This is the first book in a new series featuring Detective Nikki Gill. The book opens with two young boys being cruelly abused in a care home with the older one doing his best to protect the younger boy. We then meet Nikki who has just arrived in an Oxford from the Met to take up a new post. Nikki has returned to her hometown to feel close to her mother and face the demons from her past. She is walking through the college grounds and hears a scream. On investigating she discovers the body of a college lecturer with his wife by his side. When another victim is killed in the same way Nikki and her team have to try to find the connection between them but little did she realise what she would uncover, Nikki had had a traumatic childhood and her brother Tommy was taken away from her mum into a children’s care home before he died. When she discovers that there is a link between the dead men and the same children’s home she knows that this is going to be a difficult and emotional case. The story is in two timelines, present day and twenty years previously and to events that took place in the children’s home. This book was a really gripping and harrowing read but written very sensitively, I look forward to book number two,
Thanks to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for giving me opportunity to read and review this book,

Book one in the DI Nikki Gill series. An ok read, a little slow to start. A good storyline that kept you guessing . Will be interested in see how the main character develops

“Stolen Souls” is book one in M.L. Rose’s newest detective series.

We follow Detective Nikki Gill as she is thrust into the throes of a murder case. With another body dropping soon after, Gill must race against time to solve the case.

There were several editing issues that I’m sure will be fixed prior to publication.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this advanced copy.

Book one in Nicki Gill series and a very enjoyable read. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

ARC from storm publishing. Thank you very much.

Great opening book for a new series.
Well written, good back story for characters and great storyline in the book.
Recommended and looking forward to next instalment.

Detective Nikki Gill has moved back to her home town of Oxford and about to start her new role, when she hears screams from the university grounds and discovers a professor has been murdered. She is plunged straight into the deep end. Soon another professor meets a similar end and links are made to allegations of abuse at a children’s home. Nikki neglects to advise, her brother was at that children home and was tragically killed.
ML Rose handles the delicate topic of abuse well and is a key feature in the underlying plot. Nikki’s character is well thought out and can see an engrossing series ahead. I would recommend this book to any crime fiction fan.

GOOD but not great for me. The main character was lacking in appeal in my opinion. I will look forward to some of his other novels in lieu of this one. Thanks to #NetGalley & #Bookouture for this ARC in return for ,my honest review/.

A good start to a series that I hope continues with Detective Nikki. The subject matter of abuse is a care home is a tough one but I believe the author covered it very sensitively. Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

A good read with some very well developed characters. The descriptions of Oxford were great but found the academia references confusing at times. A very promising series.

This is a great start to the new Detective Nikki Gill series. I haven’t read this author before so I was keen to read this book. I liked the short chapters, they were quick to read and kept me interested. The storyline will be quite sensitive for some but I thought it was handled extremely compassionately. All the characters were likeable and I look forward to reading the next book in this series to see how they develop. Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for letting me read and review this book.

Thanks to netgalley for providing this advanced copy for the purpose of review.

This was a good start to a new crime series. A solid storyline with promising characters.

Stolen Souls by M.L. Rose is the first book in the new Detective Nikki Gill series and what a brilliant first book within this series was. It had a great story line with good twists and turns and will keep you guessing who the killer is.

On one crisp winter evening, Detective Nikki Gill was taking a peaceful stroll through New College Oxford grounds before starting her new job at Kidlington Criminal Investigations unit the following day.
But, she hears a blood-curdling scream coming from one of the buildings, and starts to run to where the scream was coming from. She discovers the lifeless body of Professor Brian Allerton in his office and his wife kneeling by his side. She needs to call it in, this will be a great way to meet her new colleagues. Especially as his will be her first case already underway before she's officially begun her new role,

Nikki is feeling the pressure. With her recently divorced, Nikki's return to her hometown of Oxford after years away has also brought back her memories of her traumatic childhood to the surface, and especially the tragic loss of her brother Tommy, who spent time in a children's home before his fatal accident.
But, She needs to stay strong and bury these memories but its going to be hard, so very hard!

