This is a new crime series
This is a very intriguing read from the start.
It was a very well plotted story and kept me interested.
This is a gripping police procedural book

A great start to a series. Thrilling storyline and well developed characters that I’m looking to get to know more as the series progresses

The first book in a series is usually a little slow, a little wordy as the author introduces us to a new character(s) and a new community. Not so for MURDER AMONG FRIENDS. It's a fast paced, tension filled race to find and stop a killer. Some obvious clues are mixed into a few that I missed, but the book was a really good read. I had not read Janice Frost titles prior to a recommendation from a friend. I will certainly be reading more and recommending them to the rest of our reading circle.

This is the first installment of the series and a good introduction to a new author for me. I thought the story was well-written and the fast-paced plot and twists really kept me on the edge of my seat. I think the author did a nice job of developing the characters and giving them authentic qualities to help us know them more deeply. DI Warwick is a hard character to like, but is a very believable character. She takes an immediate disliking to the rookie constable Jane, but ultimately decides to join forces with her. This was an intriguing and suspenseful story and I enjoyed reading it. I would love to continue the series and see how Steph and Jane's relationship evolves.

I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

This book was sent to me as an ARC on NetGalley. However all opinions are of my own.
Jane was a home teacher as well as working as a special constable from the story you can tell that she wears her uniform with pride and would do anything to protect her position in the police force she particularly thinks that she is good at solving crimes so when something happens close to home she takes it very personally. The story is full of twists and turns and I really enjoyed the way that Jane was able to undercover the murders that happened. As well as being able to prove herself that she was aware of being in the police force.

This is the first book in a new series featuring Detective Steph Warwick and Special Constable Jane Bell and is set in Lincoln. We learn that that Steph is stills struggling to cope with her past as her ex boyfriend, Cal, murdered her best friend and tried to murder her twelve years ago. Jane is still coming to terms with the death of her husband Sam, three years ago. She has two grown up children who are working in London. Jane is on her way home after her first shift when she discovers the body of a young man, Mark Ripley, on Greenstone Stairs. Steph and her partner DS Elias Harper are called out to the case and she dismisses Jane with her being a Special Constable as she doesn’t think that they should get involved in detective work. Jane decides to do some investigating herself on the case much to Steph’s annoyance especially when she appears to be one step ahead of Jane. But when their lives are at risk Jane is the only one who can help. I really enjoyed this book as the two main characters are so totally different and I look forward to the next book in the series.
Thanks to Netgalley and Joffe Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

I very much enjoyed this book. It has a good story and excellent main characters. I would definately recommend this book.

Murder Among Friends is the first instalment of a new series, which will be following Special Police Constable Jane Bell and DI Stephanie Warwick who are a rather formidable team!.
When called out to a crime scene in which a young man has been found dead at the top of a set of stairs, Bell realises rather quickly that she is limited as to what she can do as an SPCO.
DI Warwick instructs Bell to leave the scene right away, not wanting any interference from a SPO. When Jane Bell finds herself unable to step away from the murder, she continues the investigations herself, and this instantly ruffles the feathers of DI Warwick.

This book is fascinating from the start. I found the story well and truly captivating and found myself staying up late into the evening reading this book. I really enjoyed the development of the characters, and as we learn more about these women as individuals, away from their life at work.

Well paced, and with a storyline that really captures your attention from the start. I really enjoyed this book.

Part police procedural and part a character study, this book became a fun read once I plodded through the chapters in which the author was developing the characters. So the pacing at first was very slow and methodical, introducing the many characters and delving deeply into the lives of the main ones. The main characters are Jane Bell and Stephanie Warwick. Jane leaves her teaching job after she is widowed and seeks to work as a volunteer with the police as a special constable. Under the auspices of Detective Steph Warwick, Jane seems to always be at the wrong place at the wrong time, one murder scene after another. Reluctantly, the very suspicious and hard-to-like Steph decides to join forces with Jane to solve the murders of the university students. The murders seem to be connected to an online presence that is insidious and determined to wreak mayhem in the small community. Once the actual murder plot got started, it took off like a rocket and was a good read. Jane is older and intuitive and thus was very likable. Steph, on the other hand, is reeling from a failed past relationship and the murder of a friend, so she comes across as prickly and standoffish. I enjoyed getting to know these new characters in this new series and look forward to more adventures with Jane and Steph. Fans of police procedural and mystery will enjoy this book and look forward to more.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

Interesting, Unique and a book I will be collecting for my forever shelf I have found this one hard to put down and have been completely captivated.
I adore the writing style, plot and characters. A great book!

