I did find this a little confusing - maybe it is one of those books that would read better if you had read the previous ones in the series. Not bad, but I wasn't engaged enough to read more in the series.

Sally Spencer brings DCI Monica Poniatowski to a Dead End as she tries to solve murders and becomes a victim herself. Unconscious in the hospital, she is threatened by the secret service of her own country. Decidedly noirish in tone and somewhat disorganized.

Started off promising but got very confusing very quickly. Such a shame as I was really looking forward to this one.

Dead End is a police procedural/murder mystery. The author is Sally Spencer, which is a pen name for Alan Rustage. This novel is a sequel to the Monica Paniatowski mysteries and I feel that I would have benefitted from reading these before attempting to read Dead End. This is an interesting mystery which develops while Detective Paniatowski lies in hospital, in a coma. Her staff visit often to discuss the murder cases they are working on, even though she is unresponsive. Someone is keeping an eye on her, waiting to do away with her, should she regain consciousness because she knows too much. In order to improve on the plot, I feel that details from previous novels would have been useful. This does not reflect on the author. This is only my opinion. Thank you to Severn House and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As DCI Monica Paniatowski lies in hospital in a coma she is visited by someone who is considering terminating her in order to protect himself; is she wakes will she reveal what she know to her team?

Unfortunately, I struggled with this book. I have not read the earlier books in the series and I became confused about the backstory and the characters. As a result, although I persevered for 68% of the text, I was still confused and I abandoned it. A rare thing indeed for me.

Huge, huge apologies to the author. I must insist though, that it is not you, it is definitely me in this case.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

DEAD END was a great and suspenseful tale which would have been right up my street. I read many books which are part of a series and usually I'm fine with that but in this case, the storyline was pretty difficult to follow. There were rather too many links to the previous books concerning events and characters to fully understand what was going on. I have read reviews from some of the past books and I am keen to read others in the series by Sally Spencer. Generally, I liked the plot and the pacing.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Severn House via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Sigh. I got lost in this because I hadn't read any of the earlier books so I knew I was missing references. Monika is in a coma and yet her colleagues come and talk with her about their case, which is an impressive testament to her. At least one of these visitors is a murderer, but which one? It's a well put together mystery I'm sure I would have greatly enjoyed if I knew the nuances. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Make no mistake, this is well written and entertaining.

Another exciting and really gripping book from Sally Spencer.

He was going to have to kill Monika, he decided. It was a pity, but there it was. The body has lain buried for years, and has no face and no fingertips. D.I. Monika Paniatowski's team have no real leads, but when they discuss the case at her hospital bedside - where she lies paralysed - Monika begins to see possible links with a case she closed four years earlier. Are the two cases connected? Did the first murder make the second almost inevitable? She doesn't know, but she does know that she is being watched by an old enemy who will kill her if he decides there is ever any chance of her sharing her thoughts and information with her team.
Extremely, unusual slant on the paralysed detective. Could she communicate her thoughts and opinions to her former colleagues who are searching for answers.
I have read many other books by this very thrilling and highly iimaginative author and always know that I can rely on him to write books that I won't be able to put down once started. Research is excellent and it was very evocative of the period it was set in. I strongly recommend this book for it's sheer excitement.

DCI Monica Paniatowski is in a coma in hospital, this a past and present story with a mysterious body found in an allotment but also about a past case with a suspected "suicide" which isn't a suicide.

I did find this story very confusing it might be a lot easier if you have read the previous books in the series.

But overall a well written story with lots of options for the murderers!

Although I did not yet read Ms. Spencer's previous novels, I was able to pick up enough information to know where the story was going and enjoy it.

A plot allotment (land to grow food on) seems to connect the story. Although I was not yet familiar with all of the characters, I still had a feel for "good versus bad".

Monika (a DCI) remains in a coma. This is somehow connected to Arthur Wheatstone. Is he murdered or has he committed suicide?
Monika had thought murder for a number of reasons before the coma left her ability to work impossible.

However, Monika can not only hear but she can process information she hears in her hospital room. It seems as if she has learned enough that she had heard in order to know to keep quiet once (if?) she is out of her coma. However, on the bright side, Monika's three team members on the force, vigilantly visit her and run things by her although Monika is comatose. Little do they know she hears them.

Then comes in the American and the team on Wheatstone's government defense work team.

The action begins!!!

A great read! I look forward to the next book. (I didn't want to leave any spoilers!)

Many, Many Thanks to both Severn House and NetGalley for introducing me to Sally Spencer's books!

He was going to have to terminate Monika, he decided. It was a pity, but there it was.
The body has lain buried for years, and has no face and no fingertips. Monika Paniatowski’s team have no real leads, but when they discuss the case at her hospital bedside where she lies paralysed Monika begins to see possible links with a case she closed four years earlier.
Overall an enjoyable read, however as there is quite a lot of references to earlier books I felt that if you came to the series with this book then it would be confusing. I've not read all of the previous books & still felt I was wading through mud at times. The story is well paced & the characters have plenty of depth.
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I feel like this is a paradigm shift for the author. His previous DCI Monika Paniatowski’s books weren’t as abstruse as this one. As Churchill once stated it felt like “riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma”.

All in all, it was a good suspenseful tale but not an easy one to follow. It was a bit murky like Monica's coma. For a first time reader of the series, I think it would be confusing for it correlates to the past books with its' characters and events to remember in order to fully understand the book.

Thank you Severn House Digital and Netgalley for the ARC to review.

DCI Monika Paniatowski is in a coma, where she is visited by her colleagues, who talk to her about their cases just in case she can hear them, and by bad guys, who wonder whether they should kill her in case she wakes up and incriminates them. The investigative team consists of several excellent characters, and I would have loved to see more of their interactions with Monika before her coma. The supporting characters are also well-drawn. The story jumps around in time and place, sometimes in a distracting way. I wasn't entirely convinced by the villain's explanation for not killing Monika while she was incapacitated. It seems like that would have been a lot easier than all the spycraft and elaborately staged diversions. I'd love to see more of this team in a less contrived scenario.

Thank you NetGalley and Severn House for the eARC.
DCI Monica Paniatowski is in a coma in hospital. Her team is investigating the murder of a man (with no fingertips or face) committed and years ago. They visit Monica's bedside and talk to her every day, but there's no way of knowing if she is aware of them.
Soon there's another killing, a hanged man, but was is suicide or murder?
In the meantime a shadowy figure also visits Monica, trying to decide whether or not to terminate her. He can't allow her to wake and tell her team what she knows.
I feel it's unfortunate I hadn't read any of the previous Paniatowski books, because I became muddled at times and would had benefited from knowing the backstory. There are some appealing characters in this story; in particular Colin Beresford, the womanizer who's taken over as DCI and Kate Meadows, who's tough as old boots and made me laugh.
On the whole I liked the read, but as I said, I would have been better off had I read previous books in the series, which I intend to do.