Another great D.S.Butler book, would highly recommend
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

This is the second book in the DS Karen Hart series, and boy, do they just get better or what.
Karen attends an innocent scene of an innocent old man who injured himself. Then just before he leaves the house in an ambulance, he insists that they don't go to the second floor....
Obviously, like in the movies where you tell the woman not to go after the weird sound she hears, she just HAS to go upstairs and see what's been hidden away....
This sets the tone for a really thrilling read, and I couldn't wait to see how it ended !!
Highly recommended!!!!!

I quite enjoyed this book...it was fast paced with a believable storyline and characters that were real and relatable. There is a dual storyline going on in this book; what begins as a routine checkup call leads to a discovery related to a 30 year old cold case and while the police are trying to get this cold case solved, a series of current murders which could be connected to the said cold case, make things more tricky and difficult for DS Karen Hart and her team.

This is book two in the DS Karen Hart series and even though I haven't read the first book, I did not feel that I was missing out on much in terms of understanding the main characters background.

My thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher Thomas & Mercer for providing me with an ARC.

An interesting prologue followed by a brilliant first chapter.
An emergency call to the police by a concerned neighbour leads to the police finding an old man at the foot of his stairs, injured from a fall (or was he pushed?) He is very insistent that NO-ONE goes upstairs. Drawn by natural human curiosity the two officers naturally go upstairs and what they discover behind a locked door (the key was in the lock in their defense) sets the scene for the rest of the book.
I get the initial idea that this book must form part of a series with set characters. There is an immediate camaraderie between them. The four police officers featuring heavily in the story; DI Morgan, Karen, Rick and Sophie have well-developed backgrounds and personalities too. (Upon finishing the book, I discovered it was part of a series, but this didn't affect the reading - you didn't need any prior information for things to make sense.)
The story flows smoothly and as more is flecked open you get more and more intrigued.
A brilliant, fast-paced read that leaves you guessing as to the identity of the murderer right up until almost the very end, where another surprising event reveals a bit more of past events.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me the chance to read this book

When the police discovers the literal skeleton in the closet, they are faced with solving a 30 year old crime where all traces of evidence are long gone. But suddenly this cold case turns into a hot pursuit.

It is the second part of the 'Detective Karen Hart' series, and I enjoyed it just as I did the first one. But while Karen Hart was really at the heart of the investigation in the first book (true to the name of the series), here all four main members of the police force are in equal focus and share their personal problems with the reader. I found these (really small) subplots interesting and they gave the characters some depth, although it did slow down the suspense on the main plot. This murder case they have to solve is nothing nail-biting, but it kept me guessing how it all happened right until the very end.

Great suspense that will keep you guessing! I am looking forward to reading other books by this author.

In this second book of the series, Detective Sergeant Karen Hart and her team are challenged to solve a 30-year-old cold case of a badly decayed body of leathery skin and bones hidden away in a suitcase found in the home of Albert Johnson, an elderly widow. In addition to the body, a note was found that read, “It’s time to pay for your crime.”

According to his neighbors, Mr. Johnson was a well-respected man, and had retired as headmaster of Greenhill Secondary School twenty years ago. Their investigation leads them to a missing persons report from 1988 of 45-year-old Oliver Fox, a former colleague of Albert Johnson. The team seeks to discover how Albert was involved. Did he murder him? Was it an accident? Why was the death not reported? As more murders take place, the team is pressed to dig deep to find a connection, if any.

This series is well written. The characters are well-developed, and the reader is provided with insights into the personal lives of the investigative team. I wish to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read a pre-release of this story in exchange for an honest review. I look forward to reading the next book by this talented author.

I have to say that I am a massive fan of books written by both D S Butler and Dani Oakley. It’s an added bonus that she’s chosen to settle and write about somewhere close to my own heart, Lincolnshire.

In this the second book in the series we have a fast paced page-turner of a book. We are back with Detective Sergeant Karen Hart, Detective Inspector Scott Morgan along with Detective Constables Rick and Sophie. Learning more about their individual personal lives draws us in and makes them seem more human.

Wealthy James Hunter a website designer had been sober for two years when he slips and during a binge and in a drunken conversation he tells a friend a secret, a secret that gets him thrown off the balcony of his apartment.

After Bert Johnson’s neighbour discovers him in a heap at the bottom of the stairs she raises the alarm. DS Hart and her gaffer DI Morgan break in to help and become suspicious of him as he is too insistent that no one goes up the stairs, not that there would normally be any need in such a case as this. DI Morgan goes up and finds a locked room door a suitcase, inside is the skeletal body of Oliver Fox who went missing in 1988 and a note saying ‘Its time to pay for your Crime’.

From beginning DS Hart has two cases to solve as a cold case this soon becomes anything but, we have rumours about Oliver and his predilection for young boys and that his brother, a senior ranking police officer had managed to conceal this information. Every way they turn there seems to be something or rather someone obstructing them.

