Gwyn Bennett’s writing style is both elegant and approachable, striking a perfect balance that skillfully blends mystery and intrigue in a vivid and immersive setting. The whodunnit factor kept me turning the pages, and so it the concept of ritualistic homicide. A solid 4.2/5 is what this book wrenched out of me.

Burning Lies is a dark and gripping mystery that keeps you hooked from start to finish. Set in the picturesque village of Thistleford, the discovery of a woman burned at the stake sets off a chilling investigation that feels anything but ordinary. Dr. Harrison Lane, an expert in ritualistic crimes, is called in to unravel the twisted threads of this disturbing case.

The tension builds as Harrison digs deeper into the lives of the villagers, revealing a tangled web of secrets, deceit, and dark motives. The inclusion of a second death at Harmony House, a place where ex-convicts seek redemption, only adds layers to the mystery, making the stakes even higher. The atmosphere is thick with suspense, and you can feel the weight of the darkness creeping through every page.

Harrison himself is a compelling protagonist—haunted by his own demons, he's determined to uncover the truth, even as the case forces him to confront his past. His complex character adds emotional depth to the narrative, making his journey all the more engaging.

With its eerie setting, intricate plot, and well-developed characters, Burning Lies is a fantastic read for anyone who enjoys a psychological thriller with a touch of the macabre. While the mystery itself is captivating, it's the eerie, atmospheric tension that truly stands out, making it a memorable and chilling read.

🔥 BURNING LIES 🔥 by Gwyn Bennett

🔥 A group of older women are out walking when they smell something burning. As they are trying to find the source of what it is, they discover an incomprehensible scene before them.

🔥 Detective Gibbons arrives at the location and calls on Dr. Harrison Lane to tap into his ritualistic knowledge and experience with past crime scenes. Together Gibbons and Lane begin to solve who the victim may be and what the motive could be to assist them with figuring out who could have committed this heinous act in the village of Thistleford.

🔥 After conducting interviews with some of the villagers, Detective Gibbons and Dr. Lane become familiar with the talents of the victim, as well as become aware of the cultish groups within Thistleford. How does the victim possibly connect with these cultish groups? The villagers?

🔥 Detective Gibbons and Dr. Lane connect the scattered ashes of this mysterious crime together as best as they can.

I do like novels with cultish vibes. Also, I enjoyed Harrison Lane’s character and was intrigued by some brief references to his childhood and about his mother. I am interested in reading the previous books in this series to uncover his backstory.

Thank you to Net Galley and Storm Publishing for a copy of this book! ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (Rounded up to 4⭐️ on Goodreads.)
#detectivemystery #netgalley #gwynbennett #drharrisonlane #burninglies #stormpublishing

*5 Stars*

Copy kindly received via NetGalley for an honest review.

A very interesting read with great characters. Gibbons and Harrison had their work cut out to find out who the killer or killers were with all the lies that were being told. They had their suspicions but not enough evidence. Would recommend.

Overall a well thought out and good thriller. felt the ending was underwhelming but still read the book quickly and did like it.

This is a great murder mystery. I haven't read any of the other books in the series but I enjoyed it anyway and will definitely be checking out the rest of the series. I like the writing style. I would recommend this! Special Thank You to Gwyn Bennett, Storm Publishing, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Great book, easy to read and was quick. I sadly hadn’t read the other books so it took me a moment to catch up but once I did 🥳🥳

This is the 1st Gwyn Bennett book i read it was a good story interesting though a little easy too see where it was going and a dissapointing though easy too understand ending.

Burning Lies is a really great murder mystery. This is book 9 in the series and I honestly didn't know until I came to do my review lol.. That said it's so well written I didn't fell like I'm lost coming in so late in the series. However, now I wanna go back and read them all because the author did such a great job with the details, storyline and characters in this book. This book was easy to follow. I was able to put it down and pick it up and still remember and understand what's going on. It held my attention throughout the book. IMO it's definitely worth adding to your TBR if you like murder mysteries.

I read half of this book and the characters and the setting never caught for me. I'm not sure why and likely it's just not the book for me.
I don't post negative reviews on my blog or elsewhere.

I haven’t read any of the other books in this series but I want to now.
Harrison is an interesting character & im liking his speciality in the unusuals of life.
So I can see myself reading more.
Really good, there were a few webs woven and cleverly put back together.
Worth a read

This was the first book I had read with this detective, Dr Harrison Lane - I hadn't realised there were more. I thought he was a very interesting character and yes would read more books with him as the central character. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, it kept me interested and guessing. It had a story line that was different from others. The characters were well drawn and I would thoroughly recommend

Oh wow, this was a page turner. It was gripping from the first page to the last. I couldn't stop reading and it really caught me interest. Loved this one. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

ARC Review
Burning Lies by Gwyn Bennett
3.5/5 ⭐

Thank you to NetGalley, Gwyn Bennett, and Storm Publishing for this e-book in exchange for an honest review.

