Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

A great read, full of tension and very well written. Kept me gripped right to the end. Some really good twists too. Looking forward to reading more from the author.

Thank you Verve Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

This was my first Nicola Monaghan novel and I hope it won't be my last and there will be more in the series.

Very well written, good characters and very cleverly done. There was more procedure than in your usual crime novel but I liked this.

Very highly recommended

A new to me author, and very good. Dark family secrets, and an engaging heroine. Highly recommended.

I’m not usually a fan of books with flashbacks but on this occasion it works really well.

I was as intrigued with the back story as the one set in current time. Cleverly devised story.

I devoured this in 2 days & look forward to more by this author.

I really enjoyed this book
It was very fast paced and intriguing. There were so many twists throughout this book

I loved meeting new characters. And trying to solve the crime with them

Thoroughly enjoyed this one and will look out for more by the same author

Oh wow! What a book!
This book is set in two different years, 2017 and 1971, and flips between them throughout.
I have to say, until about a third of the way into the story, I couldn’t care less about the 1971 chapters. I was much more interested in the present day storyline, with Sian, who was the lead character. Now, I knew that the two groups of characters and stories would come together and merge somehow in the end but the 1917 bunch just didn’t hold my interest particularly to start with. I also found their story extremely confusing, mainly down to their relationships, how they were linked and the similar things that they were doing (You’ll understand what I mean when you read it - I don’t want to give anything away!). I kept getting the husbands and their wives confused! However, by the time I was about a third of the way into the book, I was just as gripped by them as I was with the present 2017 plot. So, don’t be put off because it really does get going and there are lots of surprises and twists ahead! Also, all the main characters are very likeable, so they all become great to read about.
I think the fact that I found the 1971 chapters almost a bit of an inconvenience at the start was perhaps mainly because Sian’s story kicks off so dramatically very early on, and I just wanted to keep reading about what was happening to her! I can’t say that the other part of the story was at all boring or anything, because it was far from it, and of course it was all important information that would become clear as the story unfolds.
Anyway, it all comes together very brilliantly. You’ll have your suspicions about how it’s all going to work out, but with various possibilities, you probably won’t completely figure it out.
Fantastic book by Nicola Monaghan, with lots of suspense and edge of your seat moments.
I can’t wait to read her next offering!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I enjoyed this thriller which is not my usual genre. I felt it was fast-paced and I read it in one go! Highly recommend.

Dead Flowers by Nicola Monaghan

I thoroughly enjoyed discovering this new to me author, and her gritty, realistic story, which kept switching from 2017 back to the late sixties and early seventies as the lead protagonist, Sian Love, unravelled what had happened in the past in an old pub called Loggerheads, of which had been bequeathed by her uncle. A man she thought she knew (as a child) better than her own dad. Turns out she didn't know him at all!

The down to earth Nottingham setting and the vocabulary the characters used made for a fun read. As did the conflict between Sian (an ex-DCI herself) and the police who got involved with her case. She's worked with many of these guys before, and doesn't trust them at all. But then again, who can she trust, when even her own mother doesn't seem to be telling her the truth.

DEAD FLOWERS is a gripping, atmospheric crime story with a multilayered plot and an awesome ending. Nicola Monagahn is definitely one to watch!

Thanks to Nicola Monaghan, NetGalley and Verve for an ARC of DEAD FLOWERS in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

A good all round read.

A very easy read even with the change in decades.

Keeps you guessing til the end Who is who.

Give it a go

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This is a great crime story of family secrets between different time zones. I really enjoyed this.

