A bit slow to get into but once you persevere the story does grip.

DI Ridulph is back in is job at the coroners office and is tasked with investigating the death of a young man found facedown in a lake whose death is ruled as inclusive, was it murder or a sad case of suicide ?

D.I. Ridpath is driving home when a man clothed only in blue boxer shorts runs in front of his car. Ridpath manages to stop the car but the man sees someone watching him, panics and runs into a lorry where he is killed instantly. The man is a family member of a gangland leader Michael Connelly and before anyone knows what is happening Manchester is on the brink of a gang war.
D.I. Ridpath is involved in doing his job as Coroner's Officer , helping the police as well as trying to get his marriage back on track.
This is a great fast page turning read and would highly recommend it.

I’d like to thank Canelo and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Where The Dead Fall’ by M J Lee in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

DI Thomas Ridpath is driving along the M60 during rush hour when a man wearing only blue boxer shorts runs into the busy motorway and is struck by an articulated lorry. As this is happening Ridpath catches sight of a hooded gunman standing by the side of the road but when the police arrive he’s nowhere to be seen. Ridpath is convinced he hasn’t imagined the man but the officers from Greater Manchester Police’s MIT unit aren’t convinced.

‘Where The Dead Fall’ is the sequel to ‘Where The Truth Lies’ featuring DI Ridpath and continues his secondment to the Coroner’s Office following remission from cancer. It has a fast-paced start with Ridpath driving home to see his estranged wife Polly and daughter Eve, his closing the motorway as a crime scene and being blamed for causing a four hour traffic jam which doesn’t endear him to his colleagues. It’s exciting, full of suspense, with an interesting plot, lots of suspects, twists and turns, and a gripping conclusion. I've just one comment to make, if this is the last we hear of Ridpath I need to know what happens with his private life as we’re left with an ultimatum. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading this thriller so please can we have a third?

From page one this crime thriller packed one hell of a punch, it didn't even lull you into a false sense of security which got the heart racing and myself as the reader completely and utterly gripped! It begins with a prologue type chapter from an individual who has been kidnapped and is trying to escape. From that point the book was an almighty rollercoaster of twists.

The chapters are labelled in days of an investigation which allows you to keep up to date with the sequence of events as it unfolds, with a dual type narrative that gave breadcrumbs of details that kept you hooked on every word. What a whirlwind. I completely fell in love with detective inspector Thomas Ridpath who has recently been through the ringer, he's intelligent and I admired him for sticking to his detective guns when everyone else was trying to brush off his thoughts on a case of a death and a man with a gun on the motorway! He has recently gone back to work after having treatment for cancer, I think a lot of his team are brushing him off and his ability to remember things correctly is constantly questioned, this is partly due to his colleagues thinking what he saw was down to stress and / or the drugs he takes, I think this pushes him to show he can still do his job; cancer remission or not.

I liked that MJ Lee has research things that may seem trivial, for instance the way MIT is set up, as well as forensic pathology. This, for me allows a sense of authenticity within the novel, although I know all crime thriller writers research this type of thing, MJ appears to have fully emerged himself into making sure aspects are factually correct. This reader really appreciated that attention to detail! Thank-you!

Now we have our hero, now the villains; well aren't they another slice of evil? I felt that they were pretty much masterminds of crime and murder. The perfect ratio of light and dark in this action packed crime thriller, the more you dig into the storyline the more you can feel yourself getting sucked in to its fast paced cat and mouse type narrative. It's very excellent!

Where The Dead Fall is an enjoyably compelling read filled to the brim with surprises and twists. This is a crime thriller not to be missed!

Where The Dead Falls M.J. Lee

DI Tom Ridpath is an unusual main character for a crime series.

Separated from a wife who still loves and cares for him, missing his daughter, and recovering from cancer. He has a strange job. Having had months off with his illness he has been seconded to the Coroner’s Office, and is tasked with investigating deaths which are suspicious in more ways than just the common murders encountered in most books.

This has brought him into conflict with his colleagues on the Major Investigation Team of Greater Manchester Police in the past, but he is determined to prove he is fit to return to the team.

Keeping in the spirit of originality the story has a cracking opening scene. As Ridpath is driving home through the early evening rush on the motorway a naked man runs out in front of him. Ridpath stops in time but the man is hit and killed seconds later.

