Well, What She Saw kicks off at a fine old pace that had me hooked from page one.
The eerie, heart pounding opening is guaranteed to make you keep on reading. Personally my heart was in my mouth as (without giving too much away) I was silently yelling instructions to the focal character.
As the narrative unfolded, Saxon quickly demonstrates that things are not as they seem and from different characters points of view we learn more and more about the Lawrence family and their lives in Kimble Hall.
Saxon has a nifty knack of really making you feel that you are on the page with each character and I found myself pondering the clues and twists and turns in between read fests - it's one of those books that keeps you wondering where the truth lies and who you should believe.
As a character, I found DS Jenna Morgan intriguing and empathetic and I enjoyed finding out more about her as a person. This is the first of Diane Saxon's books that I've read, but it won't be the last as I am impatient to become reacquainted with Jenna Morgan and her team. This was a solid four star read from me.

I read this for a blog tour.

This is a dark and twisted tale of power and control, where one man's determination to hold his family in his grip ends in terrible tragedy.

As the police try to make sense of the horrific scene at Kimble Hall, one survivor attempts to make it through the next few days on her wits alone, aware that the murderer could find her at any moment.

Brutal, gripping and with moments that will leave you gasping, this tension builds to a violent and horrifying end.

I really enjoyed this book and the author's writing style was perfect.

I loved the intrigue that was built up a sthe book progressed and it was a brilliant thriller. 

I found the plot to be excellent, it was well developed and the characterisation were perfect - the characters all worked really well with the story and the interaction was spot on, I thought it was a really great read. 

I was hooked from the start and read the book in an evening staying up later than planned to finish it off after I was so engrossed!

It is 4.5 stars from me for this one, rounded up to 5 stars for Goodreads and Amazon, I thought that it was a really good story, well developed and additive read - highly recommended!!

This is the first book I’ve read by this author! This book is part of a series and this is book 3 but can be read alone. Wow it was gripping! I was drawn in right from the beginning by the plot, it was like a headline from the papers! Shocks you to the core and makes you want to read deeper into it! Diane explains the characters and their emotions brilliantly throughout which really connects you to each character. A fantastic gripping read!

This is the third book I've read by Saxon and she's quickly becoming a favorite of mine. She has a way of writing captivating police procedurals with misdirection and lots of twists and turns throughout. Saxon is able to put the right balance between the main characters personal life along side the crime that has me devouring her books.

The Lawrence family had the picture perfect family persona. Until one night when Gordon Lawrence kills his family and sets his house on fire, hiwever he doesn't envision that his teenage daughter will escape.  Jenna Morgan is called to investigate the suspected arson. Morgan determined to find the culprit, as the case progresses she realizes she's looking for a cold blooded killer. This is definitely one rollercoaster ride of a book that starts off with a big bang that grabs your attention, with an addictive plot that keeps you wanting more.

‘What She Saw’ is the third book in the bestselling series featuring Detective Sergeant Jenna Morgan. I have loved each and every one of Diane’s books and ‘What She Saw’ is no exception. I thoroughly enjoyed every single second of ‘What She Saw’ but more about that in a bit.
What can I saw about DS Jenna Morgan? Let’s just say that I felt as though I had reunited with an old friend in Jenna. Over the course of the series we have learnt quite a bit more about her and why she is the way she is. Not only do we have an insight into her work life but we also sneak a peek at her personal life. When the story begins both her personal and work lives seem fairly stable. She is in the beginnings of a new relationship and things have calmed down as regards her sister’s personal life, although they still have to get through the trauma of a trial. Jenna is hard working, conscientious, determined, thorough, methodical, tenacious, sassy, kind, compassionate, caring and sensitive. She is in charge of a small team but they seem to get on with each other and have each other’s backs. The case as described in ‘What She Saw’ is set to test Jenna and her team as they have never been tested before. Will Jenna and her team solve the case? Well for the answer to that question and so much more you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves to find out as I am not going to tell you.
Oh my word, ‘What She Saw’ is an amazing story. I was gripped by this book from the moment I read the synopsis and the story within the covers of the book just sealed the deal as it were. ‘What She Saw’ developed a hold over me and it was a hold that I wasn’t willing to break. For me, ‘What She Saw’ was an unputdownable, page turner of a read. My Kindle wasn’t exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me. I just couldn’t bear to miss a single second of the story for fear of missing a vital clue or such like. I managed to read ‘What She Saw’ in one single day, which for me is pretty good going, since I am easily distracted and I find it hard to concentrate at times.
‘What She Saw’ is brilliantly written but then I have thought that to be true of Diane’s books in general. For me, the story hit the ground running and maintained a fast pace throughout. Diane certainly knows how to grab your attention from the start and she draws you into the story. Once Diane has your attention then she will not let you have it back until the moment that you read the last word on the last page. This was one of those books that I still think about even after I have finished reading it. ‘What She Saw’ is a tightly plotted, gripping story which had me on the edge of my seat throughout. I felt as though I was another member of DS Morgan’s team and part of the story myself, which is all thanks to Diane’s very vivid and realistic writing style.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘What She Saw’ and I would definitely recommend that you read it. I will certainly be reading more of Diane’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

