This is book 4 in the Gemma Woodstock series and probably the book I enjoyed the most out of the four of them. In this book Gemma is living in the regional town of Smithson in NSW with her partner Mac and her children. She is on maternity leave but when a body disappears from the hospital morgue and a staff member is found murdered she cannot help but want to get involved.
The Gemma in this book is a lot more likeable and relateable than the Gemma in the prior books. She seems to be getting her personal life on track, but this case could jeopardise all of that as well her family and professional relationships.
A good gritty story with a few twists that I didn't see coming. Happy to recommend this, but probably better to read the series than read this book as a standalone. Thank you Allen & Unwin as well as Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨
𝘽𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙊𝙛 𝙇𝙞𝙚𝙨
𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝙳𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝟸𝟽/𝟶𝟸/𝟸𝟺

An unidentified woman is killed in an accident. Her body is then stolen from the hospital morgue.

Gemma is a detective in Smithson and on maternity leave and happens to be at the hospital visiting her father when the body is snatched.
That same night there is a brawl at the local pub.

Then a baby is found at the local lake a day later and a few days later another murder.

Are they all tied together or completely separate crimes?

I ate this book up!! I had to keep reading I needed to know if it was all linked and who was behind it all!

Can confirm you will suspect everyone (well I did) and this is the first thriller that has made me cry too! Can also confirm I'll be buying the first 3 books as I have not yet read them.

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚟𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚙𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚗 𝙰𝚖𝚊𝚣𝚘𝚗, $𝟷𝟺.𝟿𝟿 𝚘𝚗 𝙺𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚕𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 $𝟷𝟾.𝟶𝟶 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚙𝚊𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔.

Thank so much to Allen & Unwin and Sarah Bailey.

Every book I have read by Sarah Bailey has been thoroughly enjoyable with elegant plots and intriguing characters and this one is no exception. This is the final in the detective Gemma Woodstock series set in the fictional town of Smithson where Gemma comes from. This time she is on maternity leave and visiting her father in hospital when a body is stolen from the morgue. Then there’s an abandoned baby and the murder of a prominent member of the town. Along with her journalist friend Candy Fythe, Gemma returns to work earlier than anticipated but not in charge of the investigation.

So there’s plenty of intrigue to investigate and resolve as well as wrestling with internal politics at the station to keep readers engaged. The narrative encompasses personal relationships too and it’s a testament to Bailey’s writing that all these disparate threads are woven together in a realistic fashion without sacrificing the suspense of the plot. Love the way Bailey does this in the books I have read by her so far.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

DS Gemma Woodstock is back, on maternity leave and in her home town when an unexpected car crash happens and a woman is clinging to life. But is there more to this story than first meets the eye?

This is definitely and intense and gripping read and this book gets going from page one. You won't want to put it down. Action packed, twist and turns, mystery aplenty and great characters past and present, this book is a great addition to the previous 3 instalments.

Gemma is a great detective and I love her passion and her quirks. She makes the story what it is, exciting, thrilling and it keeps you guessing as it is not at all predictable. Thus is a well written book that is easy to follow without being boring. It is entertaining, creative and really can be read as a stand alone but you will then want to go back, find and read the first three for sure!

Thank you NetGalley and Allen & Unwin for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Sarah Bailey's Body Of Lies, fourth in the series, returns DS Gemma Woodstock to her home town of Smithson for one of the best books in the series so far.

Throughout the series, Gemma’s evolving personal life has played an important part in the stories, but without overwhelming the murder mystery at the core of each book. This is again the case in Body Of Lies, which is set about a year after Where The Dead Go. It opens with Gemma on maternity leave and back in Smithson. At loose ends, and undecided about her future, she is happy enough to be dragged back into work to help with an unexpected increase in workload following the bizarre disappearance of an unidentified corpse from the local hospital, and the subsequent murder of a senior figure in the town.

Encouraged by her journalist friend Candy Fyfe, Gemma is intent on discovering the identity of the dead woman and the relevance of an off-the-grid sanctuary to the disappearance. As her investigation continues she uncovers some unpleasant secrets about the people she thought she knew best.

