Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

While the story lines in THE STOLEN CHILD may not be original, DI Hanlon and her cast of supporting characters are definitely original and so skillfully developed, I would not be surprised to meet them on the streets. The good guys were GOOD, the bad guys were VERY BAD, and in between, there is a whole community that DI Hanlon has yet to decide if they are good or bad. Alex Coombs has given us a unique female lead in Hanlon. She's tough, intelligent, loyal and really doesn't care what she has to do to solve her cases abd save the victims. When faced with two deaths that raise some very nasty questions and a kidnapping that turns into a race against her fellow officers, it's clear that Coombs has poured his heart into giving us a heroine that will not be forgotten.
1st book in the series.....WOW, what's next?

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.

In The Stolen Child, an undocumented teenage girl's body is found surrounded by what appears to be remnants of a witchcraft ceremony. The medical examiner, though, determines that the likely scenario was a brutal rape and murder, and the scene was staged in an attempt to obscure the reality. Then a baby is found floating in the river. And a young boy goes missing. Hanlon is obsessed with finding the killer, but how far is she willing to go in her quest?

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 this book!

This book was previously published as Time To Die by Alex Howard (2015)

Recently there's been a spate of missing children. When a 12-year-old diabetic boy goes missing without his insulin, Hanlon is charged with solving this case. The clock is ticking for this boy and Hanlon is determined to bring him home safe.

Two children have already been found dead .... are the deaths and this later disappearance all part and parcel of the same killer?

What she finds in her investigation leads to a possible link to her own department.

This is a tough, gritty novel highlighting a very tough subject matter. There's plenty of action, characters are solidly drawn. This is the first book in a series that feature DCI Hanlon. She's known for her tenacity, her stubbornness, a powerful loyalty to those she respects, and is always on the right side of the law.

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 Stolen Child is the first book in the DI Hanlon series and my first read by Alex Coombs. Although it took me a while to bed into the storyline as flitting between three stories, I was happy I stuck with it. Hanlon is not your usual lead detective, she goes against the grain, rule book thrown out the window if and when required and to hell with the consequences! I’m going to like getting to know her!

This was a dark gritty descriptive unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several twist and turns along the way. A well written crime thriller but not for the faint hearted! Definitely adding this to my list of series.

Gritty and dark. A trigger warning for the subject matter may have been helpful, especially for the 2nd victim as that was very hard to read.
I did not like to read from the predators point of view either, it was very disturbing.
All that being said, the book was well written in a lot of ways, and I will read the second book in this series to see how it goes as there were a few loose ends that I want to know the resolution to.
I am undecided in all honesty about this author and book..

DI Hanlon first comes across as cold and threatening, almost manic and scary in the way she looks at people. She’s been a problem for the Met ever since rescuing a PSCO who was getting beaten by a mob, going against direct orders and hospitalising three of the attackers in the process. A hero with a medal as far as the public see her but a problem for the police which ambitious Assistant Commissioner Corrigan takes on. Basically she becomes the AC’s attack dog. We first meet her at a crime scene he has sent her to, on the whisper that witchcraft might be at work. A Somalian girl has been sexually assaulted and murdered but despite the strange objects left in the army bunker on the Essex coast, she reports back to him that it all seems straightforward. Apart from the Arabic numeral 18 scrawled on the wall which no one seems bothered about. We next see her finishing off an old case with DS Whiteside from her former Serious and Organized Crime Group, visiting small time dealer Toby Manning and “persuading” him into letting them set up a sting against Patrick Cunningham who is the defence solicitor for a major drugs dealer and who has bragged how much he knows about the man’s operations. We also get to read about the abduction of a Turkish toddler in a supermarket. A woman appears at this scene and also at the home of a woman with a young son. Just who is she and what is she planning? DS Enver Demirel is a copper who really cares about the community that he serves. Real people with real problems. Not surprising then that his family drag him into the disappearance of the missing toddler, a case now four days cold and still unreported to the police as the family are in the UK illegally. Before he can do anything, however, the baby’s sexually assaulted body turns up in a London canal with a spooky connection to the number 18. DCS Ludgate is put in charge of the case and Hanlon inveigles her way into it by suggesting to Corrigan that the racist Ludgate needs an eye keeping on him. She has uneasy feeling the two dead children may be linked but has no proof as yet to take to Corrigan. As repayment for this she is forced to attend the party of a local property developer called Harry Conquest as Ludgate's guest and immediately she has suspicions that the man is not as snowy white as the PNC would suggest. Once again Whiteside is pulled into helping her off the record, this time to look into anti-Semitism but unearths a lot more besides. All the various strands start to come together as a third child is snatched and another investigation is launched. As Hanlon pursues her hunches about Conquest, more and more people are put in danger. Enver seems to be the only one she can trust in a desperate race against the clock. The whole story is very well told, with lots of separate threads laid out for the reader to absorb as the plot is gradually revealed. The pace picks up speed and results in a fast and furious ending which was incredibly satisfying all round although I would love to see how some of the evidence was explained! I might not have liked Hanlon at the start of the story but by the end I loved her character! She and Enver made a fantastic pairing so it's great to see them appearing in future books. 5*