What She Saw by Diane Saxon is a psychological thriller that is the third book in a series featuring D.S Jenna Morgan.I have read none of the previous books but had no problems following the storyline.It is set in Shropshire, England. The story begons with Jenna being called out to a fire in the middle of the night, it is a suspected arson case. The house in question is a large estate, Kimble Hall.There were shots reported just before the fire was called in.The fire is eventually got under control and they find the ashes of all the Lawrence family who are residents of Kimble Hall. They discover the amount of bodies does not tally with the amount of family. One of the family got outsomeone managed to escape. DS Morgan and her colleagues DC Mason Ellis and DC Ryan Downey soon come to the conclusion that they must have a serial killer out there, but where did they go and why? It is a question of who? why? where and even what??
This book starts the way it means to go on, with action from page one. All the twists, turns and red herrings you need to make this a thriller you can't stop reading. The book has a good balance of private life stuff from Jenna and the crimes they are trying to unravel. I found both sides to be as interesting as each other which meant I sped through this book! I loved the different parts to the plot as well, very cleverly written to hold the tension and really make you go, what?!
A great story and conclusion also, making it a rather emotional read as you reach the end. Great characters that are very well developed, but then it is the third book so I expect this. Although, for me to pick up this book and like the characters from my first read of the series, they are VERY well written as well.
Thanks to Rachel's Random Resources, NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the copt of the book to write this review.

4 Stars from me

A brutal description of the murder of the Lawrence family sets the tone for What She Saw, leaving the reader in no doubt that this book is going to be a pacy and gripping crime thriller.

Detective Sergeant Jenna Morgan also sets her stall out early and it is easy to get sense of who she is and what makes her tick. Her strength and determination is apparent, as are her flaws, which makes her an easy character to like and feel on side with. She becomes a very real person very quickly - the author does an excellent job of making her feel like someone the readers knows inside and out.

I won't go into too much detail about the storyline itself as I don't want to give any spoilers but suffice it to say that this is as much a police procedural as it is a crime thriller and I found the whole thing to be thoroughly engaging.

As well as liking Jenna, I thought DC Mason Ellis was a great character and I really enjoyed their interactions. The side story with the dogs was fabulous! Also loved the little old lady.

The cover pretty much drew me to this book. It’s pretty scary to see a house on fire on the cover, but is there more to this? Of course!

What She Saw is the third book in the Detective Sergeant Jenna Morgan series, set in Shropshire. I haven’t read the first two books, but that didn’t matter, I soon got stuck in and found myself getting involved in Jenna Morgan’s world of policing and her personal life.

It’s very straight to the point as a crime thriller. It starts off at the scene of the crime and works backward. Gordon Lawrence has opened fire on his family in a fit of rage. But one family member has managed to escape – teenager Poppy. She feels she is to blame for her father’s rage and runs away scared.

There are some great action scenes and twists leading to an emotional ending. It’s well written with great character development, it teases you with tense moments. One crime thriller not to miss!

What She Saw was amazing and a super fast read. It grabs you right away and continues very fluidly throughout. I felt like I cared about the characters and their outcomes. I was thoroughly creeped out by the antagonist so bonus points there. The ending was both expected and unexpected which made for a pleasant surprise. I highly recommend What She Saw. 5 stars

What can I say I did enjoy but took a while to get into plot glad I kept going story slow build up but the it graps you a goid read lots of twist

TRIGGER: Murdering children in cold blood

This book is not for the faint hearted. It is quite brutal.

