This is an enjoyable story which deals with the disturbing topic of domestic violence. In Noelle Holten's debut, she uses her experience in the probation services to present a credible picture which is, at times, alarmingly graphic. What I found a little disappointing was the number of errors of punctuation, grammar and spelling, and the use of the names of book bloggers as characters in the book was unnecessary.

Below review will go give tomorrow on 25 May.

Hi and welcome to FromBelgiumWithBookLove!
Today, I’d love to talk to you about Dead Inside, Noelle Holten’s debut novel. I loved the premise of Dead Inside and I “knew” Noelle as a blogger, so I was thrilled to be approved for the eARC through NetGalley. Now with a website called “CrimeBookJunkie”, a career as probation officer on the one hand and PR / SM manager for Bookouture on the other, one would assume Noelle Holten knows all about crime and has an extensive list of all the magic ingredients it takes for a crime thriller to be a success. Knowing something, and bringing that knowledge to fruition, though, is something else entirely. So, frankly, to my mind, this could go either way. And so I was delighted to find myself totally absorbed in this book, loving the execution just as much as I loved the premise. Noelle had me smile, she had me well up, she put me through all the feels, and I loved every bit of it.

Lucy is a probation officer and as such she’s responsible (among other things) for preventing that the criminals in her care commit the same (or other) crimes again. Some of those criminals are guilty of domestic abuse. But what very few people realise, is that Lucy herself is a victim of domestic abuse too. She of all people should know better, shouldn’t she? And she does know better and she is in fact well aware of what her husband is doing to her. But there’s her step-daughter to consider, she can’t just leave the little girl to fend for herself, and what about her career, what would her colleagues say, her superiors? She’s damned if she does and damned if she doesn’t, so for the time being, she’s staying put. That entire scenario, Lucy’s inner turmoil, that feeling of being damned either way, felt very, very real and all too plausible. Admittedly, I have zero personal experience with this, something I thank my lucky stars for every time I read a book like this one, but Lucy’s thoughts and feelings are so realistic, and I do believe that in the same circumstances, I might well have the same thoughts and experience the same feelings. To me, what was even worse than the physical abuse, was the insidious psychological abuse, and the effect the physical abuse has on Lucy’s mental state. This is related rather stoically, almost devoid of emotions at times, and therefore all the more striking. This got under my skin so badly, I can’t even tell you.

In the meantime, there’s DC Maggie Jamieson, trying to find the person killing off domestic abusers. One of her superiors secretly wonders if these casualties can really be called victims, and whether the culprit shouldn’t be praised instead of hunted, and I tend to agree. No, obviously I don’t endorse murder! But I do confess to having a few wayward “good riddance” thoughts. This storyline is suspenseful, shocking at times, and I caught myself thinking along with Maggie and her team, trying to find the person responsible for the rather heinous murders, so when the perpetrator was comprehended it didn’t come as a huge surprise, but it was a satisfying reveal nonetheless. I especially liked that some background info was provided afterwards, explaining the killer’s motive and opportunity, but not in a pedantic way.

Overall, this is a very intense crime thriller, tackling a difficult theme with the utmost respect. I can’t wait to see what Noelle Holten comes up with next, and what DC Maggie Jamieson will have to face in the future! Highly recommended!

# Dead Inside # Netgalley
A very well written storyline, it was gripping with enough to keep you interested in the book. I can’t say it was a book that I didn’t want to put down, it’s not quite there for me that bit. However having said that, as a debut novel I can’t fault the book. I am sure it’s only a matter of time, not that long either where I will be at the stage of not wanting to put the book down. I have read books nowhere near as good as this from well established writers. So I can see good things coming for this author. It’s got all the elements of being one of the better authors, just around the corner for a debut novel I am literally full of praise for this author, the right amount of twists and turns to throw you off balance to make you doubt where your own head is going. But most of all despite it not being a book I didn’t want to put down, I didn’t really want to put it down but with some books I literally would definitely go without sleep to continue reading. As I said I didn’t want to actually put the book down. It just hadn’t gripped me enough to give up sleep for yet. Now that my personal opinion. I do also believe sometimes it’s not necessary the book that you can put down easier than others. It could even be the person who is reading the book at the time. A typical example is in myself, sometimes no matter what we do in life and depending on situation at the time on how you maybe feeling can affect the outcome of a book, and effectively alter a review. We are all creatures of moods I will stand up and actually say yes the odd occasions my mood can have a effect on whatever I am reading. Not a lot of people will admit to this. I have read a book and thought yuk not for me, yet something in some books even if I did that say yuk to a book. I have gone back and read it again and it becomes a totally different book, so yes our own moods can and do effectively alter a review. I only wish other people Would admit these things. This one doesn’t happen to me but a very close friend of mine we like most of the same book, not every single one. We had both read a book and we met for coffee first thing I do is bring the subject of books, a couple I had recommended I asked her, what she thought. She did say I made the book sound better than it was. All I said I take it you had been arguing with your partner. She asked me how I knew. I told her what I thought and said every time you argue and your reading your not reading properly, because your letting the argument affect your reading she could not see it until I pointed a few things out. She did say in her own words that had she not have had a argument then she knew she would have enjoyed the book more. So the moral of this is accept things around us before we review a book, because I honestly believe we may not be giving a worthy review. On that note. I definitely think you should give this book a try, and I am looking forward to her next one sorry for such a long review but it need pointing out how we the public can give a better review or would do. Once people accept we can be affected by our own moods. It’s like I said I didn’t feel it wasn’t a book I could not put down, that how I actually felt, but was that feeling being swayed by the fact I was coming down with pneumonia. It’s bound to affect my reading. Taking that into consideration it does not show always how bloody good this book was. Without people being aware of this they could get the wrong impression. I would hate that to have a impact on any author. So based on how I was I will rate everything one star above because, if I had not been ill I do believe this book would have had a 5 star from me, and as a debut novel deserves a 5 star I will read this again and I will review it again on Amazon because you deserve a far better review poppet you definitely do

