DI Shona Oliver’s personal life and career collide in In Dark Water, the first in an excellent and creative new Scottish police procedural series by the talented Lynne McEwan.

Shona Oliver is DI in Dumfries, having relocated with her family for a simpler life than that in London. Her husband Rob lost his job in finance and their daughter Becca had problems in school. So with Becca in a new environment and Rob managing their new B & B, life should be less complicated. It’s not.

Shona volunteers with the local lifeboat station and when an emergency call leads to the body of a murdered young woman, the nearby Cumbrian (England) police force is also involved. Shona’s team is eager to investigate this murder because the other case they are working on is the mysterious and unexciting theft of baby formula. How are those thefts connected to a drug ring in the area? And why is Shona told to end her investigation? What did Shona and Rob do in London that has caused problems for them in Dumfries?

In Dark Water shines with a complicated, satisfying plot line, well developed characters, especially Shona, Dan, Kate and Ravi. Shona and Rob’s relationship is troubled and I look forward to seeing how this develops in the next in the series. I especially enjoyed learning about the lifeboat station volunteers. This series has the potential to be one of the best! 5 stars.

Thank yo to NetGalley, Canelo Crime and Lynne McEwan for this ARC.

This was a fun little read, though the ending may have been a bit too tidy. It's an interesting approach to have the main character be both a police officer (a DI) and a volunteer in the local lifeboat crew. Looking forward to more from Lynne McEwan and DI Shona Oliver.

Thanks to the publishers (Canelo) for access to an ARC via NetGalley.

A gripping and entertaining story that kept me hooked and guessing till the end.
Good character and plot development, a solid mystery full of twists and turns.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I would like to thank Netgalley and Canelo for an advance copy of In Dark Water, the first novel to feature DI Shona Oliver of the Dumfries Police.

Shona, originally from Glasgow, has returned to Scotland from London where she worked for the City of London Police. Her 15 year old daughter had fallen in with a bad crowd and her husband Rob, a banker, had been made redundant so it was time for a change. When volunteering with the RNLI her crew find the body of a young woman. The Cumbrian force take charge of her death investigation, but with links to her area Shona is keen to stay involved. She soon finds herself embroiled in a wider investigation.

I thoroughly enjoyed In Dark Water, which is an engrossing read that expands from one death into a much larger and more wide ranging investigation with long reach. I was impressed with how the author brings it all the disparate elements together into a cohesive whole with ease and a touch of humour. It makes for an interesting and absorbing read.

The plot is interesting from the beginning with a young girl in trouble. My mind started whirring immediately and didn’t let up until all the facts were in. None of it is particularly surprising as the perpetrators are fairly obvious from the start, but the why, how and their actions are full of twists and turns, continually giving the reader more to think about and a large dollop of uncertainty about the outcome.

I like Shona Oliver as she’s not to be messed with as we say up here. She’s tough (the Ringo story made me laugh), dedicated and smart. Her team call her wee Shona behind her back, although woe betide them if she finds out. She probably does know but none of them are prepared to find out and that’s her superpower- high standards and support. She asks a lot and gives a lot and they love her for it.

For readers who like a sense of place the novel has some lovely descriptions of the Solway Firth and its surroundings.

In Dark Water is a good read and I’m already looking forward to the sequel, so I have no hesitation in recommending it.

A new police procedural featuring DI Shona Oliver who has recently moved from London to Scotland. As her team struggle to solve existing crimes. bodies start turning up and Shona tries to investigate these murders.
There was plenty of substance in the story and some good twists however, I felt the ending was a bit too neat. Throughout the story, the drama built up and the pace speeded up considerably towards the end.
Shona is extremely professional and thorough at work, but her home life is far more chaotic. I liked the contrast this gave to the story, although I found the character of her husband Rob rather lacked depth. The characters of her team members were nicely developed as the story progressed and I would say that there is plenty of scope to develop them further in later books in this series.
Some of the outcomes of the story were fairly predictable. The basic formula for the book was no different to many of the police procedurals already out there. The RNLI angle was the only true novelty.
Having said that, I did enjoy reading this book. I look forward to reading the second in the series and seeing how the characters develop. I would give this 7/10, rounded down to 3 stars.

This is a very exciting start to a new crime series set in Scotland. The plot is very well written with lots of twists and turns. The characters are likeable, interesting and with plenty of scope for development in future books. I loved the unexpected ending and I would highly recommend reading this first book in a new police procedural, which I am sure will be a hit with fans of the genre. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

The first book is fantastic! There are enough twists and turns to keep you guessing.

Shona Oliver, her husband Rob, and their teenage daughter Becca moved from London to Dumfries. Scotland, each with its very own set of problems, some of which are hidden.