# Dead Flowers # Netgalley
Oh boy. Does she know what’s in store for herself. Ex police officer has no trust of her colleagues. Having seen and knows of things having happened for a crime made to fit another probably innocent person. She’s reluctant to call her ex colleagues. She knows this is a person message behind the bones. With twist and turns almost on every page. You will be totally addicted in no time. I found it hard to put down. I was far far to engrossed in the book I lost complete ask of time. It wasn’t until I noticed it was almost 5 am I thought I ought to get some sleep. I did my usual one more chapter and I will definitely get some sleep. At the end of the chapter I tell myself ok one more. When I am so engrossed in a book like this. These one more chapters do not work. No matter how hard I try. I don’t actually put the book down until it’s finished. This was one of those books. Just one more chapter. I do not why I tell myself. Ok I am totally totally hooked no sleep until I have finished. Trust me you will not want to put it down until you have finished. Just do not tell yourself one more chapter it leads to another and another and another. Amazing read

I really liked the way the plot of this story unfolded. I found the characters very relatable and loved the twists and turns of the story. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Nicola Monaghan for the advanced copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

Brilliant. Really good read with strong characters and a great plot. I hope there are more books to come in this series.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Great story, flashes back the 1970’s when the crime actually happened. Good strong characters in the present time and the past. Twists and turns at every point keeps you guessing. Great climax and fascinating end. Well done Nicola Monahghan

I really enjoyed this book, many thanks for the advanced copy. I haven’t come across this author before but when I read the description I was instantly interested. Dr Sian Love is a great character who I think will be very popular.

WoW.........Double WoW...................I just Loved Dead Flowers by Nicola Monaghan. What a fantastic read this was. It's full of Suspects and Lots of twists and turns throughout. I loved all the characters and was hooked from the very first few pages and before I knew it.........the birds were singing out side and the world around me waking up.

This book has been written in dual times one in 1967 and the other in 2017 linking the past to the present time, which made this book very interesting to me. All the characters fitted well.

Dr. Sian Love is 46 years old and a forensic scientist/ex Police officer and has just inherited a property from her late uncle Rob. This property is an old Pub called The Loggerheads and it's in Newark. Sian has very fond memories of her uncle Rob telling her old stories of his past etc, Sian moves into her new home with her German Shepherd, ex cadaver dog called Elvis. Within a very short while, she finds a very unsettling discovery in her basement! with the help from Elvis............She finds two mummified remains........and they have been there for many years, behind a false plastered door!

Sian knows she has to report this find to the local police but she can not trust them. Plus, she does not want to see her dead uncle Rob, getting the blame for this. As they're on his property. However, her boyfriend who is a DI on the force tells her to report it.
Before the Police arrive she takes samples for herself from the mummified remains to analyse herself and to identify them as well.

Why does she not trust her former colleagues?

Why did she leave her former job?

What discovery is she afraid they will make, before she has a chance to find out the truth herself?

Sian finds out that the SIO on the case is Detective Superintendent Dominic Wilkinson, she has worked with him in the past and suspects he is the pockets of many criminals. She is even more suspicious and less confident when he assigns DI Jon Breen, as FLO, a man she doesn’t trust and also has a past with!

.Sian finds herself in danger a few times throughout this brilliant book and it will have you not wanting to put your Kindle or book down.

When the results of the DNA tests comes back from the mummified remains.........Will she like what she finds?

Will it Unearth some tragic family events which were long hidden and should of stayed buried in the basement!

"I can highly recommend this crime book. It was one of the Best Crime books I have read this year! Bloody Brilliant!!!"

Thank you to netgalley and verve books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

A great crime read which is interwoven with malice and dark, edgy violence. The historical setting is wonderful and is so well-captured and portrayed by Nicola Monaghan. The concept, the narrative and the plot were all very cleverly layered with dark secrets and timely twists to make this a wonderfully gripping read. Atmospheric throughout, the multi-layered story moves seamlessly between past and present, emanating a perfect level of suspense and tension.

I cannot say I was particularly fond of Sian Love, who is an ex DCI and now a Doctor specialising in DNA analysis. Initially, I found her somewhat aloof and detached, but she ingratiated herself with me as the story progressed and I knew she had trust issues going on.

The dual time-line worked well, connecting both stories in a penultimate finale. But just when I thought I had everything fathomed, there was another twist thrown into the mix, leaving me flabbergasted.

