Part of a series but works as a standalone. This book was very difficult to get into although the characters were well described and interesting.

I'm so sorry to not have a better review to provide but I found it incredibly difficult to get into this book.

I know the writer is incredibly skills and I love her ingenious ability to capture all these people in London.

I could see her building all these moving parts, I just couldn't force myself to keep pushing through. Perhaps, if I start off earlier in the series I would have got more out of it. Please do keep that in mind.

Sorry, not a book that held my interest enough.
Having read some of the authors previous books, I decided to give this one a go, but sadly it wasn’t for me.

This is a well written thriller set in the City of London. It involves recurring characters Mumtaz Hakim and Lee Arnold who work as Private Investigators. It is book 8 in the series but you don’t have to have read the others. I hadn’t and there was enough about the characters to satisfy the new reader.
Mumtaz takes on a freebie on behalf of a pair of teenage boys and this leads into the story that unfolds. She gets into a situation that is both fantastic and which reflects some current concerns.

There is quite a cast of characters and it was difficult to keep hold of who was who at some points. Also a lot of fortuitous coincidences. The pace was steady and this was an easy enjoyable read. I did find that it went from a scene with one set of characters to a different scene and different set of characters without warning, repeatedly, and this, on kindle, was annoying. Hopefully, this will be sorted with appropriate gaps and paragraphing in the published version as I read a proof copy provided by Netgalley and the publishers.

I love Barbara Nadel's mysteries and I love this series. This was a good addition even if it's a favorite as i struggled a bit to be involved.
There's a lot going on, a lot more than the blur say and Ms Nadel develops another interesting and entertaining mystery.
I'm happy to catch up with the characters and the solid mystery kept me hooked.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I would like to thank Netgalley and Allison & Busby for an advance copy of Web of Lies, the eighth novel to feature PIs Lee Arnold and Mumtaz Hakim, set in the City of London.

Two teenagers approach Mumtaz with a problem. They were in the City selling counterfeit pain cream when one door is opened by a boy smeared with blood. Mumtaz wants to help pro bono and starts to investigate, but then things get weird.

I quite enjoyed Web of Lies, which spins a strange tale of mysticism and violence, but it takes a bit of getting used to. I found it difficult in the first half of the novel to get engrossed in the story as it has a kind of haphazard feel to it, but the second half is much more interesting and exciting as this is where the story takes shape and the action ramps up.

The novel is told from various points of view that change without warning, giving the read a choppy feel. As for those points of view, two of the characters seem to be steeped in, I don’t want to say the occult, but perhaps the arcane where they can sense evil, have an encyclopaedic knowledge of old London and a fascination for a rumoured network of tunnels under the City. Yes, it’s interesting but the extrapolation left me very cold. Meanwhile, Mumtaz is floating about the City trying to come up with a lead, while Lee is trying to earn a crust.

This is a difficult novel to review on subject matter as so much is not said in the synopsis. All I can say is that it takes a very current issue and pushes it forward to what might be regarded as a logical conclusion. It’s fantastical, but not beyond the realms of possibility, given the conspiratorial bent of the internet these days and the gullibility of some of its denizens.

Web of Lies could do with some tightening up in the first half, but otherwise is an interesting read.

I am a big fan of the Arnold & Hakim series with the previous books being excellent crime novels, however, unfortunately Web of Lies did not hit the heights of the earlier books and I felt slightly disappointed at the end.

The underlying story wasn’t the strongest and I felt that the author tried to over complicate matters whilst not having the usual level of interaction between the main characters.

So whilst not my favourite read the series still has credit in the bank and hopefully the next book will see a return to form.

Barbara Nadel writes a London based mystery set in the shadows of St Paul's Cathedral, that takes in the city's past, its history and politics and blends it with currently troubling contemporary realities, such as the culture wars stoked by politicians and the growth of extremist right wing elements. It is December 2019 and 2 boys, Habin Farooki and Lawrence 'Loz' Williams, are peddling a 'medical' cream in the Square Mile, when at a house with a blue door, next to The Hobgoblin pub, they encounter a boy with blood on his face that worries them, but they cannot go to the police with their fears. Instead they tell Mumtaz Hakim, a private investigator at The Arnold Agency run by ex-police officer, Lee Arnold, with whom she is in relationship. Lee is not keen on following up, but gives way to a determined Mumtaz.

Then a murdered baby is discovered at St Paul's, with a odd set of stab wounds that look to be in the shape of pentagram that concern long serving DS Colin Wilkinson into bringing in Jewish deliverance Father Feldman. In a complicated narrative with several threads, there are a wide range of diverse characters, the bored and heavily pregnant Danielle, living with Henry, a partner at Blizzard Solicitors, black Constable Jordan Whittington, living with his grandfather, Bert, who becomes involved with the police investigation run by DI Scott Brown, and a Loz who is being bullied by Kym Franks, the daughter of a cage fighter, who claims he is responsible for her being pregnant, and that he had better provide her with a phone, demanding money he doesn't have for a abortion. Lee begins to panic when Mumtaz goes missing, there is nothing he won't do to try and find her.

Nadel paints an atmospheric picture of London and its fascinating past and semi-mythical folklore, particularly through the likes of characters, Father Feldman and Wilko, drawing on chilling links between the past and present. There is the existence of a network of cramped and claustrophobic tunnels below the city that not many are aware of, reeking of sewage in this gripping story of hate, the occult, ghosts, sacrifice and the terrifying plans of extremists that culminate in a nail biting finale. A brilliant read that draws on many of the nightmares of our contemporary world, the racism, our divisions and Brexit, and the alarming rise of the far right. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

This one was a bit slow for me, but I still enjoyed it. I found it to be a bit predictable, but I’d still recommend it to my followers.