I received a complimentary copy of "Her Last Breath" by Charlie Gallagher for a honest review. Thank you NetGallery, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this arc. All opinions expressed are solely my own.
Wow! Intense book for sure!
Main character is Henry Roberts, a seriel killer. He has been caught and is serving a life sentence in prison. He is very ill and decides after 3 years into his sentence, he wants to cut a deal with the police.
I found the book to start out pretty slow....but, then it did pick up which was good because I was about to stop reading it. The shock factor hit me the further I got into the book. The author made you think and speculate about the twisted horrors occurring to the victims.
If you like horrifying, gruesome, suspense and lots of twists and turns.......this book is for you!

This book is part of the Detective George Elms series but I didn’t actually realise this was a series until after finishing the book. It is completely capable of being read as a standalone.

Henry Roberts is a convicted serial killer serving out his time in prison. Out of the blue, he asks to speak to Detective George Elms where a deal is struck that he will reveal the resting place of his final two victims that were never found in exchange for him being able to see out his final days in a secure unit by the sea.
Detective George Elms travels to the area where the killings originally happened, and as he speaks to the victims families and the original investigating officers he begins to suspect that Henry was not working alone.
A further woman matching the profile of Henry’s other victims goes missing but it can’t possibly have been Henry… unless he had outside help.

The serial killer Henry Roberts is a truly dark and sadistic character created by the author. In the descriptions of the crime scenes given by the author, I found myself reading with my mouth open in shock at times. Henry shows absolutely zero remorse for his crimes and as a reader I found myself really hoping that he would get his just deserts.

I really got behind the character of Detective George Elms and found myself rooting for him and hoping that he would get a good outcome from investigating the case. Despite George initially not wanting to be involved with the investigation, he seems to have no problem putting his neck on the line to ensure justice is served for the victims and their families.

This is a twisting, gripping, page turner of a read. The book was well written with a fast paced plot and I look forward to reading more by this author.

Very good story and plot. A dilemma for the police to make the right decision, can they or can't they? Many murders happened and lives destroyed.

Another top notch read from Charlie Gallagher in the George Elms series. A bit more emotion in this as well as thrills, suspense and plenty of twists. A real page turner from the author. What next for George? We will wait and see! I highly recommend this series of books. Thanks to Net Galley for my copy. i loved it. Reviewed on Goodreads, Amazon and Facebook.

Having never read a book by author Charlie Gallagher I was concerned I wouldnt be able to get into Her Last Breath. I neednt of worried.I was immediately drawn in by the main characters in the story Detective George Elms who was a fabulous and lovable character and Henry Roberts who is evil and very scary. Polars apart!
Loved the storyline and a well written book which keeps you on your toes.

Detective George Elms is back, with one of his hardest cases ever. He's facing a serial killer, the likes that no one has ever seen before. Henry Roberts is known as The Bull. He has killed relentlessly, causing as much pain as possible to his victims ...and their families.

Roberts is dying of cancer and wants to make a deal. Elms is definitely not on board, but the higher ups don't want to hear anything about it. They've accepted his offer of giving the police the location of his last 2 victims in return for his transfer to a state of the art medical center that looks out over the sea.

Elms is selected to not only interview this monster, but to also get in touch with the detectives who originally arrested Roberts.

Much to his surprise, he learns that Roberts may not have been working alone. And now there are two more missing women.

This is an exceptionally well written thriller with unforgettable characters. Surprises at every turn and an amazing ending. Action-packed and Fast Paced. Although this is the latest in a series, I always recommend starting at the very beginning.

Many thanks to the author / Joffe Books / Books n All / Jill Burkinshaw for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

This is yet anither brilliant page turner by Charlie Gallagher and had me hooked from the start.

One of the things that makes this book so different is that it is set in different locations as George is sent to speak with a serial killer who has told him that if George visits he will tell hin where the bodies of the murdered victims if he can live the last days of his life next to the beach.

The story then takes a twist when another body is found and George is convinced he had an accomplice.

The book is a bit slow to start but this just builds up the tension as we get to learn more about Henry, the serial killer, but works really well becuase of this.

I really liked how the character of George developed and grew throughout the book and his reactions to the workings of Henry are quite reasonable.

The book kept me hooked all the way through and i read it in one sitting, as i couldn’t put it down, it alsi kept me guessimg all the way until the end as i had no idea what would happen.

