Unquiet Souls (a DS Gus McGuire Case book #1)

Fantastic start to what looks like it could be a brilliant series . Love the characters and settings. Wonderful storyline

Great start to this police series and I can't wait to read the next one! It handles a difficult topic very well and made me want to keep reading. Enjoyed the police characters, especially Gus.

I’d like to thank Bloodhound Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Unquiet Souls’ by Liz Mistry in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

The body of a prostitute is found battered to death in a graveyard and when the police go to her home a number of abused and malnourished Eastern European children are found in her attic. DI Gus McGuire of the Bradford CID Violent Crimes Unit is handed the case to help him recover from a tragic personal incident, but he soon discovers that this isn’t going to be the straightforward murder they anticipated. Has ‘The Matchmaker’ together with his sick colleagues moved from Cambridge to Bradford and started up their child trafficking business again? Can they identify ‘The Matchmaker’ before it’s too late?

‘Unquiet Souls’ is a gripping and fast-paced debut novel that introduces DI Angus ‘Gus’ McGuire and his team. It’s been well-written with a complex plot, lots of heart-stopping action, twists and turns, and a tense and nerve-wracking ending. On occasion I thought Gus was a bit slow to pick up on clues that were there in front of him but that’s just me being exacting. Overall it’s a very entertaining thriller and I’ve enjoyed reading it.

Can you move on from the past? DI Gus McGuire has been on sick leave after his best friend attacked him and killed his family. Gus is finding it really hard to move forward as he can't forgive himself for not been able to save them. All he wants is to go back to work so that he can do something worthwhile. He is back in the hot seat and his team needs him as they have just come across a case of child trafficking but it is even worse than they thought. There is a group of well connected people that kidnap children from the EU and use them for their evil needs. Can Gus find a young girl that has gone missing before it is too late? As his team start gathering information they find out that this group has been around for many years and they aren't about to stop but will Gus be able to stop them for good? A young girl will find a way to make sure that she is found, she is scared but she won't give up hoping that she will be found. But will they be able to find her before it is too late? Will this be the case that gives Gus his life back? A great thrilling read love Alice & Gus's relationship they work really well together. How many more hits can Gus take? He has awful luck. Hopefully in the next book he will find some peace. I was lucky enough to receive a copy via Netgalley and the publishing house in exchange for my honest review.

Excellent book with a great storyline. Characters that are so well written. I would highly recommend this book to anyone!

Apparently I totally missed out on this series, which is a shame. This first book, where we are introduced to Gus, his colleagues, family and friends, is very difficult to put down. The author gives us just enough background information on Gus and the other characters to understand why they behave like the do, and at the same time having the reader want to know more about them.
The story is gruesome at places, but filled with love at others. Very cleverly written and I'm happy Netgalley send me this book.

I always enjoy books set in locations I know well, and as I grew up in Bradford, I loved reading this. DI Gus McGuire is a complex character dealing with a complex crime. I had to concentrate quite hard as the plot was convoluted, but worth the effort. A good start to what I hope is a series.

This is the first book in the DI Gus McGuire series, set in Bradford, England. I had not heard of his author prior to joining the UKCBC Facebook group, but having seen lots of recommendations for the series, was happy to see this up on NetGalley. It's a great pleasure to discover a new series with several more instalments to look forward to (currently four) but not such a large number as to be impossible to catch up with.

Angus McGuire is off on sick leave with serious injuries received during an attack by his schizophrenic best friend. Wracked with guilt that he had to kill him to defend himself, and was unable to save the wife and child, he knows that the only cure is a return to work, if only he can convince the stroppy psychiatrist he's being forced to see. Meanwhile, a vicious paedophile gang are importing children from Eastern Europe to rent to the highest bidder, and are hellbent on revenge against the wife who took them down twelve years earlier. When a local prostitute is murdered, and a group of children found hidden in her attic, Gus is brought back in to help his team, but the evil Matchmaker, who leads the gang, is always two steps ahead of them...

I have been avoiding books featuring kidnapped children storylines, having read far too many of them in the past year, so was somewhat dismayed to discover that this is a central part of the plot, but by this time was far too invested to give up. In some ways this is a standard British police procedural, with many of the usual tropes, but it stands out from the crowded genre because of the brilliantly drawn central characters, realistically gritty modern multi-ethnic northern city setting, superb writing and gripping tension.

I liked that Gus is a youngish, mixed-race detective from a solidly middle-class background, who actually has lovely parents - this makes a big change to the norm in crime fiction. He's down to earth and humble, but defiant in the defence of his rather anarchic team. I look forward to getting to know them through the rest of the series.

The story is pretty bleak, featuring child trafficking and references to sexual abuse and neglect, although thankfully this is not shown, although horrific child cruelty is. The violence is not gratuitous, and is necessary to the plot. There's moderate swearing, minimal sex, and no animal cruelty.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bloodhound Books for the free ARC in exchange for a voluntary honest review. Unquiet Souls was published in 2015 so is available now.