This was gripping and fast paced, with good characters. I enjoyed the first 2/3rds of the novel a lot, but found the ending to be a bit disappointing.. The flashbacks were well written and believable.

Aw, what a great book! Full if suspense, drama, twists and turns! At some point at the end I already knew who had done it and I kind of guessed the consequences but still, it was a really gripping story!

When I began this book I found it a little confusing. The standard is one central detective, usually with a sidekick. This novel opens with four or five police officers, plus connected agencies, and I wasn't really sure who the central focus was.

The crime itself was quite intriguing from the outset although I did piece together what had happened earlier than I usually would and that made it harder to stay motivated to the end.

I could definitely see this book as a television crime drama more than as a novel.

When a baby is found dead in her cot Carla Brown, a crime analyst, and DS Nell Jackson investigate. Although Eve, the pathologist is quite certain of events Carla is not convinced. Her analyst nerves are twitching & on further investigation reveals that she is right to be suspicious. However Eve is married to her oldest friend & mentor which makes things difficult.

The story switches frequently to thirty five years ago when two teenage girls are thrown together due to arriving at a care home at the same time. Having been let down by the people who should have protected them they form a bond that ties them more tightly than family.

Although I guessed what was going on it didn't stop this from being one of the most enjoyable books I have read for ages. It really grabbed the attention. It was great to see a police procedural seen through the eves of a civilian analyst. I do hope we'll get to read more about Carla Brown! The rest of the team were also worth getting to know. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this great book.

When I Lost You started really well and I became interested right away. Eventually I started to become confused, the story seemed to jump about and the characters were confusing as I felt they all mingled into one another! I felt the chapters were erratic and hope when the book is finished off and printed things will become clearer as it could be a really good read.

Great book ... a very exciting plot, with strong characters. I would recommend this book.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Marilyn Davies for the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

I really enjoyed this book. There is a lot of suspense throughout and I thought that the ending was really good. I got totally caught up in the story and although I had guessed who Mary was it did not spoil my enjoyment of the book.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

A very intriguing story with a complex plot and thrilling end that I couldn't wait to get back to every time I was forced to stop reading. The present storyline is interesting but for me, the past one is where this book really shines. The two girls and their relationship with each other and their groomer are brilliantly depicted. Although I had a hunch about what was going on I enjoyed seeing how the team got to the truth. I think this story would appeal to fans of The Ice Cream Girls.

All is not what it seems.

This is a very complicated crime thriller, with so many twists and flashbacks it is sometimes hard to keep up.

At the outset, police are sent to investigate a child murder, and the child's parents are the immediate suspects. But doubt is cast on this, when the lead pathologist, Eve, receives a threatening letter. This refers to a wrong diagnosis she gave in the past, which was eventually overturned on appeal, but not before the innocent mother had served several years in prison.

As the police dig deeper in this latest case, they find it increasingly difficult to get to the truth. Eve’s husband, also a policeman, reluctantly hands over further letters that Eve has received.

To complicate things still further, there are flashbacks to a completely different storyline of two teenage girls living a miserable life in a care home, and it is a love story. They are completely devoted to each other, but their life together is brought to a sudden and violent end, and this has far-reaching consequences.

The author eventually brings the strands of these two stories together, but it is very far-fetched. The person who is finally convicted goes through a typical trial but is obviously quite insane.

The dialogue is good, and the police setting is authentically written. Had the story been more believable and less complicated, this would have been a more satisfying read.

Jane

Breakaway Reviews received a copy of this book to review.

This book tells the gripping story of the death of a baby in suspicious circumstances and the pathologist Eve Graham pointing the finger at the mother. Eve then gets threatening letters and in a previous court case her evidence saw a mother imprisoned wrongly. Who is sending the letters??
On the case is DS Nell Jackson and Carla Brown, an analyst. Harrowing story of grooming, teenage pregnancy and abuse. I read this almost in one sitting as I was so gripped.

An unusual and complex police thriller which got better as it went along. A sad story of grooming,love and death. Good characters and a good police team I hope we meet again.

I really enjoyed this book reading it in one sitting!

The book deals with some hard topics - the effects of abuse, dominance and grooming on individuals and the cost to both the individuals affected and those closest to them. It was very emotionally draining at times.

The latest no term effect on Mary of letting her friend die but saving her baby is catastrophic to all concerned. Her increasing delusions lead to the death of the child she had done so much to save.

The police procedural story almost secondary to the central drama.

Rating: 3.5
A baby is found dead and the pathologist points the finger at the mum. Though another murder and an intriguing letter leads this investigation onto a more confusing turn of events that dates back a bit further than imagined.

I did enjoy this book, it was definitely a page turner that kept you hooked till the end. I wasn't able to predict exactly what was going to happen but I wasn't that far off, and to be honest I was a little disappointed with the ending. It was a somewhat satisfying ending, a little bit confusing at times.

I loved the writing style and the characters, my favourite was Carla and Nell, I loved the progression of their relationship and the backstory of Carla as well. This could easily become a series following the team onto the next investigation, which I would happily read.

A great thriller with a nice twist!

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Not sure I could write a review about this book really as can honestly say that I skipped quite a lot and then had to go back as found the writing really confusing and not a good storyline.

