The DI Alex Finn series is one of my favourites and Will Shindler is an amazing author. His novels are brilliantly-written, intense, and full of twists and, as expected, his latest one, The Cold Case, is a thrilling read that I couldn’t put down.

Told in two timelines, in 2009 and in the present day, the story sees DI Alex Finn facing one of his old cases, involving the kidnapping of three teenagers, that affected him so personally that he is still in touch with the victims and his families. And, when one of the victims is found dead, he starts to wonder if mistakes were made and the real culprit may still be out there. Did they arrest the right person? And what really happened to these three teenagers on that hot summer of 2009?

DI Alex Finn and his team at Cedar House race against time to find out the truth before it’s too late, but they are still recovering from the murder of one of their own and the betrayal of another, while welcoming a very enthusiastic new member. And while the old case brings back to Alex memories of his past and of meeting his wife, the capable and unflappable newly promoted DS Mattie Paulsen finds herself plunged into her new role while facing her own family problems.

I really enjoyed The Cold Case. It’s dark and gripping, some of the scenes are not easy to read and others are quite emotional. It kept me on edge from the first to the last page and it left me already looking forward to the next book.

Another incredible thriller by Will Schindler in the DI Alex Finn series. You can always rely on Wills books to be action pact, fast paced and he just keeps the reader wanting more.

In 2009 two teenagers were abducted and thrown into the back of a white van. Whilst they were kept in a cellar another missing boy (who had been taken prior to this and was being looked for by the police) was also put in the cellar. As a DC Alex Finn worked on this case. The kidnapper also murderer confesses and the case was closed.

Fast forward to today and crimes being committed and remarkably similar and link back to the case Alex dealt with back in 2009, however the person who was charged and admitted to these crimes is now dead.

With one of the surviving teenage victims now being murdered and the second working in a cafe Alex starts to doubt whether or not they caught the right person. As well as that the mother of the murdered teenager Oliver is convinced they have the wrong guy and so is the last of the surviving trio. In order to get Alex’s attention and get the police to listen to him he holds Alex and another person hostage saying he will only let them go if the case is reopened.

I’ve got to say Will Schindler has out done himself with this one. Until about 3 quarters of the way through this book I didn’t have a clue who was behind these crimes. In the end I did guess who but it was way more luck than judgement.

Once I picked up this book I didn’t want to put it down. I now remember why I want to go back and read some of the other books in this series that I haven’t already read. On that note this book can be read as a stand alone however I’d say it would be a good idea to read the previous book in this series as there is some reference to what happened in the past but I won’t say to much as no spoilers.

Thank you to NetGalley the publisher and the author for an advance copy of this book in exchange for this review. It was fast paced, action packed, exciting and had more twists and turns than a rollercoaster.

This is book five in this most excellent series and, you know what's coming - series book, to get the best from it, start from book one and read in order. You know it makes sense...
So... In this book we get to go back to 2009, to meet a young Alex Finn. When he was a junior officer working on the case of some missing teenagers during a long hot summer. Two were saved, one sadly not, the perp going free. Back in the present day and that case, the one they failed to solve, has come back to bite him in his nether regions. I say never solved, someone did confess, eventually. Anyway, there's a body, a dead female, with links back to the 2009 case. Making past and present collide... Which, to be honest, isn't a bad thing as the team needs to have something to focus on after the death of one of their own not so long since. Obviously they'd all prefer it didn't concern the death of others but still...
I blooming loved this book, as I have all the previous too. But there was something extra special about this one that gave it just that edge. Maybe it was the foray into the past to see a glimpse of the young Alex. Maybe it was how we got to witness Alex meeting his now late wife Karin. That was a nice extra touch that I really did love. If you have read the previous books, you'll know how much the death of Karin has affected Alex.
And then there's the crimes being investigated. The current one and they also go back and re-investigate the kidnapping and death. Both threads progressing at exactly the right rates to bring it all together seamlessly. Both delivering shock after surprise and revealing secret after lie as the truth is finally all laid bare. An ending that left me wholly satisfied.
And as well as all of that, we have a new team member to welcome. DC Vanessa Nash who is partnered with Mattie, it's also a nice side story seeing her introduction.
I really can't wait to see what happens next for Alex and his team. All in all, this is a series that I can't recommend enough to fans of the genre. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