Amongst the horror of the accident Ridpath sees a man on the hard shoulder holding a gun, but he is gone in an instance and no sign of him is left behind, and nobody else saw him.

Sticking to his guns Ridpath closes the Motorway at its busiest time and suffers the wrath of the traffic police.

All this in the first few pages.

What follows is a great story as Ridpath tries to identify the mystery man, if he ever existed, and find out why he was chasing the naked man onto a busy motorway.

It’s not long before another death occurs and puts Manchester on the edge of a gang war.

Working as a Coroners Officer Ridpath tries to engage his old team but not everybody wants him back.

This is a great story. Ridpath is a great character and MJ Lee has a really good way of bringing the story to life.

Ridpath’s frustrations at being side lined are almost palpable. The scenes are vividly described as are the victims and perpetrators.

Can anybody stop Manchester erupting into violence, not if they don’t start working together.

This is a really good read. Roll on the next book in the Ridpath series

Pages: 344
Publishing date: 11th April 2019

Thank you net galley. this was a very satisfying read. I liked it very much and recommend it highly. I look forward to other DI Ridpath novels.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read the second book featuring DI Ridpath. I have loved both these books, it is nice to come across such a flawed and vulnerable character who you warm too instantly. The reader is always hoping for the best results for this perceived underdog. I would definitely recommend this to any reader and I hope that this series goes on and on.

This is the second book in the D I Ridpath series and I will be reading the first now as it was an exciting read and I couldn’t put it down. The characters were well rounded and realistic and as the novel is based in Manchester, it had even more appeal.

D I Ridpath is part of the Greater Manchester Major Incident Team (MIT) and has been seconded to the coroner’s office. He has returned to work after fighting cancer, which is now in remission but plays a huge part in his life. As the story begins he is estranged from his wife and daughter although he is driving on the M60 to meet them.

He becomes involved in an incident when an almost naked man runs out in front of him and is run over by a lorry. Ridpath is the only one to see that a man with a gun was chasing the victim and some of his colleagues doubt the validity of his statement.

As other victims turn up Ridpath begins to see a connection and MIT find themselves in the centre of a gangland war. His perseverance and belief in himself is brilliant.

Thank you to NetGalley, Canelo and M J Lee for my ARC in return for my honest review.

Enthralling read, highly recommended.

This is the second book and also the second featuring my favourite character, D I Ridpath by M J Lee. It is a Wednesday evening when Ridpath is driving on the M6 and a naked man runs into the path of his car. Ridpath manages to stop in time but a lorry in the next lane runs him over. Looking around wondering where he had come from, Ridpath noticed a gunman was chasing him. The M6 is cordoned off. But the gunman had disappeared. What makes matter worse, his superiors and colleagues do not believe him. A brilliant story and I cannot wait for the next novel with Ridpath. A must read!!!!!!!

Our favourite DI is back. Thomas Ridpath is in remission, his family is living apart and he is still working with the coroner. So when he is involved in witnessing a traffic accident everything comes crashing down. He knows what he saw but the his bosses don't believe him. He knows that this wasn't just a young man on drugs that was scared and ran into traffic. He knows what he saw there was a man with a gun chasing him. But no other witness saw the man and he has been warned to stay away from the case but when he finds out that his other case could be linked he can't just let it go. He has to help an old lady bury her grandson and when he sees photos of the victim he can't believe it, it is his suspect but how is that possible. Can Ridpath find the answers that he is looking for before more young man land up on a slab. He knows that the cases have nothing to do with the local gangs as they have made a pact that has lasts many years so why now?
He knows that he has to work on getting his family back and take better care of himself but he can't let go of this case he just has to prove to his bosses that he has found the link between them all.
Will Ridpath be able to redeem himself? A great read. Full of twists and turns. I was lucky enough to receive a copy via Netgalley & the publishing house in exchange for my honest review.

Another thoroughly enjoyable story of DI/coroner officer Ridpath. Starts off at 100 mph and never relents the deaths pile up, the disbelief in our hero by all sides doesn't stop his investigation. Despite suffering from the after effects of his cancer treatment and pursuing a lifestyle not recommended by his doctor plus his attempts to get back with his wife he continues doggedly the chase encouraged on one side by the coroner but discouraged by senior police officers the action builds to a courtroom climax and shock revelation. Gangsters and gritty Manchester scenery all combine in a well constructed tale and hopefully there will be more!

