This book was touch and go for me, it kept me engaged just enough to finish it through to the end. Would recommend…but beware you must persevere.

As you may know, I am a sucker for British books and I’ve recently discovered British True Crime novels. To say I am hooked is an understatement!

Special Constable Jane Bell witnesses a terrible stabbing at a traffic light, and holds the young woman as she takes her final breath. Gangs, drugs, and a missing little boy later- they have more questions than answers. It is gritty and can be triggering to some (ie. abuse, alcoholism, death).

It is a fast paced book with believable characters and is the second in the series by author Janice Frost.

I was given an ARC of this story to read; but thoughts and opinions are all my own. Thank you to NetGalley, Joffe Books, and Janice Frost for the chance to read this book!

This book was a fascinating read. It had lots of suspense, intrigue, some surprises and several emotional moments. If you like characters that are strong but also have some very human non-physical frailties, you'll like this book. I highly recommend this book to other police procedural readers.

Using young children to traffic and sell drugs means that the dealers are unable to be caught in the act frustrating DI Steph Warwick and her team,

A busy day in Lincoln and Special Constable Jane witnesses the stabbing of a young girl by a motorbike passenger, Jane hears her last words ':Nate: and dies at the scene. Although she hoped she would never again cross paths with DI Steph Warwick unfortunately the are both after the same man, the mysterious Nate

“His killers had cut off four of his fingers and beaten his face to a pulp before suffocating him using a plastic bag.”

✮✮✮✮

After a teenage girl is stabbed, in what seems like a targeted and drugs-related attack, her dying breath came with one word: “Nate”. A child is in danger, can DI Warwick and Jane Bell find him in time?

Omg yes. This book was incredible, the storyline was so intriguing right from page one. I hard about county lines drug gangs a few months back, happening in my small town with children as young as ten! So, I was definitely engrossed in this book! It was well researched and written, and I think not only can it be a great thriller, to keep you turning the pages, but also great for clueing people up!

The only thing that really disappointed me in book two of the Warwick and Bell series is that the writing style was so different. Book one was written from multiple POVs as like in this one, but book two was running on different timelines, which really threw me. Although it was incredibly written, it just annoyed me that there was so much jumping back and forth!

Thank you to Joffe Books, Janice Frost and @netgalley for providing me with a copy!

I enjoy thrillers and mystery most of which are quite graphic but although shocking, the reader feels distanced from it. The subject of this novel, gangs, grooming and child slavery seemed unremittingly real and therefore I didn't enjoy it

Murder Across the Lines by Janice Frost is the second book in the Warwick & Bell Series. This book was fast paced and excellently written. I was hooked within the first chapter. I have not read the first book called
Murder Among Friends in this series but it did not ruin this great storyline regarding Special Constable Jane Bell

I highly recommend this book and will go back and read the first book.

Looking forward to the next book within this series.

Big thank you to the author and Joffe Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book exchange for a review.

Murder Across the Lines by Janice Frost is the first book I have read by this author. I did not read the first book in this series, but I do not feel I missed anything. I enjoyed getting to know the characters, and the storyline and mystery were solid.

The book's pace is steady. The story has twists and some good action. An overall enjoyable read.

#MURDERACROSSTHELINES #NetGalley

The 2nd in the DI Steph Warwick versus Special Constable Jane Bell series, and better than the first to my mind. This time the two remain at odds - a loner, focussed and unfriendly, traumatised detective and an interfering, cuddly, widowed special - trying to apprehend a drug cartel. The cartel is using children to carry and distribute the drugs, abusing them, kidnapping them and forcing them to work - all very unpleasant stuff. The fact that is it happening in an otherwise pleasant rural situation brings to life the fact that drugs get everywhere, not just inner city ghettoes. Kids get murdered, addicts try to get help, others don't, Jane ferrets around just talking to people and Steph goes for it. They do, at last, have something of a grudging acceptance of the strengths of the other and Steph seems to be thawing a bit. Jane remains good at heart but still annoying! 3.5* rounded up. Thanks to NetGalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Murder across the lines by Janice Frost.
Warwick & Bell Crime Mysteries Book 2.
At a busy crossing in Lincoln city centre a motorbike skids to a halt. A man in leathers jumps off the bike and grabs a young girl waiting at the lights.
He pushes her roughly aside, remounts the bike, and roars away.
The girl falls to the ground. She’s been stabbed.
Special Constable Jane Bell witnesses the whole thing. She cradles the dying girl and hears the last word on her lips: the name of a missing local boy, a twelve-year-old called Nate Price.
DI Steph Warwick is also looking for Nate. Jane had hoped their paths would never cross again . . .
Now they need to work together to find Nate before he too is executed in broad daylight.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love a good mystery. I loved Janes character. I haven't read book 1 but I will be looking at it. I do hope there is more to come. 5*.

An excellent book that I found most enthralling. Features special constable Jane Bell who witnesses a young girl being stabbed whose last word was Nate. DI Steph Warwick leads the team investigating the murder and hunt for the missing boy Nate.

