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

DI Helen Birch is looking forward to a good day, but events take over.

A man is reported shooting at a showground in the Scottish Borders and it soon becomes clear he has taken a hostage, a 3-year-old girl, after shooting his former fiancee and her husband.

The gunman is Gerry Hodgson, imprisoned after his actions during the foot and mouth epidemic in 2001. Hodgson has never recovered from the emotional and mental strain events took on him. He insists that Helen Birch is the only police officer he will speak to, even though she isn't trained in hostage negotiation. A trained negotiator gives Helen some advice before she goes in but she is effectively on her own thereafter.

A tense standoff ensues, with Helen attempting to gain Hodgson's trust and talk him down from shooting the little girl. This doesn't prove easy but Helen perseveres, even thinking she has got through at one stage until events ratchet up into a startling denouement.

This was a gripping and believable police drama, with Helen's own relationships well-drawn. Her partner, Anjan, is a solicitor and her father, Jamieson Birch, hasn't always been there for her whilst Charlie, Helen's brother, is in prison because of wrong choices he has made.

The way the investigation proceeded did make you suspend disbelief a little as I found it hard to conceive a situation where an untrained police officer would be sent in to negotiate with a clearly unstable individual; however, the way Claire Askew evinced understanding and even sympathy for what had happened to Gerry Hodgson made you more invested in the outcome.

As Hodgson reveals more of himself, the more we see how he has lost the thread of his life to the point that he acts in a way completely detached from reality. Whilst not excusing his behaviour, we can see how he finds himself more and more isolated and eventually cracks under the pressure.

Claire Askew's resolution of events is realistic and not honey-coated, making the ending sad and yet more truthful. Life doesn't always deliver the outcomes we would like.

I also liked the concentrated narrative, with events taking place over a single 24-hour period.

It would be useful to have read the three previous investigations to have more of Helen's back story, but this can be read as a standalone novel. I will certainly read more by Claire Askew.

I was sent a digital ARC of this book by Hodder & Stoughton, in return for an honest appraisal.

I have been a fan of Claire’s work for a little while now. I read and loved the first three books in the series featuring Detective Inspector Helen Birch. So when I heard that Claire was due to release another book in the series, I knew that I had to read it as soon as I could. Well ladies and gents the wait is over because the fourth book in the series is called ‘A Matter Of Time’ and it was released in both e-book format and hardback on the 10th March 2022. It’s another corker of a read and then some. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘A Matter Of Time’ but more about that in a bit.
It took me minutes to get into ‘A Matter Of Time’. I read the introduction to the story and let’s just say I found it slightly chilling. I was intrigued by the character with the shotgun and I had to keep reading to see if he managed to carry out his threats or whether or not D.I Birch would be able to bring the case to a safe conclusion. I couldn’t turn the pages of the book quickly enough as I made my way through the story. It’s safe to say that I found this book to be extremely addictive and I became just a little bit obsessed by the story. If I wasn’t reading the book then I was thinking about it. If I had to put the book down for any reason, then I would immediately look forward to being able to pick the book up again. All too quickly I reached the end of ‘A Matter Of Time’ and I had to say goodbye to DI Birch and her team. I found ‘A Matter Of Time’ to be a tense, gripping and dramatic read, which kept me guessing and which kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.
‘A Matter Of Time’ is superbly written but then I have come to expect nothing less from Claire Askew. Claire certainly knows how to grab the reader’s attention and draw them into what proves to be one hell of a story. For me, the story hit the ground running and maintained a fairly fast pace throughout. This book is written in a slightly different way to Claire’s other books, in that the story takes place over the course of 24 hours with each chapter illustrating what happened over the course of that particular hour. I hope that makes sense. Reading ‘A Matter Of Time’ felt like being on one hell of a scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several twists and turns along the way. I got a real sense of the urgency to find the gunman and the increasing level of tension as the hours ticked by. I love the way in which Claire makes the reader feel as though they are part of the story and at the heart of the action.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘A Matter Of Time’ and I would recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Claire’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

Precarious…
The latest instalment in the DI Birch series arrives with a bang in a highly strung, tension fuelled situation. Perhaps the most precarious and terrifying for Birch to date. Writing is fluid and well crafted, characters are wholly credible and the narrative both thoughtful and suspenseful.

