahon, I NEED to know how that little revenge arc ends. And New York? Talk about a walloping cliff hanger right when you’re craving some closure.

Angst and impulse control issues aside, Lottie Parker is the kind of D. I. might love to hate, but you’ll almost certainly love to read. I can’t recommend this book highly enough and I only wish that I’d discovered this series at it’s inception. Crime lovers and thrill seekers, I suggest you get your copies ASAP as this beauty ranks up there as one of my favourite summer reads.

I absolutely love this series. I’ve read all of the books so far and they’re all brilliant, unfortunately I finish them too quickly, I hope the series continues much further, as the stories that unfold across the series have me hooked!

This is already the 4th book in the Lottie Parker series. Can you believe it.
I finished book 3 before jumping into this one, and really the writing just gets better. In this book Lottie has to investigate the strange deaths of young women, and this was very entertaining, gripping and thrilling until the ending which I really did not suspect. Did not see the bad guy coming, I promise!
Recommended!!!

I have loved this series since book 1, and said in my review of book 3 that it was my favourite so far. I had hoped this would be in the same vein and although I did enjoy the book, I wasn’t as blown away as with the previous books.

I love the character of Lottie. She is a ballsy character with so many flaws, one being that she doesn’t do well with certain authority figures. This book brings that out kicking and screaming when Lottie finds herself having to work for someone she doesn’t much like, McMahon. He goes to great lengths to undermine her throughout and I found myself willing her to get one up on him on so many occasions.

We learn a lot more about Boyd in this book with his sister featuring quite heavily. His relationship with Lottie is something I really want to see progress. The ending of this book brings something to the story which promises a totally different read next time, and I look forward to reading that and seeing where the author takes Lottie.

Many thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for providing a copy.

I read the first book in this series but skipped the next two, so picking this one up did mean there were some parts of Lottie’s narrative that I had missed. However, Gibney writes in such a way that I was still able to keep up with the story and invest in lottie, even with missing parts of her story.

The book kicks off with Lottie investigating a report of screams in a cemetery in the wee hours of the morning. Upon discovering a body buried in someone else’s open grave, Lottie is thrust into a spree of missing young women, all of whom disappeared from the train station. Could this be tied to a similar crime from 10 years ago? Lottie is forced to bring that family back into an investigation, digging into the past to figure out what happened in the present.

Gibney did a wonderful job of weaving the past and present together. She also included chapters in which the reader gets a glimpse of what’s going on in the killer’s mind, always an intriguing part of a crime novel for me. Gibney sets the reader up to find out the ending, only to pull a twist at the end. I loved it!

While Lottie is working this case, her personal life intrigued me as well. Her daughter and grandchild head to the states to meet another set of grandparents, and Lottie’s own relationship with partner Boyd continues to develop. I was incredibly invested in these parts of the novel, even though the crime is the main plot point.

I definitely recommend this book and this series. Gibney is a fantastic crime writer, and lottie is a character I’m learning to love!

4.5 stars!

A Woman's body is found in a cemetery in an open grave and Lottie and her team are investigating it. Lottie wonders if it might be Elizabeth Byrne, a young woman who vanished without a trace.

Other girls disappear from a train station. They find out that a ten year old cold case may have something to do with the disappearances. Lottie and her team gear there is a serial killer on the loose. There are loud screams in the middle of the night. A young woman believes it to be a wail of a banshee.

Potter's boss is on medical leave and the boss that takes his place is Lottie's enemy and makes her life miserable.

We also get to know about Lottie's personal life and get to know more about her children and Boyd.

This is the fourth book in the Lottie Parker Series. The books seem to be getting better and better. This series is excellent. I feel that this book is the best one. I would read these in order. I really loved this book. It hooked me in from the very beginning and didn't let go until the very end. The suspense kept me on the edge of my seat and has some great twists and turns. It kept me guessing. It is a very gripping read.

I love the characters. They all are very well developed. Lottie has flaws and her family is dysfunctional. I just love her children.
I also love Lottie and Boyd and they would make a great romantic couple. The other members of the team are great also. I did not care for her new boss. He just made Lottie's life miserable.

I thought the book was very well written and I am looking forward to reading book 5. This series is one of my favorite series. I highly recommend it.

I want to thank Netgalley, Bookouture and Patricia Gibney for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This series is showing no signs of slowing down! This is book 4 of a series featuring Lottie Parker, trying to balance motherhood - and all the complications that entails - along with being an excellent Detective in charge of a small but tight team trying to discover who is abducting women from train stations with alarming frequency.
I suppose you could read this as a standalone but I personally wouldn’t recommend doing so. The character development throughout the series is brilliant, you feel like you actually know them!
Best book of the series so far which is quite incredible given they are being written at such a quick pace!

Thanks to Bookouture for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Det Lottie Parker has to be one of my favorite characters. With a low tolerance for BS, and a reputation for doing precisely what she wants, she gets the results.

Brilliant. A fast paced thriller that kept me glued from the start. I literally read this book in one sitting. I wanted to know who was taking Girls and why. The plot is really good and full of action. The back stories of the characters add to the believability of the story and helped me to visualise everything and everybody. I will definitely be recommending this book and looking out for more books by Patricia Gibney. I want to read more about Lottie Parker.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for my copy.

Another great thriller featuring our harried heroine, Detective Lottie Parker. In No Safe Place a Ragmullin woman last seen on her daily commute to work has disappeared only to turn up dead in the bottom of someone else’s grave. Lottie and Boyd have their hands full trying to interview the locals, some convinced that banshees really do exist. When another woman disappears the pressure is on to catch this killer before they strike again.

Lots of layers in this fourth book in Patricia Gibney’s series. I am sad I didn’t read the third book in the series before reading this one but with the exception of a few references to events in the previous book this one can be read as a standalone. Lottie is still struggling with substance abuse as her way of coping with stress in her family life, her love life and her professional challenges. Her relationship with her boss hasn’t been great as she is perceived as a maverick and not a by-the-book detective. Things only get worse in No Safe Place as she is saddled with a temporary replacement she despises.

Lives of the detectives aside, the case takes center stage. We are introduced to many local Ragmullians, learn about old grudges, prejudices and events from the past which have eerie similarities to the present day case. Add in a dramatic thriller ending we’ve come to expect from Gibney and another satisfying read.

ARC received with thanks from Bookouture via Net Galley for review.