A deftly woven storyline bringing together the events of 2009 involving a death and also the abduction of 2 teenagers. And now where the death of one of those teenagers sparks off a new investigation. Old wounds are reopened and ghosts of people past revisited. There are many twists and turns along the way for the lead detective Finn and his trusty team

This was a five star read for me!

The story starts with the murder of Jemima whose body was found. DI Alex Finn recognizes Jemima as one of the kids who got kidnapped along with two other teenagers nearly fifteen years ago. When Finn tells Leo, Jemima's boyfriend at that time about Jemima's murder, Leo keep Finn hostage along with others as he tells Finn that the person, who is currently locked up in prison for their kidnapping and the murder of one teenager is not responsible for what happened fifteen years ago and that Finn must find the real killer before it is too late.

This was a fast paced thriller to me. The page divides back and forth between the present day and the past set in 2009 when Finn was investigating the teenager's kidnappings. This is also a page turner as well. I was hooked into the story from the first chapter till the end and there are twists and unexpected turns along the way. The ending was brilliant and was quiet unexpected.

I hope this will become a series as I cannot wait to read more books from this author--worth 5 stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Hodder for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

I love this series! Is it just me or is Will Shindler a little overlooked by the crime fiction community? Alex Finn and Mattie Paulsen are such an interesting combination and so well portrayed. This clever novel combines a current and past crime in a fascinating way and the tension never lets up. Superb!

To begin with I found this book slow going, then as I got a third of the way through, I didn't move until I'd finished it! There were a lot of then and now scenes (which often drive me crazy) but I barely noticed. The characters had their own problems to contend with so at times it could be a little sad, but I can honestly say I didn't guess who was responsible. I had my suspicions (probably because of the way the character acted) but I was completely wrong! I will be looking for other books in this series.

2009. Alex Finn is a junior officer assigned to the case of 3 missing teenagers. After an extensive search two are finally found. But it's too late for the one, Oliver.

2023. Reports come in of a body found. And the name is very familiar to the now DI Finn. Why now? What on earth is going on?

What follows is a now and then plot that leads to an explosive ending. I genuinely did not guess that ending. I love this series and I loved this book. Cannot recommend it highly enough.

4.5⭐

The Cold Case is my first introduction to author Will Shindler and protagonist DI Alex Finn and what a cracking introduction it is!

As DI Alex Finn back in 2009 was working as a DS and was involved in a strange and haunting case. That saw on two separate occasions, three teenagers Oliver, Jemma and Lee abducted. 

And after a frantic search found by Alex in the basement of a house in London. But only two of the three teenagers survived and the perpetrator was never found. 

Until 2015 when a sex offender admitted to being responsible. Yet, Alex has never quite believed he was telling the truth but accepted the case was closed and made a point of keeping in touch with the victims' families and Jemma and Lee who survived their ordeal.

But thanks to Alex's bereavement and the shocking loss of his colleague Alex has let things slide and he's not quite up to date with the families as he'd like to be.

Which is why when he's called to a crime scene in Tooting he's shocked to see the victim is Jemma and instead of heading straight to her family home he goes to talk to Lee at the cafe where he works.

And finds himself facing down the barrel of a gun.

Now the team headed by DS Paulson and including newbie DC Vanessa Nash have to frantically search for Jemma's killer without him. Whilst also trying to figure out why Lee adamantly believes his abductor killed Jemma and is still actively abducting teenagers just like in 09. 

And it's a race against time.

As the story seamlessly slips between the current investigation, the 09 investigation and the hostage situation Alex finds himself in.

