please note I will not be leaving a public review for this book as I have not paid for it.
leaving a 1-star as NG doesn't allow to move ahead without a star rating

All in all a decent murder mystery to start the year, and start a series. My chief complaint is
that the book was short on detail, we don't know the date (year or month), there isn't much description about the setting, and we don't know the age or physical description of any of the main characters.

Some of the dialogue is clunky, but I'm sure its miles beyond what I could achieve as a first-time novelist. Procedurally, Fallon's background shines through as far as I can tell. That is the real strength of the novel, that sense that the plot and denouement are quite authentic feeling.

Three very different officers are tasked with solving the crime of a young boy’s body found in a box. They tmust work together in a case with minimal evidence and witnesses and in a city of diversity and lies!
This was a solid read but didn’t grip me totally but still great!

I try to veer away from novels with continuing sequels but this one managed to pull me in. Characters make me want to read the remainder.

Three homicide detectives from very different backgrounds must join together when a little boys body is found in a box by a homeless camp. This was an intriguing mystery story but the author tried to tell too many stories at once and the storyline got confusing. I would still recommend this to fans of the mystery genre it just must be read carefully to keep up with the plotline.

I did not finish this book as I did not engage with this story at all.

The blurb doesn't do this novel justice. I found it enjoyable and easy to read, and three main characters appealing. The plot was good, and the writing descriptive. It wasn't a long book, I read it in five hours, but it packs in a lot of story.

A great read! This crime novel had some very well written sideline stories and was a quick read. A gritty tale that will grab you at the first page and hold on tight through to the very end. Nice to have a crime book that read somewhat different to many that are out there in it's tone also.

It's a cracking plot - a young boy is found in a cardboard box dumped at a derelict site known for it's drug users, drug deals and the undesirables that roam the area. Did anyone see this beautiful dead boy get dumped? Was he killed at the site or elsewhere? These are all questions that Detectives Dino Cooper and Terry Jackson and their new partner Rebecca Everhart need to figure out.

I really connected to and liked the characters in this novel. Dino and Terry have been friends and partners for years and Rebecca is the new girl on the block, so she has something to prove. It doesn't take long before her keen policing abilities are respected and she is a key part of the investigation. All three characters are very different so they bring something new to the table.

I really liked where the plot went in regards to suspects. Nothing was truly clear but you got little tasters that had you thinking "maybe". I was intrigued from woe to go with this novel and really enjoyed the writing style very much. I would be eager to read more books from this author. I can see this book easily becoming a great movie and it wouldn't surprise me if it does.

It's a gritty and fast paced read, the side stories away from the main plot tackle relationships and friendships and I though they really added to the book overall. This great book gets 4 stars from me. Highly recommended for the crime thriller fan. Especially if looking for something outside of the box. The story of how the body came to be in the box will be a surprising one. One you won't forget.

This was a good book. Nice fast easy read. Not really out of the ordinary, but interesting. Good for winding down and escaping. The only thing that bothered me was the ending seemed rushed.

A real page turner couldn't put it down,stayed up all night reading this book

Body In the Box is a police procedural that is a quick read. Personally, this is one of my favorite genres to read and watch.

Two seasoned detectives in Newark, NJ learn of a young boys body found in a shady part of town via a mysterious phone call. This place is run-down, home to homeless when it's warm enough and a place for drug dealing. The two detectives, Terry Jackson and Dino Cooper go to check out the scene. They find the body in a discarded Maytag box.

Dino is immediately brought back to his childhood. When Dino was a young boy, a neighbor boy disappeared and was never found. This boy reminds Dino of his old neighbor, but it couldn't be. But when Dino finds out the older brother of the missing boy from his childhood lives in the area, things get a little more interesting. Dino is a somewhat lonely divorcee (a couple times over) and is playing the field until he finds the one.

Terry is a man who went into the police force despite his family's encouragement to go to medical school, like his father. Because of this, he and his father are not very close. Terry has a wife, Tulia and a teenage son, Jeffrey. They used to be happy, but it seems work is getting in the way lately and this case is no exception. The Chief has a lot of pressure on the detectives to bring in the person responsible.

So enter Rebecca Everhart, a new detective to the area who has had previous success solving cases like the one at hand. She's smart and cute and Dino immediately falls for her. She's not so sure she wants to get involved with someone at work though, it's one of her rules. Rebecca is an outsider so she sees things a little differently than Dino and Terry and may be the only one able to see the truth in this case. That is if she doesn't let her feelings for Dino get in the way.

This book ties together the different lives of the people who make up a city. There are your blue collar workers- the police, the homeless, and the Russian community (the three big groups). They all have a place to help solve this murder.

This book wasn't a huge mind-twister but enjoyable enough. I found myself liking the characters and the pace of the story. I look forward to reading more in the series as they come out. Sometimes it's nice not to have a book try so hard to be a crazy mind game, and that was this book to me.

Thank you to Joffe Books and NetGalley for my advance copy, it was my pleasure to provide an honest review!

*I also added a review to Amazon.com with a link to my full review on Goodreads

I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for a review copy of Body In The Box, a police procedural set in Newark, New Jersey.

Homicide detectives Dino Cooper and Terry Jackson are called out to a dead body, that of a young boy about 9 years old. With no visible signs of how he died and no identity it is going to be a tough case with plenty of pressure to solve it. Fortunately their captain has the solution and drafts in recent transferee, Rebecxa Everhart, to assist them. The case takes some unexpected turns before they arrive at a solution.

The Body In The Box is a fairly simple tale of an investigation into the death of a child interspersed with Terry's problems with his wife and Dino and Rebecca's personal lives. It isn't a profound novel but has a strong enough plot to keep you turning the pages. The characters are pleasant and get on well together but aren't particularly developed.

It is an easy way to pass a few hours and I enjoyed the plot but it's not a novel I would re-read.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the review is based solely on my opinion of the novel.

As I started the novel, I struggled with the writing and the tempo of the plot development and it took forever to read through. With that said, the plot began to get more intriguing around chapter 7 and the novel became more enjoyable to complete.

The character development is lacking throughout with the subplot lines. The Tulia/Andrew subplot was not necessary. The author could have done a better job highlighting the difficulties of police life in families and the whole subplot could have been better developed.

The romance between Dino and Rebecca was strained at best based in its descriptions of them as people and throughout the courtship. The subplot was a nice addition but it could have been explored further with some additional character development with 2 of the main characters.

I was not a fan of the novel in the beginning however; the plot development helped in the end to take the book to a more enjoyable level. I would consider reading a novel by the same author in the future.