Ask No Questions

This is the first book in the Detective Caelen Small series and what a gripping and rather breathtaking start it is! And I guarantee you won’t see that ending coming! It will leave you gobsmacked, flicking back through the pages to see how you missed it but more importantly, ready to read the next book in the series NOW!!

Now, Caelen Small isn’t the easiest of characters to like as when we meet her she has retreated into herself, away from others. It’s obvious that sometimes very distressing had happened to her but we have to wait to find out the full extent of the horrors she has seen as we are drip fed snippets throughout the book. There were a few major surprises along the way that I hadn’t been expecting but they added an edge to the storyline that worked really well! Once Caelen herself gradually opens up, I found I had to reexamine my initial reaction to her and felt I understood what made her tick so much better once the pieces started to fall into place. I liked her more the more I discovered about her which is the exact opposite of how I felt about other characters. It’s probably best to mention here that it did take me a while to get used to the authors writing style as I felt there was so many characters to get to know very quickly and I had to concentrate quite heavily sometimes with much flicking back to check facts and characters. But once engrossed in the fast paced narrative, I found myself swept away by the action taking place right up until that jaw dropping conclusion.

This has the potential to be a great series with its intelligent and intricate plotting and darkly atmospheric settings. It has a convoluted storyline that means you have no idea who to trust because around every corner lurked another shocking development. I found myself thinking it would make one of those crime dramas that the BBC do so well. In fact, if you have enjoyed such dramas as Between the Lines and Line of Duty then this book will be right up your street.

Caelen Small is an undercover operator with the met police, the best they have. As she fights for justice, she comes across corruption, lies and murders. This a very well written book, full of surprises and has great characterisation. If you like action, thrillers and police corruption, this book is for you. As for that ending! Many thanks to Net Galley for my copy. I have reviewed on Goodreads and Amazon.

thank you to netgalley, the publisher and the author for a copy of this book to read and review. i enjoyed this book...a fast paced story that keeps you hanging on for what comes next

Have you ever finished reading a book and thought to yourself; ‘Hallelujah!! This is just the book I’ve been waiting for!’? I have..

Now even though I read a lot of books, I still expect each and every storyline to be unique. However, recently it feels like a lot of the thrillers/psychological thrillers I’ve read, whilst being a good enough read, haven’t made me go ‘wow!’. Until now.

Caelan Small resigned from her job in the Met after a police operation went from bad, to worse, in a matter of minutes. As far as Caelan was concerned, she had left her job permanently. However as far as the Met were concerned, Caelan was about to be reinstated and thrown in the deep end. If Caelan thought the operation last time was a mess, she has no idea what is about to come her way…

‘Ask No Questions’ is THE book I have been waiting for! Not only was the storyline extremely fast paced, it was also full of suspense and intrigue as I tried to work out what the hell was going on. In the simplest of terms, ‘Ask No Questions’ is an absolute mind-funk of a novel which, ironically enough, made me want to ask questions constantly. When each situation began to unfold I tried to piece everything together, attempting to come up with a name as to who was involved. Just when I had a name and a motive in mind, the entire plot changed tactic and everything was up in the air. Nobody was safe. Nothing was certain. There were a lot of characters with a ‘do not trust’ sign stuck to their heads and, because I was invested in each character throughout the book, I became quite shocked when a character who I believed to be trustworthy, ended up being ‘one to watch’.

From the very first page, ‘Ask No Questions’ held me hostage. My level of excitement for the novel itself was through the roof, I was eager to turn to the next page to find out what was going to happen next. Who was going to come out from the woodwork. Who might end up dead.

I cannot even begin to explain how much I absolutely LOVED Lisa Hartley’s novel. All I can say (once again), is how ‘Ask No Questions’ became THE book I have been waiting for. THE storyline I wanted to sink my teeth into and never let go. Being shocked by every turn of events the moment I turned the page. Lisa Hartley has written a phenomenal, intense, spine tingling and addictive read, I am already beyond excited about the next book in the series. ‘Ask No Questions’ ticked every single box for me, and then some.

For once the tag line at the end of the blurb is bang on; this book really will keep you guessing, and you will absolutely love that it does.

Thanks Canelo!

OMG! I hate authors that do this to me. You can not just stop there. It's unfair and cruel. All I can say is there had better be a sequel or I'm going to have to...... oh I don't know. See how do you like it?

This is the first book I have read by this author and wow what a start. The start of the book is best described as explosive and the ending well I didn't expect that. You just don't see it coming.

Caelan Small resigned from the Metropolitan Police when an operation went from bad to worse. She believed that she was done with her old life. Little did she know was that the Metropolitan Police decides to reinstate her and compared to this operation the one that caused her to resign was in fact a cake walk.

Ask No Questions is a thriller of a frantic pace. Once you pick it up I dare you to put it down. Seriously it's 100 miles an hour and that's on a slow page. You think you have worked it out then suddenly it changes direction and a whole new set of questions are asked.

Small is an extremely likable character. There are many characters in this book that give you the impression that they are good trustworthy people. Wow I was so wrong.