Jane Bell finds a body of a young man the first night she is on duty as a volunteer constable. for the police. Detective Steph Warwick gets the case with her partner. Jane is interested in what happened but Steph keeps trying to send her away. Can they each find out enough to help the other? But will they help each other? The story takes some twists and turns before we find out who the murderer is. This is the first book in a series.

DI Stephanie Warwick is called to the scene of a murder. The murder has been called in by a 45-year-old former teacher turned special constable Jane Bell, out on her very first shift.

The victim turns out to be Mark Ripley, who used to run a group that claimed to teach any man to attract a woman into sleeping with him. His methods, he used to claim, were loosely based on the wildly popular book, The Game, by Neil Strauss.

Warwick finds Jane extremely annoying. She thinks the older woman is too self-assured and resents her for not heeding her authority.

At first Jane is keen on learning more about the case. On another of her shifts, she encounters Ryan, a student who is also attacked on the head, and she wonders if the cases are related. Then she herself is attacked and the case becomes personal. She makes her own enquiries and keeps her findings to herself, knowing that Warwick will not appreciate her snooping.

When Ryan’s friend, Kylie Bright, tells Jane about a man who stalked her at a restaurant, Jane wonders if he has something to do with the case. Then Kylie is murdered, and Warwick gets Jane suspended.

Was the murderer part of Mark’s group or is the killing a random one? And can Warwick or Jane solve the mystery before the killer strikes again?



The book is written in the 3rd person past tense limited point of view of Warwick and Bell in alternate chapters.

It touches upon the subject of misogyny, where some men seem to think that women have no agency, and that it is up to the man to take whatever he wants regardless of what the woman might think. It also indicates an unwillingness to face rejection.



It’s the classic pairing that works so spectacularly in books and films. Experienced person versus the rookie, but together they make a good team.

Unfortunately, Warwick and Bell have no intensity or chemistry of any kind. Neither of them can stand the other for most of the book. So I can’t imagine how book 2 will go, considering this is the first in the series.

Warwick doesn’t endear herself to us. She has an equally clinically sterile working relationship with DS Elias Harper, her subordinate.

Of course, Warwick has her own demons. An abusive ex-boyfriend, Cal, who still taunts her in her dreams and occasionally in waking moments too.

Jane, on the other hand, is a widowed English language tutor, whose loving and supportive circle of friends more than make up for her two kids who remain unavailable to her throughout the book.



The return from the flashback to the present was not done smoothly. There were also some proofing errors. “On the small size,” instead of side. Harper was called Hunter a few times.

There are a lot of architectural bits of information about the city, but they don’t give you the impression of the city as a whole. The narrative was all tell, and no show.

Warwick and Jane seemed to arrive at the same conclusions through different means, and in Jane’s case, it really was serendipitous.

The dialogue was clunky and boring, with characters sharing the same information to different sets of people.

The action didn’t feel urgent at all. In fact, all the pressures that Warwick faced were self-generated. There was no pressure from the top, even after a second murder took place. Her backstory with Cal was a plot that might have been interesting enough to read as the main plot rather than being hurried through as the flashback.

I picked up this book because I found the premise interesting, but the execution left a lot to be desired. The wrap-up was hurried and inconclusive. The book title was most inappropriate, and the picture on the book cover irrelevant.

A young man is found dead on the top of Greestone Stairs and a special constable Jane Bell is called to the scene. Previously a schoolteacher, she leaves this job to volunteer her services. The murder scene discovered is Jane’s first day on the job, there she crosses paths with Detective Steph Warwick, who believes that a special constable job does not require them to get involved in murder cases. She immediately dislikes Jane and does not like that she is ‘sticking her nose’ where it does not belong. Jane, on the other hand, finds herself being entangled in the case due to her instincts. Jane’s, investigation leads her to discover that the murdered victim was the organizer behind a group of men being coached to ‘pick up women.’ Jane and Steph must put their differences aside and work together to solve the case as murder victims keep popping up.

This mystery, thriller, novel was exciting to read, the novel was not predictable as I first thought. The suspense throughout the book was superb, I love how the author did not reveal much about the culprit until the very ending.

Janice Frost has an exquisite way of luring readers with her novels, I enjoyed the first book of the series, so I am looking forward to reading the other books. I would hope to read more about the relationship between Steph and Jane, as with Murder Among Friends, their relationship was a bit rocky and although they solved the case in the end, they were still clashing so I am excited to see how Janice develops the bond between them in future.

I felt a bit sorry for Steph’s character as she is cold, distant, and impatient. This is due to all the pain she experienced during her days before becoming a detective. She is not one to mingle and entertain persons. She is experienced in her field and looks down on Jane because she is a rookie and a special constable.

