The suspects by Jodie Lawrence.
Detective Helen Carter book 3.
I really enjoyed this book. I did find this slow to begin with. Great story. Helen was my favourite character. I wasn't sure about Loughton. I liked McKinnley. I was surprised. 5*.

I have been a fan of Jodie’s work for a little while now. In fact I have been a fan ever since I had the good fortune to pick up the first book in the series featuring Detective Helen Carter, which is called ‘The Uniform’. I loved the second book in the series, which is called ‘The Evidence’. When I heard that Jodie was due to release another book in the series, I knew that I had to have it. I soon managed to get hold of a copy of ‘The Suspects’ and I squirreled myself away until I had finished reading it. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘The Suspects’ but more about that in a bit.
I love the character of Detective Helen Carter. At the beginning of ‘The Suspects’, we learn that Helen has been temporarily promoted to Acting Detective Sergeant Helen Carter, which hasn’t exactly gone down well with certain of her colleagues. Helen is carrying on the ‘family business’ in that her father was also a police officer. Her father has died and Helen is delaying having to clear out his belongings. Helen is determined, thorough, tough, tenacious and she doesn’t suffer fools gladly. I would say that she only really has one friend on her team as the rest either resent her or don’t agree with having a female detective.
It didn’t take me long to get into ‘The Suspects’. In fact by the time I got to the end of the synopsis, I knew that I was going to love this book. As soon as I started to read the story, I felt as though I had reunited with an old friend in Helen Carter. I found that I became addicted to reading ‘The Suspects’. I would pick the book up only intending to read to read a chapter or two but I would become so wrapped up in the story that I would still be sat there reading over half a dozen chapters later. My Kindle wasn’t exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me. I just couldn’t bear to miss a single second of the story. I developed a need to know how the story turned out and the pages flew past at speed. I soon finished the story and had to say goodbye to Helen Carter. I found ‘The Suspects’ to be a gripping and thrilling read, which kept me guessing and which kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.
‘The Suspects’ is superbly written but then that’s certainly true of Jodie’s books in general. Jodie has one of those writing styles that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with. I love the way in which Jodie captures the reader’s attention and then she reels them in- much like a fisherman reeling in a catch. For me the story hit the ground running and maintained a fairly fast pace throughout. I love the way in which Jodie makes the reader feel as though they are part of the story themselves and at the heart of the action as it were. Reading ‘The Suspects’ felt like being on an at times scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several twists and turns along the way.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘The Suspects’ and I would definitely recommend this book to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Jodie’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

A great debut novel by Jodie Lawrance, this book will keep you entertained and guessing as it follows Detective Carter in her attempt to stop a killing spree.
The plot is engaging and the pace of this story held my interest, I’m keen to read the next book.

Thanks so much to Joffe Books, NetGalley and Jodie Lawrance for an amazing new well written crime novel!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Jimmy Osburne is a cop killer ... not that he's ever been charged or jailed. Seems there is always someone who can alibi him. He feels so superior to the cops.

Detective Helen Carter is watching him. She knows he is guilty, she just can't prove it.

But he is watching her, as well.

Several years ago, Jimmy and his cohorts participated in an armed robbery. His friends were killed in a shootout with the cops ... and one of the cops was killer. His partner, who survived, is living with a bum leg and a heart full of vengeance.

Crime fiction is the genre of fiction that deals with crimes, their detection, criminals, and their motives. Most - though not all - crime novels crime novels share a common structure. First there is the crime, usually a murder; then there is the investigation; and finally the outcome or judgement. This author has checked all the boxes.

Suspenseful from the get-go, this novel is fast-paced and full of action. The characters are deftly drawn amid the rigors of trying to find proof to put a killer away. Helen also has other problems ... several of her team, as well as her supervisor, don't give her the respect she has earned. She's worked hard to prove herself, and other than one of her team, she's not making friends. But she's tenacious and will do all she can to put the bad guys away. Although 3rd in the series, this is easily read as a stand alone. However, I do recommend reading in order, as the backstories are good reading, as well.