About the Author

I have read a fair few of Charlie’s books now and I have loved each one that I have read. ‘Her Last Breath’ is no exception. I absolutely totally and utterly loved it but more about that in a bit.
Inspector George Elms is a dedicated police officer. The opening of this book sees him having to visit a notorious killer in prison, who is allegedly dying. This killer has money and he is wanting to see his last days out in a maximum security, purpose built unit paid for with his own money. Roberts says that he will fund this unit and tell the police where two of the bodies are in return for his release on compassionate grounds. Elms is not at all happy about this prospect and makes his feelings known. Unsurprisingly the bosses take no notice. I could totally see where Elms was coming from and I agreed with him. Elms is sent to the police force, who investigated the killer, to pass on the message about what is happening with Roberts. Elms decides to review the evidence whilst he is there and he is horrified to realise that Roberts had an accomplice. Whilst he is there two women go missing and there are distinct similarities between the old cases and the new cases. Elms faces a race against time to get Roberts to cough up what he knows, find the accomplice, solve the case before any further loss of life and he has to remain alive himself. Phew Elms certainly has a lot on his place. Will he succeed? Well for the answer to that question you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves to find out because I am not going to tell you.
‘Her Last Breath’ is extremely well written. The author grabbed my attention from the moment I read the synopsis, never mind started reading the book properly. I just knew that this was one book I had to read sooner rather than later. I soon became addicted to reading ‘Her Last Breath’ and I just couldn’t put the book down. My Kindle wasn’t glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it came everywhere with me. I was desperate to find out if Elms survived, if he managed to solve the case and if Roberts ever did make it out of prison. The more I read, the quicker the pages turned. In fact they were turning that quickly that they were almost turning themselves and before I knew what was happening I had finished reading ‘Her Last Breath’ which I had mixed feelings about. Don’t get me wrong I was pleased to finish because at least I knew how the story ended but I was enjoying the writing style, the story, the places and the characters so much that I didn’t want the book to end. The story in ‘Her Last Breath’ hits the ground running and maintains the pace throughout. The writing is so good that I almost felt as if I was a member of the investigating team and I found myself interacting with the book. I know it’s a work of fiction but if I enjoy a book as much as I did this one, then I tend to shout out loud or argue with the characters and so on and so forth. Reading ‘Her Last Breath’ is much like riding on a scary rollercoaster ride with twists and turns aplenty. There were times when I almost had to read through my fingers because I genuinely feared what was going to happen next.
It’s fair to say that I simply LOVED reading ‘Her Last Breath’. It’s easily as good as Charlie’s other books and it’s a must read for crime fans. I can’t wait to read what he comes up with next. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board just has to be 5* out of 5*.

I do hope this isn't the last book in this series.
Another well written and disturbing read with complex characters and a few unexpected twists along the way.

This book has everything that a good mystery should: the ability to grab the reader from the first page, a great storyline, and characters that the reader feels invested in. I thoroughly enjoyed this!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

Detective George Elms is tasked with meeting with serial killer, Henry Roberts. Roberts is dying from cancer and in exchange for him being moved to a secure unit by the sea to live out his remaining days, he will disclose the location of the two young women whose bodies were never found.

When another young woman goes missing, George starts to question whether Henry Roberts had a partner who is still out there killing. The police force that initially investigated and arrested Roberts are still emotionally damaged from what they saw and heard. When Roberts reveals the details of how the last two women were killed and their location, they are sickened all over again.

In the meanwhile, time is running out for the two women recently abducted.

I think the author did a good job with the intricacies of the plot and rather than bombarding the reader with gory details, he gave just enough information that our minds were able to imagine the horrors of the killings ourselves.

While I found the book a little slow to take off at times, I did enjoy the book and give it 3.5 stars.

Very descriptive writing. I can picture what Roberts looks like and all the area around Symonds Yat. I worked out the ending for myself n in that respect it was a bit of a let down.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy of Her Last Breath, the fifth novel to feature DI George Elms of the fictional south coast town of Langthorne.

George is sent to interview serial killer Henry Roberts, unaware of a pre-arranged agenda. Henry is seriously rich and dying so he is prepared to do a deal whereby he will reveal the location of the remains of two of his victims in return for being able to live out his few remaining weeks in a facility with a sea view he has had built to government specifications and will gift to the nation after his demise. George is disgusted but powerless, especially when he comes to believe that Henry had an accomplice and that there is a missing young woman in his old stomping ground around Hereford.

