Wolf is back in Daniel Cole’s third crime thriller, Endgame. After events which took place in Ragdoll, the first book in the series, Wolf is in handcuffs after handing himself into the metropolitan police. But before he is handed a sure to be lengthy prison sentence, he has one final request to make. He wants to oversee the investigation into the death of his friend, Finlay Shaw. The police believe Finlay has committed suicide. Wolf can’t believe that Finlay would do this to them and his partner, Maggie. Wolf is determined to solve the matter once and for all, but as their investigations deepen and as Finlay’s murky past is revisited, they uncover far more than they originally bargained for.

Endgame is a swiftly paced novel which moved along at break-neck speed. I’ve followed this series since the beginning. Daniel Cole continues to write very engaging wit, thoroughly entertaining plots and hugely likeable characters who will keep you coming back for more. My favourite character, who has been since I read the first book, is Baxter. She is the character who I think I have engaged with the most over the course of the three books, probably because of her humour. It was really good to see the team back together in this latest book as, although I enjoyed the second book, this is what I think was missing.

I think what sets Daniel Cole’s books out, in my opinion, is their entertainment value. From the first book, this is what has kept me coming back. I remember so clearly the cliff hanger at the end of the last one, Hangman, which made me so desperate to read Endgame as soon as possible. There is also a very strong cinematic edge to all three books, and I can see them lending so well to the big or small screen. I’m sure I’ll be reading whatever Daniel Cole writes next.

Pacy and addictive this is a series of novels which I highly recommend if you’re looking for a read that you can just sink into right from the very first page.

The third book of the Ragdoll series (Ragdoll and Hangman being the first two) by Daniel Cole shows disgraced detective Wolf Fawkes returning to London at the death of his mentor retired detective Finlay Shaw. The premise is that Finlay supposedly commited suicide in a locked room by Wolf refuses to believe he would kill himself so does a deal with the police force that to investigate the death.
It would certainly help to have read the first two novels to get an understanding of the background of the characters and their histories together. What is extremely well done is the flashbacks to the history between Detective Shaw and his partner when they were young policemen. This was the telling of a good background story.

The third in a series and it definitely helps if you read the other two first. I didn't realise and had read book 1 but not the second, so bear that in mind with this review. I got the impression that a lot of characters were brought back together with this - from the very beginning there's an enormous amount of banter in the team - and if you're not familiar with the whole cast it may get a little confusing.

It starts with an apparent suicide of a retired police officer in a locked room. Rogue detective William 'Wolf' Fawkes is determined to get to the truth - but first he must prove that it definitely wasn't suicide...

The present-day case scenes are interspersed with flashbacks to the recently deceased cop's early police life. It adds context but also helps you (me, at least) guess where the story might be going.

I enjoyed the read (three stars is a positive review from me), but it is heavy on flashback and character play more than straightforward nitty gritty cop plot. It's not as successful in a suspense sense as Cole's Ragdoll book, but probably succeeds more on the character side. There's a lot of humour and I suspect the author really loves writing for this cast, so it wouldn't surprise me to see more from them one day soon.

The dead body of retired police officer Finlay Shaw is discovered in a locked and sealed room. He’d died from a gunshot wound, and the only fingerprints on the gun belong to Finlay himself. It has to be suicide surely? Well of course it’s not going to be as cut and dried as that, and disgraced detective William (Wolf) Fawkes is determined to find another explanation for his friend and former colleague’s untimely death.

Endgame is brilliantly written with a seriously good plot, plenty of humour, and the inevitable twists and turns that one has come to expect from modern thrillers. However, I do urge readers to read the previous books in the series (something that I hadn’t done) and I feel that I definitely missed out on the character building, not to mention the storyline itself, some of which related to earlier events. It was a bit like being invited to an amazing party where you don’t know anyone, but everyone knows everyone else, and amazing as this party is, you’re left on the periphery feeling lost and wondering what the heck you’re doing there! That said, I still think it’s a great read and curse myself for missing out on the start of this series.

Absolutely loved this series I must admit, maybe as I read them one after the other, I felt so involved in the story and the saga between Wolf and Baxter, I didn’t’ want it to end! In this book, Detective Finlay Shaw was found in a locked room with a single gunshot wound to the head, obvious suicide, open and shut case! Wolf however refuses to believe that Fin would kill himself and so he returns from being on the run and his only request before being arrested is that he gets to solve Fin’s murder, if it is in fact murder.

