No Second Chances

No Second Chances (A Daniel Whelan Mystery)
Lyndon Stacey

A wonderful,light, mystery with Daniel and his police dog,Taz. Realy like the cover. A beautiful shepard for sure.
Not a high-tech thriller but it does have some very good moments. Well done characters, twists and turns, a family in crisis, and deadly situations. The pace steadily grows until the final pages. Loved the English theme. Totally enjoyed this read. It was great. My first Stacey read but not my last. I really liked Daniel and Taz.

Thank you NetGalley for the free Kindle version

I enjoy reading police procedurals, mysteries and thrillers so this book ticked all the boxes for me. As an animal lover and dog owner too....Taz was a perfect bonus! I have read all the previous books and enjoyed every one. Daniel is a great character and I hope we read more about him. A good plot with great characters. Thanks to Net Galley for the read. I have reviewed on Goodreads

No Second Chances is not your usual mystery that starts with a body and goes from there. Rather, it is a complex drama hinging on two elements, a missing husband being sought by thugs and a teenage girl needing to find her boyfriend, a Traveler, so she can recover pawned jewelry before her mother discovers it is missing. Daniel Whelan and his canine partner Taz left the police service, but his experience comes into play when he encounters a pair of thugs threatening a neighbor. Lorna asks for Daniel's help as her husband Harvey is missing and she doesn't know what these men want. Her teenage daughter, who is as maddeningly self centered as only a 15 year old can be, manages to convince Daniel to help her as well. The only reason he has for doing so is that Lorna is much too troubled to deal with her daughter's issues at that moment.

The teen's wheedling, lies, manipulation, and outright disobedience annoyed me immensely. She definitely matches the stereotype of the wealthy, entitled brat. Her grating personality and lack of redeeming qualities prevented me from becoming too involved in the story. It made the lengths Daniel went to help her seem ridiculous. There was no reason for either Daniel or the reader to empathize with her. This is one example of the central weakness of No Second Chances. The majority of characters are drawn with such broad brush strokes that it is difficult for the reader to form an emotional connection with the characters. Only Daniel and Taz stand out. Taz in particular is wonderfully defined, which wins points with me as I am a dog lover. The plot is original, and nicely developed. I liked how the story was revealed piece by piece. I only wish that I was able to form a deeper connection with the characters.

No Second Chances is a fitting title, as there are no second chances in the world of gambling and greyhound racing - or at least very few. The number of greyhounds who go on to retire to loving homes is but a small percentage of the vast number of dogs bred for the industry. As two retired greyhounds are part of our family, I can testify to the importance of understanding this complex issue. As greyhounds are considered part of the agricultural venue, they are not given the same protections as pets, even in the more enlightened environment of the U.K. I applaud Lyndon Stacey for tackling this topic.

On the whole No Second Chances is a well constructed mystery. I will definitely give Lyndon Stacey, Daniel Whelan, and Taz a second chance.

4/5

I received a copy of No Second Chances from the publisher and netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review

--Crittermom
(7/16/16)