Many of us have empathy for Sean in this book. Whether it be his career, home life or lack of a social life, we love Sean for his courage. He has lived with and assisted his disabled mom (who had been a cop) for 12 years. Now, a detective just out of training, Sean tastes the bitter reality of the streets (and the paperwork).

Five female murder victims have been found - all with cell phones stuck in their mouth - only one still had a tongue left. Due to Sean's first outing with the squad, he is relegated to desk duty.

Many theories for the killer of these women are batted around until...

Superb character development ! A great story with feeling. I honestly could not put it down.

Many Thanks to Black Thorn Books / Severn House and NetGalley for an excellent read

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

I didn't really warm to this one. It was a bit depressing and humourless: at the beginning Sean is blamed (with some justification, I felt, although I don't think I was supposed to) for a colleague being attacked, and thereafter is ostracized and sidelined. This causes him to become sulky and petulant at work, although he clearly feels he is making an enormous effort to hide this. Then at home he has been his mother's carer since he was 10, and while this is an unusual and praiseworthy backstory, it was also something of a downer.

Then there were the sections from the point of view of the murderer, which were hard to read because of their misogyny. Obviously he was not intended as a representative of acceptable attitudes to women, but the sheer amount of page space he got and the hatefulness of the depictions of the women he encountered made me uncomfortable. I expect this is a sign of good writing, but it made me want to stop reading unfortunately.

❗️❗️❗️Beep Beep Beep ❗️❗️❗️
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ARC Book Review in full swing from publisher BlackThorn and @netgalley❣️#Loosetongues
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If you love a good crime detective serial killer mystery- this is an intriguing story and case to follow. Author, Chris Simms has a writing style that will keep the page turning, keep your mind engaged, and keep you shushing your kids from needing to EAT...AGAIN❗️
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You will want to shut the world out, fold yourself into cocoon of clues, plots turns, and rapidly moving case advancements all while downing a pour of whiskey 🥃 and checking to make sure your doors are 🔒 .
I didn’t want to put the book 📖 down...uh, so I didn’t? And let all responsibilities slide...YOU should NOT do that, but you SHOULD read this if serial killers wanting to right the world of unruly women are your thing...I could have been next on his list, if not for that fast moving, hardworking newby Detective Sean Blake!
Loved it⁉️💕
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Comes out September 5 if that’s your thing-you know, fast paced, nail biting, pee your pants thrill seeking, but whatevs 🤷🏽‍♀️I am obviously SICK
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IG handle Janicedoesbooks

Really good read. A great story with plenty of action. I hope that there is more Sean Blake to come.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I never repeat the blurb. Easy, easy read this one, no pretension, no 'obscure' for the sake of it - very refreshing. Goodies v. a baddie, no big reveal, good characters and well considered plot. Can't ask much more than that. Will be reading more from this author.

Thoroughly enjoyed the first of what i hope to be a new police procedural series

Who would guess that on the first day in your new role as Detective you would be plunged into a bizarre and complex murder case... this is the first day for Sean Blake in the serious crime unit and what a way to immerse youself into a new role

Thank you to Netgalley for letting me have this as a ARC.

Had read books by this author before and found I really enjoyed the book. It was fast paced and a good police procedural book with mostly likeable characters. Thought it was a bit unrealistic in one part, this didn’t put me off though and it was still a good read. The ending was sad and perhaps not unexpected and if there was a second book featuring DC Blake I would want to read that too.