Murder Across the Lines by Janice Frost is a book that tackles the issues of gangs, drugs, and grooming children to become participants in criminal endeavors. The author did a good job researching the topic, but it gets a bit long to read when it comes to the details and some of them were repeated. I found myself trying to get through the book as quickly as I could as I did find it boring. However, I appreciate the effort the author went to in order to represent this part of society. I feel like it would be worth the time to investigate other books by this author and I plan to do so. 3 stars

triggers, law-enforcement, England, knife-crimes, PTSD, mental-health-issues, children-of-alcoholics, violent-crimes****

Grim. Too real. Yes, that's what it's like to live with an alcoholic parent. Yes, knife crimes are horrible. Yes, The Job can make hash of your mind.
I'm sure this is an excellent book, but hardly escapist reading. More like Stephen King.
Not for me, but good for some.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Joffe Books via NetGalley.

When a young girl is stabbed in front of Special Constable Jane Bell she tries to help the young girl while waiting for the ambulance to arrive.. As she holds the girl she hears her say Nate. There are more murders happening in Lincoln and also young boys are disappearing, is this down to the County Lines drugs gangs . DI Steph Warwick is investigating the murders and trying to find how the missing boys and the murders are relative to her investigation.
This is a great read showing the story from the main characters perspective and keeping you guessing until the end. Highly enjoyable

Constable Jane in London city center, sees what happens
Yet, how it was so timed, a girl waiting on a light,murdered
Jane is a curious person by nature, and case intriguing
Different views are give.
Children who get mixed into gangs
Well written plot, a stand alone or # 2 in series
Given ARC for my voluntary review and my honest opinion
for Net Galley and

In all honesty, I prefer this author’s Ava Merry series, but this is an accomplished book with a good plot and great characters. It’s tricky to really take to either of the main characters; one is meddlesome and annoying, whereas the other is bad tempered. Elias is the most likeable character in this series, but they all seem very real.

Warwick and Bell Book 2

At a busy crossing in Lincoln city centre a motorbike skids to a halt. Aman in leathers jumps off the bike and grabs a young girl waiting at the lights. He pushes her roughly aside, remounts the bike and roars away. The girl falls to the floor. She's been stabbed. Special Constable Jane Bell witnesses the whole thing. She cradles the girl and hears her last word: "Nate".

DI Step Warwick is leading the investigation into the young girls murder. Steph and Jane don't have a good relationship. A young boy called Nate is missing. This story revolves around gangland crime and drug dealing.

Filled with twists, this is an action packed read from beginning to end. I like the authors style in writing this book. The pace is steady throughout. It's an easy book to read and the characters are well developed and believable. Will they find Nate? You'll have to read the book to find out.

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

Across the lines refers to the practice that drug dealers do to continue their business with little chance of being caught. They target young children, groom them by giving them money, clothes, and mostly attention and the feeling that someone cares for them. After a while, the drug dealers put the kids to do favors for them ... delivering packets and picking up the money for them. The dealers are usually away from the larger cities and they send the kids to the small boroughs. After all ... who would suspect a 10-year-old girl or boy of delivering illegal drugs?

Special Constable Jane Bell witnesses a crime ... a passenger jumps off the back of a motorcycle, runs over to a young girl standing outside a cafe and is stabbed. Jane rushes to the girl and hears her last word ... "Nate".

Jane is not the only one who wants to know who he is. DI Steph Warwick is also looking for Nate, as well as looking for the gang members who seem to be moving into the area and ridding themselves of other drug gangs. It seems to be either shut your business down and work for me ,... or suffer the permanent consequences.

Jane and Steph had hoped their paths would not cross again. But now there’s a child in danger. The only question is . . . can they find him in time?

The suspense starts on the very first page in this story of the desperate search for a young boy. The action is all-consuming as the voices of law enforcement alternate with the voice of the child. Bodies start falling and no one knows when it will end... or if it will end. The relationship between Bell and Warwick is not an easy one (their history is in the first book of the series -- MURDER AMONG FRIENDS. Although 2nd in the series, it can easily be read as a stand-alone, however, I would recommend reading in order.

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

I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy of Murder across the Lines, the second novel to feature DI Steph Warwick and Special Police Constable Jane Bell of the Lincoln Police.

Jane witnesses a young girl being stabbed at a busy intersection and holds the girl as she mutters the name Nate. Steph is investigating another murder when the name of a young boy, Nate Price comes up. Linking the two cases it becomes imperative to find Nate, who has gone missing.

I read for entertainment and I can’t say that this novel is that. I found it dreary and depressing. For a start Jane and Steph pick up where they left off in the last novel, full of inexplicable dislike and antagonism. I can’t be bothered with the aggravation involved, but by the end of the novel there may be green shoots of a truce, so that’s something to look forward to.

The plot is extremely dreary, revolving around county drug lines and child exploitation. I understand that this is an important social issue and that the issues of poverty and neglect feature prominently in it, but I do not agree that fiction can do it justice. Fair dos that the author has taken it on and done a very credible job with it, it simply doesn’t interest me as entertainment as my social activism days are long gone.

The novel is told from Jane and Steph’s points of view obviously, but it gives equal time to the grooming of Nate. I don’t have any experience of this so I can’t judge, but it seems realistic and, not to put too fine a point on it, horrible.

Murder across the Lines will be of interest to many readers as it is informative and obviously well researched, but the subject matter is not for me, so it took me days rather than hours to finish the novel.

Thank you to Net Galley and Joffe Books for the chance to read and review this book. The opinions expressed are my own.
This is a mystery that kept my attention right from the beginning-lots of twists and turns and interesting characters. A young girl is stabbed on the street and the mystery begins. Why was she stabbed? This is the story of how two crime solvers figure out what happened to her and why. I recommend this book if you like a good mystery!