And you are taken on a rollercoaster ride! As you are drip-fed details of what really happened when Jemma and Lee were abducted and what lies those closest to them and Olivers family have been keeping.

And with so many twists and turns. A perpetrator I did not see coming and characters I want to read more about. This was a fantastic read. That kept me up until the early hours as I just had to know how it was going to end!

I'm now off to read all the books I've missed out on and would happily recommend The Cold Case to all.

I've read others in the DI Alex Finn series and enjoyed them. This one takes us back to earlier in his career, when three young people are abducted and one is murdered. Alex holds himself responsible for allowing the culprit to escape, in his bid to save the lives of the other youngsters. Fast forward to present day and one of the girls kidnapped is found dead. Alex goes to tell her friend, the other survivor, only to find a damaged man who is determined they had the wrong person (despite a confession) and insisting that Alex reopen the case. All the families involved in the abductions are throwing around blame and recriminations as they come to terms with the fact that the confessor may not have been the only perpetrator.

The result is an interesting tale, showing the psychological scars of abduction can last long after the events. However, I found the ricocheting between 2009 and the present a little confusing - it seemed every other paragraph was in a different time line. The story would perhaps have had more cohesion with less jumping around.

Overall I enjoyed it, but I didn't find it as gripping as the others in the series. Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the latest dark offering from Will Shindler's marvellous DI Alex Finn series, and what an addition, with his team and DCI John Skegman still reeling from the trauma and loss of Jackie Ojo as they are plunged into another set of challenging circumstances in the wintry chill and snow. This takes Alex back to his haunted past and the sweltering heat of 2009 and the tense hunt to find 3 abducted teenagers, first Oliver Littlewood, and then Lee Ellis and Jemma Vickers. It documents his first initial and unpromising meeting with his dead wife, Karin, then a duty solicitor, and the development of their relationship. Two are eventually rescued, one is found brutally murdered in a cellar, whilst the kidnapper escapes. A few years later, a dying man confesses to the killing, providing details that were never made public, ostensibly bring the matter to a close.

An emotionally deeply affected Alex kept in touch with key players in the case through the years right up until Karin's death left him wrapped up in an unbearable grief. However, he is taken straight back to the past when he recognises a dead body, only for the situation to explosively spiral out of control when he goes to break the news of the death. The spiky DS Mattie Paulsen finds herself in the unwanted position of leading the police team with the new DC Vanessa Nash, taking a second look at the 2009 cold case, and the repercussions which have spilled into the present and which include murder. They find themselves chasing down a lead from the dark web, the sinister and menacing Red Tide, making money from a macabre niche market. In a bleak and twisted narrative that shifts from the past to the present, we are given insightful glimpses into a key set of characters, their future shaped by what happened in 2009, connected, fragile, with some broken and damaged beyond repair.

Shindler does a remarkable job in forensically examining the impact of grief, guilt, secrets, a daisy chain of shared pain and anger passed between the group through the years, with the truth being buried, guaranteeing the trauma and wounds would fester tragically out of control. Finn is determined and tenacious in chasing justice in the present as he becomes aware they had got it so wrong in 2009. This is a thought provoking and smart crime read, a stellar addition to a brilliant series with characters I have become completely invested in. I look forward with great anticipation to the next in the series! Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

This was a great read. You're thrown into the action straight away and kept gripped til the very end.

Another DI Finn/Mattie Paulsen investigation this time into a 15 year old case that rears its ugly head again after the suspicious death of a woman , a victim in the previous case. The body count builds rapidly and with half the story a hostage situation with Finn one of them it’s all very tense. Full of splendid twists and turns one is led to suspect a senior officer as the one behind it all until a shock turn reveals all. Excellent stuff!