The investigation takes them to a case back in 1979 which Fin and his then partner Christian Bellamy who is now the Police Commissioner were involved in, a big drugs bust! The book flits between past and present as a result so we know exactly what went on and how. Its hard to tell too much about this plot line without giving the story away but it was great to have Wolf, Baxter, Edmonds & Saunders back together if only for one last flit!

Also can I just point out, cannot believe the last chapter, holy sh**, I had a smile on my face reading it…. But we all know happy ever afters don’t generally work out!

I’m truly hoping there is more in store for this series, highly recommend all three books 

Many thanks to Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group, Trapeze for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Finlay Shaw is a retired Metropolitan Police detective. His body has been found in a locked room, in a locked house, with one gunshot wound to his head. It seems to be an open and shut case of suicide but former detective William “Wolf” Fawkes isn’t so sure. Enlisting the help of some of his former colleagues he sets about investigating Shaw’s death. It becomes apparent that there is a link between this death and a case Shaw and his partner, who is now the Commissioner, solved in Glasgow before they moved down south. The longer he works on the case the longer Wolf stays out of jail.

This is the third book in the Ragdoll series by Daniel Cole and they’ve all been excellent reads - hope this isn’t thee last we hear of Wolf, Baxter and the rest of the team.

Thanks to Netgalley, Orion and Daniel Cole for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

Book three in the Ragdoll series and this mostly seemed to be tying off the loose ends left by the previous two books so readers would do well to read them first. It was good to have Wolf back again and I do hope that he will appear in future books. There is a bit of humour in this and you get the feeling that the author must have enjoyed writing it. The enquiry here was based on an event in 1979 so there was a lot of switching from present time (2016) to then. This ticks along nicely and I felt like I just started reading it and I was at the epilogue. I’m happy enough with where this finished up and as the authors note suggests there are further books to come it will be interesting to see what direction he goes with the characters.

To say i'm obsessed with this series is a massive understatement. I read Ragdoll every few months because i love Baxter and Wolf so much so it was amazing to have them reunited in this. The depth and complexity of the characters add so much to the story and it was such a well written story. I loved learning more about Finley and his past. I hope to read more about the characters but if this is the end it was a perfect one.

This is great, can be read as a standalone or as a follow on to his other books.

Its just as gripping as Ragdoll and i enjoyed every page.

This book was absolutely amazing. This was such a well written story, i raced through it. Baxter was a brilliantly well written character and i loved her continued friendship with Edmund's, they are a wonderful duo and you can really see that they care about each other. It was fast paced, exciting and i can't wait for the next one.

Omg, I've been waiting for this, this is brilliant, there were times I nearly spat what I was eating out, not because of anything grisly though, because I was laughing, surprise huh, this is a great book, everything I wanted with a few laughs thrown in as well, I'd highly recommend if you love a good police procedural book with plenty of twists

My first encounter with Wolf has happened in book 3 of a trilogy it would seem! However, that said, the book read excellently as a stand alone and although the "Ragdoll" case is alluded to on a number of occasions as is Wolfs backstory, this did not detract from the readability of Endgame for me (and in fact has already sent me scurrying to amazon to buy the first 2 books to catch up on!)
Wolf is a tortured soul on the fringes of his old life, disgraced within the force and left working in the shadows to solve a crime that precious few others believe is a crime at all.
His methods are perhaps a little eccentric and his working relationships are often strained but he is tenacious and will get his man!
As his investigation proceeds and he digs deeper it turns out the victim and a senior colleague are tied up together with a past event that has come back to bite them. Without wanting to give away the plot all I can say is this book will hook you in from the opening lines to the very end and leave you wanting more!
In retrospect I would probably read the other 2 books first, not because it is strictly necessary, but because as you will want to once finishing this one it makes sense to read them in order if you can!

I'd advise rereading the previous 2 books before this as it focuses on past cases. That said it was still a good book and I enjoyed reading it.

After finishing Endgame, I highly recommend the Ragdoll trilogy. All three books are outstanding and stand on their own. Endgame is a solid conclusion with a fast-pace and that same humour we've come to expect throughout. If you're looking for a good thriller trilogy to check out. this is the one! Daniel Cole has certainly made a fan out of me.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Orion Publishing Group - Trapeze, for the ARC.
I have to admit I haven't read the previous 2 books in this trilogy so this review is of Endgame as a standalone.
So, having said that, it was a little difficult to begin with, diving into a story where characters and relationships had existed before, but if you can persevere as I did, then you are in for a treat - and kicking yourself that you hadn't read the previous 2!
Ex-detective William "Wolf" Fawkes' mentor and friend, Finley Shaw, apparently committed suicide a couple of months after retiring from the Force. Wolf, hearing the news, turns up at the house to comfort Finley's wife Maggie only to find himself arrested for past illegalities. Wolf is convinced his old friend would never have killed himself and, equally, convinces Commander Geena Vanita and Commissioner Christian Bellamy to give him a week to prove so - although he would technically remain in custody. (Cue lots of smiles.)

