I was very eager and excited to start reading this book, after I had read the blurb.

The story flows beautifully and is full of intense moments that make you so eager to continue on. The characters are well written and engaging.

I really could not recommend this book more to anyone,.

This is an interestng take on the police procedural. D I Ridpath returns from illness to be seconded to the post of coroners officer - slightly unlikely for a D.I. but never mind. A serial killer he helped to put away some years past is proclaiming his innocence and a new series of deaths of young women starts. The events of the plot are well constructed, plausible and keep you following the action. When Ridpath solves the case his old colleagues in the C.I.D. are not best pleased and my guess is he'll be doomed to stay in the coroners office (and entertain us) for some time.

Tom Ridpath is just returning to work after a major illness and an old case comes to the fore, as people are dying but the perpetrator was caught and is in prison. This proves difficult for Tom as he’s seconded to the coroners office for three months and he has to try and get to the truth. In the meantime more bodies are accumulating and no-one is any the wiser. There is no forensic evidence. Then the worst happens, one of the detectives gets kidnapped, and the chase is on to find them before it’s too late.
Wow! What a cracking read. As a Manc, I was delighted to read this book as all the places were familiar to me.

It was an absolutely brilliant read 5**** my thanks to Canelo Publishers, Netgalley and the author for the ARC. I would add that Canelo are one of the few publishers who offer syncing between iPhone and iPad. Makes such a difference to the ARC, otherwise I’m flitting backwards and forwards to find my place.

Really enjoyed this, lots of twists and turns and touches onto the personal lives as well as the crimes involved. Really captures you into the heart of the story

I thought this was a well written and researched book with some good twists and felt the character of Ridpath was well used to highlight the work of a coroner as well as police procedure. However, I am really fed up with authors who feel they have to include detailed torture of women in their novels - this particular story would have been just as good without its inclusion and hopefully any sequels will manage to avoid it.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. I read it every chance I had. It’s quite a long book, but a brilliant book at that. The storyline was absolutely perfect, the characters where brilliant. The only thing I could fault this book is some sentences and wording. Too many in some and not enough in others. That would need looked at. It’s definitely worth 5stars and more. I will recommend this book to anyone.

Amazing book! Couldn't put it down.
Was hooked all the way through. Really enjoyed this book!

Would really recommend this to others
Great work

Wow, where to truth lies. Is absolutely brilliant. It’s extre well written and just flows so gracefully, even though it a book about murder. Corruption. Etc. I was extremely impressed with the how everything seemed stacked agains the main character yet somehow with everything against him he finds away. It’s definitely my kind of book and am going to be looking for more from MJ Lee. I must admit it’s his first book I have read, definitely feel I have been missing out, no more that’s for certain. Definitely gone on to my favourites list. A MUST READ BRILLIANT BOOK

What a great start to a new crime series, crimes from 2008 couldn't be linked to the present, could they? When the serial killer was arrested ten years ago with damming DNA evidence and a victim barely alive still a captive it seemed a cut and dried case. DI Thomas Ridpath is seconded to the Coroners Office, as he recovers from cancer treatment. It turns out not to be a soft option as young girls start going missing and turning up murdered in very brutal killings. Although quite graphic in the descriptions of the murder and torture it is not gratuitous violence and I found it to be an acceptable part of the story. I look forward to the next book in the series.

Where the truth lies is a fantastic novel by MJ Lee. Set in Manchester it follows the life of DI Ridpath, a once promising young policeman who caught a serial killer on his first day on the job. 10 years later he has had cancer and returning to work after 9 months off gets shipped out to work for the coroner's office - a job he reluctantly takes. However, it is not long before he gets involved in a case that takes him back to that first day and calls into question whether the man they caught actually did kill the women. What follows is a fantastic ride through the workings of the police and the coroner's office and how they don’t always seem to be on the same side. There’s the exhumation to begin with, which turns up an empty grave with a missing body. Then there’s the recent killings and a fast-tracked detective realising the link but her senior officers wanting to shut it down. Whilst this is happening bodies with a similar MO continue to appear, and the killer starts upping the ante. This is a great read and at times I really just wanted to keep reading. Well worth it, fast-paced and a solid first. #WhereTheTruthLies #NetGalley

This is a good police pr education, though I did find some of the gruesome descriptions to be a bit superfluous, hence four stars not five. However, I would look out for more books in this series.

An engaging premise for this new police procedural: a DI who has returned to work after being diagnosed with cancer, which is now in remission, and is sent on secondment to the coroner's office. However, the likeable, DI Tom Ridpath finds his new case brings him back to a previous serial killer conviction which is now in doubt. At times this police thriller is fast-paced and thoroughly engaging; there's some really interesting characters emerging and the working relationship with Ridpath and his Coroner boss is one that could really develop. It's well plotted and uses forensic and investigative procedures to drive the plot forward to a tense but satisfactory conclusion. I'd look forward to reading a sequel.
Thank you to NetGalley for the arc - this is probably a solid 3.5 star read.