Body Of Lies is a very accomplished novel. Well written and tightly plotted, the book moves at a good pace, and produces a couple of dazzling surprises along the way to the very taut climax. Gemma’s personal dilemmas are central to the story, and they help to generate some good moments of suspense and really add to the various mysteries. The plotting is clever and Sarah manages to second guess the reader on several occasions, including adding a satisfying new trick to the old ploy of having a vital witness always just out of reach. There are several good twists and the conclusion is both unexpected and exciting.

The characters are also interesting and nicely nuanced, and Gemma is a convincing mixture of professional competence and personal uncertainty around the trustfulness of her family and her ability to return to work. Like all good crime fiction, there is an undertone of social consciousness and concern about corporate greed, and a nice touch of cynicism in the conclusion.

In all, another stellar novel by one of the real stars of Australian crime writing.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book for review.

Most readers thought that they had read the last of hot mess detective Gemma Woodstock in the third book of Sarah Bailey’s series Where the Dead Go. Particularly as Bailey followed that up with the potential start of another series in The Housemate. But Gemma is back, this time (according to the acknowledgements) for the last time. In Body of Lies, Gemma is back in her home town of Smithson, with a new baby, the possibility of promotion and an irresistible series of mysteries.
Body of Lies revolves around a great mystery hook. In the opening scene a woman is run off the road at high speed. She is found alive at the scene but dies on the way to hospital. But before any further investigation is done the body is stolen. Gemma Woodstock, still on maternity leave and with an eight month old baby, happens to be visiting her father in the hospital when all this goes down and cannot help but get involved in the investigation. Despite the misgivings of the lead investigator, her boss Jonesy allows her to participate in the investigation. But as always with Emma plenty of other things are going on, from her father’s health to the fact that her partner Mac, who now investigates cold cases, is acting strangely.
From her first appearance in Bailey’s award winning debut The Dark Lake, Gemma Woodstock has been an intuitive detective with a complicated backstory who often finds her impulsiveness getting her into trouble. That backstory gets deeper in this final outing as elements of the plot revolve around her mother who died when Gemma was a teenager. And Gemma’s impulsiveness now potentially has more dangerous consequences as she has a baby to consider.
Smithson felt like too much of a metropolitan country town in The Dark Lake and that feeling is not dispelled in this Body of Lies. Some of the plot revolves around the construction of a world class research facility of the type that capital cities would fight over. And the resolution of all of the mysteries while satisfying also requires a major suspension of disbelief over what might go on in these towns (or anywhere).
But overall in Body of Lies, Bailey delivers a compulsive, twist filled procedural with an engaging (if sometimes exasperating) main character and a colourful supporting cast. And if this is the last that readers see of Gemma Woodstock (she is positioned to return if Bailey decided to bring her back) then this provides a fitting send off that has laid to rest all of the skeletons of her past.

This is my first Sarah Bailey novel and I would be interested to go back through earlier Gemma Woodstock stories to pick up on her often-alluded-to back story. This was an engaging mystery - full of twists and turns - and is a good portrayal of small town life. Gemma has a strong personality and this comes across convincingly as she navigates her connections to the case while juggling motherhood and other personal relationships.
Thanks to A&U and NetGalley for an advance copy to review.

‘How did you end up here?’

A woman is rushed to hospital in Smithson after a car accident, unfortunately she dies. Hours later, her body is stolen from the morgue. No one knows who she was.

Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock is back in Smithson on maternity leave when the accident occurs. She’s at the hospital visiting her father when a blackout occurs during which the body is stolen. Later the same day, a newborn baby is found abandoned. Despite her initial reluctance and that of the lead detective, DS Julian Everett, Gemma becomes involved in investigating these cases.

Gemma’s friend, journalist Candy Fyfe, is also keen to help.

No-one knows who the woman was, and the car she was driving was reported stolen years earlier. No-one comes forward to claim the baby either. Meanwhile, Gemma is concerned that her partner Mac is keeping secrets.

The case becomes even more complex when Roger Kirk, the CEO of the hospital is murdered. Roger Kirk was
about to become the CEO of a new research centre being built in Smithson by his uncle, Carlyle Kirk. Who killed him, and why?

Gemma is under pressure at home. Mac being secretive about his freelance cold case work, often hiding what he’s doing and where he’s been, and juggling the demands of newborn Scarlett and older son Ben is challenging.

