The Final Round introduces us to O'Keefe's detective, Garibaldi in an easy-read police/crime procedural novel.

Six old Oxford University friends find one of their number dying in less than natural circumstances. All fingers point to the group of friends but it all feels a little contrived. Who is to blame? Garibaldi will get to the bottom of it all.

There was a familiarity to the story - not in its content but in its style. This made for comfortable reading on the whole - the formulaic nature of an easy read crime drama meant that it didn't challenge too much. As an Oxbridge grad myself I found more than a smattering of realism in the characterisation, both of individuals and of relationships inter se. Geographically too, the novel progressed with an accuracy that allowed the reader the freedom to believe, with places and neighbourhoods well researched.

At times I felt that the segues between characters and their stories made some chapters harder to read than others. More than once was I forced to backtrack to double-check just who we were talking about and this made some sections rather clunky. Hopefully, a couple of minor syntax and wording errors will be ironed out in the final publication.

I think that this is the kind of book that lends itself to a bedtime/travel/beach read - easy escapism. I for one would certainly not be averse to reading more of the detective's investigations and would hope that with subsequent books, Garibaldi is developed as the Morse-esque character to whom he may well aspire.

With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy.

I was grateful for the preview copy from Muswell Press in return for an honest review.

I loved Detective Garibaldi. A man with quirks and foibles, and irreverence and disdain for authority.

I loved the storyline, the intricate twist, turns and connections. The plot was good, the array of suspects, all college buddies, broad enough to do justice to the storyline, and it kept moving at a fair pace.

Having visited Oxford in early September 2020, I could also visualise the settings and the context described, which added to my enjoyment.

I highly recommend it to you, and further episodes in the series as they arrive.

A good plot and narrative for a new series. The suspense is tightly maintained to the conclusion. But for a police procedural there are some glaring errors and the lead detective doesn’t come out as sharp and the second detective gets mentioned only as a driver. Hope these are rectified in future books. As for the characters, all of them are vain and headstrong, it became monotonous. With quite a good number of characters their differences could have been highlighted. 3.5 stars

DI Garibaldi investigates a murder of a man Nick killed by poison and also stabbed.
The Final round refers to an additional round at a charity quiz where the original quizzers are all accused of a wrongdoing .
Problem is the deceased and his university friends are unlikeable so I didn’t care who killed him.
I found a few problems with the police methods - Garibaldi pretending to be someone else to get information, police releasing all the murder gory details - wouldn’t happen.
If this is the first in a series then these sort of things need to be fixed.
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for a fair review.
3 Stars.

A story about old friends and secrets. The overall story was good but it was very hard to like any of the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Muswell Press for an advance copy of The Final Round, the first novel to feature DI Jim Garibaldi, set in Barnes, London.

On the day after the boat race a body is discovered with his tongue cut out and multiple stab wounds, an Oxford college scarf stuffed in his mouth. He is eventually identified as Nick Bellamy, last seen at a charity quiz organised by his Balfour College friend, newscaster Melissa Matthews. Garibaldi’s attention soon centres on this quiz and the final round that asked contestants to speculate on a series of lurid allegations about Melissa, Nick and their four friends.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Final Round which is a fine introduction to an interesting character and an absorbing read. The novel starts with the murder then slips back in time to the charity quiz and the six friends’ reaction to it and that strange final round. This introduces the prime suspects and the petty jealousies and tensions in their interactions and sets the scene for the investigation, which doesn’t get going until chapter seven when Garibaldi makes his entrance. I found myself absorbed by this by play and Garibaldi’s slow teasing out of the secrets these characters are keeping. I’m not sure I found the solution credible and it seems slightly fantastical in comparison with the almost prosaic tone that precedes it. Well, whatever, it certainly fits with the theatrics of that final round, which I think is a very clever and unusual plot device, that kept this reader guessing throughout.

The downside to this novel is the general awfulness of the six friends and their spouses. They are all self absorbed and entitled to the extent that I couldn’t bring myself to care about who did it or why. Any one of them would make a suitable killer. I suppose it’s to the author’s credit that his characters are well enough developed to elicit a response. Garibaldi, on the other hand, is a character I could grow to love. He’s definitely an eccentric in policing terms, the only detective who can’t drive, reads books (lots of them and the literary ones) and loves country music and QPR (shades of Tom Thorne in these last attributes). I like his basic humanity.

