Great start to this series!
A brother and sister use their inheritance to purchase a home. They intend to make improvements for a profit - until they start digging the foundation for the kitchen add on. A skeleton is found.
Isabel is called to the scene- to discover it's the house she lived until the age of 14, when her father abandoned her mother. But did her father really leave?
Excellent start to a new series. Love the characters- I want to know about them all. I love Isabel's strength, family and her attitude.
Highly recommend.

This book had me guessing all the way through!! I like the way we got to know about the person who had died and also the home/personal life of DI Bloods. A crime suspense story that gave that little bit extra - a deeper insight into the lives of the 2 main characters.

Thanks #netgalley #HQpublishing #janebettany

Publish Date - 20th August 2020


Book description - As the Whitworth family begin renovations on their new home, their plans are brought to an abrupt end when they discover a body buried in the back garden.

DI Isabel Blood and her team are called to investigate, but as she approaches Ecclesdale Drive, a feeling of unease settles in her gut.

The property cordoned off is number 23. The house she used to live in as a child…

The forensic team estimate that the body has been in the ground for up to forty years – coinciding with the time Isabel’s family lived in the house.

In Cold Blood is an intriguing police investigation thriller that got my attention at the beginning of the novel. The main character DI Isabel Blood is likable and easy to relate to. The story is centered around a heartwarming family drama.

The main plot is about a skeleton being discovered in the garden during renovations. It was estimated that it has been there 20 to 30 years ago. This causes anxiety to DI Isabel Blood because she used to live in this house as a child and her father had mysteriously disappeared during this time.

The storyline is well written and kept my attention throughout most of the book, there are several suspects and various motives. There is quite a bit happening in the story, which keeps you engaged and returning for more.

Summary:
Engaging and intriguing story, with many twists and turns.

The book was absolutely amazing and impossible to put down!! The characters were easy to connect with and relate to. I read it in just two days because it was so good I couldn’t ever put it down.

A compelling new police procedural. I enjoyed DI Isabel Blood, a woman happy with her job and life, and who's realistically trying to juggle work and family. Some intriguing twists and turns in this police procedural kept me happily engrossed. Hope that this is the beginning of a new series.

Thanks to HQ Digital for access to a digital arc via NetGalley.

In Cold Blood is a mind-blowing debut by Jane Brittany.

Isabel is called to a crime scene and she soon realizes the property cordoned off is the one in which she spent the first fourteen years of her life. Her father disappeared mysteriously when she was 14 and Isabel has a sick feeling about the body found, for the forensic experts believe it has been buried for 25-40 years.

Soon, Isabel unravels a startling discovery about the identity of the victim - no doubt this is a cold case. As Isabel and her team start to look for new evidence, they zero in on the killer - but this is no piece of cake. Circumstantial evidence and assumptions make up a major part of it.

Meanwhile, Isabel wants a closure regarding her father's disappearance. Will she be able to digest what her mother's planning to reveal?

A well-written mystery with excellent character introduction and development. In Cold Blood is an engrossing debut by Jane Brittany.

A pleasant and sweet debut novel with strong characters and easy prose. Though not much of suspense or twists, it was engrossing. The conclusion ties up everything neatly. An easy read

During renovations a body is discovered in the garden,it has been there for a while.It turns out this is our detectives childhood home and her father disappeared when she lived thete. Complex story with lots to unravel.

Enjoyed this debut book very much although I did work out the killer a lot sooner than the police did. That didn’t spoil the story much however because there was plenty of dots to be dotted and i’s to be dotted before I was ready for the ending.
Interesting characters who I expect will be appearing in future books.

A debut crime novel that feels anything but a debut. At last a female character over a certain age that has a stable if a little bit crooked life. Is seemingly content with her place in work and life and is strong enough to take on authority at work and more importantly her mother. The author won a competition in collaboration with Harper Collins and Gransnet as not only a writer over 40 but also to write about a main female character over 40. The proof is in the reading as to why she won this amazing prize. The character is both brilliant and realistic to me as an over 40. The plot line is one that will take the character to some dark places yet see her come out the other end slightly jaded but with a sense of satisfaction. It is a police procedural novel that is shows the amount and depth of investigation that goes into an enquiry of this magnitude. The build up of tension to the revelation of the identity of the body was intense and gripping. When it was revealed it was with a sense of at last now we know the who the body is we can get on and figure out the why and ultimately find the killer. A book that absorbs you into its pages and finds you pulling away at the end realising what a rush that was.

Wow - I can't believe this is a debut novel and I'll admit right now that I also can't wait to read more in this series! It is a superb read - highly recommend you get yourself a copy if you enjoy police procedural, murder, mystery or family drama - this has the lot in a fantastic, well paced read!

When the Whitworth twins start renovating the property they recently bought at auction, they are shocked to discover skeletal human remains. However, they're probably not quite as shocked as DI Isabel Blood, the investigating officer called to the scene, as the property is her childhood home, the place where she lived until her father left them when she was fourteen. When the forensic team suggest the body could have been buried when she lived there, Isabel is concerned this could be possibly be her father . . . .

