Really good start to a series. Liked the way that summerskill and Lyon were both newly promoted when paired together. Great storyline

Claire Summerskill is married to Ian, who works in the school system, and they have two sons, Tony and Sam. She’s just been promoted to Detective Inspector at the Worcester Foregate Street Police Station. Having worked hard to get this big promotion, Claire feels she’s worthy of a major case and is more than disappointed when she’s handed a “happy slapping” case by Chief Superintendent Madden. She’s disappointed but thinks, if nothing else, she would get to choose a new partner. But again, she’s given orders to work with the new transfer, Sergeant David Lyon. When Claire gets a look at Lyon’s file, there’s somethings that raise her suspicions and she has to wonder if she’s being set-up.

David made a choice to transfer to Foregate Street Police Station for his own reasons. He lives with his boyfriend, Richard, who also works in the school system. Besides the new environment at the job, Dave has issues to consider about his relationship with Richard.

Adjusting to a new partner is difficult for both Claire and Dave, but they do what’s needed to get the case solved. The simple assault case of “happy slapping” turns into something much bigger: murders and gay porn.

This novel is set in Worcester, England, and the verbiage really sets the tone for this story. The mystery was very well plotted, and it made way for an intricate and in-depth police procedural. There’s subtle humor but on a serious note, there’s bigotry and how a woman is considered in a predominantly male profession. There’s plenty of character building for Dave and Claire as they start a working relationship and a lot they both have to learn about each other and who they are to really gain trust. I didn’t mind that this wasn’t so much about romance but about how Dave and Claire have to juggle their personal relationships/lives when they are buried deep in complicated murders. It reflects how Claire and Dave are treated by their husband and boyfriend, and Claire also has a teenager and young son to consider.

I know for sure Steve Burford has got me hooked. This is an excellent mystery, and I am more than curious to find where Dave Lyon and Claire Summerskill will go from here.

Reviewed by Maryann

Hello,
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review!
This book was good, not great, but not amazing either.
I really had a good time reading this book. While the story begins at a slower pace, which made me put it down a couple of time until about halfway through it when it picked up, it was a really well built world.
The third POV is what truly threw me off, I just couldn't understand why it existed and really reduced my overall experience with this book. I wanted to love this book so much and get attached to the characters, but at times it felt like I was looking at their emotions, rather than feeling them with them.
I had a real issue with how the author forgot the name/changed the name of the child in this book halfway through it. It felt as if even the author couldn't bother to care or delve deeper into the details of their own story.
I was truly disappointed by the fact that while it is categorized as a LGBT story it felt like just a plot point, as we were presented with no chance to really get to know or care about Dave's boyfriend.
It is a fake M/M categorized and sold book, it's not even part of the characters plot like a romance would be if it had been a man and a woman.
Overall, I gave this story a : 2/5 stars.
-Bookarina

It’s a Sin by Steve Burford is the first book in the Summerskill and Lyon series. I really enjoyed this one. I read it over the course of two nights while in bed. Cause that’s how I like my murder mysteries. What you get in book one of this series is an introduction into who Summerskill, Lyon, the inner workings of the Foregate Street Police Station, and the communities surround them. I feel like at this point you should know there isn’t much romance in this. It’s more focused on developing the characters and solving the crime. I’d love to get to see some steamy scenes with Sergeant Dave Lyon though. I have a feeling he’s a bit of a stunner.
Detective Inspector Claire Summerskill has just been promoted, but she doesn’t get to have the Sergeant she was expecting. Instead she gets Dave Lyon, who is completely new to the area and openly gay (Which I was super excited about and cackled at some of the things he did). You don’t get many cop novels with openly gay characters who don’t need to be saved or coddled. Sergeant Lyon didn’t need coddling.

Their first assignment was ‘happy slapping’ – which I had no idea what that meant but figured it out pretty quick. A random person/persons jumps another and then goes on about their way. What was supposed to be an easy case turned into something much more difficult, multiple murders of gay men along a canal.