Many thanks to the author / Joffe Books / Books n All Book Promotions / Negalley for the digital copy of this Scottish crime series. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Eight years before Jimmy Osbourne made a heist, wounded Detective Loughton's and killed his partner Leonard, and then escaped to Spain. Now he's back in Edinburgh presumably to get his stash, and Helen Carter has the case with Loughton and Terry McKinley to help her. They all have some background baggage: Loughton is drinking heavily and still has pain in his thigh from Osbourne's shot; McKinley's mother is ill, and Helen has broken up with her significant other. Osbourne seems to be able to do things which don't leave clues to implicate him, and has a VERY good lawyer. Helen is trying to get him for a jewelry robbery, and then she's called to the shooting of a young man, Dennis.

The case was called in as a dead body, but Helen realizes he is still alive and calls the ambulance. He's in very bad shape, and when Helen visits the hospital she meets a young woman who says she is his sister. They then find out that Dennis was given away by his mother shortly after birth and he had bounced around the system. Can Helen find evidence against Osbourne before he takes his money and runs, or perhaps guns her down?

This is book number three, and I have not read the first two, but felt most of the important details were filled in from past events. I will go back to read the first two as soon as I can.

The Suspects is the third instalment in the Detective Helen Carter series. It is a gritty and compulsive addition to a solid series in which Helen is assigned the case of Jimmy Osbourne, a cop killer and master criminal who has managed to elude the thin blue line successfully for years. Having fled to Spain some ago he has now returned to Edinburgh with Helen strongly suspecting he is responsible for a recent spate of crimes in the area as it's a little too coincidental. A cat and mouse game ensues as Carter tries to keep up with Jimmy’s movements.

But has she got what it takes to catch up to him and put him away for crimes he should have been paying for at a much earlier date? Another compelling, action-packed and thoroughly entertaining crime thriller ripe with twists, turns and red herrings throughout; it moves at a rapid-fire pace and is set against the atmospheric and unusual historical backdrop of 1978 Scotland, featuring as a side plot the struggle Helen has to brush off the scourge of misogyny within the workforce and prove her worth in the male-dominated world of policing.

Detective Helen Carter needs a break. Instead she's going head-to-head with notorious cop killer Jimmy Osborne. Eight years ago he pulled off the perfect heist and fled to Spain, leaving behind a trail of carnage, but not a shred of evidence to implicate him. Now, he's back in Edinburgh. But why? Helen has her suspicions.

There is a lot going on in this story and I liked the fast paced plot; I wanted to know if Helen was going to be successful in her chase. Various twists and turns will keep you wanting to read this one. This was my first of the series and I do think I would have enjoyed this one more if I had read the first two novels in the series as well.

Overall, I would recommend this one and read the next book!

Thanks to NetGalley, Joffe Books and the author Jodie Lawrence for my chance to read and review The Suspects.

The Suspects is the second book in a new Scottish crime series featuring Detective Helen Carter, a woman set on making her mark in a male-dominated force in the late 1970s. Fresh off a grueling case, Helen dives into a cold case that's suddenly come to life, as a notorious cop killer resurfaces in Edinburgh.

The novel takes many twists and turns, inside the police department and on the streets, placing Helen in the line of fire more than once, as she and her fellow detectives work to bring Jimmy Osbourne to justice before he can wreak any more havoc. In the process, she makes a disturbing discovery about her policing partner.

The Suspects includes good character development and moves the plot along with several storylines, including Osbourne's. The flow is a bit choppy in places, but most readers should be able to move past them and enjoy the overall story, which is filled with details of police work in the '70s and how hard women had to fight in order to be accepted. I look forward to seeing where this series leads.

Yet another amazing book. I love Helen carter. A great gritty crime thriller. Was such a good storyline. Kept me guessing. Can't wait for the next one.