The Final Round is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

O'Keeffe starts off well by naming the D.I. in this novel Garibaldi. That alone sort of hooks a reader. The story itself centres round a group of 6 ex Oxford University students who have got together, along with other invited guests, to enjoy a Quiz Night. On this occasion, unbeknownst to the host, there are 6 extra questions added on at the end. These lead to terrible repercussions and cause the murder which D.I. Garibaldi is faced with solving. There are lots of twists and turns but there my suspense of disbelief didn't last to the very end which is a great pity. I can't say more as it would reveal too much but it means I can only give 3 stars on this occasion to what is nonetheless a very enjoyable read.

Good detective novel with a new lead character to follow D I Garibaldi. As with all the best current crime novels we are treated with details of his complex private life but in this case they add rather than detract from the narrative. A murder on boat race day with five Oxford graduates as suspects after a strange final round on an annual charity quiz night. People who have things to hide, all classic ingredients are all here in this entertaining pot boiler! More to come hopefully!

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley.

For the most part I liked this book quite a bit. I think the author gave a good range of suspects and revealed clues well. Added to that was all the interesting details of British life that we don't see on this side of the pond. The reason that I'm only giving a 3-star rating is that the lead character, Detective DI Garibaldi, is very annoying, and that the ending is quite contrived. Garibaldi's arrogance and constant need to one-up the people he encounters is bad enough but the way he interviews one of the suspects near the end is just ludicrous. It's unfortunate because I like O'Keeffe's writing style, but not enough to read more books with this lead detective.

I struggled with this book - a bit tedious at times as another reviewer mentioned. The characters were difficult to like and found myself thinking can this be over already

A well written and descriptive story with believable characters, I especially like Detective Garibaldi. I really enjoyed trying to work out 'whodunnit ' unfortunately I got it wrong but it was fun trying.

If this is Detective Garibaldi’s first appearance, we can only hope it is not his last. A group of six alumni from Balfour College, Oxford, now nearing forty years of age, have sort of kept in touch. Every year one, Melissa, a noted newsreader with an equally successful husband, holds a quiz night in aid of charity in the Ocean Bar. This is held on the evening of the boat race which is said to be ‘more about the Day than the Race’. On this occasion, they are all there, some with partners who were not at Oxford, and things go wrong when there is an unexpected final round listing a scandal about each of the six and asking which statements are true. Who planned that? Then one of them, Nick Bellamy is found dead, poisoned but with his tongue cut out and a college scarf stuffed into his mouth. Garibaldi is an attractively conceived character with a habit of quoting aptly from classical literature to describe what he is seeing. There is always the assumption that the murderer is one of the group but it is hard to guess which it might be. The story moves to an unexpected ending. This book has all the tension, mystery and pace that is needed to keep readers’ attention. It is very well written. I recommend it.

Revelations about a group of old university friends’ past lives come back to haunt them years later. Are they true or false? Who knows their secrets and was that person capable of murder? A light, easy reading murder mystery.

Fast Paced Investigation.....
The first in a new series featuring DI Garibaldi. A gruesome killing takes Garibaldi to Oxford to investigate further. Fast paced investigation with an intricate and sometimes convoluted plot, characters that are for the most part pretty unlikeable, including Garibaldi himself and with a surprising denouement. Solid, escapist reading.

I really liked this book. The plot was good and kept moving at a decent pace, the characters were engaging and I enjoyed the ending.