A decent story and the timescale of one day with each chapter clearly indicating the hour helped to add more drama than there actually was. I like the characters in this series but I found I was finding Helen’s brother’s character quite unrealistic.

EXCERPT: On the screen, footage of a grounded Mountain Rescue helicopter, it's blades rotating slowly. The ticker scrolled endlessly below it: POLICE URGE LOCAL RESIDENTS: STAY INDOORS. A thought struck her.

'He's just running now, right?' she said. She could hear a spike of panic in her own voice. 'We think he's just running - he's not going off to target anyone? Another gathering?'

Amy shrugged.

'Honestly, marm,' she said, 'we don't know much.'

Birch closed her eyes. This, she thought, was supposed to be a good day.

'Only that he's armed,' she said, opening her eyes again, 'and - well, something. Crazy, angry, vengeful. Maybe all three.'

'Yep,' Amy said, her voice grim. 'And we have absolutely no idea where he is.'

ABOUT 'A MATTER OF TIME': At 8am the first shots are fired.

At 1pm, the police establish the gunman has a hostage.

By 5pm, a siege is underway.

At 9pm, DI Helen Birch walks, alone and unarmed, into an abandoned Borders farmhouse to negotiate with the killer.

One day. One woman. One chance to get everyone out alive

MY THOUGHTS: Gripping from the first page to the last.

As the story unfolds, there is a tense standoff in the Scottish Borders region where a man is holding a small child at gunpoint. And that is all you are getting. I recommend that you go into A Matter of Time with no more knowledge than that. There is a wonderful background story that is centred around the catastrophic Foot and Mouth outbreak of 2001, which certainly made me pause in thought. We see these things from afar, and we think, 'Oh, how terrible!', but in reality, we have no idea of the extent of the damage, nor to whom the damage is being done.

I loved Helen's character. She's not all gung-ho and ride in rough shod. She's kind and thoughtful, and a little insecure when it comes to her own abilities. She has good instincts, but sometimes her temper gets the better of her. She believes herself to be operating well out of her depth with this case. But the hostage taker will not speak with anyone else. He has his reasons.

I had very ambivalent feelings about Gerry, the hostage taker. I felt a huge sympathy for him over what had happened in his past, and a great anger at the health and justice systems which failed him so badly. He is a man who has slipped through the cracks and the result is devastating. But, having said that, he has to be responsible for his actions.

The author creates an ongoing air of tension and suspense. I found myself holding my breath, my nails digging into my palms in several places.

I'm glad there are only three books in the series before this. It's doable to read them before #5 is published. And I will be taking a close look at this author's other work.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

#AMatterofTime #NetGalley

I: @one.night.stanzas @hodderbooks

T: @OneNightStanzas @HodderBooks

#contemporaryfiction #crime #detectivefiction #mentalhealth #policeprocedural #suspense #thriller

THE AUTHOR: Claire Askew is a poet, novelist and the current Writer in Residence at the University of Edinburgh. Claire Askew was born in 1986 and grew up in the Scottish Borders. She has lived in Edinburgh since 2004. She runs the One Night Stanza blog, and collects old typewriters (she currently has around 30).

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of A Matter of Time by Claire Askew for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

A gripping and tense read.
Gutsy detective trying to deal with her past and present family problems,thrust into a hostage situation her only training on police courses and some helpful advice by a trained negotiator.
Loved it,a great read.

I could not wait to get stuck into this book as the blurb sounded absolutely amazing and right up my street. I have not read any other books by Claire Askew before so this was a completely new author.

Being completely honest, I did not finish this novel. I am not sure why but I found that I could not get connected to this novel and found that I was skim reading and my mind wandering. It has got such good reviews from other readers though, so maybe it was not the best time for me to read this novel. I did give it up until 41% but decided not to continue.

