My thoughts: this is a really hard book to review as most good thrillers are because the devil is in the details, I can’t give anything away because it will ruin the overall enjoyment and shock factor to the book, but sometimes you read a book and wish you could go back and experience it for the first time all over again.

I absolutely flew through this, I couldn’t put it down, it would have been a one sitting book if things like sleep weren’t important 😂

We follow twin sisters Thea and Gabi, the book opens with Thea being questioned because Gabi is in hospital in a bad way having been attacked a couple of days before, but you soon learn that even from the beginning things aren’t always as they seem, how can you be sure you’re talking to the right twin when they’re identical?

When DS Kate Munro is looking into the attack she realises that it bears some resemblance to the murder of the girls parents 15 years ago, which leads her to go digging through an old solved case, because something doesn’t feel right.

This book really shows that’s family isn’t just about DNA and how far some people will go to protect the ones they love.

I personally can not wait for the next instalment!

When a young woman is attacked and ends up in a coma it emerges that Gabi is a twin and even though her sister Thea hasn't had any contact with her for 15 years she rushes to her bedside. DS Kate Munro is investigating the attack and when she asks Thea why they haven't spoken in so long she is reluctant to explain but as their parents were killed at that time it seems this turned them in different directions. I enjoyed that it was on two timelines as it added to the mystery , just as you feel you are getting a handle on the story something else crops up and when Gabi wakes up it gets more complicated. The only constant in their lives is Harry who was a childhood friend and neighbour and still lives next door to Gabi. DS Munro really does have her work made harder by no-one giving her straight answers and this seems to pile on the pressure when she is already facing her own private demons.
I loved this book and thank NetGalley and TBC on Facebook for my copy of the book.

This was a bit hard to really get into, perhaps because I started it tired and got very mixed up between the twins and who was where and doing what.
However as I continued into the book I discovered that actually my confusion was probably well placed as things were not as they seemed at all.
The constant return to the terrible past, the hosue where it all happenedand the people who knew are all well written elements that keep the story moving and the reader guessing.
After a slow start a thoroughly good read!

A good story concept with lots of twists and turns, I didn’t predict the ending which is my marker for a good book.
Unfortunately the flitting around time wise was confusing which meant I kept back tracking to try and keep up, which ruined my enjoyment of the book.

This was a book which had twists that I did not see coming but caused my pulse to race.

An attack and a head injury landed Gabi in a coma. Her twin claimed they had not seen each other since 15 years. Harry was their common friend. DS Munro got investigating.

My first book by this author, the writing though slow at times, got me turning pages to know where the story was going. The first twist was so unexxected that it just made me blink at the way the story got upturned.

I wouldn't say I liked the characters, as they were pretty close-mouthed initially. DS Munro took some questionable decisions. So I would say the whole lot of them confused me. But that kept me going too, along with the red herrings thrown intermittently.

The past of the twins soon caught up with them, and secrets of what happened 15 years ago soon made the book rise up high in suspense. I kept tapping on my kindle to get to the end. I was tempted to read the end. But I resisted.

Overall, it was a thrilling read.

An enjoyable but complicated read which had me going over pages that I had already read. I know that the police are only human but DS Kate Munro makes some very bad decisions that could land her in big trouble but she manages to hang on with the skin of her teeth. She is like a dog with a bone and even though she has been warned not to look into an historical murder case she is convinced that it is connected to the investigation that she is working on. A great start to a new series.

I was a huge fan of The Dream Wife, Louisa de Lange’s first book, in particular its clever curveballs. I was excited when I heard she had a new book out, but have to confess I was nervous about the fact that it’s a police procedural introducing DS Kate Munro. It seemed like it might be very different to The Dream Wife and I wondered if all the things I liked about that book might be lost in Ask Me No Questions.

Well I can happily report that this is just as twisty as I hoped, even if it doesn’t quite have the wow moment of the first book. We meet identical twins, Gabi and Thea and as the book begins Gabi has just been attacked and left in a coma. Things are difficult between the two of them and they have been estranged for a number of years following a shocking incident in their childhood. We also meet Harry, their childhood friend, with whom they have a lifelong connection.