When a couple are accused of killing there baby by a local pathologist DS Nell Jackson and Crime Analyst Carla Brown decide to investigate but things don't seem to add up.
As they dig deeper things start to unravel especially regarding the pathologist Eve.
The book begins when two young girls are in care together they are best friends, one day when there are at the beach they encounter a man called Alf who runs the local cafe.
Things take a turn for the worst and he starts to groom Mary and Aoife before long one of them is pregnant dead and the other runs away and saves the baby.
What has all this to do with what is happening now and Eve?

A very complicated storyline but intriguing.
It involves child abuse and grooming- very difficult topics which are well written and sympathetically handled.
Eve, a pathologist is accused of blaming mothers for their babies’ deaths even when their is doubt or someone else more likely to be responsible for the death.
It involves people trying to get a fresh start but being haunted by the past.
The narrative deals with difficult and complicated relationships between the main characters and keeps the reader hooked until the very end.
The relationships between the police and crime analyst are very realistic.
Something a bit different from the norm.
Very enjoyable.

This is one of the novels that it’s worth sticking with, despite the fact that it's initially somewhat confusing, with a lot of names introduced in a fairly short amount of time, and with much interspersing of events that took place in the thirty-five year span of the story, with the modern-day investigation. But gradually the confusion disappears and you become absorbed in the story, and want to know what happens next.

Also interesting is finding out a little about the work of an analyst. The author herself is an analyst, and therefore writes from first-hand experience about the work of an analyst and the way in which the police proceed when confronted by the unexplained death of a baby.

In the story, there are five central characters in modern times: DS Nell Jackson works with DC Paul Mackintosh, and DCI Max Bremer, who involves Thames Valley crime analyst, Carla Brown, in the investigation in a way that is beyond what’s normal for an analyst. The other central character is the Lead Forensic Pathologist, Eve Graham. Having said that, their spouses, too, have important roles to play. And so, too, do the characters who appear in the earlier years depicted in the novel.

The novel proper starts with the death of a baby, which had yet to be determined to be a natural death or the result of being forcibly shaken. The young mother, Kelley-Anne, and her boyfriend, Connor O’Brien, deny being responsible for the death of their child, but the police suspect that this is not a natural death. Pathologist Eve Graham blames the mother for the child’s death before she’s even examined the body and before the police have begun their investigation.

Soon after the investigation begins, Eve hands Carla an envelope, which, she said, her husband had persuaded her to hand over to the police. In the letter, which appears to be the third or fourth similar letter sent to Eve, Eve is accused of being responsible for the writer’s imprisonment, and the writer, later freed on account of the flaws in the evidence presented by Eve, implores Eve not to destroy deliberately the life of another young mother in such a way. Mystifyingly, the letter writer knows personal facts about Eve’s past, and knows of the investigation into the dead baby that’s about to start, something which would not have been known by everyone.

I won’t say any more about the story as I don’t want to be responsible for spoilers. Suffice it to say, the novel deals with gritty themes, which are handled sensitively, and without any hint of gratuitous sensationalism.

This is not the sort of novel from which to read a chapter a day. In order to keep abreast of the plot and the characters, it’s preferable to read large chunks at a single reading. If the reader does so, the result will be rewarding.

My thanks go to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy of the novel.

If you are into crime thrillers it would be hard to go past this book. Carla Brown, a crime analyst, and DS Nell Jackson investigate the suspected murder of a baby in which the mother is accused due to forensic evidence provided by Eve who is known for her thorough work.

However it is not long before the open and shut case starts to feel wrong leading Carla to look at other cases of child murder convictions in which Eve was the forensic scientist. This leads us back thirty-five years in time where two teenage girls are involved in a murder and missing baby case.

This is a book that I devoured in two nights. The plot is carefully thought out and touches on deep themes of mothering, loss and psychological damage. It also shows how justice is often hard to come by. While it is plot driven it is not at the expense of characterisation which makes this a great crime thriller. It grabs you from the get-go and keeps you engaged until the end. I could not fault this work so congratulations to the author and I look forward to reading her work in the future.

If there is one word that can sum up my feelings about this book, it is confusing. Initially, it felt as though I was reading the second book in a series and I had to double check that this wasn't the case. The plot was also split between 'then' and 'now' and it wasn't entirely clear that this was the case to start with. (I think one of the headings was missing from the chapter). There were also names = lots of names - thrown into the plot that didn't seem to bear any resemblance to what was happening at that point in time. The plot felt as though it needed a really good edit if I am honest. For example, one character would tell a second character to lock the third character in a room. A page later the second character would ask where the third character was????

Now I've got that off my chest, the plot that involved grooming and child abuse were handled really well. It was never gratuitous and felt really well handled. It came as no surprise that the psychological pain of what happened to these girls reverberated through the years and manifested itself the way that it did. (Trying not to spoil anything for anyone).

My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Like some other reviewers I found this book at times to be a little confusing but - stick with it. Concentration on the characters is quite essential with the twists and turns of the plot and the changes of names, identities and lives over 35 years. With that concentration the identity of two of the main characters is perhaps given away a little bit too early? While the story of the main protagonist could be considered a little far fetched (but not impossible) the interest also lies in the crime analysis work the author writes from her own experience.
Overall a good read which shows promise for any future reading this author may produce. Would like to give 3.5 stars!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this opportunity to give an honest review.