Another engaging instalment in this well established series with the return of several characters and a complex plot. The conclusion was a bit weak and left more unanswered questions than I'd like but may be a lead in to the next book.

279 Pages

4 stars

A young girl witnesses something horrific. A crooked cop is on the force.
There are bodies in a local pit.

DCI Sophie Allen feels like her team is coming apart. Staff reductions don’t help. Missing coppers don’t help.

She manages to somewhat retain her sense of humor through it all and supports her remaining team admirably.

The writing and plotting are well done. There are a few twists in the book and it all comes together in the end. I enjoyed this little novel and will continue to read Michael Hambling’s books in the future.

I want to thank NetGalley and Joffe Books for forwarding to me a copy of this good book for me to read, enjoy and review. The opinions expressed here are solely my own.

This is my first novel by this author, and I found it engaging and interesting. Plenty of surprises along the way and enough energy to keep you turning the pages. I'm keen to check out other books by the author.
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy of Brutal Crimes, the tenth novel to feature Superintendent Sophie Allen of the Dorset Police.

12 year old Amy Birbeck sees two men dump a body in a pool at an abandoned clay pit. Is it linked to the disappearance of suspected crooked officer Stu Blackman and the hit and run on Sophie’s junior officer DC Tommy Carter. When recovering the body from the pool they find a second body and that changes the focus of the investigation.

I thoroughly enjoyed Brutal Crimes, which is an engrossing procedural with a twisted plot and a dash of humour to lighten the load. It isn’t a complex read and my main difficulty was keeping up with all the officers and their place in the hierarchy, even though there is a glossary of who’s who at the start of the novel(it’s just too much of a faff to refer to it on a Kindle).

The novel is told from various points of view, so the reader sees the thinking on both sides, but there is still enough hidden to make it an engrossing read and a few twists to confound any assumptions drawn from this both sideism. I like the way the author builds his plot with strategic reveals, unexpected developments and a resounding conclusion. It’s not particularly profound but it’s entertaining.

I have been reading this series for years, even before it was picked by Joffe Books, so a new title is always a treat. The plots can get a bit far fetched at times, although never uninteresting, so the pleasure for me lies in the characters. I like the normality of the characters, their closeness as a team and their willingness to work hard. This in turn leads to dialogue with a bit of humour and warmth. It’s such a lovely change to see regular people doing their job willingly. Sophie Allen leads the charge with her ability to see clearly and draw logical conclusions from what she learns, but it’s always a team effort.

Brutal Crimes is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Thank you Net galley and Joffe Books for the eARC.
This is the tenth book in the Superintendent Sophie Allen series and another good one.
A young girl, checking her bat boxes in the woods sees a the terrible thing: two men tossing a body in a disused clay pit. The police find a second body underneath that one. Then a suspected bent policeman goes missing. Sophie and her trusted team go all out with the investigation; they suspect these occuring things are related, what is going on?
When Sophie, so tired, mentioned she was getting too old for all this I worried this would be the end of the series, but luckily it's not!
Another solid police procedural, I enjoyed it a lot and eagerly await no. eleven! Definitely recommended.

Another amazing crime book. This series has become a favourite of mine.
Would recommend these to others
5*****

Oh this had so many twists and turns I rally didn’t know where to look not really. But this was so so good I had so much fun and will continue to read from this author after this! 5 out of 5stars!

Another excellent episode in the police times of Superintendent Sophie Allen and her staff. A strange mixture of a deaf child, a couple of nosey women, a bent copper and the Home Secretary. Put them all together and you get a difficult case with far ranging branches.

Loved it. Read it in a day.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I read a free advance review copy of the book This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

Have read many by the author and enjoyed. This was good, it didn’t flow for me.
A deaf child checking her bat boxes, see’s and hears a few words as a body is rolled into an old clay pit. There are two men missing Tommy and Stu was it one of them, Good character in Sophia. Given ARC by Net Galley and Joffe for my voluntary review and my honest opinion

Well this book was good, and definitely worth reading! It had suspense, intrigue, action, and a lot of police crime work. But it wasn't one of my top favorites?! It was just an ok storyline, interesting but just ok for me! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!