This is book #9 in the Harrison Lane Mystery series. Since I have not read the others there were parts of the story I was lost in because I was not familiar with the characters.

Looking past that and at the mystery of it all a woman is mysteriously burned in a cross in an English countryside during the springtime. Dr Harrison Lane who heads the Ritualistic Behavioral Crime unit is called into this burning. Not being familiar with the area, he has to not only familiarize himself with the town and town residents but also try to figure out who the woman is and who killed her. What is cool about this mystery is there are parts of the book from the guilt party's POV, and it doesn't give away who did it. Overall, it was a good story but not overall memorable.

#netgalley #netgalleyreview #gwynbennett #gwynbennettbooks #burninglies #stormpublishing #book #bookish

A psychic
A Witch Burning Ritual
Several Suspicious “religious community groups”
And
A close knit community

But who did it?

Burning Lies is a novel focused on a ritualistic homicide performed in a small community village. This has to be one of the first ritualistic/religious crime novels that I have read. I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially as one of the characters had my name.

I have rated it 3🌟 as for me I knew within the first 30% who the killer was, which was disappointing. However, I am a crime/thriller lover so I have a keen eye to detail and find I can pick the killer quite easily.

If you’re looking to get into the crime genre this is definitely an entry novel and I would definitely recommend.

I have read other books by this author, but not in this series. I liked the main character, Harrison Lane very much . He takes an unusual view of the crimes and as such comes to unusual conclusions, that might just turn out to be true. Not having read others in this series, this book was fine as a stand alone, though I do have some questions about Harrison's personal life. The investigation is interesting with a couple of twists in the plot. The setting is a pretty English village, but there is something off, which is picked up fairly quickly by Harrison. A good read.
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC

An unsuspecting walking group discovers a gruesome murder that appears to have ritualistic elements. Harrison Lane is called in to investigate and finds it triggers troubles from his early life. It is a well-thought-out plot with the expected suspects and some unexpected twists. The author's clever sensory imagery lets the reader imagine the characters and events. I have read a previous book in this series, so I knew some of Harrison Lane's background, which improves my engagement with the story. I like the Harrison Lane character and his unusual experiences and skills. I enjoyed following the investigation, which had many suspects and false leads. It is a well-paced crime thriller.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Yet another winner from Gwyn Bennett's Harrison Lane series. Gripping and expertly written this book had me hooked from page one. Having read all the previous eight books in the series I cannot wait for the next exciting read.
I highly recommend reading any book by Gwyn Bennett you won't be disappointed.

It is always difficult when you jump into a series that is already established and I must admit that, although I enjoyed the story I missed out on the background of Dr. Harrison Lane, Head of the Ritualistic Behavioural Crime Unit.
When a woman's body was found in a field by walkers, a body that had been chained to a stake and burned the local PD needed the help of Harrison Lane.
The small tight knit community of Thistleford banded together, they all extolled the virtues of psychic medium Louise Swift, the victim. Louise had helped many of the villages reach out to their dead loved ones so who would want her dead especially in such a ritualistic way. Was it the residents of Harmony House, a closed community of ex convicts who were being given a second chance, a chance to escape from the world and live off the land, or could it be the members of the Thistleford Community Church which was more like a cult ? Many red herrings are thrown out, few clues were picked up by the police but Harrison had a completely different way of looking at things and gradually, through observation and the IT skills of his assistant he was able to reveal his findings.
I can't really say that I connected with Harrison's character but that could be because I hadn't read the previous books, he obviously had issues that needed sorting but I did like the way his mind worked. I was a bit disappointed to be left hanging at the end .
Thank you Storm Publishing and Net Gallery for this ARC, my review is totally voluntary.

I’ve read a couple of books by this author, which I enjoyed (particularly Secrets In The Blood) but didn’t find this one quite up to the same standard. I liked Harrison Lane, a different type of investigator in a lot of ways. He’s a bit of a loner, a biker, and has a back story that affects him in numerous ways. I found the tight knit community setting a bit claustrophobic, there were a few cliches, such as the house with ex cons and the quasi religious ‘cult’, both immediately being suspects for no other reason than what they were assumed to be up to by locals. The story is nicely paced, but the ending I felt was disappointing, almost a non event. There were some interesting parts of the plot that kept me going, the policing side of the story was good and I’d certainly look at whatever the author writes next.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.