”You never stop fighting for the victims. You taught me that.”


Lauren Riley is a cold case detective in Buffalo police department. In the beginning of the book she is stabbed and left for dead. When she wakes up in the hospital, only thing she is sure of is that her attacker was a cop. This is part two of Cold Case Investigation series. I have not read the first book, but it was easy enough to get in to the story. The ending suggests there will be more to come.

I liked the relationship between Riley and her partner Reese. There was nothing sexual, they were very comfortable together and their mutual banter was delightful. And I loved Watson the dog.

The story was good but sometimes it seemed they reached the right conclusions rather easily. The writing style was easy to get in to. The author is retired cold case detective and it shows. She clearly knows her facts. I can warmly recommend this book to anyone who likes crime and mystery stories.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Midnight Ink for the copy of this book.

I didn’t know what to expect from THE MURDER BOOK. The title alone is what really caught my attention. With it being so close to Halloween I just KNEW this book would satisfy my need for horror.

On the contrary, THE MURDER BOOK is more of a mystery than a thriller. Which isn’t a bad thing. I love mysteries just as much. It’s the first book of a soon-to-come series by a former cold case homicide detective so many of the events are probably roughly based on real cases of some kind.

One of the main parts of the book that caught my attention was the very beginning. It was so fast paced which allowed me to clearly see the early scenes playing out as if it were a movie. A vivid description of an attempted murder that forced me to keep my eyes glued to the words with no ability to turn away was JUST what I needed for this rainy October.

Unfortunately after the inception of the story, the plot lost momentum. The “meat” of the book fell a little flat for me. The mystery played out expectedly and the climax was underwhelming. The saving grace for me was how the author wrote the Reese character. I really enjoyed his quirky remarks and ability to handle business with some sense of humor along the way. I would love to see how this character grows during the series.

In conclusion, I do think the book needs a LITTLE work. I want the middle of the book to be just as good as the beginning and ending. The middle is pretty much what holds the story together and when that part of the novel is struggling then it can cause the whole work of art to struggle as well.

Lissa Marie Redmond has all the right credentials to write about murder in Buffalo N.Y. She is retired from Buffalo PD where she worked Cold Cases. Her main character in The Murder Book, Lauren Riley, is a stubborn woman who doesn't like to be told what she can't do. She is a good cop who clears cases. One night while finishing up paperwork in the deserted homicide office she is attacked from behind, stabbed in the back and viciously stomped on the head.

It was easy to visualize the characters due to the descriptive writing throughout the book. The plot was interesting and it was easy to understand the frustration felt by Lauren and her partner Shane Reese. They knew she was assaulted by another cop because the door to the homicide office automatically locks when it closes and Shane was the last to leave before the assault happened.

This is a top-notch murder mystery. My rating is a well earned five stars. Thank you Midnight Ink Books and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy. The opinions expressed are completely my own.
#TheMurderBook #NetGalley

I struggled to get started on this book but once I did, I zoomed through quickly enjoying the story, the plot themes, and the characters. Lauren was an interesting character that it was easy to warm up to. The ending felt slightly rushed and confusing but still enjoyable.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book .

This is a story about a cold case. Starts off with the lead detective being stabbed in her office, a promising start. It was soon obvious that this book had a predecessor because there were many flash backs to what had happened before. I finished this book but it was not really enjoyable for me there were too many questions and no real answers and no real sense of mystery. I thought the book was disjointed, unrealistic and disappointing with no real outcome, maybe to wet the appetite for the next chapter ?.

A mediocre entry in the long list of entries of the mystery thriller genre. The main character is likable but the dots are too conveniently connected.This is one of those stories that doesn't leave much guess work to the reader.

