The Lying Kind is the first book in the Detective Rachel Prince series by Alison James. In this story, Rachel is investigating a missing child case. Lola Jade Harper has been missing for six months. Rachel and her partner need to find the little girl despite the fact that a lot of time has already elapsed and most people assume that the child is forever gone.

This wasn’t the usual police procedural with a lot of drama/action and a fast moving pace. The author took time to portray the day to day events during the investigation. This included days when no new information or clues came up in the case. There were paperwork days and other days where the investigators chased false leads. Even stakeouts made it into the narrative. This portrayal was quite different from the usual cop thrillers though it did seem more realistic. I imagine that is the way most investigations in the real world take place.

Rachel is an interesting MC. I can’t say that I really liked her personality but I did admire her work ethic and determination to solve the case. I also liked her loyalty to her partner. As I have mentioned, this wasn’t a fast-paced, action packed cop thriller, however it was still a good read. If you enjoy classic cop procedural then this series is definitely for you.

The Lying Kind by Alison James is the 1st in the Detective Rachel Prince mystery series.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Bookouture, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My Synopsis:
A missing child. Every parent’s worst nightmare, and every detective’s dream to be the one to get her back. Lola Jade Harper is only 6 years old when she is taken from her bed in the middle of the night. Months pass, and the case is handed over to the NCA (National Crime Agency) working closely with CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection. Rachel Prince is the lead detective. There are presently three theories as to Lola’s location. She may have been “sold” for sexual exploitation. One of her parents, in the middle of a divorce, may be involved and may be hiding her. She may be dead. Now if only people would stop lying to Prince. If it isn’t the mother, it’s the father, or their families. Everyone seems to be keeping secrets.

On a personal level, Rachel is dealing with a divorce which should have been finalized 17 years ago, a partner who may have overstepped and now has some legal issues, and a love life that is rather messed up.

My Views:
First, I didn’t particularly like Rachel. She is a strong lead, and she definitely cares about her job, but her attitude toward her divorce and love life are “off”. I was actually surprised she only ended up in bed with one guy in this book. I wasn’t impressed with her partner’s womanizing either, but I did, however, like the rapport between the two. They seem to have a rather flirtatious friendship/working relationship which works. The plot of this book is very good, very interesting, and well written. However, the excitement just wasn’t there until the last 10% of the book. Before that, I found it really dragged.

I know others have loved this book, so perhaps it just didn’t resonate with me for some reason. It was okay, but just okay. Perhaps I’ll like the second book in the series better. Sometimes it takes a bit to get on the same wavelength as the protagonist, so I’m willing to try again.

If you're a fan of mysteries, then 'The Lying Kind' by Alison James ticks all the boxes. And I am so glad to see that it's only the first in the series, as I thoroughly enjoyed this book. To use one of many cliched phrases, this is a real page-turned. I kept telling myself I'd read one more chapter, but before I knew it I'd finished the book!

The premise is that Detective Rachel Prince is on the case of a missing child, six-year-old Lola Jade Harper. There are a lot of things that don't add up with the parents' stories about their missing daughter, and as the story unfolds we are introduced to more and more characters who make up part of the story, and leave us guessing with the end of each chapter. It was great that the characters were introduced gradually over the course of the book, as it can get very confusing when a whole host of characters are planted at the beginning a the book and you can't work out one from another. It didn't take long at all for me to be hooked, and the way the book is cleverly written with all its intricacies left me playing detective myself. Some elements of the plot are predictable, and others less so.

I had mixed feelings about the ending of 'The Lying Kind'; I had worked out what would happen by the last fifth of the book, due to the many clues that had been planted, but it was still a surprise when it came.

On the whole, this a brilliant mystery and so well-written. I can't wait to read the next one.

As first book in a series go, I have to say that this one is a cracker. Brought into the case some months after the initial disappearance of Lola Jade, DI Rachel Prince and her Sergeant Mark Brickall of the Antional Crime Agency have a lot of secrets to plow through. With the girl's father missing and her mother making all manner of accusations against him, they first need to locate the missing man and to ascertain how much of the evidence gather so far is of use and how much a red herring.

