I've read and enjoyed the previous books in the Kelly Porter series, so was looking forward to this new one. It certainly didn't disappoint. Kelly and her team are investigating the disappearance of 2 female students from a campsite. Could this have links with the disappearance of another girl a year ago, a case that was never solved? Kelly is also dealing with some family issues. This is a real page turner, which I thoroughly recommend. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
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Another pacey, high energy police mystery by Rachel Lynch. Set in the English Lake District there is lots of chasing round narrow country lanes, hiking over fells and the obligatory underwater search. Randy goings-on by just about everyone including incest. Keeps you guessing right to the end.

A murder, a pair of missing girls, a cold case of a missing girl and a complex family all set around the Lake District make this another good read about DI Kelly Porter and her team. Although stand alone I think readers would benefit from having read the previous books especially in respect of DI Porter's family relationships. That with her mother and sister continues stormy to say the least but that with her boyfriend steers into comforting stability - something she (and he) needs. The police aspects of the book remain stand alone. First comes the murder of an elderly aristocrat and what turns out to be an increasingly complex set of relationships there too. A protective housekeeper, her unpleasant son, the strange gardener and a rather vague unworldly illegitimate grandson. Keeps one guessing. Then add to that mix two young women missing from a campsite and the finding of a body, skeleton, of a girl who went missing some decades ago. As these plots unravel DI Porter concludes that there is a link between all of them. The abduction and maltreatment of the two campsite girls is harrowing but fits with the story. Of course everything ends reasonably well and the reader can feel satisfied with the result. There are sufficient relationship issues remaining for another book or two I'm sure! DI Porter is developing nicely I feel - a complex character who still feels somewhat of a misfit in the Lakes in-spite of being brought up there. She is a strong character but pleasant with it. The author writes well keeping plots strong and clear, She gives good descriptions of a lovely part of the world and centres the action on a slightly less well-known area of the Lakes too. There are very very few spelling/grammatical "oopsies". I look forward to the next one in the series. Thanks to NetGalley for providing a free copy for a personal, subjective review.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. I really enjoyed this book. The storyline and characters where brilliant. It took a bit of reading to get into the story but it was worth it. Definately worth 5 stars, as I couldn’t put it down.

This s a superb story with all kind of intertwined events. Try guessing the culprit! It is very well written and I defy any reader to want to stop before the end. The lead detective is particularly well described and fits in perfectly. It would make a very good television series.

This started out so well, the characters of Kelly Porter, the police officer and her difficult family and partner, Johnny, were well portrayed. It kept me interested until about half way when i started to skip the odd page of too detailed descriptions but kept going as I was sure something fascinating would emerge. All the personalities were there, Zac, Linda, everyone who'd been part of the Earl's life and we were eager to see what had happened to the missing hikers, Sophie and Hannah. I did feel a bit let down in the end, it was far too long in places and I didn't feel that the finding of the girls and their persecutor, Dominic, was as wonderful and exciting as it should have been. The girls narrative was well done but I feel that this book could have been shortened and included more action, particularly in relation to the finding of the missing girls, to keep you interested to the end.

This is fast becoming one of my favourite series of crime fiction books and I settled in to devour this book with a high level of expectation. It did not disappoint.
The Lake District is still the glorious backdrop for the events of the book, and whilst it felt slightly more slower paced than the previous books in the series, it felt a lot more rounded. The crime(s) and police procedural are still centre stage, but this time I felt as though I really got to know Kelly Porter and her family and I'm interested to see how revelations in this book develop in subsequent instalments.

My thanks go to Net Galley and the publishers for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Say "scottish" and "crime" and I am captive. Add an exciting female detective and the enthusiasm builds.
The plot begins with pace and an eye for procedural detail which adds appeals for the intelligent reader. The central character feels real and there are a few intruiging strands wafting around, so the pages turn quickly.
Interest is maintained until about three quarters into the book when things start to become quite obvious. The story feels familiar; the relationships become cliched. The ending seems inevitable and rushed as events are tied up..sufficiently to complete the plot but not enough to close the lives of the main characters who will, it seems, live on in a series.

Lynch writes well but the plotline feels contrived and ultimately disappoints. I look forward to her next release as she finds her own voice.

I've not read the other books in this series but this did not matter. This story has a great, original plot and is full of interesting and well developed characters. I will definitely look out for other books in this series

Dead End is the third book in the DI Kelly Porter series, having not read the first two this in no way spoiled my enjoyment of this book and I now look forward to reading the previous two after enjoying this so much.
Two young female hikers are missing but it soon becomes clear that this is not just two girls becoming lost in the Lake District hills but becomes more worrying when links are discovered to unsolved previous missing persons and a decaying body is found.
The Earl of Lowesdale is found hanged probable suicide but post mortem shows otherwise. Gradually these cases interlink and DI Porter and her team have their work cut out for them.
With a great host of well thought out characters and well constructed plot this becomes an enthralling and entertaining read.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for opportunity to review this book honestly.

The Coroner performing an autopsy on a suspected suicide victim, the Earl of Lowesdale, suspects fowl play, leading to DI Kelly Porter becoming embroiled in the investigation at the same time as heading the search for two missing girls who appear to have been abducted whilst on a hiking expedition from their Lakeland camp site. Time is not on her side and the search for the girls becomes more urgent the longer they are missing.

Visiting the Earl’s home - Wasdale Hall - she encounters more mysteries and her gut feeling is that the truth is being hidden by the housekeeper and the gardener who are extremely evasive.

