Little Doubt by Rachel Lynch is the seventh in the DI Kelly Porter series but it reads well as a standalone. However, this is such an excellent series that I would like to read the previous books as well. While Ella Watson is jogging, she is attacked and stabbed to death. She was a wife and devoted mother and appears to have been targeted at random. Within one day, Keira Bradley is knifed to death close by, on Benson Estate, where lawlessness rules. In less than 24 hours, these two women from opposite ends of society, were killed and DI Porter is tasked with both investigations. She will deal with uncooperative witnesses, a senior officer who is interfering with her work, someone on her staff who may be working both sides of the fence, etc. This police procedural is so well-written that the reader can visualize the action, as if being there. Highly recommended. Thank you to Canelo and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another cracking book by Rachel Lynch in the Detective Kelly Porter series. I discovered this book series last year and it has quickly become one of my favourite crime series. I really admire and like the central character Kelly, especially her honesty and mindset. Little Doubt focuses on two knife crimes that seemingly have no connection to each other. I was gripped from the first chapter and read it over the course of one day. This book is another triumph in the series which I am sure will continue for many years to come.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC

4-4.5*
Another really good read from Rachel Lynch’s D I Kelly Porter series.

Now back from their long holiday in Florida Kelly and Johnny are settling back into life in Cumbria.

When two deaths happen in a short space of time and are both knife crimes Kelly is brought in to investigation.

It soon shows her that there are those in the Force who are still driven by what appears, at first, to be akin to an ‘old boy’s network’ to gain/wield personal power. She soon realises that it goes far beyond that and into much murkier depths.

This is set not in the beautiful landscape of the Lake District that Lynch so lovingly describes in previous books but in a much more urban setting. In particular that of the Beacon Estate which has become a virtual no-go area for the Police.

There is perhaps more sociopolitical commentary in this book but it certainly is a very good police procedural, investigation and interesting storyline.

We still have the ongoing story of Kelly’s relationships – both personal and working – which, certainly for me, make you more invested in the storyline. It was therefore as shocking to me, the reader, as to Kelly to find that one of her team appears to have been planted and has other loyalties.

All these threads come together and place Kelly in a very difficult position. Still she is determined to not only solve both these appalling murders but to seek out the treachery within her team and to clear out the evil influence behind it.

I certainly enjoyed this latest book by Rachel Lynch and would most definitely recommend it.


Thanks
With thanks to Ellie at Canelo for the invite to read and to Canelo via NetGalley for an eCopy of Little Doubt. I also purchased this book. These are purely my own thoughts, for which I have received no payment.

DI Kelly Porter is in urban Cumbria for this story, a stark contrast to The Lake District's beauty and wealth. Two motiveless murder require Kelly's urban detection skills, from her time at the Met. Knife crime, urban deprivation and the culture of fear, are explored in a knowledgable and sensitive way. The strong team dynamics are threatened, ramping up the investigation's complexity and the story's suspense.

The relatable characters and plots twists make this immersive and intriguing crime fiction.

I received a copy of this book from Canelo via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I did enjoy this book in the main, although not as much as the previous Kelly Porter one I had read. It kept me guessing - partly about how the story would unfold but also trying to keep on top of who was who with so many similarly named characters - Jordan, Jackson, Jason, Johnny, Josie was just way too many Js to keep up with! I was quite disappointed by a very contrived ending which is what made me downgrade my rating from four stars to three. I won't give spoilers but the final chapter was just way too unbelievable for me.

I have never read any of the other books in this series but now I am going to have to go back and read them all as this was so good!

DI Kelly Porter as a character is intriguing and I want to know so much more about her back story and what brought her to the Lake District. She is surrounded by other fantastic characters. One of my favourites was the mother of Keira Bradley, the young stabbing victim from the poorer estate, as she is so realistic, authentic and likeable. I kind of want to meet her in real life!

The plot is well thought out and intelligent. As a reader you know not to trust Superintendent Neil Ormond as he has close connection to the family of the other, wealthy, victim but you are never quite sure what his ulterior motive is.

The unravelling of the plot is slow but in a good way - it keeps you turning the pages as each little bit of information leads you further towards the truth. I did not expect the way the plot went and I love when that happens.

I highly recommend this book and will be going back to earlier titles in the series.

Thanks to Canelo, Netgalley and the author for the chance to read this ARC.

I have read and enjoyed most of Rachel Lynch's DI Kelly Porter series. Once again I like the use of real geographical locations in the Lake District. I also like the sensitive way the back-stories of the police characters, is interwoven into a fast moving crime thriller.

If you can, try to read the books in order. However this book also stands out well on its own merits.

This story is based around two brutal murders by stabbing, one of a well off woman in a park in Penrith, the other of a young woman from a crime-ridden Penrith housing estate.

The quality of the characters is once again excellent. I particularly like the way the Sharon, the mother of one of the victims is developed.

There are plenty of twists and turns in the plot before the identity of the murderers is revealed. Is that the whole story? Well you'll have to read the book to find out.

It is difficult to separate out just one book in this series, but I think that this is the best so far.

I give my thanks to Netgalley and Canelo for a copy in exchange for this review.

Loved this book. Nice to read a book which reflects what is happening in the country at the moment. The characters were all day to envisage and the storyline flowed well. Have only read one book by this author before but definitely need to read some more. Thanks to Canelo and Netgalley for the chance to read this.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an unbiased review.
I'll confess I'm a bit fan of this series of books and have read all of them and introduced my wife to reading them also. Suffice to say then I was really looking forward to reading this one.
Now whilst it is a well told story, there is just something about it that didn't sit with me as being realistic for a location such as Penrith. However putting that aside, still looking forward to future developments/cases for D.I Porter

#LittleDoubt #NetGalley I just LOVE this series and this latest novel did not disappoint. Gritty, suspenseful and full of action with DI Kelly Porter at the top of her game following her three week sailing break in Florida. Although the seventh in the series, it can be read as a standalone but reading the previous books would give a more rounded insight into the characters and their relationships, particularly between Kelly and Johnny and Kelly and Ted. A well deserved 5 stars, cant wait for the next installment!!

