This is a very enjoyable police procedural set in the North East of England, in Durham to be more precise. I love it when books have different settings to the all too familiar London. In addition this is set in the recent past, in 1997 which also gives it a fresh feel. I haven't read any others in the series but I most definitely will now. Ian Bradshaw is a likeable protagonist, a detective who is often given difficult cases to solve and with no help so he has to enlist the aid of two journalists, Tom and Helen. I'm not sure I found it completely believable that a police force would sanction this but the dynamic between the three of them works well so I don't mind. Young girls are going missing and it is Ian's job to find out who is behind it. Interspersed with the detective work are flashbacks to which give insight into the perpetrator's mindset and how they came to use a former nuclear bunker as a place to hold 'the chosen ones.' Creepy and compelling. I was really interested to see that the author had been inspired by Scotland's Secret Bunker, a decommissioned site near St Andrews in Fife and I'm kicking myself that I didn't visit it when I was in the area last weekend, But, unusually for Scotland the weather was just too good to spend time underground but it's a must for my next (inevitably wet( visit. Enjoyable read and thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for a review copy of The Chosen Ones, the fourth novel to feature DS Ian Bradshaw of Durham police and journalists Tom Carney and Helen Norton.

Durham police think they may have a problem as five young women have recently gone missing, but with no evidence of a crime and nothing to link them, nobody is sure what to do. DS Ian Bradshaw is drafted in to replace the current team and he promptly recruits Tom Carney and Helen Norton to help his solo endeavours.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Chosen Ones which is a compulsive read with some excellent, surprising twists. Both the plotting and pacing had me enthralled as I raced through it to get some answers. Add in some good characterisation, a dash of police politics and some humourous dialogue and you almost get the perfect read. I say almost because the shifting point of view in both the narrative and the timeline are a bit distracting and it means that the investigative team is forever playing catchup with what the reader knows. The novel opens in the 1997 present day with Eva trapped in a metal box and then moves to Ian and his investigation into her disappearance. It switches back and forward, even within chapters, throughout the novel and is interlarded with the kidnapper's history over the years. Fortunately these episodes are dated to give the reader a sense of time. It can get a bit confusing if you're not concentrating but the compulsive theme of trying to find the girls mitigates, to some extent, all the switching about.

I really enjoy the characterisation in this series. All three are smart and dedicated and are obviously very close which adds warmth to a dark novel. The Helen and Tom will they, won't they situation continues from Helen's point of view and adds a certain piquancy to their relationship but it's like background noise as Tom's attention is elsewhere.

The Chosen Ones is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending. 4.5*

When a woman's body is found, DC Ian Bradshaw is given the task of finding out what happened. She was reported missing 18 years ago along with others but the police dismissed her disappearance saying she must have gone of on her own accord. With no officers to help him, he calls upon two journalist friends -Tom Carney and Helen Norton, who have previously worked with the police - to help him get to the truth.
Recently five more women had gone missing. All those they know about don't seem to have any similarities which makes investigating the cases more difficult. Can they find out who is behind it all?
You get different sides to the story, starting with Eva Dunbar who went missing two weeks ago; she's alive but being held underground. Then you have the investigators working on both past and present disappearances. In addition, there is a narrative from the kidnapper as to why the women are being taken. Although at the very beginning I found this a little bit slow, it didn't take long for the pace to pick up and have me turning the pages with relish to find out more.
All in all, this is a really good read which I have no hesitation in recommending and gets four stars from me. My grateful thanks to Michael Joseph Comms for my copy via NetGalley. This is my honest and unbiased review.

This is a very dark thriller which will have you hooked from the start.
Eva wakes up in a metal crate but has no idea why or where she is. She is not the first to disappear but what is the connection between them all and who is the culprit.
Detective Ian Bradshaw has his work cut out and enlists the help of two investigative journalists who get caught up in the horror.
Then a body is found - will it help them find the kidnapper or will it throw the case wide open?
This book twists and turns and keeps you guessing till the end.

I really enjoyed the working relationship between the detective and the journalists. Gripping thriller about missing women and the discovery of what happened to them. Great ending too. Very well crafted novel, I'm going to look out for more of this series.

