DCI Hanlon returns with a vengance! Alex Coombs' female detective puts her male counterparts to shame. She's tough, she's fair and she won't stop until the answers come clear and the criminals are punished. Every book in this series has been excellent. You could read each as a stand alone, Hanlon and cronies will not let you down.

I was completely unfamiliar with the DI Hanlon series prior to being invited to review the books. Previously published under different titles, they are receiving new life this year with new names, new covers, and a new publisher. Even the author's name has changed, although it is the same author.

A rose by any other name....

DI Hanlon is not your typical cop. Female detectives in Scotland Yard are rare enough. Hanlon is a force of nature. All muscle, a competitive triathlete, an amateur boxer, she is formidable to her enemies. Some people make friends everywhere they go. Hanlon is the opposite. Most people automatically dislike her. A few, though, would be willing to die for her.

Her boss is one of them. Corrigan is physically huge, but his massive physique and earthy mannerisms belie a shrewd mind and keen instincts. He recognizes the incorruptibility of Hanlon and looks to her to handle delicate cases that might involve internal corruption.

Her former partner, Enver Demeril, is another. A former boxer turned cop, he has allowed his body to go to seed. His mind, though, is sharp and his fists still powerful.

Though he would not die for anyone, Hanlon has also won the respect of a former enemy. A gang leader, Dave "Jesus" Anderson once crucified a rival. Literally. Some people bemoaned his modern ways--he used a nail gun instead of doing it with a hammer. Most people just feared him. Hanlon does not. Although they are on opposite sides of the law, occasionally they find themselves with common enemies and can find mutual benefit from working in tandem.

The Missing Husband has Hanlon probing the disappearance of a woman's husband. The woman is convinced he is dead. A gangland war between the Russians and Dave "Jesus" Anderson threatens to disrupt the uneasy streets of London, but are these things related?

The power of this series is really two-fold. DI Hanlon is an unusual, maybe unique, character. She is hard to like but impossible to ignore. She really does not care what anyone thinks about her. She is focused on upholding her own moral code, which doesn't always conform to the procedures of official policing. Whether it involves cooperating with gangsters, breaking and entering suspects' homes, or executing justice on her own terms, she manages to get the job done. Unfortunately, sometimes her friends suffer the collateral damage.

The other is the brilliant plotting and pacing of writer Alex Coombs. I read a lot of mysteries, enough that it is highly unusual for me to be surprised by certain types of twists. Coombs, though, managed to do that more than once. I will not offer spoilers, other than to say that these are not books to mentally sleep on in the middle. They are books, though, that will quite likely disrupt your sleep.

A brilliantly conceived protagonist. Clever, twisting, action-filled plots. Sharp writing. The DI Hanlon series by Alex Coombs brings the whole package to mystery readers. Get these books!

Alex Coombs is an exciting writer and wordsmith. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the others in the seies.
Thank you Boldwood Books and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book and give my unbiased opinion

This book was previously published as A Hard Woman To Kill by Alex Howard.

It's another intriguing case for DCI Hanlon. A woman says her husband is missing and she wants Hanlon to help find him. Hanlon isn't too worried .. men go missing all the time, usually it's because they just want to get away from the responsibilities of wife and children.

However, it looks like this man might be mixed up with the Russian mafia. When her former partner and friend, DCI Enver Demirel goes missing, Hanlon is going to have to work with the London underworld to find him ... and the missing husband.

Another fast-faced thriller, there are twists and turns that keep the eyes glued to the pages. The suspense is high and maintains its level throughout. The characters are again solidly drawn, warts and all. Although 3rd in the series, it is easily read as a stand alone. And as always, I recommend starting at the beginning and reading in order. Makes a great marathon read.

Many thanks to the author / Boldwood Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

The Missing Husband is the third book in what could only be described as the addictive Detective Hanlon series. Hanlon has been reassigned to the missing persons unit, for her own protection against the higher ups? However, the tenacious Hanlon just can’t stay out of trouble, what begins as a simple report of a missing husband soon becomes more intricate and complex with the Russian Mafia involved! Another action packed suspenseful read that had me up to the early hours, I just could not put this down.

