It is the summer of 1976 and WPC Samantha (Sam) Barrie is the newest recruit at Wyre Hall police station. She is thrown straight into the deep end when young girls go missing, bringing back painful memories from her youth for Sam. As she becomes more involved in the investigation, she finds herself amongst the dark underbelly of the town, not knowing who she can trust but determined to help protect these young girls whilst also exorcising some of her own demons.

One of the series I have enjoyed reading in recent years is Lynda La Plante’s Tennison series and this is very reminiscent of the earlier books. Like Lynda La Plante, Trish Finnegan takes you on a journey into the 1970s where female police officers were still a bit of a novelty and had to really prove their worth in order to be taken seriously by certain sections of society. In Sam, we have a naïve young woman who we see gaining in confidence as the story progresses, willing to put herself in danger in order to bring the guilty to justice.

Sam’s back story is a fascinating one, one that certainly affects her involvement in this case. I admired her resilience as she manages to put her past behind her despite being reminded of it constantly, especially as she starts to notice connections to the current spate of missing girls. There is a good range of characters, not all of them trustworthy – this made for great reading as I waited to see whether they would get their comeuppance.

Blue Bird is a great first book of a trilogy and on the strength of this one, I have already downloaded the next two.

Blue Bird - Trish Finnegan

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

If you are a fan of police procedurals and looking for a series featuring a sensitive but tough female protaganist, you need to read Blue 💙 🐦 Bird featuring the police officer trainee Samantha Barrie,

For me, this is the PERFECT police procedural, little to no "romance" but a lot of hard-earned comradery, crime-solving and high-octane adrenaline, with a bit of levity on the side, for as we meet Samantha, the only female in her entire squad.

The first thing I thought when I finished this novel (not realizing Blue Bird was published a few years ago) was "I LOVED this book; I hope the author recognizes the potential she has for basing a series on this character".

Discovering that the novel I enjoyed so much was written a few years ago, and there are two additional novels in this series (at the time of this review) was like receiving a treasured gift!
Hopefully there will be many more books to come in this series, from this wonderful and essentially undiscovered, and very talented author.

I have a feeling this first novel may remain my strong favorite of the series, I only feel this way because the protagonist was single and fearless in this first book, however at the end of the story if seems ready to seque into a relationship, and I really hate romance stories diluting top-quality mysteries and/or police procedurals...

With the title of the third book as "Baby Blues'" it appears Samantha will not only get involved with her boss, but she will also become impregnated by him at some point. Again, I hate romance novels, hands-down, however I particularly dislike books containing inherently unequal relationships such as that of a student involved with a teacher, or that of a boss involved with an employee they supervise or train.

However, I loved this first novel so much that I I will certainly read the other two (at the time of this writing the series was comprised of 3 books) with.a relatively open mind.

This is the type of novel that readers and reviewers HOPE to find, a rare treasured gem discovered hidden among scattered sparkling (but ultimately disappointing) rhinestones.

Blue Bird is truly one of the BEST novels out of the 100s of mysteries and police procedurals I have read this year, and I am so excited to have found this book and this author!

WPC Samantha Barrie is my new hero, and if you are a fan of strong and kind female police officers who paved their own way in what was essentially a man's world (as the police force solidly was in this novel's timeframe) then she just might be the heroine you are searching for too.

However, I have to go, now, to start reading Blue Sky, I will be back with another review when I have finished. Until next time..
Keep reading, and please check out author Trish Finnegan, I haven't had so much fun reading since I started the Jane Tennison series years ago!

Blue Bird is a breath of fresh air. The storyline features sexual violence and abuse, but it was written with care and tact. As a survivor of something similar, I am glad that Trish Finnegan tackled the subject head on and didn't hold back. Thank you to Netgalley for introducing me to a wonderful author and series.

No, sadly this one was not for me.
I need to be pulled into the story from the first couple of pages and unfortunately, this title simply didn’t do it I’m afraid.

Fantastic book loved it and am now about to start the sequel.
Great story of a newbie constable known as a sprog fantastically written with twists and turns to make you sit up and think.
Highly recommend this book