We meet DI Birch who is called in as there is a shooter on the run who has just murdered some people in their home and also in a large outdoor setting. She is called in as the shooter has personally requested that he will only talk to her and that's it. DI Birch travels up to where he is staying - in a remote place and attempts to talk to him.

I am so disappointed that I could not connect to this but Claire Askew has so many good reviews and other books that I think I may take a look at and see if I can connect to her other books.

Thanks to Claire Askew, NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

The fourth instalment in the DI Helen Birch series. As always this could be read as a stand-alone but you would miss out on so much by not reading the others in this series, as they are all brilliant.

DI Helen Birch has the morning off work to visit her brother in prison. Just as she arrives she hears on the radio there has been a shooting in the Scottish Borders. She calls in to the station but is told they are not getting involved and to not worry about coming in.

After her visit things Helen returns to the station to find things have changed. The gunman is still on the loose and news of a hostage is filtering through. Then the gunman phones in and says he will only speak to Helen. How does he know her name ? And why will he only speak to her ?

With the knowledge of the gunman’s whereabouts DI Helen Birch is saddled with the responsibility of not only speaking to the gunman but also trying to get the hostage released safe and sound.

This is a great addition to the DI Helen Birch series and with that ending I am definitely looking forward to the next instalment. One thing is for sure you will not be disappointed with this book or this series.

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

This is my first book by Claire askew but it won’t be the last.

A matter of time is a fast paced book set over 24 hours. It follows the story of police officer Helen Birch as she finds herself embroiled in a shooting.

Looking not only at how the situation escalated and resolves, it also looks at Helen’s familial relationships.

This book will have your heart pounding as it is drawn to a terrifying climax.

DI Helen Birch is determined to have a good day. She plans to visit her brother in prison and then meet her partner for a pleasant dinner. Naturally, things don't work out how she hoped. She finds herself acting as a police negotiator in an incredibly stressful stand-off with a gunman and a small girl.
The story takes place over twenty four hours with each chapter containing one hour. This is a smart device which creates a very satisfying read.

Central to the plot is the devastating outbreak of foot and mouth disease in 2001. You gradually begin to see how this event had a terrible impact on the life of the gunman and develop a sympathy for him, despite his actions.

This is a well written, tense and thought provoking read. The author pulls no punches about how awful foot and mouth was and the dreadful consequences it had for rural communities. It is also a great police procedural with interesting characters and complex relationships.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is book 4 in the series and, as per usual, I am going to recommend you start from book one and read in order. Although the main story is self-contained herein, it does refer back to things that happened in previous books. There is enough catch-up to make it all make sense, but imo not really enough to get proper on board with what happens here.
So... Helen is looking forward to a decent day. With the morning off to visit her incarcerated brother Charlie, a splosh of work, followed by dinner with her partner Anjan. But, it'd make for a very boring, and short, book if all that were to transpire as expected. Instead, Helen hears on the radio that there's been an incident. A man loose with a gun at the annual show. A man with a connection, albeit a bit loose, with her brother!
Long story short, Helen is drafted in as a negotiator. Can she delve into all her experience and personality to get the favourable outcome? She's scant training to go on after all...
Oh my! This book sucked me in, tugged at my emotions, and spat me out at the end, completely spent. For a lot of people who shared the devastation that Gerald did, I really feel for them. As I did him during this book. "There but for the grace" was something I thought about several times throughout this book. I'd love to wax lyrical more on this "creating a monster" things but I fear it would spoil things if I divulged too much. Suffice to say that things could have been a whole lot better for Gerald had circumstances not happened to and around him. I felt for him in that respect.
And Helen, boy did she step up. Into the abyss, outside her comfort zone. And not just cos she had to. Kudos for her in that regard. Not 100% sure it would have really played out like that in real life but happy to swallow any misgivings in the name of fiction. And well plotted and executed fiction this most definitely is. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This excellent series gets better and better. DI Helen Birch is a fascinating cop and in A Matter Of Time she is tasked with acting as a negotiator with a man holding a child hostage. Played out over a period of 24 hours, the story is tense, gripping, surprising and exhausting. A superb read.

