I liked this fast paced and engaging mystery.
It's engaging and entertaining and I was hooked since the first pages.
The book is well written, the characters are likable and relatable.
The mystery was fascinating and it kept guessing till the end.
Even if I didn't read the previous installment I had no problem in understanding the plot the characters.
I look forward to reading other instalment in this series.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for this ARC

My thanks to Bookouture for an eARC via NetGalley of Clare Chase’s ‘Death Comes to Call’, the third in her Tara Thorpe series.

DC Tara Thorpe has been assigned to follow up on a missing persons report involving Luke Cope, a promising local artist. A week has passed and his brother Matthew is not happy with the lack of progress by the police. Tara promises to continue digging. Tara is shown one of Luke’s paintings that depicts something disturbing and it isn’t long before Tara is caught up in a complex case.

I found this a solid police procedural with plenty of alibi checks, knocking on doors, driving about, and team discussions. Tara had originally been a reporter and she brings those instincts to her police work. However, that same skill set means she often takes unorthodox approaches that creates conflict with her colleagues.

Although the third in the series I didn’t have any problem understanding the dynamics between the characters. As I plan to read the earlier books in the series I allowed my eyes skim over paragraphs detailing events in them.

Certainly a thumbs up for this book as the case kept me guessing until the final reveal of whodunnit. It ended with a tantalising glimpse as to what troubles are coming next for Tara. Will certainly be looking forward to the next in this series as well as catching up on Tara’s previous adventures while I wait.

When you are reading a series you enjoy, it's always counting down the days until you can finally get your hands on the next part. A pity sometimes that writing does not go as fast as reading LOL, but on the other hand it would be rather difficult keeping up with all the ones you want to devour.

So it was back to Tara who is being Tara, which is a good but quite dangerous from time to time not only for herself but for other people as well. I like the way she is so committed but she seems to forget that she is part of a team now.

In this book the author gives us the chance to follow the investigation as usual, but she adds a bit more focus on Tara's and Blake's lives. By doing this she opens a door or keeps the door open to a blast from the past and/or new dangers forcing them to watch their backs.

The author leaves us with a nice cliffhanger which made me already start crossing the dates on the calendar even though this one is not even published when I write this up.

The book kept me entertained with its unexpected outcome and Tara is of course, once again, the star of the show. 5 stars.

Thank you, Clare Chase , Bookouture and Netgalley.

Book received courtesy of publisher/author.

Death Comes to Call, the third book in the DC Tara Thorpe mystery series, is another interesting and engaging read with well-hidden motives and an unexpected outcome. There is plenty going on to keep you reading, and the investigative team work with determination to uncover the truth. However, Tara's behaviour has changed drastically from the last two books; she now acts like a petulant teenager who goes off in a strop to investigate on her own at will, and her and Blake's unrequited love situation is not something I really care about. Despite this, I still enjoyed it but not as much as the previous two novels.

The sub-plots that explore the investigator's private lives run parallel to the search for answers in this murder case, and I feel in order to understand what is going on with each recurring character you need to read the books chronologically. It's a story that held my attention well and is written in an easy breezy style with excellent characterisation. That said, there was a bit too much focus on the characters lives with the mystery very much in the background rather than the forefront. I hope in the next instalment that Tara can find a real love interest to stop her pining after Blake which is getting rather irksome.

Many thanks to Bookouture for an ARC.

3.5 stars

Tara Thorpe is a former journalist, now a cop in the Cambridge Contabulary. When we enter her story, she has been there for some time now – time enough to cause some upheavals in the squad and to make some very sneaky enemies. The mystery begins with the disappearance of a budding artist, which is reported by his frantic brother. Finding him seems imperative when the police uncover some paintings of his that display some worrisome mental issues. The discovery of the body of a woman with known ties to him leads to full-scale man hunt for him with interesting results.
I enjoyed the whodunit aspect of the story immensely. The clues and the red herrings were placed just so and heightened interest in the story. The description of the countryside, the city and the weather were certainly very atmospheric. All characters who were part of the case were satisfyingly vague and hard to pin down. Trying to figure out who were being genuine and who were faking things was a bit difficult. Tara’s relationship with her parents is fascinating and would be enjoyable if it weren’t so sad. The introduction of siblings into the story lends hope for future family related fun for her.
What irked me was the so-called love story between Tara and her boss detective Blake. Blake’s married to a woman who is so devious and calculating that it boggles the mind. Blake is staying put in the marriage for his daughter and unborn child, which while a laudatory sentiment actually shows him to be a bit spineless especially now that he has developed feelings for Tara. This kind of love story that seems to be full of unrequited love and constant moon-eyed looks at each other begins to quickly grate on my nerves. I almost wish the author would have the gumption to find another solid love interest for Tara instead of keeping her hanging by a thread for Blake.
The book cover could have been better too. For some reason when I looked at it, I expected it to have a bit of an Agatha Christie vibe to it, with a manor standing solid in a field of snow.
This series seems to a engrossing one, except for the romance part which may seriously work for other people.

