This is the first book in the series of DI Helen Birch that I have read but that didn't matter when it came to this story. A gripping read but not as tense as I thought a story with this type of plot could have been.

DI Helen Birch is hoping to have a good day - but by the time darkness falls she's in a remote abandoned farmhouse with an armed man and his hostage. The action takes place over a very short space of time in A Matter of Time, and because of this it's very fast paced and almost unbearably tense at times.

It soon becomes clear that to try to de-escalate the situation as it unfolds through the day, which starts with a shooter running amok, Birch is going to have to delve into the past. The details of the situation which precipitated the gunman's descent are very vividly created - I remember that time well (no spoilers so no specifics)

Excellent read.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Helen Birch is back, and finds herself in another impossible situation. This time round, there is a gunman on the loose in Scotland at a show ground. He then goes to a house and continues carrying out his devastating attack. The gunman finds himself at some ruins and the only person he will speak to is Birch. She finds herself in a hostage situation and has to try and get a good outcome for all parties.

I really like this series of books, and Birch really makes the series. She is such a great character to read about, she is a strong detective, who is obviously brave, but she is vulnerable and she shows that side of her. This storyline was quite hard hitting, but gave the opportunity to see both sides of the coin, from the detectives side and from the gunman’s side, which was really important in this book. We see that everything is not as it seems. Another great, page turning read from this author. I can’t wait to see what Birch has to face next.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

a tense thriller

a man goes on the rampage with a shotgun, numerous casualties and suspected dead but the welfare of a child is the utmost importance

D.I birch is requested by the gunman and with the welfare of the child in everyones mind with de-escalation being the main objective birch with no formal training in talking to the perp goes into the situation unarmed with only her wits about her

interesting read that will keep you up late into the night

A tense story featuring likeable and believable series character DI Helen Birch. Ideal for fans of Michael Wood's Time is Running Out, Rosamund Lupton's Three Hours or Charity Norman's The Secrets of Strangers.
Many thanks to the author, publisher and Net Galley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

If you are looking for tense psychological thriller, but a quick easy read. A Matter of time by Claire Askew is the one for you. This is the fourth book in the D.I. Birch series.
After visiting her brother Charlie in prison, D.I. Birch is called to the scene where a lone gunman has gone on the rampage and killed one woman and injured several others and has kidnapped the three-year-old daughter of the women he killed. The gunman is now sheltering in a derelict farmhouse on the Scottish borders surrounded by Police and the only person he will speak to Birch. As it is her first time negotiating, she must get over her nerves encase she says something that will kill the little girl he is keeping hostage.
Each chapter in the story is timed so we can ascertain how long time as passed. With elevates the intensity in the story and tells us what and why has the gunman done what he is done and what Is he set out to achieve. The story all dates to the time of the Foot and mouth outbreak and what happed to the gunman at that time. Which hearing that, you may or may not sympathise to the gunman on what he has done. I really enjoyed this episode in the series. The storyline was very good with well developed characters and such a quick read I nearly finished it in one sitting. I will be looking forward to the others I have missed reading in the series. 4 stars from me.

A fun easy read, a nice pacy thriller for an airplane ride (remember them?) Perhaps requires a little more knowledge about the early 2000's Foot and Mouth crisis in the UK but otherwise well written and the story moves along nicely.

Askew does a good job of humanising the antagonist and given us moments to understand and empathise with him.

A lot of unanswered questions, not just around the last few pages but the antagonist's relationships never get delved into. This good be the point as after all nothing does justify his actions but it felt like it was dangled a lot and then left hanging.

Still, enjoyable over all.

Thank you for sharing this book with me. I have really enjoyed Claire Askew's earlier books in the Helen Birch series. This one is not as exciting as the earlier books, particularly What You Pay for, which I thought was absolutely brilliant. It might be the setting as so much of the book is about the negotiation situation, and there aren't the usual side plots which make the books so interesting.

I was so looking forward to reading this novel A MATTER OF TIME by Claire Askew. Unfortunately, from page one, I did not connect with the story or the characters. The prologue did not whet my appetite, as did the following chapters. It maybe that at this present time, the book is not for me. I was disappointed in the plot. The story is written over a 24 hour period and I did not get the feeling of ''tension'' in the writing. The gunman's character did nothing to excite! Detective Inspector Helen Birch, the main character was alien to me. The storyline did not ''speak' to me.

I give a 2 star rating because the book was not for me

I WANT TO THANK NETGALLEY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY OF READING AN ADVANCED COPY OF THIS BOOK FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

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.

This story is set over 24 hours. It also centres around the foot and mouth outbreak of 2001 and the devastation it left in it's trail. There's also a gunman who has a hostage. Each chapter has the time shown, making the reader aware of where they've read up to as the clock is ticking down in hourly chapters. This is a tense and atmospheric read that I can't say too much about as I don't want to spoil it for potential readers. This book held my attention throughout.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #HodderStoughton and the author #ClaireAskew for my ARC of #AMatterOfTime in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a huge fan of Askew’s writing, and I absolutely love the character of Helen Birch, who is just about the only (fictional or otherwise) police officer that I can stomach, and I’m incredibly invested in her after four books. But I will say that I wanted a little bit more of a whodunnit in A Matter of Time, rather than the sadness of someone who we know from the beginning is the culprit coming to terms with what they’ve done. I eagerly await the next in the series.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advance copy of A Matter of Time, the fourth novel to feature DI Helen Birch of the Edinburgh police.

A gunman goes on the rampage in the Scottish Borders and then takes a hostage. A standoff ensues and he refuses to talk to anyone but Helen, so she finds herself unarmed and alone in a derelict cottage with an armed gunman.

