Thank you to #Netgalley and #HQ for the advance copy of #SlaughterhouseFarm by #TOrrMunro

This book follows on from Breakneck Point, the first in the series involving CSI Ally Dymond.
Although I wasn’t sure where the series was heading after the first one, a lot of the questions were answered in this second outing.
I didn’t realise CSI’s had so much involvement in the investigating of the crime, most crime books focus on the detectives. It is nice to read a book from a different prospective.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to the next.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Having read the first book in the series I was very much looking forward to the second outing of Ally Diamond. Unlike many second novels that sometimes lose their way after a promising first novel, this didn’t disappoint.
I was instantly hooked and like Ally, was following all the twists and turns that the case took. Numerous times I thought I had figured out what was happening only to be taken down another blind alley
Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this, roll on book 3.

Ally is on sick leave after a major incident which involved her daughter and the death of a suspect..When a man is murdered at a local farm she is called back to add some expert opinion. The murder is particularly bloody and remarkable in that it appears to have been committed by the victim’s mother. Ally’s own life is in freefall; her daughter is still recovering from major medical trauma; Ally has personal demons to conquer and her best friend is dating man who has a history of physical assault..

I was introduced to Ally in Breakneck Point - the first in this series. She is a likeable but complex character with an interesting backstory; a single Mum who has fled an abusive relationship. I was looking forward to catching up with her story particularly after the incredible ending of the first book. Ally’s story is a major part of the attraction of reading this series. Professionally she’s a great detective, experienced, full of integrity..but on a personal level she appears to be falling apart and making some questionable decisions which added to the tension of the novel as you feel things are getting a little out of control. What is she capable of?

I also really enjoy the setting of this series. So many detective novels are set in urban areas and rural crime is rather ‘refreshing.’ Set in North Devon with scenery sweeping along the coastline, onto Exmoor and around towns like Bideford, policing is a very different experience, more intimate..with local knowledge like which doors farmers use informing the crime scene, and very localised crime including money laundering through cattle markets and illegal supply of meat..

The story built at the pace which I enjoy - I am always happy to mooch around the scenery and learn more about the central characters. It’s a pace which allows the author to establish a second narrative which involves a young girl called Miriam who became pregnant as a teenager and lost her baby and her boyfriend. We know this story links …but how? The pace also allows the author to establish a number of lines of enquiry and suspicion. And just as we are getting ready to point the finger, there’s a fire, and another murder and things really get tense.

An absorbing and very enjoyable read!

This is a series that is a millipede in that I hope it has legs for a long time to come!

As the second book in the series it feels at once familiar yet there is enough background for anyone who hasn't read the first not to feel lost. The book is full of wit and charm and has enough twists to get most readers engaged. Ally is a great character with much more to be revealed I am sure.

Book 3 is when???

This is the second book in the CSI Ally Diamond series (the first being Breakneck Point).

The book opens with our main character currently on compassionate leave following an incident in the first book. There is a murder discovered at Slaughterhouse Farm and try as she might to avoid getting involved, the pull of her skills and the desire to ensure justice is done, drag Ally into the enquiry.

What starts as a murder enquiry, soon turns into a much more complicated web of Inter-linked events and crimes.

I enjoyed feeling I was beside Ally, as she tried to piece the clues together, whilst also dealing with ‘life-challenges’.

The settings perfectly captured the dark, isolated feelings and there were moments I felt a distinct shiver.

A fast-paced thriller which kept me gripped, searching for answers, reading between the lines, chasing the conclusion and now wanting more. Thoroughly enjoyable, roll on book 3.

CSI Ally Dymond book 2.

When an elderly lady is found on the isolated moors late at night holding a knife and covered in blood it seems an open and shut case when her son is soon found dead from Stan sounds at their home. What could possibly make a devoted mother stab her beloved son to death.

Still on compassionate leave following the events in the previous book, Breakneck Point, Ally is asked by the new DI to take a look at the evidence. Seeing some things that seem inconsistent Ally isn't convinced events are as straight forward as they seem.

This is a cracking thriller with plenty of twists to keep you guessing right til the last page. I loved it and absolutely flew through it. Can't wait to read more from this brilliant author

Thanks to @HQStories @harpercollins and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book.

I loved the first in this series, 'Breakneck Point', and this follow up is even better.

We rejoin CSI Ally Diamond after the events of book one, and the author fills us in on where all the characters are now, physically and emotionally. The fallout from book one is a thread throughout the story, and the consequences of what happened, particularly to her daughter Megan is dealt with thoroughly, and fuels another really interesting plot thread.

Although not back in Major Crimes yet, Ally becomes involved in a strange case of what looks like a filicide, but is it really?