In chapters alternating between Kate’s investigation into Gabi’s attack and the story from the viewpoint of the twins, we delve into the days before the attack and also discover more about what happened fifteen years earlier.

I don’t want to say a single other thing about the plot as the blurb doesn’t even touch the surface but I can say that it’s such a well put together story and just when I thought I knew where it was going de Lange threw in one of her famous curveballs. Yes, they do exist in this book too, I’m pleased to say.

I rather liked Kate. She’s a bit prickly and has many problems of her own but I think there’s lots of potential there and if this is the first in a series featuring her then I’m looking forward to finding out what happens next for her.

Ask Me No Questions is a fabulous story, a cut above some of the other police procedurals I have come across. Kate is a gutsy protagonist and the story of the twins made for a brilliant first outing for her. I found it such a gripping read and it really kept me guessing all the way to the end.

I really enjoyed meeting the new di Kate Munro in this novel and I will look forward to reading more novels that include her. I really hope she manages to work it out with Sam. I hope that the author will include more of her and sams relationship in the next novel

With regards to the actual storyline with the attack taking place on an identical twin, I did find it somewhat confusing at times. But I do think that was the authors intention. Sometimes I didn’t really know if it was that twin undertaking those actions so I was kept guessing. Again all the good makings of a psychological thriller

I was very shocked at the revelation about Harry!

I wonder what happened to Thea and Gabi.

Overall, a good book that kept me intrigued and wanting to read on!

I was a huge fan of this author’s first book so I was very excited to be invited onto the blog tour for this, her next book. Although this was very different to her first book, as it’s a police procedural, it was still an incredible read!

Kate was a very interesting main character who was incredibly fiesty and clever. She’s not a typical police officer and often seems to do things differently than is expected. She has a lot of problems in her personal life which she’s trying to deal with alongside the investigation which helped make me warm to her as I realised she wasn’t perfect.

I’ve always been fascinated by books involving twins as I’ve read a lot about the twin telepathy and special bond that they share which always makes for a fascinating story. This book really doesn’t disappoint as the author has written a cleverly plotted, intense and twisty read which kept me guessing until the end. The alternating point of views of Kate and the twins was fascinating and I loved following the two stories as they develop. The author is very good throwing twists into the story which makes it go in a completely different direction then I had anticipated. I can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next.

Huge thanks to Alainna from Orion for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book via Netgalley.

Having read and enjoyed Louisa's debut thriller "The Dream Wife" earlier this year, I had high hopes for this book, being the start of a new police procedural series. I was looking forward to meeting DS Kate Munro and wondering how she was going to handle what promised to be a most puzzling case.

Set in Southampton, ASK ME NO QUESTIONS begins in 2004 with the shooting murder of Robert and Madeleine Patterson by their neighbour Harrison Becker, with whom Madeleine had been having an ongoing affair. Twins Thea and Gabriella were just 18 years old, and Becker's son Harry was the girls' best friend. They had been reported as having been in the backyard enjoying the summer sunshine at the time of the murders.

Moving forward to the present day 2019 where trauma seems to follow them, Gabriella has been viciously attacked and now lays in a coma. Trying to piece together the timeframe preceding the attack, DS Kate Munro discovers Gabi had been at a local nightclub known for its questionable patronage. CCTV reveals Gabi to be undeniably drunk, stumbling away in the dark as she leaves the venue. She isn't seen again until an anonymous 999 call lead police to her battered and almost lifeless body on the common.

The first point of contact in such an event is to question any family so DS Munro calls on her twin sister Thea...who ironically lives in the very house their parents were murdered in 15 years before. The trouble is, the twins have led rather separate lives since their parents' murders and have barely spoken since. Despite this, Thea is quick to rush to Gabi's bedside to be with her sister. Shocked at what is apparently Thea's indifference towards her twin, DS Munro endeavours to find out why. But can she crack Thea's tough exterior and reveal just what it is she may be hiding? But what is Thea's secret?

