Love the Alana Mack novels. Great writing and premise. Amazing characters. Page turner. Plenty of suspense to keep me guessing..Definitely looking forward to the next offering. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it

Roses for the dead is the second book in the Detective Alana Mack series. I really enjoyed the first one, so I was looking forward to how the series develops.
Set in Dublin, Wheelchair bound Detective Alana Mack is investigating two women’s murders. Both found dead on Dublin’s Dart Rail tracks with red roses left on their beds. The two women do not have any connection to each other.
Three months later, no luck finding the killer. Alana is in search for a missing woman and Alana hopes that the killer has not struck again. But she finds out that the woman has gone missing from the same train. What is the connection?
This is another intriguing story like her first book in the series. And I really enjoyed it for the most part. But I found at the last quarter of it that there was to much packed into it regarding goings on and characters and felt it dragged on a bit at the end. 4 stars

A fantastic read - there were so many aspects of the novel I enjoyed. Detective Alana Mack is one smart woman & when a woman fails to pick up her daughter from school, alarm bells ring. The location- Dublin is a great scene setter and the unfolding of the women being found with poems and single red roses was gripping, couldn't put it down! Thanks to Net Galley for the advanced copy

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the copy of Roses for the Dead by Jenny O’Brien. I’m not sure why this book took so long for me to get interested in, because the plot and reveal were great. There were so many characters I never felt like I really got to know or care about any of them. I probably should have read the first book in the series for more background before reading this one.
I think this book was just not for me, but if you love police procedurals and can deal with lots of characters, this book is for you because that reveal was a shocker! 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 because of that ending!

The second book in the series about Detective Alana Mack a Detective Garda who is in a wheelchair. This is the first of the series I've read but it works well alone. Alana and her team are dealing with a series of Dart murders. Young women killed them put on the rails of the Dart to be mutilated. The story is interesting enough to hold ones attention. I did guess the murderer before the big twist at the end but only just! An enjoyable story that I would give a solid 4 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own

It’s been great to revisit Alana Mack and her team – I absolutely love the regular cast in this series and I’m keen to see how Alana’s personal life develops. Unanswered questions remain about her past, which is tantalising too! As for the mystery, it’s complex and satisfying, drawing you in then turning you in circles as you wonder how the pieces tie together. It’s well handled – I never lost track – and the payoff when everything suddenly makes sense was great. Looking forward to book three!

D Alana Mack book two.
One missing one dead who will be next?
Alana a paraplegic full time and a detective garda full time she is kept busy.
Kilmacud sports centre on a Saturday morning for a relaxing swim, when Lorrie Deery rings to say sorry boss but we might have another one, operation octopus have already two victims both females, murdered within two weeks of each other and they are no near to finding the culprit, now they have three, all found on train tracks.
Along with Paddy Quigg with more bodies on the dart line no woman is safe in Dublin, with three red roses found at the murder scenes, who is this person and why are they killing.
A full investigation takes the team taking on loads of suspects as you read on.
A gripping read to be enjoyed. I love Alana Mack and this book two was fantastic from start to finish and look forward to book three hopefully soon.

Thoroughly enjoyed the second in the series, (I had read the first but Alana's situation is very clear and it works find as a standalone.) I didn't guess the killer - or the method (which is very clever!). Well written; good, strong characters you can identify with; nicely paced. Solid five stars from me.

The second is this detective series set in Dublin Ireland and……it was ok. A little convoluted, perhaps too many characters and parts which seemed to drag.

We still don’t know how our main protagonist ended up in a wheelchair after her “ accident “ in the past. This now seems a conscious decision by the author and I think it’s a poor choice. Explaining Alana’s back story would help develope the character more and make the reader have more empathy and a better understanding of her.

At the end of the day I wanted to like this more than I did. It just dragged after a really interesting set up and seemed to over complicate things to explain everything, it felt clumsy.

I enjoyed the first more than this.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC through Netgalley.

*SPOILER WARNING*

I was excited to read this second book in the Alana Mack series. (I guess the off-putting nickname "Alan" has fallen away.) In this book, a woman disappears after getting off a train that was also ran over another woman, in a repeat of two similar murders that had happened months earlier. Alana's team is investigating both. I liked how the cases were tied together but not exactly to the original two murders, but I am always a little disappointed when someone close to a police investigation or police officer ends up being the killer.. I mostly liked this and will continue this series. 3.5 stars rounded to 3.

A Brilliantly Plot Full of Suspense and Intrigue
This is the second book I have read in a series by Jenny O'Brien, and it is set in Dublin Ireland. The story is about a disabled police officer called Alana Mack and her team of detectives.
A killer is on the loose, targeting women and leaving their broken bodies scattered across Dublin's Dart train line. The victims have no connection to one another, but their murders bear the same chilling hallmark an identical single red rose left at each of their crime scene.
When a mother rushes for a train after dropping her daughter at school and is reported missing by her husband when she does not return to pick her up from school Detective Alana Mack discovers the missing mother has vanished from the same train that claimed the life of the three young woman. Alana fears the worst, but something does not sit right with Alana until the women reappears.
A truly thrilling book the characters are all natural and true to life and without giving too much away, this book has everything you would want in a thriller including a brilliantly plot full of suspense and intrigue. I loved all the twists and turns, with the characters are all extraordinarily strong people. The book is professionally written and a fast-paced crime thriller that you genuinely enjoy. It has left me looking forward to reading more books from Jenny O'Brien.  Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Having read the first part in the series of Jenny O’Brien, Detective Mack series, I was looking forward to read this one. It didn’t disappoint me at all. One of the best starts to this series