Wow that took my breath away another wonderful read from Penguin Random House. If it wasn't for the world we see going on all over the world and even real cases reported nearly ever year this is a more than probable. You need to read this to find that out for yourself and I don't think you will regret it for one minute. When Ian a good clean cop (they do still exist in fiction as well as life), is given a case to look at that may be back a case or it might not be but they have to look in to it. The case is of 5 women that have disappeared but are all in their twenties early, middle or late and as such it is open to them if they choose to go if they want to there is no proof of a crime.. All are not the sort to just go off but there seems to be no links to each other apart from being female and of age but not too old (no clue what is but I've noticed the older I get the label seems to get older). Then a body turns up but she isn't who you'd expect and from here the story takes off so you will need to read it to find out anymore of the plot.
There are two Investigate journalists Tom and Helen hired by the police friends of Ian our good coper and true to life they have things going on in their lives as indeed do those at the police station. So you will find there's more than one story unfolding so even better by for your money. This is certainly not a dull page for in this book so you may need to remind yourself to breath from time to time.
This is truly a a great book to read I loved every page and like every book that I call great you get plenty of twists and Turns to throw you but by the end of it you will be looking to see what else has Howard written.
Thanks Howard and thanks NetGalley.

This is an excellent book! This is the first book by this author I have read, but I will definitely be catching up on his others. The premise of the story is terrifying, someone has been abducting women and imprisoning them underground. This plays on my worst fears and some of the scenes were just horrific! The crimes seem to be a repeat of ones carried out years ago which weren't properly investigated at the time, could they have been prevented? A fresh investigation is launched with DI Ian Bradshaw teaming up with journalists Helen Norton and Tom Carney to get to the bottom of the abductions.
What I thought elevated this thriller above some more run of the mill books out just now, is the strong thread of humour throughout and the interaction between the three main characters. Extremely well written and enjoyable to read. Some shocking twists and the motivation behind the abductions is certainly bizarre to say the least!
Excellent, I would highly recommend this.

The Chosen Ones is an excellent edge of your seat thriller. I would definitely read more by this author. I love police procedural books and this one was particularly good.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

women are going missing and have been over a period of years...at first it was just vagrants but then others went missing for no apparent reason, at first they are just simply thought of as run aways, no clues as to why they would run away either, it becomes a cold case

surprisingly one turns up and at first everyone is sceptical over her reasons and cant understand what she is saying about where she went..when she dies they just think another person who went off the rails...but its been 18 years so there is some mystery....

this book kept me glued as i couldnt fathom out how anyone could disappear without trace and who could the perp ot perps be....well thought out and quite a chilling read, i liked how the two journalists worked well with the police

a few twists and turns that i didnt see coming but another author to keep an eye out for

The opening chapter of this frightening psychological, crime thriller sent my heart racing, personally the thought of being buried alive scares me silly.

Eva wakes trapped in a metal box, she doesn’t know how she got there or how she is going to get out, and she isn’t the first to go missing. Detective Ian Bradshaw needs to find her but he has no leads, this is an exciting, fast paced story that is totally my kind of book. I haven’t read any of the other books in the series but didn’t feel that I had missed out but coming in on book 4, I’ll definitely have to catch up now. A great read that I highly recommend.

Really enjoyed this book a real page turner. Creepy yet believable plot. I am looking forward to reading other books by this author with the expectation they are a great as this one. I have a feeling they will be. Enjoy!

A difficult story to get in to it appeared to be moving backwards and forwards in time and from character to character, however continuing to the end proved to be worthwhile with a very interesting climax to the story.

" Yeah " I have found an author of gritty northern crime that I haven't read before. This book is the fourth in a series about Detective Ian Bradshaw with journalists Tom Carney and Helen Norton. The two journalists have a knack of routing out information that the police would find hard to get hold of so they make a great team. Although it's the fourth in the series there was just enough background information for it to work well as a stand alone but obviously the series would be best read in order which is something I now aim to do.