The thing about Thea and Gabi is, while they are identical twins and look exactly the same, their personalities couldn't be more different. Gabi has always been popular and gregarious whilst Thea is quieter and introverted. Gabi never had a problem making friends or a lack of male attention whereas Thea lived in the shadow of her sister and was never able to attract either male or female attention. Sharing such a tragic past you'd think the twins would have grown closer and supported each other through such a tragedy but put them together and they do nothing but bicker. The one constant consistent factor they share, besides the obvious, is Harry Becker - the son of their parents' killer - and their childhood best friend. But Harry has his own secrets that he does not want revealed.

During the course of the investigation and perusing the CCTV of the area, the team discover someone stalking Gabi. The footage is too grainy for identification and in most instances the person was just a shadow. Who is this person and were they the one to attack Gabi? If not, did they see who did?

When Thea receives a knock at her door nothing could prepare her or anyone else for this person's shock arrival. Is this person the stalker?

And then Gabi wakes...throwing a whole new light on the investigation.

ASK ME NO QUESTIONS is filled with secrets, lies and deception. Normally, this would have me hanging on with baited breath but in this case I was just irritated. Kate was a DS leading an investigation and yet she made such stupid errors of judgment that would normally have someone in her position hauled up before Professional Standards. Yes, she is flawed but she was also incredibly stupid and should have known better. You don't get to be DS with the rookie mistakes she was making.

However, this IS only the first of the series, so she could well sober up and get her act together, with the promise of making a fine detective. I'm hoping Kate improves so I must reserve judgment until she has had the chance to redeem herself in future installments.

As for Thea and Gabi - those two were twisted and did my head in. Their reasoning for their actions, both past and present, did nothing to appease my view of them. Harry was only marginally better. But in their defence - they did all share a severely tragic event in their pasts that was enough to skew their perspective on the definition of right and wrong. But it doesn't excuse it. I didn't like any of them. And therefore it was difficult to enjoy the book with such incredibly hateful characters and a detective who put the entire investigation on the line with her poor decisions.

There are many twists and turns throughout ASK ME NO QUESTIONS - enough to baffle the reader and all alike - that will surely leave you asking many questions. I didn't like the ending myself, finding it all rather an anti-climax.

I must be in the minority here with this book because everyone else appears to have loved it, whereas I was disappointed. I am, however, looking forward to a follow up in this series which I hope will improve my outlook. I won't write DS Kate Munro off just yet...

I would like to thank #LouisaDeLange, #NetGalley and #Orion for an ARC of #AskMeNoQuestions in exchange for an honest review.

Just when you thought it all figured the plot thickens!

The story focuses on estranged identical twin sisters Gabi and Thea. In 2004 the 18 year old twins mum and dad were shot dead in an altercation with their neighbour. Fast forward to 2019 now adults, Gabi is in a comma after a brutal assault.

For the past 15 years the twins have lead very separate lives, alike in appearance but unlike in personality. DS Kate Munro is tasked with investigating the case was it a random attack or have the events of the past caught up with them.

Full of secrets and deception a gripping read.

Great start to a new series look forward to seeing what DS Kate Munro gets up to next!

Ask Me No Questions is the first in what looks to be a promising new police procedural series from Louisa de Lange featuring DS Kate Munro. When Kate is called to the scene of a violent attack on a young woman, it's not long before she learns of the woman's identity and her tragic links to a double murder 15 years before. Was this crime a random act or could the two cases be related? One thing's for certain, Kate is determined to get to the truth no matter what means it takes.

I know that twins, especially identical bonds, typically have a strong bond but there was just something toxic about the relationship between Gabi and Thea and you never knew who was playing games with whom. Considering they looked identical, the same could not be said about their personalities and yet they were able to fool others around them. Gabi was the more outgoing one who had escaped from her tragic past and lived life to the full, whereas Thea was more introverted and still lived in the family home alone which I found a little creepy considering the history. .

Like Kate I knew there was more to the attack, and subsequent investigation into the older case, than first met the eye as everyone seemed to be telling a different story and it was clear that there was a deeply rooted secret that they were all trying to hide. I was constantly trying to piece together the clues that were being drip fed throughout and every so often I thought I knew what was going on, something else would crop up that turn my theory upside down. I honestly never knew who to believe, and their motive, and when we finally got to know the full story I only had it half figured out.

