Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Helen Phifer for this ARC of Last Light in return for my honest review.

I have enjoyed the previous two novels featuring Detective Lucy Harwin by this author before so was pleased to receive my ARC. This did not disappoint at all.

It can be read as a stand-alone and the novel follows Detective Lucy Harwin in her first lead case. A woman is found hanging upside down on a crucifix with her throat slit and this is just the beginning.

Lucy’s character is well rounded and the story is told mainly from her viewpoint with her self-doubt showing through due to various facts including being recently divorced with a rebellious teenage daughter so solving the murder is just part of the struggle.

I am already looking forward to the next novel. Good read. Recommended.

This was one heck of a read, which I expected, having read several books by this author before.

Lucy is the lead detective on a difficult and perplexing case, and combined with being newly separated and dealing with a surly teenager, she really has her hands full.

The killer is hiding in plain sight and it has to be said that I held my breath during several parts of this story. As an animal-lover, I found one particular section difficult to read, but I am a big softie!

I thought this novel was well crafted and I loved the character of Lucy, as well as the secondary characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.

4.5 stars from me.

A total cannot put down novel, I had to follow all the twists and turns as Detective Lucy Harwin uncovered the killer of the nameless body in the church , 5 stars definitely

This thriller was definitely unique, but in a great way! The twists kept coming! I cannot wait to read more from this author.

This is the third book featuring Detective Lucy Harwin and is a prequel to the other two. This book, as with her others, gripped me from the first page and I couldn’t put it down. Lucy is newly promoted and has a new team. They are called out to a local church where as a group of teenagers have discovered the body of a woman, her throat has been cut, and she has been left hanging upside down on a crucifix. There are very few clues and Lucy starts to doubt her ability to solve the murder. A second body turns up, an elderly woman who devoted a lot of her time to the church, so Lucy sees the church as the link. This worries her as her daughter volunteers there. Lucy is finding thimgs difficult at home as she is newly divorced, her husband having left her for a younger woman
and juggling her career and a rebellious teenage daughter. The story is told mainly from Lucy’s point of view, indispersersed with chapters revealing the killer’s past history and his motives for the attacks but not revealing his identity until the end. A brilliant rollercoaster of a read, can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

This continues the story of Detective Lucy Harwin, a wonderfully strong female character. The murders that Lucy must investigate are gruesome and baffling. Mixing the past and present, Phifer develops a plot that will keep you guessing until the very end. I have come to love Detective Harwin and hope that there will be more books in this series.

This novel has a well-crafted story of how a terrified, abused child morphs into a monster. It's enough to curl up your toes at times. The cost of anger and hate is clearly defined as you read the boy's tale of growing up and the effect it had on him and later his victims. Lucy is the detective in charge of unravelling the gruesome killings. She has to contend with her demons too as a single mother with a stressful, time-consuming job. As a cat and animal lover, I did find some of the story unpalatable. Otherwise, it was an excellent read. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.

Thank you to Bookouture for letting me take part in this tour and for my copy of this book via Netgalley. I have Helen's first book on my TBR pile and when I saw this one I thought I need to read this.

Newly promoted Lucy Harwin has her first lead case and what a case it was. This book is definitely not for the faint-hearted. The murders in this book are some of the most horrific I have heard about. Helen is definitely not afraid of scaring her audience and I tell you she had me hiding under my cover in this one.

I enjoyed Helen's style and that she wasn't afraid of who she killed. Some authors may have shied away from killing some characters but Helen didn't and I applaud her for that. Even if it did break my heart a little.

I was gripped from the first page and I struggled to put the book down. I really enjoyed the different POV and trying to work out who the killer was.

I will definitely be reading more of Helen's books in the future.

As usual I found I read this latest instalment from Phifer in one sitting. The way the plot is structured mounts the most perfect level of tension and leaves the pages turning themselves.

Poor Lucy Harwin has clearly had an ill fated career from the start, and always encounters the most gruesome of murders and handles them like more of a maverick and less of a pro. Think Luther... But she always gets her perp!

The ending of Last Light shocked me, I was certainly not expecting that! But it really helps to understand the troubled personality of the protagonist and you can get right under her skin, just as Phifer clearly has.

Well developed plot and characters. I really did enjoy this book!

This is book #3 in the Detective Lucy Harwin series. Whilst part of a series, it can be read as a standalone book. It is though the prequel to the previous two books, despite it being released as the third book in the series! Confused? You needn’t be, it doesn’t detract from the story whatsoever!

After giving the previous book, Dying Breath, a whopping 5 stars, I was expecting good things from the next part of the series! Happily, it matched the 5 stars, and I think it may have even beaten it! Lucy Harwin is back on the case of some particularly gruesome murders. Now I have to warn you, the murders are a little stomach churning, but this all adds to how creepy and gritty this book is.