Whilst basically a detective thriller, Lee makes this more interesting by forcing Ridpath, the lead character, into a different role. This ensures the reader can follow the plot and acquire the necessary clues, but from a different viewpoint.
The accounts of the torture of the victims are quite harrowing and not for the faint-hearted and the relief we feel towards the end is only to be short-lived, but tends to make this more realistic.
Of course, alongside the struggles at work, the main character suffers problems with his home life and personal relationship. But, once again, Lee manages to put a slightly different angle on this.
Whilst a conflict of opinions between Ridpath and his superiors allows for more tension and frustration I sometimes felt this was a little overplayed and it began to annoy me . However, this was not enough to detract from my overall enjoyment of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Canelo for an advance copy of There The Truth Lies, the first novel to feature DI Tom Ridpath of Greater Manchester.

When Ridpath returns to work after a nine month battle with cancer he is seconded to the Coroner’s Office rather than returning to MIT as he’d hoped. The Coroner’s Office is not the oasis of calm and regular hours he had anticipated because the High Court has reopened Ridpath’s first case, the one that made his name, and it’s not looking good. At the same time his old team are hunting another serial killer whose methodology is similar to the original case in some eyes but not all.

I thoroughly enjoyed Where The Truth Lies which is an absorbing read with plenty of twists and turns, some shocking and all unexpected. There is nothing better than an unpredictable read where, reeling from one twist, you are hit with another and this one really hits that mark. Having read the Inspector Danilov series I already knew that Mr Lee knows how to tell a good tale but with this one set in the present day I feel that it has a stronger impact. The novel is mostly told from Ridpath and his “side”’s point of view but there are forays into the perpetrators’ (both past and present) points of view. Interestingly I didn’t find this switching about as distracting as I often do as it raises more questions than it provides answers or advance information. The basis premise of the novel doesn’t really offer anything fresh to the genre but its execution and plot detail make it a good, compelling read. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to see what was coming next.

I liked the description of the internal police politics where strength and success are all that matters. It makes them appear very hard nosed and unlikeable, not the touchy feeling approach they like to tell us they have. I guess the truth lies somewhere in between. I found myself uncomfortable with some of their attitudes (like bullying and misogyny) which would be unacceptable in most workplaces but they have the ring of authenticity in such a results driven environment.

I’m sitting on the fence about Ridpath (he doesn’t like Tom or any variation of it). He’s recovering from cancer and knows that his wife isn’t happy about his work/life balance but still pursues his investigation relentlessly. It seems selfish and probably physically impossible (returning to work after a long layoff is exhausting) but there would be no novel if he behaved too realistically. On the other hand he’s smart, dedicated and no pushover. I think he’ll grow on me as the series progresses.

Where The Truth Lies is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

What an amazing story - couldn’t put it down and wouldn’t let anyone speak to me for the last half hour. Can’t praise it enough

This is the first in a series of DI Ridpath books. It is fast moving and gripping if not a little grisly at times. Certainly not for the squeamish and faint hearted.
DI Ridpath, a bright young detective, returns to work after being given the all clear from cancer. He is not happy when he is sidelined to prove himself and sent to work in the coroners office.
However he is soon caught up in his last case, one which he thought was solved with the perpetrator safely imprisoned. Only now he isn’t so sure. Determined to find the truth, he crosses swords with his old police boss who warns him off.
Events spiral out of control, there are further gruesome murders, bodies and paperwork go missing but Ridpath will not give up until he gets his man.
For those who like a clear ending, they won’t be disappointed but there is plenty of scope for the next book to pick up.

Loved this - a slow burn at first as characters had to be established but the plot was great, characters believable, the reveal well crafted (I had arrived at the culprit a tad earlier) and I hope that more of the series will follow - it's certainly well placed for at least one further instalment.

Really unusual for me to read a book from the coroners side, but I really enjoyed it and look forward to how this series goes. I could not stop reading it and that to me is a sign of a good book.

This is a gripping and well planned story. The secondment if the detective Ridpath to the coroner's office gives an unusual slant to what is a clever mix of a cold case and contemporary murders. It is hard to put down! Then there is the unexpected ending after most readers will have decided who is the perpetrator. I recommend this unreservedly.

Exciting thriller around a serial killer investigation with Manchester as the setting. Unusually the main character is a Detective Inspector seconded to the coroner on a short term basis after recovering from cancer. A seemingly solved 10 year old case is the start and the central storyline throughout but with more brutal killings happening doubt arises and this is all cleverly explored. The lead characters home life is sewn cleverly into the narrative all building to a good believable climax. The chilling final chapter hints at more thrills to come!