It had been Gordon's 45th birthday party and he needed to protect his family from a world without him in it. The only way he knew how to do this was to kill them. He started with his wife, then his 14 year old son, followed by his 8 year old sleeping twins and lastly his daughter Poppy and her boyfriend Aiden who were involved in a naked romantic tryst in her bed. However, the shot to Poppy wasnt a deadly shot and she proved harder for him to finish off.

The police are called when the house is reported as being on fire and the book follows the police investigation into the arsen attack. The discovery of the bodies means that there are people missing and they realise that they need to get the killer caught before he strikes again.

In the investigation a drugs ring is uncovered and the survival of Poppy is at stake.
A must read for fans of police crime and a book that had me invested.

Oh what a gripping read this was, even though it's book 3 I felt as though it could be read as a standalone. The characters were fantastic and the plot just completely drew you in. I loved the added addition of Domino the Dalmatian. I found it to be an excellent read that left me wanting more. I really couldn't put it down. I look forward to reading the next installment.

Let’s start with the usual disclaimer: while What She Saw is part of a series, you don’t need to have read the others in other to enjoy this. However, if you are very interested in character development, you may want to start at the beginning in order to fully appreciate the characters. Even if you don’t, the references to previous books are enough to make you want to give the series a good go.

Speaking of the characters, most are pretty likable. I very much appreciated the camaraderie between Jenna and Mason, long-time colleagues (and Mason now dating Jenna’s sister), plus the inclusion of Ryan, a less-experienced police office whom they take under their wing. Then there is also Poppy, the “she that saw”. Poppy was the most interesting character for me and I enjoyed the alternating chapters that focused solely on her. In fact, I would have liked to hear more of Poppy’s story; I feel she had a lot to tell.

I guess the hold back on Poppy’s story is what made What She Saw more of a police procedural story rather than the psychological thriller I was expecting. That’s not to say that it didn’t make the story interesting. I still enjoyed the plotline overall. Except, perhaps, a chunk in the middle that was interesting overall but distracting as it didn’t really fit with the main premise of the book.

Favorite Quotes:

If there was one thing Jenna had learnt in her career, it was don’t piss off the receptionist. They were the door-openers of life and they knew everything.

If there was one sound that would make her freeze her arse to the spot, it was that of Blue, a highly trained police search and drugs dog. He may not be one of their attack dogs, but that didn’t mean to say he didn’t have long, sharp teeth he’d willingly sink into human flesh should the need arise, and the command be given… Jenna held still as Blue moved past her, sniffed Lamonte from the ankles, all the way up the length of his legs, and ended up with his nose in the man’s crotch. Lamonte might have attitude, but he never twitched a muscle, didn’t so much as breathe as fear whipped through his eyes. She had to admire the dog’s style. There wasn’t a man on earth who would do anything different when his tackle was quite clearly at risk.


My Review:

I enjoyed this police procedural/thriller. It had an interesting premise and strong storylines, a strong female kickass main character, hits of humor, interesting and endearing secondary characters, a sociopath for a villain, wizened and amusing octogenarians, and clever animals. I adored the elderly retired farming couple best of all as the mister was my granddad all the way to the ground, but without the accent.

The storylines were engaging and throbbed with tension and impending peril as well as family drama and police unit banter and camaraderie. The writing was easy to follow and the plot was active and eventful on all fronts.

It has been a good while since I have been able to add to my Brit Word List and I found a treasure with wassock, which can also be spelled as wazzock. The Oxford English Dictionary defined wazzock as “British slang, originating in the north, meaning a stupid or annoying person - basically an idiot.” I cannot wait to put this little nugget to good use.

I’ve described myself as being gripped by a novel before but this story did something more than that: It leapt from the pages, slapped virtual handcuffs on me and read me my rights, only releasing me when I got to the end. It starts as it means to go on, with the reader seeing first hand what actually happened in Kimble Hall, then watching DS Jenna Morgan and her loyal team try to put the charred pieces of the puzzle together.