Kate Munro is a walking mess but yet despite her flaws and her tendency to act first and think about the consequences later, you could see that underneath it all she is good at her job. She might make some unwise decisions, and get herself into situations that blur the lines and could throw the investigations into jeopardy, but I'm hoping that we'll get to know more about her as a character as the series progresses along with her colleagues DC's Briggs and Yates.

Ask Me No Questions was a twisted, intense read from start to finish so I can't wait to see what the author has in store for us in book two.

Bloody hell woman!! Louisa De Lange certainly knows how to kick off a series!!! I honestly think that my brain is still fried from reading 'Ask Me No Questions' - it is an absolute head funk of a novel that hooked me from the get go. I didn't know who to believe, what to believe....nothing. 

Kate Munro wasn't like any other DS I had read about, in fact she seemed to be so far away from the type of DS she should be, I was surprised that she was running the show so to speak. No offence to her, of course. She was just incredibly aloof and un-DS like and, weirdly enough, it made me more intrigued about what will happen next in the series. Would Kate end up being stronger on her feet? Or would her own personal issues end up causing her even more trouble than before?

In 'Ask Me No Questions', Kate Munro wasn't the only character to watch, in fact there were several characters who needed to have eyes constantly on them due to their sporadic behaviours and lack of honesty. The two characters who were at the forefront of the storyline were identical twin sisters, Gabi and Thea. Despite being identical twins and being close as children, their relationship as adults ended up being incredibly tense so, when Gabi ends up in the hospital after being attacked, Thea finds herself in DS Kate Munro's eye line. Naturally.

Imagine the T.V show, Jeremy Kyle, and then put that next to 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians' and you STILL wouldn't be close to the level of secrets that were in this book. Like I said above, I really didn't know what to believe. I think it was because I ended up becoming so invested in the storyline, in the characters, and in the investigation itself, I think I ended up blindsided and perhaps refused to see things that were right under my nose. I'm not sure. All I know is that Louisa De Lange has written a belter of a novel that ended up getting right under my skin. It was such a cleverly crafted novel! I have no idea how the author managed to entwine so many different versions of events without messing up, but she did and she did it brilliantly.

The intensity of 'Ask Me No Questions' was a perfect match to the vibe of the story as well - I really enjoyed this book and I cannot WAIT to find out what is next in store for Kate Munro, and how much trouble she lands herself in this time!

Intense, twisted, secretive and full of surprises - an incredible start to a new series!

What is it about books lately that are making me ask lots of questions, having twins in them and then leaving the reader with ambiguity at the end. I am far from moaning…I blinking love it! As I have said before I love a book that makes me question everything and again this book does! In Part 1 I was guessing the “twist” and I was right, and again on and on throughout I was attempting to guess the twists. I did not see the reveal to 15 years prior coming…maybe I should have. However, Ms De Lange has done it again in my eyes. She’s created a story for you to become immersed in and then pulls the rug out from under you. She’s good at that!

It’s hard to discuss much of the plot as I want you to go into the book dark. However, I can say this is a great introduction to DS Kate Munro and the series of books. Munro is flawed and pretty broken but she’s determined. Determined to find out who attacked one of the twins and determined to get a life. She’s having a hard time and this leads to a lot of reckless behaviour and decisions. Could these ruin the case?

One thing I will say I really enjoyed that for a change there was not a murder to solve, it is about who attacked the twin and left her for dead, rather than a dead body…however, here comes the cat and mouse. Which twin can you trust? Can you even trust which twin is in front of you?

Even though this is the Munro series, she is not really the forefront of Ask No Questions as to the twins and their childhood friend Harry drives this book. What happened fifteen years ago to drive a wedge between the three of them? It was an interesting concept to not have the main character the one who you are writing a series about and yet still giving her enough screen time and background to keep you invested in her.

As you can see I have not paid much attention to a book that is telling me not to ask questions as I keep asking loads! It is tightly woven, a couple of left-field things thrown it but they are backed up and made plausible. The damaged and flawed characters are great, adding to the realism and making you care and speed through the book. And don’t you just love it when the title of a book fits perfectly with the story, it clicks right into place!

