Actual rating 4.5 stars

If I had to describe this debut thriller in just one word, I'd choose "engrossing." From the beginning, when three young children in a home for orphaned and abandoned children witness acts almost too horrific for them to understand, I thought I might have trouble putting it down. And as the often-gruesome story unfolded, I knew I was right.

This is the first in a series featuring small-town Ireland detective Lottie Parker, who gets the call to investigate when a murdered woman is found in a cathedral. Not long thereafter, another body turns up - this one a man found hanging from a tree outside his home. Identifying the woman presents quite a challenge, but the man is known; and when it turns out that both victims have what appears to be the same tattoo on their legs, it becomes apparent that the two murders somehow are related.

The real-time story takes place from around Christmas 2014 to just after the start of the new year, but readers also get flashbacks to 1971 and some of the scenes witnessed by the children at the home. Lottie and her team, including her partner and occasional sleepover partner Boyd, turn up clues suggesting that the now-abandoned children's home is central to the case. Now, it seems, the property has been sold to a developer who plans to turn it into a multi-million dollar hotel and golf course - plans that seem to have become lost somewhere in the local government bureaucracy.

Just when dwindling leads make solving the two crimes far less than a certainty, yet another body turns up - this time a priest who, Lottie and her cohorts are told, was sent to the local parish "to find himself." This death, though, could be the turning point; surely, three murders in this small community over the space of a few days can't be a coincidence (or, to put it another way, as did one of the characters in Ian Fleming's "Goldfinger": "Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action.") And so it is that Lottie really digs in, going deeper and deeper as the dots from past to present begin to connect.

After reading a ton of books "starring" female detectives, I've concluded that it's a requisite that they be flawed (think, for instance, J.D. Robb's popular Eve Dallas). Lottie is no exception; she lost her beloved husband to cancer and is trying to deal with a demanding career that includes a rather nasty boss (also a requisite, I think), three near-grown children and a mother she loves but from whom she effectively is estranged. What's more, Lottie has a long-ago connection of her own to the abandoned children's home - trauma that's never been resolved and that brings the possibility of harm to her own children as the current case moves to a surprising conclusion (a couple of them, actually - one very believable and the other, at least for me, not so much).

Now I've finished, and I'll say with no reservations whatsoever that I hope this book will mark the successful start of a series - if for no other reason than I want to follow along. Meantime, my thanks to the publisher for allowing me to read it in exchange for an honest review.

The Missing Ones is Patricia Gibeny’s debut novel. I was intrigued by the striking cover and the premise and I couldn’t wait to get stuck in.

The novel begins with a disturbing scene in which two children witness the burial of a dead body, one whispers to the other: “I wonder which one of us will be next?” What an opener! In the present day, Detective Inspector Lottie Parker is investigating the murder of Susan Sullivan, whose body has been discovered in a cathedral. She takes on the case alongside her colleague, Detective Boyd. There is plenty of sexual tension between the pair, after a short fling with Boyd a few months ago, Lottie wants to put that memory to bed; but it seems as though some of her feelings do not want to stay silent.

Lottie is still grieving for her husband who died a short while after being diagnosed with cancer and she is trying to raise her children whilst juggling her career and her family life which doesn’t appear to be working out well. On top of the investigation she has to think about, Lottie is also worrying about her eldest daughter, Katie who is beginning to slip off the rails.

When Susan’s body is discovered in the cathedral I did think that this novel could very much be something to do with the Church. The book brought back memories of watching the film Philomena but the story line here is much darker.

I loved how the mystery deepened in the book, pulling me further into the story. I did find the story a little bit slow to begin with but once the investigation really gets going and we learn more about the murdered woman’s character I found the book impossible to put down. When a second body turns up, Lottie is certain that there is something connecting these victim’s pasts which is behind the reason as to why they have turned up dead in the present. But as she delves deeper into the victim’s pasts she might be putting her own family at risk.

There are definitely some dark themes in the book and some upsetting scenes which I did find a little disturbing. This is a book that certainly isn’t for the faint hearted.

An intelligent and startling thriller, I really enjoyed reading this book. Lottie Parker is a character who I would like to hear more from and I’m excited to see what Patricia does next. I highly recommend! Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy.

Lots going on in this book. Lottie and Boyd work well together as detectives even though they have their moments. Lottie has a lot going on in her personal life but this does not deter her solving a complex mystery and murder involving a small Irish community and the Catholic Church . Plenty of secrets are disclosed . Patricia Gibney does a great job with characters , atmosphere and plot in this book.. Thanks Netgalley. This book a winner.