I DNF this title. I plan on revisting when I read the other books in this series! The storyline seemed interesting but I was connected to the characters.

Book seven picks up a just a month or so after the end of book six. DCI Kelly Porter has returned from her three week holiday with her partner Johnny and is investigating another horrific murder.
Ella Watson was out running when she was fatally stabbed. Who would do such a thing to a happily married mother of two? It is for DI Kelly Porter and her team to find out.
This book is just as brilliant as the first six and had me captivated from the first page.
It was good to see a different side of the Lake District when Kelly’s team visited the Beacon Estate when Keira Bradley, an estate resident, is murdered on the same day as Ella.
Are the two murders connected? How will Kelly and her small team manage with investigating two murders at the same time? How will the residents of the Beacon Estate react to such a level of intrusion from the police?
Yet another superb book by Rachel Lynch in the Kelly Porter series. I can’t wait to read the eighth one!
Thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have read and enjoyed several ofRachel Lynch's DI Kelly Porter novels. I also enjoyed this, about the murder of two women from very different backgrounds, however I found some of the incidents and relationships between people from very different walks of life to be not quite credible. This didn't stop me enjoying the plot, and the updates on DI Porter's life and relationships.

I’ve read a few DI Kelly Porter books now and have tended to be impressed. Little Doubt was no different. This book starts off in intense, dramatic fashion with a loving wife and mother fatally stabbed in a random attack. Kelly is investigating the senseless tragedy when someone else is murdered. Both attacks seems different Kelly and her team gradually pieces the clues together and realise the two murders are connected. The book is very relevant to modern times as the news is filled more and more with such seemingly random crimes. I really enjoyed the way the estate where the victims live decides to take a stand against the gangs terrorising them. Let’s give a round of applause to bad ass mother’s everywhere.

This is the 7th book in the DI Kelly Porter series and is a good addition to it. With Kelly involved in two simultaneous murder investigations, the suspense is plentiful, as well as the twists.

Ella was just out for a jog in a local park when she was brutally stabbed to death. Wife of a retired wealthy business man & an acquaintance of the local police superintendent her death was immediately big news. Meanwhile on the notorious Beacon Estate a young woman is also brutally & fatally stabbed, but her death is put down to gang violence- the estate is somewhere to be avoided, even for the police! For DI Kelly Porter both deaths are equally important but at every turn she finds herself butting heads with her superiors. Before long things get out of control & Kelly wonders who she can trust.

I have enjoyed this series right from the start & they just get better & better. This one is the best yet, dealing with events that are unfortunately not works of fiction. I am already looking forward to the next one. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

I do really the character of DI Kelly Porter. The story is very current with knife crime rising in the UK. The author kept me engaged right to the end. A very good read.

Another outstanding read from this brilliant author.

Ella Watson doesn’t realise that she will never return to her beautiful home on the south shore of Ullswater when she sets off on a shopping trip to Keswick. Instead, by that evening, her husband Thomas and her two teenage children, Jordan and Millie, will be facing a future without her. Ella becomes a victim to a random stabbing by two suspects.

DI Kelly Porter and her team start gathering evidence at the murder scene, hoping that the perpetrators have left some evidence behind.

Jackson Akers watches in horror as the Jason Cotton; the gang-leader and local drug lord kills Keira Bradley, a resident of Beacon Estate. Kelly Porter has to break the news to her mother, Sharon.

As Kelly and her team start piecing everything together, they realise that the two murders are connected, but why? And why is Superintendent Neil Ormond interfering with how she and her team, operate as they try to discover how these two murders are not only connected but who ordered the killings?

Rachel Lynch has absolutely nailed this book with what we read in the papers every day; stabbings, sometimes random, sometimes targeted at gang members. She’s captured their language and their attitudes in this novel.

If like me, you’ve read the previous books, you will know the team and the energy and trust between them. What has been added to this book is how the Estate, under the guidance of Sharon, decides to take back control from the gangs. Hopefully, other mothers will take a leaf out of her books and follow her lead, because nothing can stop a mother defending her patch.

Bravo Rachel Lynch. If I could give you ten stars instead of five, I would.

Rony

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review.

I have read and enjoyed all the books in the Kelly Porter series, so was looking forward to this new one. It certainly didn't disappoint. Kelly and her team are investigating the fatal stabbing of 2 women. One is well to do and middle class, while the other is from the local council estate, which has become a no go area for the police. This is a story of gangs and social deprivation set in the Lake District, and is another great story from Rachel Lynch. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

368 pages

4 stars

When rich, white Ella Watson is fatally stabbed while out jogging, the community is in an uproar. DI Kelly Porter is not as sure as her colleagues that a gang from the local Beacon Estates is responsible. However, when Keira Bradley is similarly killed on the Estate, it barely causes a ripple with the public.

Kelly's boss is a golfing buddy of Ella's husband, so he sticks his considerable nose into the case. This causes tension and problems for Kelly and her team.

This book is a very good police procedural. It illustrates all the problems and triumphs of an investigation. Kelly tries very hard to get information out of the people living on the Beacon Estate. It's like pulling teeth, so to speak. The book is well written and plotted and while the reader learns early who did the killings, it was interesting to read about their background and just why they felt they were obliged to commit the murders. I will continue to read the DI Kelly Porter series. I think they are very good.

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