From the very off you can sense there is something a little off about this case. The prologue is ominous, the jeopardy for the young girl immediately apparent and yet the story which follows makes little sense. And so, as a reader, we partner with Rachel as she takes her investigation to Spain and Portugal and to the Surrey home of the missing girl. Thankfully Rachel, and even the slightly more prickly and procedure averse Brickall, are really great characters and I was more than happy to spedn time in their company. Brickall is a bit of an idiiot, making a serious error in judgment which could prove catastrophic for his career, but he is also really likeable and the camaraderie between the two makes for some great reading.

Now the story has echoes of a real life case, maybe more than one, but there is one in particular which was highly publicised and quite a big scandal to boot. Nothing about the principal characters in this story quite adds up, strange anomalies  in statements and an internet troll who claims to know more than the rest of the world about Lola Jade's disapperance. But when another child goes missing, everything that you think you know so far will get thrown up in the air and coming craching back down at your feet.

The dynamic in this book, the links of the National Crime Agency to Interpol and the international nature of the investigations is an intersting twist on your standard police procedural and I lok forward to seeing how this is developed in future books. It certainly has a lot of potential and after a start like this I am excited and hungry to read more. Not always the fastest paced book, we are coming to the investigation three months down the line after all, the sense of tension is always there as well as the little seedlings of doubt. A great start to the series.

Great mystery! I loved the character of Rachel Prince as she tries to solve the case of missing child, Lola Jade. Almost everyone is a suspect: the mother, the father, the uncle, and of course some unknown assailant. Rachel is hardworking but flawed; her personal life often spins out of control which just makes me want to read more of her! Snappy dialogue and relationship with her cohort make the investigation even more realistic. Many red herrings and dead ends but the pace never lags. I really enjoyed this and look forward to more by this author!

I enjoyed the book a lot. Thought that starting was slow, later it becomes unputdownable. Looking forward to read more cases of Rachel Prince

WOW! Talk about nail biting suspense at it's best!! Such a well written book with a great female lead. What happened to Lola , what are her parents hiding? You will have to read ASAP to find out you won't be disappointed. I enjoyed this book. A great crime thriller!

The Lying Kind by Alison James is an exciting start to a new series featuring Detective Rachel Prince. Rachel works for the National Crime Agency and is tasked with assisting Surrey Police who are investigating the disappearance six-year-old Lola Jade Harper, who has disappeared from her bedroom. Her mother, Michelle is distraught at the loss of her daughter and desperately wants her back. For Surrey Police the case has already gone cold but Rachel is determined to find out what happened to the little girl. But is she already too late?

This is a very twisty book by debut author, Alison James. Lola Jade’s mother, Michelle is convinced that her ex-partner, Gavin, Lola’s dad, took her daughter and this strand of the investigation takes detectives across the seas to Spain and Portugal. What doesn’t help Gavin’s case is that he has disappeared and this prompts the detectives investigating the case to become suspicious of him and they have good reason to be. I found this aspect of the plot exciting; it does bear similarities to a recent case involving a missing child which has been high profile in the news recently. The international angle of this book for me, made it feel fresh.

Rachel Prince was an intriguing character to explore. I loved the relationship which she has with her colleague DS Brickall and I think that they make a very good team, even though I was shaking my head at some of the decisions he was making. Throughout the book there is a mysterious element to Rachel’s past which we are not one hundred per cent sure about, but it has something to do with her former partner, I am hoping that more about her will be revealed in future books as I certainly want to find out more about her.

This is a series that I’m sure I will be returning to when the second book is out. I wanted to find out what had happened to Lola Jade and see if my suspicions about the case were correct. This book takes a fresh look at a missing child case as we are coming to the investigation several months down the line rather than when the child first disappeared. This is a great start to a new series. I’m looking forward to reading more from Alison James. Thank you to Bookouture and to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book to read.