I’d forgotten from the previous book how much I loved Lucy’s character. She doesn’t have it easy having separated from her husband and having a teenage daughter who hates her! But she is one hell of a woman who doesn’t take any nonsense from anyone, just how a good crime book lead character should be! I also love how Lucy manages her team and what good relationships she has with them. I was slightly disappointed that her partner, Mattie Jackson went off on holiday half way through as I thought their relationship in the previous book worked really well, but I did like how Lucy and Browning worked together, so it sort of made up for it!

Reading this story is like being on a creepy, gruesome rollercoaster with lots of blood and gore chucked at you as you are riding along! It twists and turns, leading you into several dead ends and plenty of red herrings. The story is told mainly in the present day, but it does have alternating chapters from some years before detailing the story of, what you assume to be the killer in his younger years. If you’re anything like me, you won’t work out who the killer is until it’s almost revealed a few chapters from the end, when you can then shout “of course”!! (Well, I did anyway!!)

This is a great crime book! It holds your interest from the very first page and doesn’t let you go until the end. It’s fast paced, exciting and makes your heart beat faster in all the right places! It also has just the right amount of dark humour, which is certainly welcomed in books like this – Browning and the cat is the first example that comes to mind! I would highly recommend it and am already looking forward to the next book in the series.

Thank you to the author and Bookouture for the review copy.

Wellllllll, I'm glad that my heart rate has calmed down enough to write this review! This book is creepy as.....f!!! And no, not in a bad way!

There's nothing like being thrown in the deep end, something which Detective Lucy Harwin finds out rather quickly as she is called out on a job where a woman and a crucifix are having a close encounter. This time, yes, in a bad way! Will Lucy and her team find themselves dealing with a killer who is likely to strike again? When another body turns up in a similar state, the likelihood of the killer re-offending is incredibly high...but at what cost?

Lucy is clearly good at her job. She has the ballsy nature, the confidence to listen to her gut instinct, and the work ethic a lot of people would never be able to match. However, her personal life has collapsed around her and whilst I did feel sorry for her, I felt that her bitterness overshadowed her job at times, especially when her marriage and the murders had diddly squat to do with each other.

Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed 'Last Light', I did feel as though there were a couple of inconsistencies in the storyline. That said, they weren't related to the main topic of the book and because the read was so fast paced, I was soon swept up by one thing or another.

'Last Light' is a very creepy, highly detailed read which I sped through in one sitting. I will admit that I saw the ending before it happened, but due to the red herrings and brilliant distractions in the story, the fact i worked out the 'whodunnit' long before the end didn't bother me as much as i thought it would. Usually it would, but Helen Phifer is very clever at gripping her readers with unsavoury details!

An addictive, dark and twisted tale - creepy as hell but an awesome read!

Last Light, the third novel published to feature DI Lucy Harwin of Brooklyn Bay police, is actually the prequel to this series and was released before the first two novels. That said, this series can be read in any order as plenty of background is given. It tells the tale of Detective Inspector Harwin's first case as Senior Investigating Officer on an investigation that is both grisly and harrowing. It shows that the killer was determined, cold-blooded and calculating, and police hope it will not take too long to find the evidence to put this evil, unknown killer away.

It moves at a swift pace and presents some entertaining twists. Unfortunately, there is little evidence on which to rely, and I found myself feeling much admiration for Harwin's team who do all in their power to chase what is effectively a ghost. It definitely felt authentic and the way in which police investigations play out in the real world. I appreciated that the author decided to make the crucial evidence that leads to the identification and capture of the suspect very different to what we usually come across in the crime genre, saying more would spoil it for potential readers. Lucy is a character who is developed well, and Phifer's black humour, interspersed throughout the novel, is the icing on the cake for this captivating, page-turner.

Many thanks to Bookouture for an ARC.

Brilliant. I read this book in one sitting. It had me gripped from the start. Lucy is a likeable character who is determined to get the job done. The plot is full of twists and the suspense builds continually. This is a book and series I definitely recommend reading. If you are as gripped as I was do not expect to get anything else done whilst reading it.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This is one of those books that has you hooked from the first few pages.
A body is found upside down on a cross and from this point onwards Detective Lucy Harwin’s feet don’t touch the ground.
An elderly woman is then found dead and her body found in a similar fashion, so Lucy and the team start to take a look at the local church and all those involved.
Lucy’s daughter is friends with one of the church helpers and provides a vital clue to the identity of the killer.
Lucy is struggling with the break up of her marriage and trying to lead her team when a brutal attack leaves her helpless.
We also get an insight into the killer’s mind and find out why they’re killing these people, but their identity is not revealed until the final few chapters.
This is a gripping read, and I can’t wait for the next book in the series.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Although this is the 3rd book in a series, I did not have any problems picking the story up. Of course, you always wonder what happened before, but this story can be read as a stand alone.