I thoroughly enjoyed A Matter of Time, which tells a compelling tale of misunderstood motives and tragedy. I’m not always a fan of psychological thrillers, but this seems to be the essence of the genre with a one on one conversation to try and get to the root of why they are where they are now. I found it fascinating and compulsive.

There isn’t much I can say about the content of the novel without issuing spoilers, but I liked the duel and the author does a good job of portraying both sides. On the one side there is the gunman and his pain and on the other Helen with her untrained efforts at an empathy she doesn’t always feel, occasional impatience and always with her mind on the main prize, an injury free resolution. That’s just the conversation as the novel cuts away to operational discussions, press reports and the effect on her loved ones. It is an effective telling from all sides. And the author still manages a final, unexpected twist.

The novel is a tense affair with each chapter having a time stamp, to let the reader know how far along things are, never mind Helen’s discomfort at being in a situation she isn’t trained for and feeling out of her depth. One wrong word and it could all go spectacularly wrong. The tension oozes out the pages.

I read the previous novel in the series and thought it okay but not much more. A Matter of Time is intense and packs an emotional punch. I found it riveting and have no hesitation in recommending it as a good read.

Claire Askew wrote the latest in her Edinburgh based crime series featuring DI Helen Birch during the pandemic lockdown. It is a tense and tightly structured book with action that takes place over a period of 24 hours. Birch wakes up to a beautifully sunny morning, she is planning to see her brother Charlie, a prison inmate at HMP Low Moss, arranging to meet lawyer Anjan Chaudry, the man she is in a relationship with, for dinner in the evening. She is willing it to be a good day, a wish that begins to crack on her drive to see Charlie when she hears on the radio about a shooter running amok, a worrying scenario developing at the annual Border Union Show, just outside Kelso. There is a possible identification, Gerald Hodgson, a man sentenced to 5 years in 2001, time he spent in the same prison as Charlie.

Edinburgh police are supporting their Border colleagues by trying to find out as much they can about the suspect, an exercise that brings tragic news that has resulted in him acquired a 3 year old hostage, Elise. This raises the stakes considerably, and, out of the blue, the police receive a phone call from Hodgson, he is demanding to speak to Birch, making it clear that he will talk to no-one else but her. Puzzled as to why she has been chosen, Helen makes her way to Seefew, in the Bowman Valley, in the Scottish Borders, meeting the armed officer in charge, Jamal Leigh, and the trained crisis hostage negotiator, Rena Brooks, who tries to drum key points into her when negotiating, such as speaking with, rather that talking to, and humanising the hostage to Hodgson. Whilst Birch does her best, she is a police officer, in a desperate situation trying to ensure everyone comes out alive.

Askew creates a sympathetic character in Gerald Hodgson, harshly treated by the justice system during the traumatising and devastating Foot and Mouth disease, with the shell shocked communities having to endure the mass slaughter of all animals, an emotional nightmare, livelihoods threatening to go down the pan. Hodgson situation has Birch seeing her father, Jamieson, and Charlie in a more compassionate way as she begins to understand how he came to be where he now is. Suffering PTSD in 2001, Hodgson's mental health issues remained untreated in prison, and this remained the case in the years after his release, in which he faced a world that had turned its back on him. This is a thought provoking crime read, that describes the true horrors of foot and mouth in 2001, the repercussions of which still ripple within shattered communities, with Hodgson an unfortunate victim struggling to comprehend how he comes to be where he is. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

This is book four in the Helen Birch series and is the best yet. It's tense. well written and has excellent characterisation. As the story emerges, it centres round the outbreak of foot and mouth disease and the devastating effect it had on so many lives. I like the writing style, the emotion portrayed and the unexpected ending. I would recommend the read. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

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.

A gripping read that I devoured in one sitting

4+

DI Helen Birch prepares for the day telling herself it’s going to be a good one. She visits brother Charlie where she hears the news of a mass shooting just outside Kelso in the Scottish Borders. What unfolds is far, far away from the good day she envisages. The story is told in hourly narratives which works really well and principally from Helen’s perspective, there are some social media messages and news bulletins which add an extra layer to the story.

This is another good addition to this series and contains several layers in the storytelling. First of all, we have the unfolding drama and tense stand-off in the Borders which becomes a complex situation and this beautiful area is described so well you can picture it and is also used extremely effectively in the plot. The emerging backstory here involves the Armageddon of the devastating foot and mouth disease outbreak in 2001 which the author uses really well making this personal and pulling on your heartstrings. The scenario escalates and you feel the tension as the mystery and intrigue of why this has happened builds. It becomes very intense with your nerves and that of those involved crackling with tension. Secondly, this story digs deep into emotions. You feel unexpected sympathy for the perpetrator as his backstory emerges as you grow in understanding of the tragedy yet conversely you also feel the opposite at the danger, threat and fear that is caused. I think the perpetrators portrayal is very good as the author delves into the psychology of how someone loses themselves when suffering a severe psychotic break. It’s also good on relationships especially the complex one between Helen and her father Jamieson which is quite moving at times and the growing one between her and lawyer Anjan. The ending is extremely tense with the drama going backwards and forwards. I like the short staccato sentences the author uses that matches the chaotic action.

Overall, this is an action packed, tense, emotional plot although I do think it’s probably unlikely that Helen would be as involved as she turns out to be but it sure makes good fiction!

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Hodder and Stoughton for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Set over just 24 hours this is an easy, lazy Saturday read in one sitting book.
Definitely an absorbing read but I feel there are a lot of holes in the plot and lots of unanswered questions.
Having said that I would read the next book in the series due to the cliff hanger conclusion.

A gunman with a hostage.

And unarmed DI Helen Birch has to go in and negotiate with the killer who will only talk to her...

A thrilling addition to the series