Gritty Addition….
The third in the Detective Helen Carter series. Whilst our worn down Detective is badly in need of a break she finds herself embroiled in the case of Jimmy Osbourne. The notorious heist leader had fled to Spain and, now back in the city, she feels sure that he’s behind a recent spate of crime. Solid crime thriller and a worthy addition to this gritty series centred around a 1970’s Edinburgh.

Detective Helen Carter #3

Helen Carter needs a break. Instead she's going head-to-head with notorious cop killer Jimmy Osborne. Eight years ago he pulled off the perfect heist and fled to Spain, leaving behind a trail of carnage, but not a shred of evidence to implicate him. Now, he's back in Edinburgh. But why? Helen has her suspicions.

There's quite a lot going on in this book. Jimmy Osborne has returned from Spain where he had fled to after two police officers were badly injured. Helen is now investigating him for a jewellery robbery. There's also a shooting. This series is set in Edinburgh and DC Houghton is determined to get him back for his partners death. I do think you need to read this series in order, as I missed out on the second book in the series and I feel I've missed out on a lot of background information.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #JoffeBooks and the author #JodieLawrance for my ARC of #TheSuspects in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy of The Suspects, the third novel to feature DS Helen Carter, set in Edinburgh in 1978.

Alleged cop killer Jimmy Osbourne has returned to Edinburgh from Spain where he fled after the murder. Why, Helen isn’t sure but she has her suspicions and now she is investigating him for a jewellery robbery. Then there is a shooting and she suspects he might be behind that too.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Suspects, which is another meaty procedural that the reader can really get involved in. It is told almost entirely from the investigative point of view so the reader can live the investigation with them and make the same deductions, or not. I guessed some of it in advance of the reveal but the bulk of it was a mystery. Suffice to say it doesn’t turn out anything like I thought it would.

There is nothing exotic about this novel, no serial killer with weird motives, rather it is a tale of everyday, or, if not everyday, believable crimes that can be solved. I found it fascinating that they still manage without the cutting edge forensics, like DNA testing, available today.

No police procedural would be complete without departmental infighting and personality clashes. It is well done in this novel, heightened by the time setting. Helen is gradually becoming accepted as an effective detective and hard worker by her bosses, but the rank and file find it hard to accept that a woman can be effective, never mind promoted to acting sergeant. If anything, I think the antagonism is underdone.

The Suspects is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

First time I had read a book by Jodie Lawrance and it certainly won’t be the last. A page turner, up there with the best of Scottish crime and it is certainly a book I would recommend to those who like such similar books. Now to read more.

The Suspects by Jodie Lawrence
Once I started to read this I soon realised it was part of a series and whilst it could work as a standalone title , it did take a little of The shine away for me.
I enjoyed finding out about Detective Helen Carter and those around her. I enjoyed that it was set in Edinburgh in the 1970s , but was there CCTV around in those days ?
Anyway , a good read that had made me look out for her previous two in the series.

I love it detective series and when the books come one after the other like these it makes for even more enjoyment.

Detective Helen Carter doesn't have an easy life and I find myself hoping that she will get a break but it appears to be a long time coming.

In this story there is quite a bit going on. The background story is ongoing but more is revealed in this book plus the personal issues that are touched on in previous books get fleshed out more in this one leaving me wondering what will happen in book 4.

The main story is the reappearance of a villain who fled the country 8 years ago leaving 2 badly injured detectives. Now he is back and the Police are determined that this time he will pay for his crimes. But as before the evidence is missing but Jimmy has not factored in Helens dogged determination to find the missing link.

Another gripping story with well defined characters each with their human flaws that brings a realistic element to the story.

I am loving this series, which is set in the seventies, because its extremely well researched and is so authentic of how we lived at that time. It brings back so many memories.
It has likeable characters with interesting private lives and a great gripping plot which left me reading into the night.