At the same time she is endeavouring to get to grips with family problems - in the main due to a love/hate relationship with her sister, not helped by her mother constantly trying to persuade her to make peace. Kelly takes her mother for a quiet birthday dinner during which, possibly aided by a few glasses of wine, her mother lets slip that she knew the Earl, some of his friends, and Wasdale Hall well, causing Kelly to do some deep thinking.

This is a fast paced book which is extremely hard to put down - read and enjoy.

I read this in a weekend, I couldn't put it down.
I love how Rachel Lynch's lead character is a strong woman in a traditionally male world. But she is respected and has a great team around her, so the story focuses on her job. There are two storylines running, which turn out to be connected. Various characters are put forward as plausible suspects and the truth eluded me until the end.
I also love Kelly's relationship with Johnny, the way they are well matched in ability and fitness, with both being strong, but supportive of each other.
The description of the kidnapper, from the viewpoint of Sophie and Hannah, was excellent and gave me chills as I read it. I could imagine the smell of him.
Great read.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to Netgalley and thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters are believable, likeable, for the most part, and very well written. This was my first book by this author and even though it is part of a series that didn't cause any problems. There are mentions of a previous case but no spoilers which would discourage me from reading them out of order.
The Lake District is a major player in this story and is well observed and described and there was never a time when anything unnecessary took you away from the storyline. The private life of Kelly Porter was as enthralling as the crimes and investigations and I found her a sympathetic and professional main character.  There are threads which could continue into another book and I will definitely be on the lookout for it.

This might actually be my favourite book of the DI Kelly Porter series. I should probably say ‘so far’ as I trust there will be further books to come. I found myself picturing Wasdale Hall in muted colour like an old movie, maybe influenced by the cover image which is very atmospheric. As with previous books in the series there is a good mix of the investigation and personal life of Kelly. I say this every time I read one of these books but I really must visit the Lake District.
Highly recommended but best read as part of the series.

This is the first book I have read by Rachel Lynch and about the protagonist DI Kelly Porter, this did not hinder the story too much although some mention was made about a family member who had been kidnapped by a serial killer in a previous book.

The book was not just a crime thriller but also dealt with how Kelly Porter feels she doesn't 'fit' either in the area or in parts of her personal life.

The story was an interesting read, police procedure was easily explained without being too over long or complex, the book flowed well and kept me interested, I did guess who the 'baddie' was, but this didn't spoil the enjoyment of the book at all.

I didn't like all the characters, but liked Kelly very much, straight talking, and came across as likeable.and engaging.

Highly recommended, and would read more by this author.

Thank you to Canelo and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

wow...what a tangled web we weave....some much deceit and lies involved with this book...it was great to read...but some of it you could see happening and not that very long ago in the past....

mysteries abound in this book....we have missing teenagers and dead bodies galore ...are they all linked or are they the work of different people

and what other mysteries can the police uncover....brilliant read...kept me glued till the end of the book

The seventh earl of Lowesdale was found hanging in his study by his teenage grandson, Zachary. Initially everyone assumed that the nonagenarian, hard-partying aristocrat had finally realised that the glories of his youth were long past and had decided to take the quick way out. When forensics discovered signs of foul play DI Kelly Porter was called in. It's not the only problem she has though: two young hikers have gone missing on the fells near Ullswater and she is in charge of the search. When they're not found within a couple of days her team uncover links to two other unsolved disappearances - and the girls all look startlingly similar.

I don't normally like joining a series when there are already a few books under its belt, but in this case the fact that I had nothing to read, it was raining like it was going out of fashion and we were only onto book three of a police procedural series set in the lake district convinced me that I needn't be quite so choosy and I'm glad that I wasn't. I warmed to Kelly Porter straight away: she was born in the lake district, spent some time in London and then came 'home'. Only it doesn't feel like home. She doesn't feel that she belongs and some of her family and an old school friend are prepared to confirm her suspicions. There's a thought-provoking theme of 'family' running through the story, which ties it altogether very neatly.

Porter's fortunate in her boyfriend: he's a bit of an outsider too, despite being in mountain rescue and his skills are to the fore in the search for the missing girls. This part of the story really brought the area alive for me: it's a very realistic mix of the tourist locations and the parts the locals know about. So - engaging characters and well-evoked location, but you want to know about the plot, don't you? It's good, if not great. I decided on who the perpetrator was pretty early on in the book and I was right, but there were enough red herrings to make me doubt my judgement. Even when I was proved right it didn't spoil my enjoyment: it was a good story, well told. It's certainly a series I'll be happy to follow.

This was the first Rachel Lynch book I had read and I was not disappointed! Immediately I was hooked. The characters were all interesting and it kept you guessing with a few clues and red herrings along the way. It was a great read and I thoroughly recommend it. Thanks to Netgalley for my copy! i will be looking out for more from Rachel now.

Another excellent procedural set in the Lake District and following neatly on from previous instalments. Great characters although an unlikely twist in the backstory which seemed a tad too convenient for it to be totally satisfactory or believable, given the prior characterisation.

I really enjoyed this Brilliant read! The atmosphere was beautifully created within the Lake District as the backdrop for DI Kelly Porter's crime-solving adventures, and they were many - really well interwoven from seemingly disparate parts to the conclusion of a whole story; very satisfying for this reader. The writing, giving some pace throughout, was in my view, excellent. There was just enough commentary to explain background and intent through both the police-procedurals and her personal life, without detraction from the crimes and their solution (or perhaps not?). I was totally immersed the whole way through, couldn't put it down. Looking forward to acquainting myself with more work by this author. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this opportunity.