3.75/5 stars! This is my first read by author James Bowring and I was excited to read the story after reading the premise. The connection to previous crimes is an angle I enjoy in thrillers. The pacing of the story was strong and there were a lot of surprising twists. At times it felt like there were almost too many, but the final twist was shocking and led to a unique finish to the story. Would read more by this author.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

James Bowring has once again written a splendid crime novel. His series set in the Carlow Valley continues to get better and better. The plot this time is extremely complex with quite a vast death toll and a very large cast. He pulls off the denouement with a lengthy and detailed monologue that ties up all the loose ends with as much style and panache as Hercule Poirot himself would have done.
The author manages to avoid making the characters too cozy, and also some of the more restrictive tropes of a police procedural, by allowing his hotelier investigators to get the better of Dick Beauregard whilst once again allowing him to take the credit for solving the case.

This was a first for me with this author and I must say I liked this one. When a body is found in the woods, Inspector Dick Beauregard discovers she has just checked out of ex-detective, Clive Walsingham's hotel. When a second body is discovered, a link is made that both victims were parents of 5 girls that disappeared 10 years ago. Clive is brought back into active service, aided by his wife Claire, to investigate the parents of the missing girls and who is behind their deaths. The storyline was very interesting and kept me needing the next chapter and the next chapter until BAM the book was done!

Down in the Woods by James Bowring was a brilliant book and great if you are a fan of cozy mysteries and police procedurals. I enjoyed the way James put everything together, it was full of suspense and mystery which will have you head spinning with all these great twists and turns throughout. The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my chair.

I highly recommend this book that is great for you coming holidays or a day relaxing in your garden etc. I really enjoyed it.

Big thank you to Netgalley and The Book Guild for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the James Bowring e-book "Down in the Woods. A Carlow Valley mystery."

This thriller promises to be interesting. I met two of the deceased, two police detectives and a couple who run a local hotel. Added to all this is the mysterious disappearance of the girls ten years ago. One of them was the daughter of the deceased. How could this have happened? Who takes revenge after years? Together with the local hotelier Clive and Inspector Beauregard, I tried to solve the case of the deaths of a man and a woman. Are their murders related? Are these two separate issues? Is their killer(s) closer than I thought? You will find out by reading this book. Ten years ago, five girls between the ages of twelve and fourteen disappeared from this area in the space of three months. The bodies were never found. Are they still alive? Do they have anything to do with the deaths of Olivia Farringdon and Keith Draycott? Olivia was a loner. She avoided people and did not talk about her family. She loved photography, so she enrolled in a photography course. She bought herself an expensive camera that was never found. Her ex-husband has big financial problems. Was he behind her death? I was wondering why Olivia had come to the local hotel? Keith was a vicar who worked at the local church of St. Go. After his daughter went missing, he became the unofficial spokesperson for all the parents of the five missing girls. He was desperately looking for his daughter. Did he follow the trail of the girls and that's why he had to die? Detective Sergeant Alison Pawlett and her Chief Inspector, Detective Beauregard, have their hands full. I did not envy them, and I was very afraid that if the media found out about these things, they would not leave them alone. The inspector is devastated. Someone is clearly getting on his nerves. Clive acted like a detective when he wasn't. I was hoping that, unofficially, he and Alison would solve these very difficult cases. But what will his possessive wife Clare say to all this? And what about their hotel? Will he be able to run a hotel while also dealing with a murder case in his neighbourhood? Who's playing a dangerous game to the death here? "Down in the Woods. A Carlow Valley mystery" is a thriller that kept me in suspense from the very beginning. I couldn't tear myself away from it. I liked the plot twists. The plot is sensational. I really got into our characters. I don't regret staying up all night. It was worth it for this story. If you like solving criminal puzzles and love thrillers, you've come to the right place. The book "Down in the Woods. A Carlow Valley mystery" is just right for you. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

I kept seeing this book at random and when i found it on netgalley i figured id requested it and so happy i was approved. I love reading about crime and true crime. And this book was hella good to read. 5 star book and im planning on rereading it later on in the year. it kept me pulled into it and i couldn't put it down at all. i do recommend this book big time.

Twist and Turn Central!!!

As some know. I am not a fan of Detective based Thrillers. Normally they are filled with information and words I have no idea what they are talking about, or are just to much for me in general. But, this one was different. How? Clive Walsingham is an ex-detective.

Clive’s importance to this?

Walsingham has dealt with this before. Murder information matching up with disappearances from years before. How can you go back in time to match this up? Are they even tracing the right person?

MY OH MY do I love thrillers that have past information match up with present. I’m telling you, I’m like the detective myself figuring this all out!

You might try your hardest to figure this one out, but this was definitely a top twist that I couldn’t see coming.

Notes:
________

The end was the best for me. I pushed through as best as I could to really see who was doing this. Was I entertained? Yes. Was I jumping out of my seat and trying to finish it under a day? No.

I would love to see this become a series and read more from this author!

When a body is found in the woods, Inspector Dick Beauregard discovers she has just checked out of ex-detective, Clive Walshinghams hotel. When a second body is discovered, a link is made that both victims were parents of 5 girls that disappeared 10 years ago. Clive is brought back into active service, aided by his wife Claire, to investigate the parents of the missing girls and who is behind their deaths.
A new author to me and hopefully the start of a new series. The plot was well thought out and all the loose ends were cleverly tied up. An enjoyable read and thought the characters of Clive and Claire have a lot of potential.

If you like a good who dunn it everyone is a suspect small town mysteries. Then simply don't miss this one.

A well written book with lots of people to suspect along the way.

Aww this is one of those small town, everyone's a suspect, Agatha Christie type thrillers and I have to say I did really enjoy it. Its not reinventing the wheel but it's well done for what it is. The writing style was easy to get lost in, there were plenty of little twists and turns and hints throughout and it all built into a satisfying conclusion without any plot holes. A really fun wee read

The second title in the Carlow Valley Mysteries series, Down in the Woods is a well conceived mystery centering a cast of characters both new and familiar as the hoteliers/detectives Clive and Clare are tasked with solving two mysteries at once: the decades long disappearance of five school girls, and the recent murders of the parents of those same girls. Full of twists and intrigue, this is a satisfying procedural crime novel for anyone who is a fan of the genre to enjoy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for access to this ARC.

This was so good. I loved this so much. It had me on the edge of my couch till the very end!
I just reviewed Down in the Woods by James Bowring. #DownintheWoods #NetGalley
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Review in progress and to come.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

An easy to read murder mystery with a small town feel. Down in the Woods reminded of the game cluedo, not too heavy but full of little clues along the way.

A great read which offers something to fans of both cozy mysteries and police procedurals. I really enjoyed the way the author revealed the clues and the ultimate resolution. The setting is really suited to the plot and the characters, making for a nice, smooth read.

I’ve not read any of this authors books before but I’m glad I found him, brilliant, a must read, amazing from start to finish

Good book! This book had a bit of everything! It had suspense, intrigue, murder, mystery, A great who done it, and a few crazy twists and turns! The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my Kindle! I definitely recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!