Omg omg omg .......... this book was amazing I could not put it down I read every word on the edge of my seat I loved the story line, i loved the way the story just kept us guessing all the way threw I loved all the twists and turns and would defiantly recommend this book it was so believable and kept the reader engaged I love it

Caved-in by Roy Chester.
Peter Murchison chief constables of the West Wales and borders force. He is the liaison officer  of the Josh Cavendish investigation team. Along with acc David Mallory who is in charge of the investigation. Josh went missing around eight months ago in August. He simply disappeared.  Until two days ago when his body was found in a cave in the beach cliffs.
The seven-member investigation team is made up of officers from the garton force--DCI falcon DI Logan acting DI Sarah Maltravers Dss Martha Lomax and Dave Cantrill. From the home office they have Lancelot Jefferies he reports directly to them. The two police officers guarding the caves were attacked by someone dressed as a samurai warrior. Now they need David Elton who is head of the team and hannah will need to go in the cave first to get new photo coverage of the cave.  They also get deputy chief constable Michael Longman. He was closely associated with the initial investigation into the disappearance of josh Cavendish. Will Peter and his team find out who the killer is before another body is found?
This was a good read with likeable characters.  Although I couldn't figure out who the killer was I still enjoyed it.  4*.

Another great story, plot and characterisation from Mr Chester. Love his murderous storylines full of suspense and turmoil.

Eh. Some parts of this novel were very good, while many others were bland and uninspiring. The story was OK, but didn't grab me by the throat, as I expect books in this genre to do. I'm not quite sure why, but I was unable to forge any kind of "bond" with any of the characters, and without that bond, it's tough to really enjoy a story line. All in all, I can't see my way to giving this novel anything above a C grade.

I love the Hannah Nightingale series and this one didn't disappoint. Loved the story line it kept me engaged all the way through the book right until the end. A real page turner, had a hard time putting it down.

Pedestrian murder mystery with nothing to recommend it. More like the case notes of a police investigation than a novel.

I received this book free from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. Written by Roy Chester and published by Joffe Books, London in 2017, this is a short mystery and British police procedural novel that is set in Wales, U.K.

Teenager Josh Cavendish has gone missing in West Wales more than eight months earlier. He is never found, even after an intense search by police. The press discovers that a lead had not been followed up by police and they accuse them of “losing” evidence. A small earthquake exposes the entrance to a previously hidden cave, and Josh’s body is found inside. His skull has been crushed, and his body has been posed. Then, the entrance to the cave has been sealed with limestone blocks. A new crack investigative team is brought into the investigation, and Assistant Chief Constable David Mallory is put in charge. This will probably be his last assignment because the police services are being reorganized, and he has decided to retire.

Confusingly, the actual beginning of the story seems to be at Chapter 12, which is 16% of the way into the book. My inclination was to like <i>Caved In</i> because I generally like British police procedurals and mysteries, such as those written by the late, great Reginald Hill. But this novel is a bit short of the quality of writing produced by Hill. The plot is a far-fetched, and the dialogue seems stilted.

The prose in this story is very dry. Reading it is very much like reading some sort of government or business report, with very little description or emotion to be found within. The characters are very two-dimensional. We don’t really get to know any of them. Reading it is more like watching a PowerPoint presentation than like watching a good movie or TV show. It loses much of its entertainment value as a result.

At one point, Assistant Chief Constable Mallory (the protagonist) decides to interview the entire Cavendish family in one place, and at one time. He chooses a large room at police headquarters with a raised platform at one end, and rows of chairs across the floor facing the platform. He arrays his investigators across the platform facing the seats, and then seats the family in the front row of the chairs facing the platform. This arrangement sounds very, very formal. Yet, as a part of his introduction, ACC Mallory tells the family that “We felt it would be more personal like this . . .” More personal? More like a military tribunal, actually.

The plot seems chaotic and confused. The murder victim, Josh, had been seen on the beach, but then had supposedly left the beach in an automobile. His body is found in a cave, even though a search of the caves at the time of the disappearance failed to find him. We also later learn that he was apparently fighting with somebody in the cave, but we don’t know who it was that he fought with. How and when did he get from the beach to the cave? Who was driving the car? That’s part of the mystery. Even more mysterious, the police actually believe that seven (or eight) year old Sybil could be the killer. Really?

Then, there is John Sturman. Who is John Sturman, you ask? Oh, he’s the local drug dealer whose body is also found in the caves shortly after Josh’s body is discovered, and as a result of ACC Mallory’s directives to the police underwater recovery team. Now we’ve got two dead people in the caves, both of whom have crushed skulls. Who did it? Was it seven (or eight) year-old Sybil, who doesn’t know her own strength? Maybe it was sister Janet, who is an 18 year-old goth. Perhaps it was her mother, Flora, who wants to protect her children. Or was it Uncle Paul, who has a secret to hide? Keep reading. All will soon be revealed.