The Cold Case by Will Shindler is the fifth book in the DI Alex Finn series.
In short, simply as the title, it’s a cold case which rears it’s ugly head again when the death of a young woman is connected to an unsolved crime committed 14 years ago which DI Alex Finn was involved with and tormented by ever since!
This is the first book I’ve read in this series and apart from there is obviously a back story it didn’t hinder the read in fact it just made me want to immediately read all the previous books! It’s a pacy, well written, riveting British thriller with a satisfying twist at the end. Will Shindler is a great storyteller and I’m looking forward to reading more from him.
Big thanks to Will Shindler, Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for this eARC which I chose to read in return for my honest review.

I do love this series, have really enjoyed getting to know Will Shindler's very troubled protagonist, DI Alex Finn, and his spiky yet efficient partner in crime-fighting, DS Matti Paulsen. It's fair to say though, that The Cold Case feels like somewhat of a milestone in the series. We learn more about Alex's past, both his police career and the start of his relationship with his wife, Karin, but also see far more of Mattie as she is forced to take on a new, more serious role within the team. It is both sort of a beginning and an end, a very intriguing premise for a reader and one which had me hooked from the very start.

The story opens with Alex being called to the scene of a suspicious death. It is not necessarily determined that it was murder but Alex had a history with the victim, one that actually forms a large part of the story in its own right. Many years earlier, Alex led the investigation into the abduction of three teenagers, an investigation that ended in tragedy for one of the three, and that left a mark on the two survivors, their family, friends and the police alike. This new case links back to Alex's past and in breaking news of the latest tragedy, Alex soon finds himself caught in a life threatening situation, whilst his colleagues are left trying to piece together what really happened on that fateful summer in 2009.

What follows is a dual timeline story, with readers following not only the current day investigation, but being plunged back into the summer of 2009, and the hellish situation that the three teenagers had been placed in. We gain multiple points of view, following Alex Finn in both past and present day, as well as the teenagers who were abducted, Alex's present team as they investigate the current case and one of the friends of the teenagers who only narrowly avoided being abducted due to the bravery of a passing stranger. It is a dark and twisted case and whilst we are spared any of the most gruesome details of what comes to pass, there is no denying the depravity of those involved.

There is a real feeling of tension through the narrative, not just because of the situation Alex is placed in in the present day, but also because I found it all too easy to guess what the real purpose of the teenager's abduction was. It takes a time for this to be revealed, but when certain clues are dropped into the investigation, it is almost impossible to miss, although I did twig far quicker than the Detectives it seems. I like how the author has framed the story though, the back and forth between past and present easy to follow, and with some quieter moments that make the darker scenes easier to bear. Moments such as the scenes between a young Alex and his introduction to Karin - not as romantic an introduction as you might think given how much of an impact she has had on his life in the present day - and between Paulsen and new DC Vanessa Nash, made for a nice interlude. Paulsen hasn't really mellowed all that much over the years, as Nash finds out to her cost, but despite early appearances, this does seem to be the start of a good partnership .

Now readers of the previous book will understand the sense of melancholy that is hanging over Alex's team, and with the danger that one of them is placed in again, you have to wonder if Will Shindler ever intends to give his characters a break. Then again, would we love the series as much if everything was plain sailing and the killer was in cuffs within a couple of pages with no casualties along the way? Probably not, and just as well as there is plenty of misdirection and intrigue in this book that amplifies the every present tension. There are plenty of unsavoury characters for us to despise, moments of genuine emotion that seep from the page, and several surprising confessions which really turn what we think we know on its head. And if you think you know whodunnit, you're probably wrong. It's not entirely out of left field, but it's not far off and it will be a long time before that all elusive penny finally drops.

This is a story that really digs into the impact that crime has not only on the victims, but those who love them. It also shows how deeply and keenly Alex Finn feels his responsibility as a police officer and explains more the weight of emotion that he has carried with him for so long. Perfectly paced, this is an often emotional, dark, tension filled read that had me rapidly turning the pages until it's truly satisfying conclusion. This feels like the end of a chapter for Alex Finn in a way, but I'm hoping not the last we'll see of the team as they're a great bunch I've really come to like over the past five books. Definitely recommended.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advance copy of The Cold Case, the fifth novel to feature DI Alex Finn of the Met.

