Thank you NetGalley and Severn House for a copy of this book in return for my review.
This is the first of A J Cross’s books that I have read and I thought that was a good enjoyable police detective novel underpinned by some interesting forensic psychology.
Professor Kate Hanson, a forensic psychologist, and the team at the Unsolved Crime Unit (UCU) are given a controversial crime to solve. Ten years ago David Lockman, a famous author, was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Della Harrington. After persistent efforts by his legal team, Lockman has now been set free and the original verdict declared unsafe. The members of the UCU have been tasked with reviewing the original evidence and finding out who the murderer might be if it was not Lockman. They soon find problems with the original evidence and identify three new suspects, but Kate is uncertain that they are heading in the right direction.
This is a very ably plotted mystery novel that smoothly goes through its paces and keeps the reader happily engaged until the surprising outcome. The suspects are nicely sketched and interesting, but I thought that Kate and her colleagues were a little bland and I found it difficult to differentiate between the two police detectives. I also thought that Kate’s actions were a little unlikely at times. Nevertheless, the story was clever and enjoyable, and the author does a good job of keeping the reader guessing as to who the killer is. It would make a good television show.

Thank you NetGalley and Severn House Publishing for the eARC.
Professor Kate Hanson and the Unsolved Cases Unit catch a cold case. David Lockman served 10 years of his life sentence for the murder of Stella Harrington, when he's set free mainly because the police investigation 10 years ago was flawed and his lawyers have fought hard all this time to get him his freedom. But if Lockman didn't commit the murder, who did?
Kate and the team end up focusing on 3 suspects, all of them around when the murder occurred, all.of them unsavory characters. But it's a hard slog, because it was a long time ago and anyone they interview either doesn't remember much or refuses to answer their questions.
When Kate goes against the Superintendent's order of not approaching Lockman, she endangers her job at the University as she's kicked out of the USU.
The ending of the book was jawdropping, I did not see that coming!
This was my 2nd book in the series and I'm beginning to really like Kate and her 2 USU colleagues. Can't wait for the next book and highly recommend this excellent series.

#ColdColdHeart #NetGalley I enjoyed the fact that this story was about a cold case instead of the more usual current crimes. The story was fast paced and easy to read with many different aspects to consider. I was a little unsure that Kate Hanson would have as much authority to interview and question suspects and witnesses without a police officer accompanying her. There was also a fair bit of repetition about certain aspects of the case, in particular repeating the lack of leads and information. Nevertheless a good read and a refreshing break from the norm with a satisfying ending!

I liked the story - solving a cold case and delving into the background of the victim and those around her. I enjoyed the relationships between the different characters and starting to understand how their experiences would be driving their thoughts, feelings and actions. I also thought the ending of the book was good and something I wasn't expecting. However, the thing I enjoyed less about the book was the heavy use of surnames for all the characters as I felt it made it hard to connect with them. I can understand why sometimes this may be useful to use - particularly within a police drama but this was used even when the female psychologist was talking to her daughter - which seemed less relevant.

I would like to thank Severn House and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Cold, Cold Heart’ by A J Cross in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
When David Lockman is released from a life sentence for the murder of Della Harrington due to an unsafe conviction, forensic psychologist Professor Kate Hanson is asked to work with DI Watts and Lieutenant Corrigan of the Unsolved Crime Unit to discover the identity of the person who did murder her.
This thriller had an entertaining plot with some unsavoury suspects and although I enjoyed it I found the two police characters somewhat old-fashioned and unrealistic. Surely Watts and Corrigan weren’t the only two police officers in the UCU unit, where were the others? Also, Kate Hanson was a forensic psychologist so how did she have the authority to question suspects as if she was a police officer? Saying that, I kept reading as I needed to have it confirmed that the person I’d guessed from the start was in fact the killer.

COLD COLD HEART by AJ Cross is a book about a forensic psychologist Kate Hanson and her colleagues setting out to help a man who was falsely convicted of murder. Can she help David Lockman who has served 10 yrs already for a crime he says he did not commit? As you read the story it becomes apparent that the original case was full of lies. But why? The writer does an amazing job of weaving the story line so that you are engrossed from the first page to the last. I love books that keep you guessing the whole way. In our justice system ther are many flaws and this story could have well been a true story which makes it even better. I enjoyed this authors writing ability and found it hard to put the book down for even a few minutes. It is a great plot and the writing is impeccable.



Thank you netgalley as well as the author/publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.


5+++ ⭐️ out of 5

Forensic psychologist Kate Hanson has been tasked with re-examining a case that put David Lockman behind bars for life for the murder of Della Harrington. Kate’s investigation casts serious doubt on Lockman’s guilt. Not only were mistakes made, it would appear there was deception involved as well. Now Kate and her team have to tease the truth from the lies to discover who really killed Della