As Nikki and her new team start to investigate, they dig deeper into Brian's life and uncover an unsettling connection to Dunston Hill, the very same children's home this is where Nikki's brother lived. But just when Nikki thinks she has made a breakthrough in the case, the body of another professor is found.

With the investigation becoming more personal by the minute, Nikki must confront painful memories and old wounds.

Can she overcome her past to solve the murder and bring justice to the victims before the killer strikes again?

This book was excellent......and I Love the new character Detective Nikki Gill looking forward reading more about her.

I highly recommend this book........5 solid stars!

Big thank you to netgalley and storm publishing and the author M.L.Rose for my early copy of her book.

this was quite an upsetting read with a lot of difficult topics being addressed. However, it was written very well and the reader was constantly engaged throughout. A good page turning mystery that will pull on your heart strings

The two little boys clutched each other's hands, shivering. The wind whistled through the cracks in the window frames of the children's home they lived in. Outside their room, they could hear footsteps coming closer. 'I don't want to go,' the small boy whimpered to his friend, 'don't let them take me.'

This is the quote from the book that drew me to read this and it is as thrilling and chilling as it sounds. With Detective Nikki Gill starting a new job her first case is quite confronting and quite a sensitive subject. But it is written so well and the characters well written and formed.

Yes it is a difficult subject but this is a book that definitely a thrilling crime story that will draw you in. It is a great start to a new series and one I hope to continue reading.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank Netgalley and Storm Publishing for my copy of Stolen Souls by M L Rose
This is the first book featuring DI Nikki Gill and starts with a bang when a university professor is killed in the college grounds.
Nikki only arrived in Oxford a week ago and has no time to settle in to her job before finding herself at the head of a major case.
The story has flashbacks to 30 years ago and things that happened in a children’s care home.
A sensitive story with no gratuitous descriptions
I enjoyed this book by a new to me author and will be looking out for book 2 and other books by this author.

I found this a very upsetting read. My heart went out to the two little boys being abused in a care home. Not a comfortable read at all. Not sure if I enjoyed it very much. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

This is as tough read in places due to the nature of the content but it is written sensitively. The majority of the book is from Nikki’s POV but we get flashbacks to the past from the boys in the care home. I’m still not sure how I feel about Nikki and her team but I would read book 2 in the series to see if they are fleshed out more. The case kept me guessing although the pace was a bit slow in places. I also found the detailed descriptions of Oxford and the university were a bit much and took me out of the story.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

I received a copy of the ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

This book starts with the disturbing account of two boys in a care home who are being abused. The older one tries to protect the younger, but they are powerless against the men who abuse them.

Nikki Gill has just arrived in Oxford to take up a post with the police after many years with the Met. The night before she is due to start she is walking through the College grounds when a piercing scream is heard. On investigation she finds a woman standing over a body in a lecturers study. Although not officially started her job she soon takes charge. Although this doesn't go down very well with another detective who thinks he should be SIO. However they soon learn that the politics of the University Colleges are a minefield & the case comes close to home when investigations lead them to the care home where Nikki's brother had been when he died.

I found this a bit of a difficult book to review. There were details that seemed to contradict themselves. I didn't really feel I knew Nikki much better by the end. Maybe she'll grow on me! I would give this one 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

A good start for a new chrime thriller series. It kept me reading and surprising. Nikki is a well developed and clever woman, there's an interesting cast of characters.
The descriptions of Oxford are fascinating
Can't wait to read the next one
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Wow!
Stolen Souls grabbed me and didn’t let me go until I finished the book. I had to keep reading to find out what the outcome was going to be. Now….I am so ready for the next book in the series!
I enjoyed getting to know Detective Nikki Gill and her team. I think their personalities work well together.
M.L. Rose is a new author to me. I found her writing very intriguing and engaging. The flow of the story was smooth and solid. The story itself is a very heartbreaking and emotional (child abuse/molestation) read for sure.
The setting is in Oxford a place I lived close by for 4 years. I could relate to many of the places the author referred to which was nice. In fact, my son was born in Oxford.
Definitively recommend this new series to crime fiction lovers.
Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.