In 2009 three teenagers were kidnapped DS Finn was charged with finding them and only partially succeeded, Jemma and Lee were found alive, but Oliver was dead and the kidnapper escaped. Now in 2023 someone wants answers from Alex and is prepared to use violence to get them.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Cold Case, which is a multilayered police procedural with some great twists and turns. I think that this is the author’s most ambitious novel to date and it pays off in spades as it is an absorbing, immersive read with some heart stopping and heartbreaking moments.

It all goes back to 2009 and the kidnap. Alex got a credible confession in 2016, but not everyone believes it. Due to the events in 2023 the team gives the kidnap another look, so there is a dual timeline as it flips between 2009 and 2023, both told from various points of view. I found it fascinating as most of the characters involved are keeping secrets and it is difficult to tell where those secrets lie. The author does a sterling job of not over sharing early on in the novel, thus building the suspense and tension so that when they are revealed it’s like one shock after another. It’s gobsmacking to be honest. I don’t want to discuss the events of the novel as that would spoil things, but it’s safe to say that there is never a dull moment.

There is a lot of emotion in this novel and I think, again, that the author does a great job of portraying it and making it understandable for the reader. Trauma always ends up showing itself. I was pleased to see Alex Finn taking some emotional steps himself, trying to lose his guilt and grief, so, despite the strong feelings in the novel it ends on an optimistic note.

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

The fourth in the detective Finn and Paulsen series, sees DI Finn caught up in a hostage situation connected to a terrible case he investigated several years ago. I liked the fast paced narrative, characters and the intricate plotting. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

This was the first time I had read a Will Shindler book so my first time meeting DI Alex Finn. However, I enjoyed this story so much that I will go back and read others in the series. There were many references to past episodes, but this did not detract from my enjoyment. In this story, Alex finds himself in a tricky situation whilst his colleagues re-examine the abduction of three teenagers, one of whom was murdered, back in 2009. A more recent death triggers one of the victims to take Alex hostage in order to force the police to reinvestigate his own kidnap. Along the way, they find that many assumptions that were made at the time, including the acceptance that a man who confessed to the crimes was guilty, were not as they seemed. When Alex is freed, he and his team must delve into the world of the dark web to help them find the culprits. The ending came as a surprise, although the author played fair by laying out the clues in plain sight. This story also contains details of how Alex met his wife Karin and fills in previously unrecorded background which will be of interest to readers who have followed the series from the start and intrigue those who haven't enough to motivate them to go back and read from the beginning.

This is a really well written police procedural, set across two timelines and with a very clever plot line. DI Alex Finn is investigating the murder of a young female which has striking similarities to a past case. Alex is a great character, he's empathetic and has a loyal team surrounding him. I really liked the characterisation, especially Paulsen, the pace was just right and the ending left me eagerly waiting for the next in the series. I think this is the best from the author so far. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

2009: During a summer heatwave, teenagers are going missing. Junior Officer Alex Finn takes the case and fears that the disappearances are linked. In a race against the clock to find and rescue the children alive, Finn and his team are only partially successful. Two of the children are saved, but they were too late for Oliver. And the killer got away.

2023: I Alex Finn is still tormented by the cases of his youth - none more so than the 2009 kidnappings. And it seems someone else has not forgotten either. They want answers after all this time, and with a gun in their pocket and their sights set on Alex, they'll do anything to get what they're after.

Finn is revisiting his past, and a cold case he investigated in 2009 still torments him today. This story has a dual timeline that flips back and forth from the past to the present day. It's filled with secrets, lies, and deceit. The characters are well portrayed, the storyline is gripping. I liked learning about Alex Finn as a Junior Officer. This is a cleverly crafted story. There are some great twists. I found this gritty read hard to put down.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #Hodder&Stoughton and the author #WillShindler for my ARC of #TheColsCase in exchange for an honest review.