DC Maggie Jamieson is an experienced detective who, having been scarred by her last case, has been seconded to a specialist police division, the Domestic Abuse and Homicide Unit, or DAHU, for a change  of scene. She likes her new colleagues immediately and hopes the work will be a necessary distraction from her recent past.

Unfortunately, almost straightaway, one of the abusers they are obligated to keep tabs on is found dead in unnatural circumstances and immediately are under pressure. Working together with the probation service and victim support they struggle to find any evidence to suggest who their killer might be.

Lucy is a probation officer working with sex offenders and domestic abusers who are free on licence. What no one knows is that she herself is in an abusive relationship and nearing the end of her tether.

This was a fast moving, exciting story and although I worked out some of it there was still the satisfaction of discovering things bit by bit as the story reached its conclusion. There is a second DC Jamieson book to come, it will be on my to read list without a doubt.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys finding new authors or new series of books to devour.

My first comment on this book is that I do feel like there should be some trigger warnings in place for readers - I only have very minimal experience of domestic abuse & I found parts of the book extremely difficult to read, so I don’t know how some others might cope with it. Obviously there’s a case to say that people it would affect wouldn’t buy it in the first place, but I think better safe than sorry.

This book is really well written and you do care about the main characters. I feel like there was a few too many people to keep track of, but the interactions and relationships are all interesting enough to keep you reading. Considering this is meant to be the first in a series about Maggie Jamieson, to be honest I didn’t find her compelling enough to carry a series on her own, although that might be because I think this book concentrates more on Lucy than anyone else, so we don’t actually find out much about Maggie apart from little references to an earlier case which seems to be haunting her & is the set up to the next book. As it seems like the next book sees Maggie go back to her old team, I feel a bit cheated that I had come to like the team of characters developed in this book as presumably they won’t be in the next one & the author will have to develop a whole new set of characters.

It’s a difficult one - I enjoyed the book overall but I don’t think we saw enough of Maggie to get me interested enough to read any further instalments in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a hard core, dark gritty read which dealt in great detail with domestic abuse, the way men hit women, the scars which the women carried, both physical and mental. It told me how the cops and other disciplinary services were sometimes so helpless, the scrap of paper which was the restraining order was basically useless.

Though this was the cop Maggie Jamieson series, the book described the Probation Officer Lucy's life in great detail and what she went through in her personal and professional life. Her life was nothing but a series of IRONY.

Author Noelle Holten in her debut has written a realistic novel using all her experiences as a Probation Officer for 18 years. The story showed me how every agency tried to keep the women safe, sometimes successful, often times not so much. But they all tried.

The effects of abuse along pain, fear, desperation, helplessness, and the impotent anger of the victims played on my mind completely and had me in shivers. I had to keep closing my kindle to shake off the feeling of suffocation. All the emotions that leapt off the pages overwhelmed me. Ms. Holten was honest in her portrayal of the realities of such a life. The team of cops working with Maggie in the investigation were great; they were relentless in their work. I wanted to see more of Maggie in the book.

The multidisciplinary police investigation and the mystery surrounding the murders were great, and that made it a fun read. And the killer was a surprise, not in my list of suspects.

Really good debut novel by this author. The domestic violence was uncomfortably realistic and very well written. I can certainly see this going on to be a successful crime series. I felt, however, that there were too many characters in the book to keep track of, I found myself getting confused at times as to who was who, especially in the beginning.