Jane’s character is sweet, supportive, gentle in nature and strong. She is a mother and a widow; she wanted to do something more meaningful in her life which leads her to volunteer as a special constable. She has time on her hands since her children are both in London and lives alone. She is surrounded by people who support and care for her and she is a mother figure to one of her students.

Murder Among Friends is a great novel, I would recommend it. Persons who love a great detective novel will enjoy this. The book kept you guessing and making assumptions, but the culprit is not who you would suspect unless you really analyze every detail while reading.

I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars, it was a good read, fast paced and the suspense was thrilling. I cannot wait for the other books in the series.

A fast paced and gripping story that kept me hooked and guessing till the end.
Good plot and character development, a solid mystery full of twists and turns.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book by Janice Frost. It features Jane Bell who starts work as a special constable and encounters a murder on her first time on the job. Detective Steph Warwick investigates this crime and isn't happy to work alongside a special. This book is enthralling from page one til the end.

A fast paced thriller 1st of a new series.
Jane Bell is 45yrs old on her first job as a special constable where she finds a dead body, D I Stephanie Warwick gets the case and takes an instant dislike to Jane and dismisses her but Jane wants to continue on her own much to the annoyance of Steph.

At first Steph really irritated me but she mellowed as the book ended so can`t wait to see how the relationship progresses.
Keeps you guessing, well worth a read.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest Review.

Murder Among Friends by Janice Frost is the first instalment of a new series featuring Special Police Constable Jane Bell and DI Stephanie Warwick.
On SPCO Bells first evening of duty she is called out to a crime scene where a young man has died at the top of a set of steps. Jane Bell realises she can only do so much with her restricted duties as a Special Police Officer but is very keen to offer more to the officer in charge. DI Warwick tells Jane to leave the scene immediately, she doesn't want a Special anywhere near it. Jane feels some kind of responsibility towards this murder and is unable to stop herself from doing her best to investigate and finds herself falling foul of Warwick straight away.
Murder Among Friends is a great start to a new series. The two officers are really almost chalk and cheese. The two womens back stories unfold as the case develops and we learn why each of them are the way they are. This helped me to understand certain things with the women and I had some empathy for Warwick, although she comes across as a cold woman we find out why.
I usually enjoy Janice Frost's work and this was no exception. She has created a fast-paced plot with very interesting characters with all the drama, twists and turns you could expect with a thriller like this. It will be interesting to see what the next book brings for Bell and Warwick, bring it on.
Thanks to Joffe Books, netgalley and Janice Frost for the copy of the book for my review today.

This is a new crime series from Janice Frost, featuring strongly on the relationship between 43 year old volunteer Special Police Constable Jane Bell and 35 year old DI Steph Warwick. Having lost her husband, Jane quits being a teacher and makes the decision to volunteer as a SPC, she wants to do something different, she has two adult children living in London. A young man, 23 year old student, Mark Ripley, is found murdered, and Jane cannot stop herself getting intensely involved with the murder investigation. However, her efforts are far from appreciated by Steph, a woman with her own traumatic past history of being abused, her ex-boyfriend Cal had tried to kill her and murdered her best friend. The police inquiry has to deal with another murder, once again with connections to the university, and delve into the world of misogyny and incel.. This was an okay crime read with twists and turns, although I didn't particularly like either Bell or Warwick. Many thanks to Joffe Books for an ARC.

My jury is still out on this one. Ms Frost writes well and has a good plot and well-drawn characters. This is the first of a new series with the two main characters having issues to work through. The DI is a hard woman with carrying trauma from an earlier abusive relationship. She comes over as cold, unsympathetic as she bottles up old feelings. Instead of a DS or DC as the second person of importance this time we have a Special Constable. She's a widow and wants more to life than teaching - mid-life crisis I guess. However, she's reluctant to start at the bottom and gets into danger and mischief in full kindergarten teacher mode of teacher-knows-best at times. The two women clash inevitably. The murder is well-written and the suspects varied but the relationship between the two women takes over at times. I think that I can learn to like the DI, she's mellowing a bit but I remain unsure about the SPC - she's too annoying as yet. Perhaps I was damaged in primary school!! Thanks to NetGalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Murder Among Friends is the first installment of the new Warwick and Bell series and it does not disappoint. Jane Bell has left her position as a teacher after her husband dies. She becomes a special constable with the local police dept. Not long after starting her first shift, she gets a call to a murder scene. Not everyone is happy to have her aboard. Steph Warwick for one thinks Jane is meddling somewhere she doesn’t belong. However, there is a death and they need to determine what happened. As far as police procedures go, I found it to be very believable and spot on. Janice Frost is a great writer with the ability to entice the reader with several twists in her stories. The characters were very like able say for the exception of Steph Warwick, although at some point she does become more empathetic.

Thank you to netgalley as well as the author/publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.