A new, trusty police procedural that I'm already loving and dying for book 2 to drop. Plot was gripping, writing was fantastic but most of all what I enjoyed was the working police doggos - provided nothing happens to the dogs in the stories, this could quickly become a top 3 series of mine.

If you are a fan of her Echo Man books then this is for you! Only this one is a milder crime fiction compared to those. I love this author and enjoyed the book! Love her little sidekick Murray, the dog!

My thanks to the Author publisher's and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.
Absolute quality.
Gripping from first to last page, well written with superb characters throughout, plenty of surprises and twists along the way, throw in a cute smart dog what more can you want.
This is the first book I have read by this Author but it won't be the last. Hopefully this is just the start for our ballsy clever fearless heroine. More please soon.
Completely and utterly recommended.

Well Executed..
The start of a new series in this compelling police procedural. When a hand is discovered in woodland, a search ensues for the rest of the body. PC Lucy Halliday is on the case - although there is even more to this than meets the eye. A well executed and immersive plot populated with a credible cast and an intriguing storyline with plenty of surprises along the way. A promising start to a new series.

This was a classic detective story that you won’t regret reading, it has corruption, greed, and of course murder. Lucy has had a rough time lately her husband is missing and presumed dead. She almost lost her job on the force due to his going missing but her boss gives her a shot on the dog unit and that’s where she meets her best friend Moss who is crazy and may not even work for this job though they are perfect together. When Moss discovers a body they are both sent into the world wind of an investigation that includes the new boss who is not a fan of Lucy or anyone really. This case is big and there is so much at stake here if they don’t solve it quickly.

A great introduction to a new series . Lucy has problems, her husband disappeared , she believes that he has been murdered, and she has been demoted from Detective inspector and is now a constable working with police dogs. She is out walking her dog in the wood when they find human remains. The inspector in charge of the team is new to the area, he is also a man of mystery. Both of their lives are gradually revealed as they become involved with a multiple murder case and as they get to know one another. The book is well told, graphic and full of action. You get to know the characters and their secrets as the book progresses. I cared about the main characters and want to see them again to find out more about them.
Thanks to Net Galley & Cannelo for a great read

Gallows Wood by Louisa Scarr is the first book in the PC Lucy Halliday which is a police procedural series. I ended up reading it all day and finishing it. This book was excellent with great twists and turns throughout which was have you hooked from the beginning till the very end....You will love the characters especially Moss the specialist search dog.

PC Lucy Halliday is a police dog handler and this is her dream job, and has a wonderful specialist search dog called Moss she works with. He has also become her companion.
Whilst out walking in Gallows Wood with Moss - When, he suddenly stops and smells the air, he has a scent! and lets her know........

He has found a hand!!! but where is the rest of the body?

PC Lucy Halliday must find the rest of the body with the help of Moss.

But, what they uncover?

Is this a killer’s dumping ground. Perfect place for it!

Who does this hand belong to?

Lucy is married to Nico; who is a journalist with a reputation for getting buried in his work; and he has mysterious disappearance recently. She is wondering if this one will bring her closer to the truth of finding him. Lucy is certain that this time he delved too deep and has ended up dead!.

New DI Jack Ellis calling all the shots, Lucy is struggling to keep her professionalism intact.
She can’t stay away from these murders and needs to find who the killer is and who may hold the answers she desperately wants and to find Nico.

But, with those at the very heart of the investigation she is withholding secrets of their own,
can more brutal deaths be prevented before it's too late?

This book is so good.

I highly recommend this book. A great start to a great new series to get your teeth into!

Big Thank you to Netgalley and Canelo for my ARC.

A different type of police procedural in one way in that the main character, PC Lucy Halliday is a specialist dog handler with her beloved Moss. She was a DI but a bad case and the disappearance of her husband led to difficulties and she was demoted. Lucky she wasn't dismissed. She and Moss are called to Gallows Wood when some human remains are found and there she meets DI Jack Ellis, new to the areas and clearly with secrets of his own. The story includes organised crime aided by police corruption, domestic abuse and the perpetrators seemed a tad obvious, but I have read an awful lot of this genre. Lucy got on my nerves to start as we were told all too often that she believed her husband, an investigative journalist, murdered but no-one was listening. A lot happened over rather few days according to the chapter headings; with the limited team available I felt this too rushed. The two main characters did start to trust each other, with relapses, and I fear a future romantic setting. Loved the inclusion of the dogs (even being a cat person) and this gave a different twist to police procedure. Slow and almost boring to start but got going some way in. Look forward to the next outing. 3.5* rounded up. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