Would I recommend it? Ohh yes without a doubt. If you love a mystery and a thriller you will love this. Enjoy!


*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2074079653

https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R1VLSIF6OLPTUS/ref=pe_1572281_66412651_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

An unputdownable read! Twists and turns a plenty in this crime thriller.
Detective Caelan Small, having quit her job after her last assigned operation ended in tragic loss, vowed never to go back to her job as an undercover detective. It's when a previous colleague is sent to retrieve her that she finds a new chance to get questions answered, to right wrongs and get justice (or revenge?)
Unsurprisingly, Caelan was my favourite character in Lisa's new book. I love her fight, her strong mind, her intelligence and how she tells it like it is. You get a real sense of the main characters in this book. Caelan has this tough outer shell but suffers flash backs that make you see how her business is unfinished and she's still reeling from past events. Ewen is another character I took to instantly. He's the slightly nervous but capable new undercover partner to Caelan.

I loved this book,from first book,a great thriller,with every page,couldn't put it down,will read more from this author.

Wow Lisa Hartley has pulled out a fantastic new character to lead this new series. A real page turner that will keep you awake all night.
Caelann an undercover cop comes out of retirement to help track down a wanted killer. She finds it extremely difficult to know which colleagues she can trust and enlists the help of ex army now security policeman Ewan.
As the story unfolds the suspense just keeps on building right to the very end and the number of twists keeps you double guessing right to the last page.
A thoroughly great read I can't wait for the next in the series

A good crime thriller with some suspense and a good ending
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

The Cover: I like the cover of Ask No Questions. The shades used, the architecture in the back ground; all of it suits the nature of the story.

The Plot: I really enjoyed the story line of Ask No Questions. It was a great game of 'who dun it' that literally kept me guessing with every twist, turn, or murder.

The Characters: I loved all of the characters, especially Ewan and Ian Penrith. Ewan because he stepped in from seemingly out of nowhere and stepped up. Ian seemed at points to be almost comic relief and that is all I can say without giving anything away. All of our characters were very well written and added to the story in just the right way.

Was it Worth Reading?: Definitely! I really enjoyed every moment, except maybe the last couple pages! I have no idea what to make of them! Other than that, the story was so entertaining and kept me guessing as to who our villain was. I highly recommend Ask No Questions and give it 4 out of 5 crossbows.

I wasn’t planning on or looking to take part in any blog tours when Faye asked if I would be interested in taking part in a blog tour for Ask No Questions, I was already behind in writing up my reviews and I knew I had an exam coming up that I needed to study for but I had a quick look at the blurb and decided it sounded like just my sort of book, and the date was far enough in the future that I’d be able to fit everything in, less than 48 hours later I’d requested, downloaded and finished the book!

Lisa Hartley is a completely new author to me and Ask No Questions is the first book in a series (although not the first book Lisa has published). Now I was in a bit of a slump when I first this on my Kindle app, I normally don’t really like reading more than one book at once but I was struggling with my current read, something I really loved the idea of but wasn’t quite connecting with me. I had no such problems with Ask No Questions, I started reading quite late on a Saturday night and by the time I finished the first chapter I was hooked!

The lead character in this new series is Detective Caelan Small Caelan works for the Metropolitan Police and specialises in undercover work, Ask No Questions takes place some time after an operation has gone badly wrong and Caelan has quit the force, suddenly there are reports that the main suspect from their previous case is back in the country and Caelan is convinced to come back and track him down.

Ask No Questions is most definitely a page turner! Looking back at the comments I put on Goodreads as I was reading I can see that by 22% I was completely hooked and full of questions I NEEDED answers to.

I really enjoyed the different characters throughout the book, obviously Caelan is the lead and we find out little bits of information about her as the book goes on but I definitely want to know more! She’s obviously very good at her job, but she’s still young and I’d love to explore in future books what spending so much time undercover, living as another person does to you as your own person, do you end up losing part of yourself?

Ewan Davies is an ex-soldier now working as part of the protection unit who is sent to collect Caelan at the beginning of the story – I really liked him, I think there’s a lot of potential and I hope he sticks around!

Lisa introduces a number of other characters as well, from superior officers like DAC Nasenby, Commander Penrith, and Assistant Commissioner Elizabeth Beckett, to her former colleague Sam Clifton and other supporting characters. Lisa does a wonderful job of building suspense and making you question everyone and everything. The writing is fast paced, with twists and turns to keep you guessing and surprises right from the beginning. I have to admit that I didn’t really see the ending coming, despite spending most of the book trying to guess, but I didn’t feel cheated either which is the sign of a great book, enough clues, real and false, to keep you guessing but enough laid down that you don’t feel the author’s just randomly decided something right at the end and you never had a chance to work it out.

Would I Recommend?

Absolutely I would recommend this to any of my readers who love a good crime thriller! Lisa has written a wonderfully paced and clever novel that was full of things that kept be second guessing all that had gone before. I am so pleased Faye asked me to be part of this book tour and introduced me to this fabulous book – and that epilogue?! You’ll know what I mean when you get to it! Can I have book two already please?