I as really excited to get started on this book, I always love the start of a new series and meeting the new characters and after seeing the cover and reading the blurb for this one I was sure I would be in for a treat!!

The plot was gripping and really well thought out – it kept me fully engaged through out and it was a real page turner for me. I really enjoyed the character interaction and can’t wait for more in this series. The writing style and pace was a treat and worked really well with the story.

Really, really enjoyed it – 5 stars from me – grab your copy now!!

The Lying Kind is the first book in a brand-new police procedural series featuring Detective Rachel Prince and what a great start it is! Rachel works for the National Crime Agency, previously known as Interpol. When six year old Lola Harper goes missing from her bedroom at home, her mother instantly points the finger at her estranged husband. The investigation will take Rachel all the way to Portugal and back, while also having to deal with a bit of a complicated personal life.

I must admit that when I first started reading this story, I thought it would be totally predictable. But there is way more to this sordid tale than we are first led to believe. With dead ends and twists, my firm believe in thinking I knew exactly what was going on was frequently shattered into tiny pieces and Alison James kept me guessing, forcing me to ignore my gut instinct.

I found myself quickly warming up to Rachel Prince and her team member Mark Brickall. Their friendship jumps from the pages and the banter between them is delightful comic relief in a harrowing investigation concerning a missing child. Both are truly realistic and believable characters and I love that there isn't this lingering chemistry, that will-they-or-won't-the I sometimes find quite distracting, but just solid colleagues and friends.

The prologue alone already had me hooked and the tension just built up from there. This is a true page-turner, although not necessarily action-packed but suspenseful and intriguing. It felt as if the reader was right there with Rachel and Mark, trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together, re-examining things, leaving no stone unturned and always in the hope of finding little Lola alive somewhere. While I did suspect a few things, the ultimate conclusion blew me away. This first instalment is gripping and absorbing and I can't wait for book two in the series!

The detective work in this new series is solid but Rachel leaves a lot to desire. This was a good mystery with lots of suspense and twists. I just did not like Rachel. Another thing is I don't think throwing in the "f" word here and there is necessary.

What Book! The Lying kind by Alison James, Is the first in the Detective Inspector Rachel Prince. It's a page turner 📖 and will leave you guessing throughout the book.

A six year old child Lola Jade goes missing one night whilst sleeping in her own bed. Lola's mother Michelle says its her dad Gavin. Michelle and Gavin are in the middle of divorce proceedings and custody battle of their Daughter, so the suspicion's are thrown on the Lola's father. But is it? Who has taken Lola and why? So where is she? is she dead?
DI Prince and DC Brackhill have been put on the case as Surrey Police case has gone cold.
As the case progresses, a body of a local woman is found dead by her young son. Has she been murdered or has she died from natural causes?
This death seems unrelated at first, until a trail of social media posts lead DI Prince to a chilling discovery.
Then, another little girl is taken whilst out playing with her friend. But, are all these cases related to each other?
Rachel enlists the help of Rajavi and Cooper to help them on these cases.

The Lola's case takes a Big Twist and they race against time to try and save a little girls life who is at risk?
Do they save Lola in time? Page turner...........😲 📖
WoW, I was shocked.

5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟. I loved this book and looking forward to more of DI Price and DC Brachill series of books.

Big thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Alison James for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A complicated detective, a missing child, and a web of lies come together in The Lying Kind.

6-year-old Lola Jade Harper’s disappearance has turned into a media sensation. Missing for several months, the police have found little evidence and are lacking suspects. DI Rachel Prince is brought in to assist the investigation. With the assistance of DS Mark Brickall, Rachel hones in on the minute details of the case and soon finds that the little girl’s life was not all that it seemed. Rachel must travel through a murky web of lies in order to break free of the maze of the missing case of Lola Jade.

