The story background is interesting. The lead character keeps the story moving as he associates with the victim’s sister and communicates with his team. There’s a lot of secrecy and dark moments between the characters and their past. This is a good who done it book

I like this one set in Ireland and felt it was a good twist police procedural. I think this is a good series that deserves more references.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review the book

I loved this book! Very exciting and the twists! OMG! I would have never put those things together. Definitely worth the read! I highly recommend this book!

This is the first book in the DS Ryan McBride series, Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

DS Ryan McBride is called to a murder scene on a cold morning in Belfast. A young woman has been killed.
and Ryan knows the victim. Will it harm the case not admitting it? Will it ruin his career?

Lots of twists and turns before we find the murderer.

I enjoyed

4 stars

As much as I wanted to like this book, the male characters killed it for me immediately. I tried to push past the basic grossness of the male characters but i couldn’t look past it.

This is the first book in the DS Ryan McBride series. When Ryan is called to the scene of a murder on the outskirts of Belfast, when he sees young woman his stomach lurches - he knows her. She is Kathleen, a woman he had a brief dalliance with not too long before. Ryan decides to keep this to himself, and solve her murder. Running parallel to the murder investigation his colleagues are trying to catch a multiple rapist, someone who sounds familiar to the team, is there a link between the two? When more bodies turn up, the case gets even more complicated for Ryan, and not only because of more murders. He is getting extremely close to Kathleen’s twin sister Rose. His life is about to get even more complex when his ex has some shocking news of her own to deliver. Can Ryan crack the case and keep his personal life intact?

This book has been clearly researched as the places written about are all very detailed and I recognised a few famous places! I really enjoyed meeting Ryan and the rest of the team. He’s a complex character, and we learned more about him as the story unravelled. The plot was gripping and kept me guessing until the end - I had no idea who the murder was, or who was responsible for the rapes, the red herrings were a very good addition!!

Very good first book in the series, I can’t wait to see what happens next!

A little slow in places, and unbelievable in others, the book never really got beyond ok for me.
I enjoyed the setting, and the family dynamics of Ryan MacBride.
The friendship with his partner made me smile a few times.
But too much emphasis on his love life.
I didnt feel it offered me anything to make it stand out.
Enjoyable enough, but I won't be hunting down book 2. .

This book had plenty of twists and turns! It also had a lot of suspense, intrigue, jam-packed action, great police work. It had parts that had me forgetting that I had things to do around the house. This is most certainly a book I would read again just to get the feeling as if I was in a movie again. Would definitely recommend

This book as all the twists and turns thriller lovers crave. We love to be surprised and I was surprised by this story. I didn't have a clue who the killer was and J Woollcott kept me guessing right up to the end. Over all I liked this book, however, at times it felt like there were too many plots going on. Everything started out flowing, until closer to the end when all the story lines were hanging. It felt like the author hurried at the end to tie it all up in a nice bow. Overall this is a good book and I do recommend reading it.

Thank you to J Woollcott, Netgalley and Level Best Books for a copy of "A Nice Place to Die" in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to both Level Best Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of A Nice Place to Die.

DS Ryan McBride is engaged in a cover-up. He'd had a one-night stand with the murder victim, and now he is choosing to not disclose it. As his investigation proceeds, he meets the victim's twin sister and discovers he’s falling in love with her. Quite the case of the complex relationships that exist between career and private life!

I enjoyed the Belfast setting, and I found myself wishing I could live in McBride's farmhouse. I also loved the murdered woman's partner at the gallery where she worked. All in all, a lovely sense of place.

In my opinion, some parts of the book felt implausible. I struggled with McBride's choosing not to admit he'd had a one night's stand with the victim. It didn't feel like it was a big deal until he chose to make it into one. Also, I felt there might have been a few too many storylines going on.

On the positive side, I thought I knew who the murderer was, but I was wrong! That was definitely a surprising twist!!

All in all, I liked this one, although I didn't love it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

DS Ryan McBride discovers a past fling has been murdered and has to solve the case. No one knows he had a one-night stand with her, not even her twin sister, who rolls into town after her body is discovered. More suspects are drawn to the forefront as McBride digs deeper into her mysterious life.

I was not a fan of this book. First, most of it is implausible. McBride carries this secret of a very tenuous relationship with a victim. The entire book treats it as this big secret when it wouldn't have been a huge issue if the police force was any good.

Second, this book drags on and on and on. It's hard to stay involved in a novel when the pacing is bad, and that's how I felt with this one.

Third, I feel like to enjoy this book, you have to suspend disbelief in many things. Ryan is the main character, but the entire book revolves around the fact that he slept with the victim and covers it up. Not only that but he gets involved with two other women in the course of the novel.

Plus there's the whole sexual assault side plot that pulls focus away from figuring out who killed this girl. there's also mob stuff, a ton of time wasted on talking about what characters are eating, and so on. It's just too much and weighs the novel down.

All in all, I think this novel suffers from trying to do too much, an unreliable and unlikeable protagonist that I don't like and don't trust, and pacing issues. It's not one I'd recommend. 2.5 stars.

A well constructed police procedural set around Belfast. The beginning is explosive and, although the pace slows in the middle sections, the ending is worth waiting for.