I'm a huge fan of police procedurals and this was like a breath of fresh air- so different from others
A female lead, a police dog handler, and no alcoholic/grumpy detective! Yay!! I loved Lucy (and Moss) and I thought she was really relatable with her flaws and chequered past.
The gallows wood murders kept you guessing, the team investigating them had a great mix of characters who you can see will work well together in future books. I cannot wait for the next one!
There's dry humour in the book which lightens some dark topics. I thought the dialogue and thoughts were very real and were perfect for the story and didn't bog it down too much. It's a book perfect for weekend reading with no distractions!

Wow, this book was brilliant. It just kept on giving. Once I started it I couldn't stop reading it. I loved the police procedure which intrigued me. I had no idea who was doing the crimes and the ending was brilliant. More please from this author. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

3.7 stars
One Liner: Slow but worth it

PC Lucy Halliday gets a call to bring her search dog, Moss when a hand is found in Gallows Wood. Lucy wonders if the case is linked to her husband’s disappearance, as she did with every other case for the past two years. Her husband, Nico, was a journalist with a penchant for digging up truths. Lucy is sure something happened to him.
New DI Jack Ellis is on the case. He has secrets of his own which he intends to keep buried. He also has a reputation for being successful and a great career graph to prove it. Jack wants things to be done fast and as per the rules. Lucy is desperate to find the truth even if it means bypassing certain channels.
As things get messy and people continue to keep secrets, it’s a race against time for the police to solve the crime. Can Lucy find answers to her questions? What will it cost her?
The story comes in the third-person POV of Lucy and Jack (with a few snippets from other POVs).

My Thoughts:
The first in the series is a slow-paced book that takes some time to get into the flow. Be patient as it gets better and leads to a solid ending.
It was around 15% that I could start to connect with the characters. Until then, somehow even Lucy didn’t appeal to me (despite her tragic backstory). But once I found the rhythm, the story moved ahead seamlessly.
Dogs naturally have a good space in the book. Since these are trained for different jobs, we get to see them in action. Moss has a greater role since he is with FMC most of the time. Moss is cute but doesn’t make the book lighthearted or a cozy mystery. This remains a police procedural.
The case is about something I don’t particularly like. However, it is handled well and is likely to form the basis for the overarching theme of the series. I have a few doubts about a few things and am hoping those will be cleared later on.
Both main characters have tons of baggage and trauma to deal with. I’m not sure if they will become each other’s love interests. It should take time or we’d have a train wreck on our hands. Slow burn is mandatory here!
I do like that they both have good brains despite the various flaws. This ensures competency as well as retains the human/ emotional touch. The side characters have been introduced. Have to see how they’ll be developed.
I could guess the culprit simply coz I disliked that character right from the introduction. Nothing makes me happier than seeing such ones get their due.
There’s some new information toward the end. The next case could be anything, though. I will read it (obv). This is my first book by the author and won’t be the last!

To summarize, Gallows Wood is a dark police procedural that starts slowly but picks up momentum as it progresses. It is compact and has much to offer, though I recommend checking the triggers first.
Thank you, NetGalley, and Canelo Crime, for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
***
TW: Domestic abuse (graphic, three scenes), date rape (non-graphic), drugs, alcoholism

Thank you NetGalley for approving me on this title. A very good book that is well worth a read. Highly recommend

A fantastic start to a series. Really enjoyed getting to know Lucy and Jack. Great storytelling which built up the tension and kept me wanting more from every page.

Really enjoyed this new series. Liked the progression and growth of Lucy & Jack throughout the book, they started off like your typical damaged cops but they improved as they worked together. Also loved the police dog aspect and loved Moss!
I look forward to the next one.

This is a brand new police series from Louisa Scarr and she’s really off to a flying start with it.
If you are a fan of police procedurals then definitely give this a try, slightly reminded me of Line of Duty but with police dogs.
Loved the story and loved the characters and the story was full of twists and turns that kept me guessing throughout.
I’m really looking forward to seeing Lucy and Jake’s story unfold in the rest of the series.