There are quite a number of inconsistencies in the story. For example, at 27% into the book, the author gets around to describing Martha Lomax, one of the investigators. This is, however, several pages past the point where her name had already been introduced in a meeting. Normally, we would expect the description to accompany the initial introduction of a character. At 12% into the book, Sybil Cavendish’s age is given at a police briefing to be “Aged eight.” But later, at 52% into the book, her age is given as “seven.”

At location 2285, 55% into the book, a body is apparently found by the police underwater search team after it had been washed into a different cave by “torrents” of water that had flooded the cave system. Despite having been washed into its position by flooding, and even though being concealed in a damp, dark cave for months, the rucksack that is found with the body contains a fair amount of dry dust that is vacuumed from it. Is dust commonly found in wet, dark limestone caves that are sufficiently cold to preserve dead bodies for months? At 56% into the book, the Medical Officer, acting as a medical examiner, reports that “John Sturman died of natural causes from a severe blunt trauma to the head and a broken neck.” <i>Natural</i> causes?? What is natural about having one’s head bashed in and a neck broken? In the United States, such a death would be categorized as either an accident or a homicide.

The police in this story are not very likable or deserving of respect. They act more like the “Keystone Kops” than a crack investigative police team. They make mistake after mistake. First, they allow witnesses to leave the scene of the initial disappearance before being interviewed, and those witnesses are later all killed in a bus accident in Peru. Then, after the body is discovered in the cave, two police officers who are supposed to be guarding the crime scene are knocked unconscious by somebody carrying a sword and dressed as a Ninja warrior. Evidence is removed from the cave before it can be recovered and processed by the police. And still, the police suspect that seven (or eight) year-old Sybil could be the killer.

On the plus side, at the end of the book the author has included a glossary of British terms and their American meanings. Readers in the US might find it very helpful.

This author’s writing philosophy seems to be one of quantity over quality. Throw as many facts and factoids at the reader as possible, with little regard for believability. All that really does is make the story difficult to follow and even more difficult to believe. As the story progresses, the author introduces more and more new characters, and new plot twists.

Roy Chesters novels are a gripping read from the first page, there's twists and turns in this plot.
A teenage boy went missing in Anglesey from a beach party, eight months later his body is found in a cave with his skull caved in and a crown. Of flowers on his head.
Detective David Mallory and Dr Hannah Nightingale are called upon to solve this case as the initial disappearance case was a huge embarrassment to the original police. Investigation as the missing boy named Josh comes from an influential family. Their investigation begins with an attack on the officers guarding the crime scene by someone in a samurai warrior outfit.
Hannah discovers that there is a violent streak that runs through the family including Josh. As secrets unfold can they solve this one before anyone else is murdered.

4 and 1 / 2 stars

Josh Cavendish is a thirteen-year old boy who went missing eight months earlier. His body has now been found in a cave in West Wales.

Mallory and his team arrive to re-investigate the case upon finding the body because the local force has been pilloried in the press and some things were done incorrectly.

The investigation takes a weird twist when the officers at the cave scene are attacked by a person dressed as a samurai in full armor. The scene of the murder has been carefully staged. The psychologist for the case believes it shows some care has been taken and the police take a closer look at the family of the victim.

Some of the Welsh police officers are taking issue with Mallory’s outside team taking over and the situation must be managed carefully.

Mallory’s investigation starts moving apace when certain discoveries are made. As his team follows the clues, interviews people and seeks answers, the story gains tension. Some surprising discoveries aid the investigation and rather quickly progress is made.

While my primary suspect in the book turned out to be the killer, I still very much enjoyed the process of getting there and reading the novel.

This book is very well written and plotted. It moves along steadily, but picks up the pace as we come closer to catching the killer of young Josh. I have read other Roy Chester novels, but I do believe I like this one the best.

I want to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for forwarding to me a copy of this great book to read.

My review as posted on Goodreads:

This is the 5th Dr Hannah Nightingale story and features many of detective Mallory's team of police.

A refreshing change for this story is a move from north west England to a coastal location on Anglesey in North Wales.

It is a fast moving story, investigating the disappearance of Josh, a member of the Cavendish family.

Is it missing person search?
Is it a murder?
Is it a normal family?

It certainly is a fast paced novel.
It also has several interesting twist. A great ending!

My thanks to Netgalley and Joffe Books for a copy in exchange for this honest review.

My least favourite book in the series. I just couldn't fathom what the point was supposed to be.

I read previous books with the characters of Hannah and David but just couldn't get into this one-too slow moving. Maybe too much detail and not enough "Movement"