DS Morgan is now quite possibly my favourite fictional detective, with her nerve of steel, heart of gold and a soft spot for the animals in her life. Her relationship with her sister is close, particularly after events in the first book in the series which are referred to in What She Saw. I haven’t read Find Her Alive but I don’t feel like this detracted from my reading experience. The only thing I may have missed is even more nights of my mind racing off in all directions to try and figure out what was going to happen next!

I haven’t felt this excited about a police procedural series since I discovered Peter James and Angela Marsons. I’ll definitely read Find Her Alive too and am eagerly awaiting more encounters with DS Morgan and her team. There’s only one rating I can give this – a definite 5 stars from me!

Having not read the previous 2 books in this series I wasnt sure whether ot would affect my understanding of this book but thankfully it's ok as a stand alone. There are a few references to the previous books but nothing that you arent able to comprehend.

The synopsis on this one had me really intrigued, as did the cover. The beginning started off with a bang. Action packed and fast paced it sucked me in immediately...

Unfortunately the middle felt lacking, to the point my interest wandered which was disappointing. The ending was good but I felt too many loose ends were left hanging.

For me it was an ok read I just wish less time had been spent on unnecessary details which left me skimming pages.


Personally I think this is a great novel/series for those who like police procedural reads but it's not great for those after more of a twisty/turny read.

2.5*

Thanks to netgalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC.

Another gripping blend of investigation and psychological suspense. There a dramatic beginning, and then the painstaking police procedural begins. The ending is fast-paced and adrenaline-inducing as DS Morgan tries to stop the killer.

This is an authentic detective thriller, and the pacing is part of this, slower where the investigation is struggling. The level of menace is high, and the psychological suspense keeps you guessing and on tenterhooks.

Jenna is a complex character, and we learn more about her as the series progresses. The police team dynamic is well-researched and believable.

I received a copy of this book from Boldwood Books via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This is a portion of the review on my blog Trails of Tales

.........The story of 'What She Saw' addresses some important issues. But first, let’s answers the questions that we automatically think of when talking of a book series.

Yes, this is stand alone. And no, it is not necessary to read the series chronologically to follow along with the story.

There are recurring characters in all the books, DS Jenna Morgan being the main one. But the story at hand does not have any missing pieces. Although, the previous books do sound intriguing. And if 'What She Saw' is anything to go by, they will be action packed too.

Circling back to my initial observation. There are indeed a few important issues that this story focuses on.

1. The damage that mental abuse has on a family. Abusers who go the route of mental torture instead of physical pride themselves on it. They understand the complexity of their method of abuse. The victims themselves spend years suffering abuse before they even realise that they are victims.

2. Healing of trauma. Through the characters of Jenna and her sister Fliss, Diane Saxon has highlighted the challenges of working through traumas. It is certainly a step by step process.
3. What looks picture perfect is seldom so. There is always more to the story.

Besides all the above elements, 'What She Saw' boasts of some thrilling action scenes. A police procedural truly needs that.

Diane Saxon has written a story that explores the darker sides of humanity. The facets we try not to look at. Although, 'What She Saw' has all the seriousness it needs to be true to its plot, the author still manages to give us some lighthearted moments. These moments are much needed.

I will say that 'What She Saw' is sufficiently fast paced. It doesn’t move too quickly, thus providing the readers time to process the unfolding events. On the other hand, it doesn’t progress so slowly that we lose interest.....

Wow the beginning of this book had me on the edge of my seat - it was gripping and full of a great deal of action.
Gordon Lawrence kills his family and sets the house on fire, he had it all planned out and the body count perfect but he doesn't realise his daughter Poppy survived and managed to escape. 

DS Jenna Morgan are her team are called in to investigate the suspected arson attack and death of the Lawrence family, only they discover a tangled web that connects Gordon Lawrence to a drug ring! I would say this is more a police procedural rather than psychological thriller as we get caught up in Jenna's team getting involved with a drug bust that at first seems to distract form the story line of the fire, but we soon connect the dots along with Jenna.

I didn't realise this was book two in a continuation of DS Morgan series and despite having not read 'Find Her Alive' I found this easy to read as a stand alone, though clearly a lot happened in that book that reading it would be advantageous.

This was a brilliant gripping read with plenty of action and twists.

5 stars