What a cracking read, it’s no secret that I love a good psychological thriller, I have read lots and this is up there with the best. A fast paced,gripping, and hard to put down 2nd instalment in the DI Ridpath series kept me interested until the end. A great plot and interesting back story for the main characters. I don’t like to give a lot a way about the story, my advice is give it a read, and I don’t think it’s necessary to have read the first DI Ridpath book either.

5 stars

Driving along the M60, on the way to see his daughter and estranged wife, D I Ridpath finds himself caught up in a bizarre road accident when a near-naked man steps in front of his car before being killed by an articulated lorry. Noticing a man carrying a gun, standing at the side of the motorway, Ridpath is perplexed when nobody else seems to have seen him and CCTV doesn’t appear to have picked him up either. With his health a constant issue and the gangs of Manchester seemingly showing unrest, this looks like being a very testing case for the coroner’s officer.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series (Where the Truth Lies) and I couldn’t wait to see if I would be equally impressed with its follow-up. I am pleased to say that Where the Dead Fall is just as good, if not better! Ridpath is a great character and I like how his work for the coroner’s office gives a different slant on the standard police procedural. Despite my liking for him, though, with regards to his health condition, he is infuriating! With a serious illness hanging over him, and a marriage which is hanging by a thread, on several occasions I found myself imploring him to get to the hospital before something serious happened!

Set in Manchester, a city which is virtually unrecognisable from when it was known as ‘Gunchester’ in the 1990s, the author has shown how easy it is for a place to go back to its old ways. By pitting various gangs against each other, he has created a ticking time bomb that the police are desperate to extinguish before there is any more loss of life. Of course, there is more to this case than meets the eye, and Ridpath does a great job in fathoming out what is really happening.

Where the Dead Fall has a clever plot and was one of those books that I did not want to put down. This has the potential to be one of my favourite series and I’m already looking forward to the third instalment.

With thanks to Canelo and Net Galley for my ARC.

First encounter with DI Ridpath, who appears to have troubled times in the recent past and a sideways step to the Coroners office to aid his recovery doesn’t stop him from using his investigative skills. A good story but the end leaves the reader wondering given the choice he has to make, will this be the last of DI Ridpath?

An interesting crime novel.
Main protagonist DI Redpath has moved to the coroner’s office and is recovering from cancer.
Quite a few twists and turns in the story, including his relationship with his wife who has left him..
A story about gangs and how someone is killing their members. Trying to make them have a gang war.
Fast paced and exciting storyline.
I would recommend this book and hope there is a follow up

I really like Ridpath and his dedication to his work. He reminds me of someone I knew years ago and who I would have wanted investigating if I had been a victim of crime. At the same time it has to be said he would be a bit of a nightmare to be married to. In this second book of the series he is juggling somewhat unsuccessfully with the demands of his home life, his health and his work. In terms of his work, I like that he is seconded to the coroner’s office and you get a slightly different viewpoint of the enquiry than the more usual police investigation. I hope there’s more to come from DI Ridpath.

The second book featuring DI Ridpath and even more enjoyable than the first.

DI Ridpath is actually on secondment to the Coroner's Office, from the Major Incident Team in Manchester. He is actually recovering from cancer, and to be honest it's good to see someone actually recovering from a serious illness whilst working at the same time, very refreshing.

Ridpath is on his way to see his daughter (recently separated from his wife after she nursed him through his illness) when, during a traffic jam a man only wearing a pair of boxer shorts runs into the road, leans on Ridpath's car, glances back to the bank and then carries on running to be hit by a lorry. Ridpath turns round to see what the man was looking at.....

There is also an inquest to be sorted for a man who appears to have committed suicide, or is all as it seems to be??

Really well written book, enjoyable to read, good characters. Can't wait to read the next one.

Highly recommended

Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo for giving me the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

DI Ridpath Book 2

Manchester has been at peace for twenty years and DI Ridpath is in the process of getting his life back together when everything goes wrong. Driving to meet his daughter, he is caught in a horrific motorway accident, in which a near naked man is run down by a lorry, while fleeing from a lone gunman. Why did no one else witness the gunman?

This is another gripping read from the author M J Lee. I like the main character Thomas Ridpath for several reasons: he's loyal, even though he is fighting his own demons, he's someone I would want fighting in my corner if I was ever to get into trouble. There is a lot going on in the story and I just had to keep turning the pages to see what was going to happen next. I don't want to say much more as I don't want to spoil the story for you. Do yourself a favour and get yourself a copy of this terrific read. I do advise that you read the first book in this series if you haven't already, though it can be read as a standalone.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Canelo and the author M J Lee for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting read, I really enjoyed this story, despite not having read the first in the series. I will now have to rectify that. However this works well as an individual story, as the author has provided enough of Ridpath’s back story to fill in the gaps. The story gets off to a galloping start with the motorway incident, and it was intriguing how the crimes and criminals connected with each other, and were eventually correctly solved, like peeling an onion, layer by layer.
I found the connection between MIT and the Coroner’s office to be fascinating, not having realised quite how much the two departments could be mutually involved.
The characterisation is excellent, Ridpath struggles with so much in his life, personal, work and poor health, it’s surprising that he continues to function at all.
I felt Ridpath’s pain and dread on his regular visit to his oncologist, it was so well described. His feelings of sympathy for his fellow sufferers illustrates his humanity.
He manages somehow to find sufficient energy to continue in his determination to solve the case, but at a personal cost.
I will look for more work by this author, and I recommend this book. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my advance copy.