A gripping and intense read. I was very excited to start this one since the blurb had fascinated me.

It was an easy book to read, the characters were interesting and I wanted to know more about them, the more the story went on.
I would recommend this book to my friends!

This is the second book in M J Lee's DI Ridpath series, which is different to the majority of British crime fiction but only in good ways. Ridpath, even his wife only ever uses his surname, is, as many before him, a troubled soul, but, thank goodness, not because of the job.

The previous book revolved around a number of abductions and, to begin with, I thought this was set along similar lines. I was very quickly proved wrong. This time the storyline centres around a death which happens right in front of Ridpath pushing him into the middle of trying to prevent a gang war with the potential to shatter a truce held for decades.

Although a high ranking officer, Ridpath is seconded to the coroner's office and this continues to add a fascinating additional level to his story, all of which is obviously researched in detail. He is still linked closely to his police colleagues however, and so the two separate departmental investigations are covered equally in this first rate story.  Ridpath's private life is a vital part of how he functions and the way it colours and directs his behaviour as a serving member of the police force is given just the right amount of story time.

This is fast moving storytelling shown from a variety of perspectives but always with Ridpath as the main protagonist. The conclusion is brilliantly presented reminding me of a Perry Masonesque scene but with British abruptness and I loved it.

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 highly to anyone who read the first book or who wants an original slant to the crime genre. It is worth mentioning that there are serious spoilers to the original book, so it may be worth reading that first, it also was excellent.

This is my first Ridpath novel, and it was a good one! I don't read a lot of mysteries, but I enjoyed this. Excellent plot with tasty twists, including well-written heart pounding segments, and a great ending. The characters were well-crafted, and had good dialog. The author is obviously very talented, and I look forward to his next work (after I circle back to the previous in the series). Recommended.

Thanks very much for the ARC for review!

This book was a huge disappointment and not for me at all
I felt it could have offered so much more

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher Canelo for the ARC.
I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to review this second DI Ridpath story, having really enjoyed the first. This, may I say, is even better. DI Ridpath, part of the Greater Manchester Major Incident Team, is working for Mrs Challinor the Coroner, and continuing his hospital check-ups for a cancer which is now in remission. He is temporarily estranged from his wife and daughter but one April afternoon, on his way to meet them for an evening together, he's involved in a motorway accident on the M60. An almost naked young man is running all over the lanes of traffic and Ridpath, although braking just in time to avoid hitting him, witnesses him stepping into the path of an articulated lorry. Glancing up he is sure he sees an armed pursuer on the embankment.
Poor old Ridpath - he's hacked-off the traffic division by closing the M60 on a match day, as well as the Armed Response Unit who searched for the gunman; his MIT DCI Charlie Whitworth can hardly believe the chaos he's caused, and then there is the fact of disappointing his daughter.
Back at the Coroner's office Ridpath has a lot of catching up to do; an inquest is to be opened on a young man found apparently drowned in a park lake the week before but the new pathologist concludes it was murder.
The story takes us into the realms of gangland Manchester where the bosses are legitimising their enterprises and living in relative harmony. So what can you expect when a son of each rival gang boss has been found to have been murdered?
Ridpath has a fine line to walk between the MIT and the Coroner's Office and gradually makes connections between the deaths. Of course he does! This is very cleverly written, and you really don't see that ending coming. There is misdirection, and the final twist - well - you really should read it!

There can be nothing more satisfying than starting a book that you know is going to be good and it turns out to be so very much better than you could ever expect. I was thrilled to receive the arc of this second instalment of the DI Ridpath series as I loved the first book ...well this one is just bloody brilliant !!
The writing is just superb, full of northern humour and as with the last book a plot line that is both complex and full of twists, Ridpath (my favourite character) is fighting his own demons and throws himself full on into the case as always but to say more about the story would spoil it. If you love an excellent thriller with one hell of a great ending, a police procedural with a difference, characters that’s are well rounded and believable then you really do have it all here and if you haven’t read the first book I would urge you to try before you read this one these are books not to missed out on. So I loved the book and am sad to finish it and look forward to reading more from the wonderful MJ Lee please write fast as I need the next book now !!!
My thanks to NetGalley and Canelo for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.