Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the arc,

I loved this book! I had no idea it was a series when I started it but now I'm definitely going to read the others.

How did Grace die and did her mother Cassie really kill her father? Grace visits Dee before she dies to try and get her to look in to the truth, Dee declines her request but changes her mind once Grace is found dead at Beachy Head.

I was captivated by Dee and her desire to find out the truth. With twists and turns along the way Dee puts herself in danger but will the truth come out

Cassie McNamara was found guilty of the murder of her husband, Paul. Following her imprisonment their daughter Grace is adopted by Paul's family. Cassie has always proclaimed her innocence and hires investigative journalist, Dee, to prove it. However, suddenly Grace goes missing and is found dead and Cassie is suspect number one. Dee jumps in to find out did Cassie truly killer her husband and was she evil enough to kill her own daughter?

Loved, loved, loved this book! I had no idea it was a series when I started it but now I definitely need to read the others. I was captivated by Dee's career as an investigative journalist and the circle of friends she surrounds herself in. It was a fantastic mystery with a surprising ending.

You Were Always Mine by Sheila Bugler.
Cassie McNamara was found guilty of the murder of her husband, Paul Cavellini.
But she has claimed she is innocent. Is she though?
A good read. Didn't realise this was book 4 in a series. Well written though. 4*.

A good thriller, it was helpful if you had read the other books in the series, but still enjoyable

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

This is my first novel by author Sheila Bugler and its book number 4 in a series.

The blurb reads

"Years ago, she went to prison for killing her husband. Now, her daughter is dead too.

Cassie McNamara was found guilty of the murder of her husband, Paul Cavellini, but she has always protested her innocence. Upon her release, she is ready to start over and hires local journalist, Dee Doran, to prove she was wrongfully convicted.

Cassie and Paul’s young daughter, Grace, was adopted by Paul’s family. When eighteen-year-old Grace goes missing and her body is found, all eyes turn to Cassie as the prime suspect in her daughter’s death. Then, Cassie, just like Grace, disappears.

Cassie maintains her innocence but she's terrified and has no choice but to run. Left behind to investigate, Dee must work the truth behind Grace and Paul's deaths, and what Cassie is running from – or who."


Having read the blurb this sounded right like my kind of novel and I could not wait to read it. I found that the book got straight into the depth of the story from page 1, there were no introductions to the characters just full throttle. I found this way, for me personally, to be slightly confusing as there are many characters and I did find myself having to re-read some parts so that I knew who was who.

I am glad that I stuck with this novel as it was a good read. We meet Dee, who is a journalist and she is investigating a body that has washed up in her home time and it has connections to Cassie's case. Cassie has been released from prison for the murder of her husband many years ago but Cassie has always denied these charges. The body found is Cassie's daughter and together Cassie and Dee work hard to uncover the truth.

A really good read that did not initially grip me but it did around 2/3 of the way through.

I will be putting the other books in this series into my "to be read" pile.

Thanks to Netgalley, Sheila Bugler and the publishers for allowing me a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I had alittle trouble keeping characters straight at the beginning of this book, but once I could keep everyone straight it was much easier to read.
I enjoyed the twists and didn't even see all of them coming which doesn't always happen.
Being an adopted child this story maybe hit me alittle more.
I will recommend to friends and family.

would like to thank netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this book from a great series

i so love this series...

cassie was convicted of murdering her husband and has spent many years in jail...her daughter was adopted by her husbands sister, who took out a restraining order on cassie so that she never came near grace until she was 18

but just before grace turned 18 she was found dead at the bottom of beachy head suspected suicide....

but before grace died she had tried to get dee doran an investigating ex journalist to look into her mothers case and try and find the evidence proving her mother didnt murder her dad...

this series is so good and i love catching up with dee and finding out what she is up to.....looking forward to reading the next book in this fabulous series

5 stars for a DNF as I cannot comment on the overall quality of the novel. The premise of this sounded super juicy; I always love a domestic murder storyline, esp. if the story focuses on AFTER the fact. Now, I am impartial to the whole citizens/journalists gone rogue vibe as I need a lil police presence if we're talking murder, but when artfully done, I can properly suspend my disbelief and enjoy. In this case, I found the writing to be a bit clunky and awkward, which stopped my enjoyment. Also, Dee's on-and-off-again boyfriend was very off-putting and the relationship with his ex was immature. I believe this is a series, but there is enough context to read as a standalone. Thank you Canelo Crime for the opportunity to read this book before publication.

This had me hooked from the start and didn't let up the whole way through! I loved tbe cast of characters and their unique personalities and how well rounded they were. The story really keeps you guessing throughout without it being far fetched or boringly predictable. I'm a massive e thriller fan and I still didn't work it out, it's such a fast paced and engaging read. A must for thriller fans

Eastbourne was once a favourite holiday location for Lewis Carroll. The sea, the sands, and the great chalk cliffs of Beachy Head are now the killing fields of another great writer: Sheila Bugler.
Sheila excels in grasping the psychological impact of dark secrets, kept hidden for many years, until her investigative journalist creation, Dee Doran, starts digging deep below the surface of secrets and lies. The characters are engaging and at times frighteningly real. Throughout there's mystery and suspense growing in intensity till a denouement that is both poignant and blood red.

Well written with a compelling storyline and well developed characters. The book was gripping right from the start and really drew me in, it was twisty and unpredictable and a great read.