Interesting read. I found the pace not as fast as the first book but it was an exciting read and I am looking forward to seeing how this character develops. Definitely recommend #NetGalley#WhereTheDeadFall

DI Ridpath never fails to capture me into the stories! Another excellent offering from M J Lee with the life of a police officer trying to solve a crime but the personal element as well.

Driving down a very busy motorway to meet his wife and daughter, DI Thomas Ridpath is stunned when a near naked man runs into his lane. He sees a man with a gun on the bank.

A cracking start to a very good detective story. I quickly felt that I was in safe hands with the writer, and the story whizzed along. I very much enjoyed it.

Though second in a series it worked as a standalone novel.

This is the first Ridpath book I've read. Would recommend reading the first installment before this, although it works well as a standalone novel anyway. Well written, likeable yet flawed characters made things feel more realistic. Plenty of descriptive detailing and careful research has been done into MIT too. A great read. Will have to download the first book now!

A mixed review from me for this book, which is a thriller based in Manchester. DI Ridpath, the main character, has a lot on his plate - family problems, issues at work, a temporary transfer to be a Coroner’s Officer and ongoing treatment for cancer. The opening is really strong - he’s involved in a motorway accident and his account doesn’t match that of other witnesses. Sadly the writing just didn’t grab me and I found the dialogue a bit flat at times. It’s pacy, and the plot is decent, but this one was not for me.

Another brilliant novel by MJ Lee about the Manchester criminal fraternity and DI Ridpath. The novel starts with DI Ridpath returning from his Coroners training course on his way home to take his estranged wife and daughter to the pictures when a young man runs into the motorway being chased by a man with a gun. Although Ridpath is able to stop in time the young man then runs across the remaining lanes on the motorway only to be run down by a truck, Ridpath calls it in and brings the motorway to a halt bringing the whole of Greater Manchester to a standstill. Ridpath is not believed until the identity of the victim is known as one of Michael Connelly's sons and the police fear a backlash and all out gang warfare until the crime is solved.

Oh how do I even begin to describe this book. I was really happy when this book came on NetGalley and I was ecstatic when Canelo gave me this book!! And I was so looking forward to reading this book and boy I wasn't disappointed!! I had fallen in love with Ridpath after reading the first book and this book carried on from where the last book left off. The story is brilliant and Ridpath is brilliant as usual. The way M J Lee creates the twists and turns in this book is just mind-blowing and at times seriously complicated but immensely enjoyable. And I loved the new characters that were introduced in this book, Claire Trent then new Head of MIT and Dr Schofield who's described as a teenager due to him suffering from Kallmann Syndrome among the few. And the rapport between Charlie Whitworth and Ridpath and Margaret Challinor and Ridpath were brilliant as well. The only thing that drove me crazy and to be honest quite scared me was Ridpath and his stubborn attitude of putting the job before his health . I was internally shouting at him when he was being an ass. But overall this is a brilliant book and not only carries on from where it left off in the first book but takes it a few levels higher. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who cares to listen!! And a big thank you to NetGalley and a big big thank you to Canelo for giving me a chance to read this ARC in exchange of my honest review.

Where the Dead Fall is the first book that I have read by M J Lee although it is the second book in the Ridpath series.

Even without having read the first book I still thoroughly enjoyed this book with there being just enough backstory to allow me to follow the story without any problems

The story moves along at a cracking pace with lots of action and it is definitely one that I thoroughly recommend

Crikey, it's rare that a book is even better than you think it's going to be, but this was. I'd loved the first book and this was just as good If not better. Slightly complicated in terms of numbers of characters but provided you keep that straight, it's great. Beautifully poised for yet another sequel which is a relief as I'd been a bit worried....

I really enjoyed this book. I took a couple of chapters to get into it and I felt that it was almost an "old fashioned" detective story as the main character and the rest of his police colleagues work to discover the answers. I felt that it was easy to identify with the characters and to feel involved with the events. The story was fairly complex and the rival gangs and therefore a fair number of characters, were working through the story.
If this is the beginning of a series, that is great to hear.
I am happy to recommend this book

Another five star for this author,continuing with his detective series. Again,there is a complex plot with all sorts of hints designed to make the reader think the outcome has been guessed. Wrong! There is nothing obvious about this ending but it fits the plot superbly. The least of it is the dysfunctional family setup so many fictional detectives are given but that is irrelevant to the storyline. The fact that this detective has a serious illness gives another interesting slant to what's going on. As before,I recommend this strongly. I read it very quickly!

Where the Dead Fall is an extremely good thriller, although not having read the previous Ridpath book in this series that in no way spoilt my enjoyment and did not cause any confusion. This is a fast paced exciting story.
D.I.Ridpath is now working in the Coroners office, in remission from cancer and sidelined from his role in the Murder Investigation Team, also separated from his wife and daughter, thinking things can’t become any worse whilst travelling on the M60 on his way to see his daughter a semi naked an runs out in front of his car, although Ridpath breaks in time the terrified man continues running and is hit and killed by a large lorry. During this event Ridpath sees another person behind the barrier with a gun in his hand. No one else witnesses this man and he has a hard time convincing his previous colleagues that he did see this man.
As he starts to investigate this incident all manner of things are thrown up, linking this person to two previous murders and also major criminal gangs in Manchester.
A rollercoaster of a read, well written with a cast of well rounded characters, good and bad. Great plot line and an ending I didn’t see coming. Well done, roll on the next, I’m going back to read the first book and probably loose more sleep unable to put it down!
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.