Gradually the story unfolds. Candy is a force of nature: undertaking her own (useful) investigations. While Gemma, increasingly preoccupied by what is happening at home, is finding interactions with both Julian Everett and her boss DCI Ken Jones fraught.

‘When prompted I can recall almost every scene I’ve attended, with snapshots of misery filed away in my mind.’

You might need to suspend a little disbelief to accept the ending but in fiction almost anything is possible. Ms Bailey ties the ends neatly together in what I understand is the last novel in the Gemma Woodstock series.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Allen & Unwin for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Body of Lies is the surprising fourth Gemma Woodstock novel that we all thought we were never going to get. In my review of the last Gemma Woodstock novel, I lamented that the series was coming to an end as a trilogy and put in a request for Sarah to write me a fourth one. I’m so glad she did! See, sometimes all you need to do is just ask…

In all seriousness though, this is once again top shelf crime fiction, police procedural at its finest. You do want to read the previous three though to get the most out of this story. Gemma’s life appears more settle within this one, so of course, it’s necessary to derail this with a complicated case that is uniquely linked to Gemma’s past in a way that catches even her by surprise.

The case in Body of Lies is complex and quite horrifying in its intent and scope. This one kept me guessing right up until the end. While I’m sad to know that this is Gemma’s last hurrah, I’m also satisfied that we’re leaving her in a good place. This has been a terrific series, one of the best crime ones I’ve read to date.

Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.

This fourth instalment in the Gemma Woodstock series is a perfect jumping-on point for readers new to one of Australia's top-shelf crime writers.

"Body of Lies" has a killer hook—the unidentified corpse of a car crash victim is stolen from the Smithson morgue—and Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock, back in her hometown on maternity leave, is compelled to investigate.

Bailey expertly renders Woodstock's multifaceted investigation, ratcheting up the personal and professional stakes, and keeps readers off-balance right through to its nerve-racking end. You'll be hard-pressed not to wolf it down in a single sitting. Bailey just keeps getting better.

Detective Gemma Woodstock is currently living back in her home town of Smithson, along with her partner Mac and their new baby Scarlet as well as her young son Ben, who was living with her ex-husband Scott before he died. She is on maternity leave from the Smithson police for another 3 months and is at the hospital visiting her father who is recovering from a heart attack when the body of an unidentified young woman killed in a car crash is stolen from the morgue. Later that day an abandoned newborn baby is found at the lake. Gemma can’t help but get involved in the investigation of these events, even though, the detective in charge DS Julian Everett is unwelcoming of her involvement.

This is an intriguing mystery as nothing seems to connect at the beginning. No one seems to know the woman, where she came from and why she was driven a car reported stolen some years before and not seen since. The abandoned baby is also a mystery with no one coming forward to claim her. The case becomes even more complex when the CEO of the hospital dies, Roger Kirk who was about to become the CEO of a new research centre being built in Smithson by his wealthy businessman uncle, Carlyle Kirk. Gemma is also under pressure at home, with Mac being secretive about his freelance cold case work, often hiding what he’s doing and where he’s been.

Overall I enjoyed the investigation and how it gradually unfolded as well as the interactions between the characters. Gemma’s friend Candy, a journalist establishing a local online news website provides some entertainment as she dives into her own investigation of the deaths, often dragging Gemma along with her. The friction between Gemma and Everett and her anxiety about what would happen when her boss and mentor CI Ken Jones (aka Jonesy) retires in a few months added an extra sense of unease. However, I did find the motives behind the deaths unconvincing and think this section could have been better developed with some advice from expert advisors. The descriptions of what had been going on did not feel plausible and could have been right at home in a horror thriller. Apart from this disappointing ending, it's an engaging read with a good mystery at the heart of it.

DS Gemma Woodstock is back from maternity leave and returns to her hometown of Smithson with some surprises in store for us in this one.

She arrives to find a the body of woman has been stolen from the morgue, with no explanation. Why would someone want to take the victim of a car crash? The team race to find the thief and the identity of the woman and Gemma's long term reporter friend, Candy, joins in the hunt to solve the mystery. But the town experiences another shocking crime and it is clear to the team that Gemma may be in danger, as she gets closer to the truth.