The Lying Kindis as much about Rachel Prince as it is the case of Lola Jade Harper. What I liked about Rachel is that she has her sh*t together, unlike a lot of the female detective series that I read--she isn’t running from demons, drowning her sorrows in alcohol, etc.. She has a messy love life and makes some poor decisions when it comes to men, but other than that she is solid. She’s not warm, and I am not even sure that I like her character, but she has a certain something that made me root for her. I love the banter between her and Brickall.

This new series has a lot of promise. This isn’t an action-packed read, it’s more of a character study/police procedural, but the case and Rachel's character were compelling enough to keep me interested. There was an original twist behind Lola Jade’s disappearance, which makes me excited to read more by Alison James!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review.

EXCERPT: She stirred and stretched as the light in the room changed. Then she opened her eyes. The shiny light from the landing made everything look a different colour, and played a shadow across the wall to her right. It was this that came into her head, waking her.

There was someone in the room.

THE BLURB: Six-year-old Lola Jade Harper is taken from her bedroom. Her mother is distraught. She is convinced her estranged husband, Gavin Harper, has abducted their daughter.

Detective Rachel Prince is leading the investigation but is soon out of her depth as she searches for the most high-profile missing child in the country. To uncover the truth about Lola’s disappearance, Rachel must untangle the Harper family’s complicated web of secrets and lies.

As the case progresses, the body of a local woman is found. The death at first seems unrelated, until a trail of social media posts lead Rachel to a chilling discovery.

And then another little girl is taken…

With growing pressure from the public and the appearance of someone from her past she’d rather forget, will Rachel be able to solve the connection between the two missing children and the murder - before it’s too late?

MY THOUGHTS: I felt so very sorry for Lola Jade being brought up in a world of fake tans, acrylic nails, hair extensions and NO BOOKS! So sorry that I decided early on that she had decamped her home in the middle of the night to go find a family that had books. But, of course, that was not what had happened.

The Lying Kind by Alison James is #1 in a new series featuring Detective Rachel Prince. She has a relatively normal background, containing a mother she gets on with and a sister with whom she prefers to maintain her distance. There is a mystery man from her past. . .

Rachel has good working relationships with the other members of her team and relies on her DS, Mark Brickall, to be her sounding board. There appears to be a bit of chemistry between these two that, currently, they are both either unaware of, suppressing, or ignoring. It will be interesting, in the coming series, to see how these two develop, both personally and professionally. Of course, I could be barking up completely the wrong tree, as Rachel has two fledgling romantic interests dancing around her.

But I wasn't barking up the wrong tree with my suspicions about just who had Lola Jade and why. It was the how that had me puzzled. And every time I thought I had it figured out, James would toss a spanner in the works.

The Lying Kind is a good solid ☆☆☆☆ read and I will be a definite starter for the next in the series, The Unlucky Ones.

The Lying Kind by Alison James was previously titled 'The Missing Child'.

Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital copy of The Lying Kind by Alison James for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

5☆ Kept me reading all night

The Lying Kind is a detective cat and mouse chase to find 6 year old Lola Jade when she disappears from her bed in the night.
No clues are left no DNA nothing!

The mother and father are going through a bitter divorce. But is any of them to blame for the disappearance?

I absolutely loved Detective Inspector Rachel Prince and Detective Sergeant Mark Brickall.
The relationship they have together is one of trust, banter, friendship and loyalty.

Rachel is leading the investigation, I loved her attitude to uncovering clues. She thinks outside the box and sees things differently.

There is not much I can say without delving into the plot and possibly uncovering too much.

So what I will say is that Alison James wrote a fabulous detective thriller. All of the little procedural details just made this book even better. It was very well researched which strengthened the backbone of the story making it feel real.

 It had all the juicy little twists, it kept me guessing and shouting at the book for the detectives to try there and interview this character.
 It had an element of danger the whole way through as we are treated to lil clues that may or may not be linked to the case.

The characters were perfect. You never knew where you stood with the parents. One minute you believed and trusted them, the next you was convinced they had something to do with it. Which is exactly how it would be in real life. Nothing is as it seems!