Shona is a DI (Detective Inspector) by day and an RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) volunteer by night. One day, she and her RNLI team got a call to recover a young woman's body right on the Scotland/English border. As DI Shona knows, that is not the usual case of drowning and there is something more. Shona and her team work with Dan to try to uncover the murderers when more bodies are discovered, which could be linked to a drug network and baby milk thefts. Shona must strive to ‘fly under the radar' to solve the crimes when she is at odds with her boss.

The plot was so real that I felt as if I were in Scotland right then. The characters were well-developed, and the ending was unexpected.

I'm excited to see how the other characters evolve in the following books.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this book. Thank you to Lynne McEwan for this amazing book.

I want to thank NetGalley, the author, Lynne McEwan, and the publisher, Canelo Crime, for allowing me to read and review this book, In Dark Water.

DI Shona Oliver, her husband, Rob, and their daughter, Rebecca, have moved from London to Dumfriesshire, Scotland in order to start over. In addition to her police job, she volunteers for the lifeboat crew on her time off. On one mission they find the body of a young woman, which they take to a nearby town in England who will be assigned the investigation. There, Shonna meets DC Dan Ridley, who promises to keep her informed. This starts a partnership between police forces that do not always get along (the old Scottish/English controversy). When additional bodies are found, which might be linked to a drug ring and baby milk thefts, Shona and her team work with Dan to try and find the murderers. When she finds herself at odds with her supervisor, Shona must try and ‘fly under the radar’ to solve the crimes.

I enjoyed this police procedural, as the plot was well thought out and made Shona a good policewoman, even while struggling with some major issues in her personal life.

Overall I found this an enjoyable read, and a very promising start to a new series.

The intriguing thing about this book (and I hope it's to become a series) is the combination of police procedural and the lifeboat angle.

On the plus side for me: the writing is very good, as are the descriptions of the settings; there's plenty of scope for developing the team dynamics as well as the interesting angle of cross-border investigations for future books.

On the downside for me: there's more attention to the 'politics' of policing than I'd prefer, although it does make for a more authentic read.

I'm looking forward to seeing what's next in this series, and I especially hope to see more of the lifeboat side of things.

I really enjoyed this ARC detective mystery. I found myself intrigued by Shona and enjoyed the setting of cross border policing. Throwing in a bit of corruption and I was all ready to call AC-12!

I can only hope this is the start of a long series.
The setting, the crimes, the characters, the plot, all brilliant
A DI who volunteers as an RNLI crew member, a body recovered from the Solway Firth, by her and the crew, and a boss that really doesn’t want her dead body mucking up his crime figures. Well that’s the first two row three chapters.
Those chapters set the pace for a crime story that flies through the pages.
Long enough to be a good story
Short enough to read in a day or two
Perfect

In Dark Water is a suspenseful Police procedural set in Dumfries and Galloway close to the English border. Our protagonist is DI Shona Oliver, who doubles up as a lifeboat rescuer, when not policing. I’m surprised this is Lynne McEwan’s first novel, she writes like a seasoned crime writer. The characters are interesting and well drawn, the plot is plausible and the pacing builds from a slow beginning to a thrilling climax.

The story starts with Shona’s lifeboat crew recovering a body on the shore of the Solway Firth, right on the border with England. The body is identified as a local drug addict, but top brass would rather Shona and her colleagues concentrate on Operation Fortress, a large scale initiative to take down some drug dealers and a spate of baby milk thefts rather than investigate further the possible murder of the girl on the beach. Even when a second suspicious death drops on her patch, a Syrian immigrant, her superiors would like her to focus on other crimes.

Back on the home front, Shona’s domestic situation is trying, her husband is prone to gambling and drinking and her teenage daughter has problems in school. Both were reasons for moving from London to Southern Scotland, but the past has a way of catching up with you.

I can see if the series continues it would make a good TV Series, there is plenty of drama, internal police intrigues and the scenic background of Dumfries and Galloway. I found it a little difficult to believe that DI Shona Oliver would have enough time to also work as part time lifeboat volunteer and the only two occasions she was on call in the story added significantly to the development of the plot, which may be a little too coincidental. But overall this was a terrific read, and I look forward to future books by this author.

My rating 4.5 rounded up to 5.

Thank you Netgalley and Canelo Crime for this ARC in return for an honest review.

I always enjoy discovering new detective thrillers and there was just something about the blurb of In Dark Water that caught my attention immediately. The promise of a lifeboat angle as well as more than one investigation to follow sounded like an excellent start for this new series, and the Scottish setting was a bonus as well. I've been looking forward to start this debut ever since it started hanging out on my kindle, and I have to say that it turned out to be a solid debut and first book of a detective series.