This book is rich in character development and plot, there are lots of twists, but the whole thing is so well structured that it always hangs together.

There are a few shocks along the way as well, (no spoilers), and these add to the richness of the story.

Easy five stars from me, highly recommended, looking forward to book three.

Another episode in the CSI Ally Diamond series, this one follows on straight after the shocking events in the previous tale. An elderly woman discovered wandering soaked in blood on the moor starts it all off. The discovery of her son’s body in their farmhouse it seems to be an open and shut case. Despite Ally being on compassionate leave a new SIO asks her to look at the case. What follows is an intriguing story with lots of twists and turns, drug dealing, Ally’s relationship with her daughter Meghan and her own friends, the reappearance of Meghan’s father all cleverly introduced to the tale. Another murder by arson in Ally’s home of Meghan’s friend all these events contribute all leading to the amazing denouement. Good stuff!

This is a great crime thriller.
When a woman is found wandering around with a knife dripping with blood, it’s not long before the Police find the dead body of her son.
Miriam is in deep shock and is unable to speak but is arrested for her son’s murder.
The DI on the case asks Ally for her help as she’s the best CSI she knows, however she’s still on compassionate leave. Ally can’t resist having a look at the crime scene though and opens up new lines of the investigation.
Ally keeps close to the investigation but will not agree to returning to work as she wants to put her daughter first.
There’s lots more happening in this book but I don’t want to spoil it for you.
This is a great read that I really enjoyed.
Thanks to HQ and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Someone killed Gabe but it wasn't his mother Miriam, who is found covered with blood and holding a knife,. But who and why? That the question Ally has to answer in this twisty tale of secrets, lies, and a life of crime. Ally is meant to be caring for her daughter and herself after a traumatic event (detailed in the last book of the series) but this is just too intriguing. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

In the dead of night, 72-year-old Miriam Narracott is found wandering on Exmoor, holding a knife and covered in blood. Inside the family farmhouse lies the body of her adult son, Gabe. CSI Ally Dymond is on compassionate leave, but when approached by the new DI, recently arrived from London and eager to have Ally's keen eye and local knowledge on the case, she finds herself being drawn back in. With their only suspect Miriam unwilling – or unable – to talk, the team must dig into the family’s history.
The second outing for Ally & another engrossing multi layered murder mystery that had me gripped from the first page & I read this captivating in two sittings & found it hard to put down. I really like Ally who has personal problems to deal with as well as this mystery. There are the obligatory twists, turns & red herrings. The pace is fast & I was surprised where the inquiry led. I look forward to more in the series
My review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

This follows on a short while after the events of Breakneck point. Ally is still keeping Megan of off school and it is causing friction between them. Ally is still on compassionate leave when she is asked by the replacement DI to look at a murder scene at a local farm. Ally is able to give her insights into the case and also a local burglary. The murder leads to a widespread investigation, which throws up many red herrings. In the meantime, Megan's absent father shows up causing Ally further grief. Another murder could be related or not and its down to Ally to solve it.
A fast paced read.

Slaughterhouse Farm by T Orr Munroe is an absolutely gripping contemporary crime novel that I just could not put down. It is the second book in the CSI Ally Dymond series but can be read as a stand-alone. I cannot wait to read more books in this outstanding series.
The action is set in Devon. Whilst the countryside can be beautiful, there are some gruesome discoveries that are at odds with the natural beauty.
Trauma can be hard to heal from. It may last a lifetime. A life has been blighted since a teen, being fed lies by those who should know better.
Mothers protect their offspring – and not always in the way we expect.
All the characters were well drawn and realistic. The leading lady is believable as she is perfectly flawed. We see her desire to protect, her huge heart that gives second chances and her tenacity to seek out the truth. I found her capacity for empathy extremely moving in the closing scene.
T Orr Munroe has created a fabulous intricate plotline that was well executed and thought out. My attention was grabbed from the start and held throughout.
I look forward to reading much more by this fabulous author.
I received a free copy from the publishers. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

