This is a fast paced police procedural of a murder that occurs at Police Staff College. The characters were well developed in this fun to follow mystery. Thank you NetGalley for this eArc.

A terrific whodunnit which will appeal to those who enjoy Elly Griffiths’ work. The author does a wonderful job in setting the scene and I really enjoyed reading about the location and characters, just as much as I enjoyed the plot itself,

I loved this who dunnit mystery. Osborne weaves a wonderfully interesting mystery and I especially liked that the setting was close to home for the author it added an extra layer to the story.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. A great murder mystery and perfect for everyone who loves a good who-done-it.

Great plot to get yourself lost in. This book has everything. A real fast paced thriller. Will get your heart racing on more than one occasion. Very well written. Highly recommend this book

This police procedural is well-written. There are plenty of suspects, mayhem, and suspense in the mystery. The characters are well-developed. This was my first book by this author but won’t be the last.

All thoughts and opinions are my own, and in no way have I been influenced by anyone.

I missed books like this one. I used to just read thrillers for a long time before I started to read fantasy and I let those good detective books get away. Now that I have a kindle and started to read in english, I reinflamed my love for good old fashion detective stories. This is one of the good ones, I really liked it. For those with english as their second or third languege, it's not hard to read, maybe you will need to search a couple words but mostly this was easy read.

Firstly, I have to say that this novel reads like a traditional, old-school, murder mystery novel reminiscent of Christie, Sayers, and the like.

Unique in its setting, the real-life, world renowned police college in Hampshire called Bramshill, the murder investigation is almost solely comprised of police officers and their families.

I enjoyed the moral dilemma that Blade was experiencing with his wife and son clearly suspects in the murder. Other professional allegiances were tested as well.

The plot was well-paced and the writing polished. The final reveal, like all traditional mystery stories took place with all of the suspects gathered together in one room.

This police procedural murder mystery covered themes of ambition and blackmail. I enjoyed the read and I’m curious as to why this is the first in a prospective series featuring DI Dorothy Fraser and not Detective Superintendent Ralph Blade who was clearly the protagonist…

A police procedural involving the murder of a high ranking officer Detective Harold Ashington whose body is found in a chest at Bramshill, the world famous Police Staff College. Detective Superintendent Ralph Blade is put in charge of the investigation. Harold was known as a bully and a blackmailer while he and Ralph have a history as well involving Ralph's wife Julie and their son and their time together at MET. It seems that Harold had pushed too many buttons the wrong way and the list of who would have liked to end his existence is pretty long. It is upto to DS Ralph and his new second in command Detective Dorothy Fraser to solve this case before things get heated up for DS Ralph.

This was a fast paced police procedural and a short one in length but it was anticlimactic for me in terms of who the real culprits turn out to be....it seems even DS Ralph manages to figure it out halfway through the book who the culprits are but only reveals it in the end.

My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Joffe Books and the author for the e-Arc of the book. The book was published on 30th October 2020. I had read this book in December but am sharing my review now.

Rating:⭐⭐⭐💫

An enjoyable read with interesting characters. The plot was well thought out and came together nicely at the end.

This was my first introduction to this author and I will definitely be reading more in the future. Focussing on a police college, those investigating must tread treacherous waters as they end up investigating their own people, trying to find out exactly who is the culprit.

I really liked the characters - especially the newly married couple John and Becky, both keen to impress those older and more experienced than them.

The story slowed a little in places but picked up pace and whilst I had an inkling about who the culprit/culprits would be and found it to be correct, there are many twists and turns along the way.

Excellent mystery which I thoroughly enjoyed. There were many twists and turns which kept you guessing.
The background to the main event was well explained and laid the ground for you as the reader to have lots of questions in your head as the story progressed.
Good clearly defined characters and a well written plot.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchnage for an honest review.

An excellent mystery that kept me guessing and hooked till the last page.
A gripping plot, full of twists and turns, excellent characters and a solid mystery.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

What a freaking page turner. Book had me guessing from page to page and I never wanted to put it down. Literally did not see the end coming. At all. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Great book I really loved it! I was hooked from the start, thank you so much for providing me a copy of this book to read. This is something I would love to purchase.

It was an okay read. Everything was okay in this book. The plot was okay. It had mystery but just enough so I finish reading it. I wasn't hooked as such. The characters were okay. Few elements were harsh and it just didn't feel right.

Mysteries lovers could very well read it as it has a different setting from most usual ones and it might bode well for others.

I really liked the beginning of this book where the author discusses the reasoning behind this book and the truths - it was fascinating!

They made a lot of noise around the ghosts but I feel like this could have been explored a bit further.

It really annoyed me that Dorothy was referred to by her personal name not surname but the two men, one who she outranked, was referred to by their second name. This needs to be sorted before publication. Either everyone is called by their last name or their first otherwise it stinks of misogyny. She even tells her junior that her last name will do for now so is very odd that the men are called by their surname but not her.

It was a very easy, gentle, obvious Read but thats what a cosy murder mystery is about. Overall I'd give it 3 stars but knock one off for the annoying use of poor Dorothy's disrespectful first name use!

Geoffrey Osborne is a new author to the brilliant Joffe Books so I was intrigued to find out what he had to offer. I wasn't disappointed this is a very intriguing mystery that kept me intrigued all the way through.

A body is found in a chest and Ralph Blade is called to the scene. He knows the victim and so does Blade's wife. As the story unfolds Blade, his wife and son find themselves all suspecting each other but apart from the family suspicions there are many other suspects. The victim was not well liked and many would be pleased to have him off the scene. The investigation hasn't progressed very far when another body turns up that of one of the suspects Blade was eager to speak to and so the story progresses and becomes more intriguing as the pages turn.

The characters are realistic and the author sets the scenes very well to enable the reader to envisage them effectively. The story moves along at a steady pace allowing the reader to get into the nitty gritty slog of detective work.

A very engaging read I am hoping for more in this series.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and found the subject matter fascinating, having been to a similar place before. Definitely recommended to those readers who enjoy reading this type of book.

A well-written strong murder story amongst the police themselves. Quite short which was no bad thing. Plenty of cooks to stir pots, often not in helpful ways - it is a Police Training College after all. Bit too much personal angst for me with relationships that I didn't feel it really added to the story. Thanks to NetGalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.