This one was full of action and mystery! It was so nice to see old characters return, along with some new ones that really moved the story along. The author did such a great job of creating intrigue and suspense with some big twists. I enjoy her writing style so much and it was fabulous to be back with Gemma again. A fabulous novel and one I highly recommend.

This is the first book I have read by Sarah Bailey and it won’t be the last. I really enjoyed this fast paced detective thriller which is heavy on the plot. Lots of twists and turns, interesting characters and moves at a very fast paced. Lots is happening throughout the story and I found it a fun and entertaining holiday read. I am a big crime fan and will be adding Sarah Bailey to my list of favourite authors. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book Allen and Unwin.

“Body of Lies” is another absorbing thriller from Sarah Bailey, featuring police detective Gemma Woodstock. While some of the events are a touch less credible than in other Gemma Woodstock novels, it’s still mesmerisingly good and utterly absorbing while reading.

Gemma and her partner Mac are back in Smithson, where Gemma grew up. Gemma has complicated feelings about the town and many people in it, and she’s debating internally whether they should stay long term. A decision point is coming up: the end of her maternity leave.

While Gemma is visiting her father in hospital, she gets caught up in a drama: someone steals an unidentified body from the morgue. It’s not Gemma’s investigation, and in fact she and the lead investigator constantly rub each other the wrong way. Despite the friction, Gemma can’t help asking questions and making suggestions.

Smithson’s police force is a small one, and when a prominent citizen is murdered, it’s challenging to manage both investigations. Gemma’s boss is glad to have her back semi-officially, even if she’s often got her daughter strapped to her front.

It’s not clear whether the two crimes are linked – or how – and complications seem to be multiplying, with nothing yet becoming clear.

In the past I’ve found Bailey’s novels (every one of which I’ve loved) to be quite grounded. In contrast, this one edged at times into territory that made me think of soap operas. Bailey pulls it off, I think, by convincingly portraying the emotional reactions of those affected by events.

Many readers will be familiar with Gemma from previous novels. She’s a strong character who’s gradually sorting her life out. This novel progresses Gemma’s personal story in a way that’s both satisfying and believable. Although it’s not the main focus of the novel, it’s a strong underpinning. I really appreciated this aspect of the novel: I was strongly engaged in Gemma’s personal and professional lives.

The novel does stand alone, though. If this is the first time you’ve “met” Gemma, you’ll have all the information you’ll need to not just follow but enjoy this novel.

The crime plots are suitably challenging, and I don’t think many readers will work it out before Bailey begins to reveal the solutions. It’s cleverly constructed, and although I did feel some elements stretched credulity a bit too far, there’s no doubt it had me hooked.

This is a great novel: really hard to put down once you’re into it, and accessible for both new readers and established fans. Highly recommended.

I WILL PUBLISH THIS REVIEW CLOSER TO THE NOVEL'S PUBLICATION DATE AND WILL RETURN TO ADD LINKS THEN.

I found Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock a bit bratty and grating in this novel. Body of Lies is the fourth and final installation in this series by Sarah Bailey. I’ve read three of them, and I liked this one the least. It kicks off with DS Woodstock returning to work after having a baby “painfully aware of my make-up free face, unwashed hair, unflattering outfit…” She finds her male colleague Everett grating: “Everett answers his phone, self-importantly, walking over to the window and propping his hand against the frame as if he’s posing for a corporate stock shot.” I wouldn’t say her attitude is any better with women: “Mindful I’ve been accused of frostiness toward female peers in the past”. Her bestie, journalist Candy Fyfe, cops the odd mouthful and unflattering analysis. Despite this she remains a fierce, loyal friend to Gemma when it looks like her partner has done the wrong thing: “I’ll kick him in the balls, write a highly embarrassing reputation-damaging story about him, publish it on my website and boost the living shit out of it via Facebook ads.”

Even poor long-suffering Mac doesn’t get through this book unscathed. Gemma models poor behaviour by engaging in some tit for tat by lying to him: “I felt guilty about lying to him, but then rationalised it by assuring myself that this is what happens when somebody crosses the line the way he has. The centre of gravity is off-balance in our relationship, and the old rules, no longer apply.”