A Matter of Time is fast paced and easy to read. I was drawn to the fact it is set in the Scottish borders as it is an area I know and love. It is set over a 24 hour period which I enjoyed and I read it all in one sitting. This is the fourth book in the DI Birch series but the first one I have read. I don't think it mattered that I had not read the previous books but as I loved this one so much I intend to read the previous books in order.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for my ARC.

DI Helen Birch is an Edinburgh based police officer, haunted by the Three Rivers case during which she had broken rules and had to face a disciplinary committee. Her family history is also fraught with problems, brother in prison, estranged alcoholic father, mother a suicide. When word comes through of a random shooter at a fair in the Scottish Borders this is not a particular concern to her – it isn’t her area, after all. The shooter, then identified as a killer after a woman is found shot dead, is on the run, taking with him the dead woman’s three year old daughter. He becomes Helen’s problem when, trapped out on the moors and surrounded, the shooter says he will only talk with her. Untrained as a negotiator, she nevertheless has to enter the ruined bothy where he is holding the little girl and try to talk him into surrendering. During her time with him, certain aspects of her own life and problems are subjected to analysis, particularly her relationship with her father. It also becomes clear that the roots of the depression and anxiety which have driven him to commit the shootings lie in the past, specifically the foot and mouth epidemic of 2001.
The story unfolds over 24 hours and each chapter is headed by the actual time and the elapsed time. This gives a sense of urgency and tension to the story, which is useful as a plot device since the whole thing is otherwise a bit slow. The amount of action that occurs in each ‘hour’ is quite variable and some feel more like fifteen minute rather than sixty. I’m not particularly convinced about the psychological aspects, neither of the killer nor of the police officer, partly because the dialogue doesn’t sell it. This is the fourth in a series of police procedurals, although there is not a lot of procedure evident, but works as a standalone.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

I hadn't read the books in this series but I absolutely will be now. This was a gripping story which I could not put down! Evocative and engaging. Many thanks.

A Matter of Time sees the return of Claire Askew’s DI Helen Birch.

The book sees Birch having to negotiate, face to face, with an armed killer.

The storyline is set over a 24 hour period which was an enjoyable twist to the usual police procedural novel and the author uses that to keep the story moving along, however, I felt that it also slightly restricted the book with a few things that could have been explained in more detail or which were left open at the end of the book.

Overall though a good read.

DI Helen Birch is part of a task force investigating a murder, shootings and kidnapping of a young girl. The suspect becomes obvious pretty quickly and eventually she goes in to try and talk the kidnapper Gerry Hodgson into releasing Elise and giving himself up.
More a psychological thriller than a crime thriller as much of it takes place in conversation between Gerry and Helen as he explains how he went to jail during U.K. foot and mouth outbreak and how he came to shoot his ex girlfriend and her partner.
Interesting storyline and backstory, including Helen’s personal life.
Found it a bit slow at times but enjoyable read.
3.5 Stars ⭐️
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for a fair review.

This is an immensely enjoyable and gripping read about a police hostage situation, set in the rural Scottish Borders. But it is so much more that. Set a few years after the terrible year that was 2001, and the countrywide outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease, which devastated so many farms, lives, and families, it is graphically described, down to the all pervading stench of burning pyres of animals. For anyone who lived in a rural area at that time, it’s unforgettable.
Tight plotting and the real time line, hour by hour, of the hostage situation into which DI Birch is pulled is tense and unrelenting. How she copes with this, whilst not being a trained negotiator, is really interesting and thought provoking. So too is the back story of the hostage taker.
Excellent writing and characterisation kept me reading well into the night. I have not read any of the previous books in this series, but it did not affect my enjoyment of this one. I will be reading more of this author’s work.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this book. Highly recommended.

A very enjoyable tense psychological thriller by a new author for me. A Matter of Time is the fourth book in the D.I. Birch series, however I read this book as a standalone (and will be going back to read the others in the series).

I especially liked how the chapters are timed, so we know exactly how much time has passed in the unfolding drama. It certainly builds the intensity and tension within the plot.

The characters are well written, and added with the interesting storyline this is definitely a recommended read.