The author tells us what is going on in the present and alternates it with the past of the killer. This way we know what he has been through without his identity being given away.

The book shows us how traumatic events can deeply influence ones mind and lead to severe consequences. 

I have read this one in one go. It was very hard to put it down and I thought it was wonderfully structured. And than that climax ... It brought tears to my eyes. 5 stars.

Thank you, Helen Phifer, Bookouture and Netgalley.

Let's get the good stuff out of the way early on: This is a fantastic book; giving it the top rating of 5 stars is a no-brainer.

Apparently, this is the third book in the series featuring Detective Lucy Harwin (although in the author's notes, she mentions that it's a prequel, presumably to the first two books, neither of which I've read). In any event, I had zero problem following along with nary a "Huh?" along the way, so it stands alone perfectly. And did I mention that it's a fantastic book?

Lucy, who's recently split with her husband because of his philandering and is the mother of a teenage daughter, is called to an abandoned church. There, she finds a dead woman, the victim of an horrific murder. The cause of death is evident, but there are no clues nor evidence pointing to a motive. Conventional thinking is that it could be the work of a devil worshipper, but none of the investigators are buying into that theory at this point. Lucy intends to give it her all, though, if only because it's her first major solo case.

Lucy's regular partner, Detective Sergeant Matthew Jackson (Mattie) takes off on a pre-scheduled vacation, leaving her to partner up with an officer in whom she has little confidence. As she's grousing about that, another woman, a church volunteer, turns up murdered in similar grotesque fashion. This one, however, hits close to home: She's the elderly mother of Lucy's police force boss. Sympathy aside, that adds another dimension to the case; like it or not, her boss must be added to any list of potential suspects.

Hints as to the killer's identity are slowly revealed through flashback chapters that reveal a child and his mother horribly abused by a Bible-thumping father/husband. Back in the present, Lucy's daughter reluctantly gets involved in volunteering at the church, where she lands a job babysitting the daughter of another volunteer - a beautiful woman who's caught the eye of the vicar, whose spouse is married to a truly wretched person. As the investigation continues, Lucy becomes worried not only for the future of her career, but for her daughter - who just might be on the killer's hit list.

The action-filled story moves along quickly, and I have no doubt that those who really can't put it down will be able to start and finish it on the same day. Personally, I'm delighted not only to have read such an enjoyable book, but also to have found a new series. Already, I'm looking forward to the next one. Meanwhile, many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy of this one.

This is the 3rd book of a series. I had not read the first 2 books and was able to know what was going on. Lucy is a detective and has to investigate the body of a woman hung up on a crucifix. They couldn't find clues and then another body shows up, an elderly woman who has ties to the church and the police force. Now they are on a hunt to find the killer before he/she kills again. All this is going on while Lucy is dealing with an angry teenager as Lucy and her husband are no longer together. Lucy also wants out of her house and to get a place of her own. During this story we are also in the mind of the killer and what he/she has done in the past and why he/she is killing now. I had it down to 3 people who I thought it might be and then had to deduct one person as the killer was after that person. I was also hoping really hard that it wasn't the other person I thought it was.

Last Light is a fantastic thriller. The plot has many twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. Could not put this book down. I highly recommend this book and anxiously await the next in the series.

An intriguing and interesting story. Involving Detective Lucy Harwin in a case that is spread over a number of years, a boy with an abusive father tries to keep his feelings of revenge under control, unsuccessfully. Strange acts of revengeful murder leads to a unfortunately tragic end.

Newly promoted Detective Inspector Lucy Harwin is an excellent protagonist who with her sidekick Detective Sergeant Mathew Jackson - Mattie to his friends - solves crimes and do their best to keep the little seaside town of Brooklyn Bay safe and secure. Last Light is the third in this series and completely stand alone, but I will search out the first two for my own satisfaction.

In Last Light, beginning in mid-February 2016, the story is fast and flowing, but the actual killer is hard to pinpoint until very near the end of the book. We travel back to the childhood of this man beginning in 1987 when he is eight or nine and up through his mid-teens. And we see just how a serial killer is formed.

I found this novel engrossing. Helen Phifer is an author I will follow. She brings to us an excellent set of protagonists and a nice little backwater town that proves interesting and vibrant. I want more. Many more.

I received a free electronic copy of this British police procedural from Netgalley, Helen Phifer, and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.