I adored The Dream Wife and it is clear to see that De Lange has just improved on her writing and her style. She knows how to throw red herrings your way, whilst making you believe that they are not red herrings. Subtle uses of certain words and phrases to cast doubt in your mind in everything! She is an author I am fast enjoying and will pick up her books without taking a breath.

I can’t wait to see what else holds for Munro and her team, I am looking forward to finding out.

So I was a bit worried when I realised that her second book was more of a police procedural than a psychological thriller but Ask Me No Questions was brilliant-a character driven thriller with a flawed police detective at its heart and a twin relationship that is well developed and intriguing.

When Gabi is found unconscious in a park, the first person the police contact, when they finally identify her, is her identical twin sister Thea. But Thea says she hasn’t spoken to her sister in over 15 years. As a mum of twins myself, I know how close the bond between twins is-especially identical twin girls-and I know that it takes a lot to break that very unique bond. So what had happened between the twins? From the start it looks like the murder of their parents when they were 18 may have something to do with it. But the perpetrator of that crime is in prison after admitting to killing them so if not that then what? I was completely baffled by the motive for this vile attack on a defenceless woman. But there are so many twists and turns here and new clues were constantly being drip fed into the narrative so there was always fresh information coming to light that may or may not be relevant to the case. Oh she loves a red herring does Louisa de Lange!

It was refreshing to have a flawed female detective at the heart of solving the crime here. Kate has problems in her personal life but admitting them to others, let alone herself, is a mountain that’s hard to climb. So instead she coasts along, good at her job but suffering inside and making choices she admits she probably shouldn’t. And this was my favourite part of the narrative, watching Kate wrestle her reflected self in a fight that mirrored the relationship between Thea and Gabi. And I can’t wait to meet her again in future books to follow her development further.

Ask Me No Questions is a thoughtful and addictive crime novel with a strong storyline. I loved it!adored Louisa de Langes first book The Dream Wife so I felt like I was in a dream myself when I opened up my ARC of Ask Me No Questions and saw a quote from my review of that book!

The parents of twin girls were murdered by their neighbour. He was convinced the man was having an affair with his wife.

It's now fifteen years later. The twins Gabi and Thea have went their separate ways. They were once close. One of the twins is in hospital, ahes in a coma after being brutally attacked. DS Kate Munro is on the case. She interviews the other twin who tells her that they have had no contact in fifteen years. But Kate feels that something is not right. The attack seemed to be personal.

What had happened fifteen years ago that separated the twins that had once bee close? This is one of these books that you can't say too much about or you would give away too many spoilers. There are quite a few curve balls thrown in to put you off the scent. The characters are well rounded. Great start to a new series.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Orion Publishing Group and the author Louisa De Lange for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Welcome to the Ask Me No Questions blog tour – I’m delighted to be one of the bloggers starting off the tour with a review – my thanks to Alainna of Orion for the place on the tour and to the publisher and Netgalley for the ecopy. I read Louisa’s debut last year ‘The Dream Wife‘ which I really enjoyed and was so excited to see a new book, and a crime procedural too, one of my favourite genres. So what did I think….

Ask Me No Questions is the first in a new series featuring DS Kate Munro. Set in Southampton it begins in 2004 with the reported shooting of Madeleine and Robert Patterson by their neighbour Harrison Becker. Identical twins Gabriella and Thea Patterson were 18 years old. The story then jumps to 2019 where trauma seems to follow them as Gabriella has been attacked and lies in a coma. The twins have led very separate lives since the events of fifteen years earlier and have barely spoken. DS Kate Munro must decide whether this was a random attack or whether Gabi was targeted and if the attack was linked to events of the past.

Gabi and Thea are identical in their facial features but couldn’t be more different in personality. Gabi is popular and outgoing whilst Thea, a photographer, is more introverted. You would think that having suffered such a tragic past, that they would be more supportive of each other but in fact it appears the opposite is more the case. Put them in a room together and they start bickering. The one constant in their lives is Harry Becker, the son of their parents’ killer. They were childhood friends and became a gang of 3 standing up against the school bullies.

Secrets and deception are aplenty here and I didn’t envy Kate Munro in trying to unravel the threads. Her job was made harder by certain people being unwilling to cooperate, with others being deliberately untruthful and she had the problem of too many suspects but not enough evidence.