Thank you Netgalley and Joffe Books for the eARC.
The third in the Detective Helen Carter was pretty good read for me, I like her and love the setting of Edinburgh.
Eight years ago, Jimmy Osbourne killed a police officer, leaving his partner, DC Loughton, severely wounded. Jimmy pulled of a heist that netted him an enormous amount of money, which he hid and then fled to Spain. Now he's back in Edinburgh to get the money. However, DC Loughton is in Edinburgh too, determined to avenge the death of his partner. Helen is also after Jimmy, believing him to be guilty of more than just the killing eight years ago.
This is a better book than the first two in the series; I believe the series will improve with each following outing, so I'm definitely invested in it. Recommended.

The third book in this series
It took me a while to get into the story but after I enjoyed her other two I persevered and started to enjoy it. With lots of gripping story lines, it became a hard hitting story. It won't put me off reading anymore books from this author just though it needed a bit more of the slap bang action that I'm used to reading .

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Joffe Books for the electronic review copy.

This is the third book in the Helen Carter series. Set in Edinburgh, Helen is now Acting Detective Sergeant, promoted over DC Randall, who continues to bear a grudge. This is set in the 1970s and that era's attendant despising of women in the workplace in general, sexism and downright harassment. But Helen is smart and educated and determined to continue proving her worth. She's fearless in her duty, yet misses her deceased father (a former DCI) and her brother. Her mother is about to re-marry and she's pleased for her that she'll find some happiness in her later life. She has one really good friend in DC Terry McKinley; they have a caring and supportive relationship.

1971 - DC Ian Loughton and partner Leonard are checking-out a warehouse on the edge of the city - they should wait for back-up but Loughton is looking towards a promotion - a fire-fight ensues which results in Leonard being shot dead and Loughton badly injured.

1979 - Jimmy Osbourne - believed to be involved in that shooting was acquitted because of an alibi, but he left behind a large sum of money when he moved to Southern Spain. Now he needs that money and flies into Edinburgh.

The detectives are determined to get him on something - not least of all DC Loughton who wants to avenge his partner's death. There follows a cat and mouse game in desperation, but they have nothing to hold him on.

Robbie and Dennis are friends - in fact, Dennis is Robbie's only friend - he's an orphan living in a B & B and jealous of Dennis's home and possessions - except that Dennis's father is a bully and abusive to him, and he hates Robbie.
Helen and her team are called to a body found in an alleyway by a supermarket and the hunt is on to find some ID for him and another enquiry starts.

Does this all sound a bit boring to you? Well, I'm really sorry to say that I found it the same. I found the police procedural and investigative sections a lot to be desired - just determination to get Jimmy on just about anything; what a waste of time. It really wasn't that interesting. Eventually some connections are made, but no great revelations.

The Suspects is the third book in Jodie Lawrance's Detective Helen Carter series,set in 1970's Edinburgh, and published a mere 2 weeks after the previous one !
The series is very much in the vein of Linda La Plante's "Tennison " books and Carter has to deal with the rampant sexism and outright hostility of colleagues who don't think the police force is any job for a woman.
Feared Edinburgh Gangster Jimmy Osbourne has been laying low in Spain for years but suddenly reappears in the city. Osbourne has a fearsome reputation and has foiled the police's attempts to nail him for killing one of their own and a massive robbery. Coming back has put him in the Lion's Den....so why is he back?
Within days of Osbourne's return 2 serious crimes are committed and it's strongly suggested that he's starting where he left off before heading for Spain.
Along with her motley band of colleagues,some of whom are coming to accept her,others still openly hostile Carter pursues Osbourne, while it appears that he is watching her as well.
These books are a fairly light read with the various characters domestic lives also being a feature. While they're not quite up to the same standards as the "Tennison" books they're not far behind either and get better with each book.
I'd only just finished the previous book in the series and I'd recommend new readers start with book 1 as they'll get a lot more out of the following books if they do,, there are several story-lines that run through all of them.