Hope to Die by Cara Hunter is the latest installment in the DI Adam Fawley series, but for readers like me who struggle with a large ensemble cast, it can be overwhelming. With more than three or four characters, I found myself lost at times, even with the character guide provided. Reading on an e-book made flipping back and forth to check names and roles even more challenging, especially with the English police rankings (DS, DC, etc.). I was constantly trying to remember who was who and how they fit into the investigation.

The narrative structure also left me disoriented. While the chapters often start with Adam Fawley's point of view, they tend to jump unexpectedly to another scene or perspective, creating confusion. It might have worked better if the shifts between POVs were more defined through shorter chapters, rather than surprising switches mid-chapter. As with her previous books, Hunter uses a mix of media formats—newspaper articles, text messages, and TV scripts—to tell the story, which adds texture but can also distract from the main narrative.

While Hunter is known for her unpredictable twists and turns, this novel felt almost dizzying with the sheer volume of surprises introduced early on. At times, it seemed like twists were included just for shock value, rather than to serve the story. Unfortunately, the frequent plot holes made it difficult for me to stay engaged, and by the end, I didn’t love the overall experience. Despite my struggles with the story, fans of Hunter’s style might appreciate her ability to keep readers guessing.

I started reading this author one year ago with Murder in the Family. Her short chapters, alternating points of view, and use of various media drew me in. I needed to read her Adam Fawley series. I did, and I'm now caught up. Hope to Die was outstanding in developing the personal lives of the detectives while investigating a riveting yet sad case. I'm ready for the next in the series.

DI Adam Fawley, DS Chris Gillingham, DS Verity Everett, along with their colleagues in the Thames Valley Police, face a formidable opponent in "Hope to Die," by Cara Hunter. Their investigation begins when a young man dies from a shotgun blast at the home of Richard and Margaret Swann. The Swanns, who are in their seventies, allege that a stranger broke into their home and Richard shot the intruder in self-defense. The detectives do not buy this story, since the physical evidence does not back up the couple's statement. Later on, much to Fawley's shock, a DNA test shows that the dead man is a blood relative of an infamous prisoner who was convicted for a heinous crime fifteen years earlier.

This complex and intriguing novel has an engrossing, suspenseful, and provocative plot. Although the story is more than a little far-fetched, Hunter's skillful writing, character development, and attention to detail lend the proceedings an air of realism. Cam Rowan, an only child brought up in a wealthy household, repeatedly rebels against her parents' overly harsh strictures. From a young age, she consorts with various boyfriends and repeatedly becomes pregnant. Shockingly, rather than seeking the therapeutic help she so desperately needs, Cam reacts to her condition with annoyance and indifference.

The author focuses on the efforts of police officers to take down a wily opponent who has no moral compass. Hunter effectively uses transcripts of telephone calls and texts, newspaper articles, interviews, and police reports to enliven her narrative, and she concludes this tale of psychological suspense with a nail-biting race against time. Fawley's team will need persistence and an ability to think out of the box if they intend to apprehend a ruthless villain who is desperate to escape justice.

Ohhhh! I’ve had the best time reading this series! Hope to Die by Cara Hunter is another fantastic that I couldn’t get enough of.
I loved being back with Cara Hunter.
This story is captivating, full of mystery and tension.
Hunter’s writing is as always…. Engaging, fun and definitely intriguing.
The increasingly tense plot takes turns the reader won’t see coming.
Overall, a compelling, gripping read with plenty of suspense along the way.
I can’t wait to read book seven You Know Who!

Thank You NetGalley and William Morrow for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I read my first book by Cara Hunter near the end of last year and now I can't get enough of her books. Hope to Die is my favorite of hers so far! This book is part of the DI Adam Fawley series, but works fine as a standalone, too. The author has even included a guide to the main characters at the beginning of the book. The characters are what really got me wanting to continue this series. There are newcomers to Fawley's team in this book, but they still work well together in trying to solve the case, even though their individual career goals and personal issues create some tensions.

In Hope to Die, the team is assigned to a case of a man being shot in the home of an elderly couple. At first it looks like a burglary gone wrong, but something seems off about the scene and further developments in the case are shocking to everyone. I enjoy the way the author tells a story. In addition to the narrative, there are also several different multimedia elements, such as online news articles and comments from the readers, police interviews, and emails.

Transcripts from a true crime documentary play a large role in this book. I had just watched a true crime documentary about a case in Australia and as I was reading the books, there were some things that seemed familiar. I had to skip ahead to read the author's note at the end and this book was inspired by that case! Of course, Hunter changes things to make the story her own, but I was even more fascinated by the case in the book since I had just watched the real-life case. The story is twisty and the ending is unexpected. I loved this book and recommend it to those who enjoy procedurals or true crime stories.

I received an advance copy of NetGalley and William Morrow Books at no cost, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

"Self-defense or murder? In the continuation of one of Britain's most popular crime series from Cara Hunter - the author of the instant New York Times bestseller Murder in the Family - DI Fawley returns to determine if someone has staged a crime scene in connection with another homicide from years past.

Midnight. A grisly murder scene at isolated farm on the outskirts of Oxford.

A man lies dead in the kitchen - shot point blank. The farm's elderly owners claim the shooting was self-defense against a burglar. But something about the crime scene doesn't sit right with DI Adam Fawley, whose gut tells him there's more to their story. If the victim came to rob the house, why wasn't he wearing gloves or carrying tools? Why didn't the owner of the house call the police right after the shooting? Why did his wife wash his blood splattered clothes immediately?