Loved this book and it’s main character.i love character driven mysteries with fast paced plots. This had both and kept me guessing till the end.
Thanks for letting me review this book

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of Death Comes to Call, the third novel to feature Cambridge based DC Tara Thorpe.

Tara is trying to deal with Matthew Cope who feels the police are not taking the disappearance of his artist brother Luke seriously enough when she is called out to the scene of a murder where a woman’s body has been found strangled. As the team investigate personal issues, not least Tara’s former boss DS Patrick Wilkins’s meddling, complicate an already complicated situation.

I enjoyed Death Comes to Call which has a good mystery and some interesting characters. I hesitate to call it a police procedural as procedure doesn’t play a big part and Tara is as often off piste as on. Nevertheless it is a good mystery as the team slog their way to a solution, uncovering other crimes as they go and I would never have guessed the motive or solution which are well concealed. I took too much at face value. What I didn’t take at face value were DS Patrick Wilkins’ machinations. They aren’t overly explored in this novel but I expect them and the events introduced at the end of the novel to feature prominently in the next.

I liked Tara Thorpe in the previous novels but I can’t say I liked this latest version as she behaves like a stroppy teenager, storming off in a huff and doing her own thing investigatively when she feels overlooked. In the meantime she and DI Blake are still dancing about their feelings for each other and he’s navigating his shipwreck of a marriage - much more to come there I think.

Death Comes to Call is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

This book is part of a series. It can be read as a standalone but I feel it might be useful to read earlier books to understand the relationship between the characters a little better. The mystery held my interest but I felt the pace was a little slow and sometimes he story dragged a little.

My first book by this author and it won't be my last, a thoroughly enjoyable read.
A well written story with a gripping plot, wonderful characterisation and description of the setting. A strong female lead who isn't afraid to step on toes to get results.
This is the third book in the series but can be read as a standalone, I am intrigued enough to want to read Tara's story before joining the police force.
Overall a really great read and I would highly recommend to fans of this genre.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookoutour Publishing for providing an advanced digital read copy of DEATH COMES TO CALL by Clare Chase in exchange for an honest review. This is the third book in a series which is best understood if read in order from the first book in the series.
Tara Thorpe is a Detective Constable who works for the Cambridgeshire Constabulary. While she is the primary character in this series, there are also other characters and story lines that continue across the series. In this novel, Tara is initially called in to investigate a missing painter who has been reported by his brother. As she explores, she discovers some disturbing paintings done by the missing man and then the body of a woman is discovered in a nature reserve. Police work is central to solving the cases, and Tara is shown to be an excellent, if independent, investigator.
There is a strong story line that happens in parallel to the solution of the murdered woman that involves Tara, her former job as an investigative reporter, a stalker from her teenage years, and Tara’s disgraced former boss who blames her for his suspension. These sub-plots clearly began in earlier books in the series and take up a large portion of this book. It became more a story of the sub-plots, with the police investigation one of the threads in trying to unravel Tara’s personal story.
In order to discover the resolutions of the various sub-plots, the reader will have to continue reading the series. It is unclear how many books are going to be in the series, or when the sub-plot solutions will be resolved. While it is relatively easy to grasp some of what has happened in the earlier books, to fully understand the reader will have to read the earlier books.
In this novel, the subplots seem to be more important the the mystery’s solution, almost in a soap opera type of storytelling. For me, they became disruptive and pulled me out of the portion of the book that interested me, mainly the police work and the resolution of the current crime.

This is my fifth read by Clare Chase so you can probably guess I’m a huge fan of her writing.
Tara Thorp and her boss, Blake get tangled up in a case of missing artist, Luke. But it’s not his body that turns up but that of art gallery hostess, Freya Cross. This is a riveting, ‘bum stuck in chair’ read where the complex characters add an extra layer of excitement to what is already a white-knuckle read. Chase drags you into her world, kicking and screaming, playing with you emotions until conclusions have been drawn and all loose ends tied off in a pretty bow. I like the added element of Blake’s relationship with Tara. It added an extra dimension to an already well-thought-out plot. Here we don’t just get a crime thriller. We also get a flutter of romance and more office politics than you can shake a stick at. 10 stars.