This book was incredibly difficult to read. Even without being triggered by domestic abuse, the continued abuse and disregard for women illustrated throughout the story made my stomach turn. If the series continues with the main character, Maggie Jamieson, working in the Domestic Abuse Homocide Unit, I don't think I can read anymore. However, I don't think she does. While the story summary tries to put forth probation officer Lucy Sherwood as the killer, at no point in time did she ever seem like a viable suspect. Highlighting how beaten down abuse victims get, I was completely unable to view her as a threat to anyone other than herself. But that doesn't mean Ms. Holten does not give us a good story and introduces some memorable characters. I'd like to see Lucy appear in future books. I'd also like to see us learn a lot more about Maggie Jamieson, since supposedly the series centers around her. I feel like the abuse, victims, and perpetrators, were the focus of this first book and that is not the norm. Hopefully in future books we will get to know the central cast.

Dead Inside is a dark that the author is able to use her former employment as a way to direct the story. It isn't a pretty story in fact at times the story is uncomfortable to read. Just like life Painful at times and almost unbearably.

Domestic abuse isn't a easy topic add in murder and mystery as a start a new series let alone a duet novel isn't easy but Noelle Holten does a great job.



Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Killer Readers for the Advance copy of Noelle Holten Dead Inside.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I will most definitely be ordering it in to sell to customers at my work!

Very hard to believe this is a debut novel. A really dark, gritty story with domestic abuse at the core of it. Great characters, though most the ones we would not like to be meeting! A good twisty thriller with a good cast of characters. I didn't guess the ending which was very satisfying. Can't wait to meet Maggie again in Book 2!

A good read. The plot is really good and there was plenty of action in this story. I felt really sorry for some of the characters. Domestic abuse and alcohol abuse are written about with empathy and compassion. I felt bored though about half way through. I feel that the story lost its momentum a bit but gained it again.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

What can I say..... a proper page turner, compelling writing from the off. Not my normal choice as domestic abuse can be hard hitting but I found this book thought provoking as well as a proper good read, would highly recommend and can’t wait for the next instalment.

thank you for allowing me to read this book. it was very easy to read. i enjoyed the story line and the characters. look forward to reading more from this author.

Holy bat in hell, what a read! Now excuse me while I go pick my jaw off the floor... I already had a feeling I was going to enjoy this crime thriller by fellow book blogger and now debut author Noelle Holten, and my expectations were more than met. I literally cancelled all plans, settled down in my favorite reading chair and flew through Dead Inside in one sitting. It was simply brilliant! I loved that we not only have the typical detective (Maggie) to follow, but that we also have a probation officer (Lucy) in the spotlight. It definitely shows in the little details that Noelle worked as a senior probation officer herself for eighteen years, and it was fascinating to see a lesser explored angle being used in a crime thriller. The same goes for criminal psychologist Kate, who brings another refreshing angle to the investigation and it's these three women together that makes this story work so well. It's true we don't get to see all that much of Maggie yet, but I'm having a feeling we will be getting plenty of her in the sequel.

Dead Inside is all about domestic abuse and what effects it has on the victimis and those around them. Signs of abuse are often not easy to see and the victims often feel that the situation they are in is impossible to escape. Psychological abuse is still abuse and harder to discover for outsiders... As someone who has been in a toxic relationship in the past, I know how hard it can be to let go. Trigger warnings are in place for the mentioned abuse, rape, violence and alcoholism. Dead Inside shines a light on domestic abuse from the point of view of both victims and (in a less direct way) abusers. At the same time, we also have an active murder investigation going on with 'victims' who don't exactly arise sympathy. This angle alone is a very intriguing as it makes you wonder about right and wrong and if certain people just had it coming and karma came looking for them, or if even those dirtbags have rights... This story is lightning fast and isn't afraid to go dark and messy. There are various twists and turns involved in Dead Inside, and while I did see part of it coming, I definitely didn't guess the final reveal. And what a way to end the story! The whole Bill Raven case sounds fascinatingly disturbing... I already can't wait to read the sequel and Dead Inside hasn't even officially been published yet. Crime thriller fans, you have found a new title for your wishlist! Trust me, you don't want to miss out on this outstanding crime thriller debut.

DC Maggie Jamieson #1

This is the author, Noelle Holten's debut novel. Three domestic abuse offenders have been found dead. Maggie Jamieson is new to the domestic violence unit. Her first case is to investigate and find out who had beaten the offenders to death. Probation Officer Lucy Sherwood has a connection to the three men. Lucy also has a secret that no one, not even her friends know, she also suffer from domestic abuse from her husband. Noelle Holten was a social worker before becoming a writer and she has used the knowledge that she aquired from doing the job and put it in this well written book. This is a tense and fast paced read. Maggie and her team have a tough challenge to solve. The characters were true to life. Not a subject matter that will suit everyone. A little predictable at times, but overall a well written debut novel from an author to look out for.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Harper Impulse & Killer Reads and the author Noelle Holten for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What an absolutely brilliant book. The plot is so well written that you are completely drawn in and it didn't take long for me to get through it as I couldn't put it down. I stayed up into the early hours most nights just so I could get to the end.
Highly recommended to all crimer thriller fans, you will not be disappointed with this gripping book Dead Inside which is the first in a new series.
Congratulations to Noelle Holten on this amazing debut book, I can't wait to read more.