Favorite Quotes:

Hanlon was careful with words. She weighed them carefully before she used them, like a miser with money

She ran her eyes over him speculatively like a butcher eyeing a piece of meat of dubious quality, and Enver straightened his back into a more erect posture.

He still had an out-of-date mental image of himself as being in terrific shape, if a little overweight… Like in a dream he’d run as fast as he could, yet seemed to be going nowhere. He’d misjudged totally how quickly he could move; he’d only just managed to break into a speedy waddle.


My Review:

This was an intense, riveting, and propulsive read with several distinct storylines that were constantly gathering steam toward a devastating convergence. Alex Coombs is a first-class scrivener with exceptionally strong word voodoo. His superb writing and top-shelf storytelling featured cleverly crafted story threads that were woven with exacting word choices that kept the varied emotional tones at the perfect pitch while crackling with tension. The crimes and issues involved were totally unconscionable and had me cringing and flinching, yet I couldn’t have stopped reading if my hair had been on fire. I was quickly sucked into an ever-darkening vortex during the first few lines of page one, and it never abated.

Each addition to the large cast of diverse characters was uniquely etched and oddly compelling with brain-tickling descriptions and observations. The enigmatic and fiercely composed DI Hanlon was a conundrum for everyone and I am completely enthralled with her, as I do revere and adore a kickass chick. So imagine my glee to have three more volumes of her exploits already loaded on my beloved Kindle. Score!

I also gained a new entry to my Brit Words and Phrases list with navvy, which Mr. Google tells me is a laborer employed in the excavation or construction.

'The Stolen Child' by Alex Coombs was previously published as Time To Die by Alex Howard. The first book in a series featuring DI Hanlon, a woman with a frequent tendency to be a rule breaker and is a fierce friend to the few she respects. She does things her own way and gets results. This is a story that deals with some very tough subjects so, anyone sensitive to it may find it a trigger.
The story begins with different investigations going on, for me this created a realism as we all know how hard the police work and how much they are underfunded.
A twelve year old Type 1 diabetic boy goes missing, without his insulin, Hanlon is given the task to find him before it is too late, to make it worse there has been two gruesome deaths previous to him going missing. One teenager and one child, the question is, are they linked?
A brutally graphic and gritty story that begins a little slower due to the introduction to Hanlon, we find a prickly woman who is no ones fool. One who, as I said in my introduction will get the job done in whatever way she needs, be that by bending a few rules well, if she thinks that's what she needs to do so be it. As the story unfolds the pace picks up and time just races by.A really good story even given the tough subject. A great introduction to DI Hanlon.
Thanks to Rachel's Random Resources, Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the copy of the book and my place on the tour today.

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I really enjoyed this book. DCI hanlon will be a detective to watch.
To start with I couldn't work out what was going on as we had 3 stories going on together
Dead child found
Stolen Child
Drug dealing

But it soon all becomes clear and it's a gripping read once you get started. It's well written and it explains what has happened to hanlon and some people may not like her character I did and thought it was great to have a very strong female character.
It goes at a good pace and it's a book you get really immersed in.

The book did not disappoint, there was plenty of twists and turns to keep you engaged throughout, I did, at times, find the descriptive text to be a bit too much, however, I think this added to the authenticity of the story.

Well, crikey, that was a tough but exciting read that I wasn't able to put down despite the content.

I haven't read anything by this author before and missed this first time round when it was published under a different name but I'm so glad I didn't let it pass me by this time because what a treat it is, although it should come with a warning as there are some very unsavoury sections regarding child abuse that will upset people so be warned.

What we have here is a hard-hitting, gritty and dark story that starts at a fairly gentle pace whilst introducing the main characters but then, wow, it ramps up and doesn't stop until the end. The characters are exceptional and so well described that I could clearly see them in my mind.

The main character, DI Hanlon, is driven by her own form of justice and won't shy away from any situation even if it goes against the letter of the law - she will do what it takes to bring those responsible for despicable crimes to justice and she doesn't hold back. She is one tough cookie and I doubt any miscreant out there would want to be on her bad side!

