Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

This set of Detective Marcy Kendrick mysteries by Theo Baxter is a treasure trove of captivating police procedural mysteries.

Here is a list with a brief description of the stories included in this set.

Skin Deep - a crime occurs with echoes of the traumatic murder of their mother by the face flayer witnessed by Marcy and her brother decades ago who was never caught - could it be the same killer? Also, Marcy finds a new love interest in an unassumingly sweet professor (I really liked his character). Are her partner's Angel's hopes for a closer bond with Marcy dashed before they had a chance to begin? Read Skin Deep for the answers to these questions and so much more!

My only issue the transition between Skin Deep and Blood Line is there was no segue with Marcy's partner returning from suspension between the two books - he was just an annoyingly "there" again.

Blood Line - Marcy's partner Angel returns back to the Detective pool after recovering from his injuries, desk bound while his leg fully recovers. As Marcy reels with the cumulation of uncovered secrets and the unmasked killer in Skin Deep, the tension remains taut as another vicious killer enters her world - who set this young woman on fire and pushed her out of a window? Could it have been her own twin sons? Marcy solves one of her trickiest cases ever.

Dark Duty - Marcy and Angel investigate the murder of a bad cop who is a member of the group "Circle of Justice". Both partners get new romantic interests in this story...

Kill Count - a starlet apparently overdoses, but it is quickly discovered to be a homicide when a playing card is left by her cold body. The murders quickly escalate, eventually tied to someone who is a master at disguises, and then to El Gato, an insidious crime and drug lord (who has numerous police officers and highly placed political allies on his payroll). Marcy and Angel investigate, and Marcy's romance becomes a bit too cloying for this reviewer.

Pay back - A member of a crew who steals expensive products for women who resells them, decides he isn't paid enough so he returns to steal BACK the products from those he works for and kills them in the process. Marcy and her team investigate the murders.

El Gato's threat still hangs over Marcy's head, as well as the threat of vindictive reporters that she won't give an interview to as well as the constant threat of her ex husband looming in the not distant enough future.

Lost Souls - a disturbed serial killer thinks he is doing the Lord's work by killing demons, when he is killing innocent victims. Marcy's on the case. Sigh, Angel gets involved in a sappy relationship which rivals Marcy's in this book and in End Game.

End Game - Marcy and team investigate a gratuitously ghoulish sadistic serial killer who makes a game out of torturing people to death. Trigger Warning: This one is nightmarishly gruesome, or at least I found it so; I read hundreds of police procedurals annually (they are 75% of my reading fare) and I had to skip parts of this one, it's an especially soulless crime.
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The talented Theo Baxter typically excels when writing police procedurals, however, I took exception to numerous issues in the storyline, detailed below.

1. Marcy faces constant berating and emotional abuse from her ex-husband, Jason Brasswell (her lieutenant in the first few stories). Surely times have changed since the 1970's regarding the Thin Blue Line so ANYONE experiencing severe abuse like this would report it to higher ups without fear of reprisal. In ANY honest police department, this idiot would have been quickly warned and immediately reprimanded (and numerous coworkers who witnessed Marcy's daily abuse would have reported it).

Marcy's Brasswell ex Jason was newly promoted (which would place him under GREATER scrutiny). Yet, even after her ex-husband returns from a 2 week suspension (for loudly berating Marcy within their captain's earshot) the same captain promised he would "get her away from him" which is ignored moving forward, the abuse continues through the first few stories...

Jason damages Marcy's car to the point where she has to take it to a body shop for repair, yet Marcy STILL doesn't tell her Captain to demand he take action. She doesn't even MENTION it (even to Jason). Rather, Marcy, a tough cop, meek as a lamb brings her car to a body shop to get it fixed.

This Does NOT track with Marcy's "tough" personality - this is the same woman who has killed 7 murderers in defense of herself or innocent victims? What?!

I began wondering if her ex was blackmailing Marcy, but no - she just repeatedly allows him to vomit cruel abuse at her daily and demean her in front of her colleagues as she continues to experience severe stress any time her Lieutenant gets near her. And Marcy's partner, Angel who "loves her" so deeply, would surely register a complaint against Jason (or at least tell their captain) if Marcy was TRULY incapable of speaking up for herself. Angel states that Jason makes the workplace "hell" yet he does nothing to fix it? Once again, this doe not track with a protective partner, regardless of gender.

2. The Captain's responses don't track with his previously empathetic personality - In Dark Duty Marcy finds her ex husband passed out on his office couch during business hours - and when Marcy FINALLY complains to their captain, rather than fire him, he tasks Marcy with sneaking her abusive ex out of the department and bringing him to his new house where he lives with this new wife he cheated on Marcy with during their 10 year marriage.

3. In Dark Duty there is evidence that Marcy's ex is suspected to be a member of the Justice Circle, a gang of rogue cops who regularly target, drug, and sexually abuse young women, en masse. Although Jason basically admits to Marcy he is tied to this organization, she stops investigating those ties as soon as Jason (her omnipresent ex) gets the murderer associated to the Justice Circle killed so there would be no one left to tie him to the organization(!)

4. Marcy becomes insecure and a crying, unadmirable MESS when a sappy relationship enters her life - I wish she had stayed single. Author should decide between writing romance or writing police procedurals. I hope he opts for police procedurals, or this is one ardent reader he will quickly lose. I literally had to skip the sappy parts, especially in Payback.

Ultimately, I hope the author starts maintaining the personalities of his characters so their actions are NOT SO constantly gratingly out of character with their established characters. Every writer occasionally needs to level set and refine their craft regardless of where they are in their career (I am a professional writer and editor who has worked decades in this role).

FYI - I typically rate Baxter's books and easy 5 stars,

Regardless of these jarring inconsistencies, the mysteries in this series of books are captivating, and the writing has Theo Baxter's typical flair and talent, I definitely want to read more in this series for the police procedural aspect. Fans of "romantic" mysteries might find this series stellar.

This murder mystery/police procedural series is fast paced , page turning , full of twists and turns -
entertainment at its best , the storylines go from strength to strength .
Whilst the solving of murders is paramount the stories are strongly character driven .
Despite Marcy's early traumatic childhood she has managed to raise herself to being one
of the best detectives in her division - along with her partner Angel they will always put the victims
first no matter the cost to themselves - both know that the other will always have the other's back
and have become best friends because of it . They have managed to forge personal lives with partners
from within the Police system , although that in itself can cause problems as everyone knows their business
The final book brings many questions ............. are there still El Gato spies within the Station ? who killed
the bombers ? and perhaps the teasers regarding a possible relationship between Marcy and Angel
will playout sooner rather than later ( I'm impatient - sorry ) ?
I would recommend this series and this7 book set will bring you right up to date in the timeline .

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

GET 7 EXPLOSIVE CRIME THRILLERS FEATURING DET. MARCY KENDRICK!! Great box set! I had read most of these books but they’re worth reading again! They had great suspense, murder, mystery, shocking twists and some wild scenes! The storylines are very interesting! I highly recommend reading this box set! Thank you NetGalley, the publishers and Theo Baxter for sharing these books with me! Can’t wait for more!! Definitely one of my go to authors!