A Girl leaves a work do to have a cigarette. She meets a hooker and swaps jackets. This nice gesture begins a serial killer story. A traffic cop who investigates when no one else cares. Although a serial killer is the main story, a back story of how we care for each other makes this story special.

I had no idea that there was a book before this "The Girl on The Bus" but I was still able to follow this along. Its a story I've seen in the papers all too much. "Working" girls being taken and killed but with their teeth missing. Loved the character of Leighton in this book.
Good read!

Working women are disappearing from where they usually stand for business. Then they are found dead. With teeth missing. One of the working girls knows something is not right. Especially when a young girl offers to switch coats with the prostitute, so she is able to use a cafe's restroom. When the prostitute returns the young girl has disappeared. Leighton a street cop finds himself in the murder investigation. Afterall someone has to care for three working girls.
Well written.
4 Stars

Sarah leaves a restaurant by the beach to have a cigarette but finds she has no lighter. A street walker is passing so Sarah asks if she has a light. They swap coats so the girl can use the bathroom. When she returns she is nearly run over by a speeding car. Sarah is nowhere to be seen, her naked body is found dumped on Carpenter Road. Leighton Jones who is a traffic cop who finds the speeding car dumped and decides to dig a little deeper, he takes what he has found to Homicide who just laughs at him. This makes him more determined than ever to catch this killer.
Using the help of the local street girls he is getting closer to a serial killer the media has dubbed THE DENTIST. I read this book in one setting, I started this book and could not put it down. A very good read.
I would like to thank the author N M Brown,Bloodhound books and Net.galley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for giving an honest review.

Carpenter Road is an excellent police procedural. Set in Oceanside, CA, Leighton Jones is, along with his partner Danny Clark, a traffic cop. Only occasionally does he find himself caught up in cases involving homicide - and then, even if he is able solve the crime, he usually winds up in hot water because crossing boundaries and pursuing hunches are not part of his job description and his Captain is always out to get him.

Jonesy, to his friends, is an all around good guy, trying to do what he can to make the world a better place. His teenage daughter Annie is the apple of his eye, and of course she doesn't see him as Superman - or even Superdad. Yet.

I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, N. M. Brown, and Sarah Hardy with Bloodhound Books in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. N. M. Brown is definitely an author I will watch for.

A big thank you to Sarah Hardy at Bloodhound books and Netgalley for issuing me with my copy of the book and for asking me to participate on the blog tour.

Norman Brown is a new author for me but after absolutely flying through Carpenter Road, I will definitely be looking out for more of his books.

'It all started with a missing coat'.......are the words on the cover and it literally does. When a young woman disappears with a coat belonging to a prostitute, nobody thinks anything of it, especially not the police who aren't particularly bothered or keen to investigate. Traffic cop Leighton Jones begins to think there is something wrong though and gets involved with trying to fit the pieces together.

I really enjoyed following him as he tries to investigate and experienced his frustration within his own police station when he is told countless times to leave things alone.

The background story we are introduced to was excellent and I enjoyed how this flowed seamlessly into the current story and felt it added more mystery which helped the storyline along.

Leighton Jones is a great character, compassionate and not afraid to upset the applecart if he feels things are being brushed under the carpet. I've read that the author is going to write some more in the series and I really hope he does as I think Leighton has so much more to give. I will definitely be one of the first in the line to read!

Overall a great story and plot with some added twists that I didn't see coming. I had my mouth hanging open in disbelief at the end and can't wait to read more!

Sarah is at a goodbye party for someone at work. She steps out for a smoke and asks the girl in a fur coat for a light. The girl, Rochelle, has to use the restroom. Sarah exchanges coats with Rochelle because this should help dispel that Rochelle is a hooker. After using the restroom, Rochelle realizes that Sarah is gone. And with her coat is a tin of lip gloss.
Leighton Jones (Jonesy) and Danny Clark are partners. Danny's dad had a stroke. Jonesy tells Danny that he should be there for his dad. Since their police captain Gretsch is a tough nut, Leigh tells Danny that he will cover for him 2 hours/day.
Meanwhile, a car salesman catches a suspicious female. It is Roch.elle. wanting to know who a particular Ford belonged to. Leigh called to scene after Rochelle maced the salesman - this is how they meet. She got everything back but her lip gloss tin. Rochelle becomes quite instrumental in finding the killer of prostitutes. Actually, Rochelle thinks that the ones being killed have close recognizable features.
During that time, "he" is searching for "Veronica" look-alikes. They tend to all have a tooth missing and have appeared to have been strangled to death. Since Leigh works Traffic , he feels obligated to share information with Det. Slater who gets surly about Leigh "playing detective". Slater dismisses him with a "we already have a DNA match" and says that he will report Leigh to Gretsch. Another body is found and we are quite sure that the "killer" collects teeth. Gretsch eventually catches Danny visiting his dad and fires Danny.
Gretsch has Slater look into this Michael Stanton to WARN HIM that Jonesy is a "nut" and not to be put off if he shows up. Stanton drugs Slater's lemonade and when he asked Stanton what he did, Stanton replied, " Mainly, I kill hookers". Finding about who the killer is is important, but certainly not enough for the reader. The conclusion brings a few surprises as to Rochelle, Annie (Jonesy's daughter), Jonesy, Stanton, Gretsky and Danny. And who is Dale? So as not to leave spoilers, I must conclude that all will find this book entertaining with a few unexpected twists. Thank you to Bloodhound and NetGallery for the opportunity to enjoy reading this book!

Carpenter Road features Leighton Jones who is in the authors other book, The Girl On The Bus. As this is set some years before, it really doesn't matter if you haven't yet read it as it easily reads as a stand alone. Saying that, I bet you will end up racing off to buy it after reading this one.

I really took to Leighton when I first encountered him, now having got to know him even better in this book, I actually might be in love with him. Not in a sexual way, he is such a wonderful character. Think of the wonderful David Jason who plays Inspector Frost. He is someone that readers will instantly take to. He has a heart and he cares which I found totally endearing.

Rochelle is another stand out character in this story. A prostitute who Leighton strikes up an unlikely friendship in the hope of catching a serial killer. As hard faced as she might be due to her lively hood, she has a certain likeability that has you wanting to pick her up out of the story and give her a chance at a normal life where danger isn't on every corner.

Carpenter Road was a captivating and thrilling story that makes for some emotional reading in parts. The author has a knack of writing characters that the readers can fully get behind making this an even more personal read. I loved the authors first book and didn't think he could top it, well he has well and truly done that and he is definitely vast becoming one of my favourite authors.

This is the second book that I have read of this author and I am thoroughly impressed.

The characters are strong and personable. Leighton is one of the better characters as he has such a strong personality and isn't really a person you would expect to toe the line.

Very strong book definitely one of the best I have read in 2018.