3.5 stars rounded up

DS Ronnie Delmar #2

A distressed young woman arrives at Halesworth police station in fear for her life, then vanishes. Meanwhile, a local boy is snatched from his school playground. But the answer to one lies with the other, and as soon as DS Ronnie is submerged deep in a world she could never have imagined. Because to those who have created their own moral code, the truth is worth killing for.

When a woman and a child go missing, the disappearance of the missing child taken from the school gates takes precedence. DS Ronnie Delmar and her team are called in to investigate. I was pulled into the story by the premise. Two missing people, one adult, one child, was there a hidden connection between them? The characters are well rounded, and I quite like Ronnie and her partner Baz. I haven't read the first book in this series, so I don't if I've missed out on any backstory. I did enjoy this book, but it wasn't gritty as I would have liked. I will read more from this author in future.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #WellbeckBooks and the author #LucyMartin for my ARC of #Th Choice in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second in a series featuring DS Ronnie Delmar - I'd read the first, Stop at Nothing, a while back. though didn't remember that much about it. The Choice - I'm not wild about the title, which could be better - was a good read, seeing Ronnie grappling with both a case involving a missing woman and a catfishing man, and another case concerning a child abducted from the school gates. (It's understandable that the latter takes priority, and I know resources are limited, but I do feel the police should have capacity to take on more than one case at a time.) While the disappearance of little Liam Buckley obviously comes first, Ronnie's instinct is telling her that there's more to the missing woman, Ruth, than meets the eye, and indeed this proves to be the case, as we see enigmatic glimpses of Ruth's past. As for Liam. it seems not everyone around him might be telling the truth, but who and why?

I'm a sucker for a police procedural and I do like Ronnie and her colleague Baz, though we get only a limited amount of their backstories. The Choice was an enjoyable read which came together satisfyingly in the end. There's a proper baddie, and a few more ambiguous characters. I'll definitely look out for future books by Lucy Martin.

I struggled with Lucy Martin's writing style, and despite the premise sounding really intriguing and exciting - I didn't enjoy the actual plot.

This is a good police procedural, with excellent characterisation. It's a steady read and the plot kept me interested, with plenty action and tension, involving a missing woman and a child abduction. I liked the unexpected ending and would recommend it. The genre is full of excellent reads but this one is somewhere between good and decent. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

The Choice by Lucy Martin

A stolen child. A missing woman. You can only save one.
A distressed young woman arrives at Halesworth police station in fear for her life, then vanishes.
Meanwhile, a local boy is snatched from his school playground.
But the answer to one lies with the other, and soon DS Ronnie Delmar is submerged deep in a world she could never have imagined.
I enjoyed this book by an author I had not read before. I also found out that this is the 2nd titles in the series of DS Ronnie Delmar . The book intrigued me enough to go back and read her first one.

It's a place proceedure and does have a few twists and turns and likes yoh won't see coming. It wasn't my favourite book I've read this wk but it was fine to pass the time. Then again, I prefer more plot based thrillers rather than police procedural so this book wasn't really designed for me anyways. There's certainly nothing bad I can say, it just wasn't my cup of tea personally

An enjoyable read that was well written with a compelling storyline and well developed characters that were believable and relatable. The pacing was good and the story kept me engaged

This is a good police procedural with an interesting main character in DS Ronnie Delmar who is really concerned about a woman who has come into the station to report an attack but vanishes part way through however her welfare has to come second to that of a missing boy which doesn’t sit well with Ronnie who wishes to peruse both cases. Both cases were interesting with plenty about the characters to leave you wondering how truthful everyone has been and both elements of the story played out well. I would have liked a bit more of the detectives own lives in this, I felt that would have added more interest for me but otherwise it’s a very well executed story with some interesting plot twists.

This is not a book that will live on in my memory for weeks or months to come but it was a decent and enjoyable read.

A woman and a child go missing and the Police are called to investigate both disappearances. The disappearance of the child from the school gates takes precedence but little do they know just how close both cases may be related.

As I say, a decent police procedural with likeable characters which always helps. There was just really nothing about it either in the writing or the depth of the investigation that made it really stand out amongst what is obviously a very crowded genre.

Thanks to Netgalley and Welbeck publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy .This is the first book I have read by Lucy. I will be going back to read her first in the series. DS Ronnie Delmar is searching for a kidnapped boy, as well as a witness that disappeared from the police station. Secrets unfold as to how the two are connected in ways the reader will not see coming! Lots of god suspense in this book! Shocking ending!