The Missing Ones Patricia Gibney


Every now and then something good comes into your life.

This happened to me the other day. I requested a copy of The Missing Ones, a debut novel by Patricia Gibney.

The book was downloaded to my Kindle and I started reading what has turned out to be an absolutely, brilliant book.

Let me introduce you to the main character.

Detective Inspector Lottie Parker.

She is 43 years old, a widow who is struggling to bring up three teenage children, struggling with the death of her husband, struggling with alcohol, and struggling with the arrogance and ignorance of her Senior Officer Superintendent Corrigan.

I think it’s fair to say life a struggle for Lottie.

But Don’t feel sorry for her, all those things just add to a character you can’t help falling in love with. Whilst she’s battling just to keep her life on track, she is a good Police Officer in the midlands of Ireland, and this book could not have been set anywhere else.

There is a murder to investigate, historic child abuse by the clergy, corruption within the town council, good priests, bad priests, nice cops and functioning cops, all interwoven into one fantastic story.

The story is told with Lottie as the main protagonist. She is called to the murder of a 51-year-old woman in a Cathedral. This is the first of a series off killings which take place over New Year 2014, in the middle of a snowy winter.

Anonymous flashback chapters tell the story of horrific happenings at St Angela’s Children’s Home in 1974. Good luck guessing who is having the flashbacks, it kept me intrigued up to the end.

Are the killings in 2014 connected with the happenings, of 40 years ago, in the now abandoned home?

Can Lottie solve the murders?

She will have to ignore her boss, rely on her team, and hope she can. Why? Because nobody is safe until the killer is caught. Nobody.

I said that every now and then something good comes into your life. Well in this case two things have.
Detective Inspector Lottie Parker and her team; and the author Patricia Gibney who has written a brilliant page turner of a Crime Thriller.

Let’s Hope we hear a lot more from both of them.

This debut novel introducing us to DI Lottie Parker from Irish author Patricia Gibney begins with a chilling prologue set in a past timeline. This past timeline is cleverly

"The hole they dug was not deep. A white flour bag encased the little body. Three small faces watched from the window, eyes black with terror.

The child in the middle spoke without turning his head. ‘I wonder which one of us will be next?’

In the modern timeline , a woman's body is found strangled, in a cathedral, and detective Lottie Parker and her partner in crime, Boyd, are dispatched to the scene. There's no witnesses, and the cleaning lady discovered the body. Lottie and Boyd are struggling for leads....until a second body is found hanging from a tree outside his home, and, from their matching tattoos they discover that the two crimes are linked, and this leads Lottie to a former children's home, St Angela's, and all the secrets that were kept there....and some secrets should stay buried.

DI Lottie Parker is a strong character, recovering from the death of her husband and trying to look after her three teenage children as well as do a difficult job and there is an off/on involvement with
Boyd which adds to the complexity of the story. There are also a lot of people in Ragamullin with a lot to hide.

Agendas are revealed as the full tragedy of St Angela's is gradually revealed. The book has numerous twists and turns right up until the final chapter. This affects Lottie personally and as a mother as the final secrets are exposed. A great debut novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy.

The Missing Ones by Patricia Gibney

First let me say that I reviewed this as an ARC via NetGalley on my Kindle in return for an honest review.

Next, let me say a HUGE thank you both to the publisher and the author. This book is just amazing and this is Patricia Gibney’s debut novel in which she introduces Detective Lottie Parker.

The setting of the book is in Ireland in a fictional town and is spread across two timelines – present day and the 1970’s. The voices of the characters in the earlier timeline are not identified but the whole book rests firmly on this period. In the current timeline, Lottie who is widowed with 3 children is called upon to investigate two murders. As the enquiry continues Lottie, aided by her colleague Boyd and the rest of the team come under increasing pressure from her superiors who, on the one hand want a quick resolution to the case, and on the other hand, are fearful that she will offend wealthy business men, politicians within the council and the Bishop.

So, it could be seen to be a very familiar strategy. However, Gibney’s characters are positively obese, rather than well-rounded, and her descriptions are incredible. Our first introduction to the earlier timeline left me reeling. The circumstances she described hit me like a bolt from the blue and her relatively simple language just made those pages more graphic. Similarly, her description of Ragmullin served to underscore the bleakness and the futility faced by so many and the ever-present snow and cold, blanketing, hiding and killing is a fantastic metaphor for the events long hidden yet still waiting to destroy.

Yes, I have read books similar to this and enjoyed them but I urge you to read this book. I cannot praise it enough.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of The Missing Ones, a debut police procedural, set in the fictional, I think, Irish town of Ragmullin.