This is the fourth book featuring Detective Ian Bradshaw and although I haven't read the others it did not affect my enjoyment. I really enjoyed the story and it was fast paced. I will be reading the others in the series now.

I have just read The Chosen Ones by Howard Linskey. Courtesy of Netgalley.
A traditional detective set in the North of England. D.S. Ian Bradshaw is assigned a case involving women going missing and has connections to similar case when women were disappearing over 20 years ago.
Bradshaw has been told no officer can be spared to help him so he enlists the help of two reporters, Helen and Tom. Together they work the case, along with Tom helping an old flame who is being blackmailed. A good police procedural novel. I enjoyed this thoroughly.
 #TheChosenOnes #NetGalley

Eva wakes up in a box with no memory of how she got there, meanwhile PC Ian Bradshaw is investigating seemingly unlinked cases of women who have disappeared. But when an unexpected body is discovered, it seems the case is bigger than once thought…

I must admit I haven’t read any of the previous books in the Ian Bradshaw series but this did not detract from the book in any way. The book works well as a standalone piece and was actually a good introduction which has inspired me to look out for others in the series.

The series itself centres on 3 main characters – Tom and Helen who are investigative journalists and PC Ian Bradshaw who employs them to help on cases - this is unusual but actually quite refreshing in a detective series. The three of them work well together and each have their part to play in keeping the plot going at a good pace. There were lots of smaller threads of the plot as well as side plotlines which kept me interested throughout. As well as jumping perspective between the three main characters, the story also includes other character perspectives as well including victim Eva Dunbar which was truly chilling. My only criticism would be in the current e-book format the narrative changes perspective with little warning which seemed abrupt and could be a little confusing at times.

I enjoyed the underground setting for the crimes – which we find out in the acknowledgments is partially based in a true location. It’s a creepy setting and one which stays with you long after you have closed the book. Also the fact the series itself is set in Durham is an interesting and unusual choice as well as being close to home.

Overall I really enjoyed The Chosen Ones – it’s a chilling read with a great setting that is nicely paced with interesting and realistic main characters. Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin UK – Michael Joseph for inviting me to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Although the plot is excellent and very original I found the two journalists Tim & Helen’s relationship to be really annoying and immature so can only give three stars.
The setting for the story is Durham which seemed a refreshing change from the usual gritty town settings and the research for this book was clearly well done.

This is a very dark eerie police procedural novel. Having not read the previous titles i did a times feel i was at a disadvantage not knowing background stories, however having said that I enjoyed this novel and would recommend.

It’s the ultimate nightmare. Young women are disappearing and detective Ian Bradshaw is desperately trying to find them before it’s too late. Help came too late for the one woman they did find, but at least now the police believe have some idea how they might save the others. But they are wrong and they will have to fight a killer more twisted than they could ever have imagined. A nail biting roller coaster ride that you need to read with the lights on!

‘The Chosen Ones’ by Howard Linskey published by Penguin UK and Out Now

Hey, well any book that starts
‘Eva woke in a large metal box, she had no idea who had taken her and no way out’ ....../
is certain to grab your attention, and it did....
This is the 4th book in the D.I. Bradshaw crime series ( set in the North East ) and although that means you met the main players without knowing their back story in this books case IMO it didnt matter as you quickly get to know them and are told ( without fuss or pages and pages of it ) bits of the history and it falls into place quickly ( works well as a stand alone or as part of the series )
I liked the characters and the setting and the ‘easy’ narrative telling of the story, it is set in the 1990’s so the Police procedural is less complex ( obvs ) than nowadays and more straight forward to understand and get to grips with
The story itself kept my attention 100% of the time and the many sub stories and plots in the book were not distracting and added to the whole story
Its difficult not to give anything away re the story but I wont 😃 except to say it is dark, scary in places and unlike some books very believable that it could happen!
Its the kind of book you look forward to reading more of and you feel comfortable with it and tbh it was a really enjoyable read
The ending has some shocks and then leaves you wanting to read the next book and carry on following what happens to the main characters
A really good, solid book that you can get ‘stuck into’ and feel satisfied at the end that you have spent some great reading time on
9/10 5 stars