Immersive Suspense…
Cassie McNamara was found guilty of her husband’s murder but has always maintained her innocence. Upon release from prison Cassie hires a local journalist, Dee, to investigate the case and help prove her innocence but things are soon to take a deadly turn. Dee is thrust into the limelight and soon has to use her own wits to get to the bottom of a bizarre series of events. With a twisting, tension fuelled plot and a glut of well drawn characters this is an immersive suspense with plenty of threads, suspects aplenty, a firm sense of place and a solid mystery at its heart.

One of the books that I took a while to get into and one that unfortunately didn’t grip me from the start. Perhaps it was just me!
I will certainly read more by the author, as one book is never enough to use as a guideline to further reading.

A riveting fast paced thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat until the last page. This thriller will bring you in from the first page.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this eARC.

Having read the previous books in this series I was pleased to be given the opportunity to read this book. This book is a pleasure to read, and one I thoroughly enjoyed. The main character Dee, an investigative journalist is so down to earth, likeable, determined and feisty. When a young woman goes missing and is then found dead Dee makes her own enquiries alongside the Police investigation, which then puts her life at risk. I really liked this read mainly because it is told from a journalists perspective which I find is a refreshing change. I thought the story had a very good plot line, it was written well, I felt it read very well and came together beautifully towards the end. The book grabbed my attention from the first page and held it all the way through. I loved the past and present time lines which were integral to the story and setting the scenes, and the glimpses the author gave into Dee’s personal life. There are a lot of separate story threads here that keep me guessing - I thought I knew who the murderer was and was very wrong. I have to say this book had everything I like - suspense, believable characters, mystery and plenty of twists. I’d recommend this book although would say read the books in order to get a sense of Dee as a character.

This book was not for me unfortunately. It is very disjointed, jumping from character to character, all of whom sound the same. There are way too many characters, which causes confusion, especially when they have a connection to each other, like the policewoman Rachel’s ex- partner now being Dee’s current partner - I think. Sometimes less is more?
I found that most of the characters were unconvincing, and did not behave in a believable manner. Quite why a journalist on her own would be the person investigating such a serious crime, was not made clear. The storyline is all over the place, with little evidence of plotting. There isn’t much of police procedure described either. This is a DNF for me.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this book.

Sheila Bugler has developed an interesting character, Dee Duran, in this series featuring a middle aged investigative journalist. These novels have brutal crimes so can’t be described as a cozy mystery but they sure have a comfy mystery style. Living in a small seaside community, Dee is contacted by a young woman named Grace who wants her to look into the case of her birth mother’s conviction for killing her abusive husband, Grace’s father. Shortly after Dee spurns the request, Grace goes missing. Feeling a little guilty and rather curious Dee begins to investigate both the disappearance and the previous crime. Dee is also juggling with a relationship with an ex cop Ed, who she loves but holds at bay. Good read, complicated plot, and satisfying.

Years ago, she went to prison for killing her husband. Now, her daughter is dead too.
Cassie McNamara was found guilty of the murder of her husband, Paul Cavellini, but she has always protested her innocence. Upon her release, she is ready to start over and hires local journalist, Dee Doran, to prove she was wrongfully convicted.
Cassie and Paul's young daughter, Grace, was adopted by Paul's family. When eighteen-year-old Grace goes missing and her body is found, all eyes turn to Cassie as the prime suspect in her daughter's death. Then, Cassie, just like Grace, disappears.
Cassie maintains her innocence but she's terrified and has no choice but to run. Left behind to investigate, Dee must work the truth behind Grace and Paul's deaths, and what Cassie is running from - or who.
Couldn’t put it down really enjoyable read totally recommend
Thank You NetGalley and Canelo
I just reviewed You Were Always Mine by Sheila Bugler. #YouWereAlwaysMine #NetGalley

Have enjoyed this series of books very much. Great characters and storyline. Plenty of suspense to keep me guessing. Guessed the culprit and some of the twist hence the four stars .Would definitely read her next novel. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

Thank you NetGalley, Canelo and Sheila Bugler for letting me read “You were always mine” in exchange for an honest opinion!

This is apparently book four in a series following investigative journalist Dee Doran. I usually try not to jump into the middle of a series, but this could be read perfectly as a standalone. Based on this book I am definitely interested in the ones that came before. Dee is a great protagonist. Very real, relatable and likeable.

Cassie McNamara is living a quiet life as a hairdresser in an English coastal town. She got released early, serving ten of fifteen years in prison. Allegedly Cassie has murdered her husband Paul. Their daughter Grace is adopted by close family. Cassie stays in the background - waiting for her daughter to turn 18 - as she is not allowed to contact her daughter until Grace is a legal adult. Then Grace goes missing, only to be found murdered.

Dee gets sucked into the investigation., feeling guilty about not being able to help Grace research the innocence of her mother, before her murder.

The writing was excellent and very fluent. There was enough mystery and some real moments, where you get to know the different characters, how they are and how they feel. I did like Dee a lot.

I read the book within one day, it kept me intrigued and wanting to know how it ended. The twist was clever. I did not see it coming, I even liked that character and thought they were great. I was totally deceived. I’d make a crappy detective, that’s for sure 😂 I liked the end, that it came full circle. The book was way better than I expected, I’d recommend it to anyone who likes British thrillers/mysteries. That’s also because I liked the setting. I could see it in front of my eyes.

A solid 4 stars for this book.