‘The Missing Husband’ by Alex Coombs is the third book in the brilliant Hanlon series. As I finish one and start the next I feel that this series is just getting better. In this book, a frightened Russian woman seeks DCI Hanlon’s help in finding her missing husband. Hanlon’s not keen on the case. Until she hears a name she recognises only too well. Arkady Belanov, sadistic owner of an exclusive brothel in Oxford is involve
And when DCI Enver Demirel, her former partner and friend, disappears, Hanlon is determined to solve the case. So determined that she will do anything, even if it means crossing a few lines she will.
Absolutely brilliant! Hanlon is a character that will never change, no matter how far up the Police force she climbs she lets nothing stop her. She is a force to be reckoned with when her friends are in danger.
I am certainly still invested in these characters and, for me, this is the sign of a good writer. I look forward to what the next book brings. The storylines are all highlighting different sections of the justice system so it is always fresh and intriguing still.
A fast-paced thriller that isn’t scared to pull the punches. I am loving that I can stay with Hanlon for a while, it is really great to be able to just power through these books.
Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources, Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the book so I could bring you my thoughts on the book today.

This is the second book I read in this good story and found it well written and entertaining.
Good character and plot development, solid mystery.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I have read the first 2 books in the series featuring the unorthodox, tough and uncompromising DCI Hanlon and having thoroughly enjoyed them, didn't hesitate to choose the third and I wasn't disappointed although I have to admit that I struggled a little to get into this one and I think it's because there are quite a lot of characters and it was quite difficult to keep up however, that soon passed and I was, once again, totally immersed.

I do think that you need to have at least read the first book, The Stolen Child, otherwise you just won't get the full appreciation of the main characters particularly Hanlon and Demirel; having said that, if you haven't, don't let this pass you by as it still works okay as a standalone but you just won't get the whys and wherefores which, I think, makes this series so compelling.

What we have in this book is a plot that starts off seemingly innocuous - a woman comes in to report her missing husband - however, it soon becomes something much more intricate as the book develops. The pace is almost relentless, there are a few points in the book that lets you take a breath from the action which is a welcome relief. There are some pretty unsavoury characters doing equally unsavoury things and therefore, there is quite a bit of violence but nothing you wouldn't expect given the blurb and the subject matter.

As I said, the action is non-stop culminating in a heart-stopping finale in a remote farmhouse when some people definitely get what they deserve whereas others definitely do not and I look forward to finding out what happens next in the fourth instalment.

I would definitely recommend this book and the series to those who love a hard-hitting, no-holds-barred thriller.

Thank you once again to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for my copy in return for an unbiased and unedited review.

Now for number 4!

Once again we meet Hanlon and her brash way of going about life.
I find myself just wanting to know more about her.
The missing Husband kept me on the edge of my seat at times.

The DCI Hanlon series covers the years Jane Hanlon spent as a policewoman in London’s Metropolitan police. As I found Hanlon through reading Silenced for Good and Missing For Good, the Jane Hanlon PI stories, it was interesting to see her previous adventures.

The Missing Husband is the third book in the series, and it is one of those books that never has a dull moment! At this time, Hanlon has been moved laterally to the Missing Persons division in the sleepy precinct in Slough; a move by her boss Corrigan to keep her safe (and hopefully out of trouble). This hope is futile though, when the lovely Oksana Taverner comes to report her husband missing. Charlie Taverner was to present information on the Russian Mafia in England to a Home Office Commission. Hanlon has had previous run-ins with the Russian mafia, and especially Arkady Belanov.

The Missing Husband starts with Charlie Taverner’s disappearance, but grows to encompass the turf war between the Russians and the local gangsters headed by the Anderson Family, DCI Hanlon’s investigation, DI Enver Demirel’s separate investigation, and the involvement of both the Russian FSB and a mysterious hit-man known as the Chinaman.

Alex Coombs’s writing style is full of rich descriptions of both people and places, mostly told through Hanlon’s perspective. My only point of dislike is the author’s near constant reiteration that Hanlon is attractive, despite being incredibly athletic and “hard-faced”. As a female reader, I care more about Hanlon’s ability to solve crime and kick ass, although the flirtation between her and Serg, the FSB operative is refreshing.

Like most of my favorite books, The Missing Husband has moments of incredible sweetness between characters as well as swift and terrible brutality. The fight scenes play like a movie in front of my eyes, the budding romance between Demirel and Huss with its awkwardness and dogged persistence is painfully real, and the eventual reveal for the Chinaman’s identity is utterly amazing. There are times where the complexity of juggling multiple characters and disparate actions is almost dizzily confusing, but Alex Coombs manages to pull everything together in to a beautifully choreographed conclusion.

Favorite Quotes:

Her brief glance summed him up. He was short, stocky and bald and he had an unpleasant, slightly fat, aggressive face. He was like a sneer in human form.