DS Ryan McBride is an experienced officer. His personal life is messy but he's always tried not to let this interfere with the job. McBride feels like a rounded character and makes a good protagonist, with plenty of scope for the series to develop.

McBride is called to a murder site. When he sees the body he immediately recognises the young woman: he'd had a one night stand with her a few months back. McBride doesn't report this, thinking it wasn't significant. But things get complicated when he has to interview her twin sister ...

We are introduced to McBride and his colleagues as they investigate the murder and also a series of rapes in the area. Both cases get more complex and the pressure builds. And the introduction of a new colleague, the entitled nephew of a senior officer, doesn't help. Can McBride stay focused and take the investigations to a positive conclusion?

A Nice Place To Die is a good opening to a new series. The characters are believable, the sense of place is strong and the plot contains a few good twists.

This was a brutally and raw compelling read that I xouldn't put down. It was well written with a gripping storyline and well developed characters. It was fast paced and twisty and I was kept guessing all the way through. An enjoyable read,

" ...that scent of an Irish autumn, damp leaves and woodsmoke, hung in the air, while crows, black and boisterous, flapped and cawed in the dark trees." SOOOO well done, #ANicePlacetoDie" is a terrific read. I could've done with a little less of McBride's messy love life, but did appreciate how it added to the complexity of the investigation. Woollcott creates a nice sense of place, with lots of red herrings and a tightly constructed plot. Highly recommend.

P.S. Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC.

WELL WRITTEN!

I received this book free from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This story is set in Northern Ireland, also known as Ulster. Kathleen and Rose McGuire are identical twins who were born in Ulster but have mostly separated after growing up. Rose spends most of her life in England, while Kathleen has pretty much stayed in the Antrim district of Ulster, near Belfast. This is the first in a new series by author J Woollcott. It introduces us to Police Service of Northern Ireland officers Detective Sergeant (DS) Ryan McBride and his partner DS Billy Lamont. The two detectives work from the Antrim station, along with a group of detective constables who assist them in their investigations. Tension is created when Ed Wylie, the nephew of the Chief Inspecter, arrives from another station to assist in the investigation. Little love is lost between McBride and Wylie. Thy have been rivals since the police academy.


The story begins with the discovery of Kathleen’s body near the River Bann. She has been murdered. Her car is found nearby with a flat tire and a tracking device installed underneath it. She has gunshot residue on her hands. But no gun is found. A Rolex watch is found on he ground nearby. Kathleen and Ryan had had a one night stand several months earlier, but he decides not to tell anybody about it because he would be removed from the case if his superiors knew. Ryan dearly wants to find the person who murdered Kathleen.


Kathleen had a secret boyfriend named Kevin Coulter, who appears to be a control freak and abuser. He is the head of security at the gallery where Kathleen works. Did he kill Kathleen? Could it have been one of the other men in her life? Perhaps it was somebody, a stranger, that she had met in a pub after an evening of partying. The plot is complex, and the Northern Irish mob is involved, along with some crooked cops at the Antrim police station. In the meantime, Ryan meets and woos Kathleen’s twin sister Rose. He has just broken up with his motorcycle-riding girlfriend Bridget, but she seems determined to get back together with Ryan.


There are no editing errors that I noticed. All of the characters are realistically portrayed, which made the novel more interesting to read. The dialog is natural and believable. The plot is credible. The plot moves quickly, and the story is entertaining. I liked this novel and I recommend it to followers of the genre. All in all, an excellent book. I think you’ll like it.

The murder of a beautiful, well liked, but girl no one knew all her secrets needs to be solved and DS Ryan is assigned to the case. Upon arrival, he discovers he knows the victim. And so it begins...

This start to the series was WILD. DS Ryan is messy and real. Probably his messes will catch up with him at one point but his heart is thrown into his case regardless.

I loved not knowing who did it and the whole case of characters. I didn't suspect the murderer until all the pieces were clearly laid out.

Top notch police who done it for sure. Looking forward to the next in the series.

4.5 Stars
An entrancing police procedural murder mystery and great start to a new series. I was initially intrigued with the setting, it's what convinced me to try the book out, Pleasantly surprised at the quality of writing, research, and storyline, especially for a debut! The novel includes flawed but likable characters and is fast-paced. Looking forward to the next one.

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Good book! This book had plenty of twists and turns! It also had suspense, intrigue, action, great police work and a great who done it! The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my Kindle! I will definitely recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Thank you to #NetGalley and #LevelBestBooks for my copy of #ANicePlaceToDie by #JWoollcott

DS Ryan McBride is called to a murder scene on a cold morning in Belfast. A young woman has been killed.
But what does Ryan know that he is holding back, will it harm the case. Will it ruin his career.
This is a brilliant debut novel, a police procedural that ticks all the boxes for me. Loved it and I can’t wait for the next one.

I just reviewed Out of Patients by Sandra Cavallo Miller. #OutofPatients #NetGalley

a great read about the dangers of mixing your personal liffe with business. The detective falls in love with the sister of a murder victem

I just reviewed A Nice Place to Die by J. Woollcott. #ANicePlacetoDie #NetGalley