Working with DCI Emily Baxter, ex-detective Edmonds (now a PI) and Detective Saunders who investigated Finley's death as a suicide, Wolf follows his own investigation and begins to examine Finley's old cases.

The narrative takes us back to when Finley was based in Scotland to a particular and rather spectacular case involving a drugs bust and continues from then to present day alternately as the story unfolds.

I loved all the characters and great dialogue; there's humour as well as simmering animosity and I thought it was well-plotted. Like me, you can read this as a standalone if you can accept that all the characters had lives and relationships before you, the reader, ever met them. Of course it would be best to read the previous 2 books first for a complete picture.
Nevertheless, I loved it!

I love this series of books starring the enigmatic Wolf. This third in the series is as thrilling, twisty and fast paced as the first two. Fabulous 'sting' at the end that I didn't see coming. Highly recommended read.

Loved this one!
I’ve read the first two books in the Ragdoll trilogy and enjoyed them both. It’s interesting how different all three books are in tone and direction; this final book is no exception. I would definitely advise not reading it as a stand-alone, the character arcs run the course of the books and lots of plot elements interconnect, despite the new central investigations within each book.

This third book revolves around the apparent ‘suicide’ of a retired police officer. The narrative shifts between the past and the present leading up to the death and pulls in the central stain of corruption that soon becomes apparent. It’s then a race and a challenge to incriminate and bring the guilty to justice; this quest is headed by a determined ‘Wolf’.

I love the character of Detective William ‘Wolf’ Fawkes, he’s a monolithic wildcard of a detective and a brilliant creation by Cole. The great depth to Fawkes comes from his working and personal relationship with DCI Emily Baxter and in ‘Endgame’ it’s the heart of the story. I was really moved by their personal developments and for one moment actually forgot this was a crime novel genre. Sigh. But no spoilers..:

We see the return of characters from the previous books, again no detail as I don’t want to spoil anything. But to say it’s a really satisfying read.
I thought the plotting was smart, and yes it’s far-fetched at times but find me a thriller/crime read that’s not. As a reader I want drama and big thriller moments, so we have to push at reality to do this, but Cole never goes too far.
This book is also funny, Fawkes adds witty dialogue and there’s some nice comedy moments.
To use the common thriller descriptive, it’s twisty! Both nicely paced and plotted with style! I think it’s a great story concept and conclusion to the Ragdoll books; each one having it’s own personality and style ~ a highly recommended series!

Oh and the epilogue left me with a huge soppy grin.

I really don't like to write negative reviews so after reading this book I went back to the start of the series and re-read the previous two books before reading this a second time.
Unfortunately doing so didn't improve my opinion. Whilst Endgame still has the characters and humour of Ragdoll the gore, tension, drama and complex storyline are really lacking. Sadly I found this book to be farcical, predictable and almost lazy.

Ragdoll and Hangman set quite a high standard in terms of character building and storyline. Unfortunately Endgame gets 4⭐ for the character stories but I could really only give 1⭐ for the main story, which could've been a side story to a more gruesome main story. In comparison to the previous installments of this series, I can't go above 3⭐ overall, since the story was hard for me to get into and felt really tame in comparison to the previous stories, but because I like the main characters I'm giving this a 3⭐. I'm still undecided as to whether I'll buy this one.

This was a most excellent rock and roll read for me- I’ve loved this trilogy, flaws and all, because the stories are so very addictive, the characters so dark yet often hilarious, that it’s the best form of escapism to be sure.

In this instalment Wolf is back, reconnecting with the group dynamic, getting into and out of trouble with equally passionate flair and Daniel Cole brings together a lot of the underlying threads in wonderfully engaging fashion.

There are moments in Endgame where I choked up with laughter – our motley crew are nothing if not ironically humerous but the dark side remains and there is a reckoning to be had.

The writing is immersive, certainly not perfect but when you get this involved with a story being told everything else fades. The plotting is taut and effective and once more I buried myself in the world of Wolf, Emily et al and left real life behind for a couple of hours.

Overall a really great set of novels and whatever comes next from this author you can count me in.

Recommended.