Everyone in violent crime liked a good funeral; you never knew when yours might be. There was also the added plus that it wasn’t you who was in the box. One day it would be, but not today.

Fredericks had the kind of mouth that held a perpetual sneer, as if there were some kind of specialist curling tongs that he used on his lips on a nightly basis.

His GP had told him to stop smoking, but so far he’d stopped buying cigarettes and just smoked other people’s. He was amazed at the money he was saving.


My Review:

Book three of this absorbing and highly active series found no flagging in quality as it is holding strong in intrigue, complexity, and oddly compelling and curiously peculiar characters. Alex Coombs is a diabolically skilled and agile storyteller with a wicked keen vocabulary and uncommonly adept command of language. His word skills and phrasing pack a deadly punch and kept my curiosity on edge and my brain itching for the next puzzle piece to emerge. I am fatally awestruck and a total devotee of his inimitable, controversial, and indomitable DCI Hanlon.

Yet another gripping read from Alex. This is Book 3 in the series but it's easily read as a standalone. While it can be graphic and overly violent at times it was a very well thought it story. I was completely hooked, as I have been throughout the series.

This is an edgy and exciting series. Hanlon sidelined from the vibrant Metropolitan police arena, still attracts danger and responds with gritty determination. Best read chronologically this is a memorable series.

Working in a missing persons' unit Hanlon conflicts violently with the Russian mafia. Whilst not having the team dynamic of the first two books, it retains its contemporary focus, strong characters and suspense.

Hanlon edges closer to self destruct yet manages to be an effective investigator. I am looking forward to the final book in this series.

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

This series, and in particular DCI Hanlon, is fast getting under my skin. I can picture her, I can see how she walks and I would love for this series to be televised.

Personally, I think this is a series that doesn't work as standalones. I think it does need to be read as a series in order to fully appreciate Hanlon, how she ticks, who she cares about and why - you can read them in isolation but you'd miss so many layers.

Following on from The Innocent Girl, in The Missing Husband she has been reassigned and is working on missing persons - a punishment or protection? Needless to say a less than run of the mill case comes her way and Hanlon in yet again embroiled in high stakes - high danger - this time involving the Russian Mafia. There are plenty of characters from the previous books in this one to draw you in and remind you of Hanlon's previous exploits.

It was good to see another old favourite, DCI Enver Demirel in this book too albeit as a missing person - a case that Hanlon will put everything on the line in order to solve.

I love Hanlon's energy and think if she finally crosses too many lines (as if she hasn't already), within the force she could certainly give Joe Wicks a run for his money by becoming the nations next motivational home school PE teacher. Although, Joe might just have the edge in terms of friendliness!

My sincere thanks to @rararesources @boldwoodbooks and @AlexHowardCrime for letting me be a part of this blog tour.

A feisty female detective who seems more out of line with detecting than anything. Goes it alone, delves back into Russian Mafia, missing persons. Nope not for me. Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Another fast paced book with DCI Hanlon. I did find this one took a little while longer to get into. But the suspense and action builds and the last part of the book you will not be able to put it down.

Can not wait for book 4

DCI Hanlon has been moved aside, perhaps for her own safety, to Missing Persons, based in Langley, near Slough. But trouble soon comes looking for her and she finds herself once again in the clutches of the Russian mafia.
Alex Coombs has written a gritty, taut thriller using a small cast of regular characters to great effect. The stakes are high and the violence graphic. The novel takes us to the dark underbelly of crime swamping a supposedly ever more gentrified London and Oxford.

Here is my honest review for The Missing Husband by Alex Coombs:

Very fast paced. Another book by this author that read in only a few hours. The plot was very interesting and had me wanting to know what happens. Could have been a little bit longer. Still really love the main character of this series.

Thank you Netgalley for the EArc.

Fantastic read. I have been completely unable to put this one down. I cannot wait to read more by this author.
Full review to follow on blog tour.

This book has it all - death, torture, the Russian Mafia, and of course, Hanlon.

Hanlon plays by her own rules and woe be those that they to get in her way.

I adore the fact that Hanlon always trusts herself - she knows that she can defend herself, that she can outrun anyone chasing her. Not going to lie, she inspired me to get off my quarantine couch.

A missing husband and a specific request for Hanlon's help starts her on a case that involves sex, murder, music, and the Mafia. Although I will admit, with this one, while all the elements of suspense were there, I found that I was surprised at elements, I was not with the ending, not in the same way I was with the others in the series.

A decent read, very well written, and of course Hanlon make it worth your time, if only to lay the foundation for the next in the series.