There is more than one mystery to be solved in this great police procedural - as well as discovering whose body has been found and what happened to them, Isabel also needs to discover just what happened to her father and why. This story is packed with intrigue, family dramas, historic events and is set in an area I know well! Whilst the main location is fictional, there are other places named that I know well as they are relatively local to me.

The characters are well developed and easy to relate to, each with their own backgrounds which are skilfully shared through the story. The heroine is married with a family of her own and juggling her job and home life is an intricate part of the story, including so many aspects which are part of normal life making them all seem even more believable. The story is brilliantly paced, keeping you turning the pages and guessing as more evidence is uncovered. It is a fascinating read and one that I have no hesitation in highly recommending. Congratulations to the author on writing such a superb debut novel - I can't wait to read more by her in future.

Thank you to HQ Digital and NetGalley for the copy of this book which I have read and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

In Cold Blood is a police procedural with a family drama element,

DI Isabel Blood is married, has a teenage daughter who is being a teenager!

Isabel gets a call, a body has been found when a houses new owners are digging in the garden….Isabel knows the house well as it was her childhood home. She finds the remains had been there many years…..she has a horrible sense of dread, as her father had disappeared when she was young and living in that house. Is it his body?

Well, this is a solid police procedural with great, likeable characters and a family drama at its heart. So much happening in the story to keep you engrossed from start to finish.

Thank you to The publishers and NetGalley for an eARC of In Cold Blood. This is my honest and unbiased review.

I loved this book, and am glad to have picked up on it via Twitter. Jane Bettany won the HQ and Gransnet prize for women writers over 40 whose book has a protagonist in the same age group.

It's easy to see why: DI Isobel Blood is a great protagonist who represents our age-group well, without making a Thing of it. The passing incidents in her life are just normal things that happen to middle-aged women, and it's shocking just how refreshing this is in the Year of our Lord 2020 in the most popular genre - crime - in which according to statistics women form the main reader population.

Another thing that really appealed to me was the main storyline's roots in the past. While all the action happens today (even including references to Brexit, that's how Now this is), the murder took place in 1986 and the age of the victim means that Blood and her team have to go right back to the 1930s and 1940s to find out the whole story. This is all really well handled, with the detectives (and us readers) finding out piece by piece as they figure out the right questions to ask, and of whom.

I don't want to give any spoilers, but given the press coverage of a certain other novelist's transphobic plotline in their recent book, it was also refreshing to see how Bettany handled the introduction of a trans character to her plot. Being trans is a normal part of this character's life, and they are depicted as a whole person with a life that includes (of course) but goes beyond their gender identity. Almost everyone they know is unaware they are trans, and, of course, that's as it should be. Post-transition, general acquaintances have no need to question someone's gender at birth, and this character just fits in and is accepted as a woman, living a typical woman's life. More of this kind of thing and less of the crazed psychopathic-men-dressing-as-women-to-kill-women, please: JKR take note.

Finally, another favourite thing about this novel is the believability not just of its characters but of the motivations of the murderer. I grew up in a small town, and, trust me, although I'm not aware of people who actually killed for this reason, there were plenty who would have liked to had they not been afraid of the police!

In fact the only reason I'm giving this four stars and not five is because so much of the detail is explained in the final pages. It was possible to work out whodunnit, and why, but because of the murder's being set in the 1980s and the death of some potential witnesses in the intervening years, Bettany had to rely on the murderer to fill in some of the gaps of her tale. I could see why that was necessary, but it just tipped the book from being a perfect (5 star) read to *almost* perfect for my personal tastes. I'd give it a 4.5 if I could, and will be looking out for future books by this author. LOVE DI Blood.

‘In Cold Blood’ is Jane Bettany’s first novel.

As the Whitworth family begin renovations on their new home, their plans are brought to an abrupt end when they discover a body buried in the back garden. DI Isabel Blood and her team are called to investigate, but as she approaches Ecclesdale Drive, a feeling of unease settles in her gut. The property cordoned off is number 23. The house she used to live in as a child. The forensic team estimate that the body has been in the ground for up to forty years – coinciding with the time Isabel’s family lived in the house. Isabel’s father vanished without a trace when she was fourteen years old. And with her mother remaining tight-lipped about her father’s disappearance, Isabel can’t escape the unnerving sense of dread that it’s his body, buried in the garden.

As a debut novel, ‘In Cold Blood’ is a gripping story that introduces a new detective series with her own drama in life.

The story is seen from the narrative of DI Isobel Blood who’s been called to the scene of crime when a body has been discovered. Unfortunately, the location of the body is at her old family home and having to revisit the homestead brings back unwanted feelings and emotions. As she and her dedicated team investigate the crime, they discover it’s not a simple case of whodunnit it but an historical journey into the previous owners and nosy neighbours.

This book was easy to get absorbed in and right away, I enjoyed Jane’s style of writing. Isabel is a complex character, she’s an older mother struggling with a teenager as well as struggling with her own mother who lives in Spain. Having to revisit her childhood home, has brought back unwanted feelings of her father’s disappearance, so at times she gets emotionally involved in the crime. As her job is so demanding, this often causes some tension in the family, as her daughter Ellie feels that her job is her priority and not her family.