Fantastic, A real page turner that I didn’t want to put down with lots of twists and turns. Fast paced crime thriller. Totally gripped

Highly recommended

Thank you to Netgalley and Storm Publishing

Wow! Roses for the Dead immediately had me hooked and I was fascinated by the characters. Detective Alana Mack is heading a team investigating two murders where a red rose was left on the victim’s bed and the victim is placed on a train track. When another victim is found on a train track, the team must discover whether the killer is back or if it is a copycat. Add into that a missing woman, an unfaithful husband, and the thoughts of the anonymous killer, and you have a fascinating read. I loved the way the story lines are woven together and the identity of the killer was a surprise. This is the second book featuring Alana, who may be in a wheelchair, but is as capable as anyone. I have already put her first story on my TBR.
Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC.

Some strange connections between some murdered women and common threads running between the. The repetition of trains being part of their deaths and the fact that an unusual rose being left as a calling card makes the case mysterious.
Some of the methods used by the perpetrator are also unusual but I won’t give any spoilers.
I enjoyed the original threads of the story and details which did well to cancel out the more well trodden roads of a bullied child turning bad and infidelity being the cause of revenge. The forensics were portrayed with knowledge and scientific credibility too. A few glaring typos eg breaks for brakes, hear for here and a misquote as it’s the love of money that is the root of all evil, not money.
Good characters, even paced storyline and enough interesting detail to keep me turning the pages.

Detective Alana Mack stars again in this second thriller by Jenny O Brien.
Set in Dublin, three women - two dead and one missing, and a killer on the loose. Will Alana Mack solve the case before the killer strikes again?
After reading the first novel featuring Detective Alana Mack, ‘The Puppet Maker’, I was very keen to get my hands on this second story. The main characters are the same but it could easily be read as a standalone novel. It was interesting to delve deeper into the private lives of the key characters in this second book and find out a little more about them.
All in all a great plot, with a good pace and interesting, likeable characters.
Bring on book number 3!!

Detective Alana Mack confronts the killer known as the DART attacker, but the latest body found on the train tracks and the coincidence with the disappearance of a woman who was travelling on the same train makes her suspicious.
This second instalment is as addictive as the first. Alana Mack and the characters that accompany her are very interesting and have a very fluid dynamic that helps the pace of the novel.
As in the previous book, the author alternates chapters where the killer speaks with the investigation chapters which leads the reader to learn the motivations for the murders and to speculate on who the killer might be.
All in all, a great police procedural/thriller with perfect pacing and fantastic characters. I'm already looking forward to reading the next case of Detective Alana Mack and her team.

Roses for the Dead by Jenny O’Brien. Detective Alana Mack series, #2. Storm Publications, 2024.
As senior officer of Dublin’s crack crime team, until a new Detective Sergeant is appointed, Detective Garda Alana Mack is leading her colleagues through two missing and murdered women cases when a third missing person is reported. A mother phones her husband to say she is delayed, so can’t pick up her child from school. Then she disappears.
Aside from discovering the killer, and whether a serial or copycat, there are a few subplots going on. Alana uses a wheelchair; her first encounter with the new Detective Sargeant is suboptimal, not when he is introduced at the Station and things don’t improve from there. Meanwhile, her main work sidekick Paddy has family distractions, and there too things only get worse.
Since mid-June 2023, I’ve started over 220 crime novels, most from series, written by over 60 new-to-me authors. I did finish most of these, the books and then the series, by most authors.

Jenny O'Brien's writing is smooth, polished and a pleasure to read. There is something remarkably fresh about it. I will certainly catch up and read her other work.

And superb character development. A test for me as to the degree to which I engage with characters is whether I think about or wonder about or care about characters when I am not reading, and I certainly did with this team.

This is my first Jenny O’Brien book. I suspected that this is not her first novel. Now I see that she has other series, including the six-book Detective Gaby Darin series, and some standalone books.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of Roses for the Dead for free via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. #RosesfortheDead #NetGalley.

I’m really enjoying this new series from Jenny O’Brien, I wasn’t sure I’d take to a new set of characters as I was so engaged with the last series, but I honestly am. Making the main character a wheelchair user is a great step for inclusion, showing how any investigation difficulties can be overcome, but also showing Alana’s frustration. I’m liking the new boss, well, maybe not liking exactly, but I feel there’s a lot more to come from his character. The Paddy and Irene story is well written, especially the disagreement they had which felt very realistic. Great plotting as always. Congratulations Jenny O’Brien, another winner of a story and I’m already eagerly awaiting the next one.

Roses for the Dead by Jenny O'Brien. Second book in the Detective Alana Mack Series, Although this case isn't quite as intense as the Puppetmaker, it is a very good and gripping read. Still learning about Alana and her team. Interesting in reading how the Irish Guarda operate. The killer was a surprise. Am looking forward to the next case that Alana gets caught up in.
Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing, and the author, Jenny O'Brien for the opportunity to preview the book.

I really enjoyed this book,the first I've read from this author. Detective Alana is a likeable main character and I look forward to reading the other books in the series. The plot was engaging and it didn't nail down the ending until the end. The only criticism I have is that there is a lot of characters involved and at times I found it hard to remember who was involved with who but it's not a difficult read and I found myself returning to it so I could get to the conclusion quickly.
Thanks to netgalley for the advance copy