The other bits that annoyed me about this book included the way the author continued to insert police procedural factoids by telling rather than showing, thus disrupting the flow of the narrative. For example, “Witnesses often make similar gestures when they relive trauma and backtrack through emotions.” I suspect paramedics in Australia might not appreciate some of the unqualified generalisations either, like “[a] lot of paramedics struggle with addiction” very much either.

While I agree the story had a lot of twists and turns, I found it convoluted rather than clever. The twists and turns made it a preposterous story, however the conclusion borrowed from a trope I have read before. I struggled to read much of it each sitting as I knew what the final twist would be way too early. Yep, another situation where people with too much money and power exploit people desperate for drugs, money or help: “young men who could easily disappear without a trace.”

The Gemma Woodstock series are all excellent and this is another first class instalment. Can be read as a stand alone, but you won’t be disappointed with any in this series.

A great hook – a car crash victim rushed to hospital but cannot be saved, and the body is stolen from the morgue later that night. Gemma, still on maternity leave and back in her home town is intrigued with the case and takes her first steps in returning to work. Tension builds as Gemma deals with the upheaval in her life, both personally and professionally. As the case develops, Gemma learns that this case has deep buried secrets that hit very close to home.

Another page turner from one of my favourite Aussie authors.

A pub brawl. A car crash. A body stolen from the morgue. Murder. Body of Lies, the fourth of Sarah Bailey's DS Gemma Woodstock series, is one hell of a ride from start to finish.

Police detective DS Gemma Woodstock, finds herself in the midst of a body theft while visiting her father in hospital. Despite being on maternity leave, she cant help inserting herself, much to the chagrin of lead investigator DS Julian Everett.

Sarah Bailey carefully builds tension as Gemma faces both personal and professional upheaval, including some revelations that will rock Gemma's world.

Gemma is compelling character who has matured a lot from being a mess we saw in the first book. I find it refreshing that Bailey has allowed her character to grow, which is not often the case. This is a reflective Gemma, recognising her bad choices and how her grief from losing her mother, then her boyfriend when she was a teenager impacted her adult life badly. In the first book she had an affair with a colleague, and her singlemindedness to her job made her a poor partner and parent. She basically treated her late ex-husband Scott poorly. Hence I was perplexed why she had another kid when she was a reluctant parent with her son Ben. But this time around, you can see how much she's changed and still a work in progress.

Pace-wise, at times it felt a bit like treacle, but I guess in that respect Bailey does capture how policework *is* like that. I just wish some of the revalations came a bit earlier, so that we had a less of Gemma's constant starry-eyed 'My relationship with Mac is so good' to fill in the gaps between case breakthroughs.

This book is the perfect farewell to what I think is one of Australia's best crime series of the past few years featuring a compelling, tenacious heroine. My brain worked overtime to solve everything which is exactly how I like my crime. I do hope Gemma pops onto Sarah Bailey's computer again, because it seems a shame not to see where Gemma goes next (or a cameo?). Strap in for this final ride with Gemma, you won't regret it.

Thanks to Allen & Unwin and NetGalley for the ARC.

3.5 stars
A car crash victim clings to life and is rushed to hospital but can't be saved. Hours later, the body is stolen from the morgue. No one knows who the dead woman was or why her body was taken.
Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock is back in her hometown of Smithson on maternity leave when the bizarre incident occurs. She is intrigued by the case but reluctant to get involved, despite the urging of her journalist friend Candy Fyfe. But in the days after the body goes missing, the town is rocked by another shocking crime and Gemma can't resist joining the investigation.

Once again as I seem to have done a bit lately, I did not realise that this was part of a series, and I requested the fourth book in it. In saying that I did not find that it detracted from my enjoyment of the book, but I did realise that I had missed out on some of the character development that would probably have enhanced the story for me. I really liked the character of Gemma Woodstock and the relationships with those around her, Jonesy, Everet, Mac and her daughter Scarlet as well as her father, I felt they were all well portrayed.
The story held my attention right up to the end when I felt this ended up a bit rushed and wrapped up a little too quickly, more suspense and tension could have been created to draw this out and make it a bit more exciting. I do not want to say more as I do not want to give away any spoilers for other readers.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.