Dead Flowers is exceptionally well written and I couldn’t put it down. I want to read more by Nicola Monaghan, for sure. I have no hesitation in recommending Dead Flowers to those who are passionate about their crime fiction.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from Verve Books via NetGalley at my own request. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Dead Flowers is an accomplished crime mystery with a central character that sets a unique course for plot and family secrets that sets this novel apart. The story is told in two alternating time threads between the early 1970s and 2017 and the attention to historic detail in the settings is very well captured.

Dr Sian Love is a forensic scientist, having previously worked as a DCI with the Nottingham police, which she resigned from due to sexism, racism and corruption. Sian, along with her retired police cadaver dog, Elvis, has just moved into the Loggerheads Pub which she inherited from her Uncle Rob. It doesn’t take long before Elvis has zoned in on something suspicious behind a wall in the cellar. After tearing open a hidden door, Sian, find the remains of two dead bodies which have been sealed up for over four decades. Against Sian’s frustration, her partner DI Kris Payne, calls the discovery into the local police, which in itself opens up issues for Sian having to deal with Detective Superintendent Dominic Wilkinson as he leads the investigation and whom Sian holds responsible for the treatment she received while she worked in the force.

Sian doesn’t have faith in the police force’s integrity and is determined to ensure that her uncle Rob is not held responsible for the murders of the two victims. This causes friction from all sides and it becomes particularly acute with personal and family ties being stretched, twisted and broken. Her relationship with Kris is also put under pressure as she struggles with trust and commitment issues.

While the police investigation, and Sian’s own dangerous research, occupies one-time thread, we are taken on an enthralling journey with a number of fascinating characters from 1970 through to 1971. The relationships, plans and ambitions of the group are not always held equally valuable and the tensions are wonderfully developed. We can only but guess that two of them are the bodies found forty-six years later, but this mulita-layered plot will keep surprises and the suspense, taut until the end.

Within many of the scenes the accompaniment of musical references, filter through on the edges – a song played on a jukebox, the backdrop of a pop group, or the title of the chapters identifying various pop songs from 1971, for example All I Have to Do Is Dream or Can’t Help Falling In Love Oh, I could go on! Great idea for feeding an atmosphere, and with a particular fondness for Elvis. If Nicola Monaghan states she doesn’t like Elvis Presley, I’ll be shocked.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and the little nostalgic glimpses back in time, which for a group of people, held engrossing actions and secrets with deadly consequences. The characters carry this story and how they interact with their own hopes and desires is brilliantly told.

I would highly recommend reading this book and I'd like to thank Verve Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC version in return for an honest review.

If you like a good crime story this is one for you. A very well written tense, atmospheric novel. Told through two timelines but being brought together filling in all the answers at the end with a new twist just when you least expected it.

Sian Love is a 46 year old DNA analyst, she was a DI in the police force until she was disillusioned by the corruption, sexism and racism which made her quit. She has just inherited a pub called ‘the Loggerheads’ which comes as a surprise to her and her family. The pub had been owned by her Uncle Rob who she has always liked, she had fond memories of him telling her tales although she never knew which were true and which weren’t.

She moves into the pub with her German Shepherd, ex cadaver dog Elvis. It’s with the help of Elvis that she makes the gruesome discovery of two mummified bodies behind a door that’s been plastered over in the cellar, injuring herself in the process. Now she has to decide whether to call it in or not, she doesn’t trust the police and doesn’t want to see her dead Uncle Rob getting the blame. But her DI boyfriend tells her she has to call it in. But before the police arrive Sian takes some samples from the mummified remains to analyse herself..

Sian is even less confident in the Police when she finds out that the SIO on the case is Detective Superintendent Dominic Wilkinson, she has worked with him in the past and suspects he is the pocket of many criminals. She is even more suspicious when he assigns DI Jon Breen, as FLO, a man she doesn’t trust.

The story is told in dual timelines 1967 and 2017 linking the past with the present it is very well done with some good characters from the past. Sian finds herself in danger a few times. When she does her own tests on the DNA will she like what she finds? Unearthing some tragic family events long hidden.

Thank you to netgalley and verve books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.