The story is fascinating in not only its premise but also the amount of research in the story is outstanding. As the team are investigating an historical crime, it’s interesting to see how police procedures have changed through the years.

The victim of the crime is also an interesting character, although we never meet Celia. There’s plenty of opinions on the elderly woman. Described as cold and private, as we delve into past, we find an interesting woman who has many secrets that she’s been hiding for years.

‘In Cold Blood’ is a cleverly crafted and well written story that is a great introduction to a new detective. An observational and insightful story about police procedures and a well hidden crime.

You can buy ‘In Cold Blood’ from Amazon.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I actually quite enjoyed this book, had a good storyline and also good characters. Was not expecting it to be as good as it was.

Detective Inspector Isabel Blood is called away from her daughter’s parent’s evening by her colleague as there has been a body found. Upon arriving at the address she is hit by the fact that it is the place where she grew up. DI Blood is alarmed when it turns out the body isn’t recently deceased but has been in the ground for between 30 and 45 years, which could make it around the same time she lived in the house.

Luckily for DI Blood, the pathologist’s time scale is narrowed down and she is relieved that the body was buried sometime in the 1980s after her family had moved out. However, the timescale coincides with a missing person report in which the occupier, female, was declared missing, but the body is that of a man. Could the two cases be related?

The police canvas the area but with little to go on and most people who knew the homeowner now deceased it looks like DI Blood and her team have their work cut out to find out who the body was, how they were killed, and why?

In Cold Blood is a gripping police procedural thriller that had me engrossed from the first page. DI Isabel Blood is a fabulous character. She is in her fifties has two grown-up children and a teenage daughter, plus a loving husband. Whilst the main plot of the book is about the body and finding the killer we also get to read about DI Bloods personal life and her life as a child herself when her dad walked out on the family and was never seen again, leading her to fear the worse when a male body is found at her old address.

The storyline had me intrigued, so much so that I read it in one day as I kept coming back to it once I had put the book down as I needed to know who the body was and who the murderer was. There were a few surprises along the way, although a major part of the plot I had worked out quite early on – the joys of reading lots of thrillers!!

For the main the book was superb, Di Bloods’ work/home life revolved around one another and came together perfectly. However, I wasn’t sure on why there was a small plotline featuring DI Blood’s daughter and one of her teachers as it added nothing to the book and did feel like it was there as a filler to make up a few pages, but overall everything else worked well together and the book came to a nice ending.

I do hope that this is the first in a series as I would love to read more from DI Blood. The way she looks at a case and works things out logically and her realistic attitude kept my interest and enjoyment the whole way through.

Amy and Paul are brother and sister who have recently bought a house to do up. They do not bank on finding a body in the back garden...

The police are contacted and there is a conflict of interest. The lead inspector Isabel grew up in this house with her parents.

The story then follows the investigation, are Isabel's family in the line of enquiry, how long has the body been there, who is it, who murdered and buried him. Lots of questions need answering.

You are involved in the storyline, it's impossible not to be. I had my suspicions as to who was the killer which were completely obliterated by the end of the book.

The story ended on a cliffhanger and I loved the way it has set up for the next instalment which i cannot wait to read.

Being from a military background whodunnit, crime and thrillers are right up my street and this did not disappoint.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

If you’re looking for a cosy crime novel that is packed with suspense, then this is the book for you. I cannot believe that this is a debut novel with how well crafted the story is and how it maintains intrigue throughout.

When a skeleton is found in a back garden, the police are called in to investigate. The last thing that DI Isabel Blood expects is to arrive at the house she lived in as a child. When the body is estimated to have been in the ground for anywhere up to 40 years, she begins to find out her family have secrets of the their own. Especially as her dad left in that time period and was never heard from again…

The story is set in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, both locations being very close to my heart having grown up in Derbyshire. It felt real to me as someone who has lived in this area for the majority of my life with a perfect description of the area.

It’s a great police procedural with plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing throughout. The characters feel realistic and it was refreshing to read a book with an older female protagonist as the lead police investigator. She’s married, has a family of her own, and is finding out plenty of her own family’s secrets along the way to find the killer.

There are so many secrets to uncover, this is a crime fiction book you won’t want to miss. A fantastic debut novel that I have no hesitation in recommending.

This is a fabulous debut crime novel. Its well-crafted plot has engaging and relatable characters and an authentic urban setting. Isabel Blood is a time-served police detective who juggles family and work life with the help of a supportive partner and professional colleagues. She is believable and easy to empathise, essential characteristics for the lead detective in a police procedural.

The East Midland's setting in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire is familiar to me, as I lived there for many years. The author conveys it's idiosyncracies thorough dialogue and description so well.

The plot has depth and unexpected twists that keep the reader absorbed and guessing. The ending is suspenseful and concludes the case satisfactorily. Hopefully, there will be more books in this series with its realistic team dynamic, and likeable lead detective.

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

Really assured first full length police procedural. Great characters and a very intriguing plot, it's nice to have an older female investigator with a happy home life and supportive husband. I will definitely be looking out for more from this writer, a great read.