What I liked about Claire and Dave was the fact that neither of them were perfect. They had their moments of anger, frustration and misunderstanding. But they pushed each other to figure out what was really happening. I’m on a bit of a mystery kick and just enjoying what I’ve read so I didn’t quite figure out who the killer was until the last minute. It was unexpected and it was kind of neat that I was kept guess the entire time.

I’m looking forward to getting to know more about Claire and Dave. My inner romance reader is hoping for Dave to get some action but I liked this enough that I don’t have to have that.

Firstly I have to say this was a quick and easy book to read, the authors style is to tell the story in a chatty and friendly way and I felt at ease with the 2 main characters quickly and there was no long drawn out process of ‘getting into the book’ it was there and immediate and that was good, this style suited me very much
The story is about a newly promoted Detective Sargent Dave Lyon who goes to a new station where his new partner Detective Inspector Claire Sunmerskill has also been promoted and they work their first, new case together, its all very new! But then that was also good as there was little back story to distract and you were on a clean sheet with it all
Dave Lyon is gay, the story is about gay murders down by ‘the canal’ and the story unfolds to involves all things gay from amateur porn film makers, gay relationships, coming out at home and facing gay prejudice at work.... it is a gay story written by a gay author with straight characters in it, completely the opposite of what I am used to reading...on the whole I enjoyed it and found most subjects relating to gay things handled well and only the odd ‘cliched’ comment or reference or misplaced ‘joke’... there was a ‘warning’ at the beginning that the book contained adult themes of a sexual nature, tbh this was not needed as the sexual references were not OTT and I have read much more graphic in many many previous books
As said it is a gay book BUT it could easily be read and enjoyed by any reader, the story carries itself on its merit not on its gay subject matter and reference
Gay aside the story was interesting, moved quickly and I was surprised that it seemed the story had been all sown up when it took a different turn and finished on a ‘twist’ ( soz but a twist is a twist whether or not some readers get vexed when the word is used!! )
The police procedural part was interesting and not laborious as can easily be
I approached this book with caution and came away feeling I had discovered a great new series and I am keen to start book 2 and see where it goes, how the characters develop and how the gay theme is brought into the story ( if indeed it is) so thats what Im going to go and find out
9/10

I requested this book because the premise of a gay detective in a police procedural sounded very intriguing. I still hesitated, though, because I was not sure how these two things fit together.
It turned out to be great! As for the gay part, it isn't a stereotypical characterization just for the sake of it, Dave is a very believable character. He's not at all different from anybody, and yet people who know about his orientation tend to treat him differently. He's somebody who has mostly learnt already how to deal with them, though. This novel shows perfectly these little games between him and people he works with or meets during the investigation. It also demonstrates very well that those who don't know anything about them are more prejudiced with Claire, because she's a woman. The dynamic of the leads is very exiting and realistic. It's an interesting journey, seeing the way they slowly come to accept each other as colleagues.
As for the crime story part, it's well worked-out and stands its ground among the better ones in the genre. I didn't figure out everything, that's a good sign! The story's not left behind because of the emphasis on the main character's sexual orientation and his encounters because of it, there's a well-established balance in the whole novel. Looking back after the ending, I feel like every crime, assault, murder that occurred happened driven by the well-elaborated characters of the people involved - and I like that very much.
This novel includes all the usual clichés that bother you a bit, but make the genre what it is, yet this gay and female detective partnership gives it an interesting angle that is (at least for me) new for this kind of books. It seems like on original pairing in the genre, and it was so refreshing to finally read one police procedural when there's no will they-won't they, it's just interesting characters interacting.
I definitely want to read the sequel.

3.5 stars. If I would have known that this was not a romance book, I would not have requested it & would have missed out on a pretty good mystery. The book was listed under the LGBTQIA listing on NetGalley & yes one of the main characters is gay, but there is no romance. This is a crime book in which we meet the main characters Dave & Claire who are both moving into new positions where they need to prove themselves; one being female & one being gay. We have the investigation of the death of Jonathan. I did figure out who the killer was from the moment they step onto page but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book. Even though it was not a romance I will probably continue on with the series.