Digging deeper, the police realize this is no ordinary burglary gone wrong. There's an unmistakable link to an infamous case from years earlier involving a child's murder and an alleged miscarriage of justice. When the news leaks out, the press goes wild.

Suddenly Fawley's team are under tremendous pressure to crack the case - and to bring one formidable criminal to justice."

Thames Valley, ah, murders there are everything to me.

While this is part of a series, it does make sense as a standalone novel. The author's writing style easily pulls readers in. There were a few parts that dragged a bit, but it balanced out overall. The author's note is quite informative, and it helps pull everything together, so I would recommend reading that. This is a great book to add to your list if you are a fan of police procedural novels.

What a great read. Organized, thoughtful, suspenseful, well written. The best mystery I read to date. I felt that the author respected audience and didn’t dumb down the story. While it had many twist and turns, and definitely kept you in suspense I thought the entire book was masterful

If you like police procedural type books then this one is for you. It’s sixth in a series but don’t let it deter you from reading this. I think it’s easy to follow along without having read the others. Cara Hunter’s knack for storytelling is completely unique. However, I do feel like it dragged on a bit much and also it should be noted that you need to read the author’s note to get the full picture and for the story to come completely together.

This is my second book by this author and I enjoyed it. I love the mixed media content that this book includes. I can’t wait to read more by Cara Hunter

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. What a ride!! This was another excellent installment in the ongoing series. The story was suspenseful and kept me flipping pages all night. Cara Hunter is one of my auto buy authors. The twists and turns in this book really kept me on my toes.
Highly recommend

Cara Hunter has proven to be a master at writing heart-pounding thrillers, and every book in the DI Fawley series is unputdownable. The latest installment, "Hope to Die," is the sixth book in the series and kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. The storyline was well-planned out with expertly placed twists and turns. If you haven't read the prior installments, don't worry, as Cara Hunter provides a little cheat sheet on the recurring characters in the beginning, so you can jump into this series right here if you want. "Hope to Die" is a five-star thriller that I can honestly say I didn't figure out anything until it was revealed, and I love that! I am looking forward to the next book in this must-read series!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

Hope to Die is the 6th book in the Adam Fawley series, and it’s perfect for fans of procedurals. I’ve been in a reading slump, and this one helped me get out of it. The story centers on the shooting of an unknown victim, possibly breaking into an elderly couple’s home. The investigation spirals outward from there. I think this is my favorite Fawley book yet.

I can’t praise Cara Hunter’s sixth DI Adam Fawley crime novel enough. Hope to Die is everything a police procedural should be, with a solid team of police officers, a thoughtful lead, and a complex case that contains twists even up until the last chapter. The bestselling series is a smash in England, and the production rights have been purchased for TV. Fans of Ann Cleeves’ Vera series should hope this series makes it to BBC, BritBox or Acorn.

If a man hadn’t reported the gunshot at Gantry Manor outside Oxford, a young man’s death might never have been discovered. When the local police find the man’s body with his face shot away, and no identification, the elderly Swanns tell a strange story of a burglary gone wrong. But, the details just don’t add up for DI Fawley and his team. Why did the Swanns never call the police? How did Richard Swann get the shotgun from the cellar in time to shoot the victim? There were so many inconsistencies.

Then Fawley and team members recognize the Swanns, and link them to a notorious case that made headlines all over the country fifteen years earlier, and inspired a Netflix series. When Camilla Rowan was seventeen, she gave birth to a baby boy, and walked out of the hospital with him two hours later. The baby was never seen again, but five years afterwards, a social worker asked questions. What happened to that baby? Five years after his disappearance, Camilla, “Milly Liar”, was tried and convicted of killing her child. She’s now been in prison for fifteen years. She continues to protest her innocence, saying she gave the baby to its father, but the previous nationwide search turned up nothing. Now, Fawley and his team have to dig into the past again to investigate that disappearance, wondering how it connects to the death at Gantry Manor.

As I said, Hope to Die is a well-written, complex police procedural with the investigation laid out carefully. There are a few spoilers for the previous book in the series, The Whole Truth, but if you start at the beginning of the series, that might not matter. Hunter provides an added feature, a summary of the police officers in the book, with their character traits, marriage status, and status on the team. It’s so helpful! This is one of my favorite books of the year so far.

Hope to Die is inspired by a true case in Australia. Hunter’s use of mixed media, including TV scripts, DNA summaries, and texts between police departments makes the police procedural relevant today.

I have read several of these Cara Hunter police procedural novels. The characters are quite familiar to me, as they will be to any reader who has been following Hunter's novels. Hope to Die is the 6th novel in the DI Adam Fawley series. Each novel provides multiple point of view narration, which makes it easier to follow the police investigation. Online blogs, newspaper articles, and investigative notes offer readers a more complex, multi-level narration. In many way, Hunter's novels tend to feel more authentic as a police investigation, where each fact seems to lead in multiple directions. Nothing is straight forward. I do hope these books will be turned into a TV series.

Hope to Die begins with what seems to be a home invasion shooting, but soon enough the investigation focuses on the victim's identification, as well as the personal history of the homeowners. The characters in the police force are individuals, with personalities that readers can easily see being so diverse and divisive that they are every bit as interesting as the victim and criminals whom readers meet.

Thank you to Hunter, publisher Willian Morrow, and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC. My comments are my own view of this novel's strengths. I enjoyed Hope to Die, and look forward to book 7 in this series.