The sense of tension Mr Coombs developed was palpable and the emotions this book evoked were so strong that I actually felt my heart-rate climbing and experiencing real anger and hatred towards some of the characters - not many books do that which, to me, shows the ability of the author to really draw you in and develop people and situations that get under your skin.

Due to the subject matter and the level of violence contained, this won't appeal to everyone however I would certainly recommend it to those who enjoy a less than flowery police procedural that is likely to be more realistic than most other books in the genre.

Many thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review and for introducing me to yet another excellent British author.

I'm off to read the second in the series now - The Innocent Girl.

I've read a couple of this author's later books featuring this character, and it's interesting to explore her past career as a Detective Inspector in the Metropolitan Police. DI Hanlon is dedicated, effective and uncontrollable. If you were a crime victim, you would want her as your Senior Investigating officer.

Set in the second decade of the twenty-first century the story's subject matter is contemporary and disturbing, parts are harrowing to read but integral to moving the story forward and showing Hanlon's motivations. Hanlon is an advocate of justice rather than an upholder of the law and easy to empathise. Several investigations are running concurrently in this character-driven story. It focuses on Hanlon and how she is affected by the cases and her subsequent involvement.

The ending is fast-paced, gritty and ultimately satisfying.

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

*This series was previously published under another title and the author name Alex Howard*

This is the first book in the DI Hanlon series, and it deals with some very tough subject matter, so readers be warned.

When the story starts we do have multiple storylines and investigations, but this makes for a more realistic story, as this is what would happen in the real world. After the gruesome deaths of a child and teen, when a 12 year old diabetic boy goes missing with no insulin, Hanlon is assigned to find him before its too late. But is this case related to the two deaths?

Although gritty and graphic this does start somewhat slow as we get to know Hanlon. She is very unlikeable, isn't trustworthy, will break/bend the rules in the interest of judgement, but is loyal to those she cares about. Once the story gets going, it really gets going and is very fast paced. Bloody and brutal, this was a great story, even with the tough subject matter.

I recommend this book and give it 4 of 5 stars.

Thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources and author Alex Coombs for the review copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

4.5 Stars from me

Got to start with a caveat on this one - there are some horribly descriptive scenes in the book and some heavy suggestions of child abuse - please avoid if this will upset you. 

Ok, moving on, it's rare for me to start a review as above and the need for this highlights Coombs' ability to describe - there are many moments throughout The Stolen Child where the descriptions make the whole scene bounce into life.

Lots of tension and heart in the mouth moments - the prison scenes felt real.

I love the little 'word of the day' touches!

This book - the first in a series - is brutal, the characters are hard wired and tough. All stereo types of gentle women and powerful men and blown apart within these pages. DI Hanlon is great - I pity anyone who gets in her way.

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

The Stolen Child. DCI Hanlon #1
Although I liked the characters and some elements of this one, the subject matter was depressing. There weren't any graphic descriptions and yet....

A good crime thriller, but you may want to consider that it is a dark look at evil and pedophiles.

I will give the author another try and hope the subject matter doesn't distress me.

NetGalley/Boldwood Books

Here is my honest review for The Stolen Child by Alex Coombs:
I was surprised to find out that this has already been published years ago under a different name. I thought it was a new release book. That been said is was pretty fast paced. I finished it in about 4 hours. The writing was very good. I really liked the main character too.

Solid 4 star read.

The depravity of the underworld is expertly conveyed in this tale both in description and also suggestion so there are quite a few parts where I hardly dared look! The vulnerability of the children is cleverly amplified, not only by their tender ages but also as one is from a family of illegal immigrants, so the parents felt unable to contact the police immediately and one is a diabetic with only a limited amount of insulin with him. You really feel the effect of the time ticking away and his chances of survival stacked against him. The tension is actually brilliant throughout and the final conclusion is a rollercoaster of adrenaline and holding of breath.

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.

I must say at the beginning of this review that I was extremely disappointed when I discovered that this book had previously been released in 2014 by Alex Howard. I would imagine that to do this is within the "letter of the law" but not the "spirit of the law." I read a lot of books and think long and hard before I make a purchase, I would have been extremely annoyed had I purchased this book based on a 2021 review only to find out that I had read it previously. I am grateful that I received a free copy from Netgalley.
I will, therefore write my review based on what I have read and give an unbiased opinion.. The storyline was fast and furious. It was powerful, gritty and violent. D.I. Hanlon was an enigma and I wasn't quite sure if I liked her or not - she certainly got results. I hope her method of achieving results is not typical of today's police.
I could not put the book down and will certainly read another by Alex Howard/Coombs .