Copy provided by the Publisher and NetGalley

The Murder Book wastes no time getting going, with Buffalo cold case detective Lauren Riley getting stabbed and brutally beaten while alone in the station. Only the timely arrival of her colleague, Reese, keeps her from dying. While Lauren recovers, she and Reese spend the rest of the book secretly investigating the assault as well as the old homicide case that precipitated it. These two characters are well-developed and have an excellent rapport that is fun to observe through their good-natured insults, etc. There's a little too much explanation of things that could probably be more subtly and effectively conveyed indirectly by action or by dialogue. The author writes from experience, and the cultural references about cop types and the workplace dynamics of a police station all have the ring of authenticity.

This book got off to a slow start but by the end I wanted more! Likeable characters and a pacey story, would recommend this to thriller fans and I *really* want to see what happens next!

After reading about THE MURDER BOOK, I was thrilled, and very grateful to receive a copy from NetGalley. Lisa Redmond did not disappoint. The basic premise revolves around the mysterious attack on cold case detective, Lauren Riley, while she was working at her desk, late one Friday night. She was hit over the head, stabbed and was lucky to be alive. When she wakes up in the hospital three days after the attack her memory of the event is hazy, except for two things: she is certain the attacker was a cop - wearing standard issue police boots and was seen carrying her green bound Murder Book, the complete file of her working cold cases.

I love the fact that she is a realistic character, she's not in her twenties, for one thing. Thanks to Lissa Marie Redmond's formidable experience as a cold case detective, she had the good sense in developing a more mature character, with grown kids of her own. Lauren's kids and family were scared to death after Lauren's attack and brush with death. Their presence in the story gives a sense of the realness of a detective's life to the novel. Lauren's relationship with her partner Reese, is a great, well crafted relationship.

If you like police procedurals, as I do, especially mixed with suspense, you'll love THE MURDER BOOK!

Thank you, NetGalley and Midnight Ink Publishing

I liked this character a lot. It's nice to see an older female protagonist who seems grounded in reality. This story did not move as fast as I would have liked.....it did drag a bit in places but the characters were all well developed and the plot held my interest. I was introduced to a new author for me and am looking forward to reading more from her and hopefully more with this character!

Lauren, a cold-case detective, is working late when she is stabbed and left for dead. She's saved by her partner who returns for a forgotten item. They both begin to search for her attacker, believing that s/he is a member of the police force. They enlist the aid of a retired detective in catching the killer. The story is a suspenseful one that will keep your interest.

This was a great book! Strong, well developed characters and a solid plot. j

This book grabbed me from the first page and I could not put it down.

Thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle ARC of The Murder Book.

I didn't not realize this was the second book in the series but I didn't have any problems following the storyline or previous plot threads.

Lauren Riley is a cold case detective and PI who is almost killed after she is stabbed in her office late one night. The only item missing: her cold case murder book.

Lauren is certain of one thing before she blacked out: her assailant is a cop.

At the same time, a former ex-client makes his presence known and Lauren's ex-fiancee is pulled into the drama when he winds up dead. No worries; he was a scumbag.

As Lauren and her intrepid partner, Reese, dig deep into the investigation, they uncover a conspiracy that dates back to an unsolved cold case from two decades ago.

I really enjoy police procedurals; the detectives tracking down witnesses and interviewing potential suspects and though there are some of that in here, it wasn't enough. The blanks are filled in by a snitch and it is up to Riley and Reese to figure out how to catch the bad guys.

I didn't like Riley or dislike her though there is plenty of exposition about her past and present to paint a flawed but realistic portrayal of a hard-working single mother who has AWFUL taste in guys.

I think my beef was that sometimes Riley sounded and acted like a teenager, even though she is the parent of two decent, well-adjusted young ladies.

She mentions pretty often about the poor choices she's made in men and moons over an ex-husband (I get it, they have sexual chemistry) but it became redundant and really annoying.

She's not only attracted to losers, but has an unhealthy obsession with a former client. The both of them have some kind of a Bonnie and Clyde thing going on that they're trying to deny, which I can only imagine the author is foreshadowing this person's potential as an arch villain.

Naturally, she's a gorgeous, tall, blonde, a fact Reese points out midway through the book, as if that excuses the behavior of the men Lauren is attracted to or vice versa.