Ask Me No Questions is the first in a new series to feature DS Kate Munro. I have to admit it took me a while to gel with her. Initially I found her too cold and sterile – I wanted something of her personality to come through that I could engage with but her tenacious character won me over. She made some rather unwise decisions at times which I think made her seem a little more real, she definitely had her flaws and demons. As for the plot, this was rather clever and I enjoyed the feeling of unease and of never being entirely sure of a character’s involvement. Although I had worked out part of the reveal quite early on, there were still plenty of surprises in store.

This is a very promising start to a new series and one I very much enjoyed. There are a lot of characters with the main ones like Gabi, Thea, Harry and Kate being suitably fleshed out with other more minor ones being well drawn for their roles. The plot kept my interest all the way through with Kate’s determination to get to the truth leading to a gripping and satisfying twisty story. I’m hoping that Kate’s character, together with that of her colleagues DC’s Briggs and Yates will be further developed in future books as this series has a lot of potential and it’s one I shall be following with interest.

Well, this book took me round the houses and back again. At times my head was spinning so much...for reasons I really can't divulge here, sorry!
Gabi and Thea are identical twins. Like most twins they are inseparable. Well, up to a point. An incident really, some 15 years ago. Something happened that rocked the very foundations of their worlds and the went their separate ways. back in the present and Gabi is in hospital, in a coma after a brutal attack, an incident that DS Kate Munro starts to investigate. She interviews Gabi and she repeats her claim that the twins have had no contact for 15 years. But something isn't adding up and the evidence points to the fact that the attack was personal. And then the tables turn as new information comes to light. Information that, sadly, you'll have to read the book to find out!
Talk about a wild ride! Just when I thought I might have it all mapped out, the author threw another curve ball, some came initially a bit out of left field but all backed up in the text eventually.
I do admit however that I did find some of the things that happened in the book were a bit implausible - can't expand on that here, sorry, as it might spoil things for other readers - but the rest of what I read around that niggle was so good, so well plotted, that I easily forgave the author and carried on regardless.
Characterisation was interesting! You'll get what I mean when you read the book. There were some interesting observations about family life - specifically going back to the incident 15 years ago - and what happened to separate the twins. The blurb doesn't really divulge much and again I have to be careful what I say but it involved two families living next door to each other - one with a son and the other with the twins and what happened between them. The son has continued his friendship with one and the other has fled and forged her own, very different, path. The relationship between the three when reunited is rather explosive and brings up a lot from their combined past, things that I found fascinating as they unfolded.
This is a series opener starring Kate Munro but the overall feeling I had whilst reading this book was that she took a bit of a back seat throughout. Possibly overshadowed by what was going on. This is a little different to most series openers and I'm a bit worried about how she will do in future books, whether she is strong enough to carry a lead role. Possibly not the best platform to introduce a series character as the other characters were so strong, but there was enough of her divulged to pique my interest enough to take through to follow up books. That said, she's a bit stereotyped with her personality and didn't really believe that she could get away with what she did. But I'm willing to give her another go.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

A mother and father are murdered by their neighbour who was convinced that the father was having an affair with his wife. The children of both families have always been close being more like siblings. Fifteen years later, one of the dead parents twin girls is brutally attacked. DS Kate Munro is on the case and wonders if the past has some meaning as there is a distinct lack of suspects. The twins are identical and hence easily cause confusion, however each leads a very different life and they haven’t spoken for over fifteen years when their parents were shot. The three children, Harry, Theo and Gabi have differing relationships to each other and things have changed since they were children, something they never wanted to happen. Secrets and lies, pasts that come back to haunt and threaten to tell the truth. Louisa give brilliant characters- some you like, others I was not quite sure about. They have that realness and possible perpetrators that air of mystery. I took to Kate- her steely determination and dogged determination that things that are on the surface wasn’t necessarily the truth and that unearthing the past was the key to the future. A very well thought out plot and a page turner.
(rest of links as part of blog tour)
(ama zon to be done on release- Misfits farm)

The story switches between a current crime - the attack on one of the twins- and the murder of their parents 15 years earlier. Whilst there were a few unexpected twists I found it hard to relate to , or feel much sympathy for the main characters.