The first thing that stands out in In Dark Water is the Scottish setting of course. The many descriptions of the setting really made the small Scottish towns come alive and I loved that the author incorporated Scottish phrases into the dialogues. This gave the story a more authentic feel and definitely made my inner philologist happy. It is quite easy to understand the meaning from the context, so I had no problems understanding those parts of the dialogues and it didn't slow me down while reading.

I also really liked the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) element in the story. The fact that our new lead character Shona Oliver not only is a detective, but also a RNLI volunteer really gives the story an unique touch. The fact that the lifeboat center and rescues play a significant role in the plot really help making this detective thriller stand out, and I always like an original angle in a story. I also enjoyed learning a bit more about the RNLI too and how they work, and it was great to see how this element was incorporated into the plot.

In Dark Water initially seems to be an investigation into the body of a woman Shona found while answering a RNLI call, but the plot soon becomes a lot more complicated. Shona and her team will have a lot more cases to investigate along the way, and a lot of things are happening in her personal life as well. Personally, I found the plot to be a tad too overburdened by so many different elements and how things ended up evolving was both a bit farfetched and too convenient. I did like the part involving liaison with the Cumbria police and Dan was a great addition as a character, but as a whole I felt like this story wanted to juggle too many different elements while also having a clean ending.

I'm also still not 100% sure what to make of Wee Shona herself. While I still love the fact that she is a RNLI volunteer and I like the way she investigates, there was also something about her that didn't work for me. The whole 'secret' she was hiding was made bigger than it was, and her husband Rob came over as a bit of a cliche. I do see a lot of potential with her team as I mostly liked their dynamics and banter.

As a whole, In Dark Water was a solid start of a new detective series that mixes a RNLI angle with multiple investigations. The Scottish setting is a treat!

Great first book! Looking forward to seeing how the characters develop in next books.
Fresh and dynamic... Fast-paced and spellbinding...a book you will have a hard time putting down!
Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo Crime for a chance to read this book for my honest opinion.

A woman's body is recovered by the local lifeboat in the Solway. Cumbria police take charge but DumGal has an interest as one of their officers was on the lifeboat. Love the setting - very true to life in many respects - glorious scenery etc but than I live there so am biassed. DI Oliver gets somewhat emotionally involved with her investigation of the dead girl but she has a lot on her plate - bad history from her days in the Met, struggles with the family B and B, the not quite cured of gambling addiction husband, a teenage daughter not to mention local thefts of baby milk, people trafficking and drug cartels.. No wonder she finds a sort of peace volunteering for the RNLI! There's little let up. She's part of rather a stereotypical team - possibly bent boss, ambitious young female DC, gay minority DC, loyal old hand supportive DS - but they work and there's plenty of police procedural stuff in there. Good read. Thanks to NetGalley and Canelo for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

DI Shona Oliver is also volunteer lifeboat crew. They rescue the body of a young woman from the Solway Firth, exactly on the border between Scotland and England. She's been in the water for a while. Who is she, and what happened to her?

It won't be the only body which turns up in the Borders. And when their common injuries are uncovered, it all points to a much wider, more sinister undercurrent....

Really, really good

Scottish crime fiction usually centres around Edinburgh and Glasgow, although there are now a number of excellent authors who use other parts of this country as a backdrop. However, only an odd one has ventured to the south-west.
As soon as I scanned the blurb for Lynne McEwan’s book, I made it a must read due to it being on my doorstep. This, however, does not make my review in anyway biased!
Being an avid reader, particularly in Scottish Crime fiction, this book, not to mention the author, is up there with the best and in Shona Oliver, we have a character in whom I hope there is considerable mileage.
Ok, not all location are to be found locally, but if you know the area, you know where they are, or at least should be.
Highly recommended and I look forward to the next one.

After a slow start I got pulled into this first book featuring Detective Shona Oliver, and then it was not to be put down! Shona, her husband and their teenage daughter Becca move from London to Dumfries, Scotland, each are leaving behind troubles, some hidden.
DI during the day and on her off time a RNLI volunteer (Royal National Lifeboat Institution), Shona is part of a body recovery of a young woman, who’s death as a DI she investigates and vows to find the killer(s). Not all goes as planned, a big drug operation, politics, past catching up, … ultimately Shona gets relieved of her duties.
Great first book! Looking forward to seeing how the other characters develop in next books.
Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo Crime for a chance to read this book for my honest opinion.

Home Turf Beckons...
DI Shona Oliver is back on home turf. The first in a new series of Scottish crime featuring the brusque and efficient Detective. Many threads and well drawn characters make for an interesting and often gripping read with a good sense of place. A promising start to a new series.

As a Doonhamer it is great to see a book set in my hometown! However it is obvious that the author is not a local; lots of typical Scottish dialect used but few regional phrases, de ye ken whit I mean?
Otherwise well written with interesting characters and a decent plot, I look forward to seeing the next book in the series.