Reese isn't too shabby, either; a green-eyed biracial man who charms men and women alike. I neither liked nor disliked him. I did like his competence, his loyalty and his devotion to Riley.

The why and who behind Riley's attack is meh. Nothing original I haven't heard before.

The writing is decent and so are the characters; its not my favorite but not a bad read. This series would not be high on my list to continue reading, though.

I enjoy suspenseful police procedurals, and this certainly fit that category. The Dynamics between Lauren and partner Reese,and later on Charlie, too were realistic and satisfying. The plot was solid as well; that the author was retired from the police force was evident. Besides Lauren, though, the characters seemed flat, and sometimes telling rather than showing interfered with the novel's flow.

I liked the story and I understand that it's a preview copy but there is one big error just after Thanksgiving when it's stated in the book that Lauren mentions the upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas. Apart from that I thought it was a well written story and the ending wasn't what I was expecting. I would definitely download the other books by the author.

Once I was about 5 pages into this, from NteGalley, I realized there was a book that came before. I paused this, bought the first book, read it in one night, then followed with this excellent story. I love a great police novel, enjoy a well done court room thriller. Imagine finding both in one well written novel! I really loved this, just cannot wait for the next one! These characters are like friends I'll miss while I wait.

Cold case detective Lauren Riley wakes up in the hospital certain of two things: she was stabbed and left for dead . . . and the person who did it was a cop.

After being brutally stabbed at her desk late one night, Lauren Riley works her way backwards through the haze to piece together who attacked her and why. A mysterious phone message forces her to enlist the help of a retired lieutenant to track down a witness who is desperate not to be found. As she digs into the Buffalo Police Department's hidden past she uncovers a terrible secret, one a fellow officer would kill to protect.

Packed with suspense and featuring a detective who relentlessly—and with morbid humor—gets the job done, The Murder Book continues a series praised by Kirkus Reviews as "an excellent police procedural combined with a psychological thriller.”

This is the second book in the series, which is usually an issue for me. However, I found this to be easy to step right into without too much confusion. I don’t feel lost by having read the second book.

The book felt a little awkward with some awkward transitions between scenes. There could have been a way to fix some of those, adding a little bit more room for the characters to flow and be more authentic.

The series reminds me of Missing, Presumed and others similar. Cop books are usually okay for me, however, this one was pretty interesting. There is an act of disturbance right at the beginning, which makes the plot structure more attainable.

The book definitely needs a final edit, as indicated in the message I received when I received the book to review. Once the book is totally edited, I think the book has a good chance of being successful.

If police procedurals are your thing, this is definitely a read for you. A strong concept of a thriller for sure.

I received a free e-copy of The Murder Book by Lissa Marie Redmond from NetGalley for my honest review.

This is the first book I have read from Lissa Marie Redmond. I also didn't realize that this is the second book in a series. I had no problem reading and understanding what what happening. I never felt lost from not reading the first book, but I would like to go back and read it.

The book starts right into action when Detective Lauren, is attacked at her desk while working on a cold case. She finally looses consciousness but remembers seeing a figure in police boots walking away from her and carrying her olive green murder book.

When Detective Lauren finally wakes, all she wants to do is find out who did this to her, knowing it is a police officer who did it. The only person she trusts is Shane Reese, her partner. She reaches out to a retired detective named Charlie Daley and together they all work on trying to track down who is responsible. Why would one of her own work family attack her? What are they wanting with her murder book?

A wonderful book of mystery and suspense with very enjoyable characters.
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Detective Lauren Riley is back and better than ever. Working late at the prescient, Lauren is stabbed. She only knows one thing for certain, it was a fellow officer.
Just like the first book, this one ended with me wanting more! This is an addictive series.

THE MURDER BOOK by Lissa Marie Redmond is a great suspense novel. I had never read any of Redmond's novels before but I will be on the hunt to read more from this great author.