Dead Inside is one of my most eagerly anticipated books of 2019.  Partly due to the fact the blurb sounds brilliant and partly due to the fact that the author is the fabulous Noelle Holten of CrimeBookJunkie.  I received a free eARC of Dead Inside via NetGalley but that has in no way influenced my review.

Dead Inside is the first book in the DC Maggie Jamieson series set in Staffordshire, and Noelle Holten's debut.  From the harrowing prologue to the books big reveal, I was on the edge of my seat.  What shines from the pages is the author's knowledge of her subject matter having worked as a senior probation officer for many years.  I'm guessing that Noelle has probably seen it all!  I also found the probation aspects of the storyline absolutely fascinating as I can't bring to mind another crime novel that focusses so strongly on this particular part of the criminal justice system.

Following a particularly difficult case involving the apprehension of a serial killer, DC Maggie Jamieson is temporarily transferred to the new Domestic Abuse and Homicide Unit (DAHU).  Not long into her first shift she and her colleagues are called to investigate a murder.  The victim is a known offender with a history of violence towards his partners.  The attack seems personal and all avenues need to be investigated so PC Mark Fielding gets in touch with probation officer, Lucy Sherwood.  As the story progressed I found myself focussing less on the police team and more on Lucy.  Lucy lives a double life.  By day she's a kick-ass probation officer staring down the most hardened criminals.  By night she returns home to her vile, abusive husband who torments her physically and emotionally.  My heart broke for the character.  Trapped because she had convinced herself that staying in the relationship would be the best thing for her husband's young daughter.  This may be the first book in the DC Maggie Jamieson series but Maggie isn't in the spotlight here.  It's all about Lucy, just as it should be.

The other characters in the book are a good mix of people you warm to and people you instantly loathe (before I go any further I should point out the ones I loathed were the abusers...).  I did struggle a little at times with the characters names as the author has used the names of several book bloggers, people I know in 'real life'.  I found it difficult to picture the character without seeing the 'real life' person.  Holten isn't the first person to do this - it happens a lot - but the number of names used is far greater in Dead Inside.  I felt I had to try a little harder to visualise someone different in my mind.

The big reveal was a complete shock and one I really didn't expect.  But I loved it!  It felt so satisfying.  The way the situation was also dealt with by the characters involved was also brilliant.  I loved the total lack of shame or reproach - wonderful stuff!  I was able to guess where another of the big storylines was going but I thoroughly enjoyed the way it played out and knowing what was coming didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book.

Would I recommend this book?  I would, yes.  It's a great start to what promises to be an exciting new series written by an exciting new talent in crime fiction.  The ending of Dead Inside is set up beautifully for book two in the series and I'm already very intrigued.  I can't wait to get my mitts on a copy.  A compelling read with some fascinating characters at its heart.  Emotional, raw and a complete page-turner.  Bloody well done, Noelle!  Recommended.

I chose to read and review an eARC of Dead Inside.  The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

What a start to a series!

Lucy Sherwood, a probation officer, works alongside the (DAHU)Domestic Abuse and Homicide Unit, dealing with the aftermath of spousal abuse.
This is something she is also dealing with on a personal level with her partner Patrick.
Known abusers start turning up dead. They have been brutally beaten to death, though they show no sign of defending themselves against the attacks.
Who is killing them?
DC Maggie Jamieson who has just joined the DAHU finds herself thrown into the investigation. Evidence that all three have links to Lucy is discovered. Then Lucys own partner Patrick becomes a victim.
Lucys personal life comes under scrutiny, did she finally decide to put a stop to his abuse by killing him ?
It is a harrowing tale of the effects domestic violence has on people and the terrible isolation its victims find themselves in, ruining lives and sometimes ending them.
Absolutely compulsive reading, I could not put it down, fast paced, strong characters, cant wait to read more from this author.
Thanks to Netgalley and Killer reads for the opportunity to read this as an ARC.

The first instalment in a new crime series is always exciting.
Fab debut and a refreshingly different angle for a crime book.
I just couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy of this. As a book blogger at Crime Book Junkie, Noelle Holten writes a fantastic blog. She obviously knows the secrets of a good story. Being a former probation officer the author has real life knowledge.
The familiarity of character names was unnerving at first, if you’re a blogger you’ll know what I mean, but I soon got used to them as fictional characters.
The depth of the characters jumps out of the page.
Some of the scenes are very gritty, so well described that I was cowering away.
There are lots of twists and turns in the plot, lots of suspicions, making it a real page-turner.
I loved it and I look forward to the rest of the series.