Susan Sullivan, an innocuous 51 year old woman is strangled to death in the cathedral. Hours later her boss in the planning department, James Brown, is found hanging in his garden. It is Inspector Lottie Parker's job to find the motive and the murderer. Is it linked to their work in the planning department or to the mysterious 40 year old tattoos found on their thighs?

I enjoyed The Missing Ones. The subject matter is nothing new or inventive but Ms Gibney handles it well and puts her own spin on it. The pace is good with Lottie and her team stumbling around in the dark of too little information in the first half of the book (me too) which makes it a puzzle and then as the information starts flowing the race is on to catch the killer.

I think the author overeggs the action a bit in the second half. There is too much going on for it to be entirely plausible but I don't think it really matters as it is a good read which I didn't want to put down and it held my attention throughout. What more can you ask of fiction?

I like Lottie Parker. She is a 40 something widow with 3 teenage children trying to keep it together and sometimes failing. She misses her husband still after 3 years, her job is demanding, she feels she is not devoting enough time to her children and her mother is annoying. In other words she is the same as the rest of us! She is good at her job and you get a real sense that she cares about the victims. She is a character I would really like to get to know better.

The Missing Ones is a good, solid debut and well enough done to make me want to read a follow up. I have, therefore, no hesitation in recommending it as a good read.

This was a fantastic read, I couldn't put it down. I enjoyed the story line and the characters, it flowed beautifully and I just had to keep reading to see what happened. Loved it!

I loved this book. From the first chapter it grabs you. It's well written and well thought out. The story winds between Detective Lottie Parker and her team and the main characters/suspects.
Clues are dropped the whole way through the book and just when you think that you've gotten it all figured out, you realise that you don't......several times during the book.
Detective Lottie Parker is very likeable and there's a will they won't they element to her relationship with Detective Boyd that keeps you hooked!
Every loose end ties nicely together and in a believable way.
There is only one negative thing I can say about this book and that's there's only one book! Eagerly awaiting the next instalment in the Detective Lottie Parker series!!!

Detective Lottie Parker still mourns her dead husband and feels guilty for not spending enough time with her kids and really wants to catch the person who is killing people linked to St. Angela's, the Catholic institution for wayward children. Gibney creates realistic characters and a good plot. Parts of the story were a little predictable but overall this was a good read and I look forward to further adventures with Lottie.

A stunning Debut Novel! Set in Ireland with references to years old injustices it's a Powerful & at times a Shocking read. Full of strong, likable Characters that will stay with you long after you turn the last page! You won't see the ending coming with a Shocking Twist. Patricia Gibney is a name to watch & remember. She's gonna be Huge!

An absolutely rivetting mystery.

When the first body is discovered, little did Inspector Lottie Parker know what had landed on her hands.

An evil nexus, a past that threatened to resurrect itself, people living with the burden of their pasts.. All together makes for a page turner.

Loved the characters and really look forward to more in the series.

Thanks you Netgalley and Bookouture for the review copy of the book.

The atrocities in St Angela’s, a former children’s home, links to murders
being committed decades later. For lead Detective Lottie Parker, the case
gets personal with a connection to her own family.
This story has it all, compelling characters, a strong plot, a lot of action, suspense, and tension.
It was so well written, I could feel the characters pain, the greed, and the sadness.
The twists and turns throughout the book came to a very satisfying ending.
Reading this novel was fascinating and totally engaging, I highly recommend it to others.

Wow! This was such a wonderful book! Thrilling and tense, with so many twists. A page turning, unputdownable read. The suspense builds up throughout the book and the pace never lets down. And the ending - wow! I did not see it coming! I am in awe of this author. So glad I discovered her. This book and author goes straight to the top of my favourites list. I cannot wait to read more from her. Five amazing stars.

A strong debut featuring interesting characters and just the right amount of humour, the conclusion is a perfect ending to begin book two.
3* because as each character was introduced I was able to place them in both the current and historical plotline, knowing who the bad guys were long before the author revealed them.
Well written, fast paced, a twisted plot, humour, strong characters. If only there was more suspense.

The dark secrets of a former children’s home come to light when Detective Lottie Parker catches two death investigations. One victim is a woman found inside a church, the other, a man found hung from a tree in his own yard. Both have poorly executed tattoos on their legs, but other than that, what links them. Lottie’s investigation leads her to a closed children’s home that has ties to her own family. While she’s investigating the deaths, two teenage boys disappear and Lottie is forced to wonder if her case could be endangering her own children.