I am a big fan of this author's Butler and West series, which has sadly finished after 5 great books, so I was beyond excited to get my hands on this, the series opener for PC Lucy Halliday. She has a bit of a backstory which I will leave you to discover as the author intends but, when we first meet her, she is being arrested... Go back a bit and we find out that she has never got over the disappearance of her journalist husband and, after a demotion at work, is now working as a Police Dog Handler with Moss, a specialist search dog, the specialism being blood and cadavers. She is called to the scene of a discovery, only part of a body, she and Moss being needed to find the rest... It is there that she discovers there is a new DI - Jack Ellis - and they initially clash...
And it's hard to say much more about what happens as it is all interconnected and convoluted with twists and turns aplenty, and also a side order of secrets and lies, as you would expect from a book of this genre. What I can say is that I absolutely blooming loved that the main characters are a Police Dog Handler and her Dog. Lucy and Moss are brilliant! I can't remember ever reading a book that featured this side of the police in any detail and I read north of 300 books a year, mostly of this genre so, when I do discover something "new" it really does make my heart sing. And when does with this lever of expertise, I'm in heaven. But characters are one thing and, along with Lucy, Moss and Jack, we also need a credible, compelling story, and we also get that here. Culminating in an ending that both satisfies and also leave you wanting more. It really is the complete package, the real deal. So much so that I am now totally hanging for book two...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this awesome book

this is my first book by this author and it isnt going to be my last....

lucy is a police dog handler.... it was her dream job but one she had gotten by strings being pulled.... she use to be a higher rank but that was before her life imploded and her husband had disappeared....

but she was good at her job along with her dog moss....

DI Jack Ellis was new to the area but not to the job and once a body had been found in gallows wood he was on it... only trouble was so was lucy who thought the body might be her husband...

its a clash that was bound to happen and jack tells lucy to leave his scene.... its never going to end well...

what a ride this book gives you man oh man i was captivated by it... and i cant wait for the next book in this brilliant series

Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo for this opportunity to read rate and review this arc which is available wide on July 11, 2024!

This is a hard hitting UK police procedural but this time with PC Lucy Holliday and her specialist search dog Moss. It delves quite deep into serial killer land. A missing journalist husband of Lucy’s and a DI named Jack who I wanted to throttle.

Overall I enjoyed it. It was fast paced and fun.

PC Lucy Halliday is joined by Moss, a specialist search dog, when they are called to find a body after a hand is found. Lucy wonders if this will bring her closer to the truth of what happened to her missing husband, Nico. With new DI, Jack Ellis investing the crime, will the truth come out?

Having read all the Major Crime Series written by this author in her other pen name and them all being 5 stars, I was very keen to read a book written under her other name, Louisa Scarr and I am very pleased I did! This was a solid police procedural with a thrilling, fascinating start to a new series. I loved the main focus being a dog handler, finding this fresh, well researched and unique. The characters are very well written and I felt a connection with them almost instantly, especially loving Lucy and Moss.

The story is so well written that different emotions are raised as the story progressed and I found myself gripped to the pages waiting to find out what happened next. There is lots of mystery, suspense and some good twists along the way. I enjoyed how it came together and am now waiting impatiently for book two in this series. I will definitely be looking at the previous series by this author and recommending this to others. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

It's been two years since PC Lucy Halliday's journalist husband Nico disappeared. Now a body has been found in Gallows Wood and Lucy is determined to prove he didn't leave her but was murdered.

Louisa Scarr's 'Gallows Wood' is a compelling page turner with a dog handler as the main character, a job that has only ever been on the periphery of any crime books I've read.

Like with her fantastic Butler and West series, Scarr has a talent for creating well-rounded characters who are deeply flawed and hiding a lot of secrets. Lucy was once DI, but now disgraced and demoted. Meanwhile new DI Jack Ellis is trying to keep his past hidden. I really enjoyed getting to learn Jack and Lucy, along with the slow rapport they build. I can only hope we're spared the sort of drama that Butler and West experienced in book four (which I hated!).

The action is well-paced and I absolutely did not guess any of the twists and turns so I was gripped. I can't wait for more.

Thanks to Canelo and NetGalley for the ARC.