Tara Thorpe is a young detective in the Cambridge police force. She is not without her enemies though within and outside the force. Having being stalked from the age of eighteen Tara has developed a keen sense of self preservation especially since the stalker was never found.

Now after a death defying solving of a crime, Tara and the team face the problem of solving another murder. A young woman strangled on a lonely stretch of the fens, followed by the death of her lover opens the field to many suspects. There is the husband and boyfriend (before his death), the employer who shows a sense of being jittery and nervous way beyond his feelings as an employer, there is the victim's brother and the list goes on. Each one has to have their alibis checked and double checked, motives if any ruled out and seeing whether old enmities exist within the family.

Tara is working closing on the case with her boss Blake. There are a few other detectives on the case and her unorthodox methods and tendency to not work as a team can get people riled. To top it all, she is aware that her former employer (a magazine) hates her guts and will do anything to bring her down, insidiously planting vicious rumours about her work ethic and her morals.

This was a very good mystery murder. I would not call it a cozy as it went beyond the cozy! I liked the characterization, the descriptiveness of the Fens and the way the suspense built up to an ending that got me by surprise.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this advanced copy. I have read the other 2 books in the series and this is a good addition to it. The story was really enjoyable and well written but I have to say the relationship between Blake and Tara was at times too much of a distraction and by the end I found Tara's character very annoying. She is like a petulant child at times. Overall though, putting that to one side, this was an enjoyable read.

2 stars

Artist Luke Cope has disappeared. His brother Matthew calls the police frantic. Detective Tara Thorpe responds to the call. There is no evidence of foul play; he just seems to have disappeared.

I found this book to be unlike the previous two. As another reviewer mentioned, the book spent too much time on the relationship between Tara and Blake. It spoiled the story for me. The idea of the story was a good one, and the plot did contain surprises but it wasn't as interesting as the previous two novels.

This one just wasn't for me.

I want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for forwarding to me a copy of this book for me to read and review.

Having read and thoroughly enjoyed the previous two books in this series, I was very excited to get my hands on this, the third. Tara, ex-journalist now DC is visiting the brother of a missing man. He is frustrated by the lack of interest the police are showing, even though his brother is not deemed vulnerable, he is worried as it is out of character. Tara is sympathetic, especially when she tries to contact his colleague and something feels a bit off there. Then a body is found and Tara and her colleagues are catapulted into a really rather intriguing case indeed. Meanwhile, Tara's former supervisor and now suspended Wilkins is still trying to stir things up for her with, alluding to her relationship with her boss DI Blake to anyone who'll listen. Can Blake, Tara and the rest of the team cut through all the noise and get to the bottom of the death? Things then get more interesting when another body is found, one which takes their investigation down a completely different route...
As with a couple of other series I read, this one contains quite a lot of personal stuff going on for the main characters outside the crimes being investigated. Tara and her estranged family, Blake and his wife's shenanigans and the vendetta against Tara by her previous employers who she got the better of in the last book. But this is why I love series books, you really get to know the characters' whole lives. Yes, I love a good crime to solve too but, as long as everything remains in balance, which in my opinion, it does here, I also enjoy a bit of real life interspersed throughout. It can't always all be about procedure and clue-finding!
Tara is a bit of a lone wolf at times too, but I guess that fits with her investigative journalist background. She's also a bit annoying as she does act a bit childish at times, especially around her "relationship" with Blake, but given her backstory, I can let her off some of the things she does. Hopefully she'll man up a bit in her next outing though!
All in all a solid addition to what looks like a blossoming series. Roll on next time. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I ARC received via NetGalley and in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't read first two books but I'm going to because I like to know more about Tara Thorpe.

This was ok read I like crime in the story it kept me interest. I didn't pititularly like the unrequited love that seem to be between Tara and her boss Blake. Also I care less for Megan who can't form own opinion but decide to listen to Patrick I like that Max is giving Tara a chance rather then not like her.

I do think it's mess up what Blake wife did but I'm more into knowing who was stalking Tara when she was a teenager and what the deal with Patrick Wilkins hating on her. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for this arc.
I have to admit I was disappointed with this one. I have read this 1st book in this series and enjoyed it very much. Somehow I missed the 2nd one, but that didn't slow me down before reading this one # 3. While the story was nice and twisty, definitely a real hunt and chase story. I thought the pacing was really bogged down by Tara's and Blake's continual mooning over their "unrequited love" obsessions with each other. Tara in particular felt extremely adolescent with her "I'll show 'em" attitude at work. While I'm not quite ready to give up on this series, I really don't like to see this devolving of the characters into juvenility.

2.5 stars