Introducing DI Garibaldi, who has to put up with the occasional biscuit joke, and his docile sidekick DS Milly Gardner, this novel is set in affluent, leafy SW London. Yet another policeman in the overcrowded crime genre, the author has tried hard to give Garibaldi some distinguishing features. He doesn’t drive and is known to reference English Literature texts, most often those found on A level specifications. There is the making of a memorable character here but O’Keefe will need to flesh out this skeleton carefully in any follow-up if the reader is to give him further attention.
The story begins in April on Boat Race day at the end of which a grisly murder is committed in Barnes. Nick Bellamy, a one-time successful City banker, is found poisoned, stabbed and mutilated. Nick’s acerbic tongue has literally been cut out. Who has done this and why?
In order to begin to piece together the clues, Garibaldi has to look back to early March and a 25th anniversary quiz night at the Ocean Bar, attended by Bellamy and four other Balfour College, Oxford alumni who gather once a year to quiz for charity. From the most materially successful, Melissa and Greg Matthews, to the least affluent, Kim, wife of journalist Chris Turner, none is likeable and they all have toxic relationships or family difficulties. Given that all are accused of either moral or actual crimes in the final round of the quiz, could any of them be connected with Nick’s murder a month later?
There is no doubt that O’Keefe can tell a story. He writes well and includes enough domestic detail for the reader to be able to picture the ghastly suspects as they go about their days. However, neither elements of the detective work nor the actual matter of the murder is entirely convincing. Without including spoilers, it’s difficult to say more. Perhaps Fay Wetherby, one of the Balfour group and Head of a prestigious girls’ school, would write at this end of this manuscript: Shows promise; aspects of plot and characterisation need further consideration!
My thanks to NetGalley and Muswell Press for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

Detective Inspector Garibaldi "as in the great Italian nationalist. And the biscuit" is country music loving, well read and the only officer in the Metropolitan Police who can't drive a car. He's the filling in the sandwich between DCI Karen Deighton, the boss, and nice but dim DS Milly Gardner. The characterisations and the relationships are a bit heavy handed, it would have been preferable for them to emerge rather than be spelt out and it's obvious they are going to get honed as the series goes on. As it is it reads a bit like a parody on Morse (especially with the Oxford connected crime) but that sells it well short!

Six former Balfour College, Oxford friends get together for an annual charity quiz. The twenty-fifth anniversary quiz has an unexpected final round which accuses the each of the six of a plausible sin. Then one of the six meets his maker in a particularly gruesome manner. The six turn out to be fairly unlikeable so Bernard O'Keefe does well to make it matter who committed the crime and why!

The story is a good one, the pacing is excellent and it kept me reading until the book was finished. I'd recommend this and the next installment is going to be even better.

I always enjoy discovering excellent new police procedurals and the partnership of Garibaldi and Gardner is an interesting and original one.

I was totally engaged by this thriller and its fascinating plot although it did get slightly over complicated.

Well worth a read and i look forward to the next instalment.

Thank you NetGalley and Muswell Press for the eARC.
This is the first DI Girabaldi book in what I hope will be a series. I liked it a lot. When I read a book and I want to get back to it, rushing through my chores, it's, as far as I'm concerned, a good book.
None of the characters are likeable, they're all a bit too entitled, but that was what made them intersting. Garibaldi is divorced, has a chip on his shoulders, doesn't drive (he bicycles) and loves country music. But I did like his DS, Millie Gardner, who will hopefully be more fleshed out in the future.
It doesn't make sense not to like most characters, but it works for me. The killing is brutal, and everyone is a suspect. There were 6 of them that all went to Oxford togethet, but drifted apart, except for the annual charity quiz. The only one who didn't do well for himself is the man who was murdered.
I did not see the end coming, and that I also enjoyed. A good start to a series that I definitely recommend.

Twenty-five years ago, six friends from Oxford created a pub quiz which ballooned into a charity affair. Each of them went onto bigger and better things, and led their own lives - each with some sordid secrets. At the twenty-fifth anniversary quiz, a bonus final round is put over the speakers. A final round about those first six, and their dirty laundry is aired in public. After one of them is found dead, with stab wounds all over his body and his tongue cut out, the other five worry that they will be next. Who was behind the final round? Who stabbed him? And who actually killed him?

The book was quite well-written, although by the very nature of the story there are dozens of characters by the end that you have to keep track of! My main gripe is that the story is quite predictable - the murder weapon itself has a big clue as to who may be behind it. I don't know whether the characters were pleasant on the whole - they're all shown to be a little duplicitous, so not entirely likeable. I've given it three stars, as it's a decent book, but it's just a tad predictable for my tastes!