The prologue was creepy! It sets the story up and unsettles you a little bit. You are privileged to inside knowledge the detectives don't know.

If you are looking for a well written detective thriller that has all the captivating twists and turns, that keeps you on your toes eagerly turning the pages to uncover the next piece of evidence. Then you will really enjoy The Lying Kind!

Thank you to Bookouture for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

This is an addictive crime thriller that will leave you gasping for answers! Why, who, what!! You’ll want to know!
I recommend this book.
I read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Lying Kind is a police procedural thriller centred on the character of Rachel Prince, a late-thirty-something Detective Inspector assigned to review the case of Lola Jade Harper, a six-year-old girl abducted from her bed some months before and never seen since.

Rachel is an intriguing and intelligent woman, but at times her personal choices made me want to grit my teeth. From her avoidance of discussing a situation many years in the past to her decision to avoid a promising romantic prospect and instead conduct an affair with a married man, I struggled to like her even while I admired her professional dedication and detective ability.

Lola Jade’s case is very well done, there were some clever red herrings to throw the reader off the scent even though the threads were there all along to put the truth together, and I really didn’t see the twist coming. The police work was very well and realistically written - and frankly, the dysfunctional personal life of police officers was probably really good as well, but I still struggled to warm to Rachel. Since this is meant to be the first in a series with her as the central character, I think the author really needs to work on making her a little more someone the reader can empathize with. Four stars.

How absolutely brilliant to be in at the start of a new detective series - and an English one at that. I didn't warm to Rachel prince and her DS Mark at first but after the first few chapters they really grew on me. Being the first in the series there was a fair amount of background particularly about Rachel's life before we meet her, however this was interspersed with action and dialogue so didn't feel like you were trudging through too much detail like you can in some novels. Rachel is gritty and determined but there were elements of her softer side with Leila, her mother and at the end which helped to give her a well rounded character. I will be looking forward to continuing with this detective for as long as Alison keeps going - which I hope will be a long time. I think this would make an excellent TV drama series as well!

The author has given us a convincing protagonist in this first outing for Detective Inspector Rachel Prince and I look forward to reading more about her. I am happy to suspend disbelief when reading fiction but could have enjoyed this mystery surrounding the apparent abduction of a child more if the plot didn’t, have holes you could drive a bus through.

Well well well. Hopefully this is the first in a long series as I though this one was great.

Detective Rachel Prince is our central character here. She is part of the Major Crime Investigative Support Team of the National Crime Agency. She gets assigned to an old ongoing case of a missing child, a 6 year old girl called Lola Jade Harper. She has been missing for 6 months and her parents are estranged. The mother is blaming the father for the disappearance, insinuating that he has molested her, while the father claims that the mother is setting him up as she is unhinged.

Along with her sidekick DS Mark Brickall they have to try and figure out what is going on, who is telling the truth and what exactly happened to their daughter. Both parents seem to lie with ease as they try to find out what has gone on.

First up, straight out of the traps you like Rachel Prince. In her late 30s, shes a feisty character but instantly likeable. Plenty of secrets in her past, from the first few pages you sort of get who is is and where shes coming from. An extremely well written and central character. A great start to the book. Her sidekick Mark is also a very likeable character, they bounce off each other great.

The story itself is really well thought out and told. I found the authors writing style very accessible and the story, although involving a large cast of characters, was very easy to follow. There was suspense throughout as you tried to figure out what was going on and who was responsible for what.

I really loved this one. Read it in a relatively short time(for me) which is always a good sign. As stated the two main characters are very well written and you are on their side from the first few pages. Throw on top of that a great plot and a story very well told and you are on to a winner.

i cant really find anything to criticise this book on. It ended very well and I was thoroughly satisfied when I had finished. Its a crowded market at the moment with female detective lead character novels but they seem to be more hit than miss, for me at least and this one goes straight near the top.

Hugely impressive first outing, I look forward to the second in the series and can highly recommend this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and Alison James for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.