I thoroughly enjoyed Her Last Breath which is an exciting read with some amazing twists. It should be noted that there are some stomach turning forms of torture mentioned in the novel, so it is not for the faint hearted. I felt quite a visceral queasiness reading it and I'm usually able to take it all in with no effect. The plot is quite slow to start action wise as it's more about Henry Roberts and his mind games but it's effective and had me hooked from the start. I found the whole novel fascinating, not just the twists and turns which are legion but also the interaction between the characters. I found George's reactions to Henry refreshingly normal, outrage, disgust etc., and it's rare in fiction to see such honest emotions. I think this is the novel where Mr Gallagher really hits his stride. His plotting has always been excellent and extremely readable but it often revolves around high octane action. This still has the action scenes and plenty of pulse pounding moments but it's more emotional.

George Elms is, as always, a dedicated detective with a bull in a china shop mentality - he just goes for it, but this scenario requires a more nuanced approach. He doesn't quite manage it but, fortunately for him, his boss, DCI Whittaker is there to keep him in sort of check. His frustration at the deal with Roberts is both palpable and understandable and even more frighteningly the deal is presented in such a way that it appears like something that could actually happen, although nothing much appears beyond the bounds of credibility in the current political environment.

Her Last Breath is a great, entertaining read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

The best book of the series by far!
I’m hoping this isn’t the last outing for George... this is the first in the series where I haven’t been saying “Awww, poor George”!

Thanks to Joffe Books for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review

Her Last Breath is the first book I have read by Charlie Gallagher but it won't be the last.

The story moves along at a decent pace with a number of twists and turns including one at the end whilst the main character is flawed but engaging.

This book is part of a series but can be read as a standalone as there is sufficient backstory for you to understand what has previously happened

Overall thoroughly recommended

Having read Charlie Gallagher’s Langthorne series, I couldn’t wait to read his new book and thank you to netgalley for a copy in exchange for a review.

From the first page you are instantly drawn into this action packed suspense thriller!!

Serial killer Henry Roberts is a dark and evil character that gave me chills reading about him, he shows no remorse for his victims, saying that he set them free and that he is God’s disciple.

Inspector George Elms has the unenviable task of visiting Henry in prison. Henry is dying and wants to be moved to a prison with a sea view, which he has paid to be built and staffed himself and in return he will tell George where 2 of his victims are. Poor George doesn’t agree with this but has to go along with it as the powers that be have the final say.

George is a very strong, likeable character, passionate about his job and desperate to find out the truth. I have to admit to a crush on George and if he turned up at my door with a packet of Jammy Dodgers I wouldn’t need persuading to let him in!!!

A must read book with an excellent ending that doesn’t disappoint !

5 stars

George Elms has an unwelcome task to perform. He is to go to a prison to speak with Henry Roberts, a notoriously vicious serial killer. Roberts is dying and wants to move to a secure prison that he is building on the coast to see the sea before he passes away. He is very wealthy and will fund the cost of the building, guards and hospital staff himself. George is against this idea of course. But the hierarchies of the police want it to happen. They are getting harassed by Roberts’ attorneys and will get the building and a large donation for free if they go through with Roberts’ plan.

George travels to visit the families and others who were involved with Roberts. These are families and police officers torn apart by memories and heartache.

Then a woman disappears, and then another. George believes that Roberts knows who is doing the new killings. He wants him to help catch the person.

This is another exciting police drama written by a serving police officer. It is filled with emotion and drama. Charlie Gallagher is a unique talent and I am very glad he joined the group of people who write police procedurals and mysteries. Well written and plotted, this is a fine addition to the George Elm series of novels.

I want to thank NetGalley and Joffe Books for forwarding to me a copy of this great book for me to read, enjoy and review.

This book has the most gruesome murder weapon I have ever heard of. I've read a lot of murder mysteries too. It was so bad that I had to stop reading the book for a day when it was first described. Otherwise, it's a brilliant book that takes Detective Inspector George Elms forward in both his personal and police life - though I think his wife would wonder if they actually differed.

A really good novel. Be prepared to be shocked and horrified at what one person will do to others.