Read for an honest review. Thanks to Amazon Publishing UK and Netgalley

What a fantastic follow up to book 1! I loved this book it had me on the edge of my seat, I devoured it in one sitting as I couldn’t put it down. I’m looking forward to book three in the series, can I have it now? I was absolutely sucked into this book, hooked from page 1, I was totally invested in this book until it spat me out at the end. Loved the storyline there were plenty of twists to keep me guessing and that ending! Loved this book it was great, if I could give it more than 5 stars I would. Giving this a big fat 5 stars.

Beneath a quiet village, dark crimes lie buried.

The latest in DS Butler’s Karen Hart series opens with a murder and swaps quickly to the mishap of an elderly man leading to the discovery of a decades-old body. What follows is a winding path back through time to discover exactly how the body ended up in a suitcase.

For a crime thriller with historical abuse, cold case murder and a current vengeance wreaked upon those involved, this novel fell a little flat for me. It started with so much potential, but relied too heavily on coincidence and shoehorned cliches. That’s not to say Butler isn’t able to weave an intriguing story, with a steady pace and flow of plot, but I could have done with the reveal being a little more ‘A ha!’ and less ‘oh.’

I absolutely loved this little gem
It kept me up all night reading it
Guessing and gripping storyline
Absolutely would highly recommend this book
Another well written story by d s butler
Can't wait for the next one

I received this title from netgalley in exchange for my honest review/opinion of the book. Where Secrets Lie was good overall. The storyline itself was a good read, and I enjoyed it. The beginning was a slow start, but i pushed through. Some parts I wondered why were included, and found myself skimming past. 3.5 stars.

Where Secrets Lie is the second book in the Detective Karen Hart series. It is a well-crafted police procedural with many supporting and interesting characters. The mystery itself begins with the death of an elderly gentleman who, at first, appears to have died as the result of a fall in his home. Only when a decomposed body is found in a suitcase in an upstairs bedroom do the detectives begin to follow a trail of lies and deceit that goes back thirty years.

Throughout the story there are several glimpses into the personal lives of the characters. While some readers might find this distracting or unnecessary, I enjoyed the background information. The investigation of the unidentified body takes several unexpected turns and the process is methodical and well-written.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys police procedurals and a good mystery as well.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

Read and reviewed thanks to a free copy from NetGalley. I really enjoyed this book. The plot was really intriguing, albeit predictable at times and I really liked the main characters. The balance between exploring individual characters and the main storyline was done well. I was reminded of the DI Helen Grace series by MJ Arlidge, and am definitely interested in reading more books by this author.

Just fantastic, a true gripping British Policing novel, full of twists and turns and gruesome details to keep even the most hardened crime reader thoroughly entertained -LOVED it!

A police procedural that actually manages to keep you engrossed through the length of the book.
When a helpful neighbour calls in for help with her neighbour a secret that is decades old is stumbled upon. A body in a suitcase. A cold case from 30 years ago. How does the investigating team unravel the mystery that is older than them?
The plot, the characters, the crime, the investigations all of it are excellent and kept me turning page after page. It may not be as fast paced as any other crime-solving novel, but it does keep you interested without having to skip pages.

I have a little bit of mixed feelings about Where Secrets Lie. On the one hand, the case, which starts out slow becomes more and more fascinating as the layers of truth are discovered. On the other hand, Butler’s depiction of his investigating team is somewhat lacking. For a good part of the novel they were bland cardboard cutouts. More effort was made further in, but I can’t say the characters were particularly compelling. You only got a little bit of what made them tick.

While I liked the plot, I think more could have been done to bring the central characters to life. That being said, I’m willing to try another of D.S. Butler’s novels.

3 / 5

I received a copy of Where Secrets Lie from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

-- Crittermom

Where Secrets Lie is a Karen Hart mystery. The remains of a body from thirty years ago are discovered. This leads to more deaths. Who is the killer? I like the method of investigation in the story. It's different from the usual. The story moves at a good pace. There is enough mystery to keep your interest. Karen is a likeable character. She's clever and complex. The story is well written and engaging. Overall, I liked it. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Really 3.5 stars.

A series of deaths following the discovery of a 30 year old body makes for a great mystery and the method it is investigated by the police is really interesting. However, I felt there were other tangents in this book which were being used as fillers & which I didn’t find over interesting so therefore I deducted .5 of a star. The original story is good enough in itself to hold the readers imagination, the other stuff not so much

I enjoyed this book and found it to be engaging. The characters were well developed, and it was good to hear a bit about their backgrounds which adds to their personalities.
At times the story felt a bit slow as there was some repetition, a bit is fine and useful in a complex story, but sometimes there was a bit too much. There did seem to be a few too many police or school teachers with time on their hands... not quite true in real life!

As I know Lincoln it was entertaining to read about it - I'll look at Skellingthorpe in a different light now! Even though I hadn't read the first book in the series, this novel reads well as a stand alone, but I will now go and read book one.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review