After reading Breakneck Point, Ally's first outing, I had some niggles which I hoped were mostly concerned with it being a first in series. I am happy to say that this follow up was, for me, a much better book and the niggles have all pretty much been resolved.
We start with a weird situation. 72 year old Miriam Narracott is found wandering at night on Exmore by a family driving past. They stop to help but are shocked to see she is holding a knife and covered in blood. Police are called etc etc and it eventually turns out that back at the family farmhouse where she lives, lies the dead body of her son Gabe. Open and shut case? It would seem so but Miriam is not talking.
After the shenanigans of the previous book, Ally is on compassionate leave. When she does return though, it will be under new DI Harriet Moore, freshly arrived from London and completely green in the local knowledge that they will need to get to the bottom of what happened. So Ally is invited back to consult. An invitation that is initially rejected until she spots something the investigating team have all missed...
This is well plotted and that plot ably executed. Despite what I said above I am still not quite 100% sold on Ally but I am not giving up on her. I have a love/hate relationship with quite a few main characters and we mostly do eventually get there. Two outings is nowhere near enough to judge completely.
The crime is interesting and intriguing and kept me on my toes throughout. I tried to guess but soon gave up as futile and just sat back and enjoyed the ride. It contains all the usual twists and turns, secrets, lies and dysfunctional behaviour that you'd expect from a book of this genre.
It also takes a turn that I never saw coming...
All in all, a decent follow up book which leaves me eager for more. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

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

wow where to start with this one...

when a woman is found wandering in her bloody nightie with a knife dripping with blood the police are called

it soon becomes evident that back at her home one of her sons has been murdered

ally is on compassionate leave but hears about the murder and for some unknown reason is asked to visit the scene by the new DI

and from that visit comes the first clue

what a ride this book is... a powerful storyline of love hate and injustice and the hits dont stop coming with this one

cant wait for the next one in this series

Was I supposed to have read the first book in the series, Breakneck Point? Unfortunately I haven't,but gladly, this new book was easily read as a standalone, and whilst entitled Slaughterhouse Farm, there was far more to the story than lots of blood and murders!

The main character CSI Ally Dymond (on compassionate leave) becomes involved in a twisty tale set in rural Devon. Her local knowledge becomes invaluable to the whole investigation but with plenty of Ally's personal and domestic life for her to have to deal with.

The author balances the whole thing really well with a superb, involved and satisfying ending. I love her style of writing, and a book well worthy of five stars.

Thanks to Net Galley and HarperCollins UK for the chance to read and review.

Loved this twisty thriller. I didn't guess any of the twists and they unfolded in a way that was thoughrely compelling. I think Orr offers great insight into the role of the CSI. It was well paced and the characters were well developed.

I’d like to thank HQ and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Slaughterhouse Farm’, the second in the CSI Ally Dymond series written by T Orr Munro, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

A family are driving home from their holiday when they come across an elderly woman standing in the middle of the road holding a knife and wearing a white blood-stained nightgown. She’s identified at Miriam Narracott and when the police visit Narracott Farm, once known as Slaughterhouse Farm, they find the body of her son Gabe dead from stab wounds. CSI Ally Dymond lives and works in the farming community of Bidecombe and although she still has three weeks of compassionate leave the new Detective Inspector Harriet Moore asks her to take a look at the crime scene to make sure nothing’s been missed.

‘Slaughterhouse Farm’ is a gripping thriller based in Devon and can be read as a standalone although I benefitted from knowing what happened previously in the wonderful ‘Breakneck Point’. The story involves Ally grudgingly getting involved with the case but also goes back to when Miriam was a naïve teenager and the circumstances she found herself in affecting the actions she took. The character of Ally Dymond is excellently portrayed as she’s involved with the crime scene rather than the police force itself which adds an extra dimension to the investigation, especially as her private life with daughter Megan and best friend Penny are an important part of the story. This is a brilliant thriller that has an abundance of drama, suspense and twists and turns, causing me to keep changing my mind as to what happened. The story was gripping and I couldn’t stop reading, the final twist so unexpected it blew my mind. I can’t wait for a third in the series by this amazing author.

After reading the first instalment Breakneck Point I was hugely excited for Slaughterhouse Farm. Absolutely phenomenal read!! Although it is the second book it can be read as a stand alone.
Ally is still on compassionate leave after the events in the first book in which Megan her daughter was nearly killed by a serial killer! Miriam is found wandering on an isolated road in the middle of the night with a blood soaked night dress and holding a knife, her son Gabe is lying in their farmhouse having been stabbed to death. It seems from.this that it's a pretty cut and dried case, but with no motive and Miriam not speaking the police have their work cut out for them trying to piece together what happened. The more they look.into the family the more things they begin to uncover like Gabe being involved in some serious criminal activity! Ally gets asked in on the case to give her opinions, especially as she knows the,area and the farm.

Loved this second instalment highly anticipating the next Ally adventure. Will be recommending friends and family. Many thanks NetGalley and HQ for giving me the opportunity to read this.

The second book in the series featuring CSI Ally Dymond but it can easily be read as a stand alone. It is set in Devon and certainly packs a punch. There are lots of different aspects to the story but it all comes together in a brilliant nail biting finally