Drew me right in excellent writing tense storyline characters that come alive.This was second in the series but can be read aloneA series a bookI will be recommending.#netgalley #avonbooksuk.

When a body is found of James McCallum hanging from a tree in the grounds of Osbourne House Graham school. DI Danny Stowe thinks it is an open and closed case. But when they investigate it further and with the forensic evidence. There is something more sinister afoot.
With the help of forensic psychologist Rose Lainey when the delve further into the case they interview a group of friends, which James was one of them going on holiday in Mistle, Donegal in their teens to celebrate their end of exams and a cold case of a missing 8-year-old child that went missing that year. To be never seen again.
Thank you, Avon, for a copy of The Midnight killing by Sharon Dempsey. Like the first book in the series. I really enjoyed this intriguing story. It has a unique storyline. Great characters and I wonder if a relationship between Danny and Rose will deepen in the next book. Will we also get to have more information on Roses mothers background? I know some other reviews say there is a lot of information in this book to go through but that didn’t put me off. I think it made the story more solid for what is to come in further episodes. 5 stars from me.

The Midnight Killing is the first novel of Dempsey's that I've read and, unfortunately, I'm didn't enjoy it. I was well into it before I realized it was the 2nd in a series but that isn't what made me not enjoy the book, although the almost endless references to it were tedious. The story was extremely slow-paced and formulistic. And there was way too much exposition and explanation about topics irrelevant to the story.

Four friends share a secret from 20 years ago and when one of them dies, all of their lies start to unravel. After rehashing the first novel, recapping Danny's life, and having Rose psychoanalyze her entire life as well her deceased mother's and her siblings, we finally get the reveal of who did what, most of which we already deduced.

If Dempsey writes another novel that's set as a standalone I'd definitely give it a chance and read it. This one just isn't a reread.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

"She’d cycled this way hundreds of times before, every twist and turn familiar. She didn’t know this would be the last.

When the body of local architect James McCallum is found hanging in the grounds of his former school one cold, dark night, DI Danny Stowe and forensic psychologist Rose Lainey suspect foul play behind his apparent suicide.

To their astonishment, the trail leads to a 20-year-old cold case of a missing girl, and a teenage party. But what was James’ fascination with the case and how is it linked to his death?

Secrets don’t stay buried forever - but the real killer will stop at nothing to hide theirs...

An absolutely gripping and totally unputdownable crime thriller that will keep you up all night! Perfect for fans of Patricia Gibney, Val McDermid and Rachel Caine."

Murders that involve young women on bikes are somehow really drawing me in lately.

This was a solid read that I enjoyed. It is a sequel, and it's mostly fine as a standalone, apart from the regular references to "The Mulligan Case". I found it easy to read - the chapters are short & the writing flows well. I liked the relationship between DI Danny Stowe & Rose Lainey, and how their friendship allowed them to work as a team. I did think that this was a slow burner, a bit too slow for my liking, but it was good to see how it all pulled together at the end.

I went into this book not knowing that it was a sequel of sorts, however, I did enjoy this story and I will be checking out the first book, Who Took Eden Mulligan.

The story starts out with the discovery James McCallum, found hanging from a tree at his former school. The main characters of the story are DI Danny Stowe and a forensic psychologist, Rose Lainey. At first the death looks like a standard suicide but after the autopsy is revealed, something more sinister has occurred to James and its up to Stowe and Lainey to find out how and why he was murdered. As the case heats up, computer techs discover that James had encrypted files that detailed the mysterious disappearance of an 8-year-old little girl, Maeve Lunn, from a town called Mistle, 20 years before. She went to get candy one day on her bike and never returned. Turns out James and three friends of his just happened to be visiting Mistle the same weekend that she went missing. What is the connection to James and his friends, and does it have anything to do with his murder? The age old saying that secrets don't stay hidden is all too true in this story.

I really enjoyed this story. I was intrigued from the very beginning and stayed hooked all the way through. I like the characters and felt they were well established especially given that this is a continuation from the book before. I will definitely be looking for more from this author,

When a body is found at a school DI Danny Stone isn’t sure the case is a straightforward suicide. With the assistance of Rose Lainey, the forensic psychologist, they investigate and a cold case is linked to their investigation.
I wish I had known there was a previous book in this story but I soon moved past the references to the first book and enjoyed this. The characters were good and I would read more by this author. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately, I was not a fan of this book. The story and writing seemed to move along very slowly for me. I seemed to lose interest pretty quickly. I’d still consider other books by this author in the future given the chance.

I think I read the first book but can't say for sure.
For some reason!found this one a bit dry and hard going, maybe because I found I didn't like any of the characters?
There's something missing for me, sorry!

U struggled to get into this one q bit. It does work fine as a standalone but maybe It'd have clicked more and made more sense had I read the 1st book 1st since there did seem to be a few call backs to it. There seemed to be a lot of extra narrative for my liking and not enough action or progression of the plot so It wasn't one of my favourites I'm afraid. It wasn't a terrible book by and means however possibly read the qst book 1st and also don't go expecting some fast paced, action packed thriller. Ots more of a slow plod really

Thank you for NetGalley for providing me with this book for review.

Whilst I haven't read the first book who took Eden Mulligan, I didn't feel that I was missing any of the back story, it was an engaging murder mystery story, in it's own right. I enjoyed the layers of the difference character relationships. I hope that there is another installment to be read.

This was a decent enough mystery, but there was a lot of information that was pretty irrelevant to me. Perhaps if I had read the previous story, then it would have had a greater impact. As it was, though, the references were lost on me.

I couldnt put this book down, it was compelling, engaging and emotive. the storyline and the charcaters were believeable and relatable and the story was full of suspense and unpredictability. I had my herat in my mouth several times whilst reading this book, it was really enjoyable.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle by Avon Books UK and #NetGalley for my honest opinion. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Fast-paced thriller that keeps you guessing.

I tried hard to like The Midnight Killing. I just could not get invested in the story or the characters. At times, there were just too many unnecessary details to the story that pulled me away from the book and the drama.

#TheMidnightKilling #NetGalley

A suicide or was it? A murder? Who did it? Why? These are some of the questions the reader asks when reading this book. The book was sent to me electronically for review by Netgalley. The characters are believable as they try to solve this murder. The story moves quickly and is intriguing. This author has woven a story that is difficult to put down. Try this one. Good read.

I love this fast pace thriller. The characters are great and the story was even better. I couldn’t wait till the end to find out what happened. What a winner!

Wow! What a story! This book had suspense intrigue, heartache and heartbreak! As a mom I do get that you would do anything for your kids, thus book was really sad in that regard, but as a mom I see why certain things were done! Yes stupid choices but I kind of get it?! I do wish I read the book in front of this one first, it didn't ruin this story but I would have liked to read it in order! I do have the other book I just didn't know lol I definitely recommend reading this book but you might want to read who took Eden Mulligan first?! I know that's my next book! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Rounding up to three stars


I hadn't realised this was a sequel of sorts to Eden Mulligan... however by about fifty pages in,I was a bit tired of "the Mulligan case" being referenced.

I enjoyed the actual story,and kept reading to find out the who and why of it all.
I'm getting nothing from the characters however,I'm not enjoying them,and there seems to me to be no chemistry of any sort between them.
Happily read this author again ,just not this series I think. ...