Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I liked how this books explored how crimes don’t just affect the parties involved and how things can spiral and easily get out of control.

I loved Whitehouse's thriller, Keep You Close, and was excited to see she had a new book coming out. In this book, a teenage boy is found dead and the prime suspects are members of a powerful family. The victim helps run a website supporting victims of assault and had called out one of the sons in this ruthless family. The death seems like a clear case of revenge, but the investigation uncovers several other possible suspects and motives making this far from an open and shut case.

I knew this book was a procedural and not a thriller, but didn't realize it was the third book in a series. I enjoy procedurals and have started reading several series in the middle and had no problems catching up. However, I had a hard time getting my footing when reading this book. I like the main character, DCI Robin Lyons, but there is a large cast of characters in the book, the case is complex, and Robin has a very complicated personal life. It took me a while to catch up on all of this but when I did, I really enjoyed the book.

There is a sense of foreboding throughout the story that something is going to go wrong, as Robin struggles to balance her life at work and at home. There is a lot of pressure to solve the case quickly and at the same time, Robin's teenage daughter is having a crisis of her own. I was very surprised by the ending and now that I've gotten to know Robin and the other main characters, I would definitely keep reading this series if it continues.

I received an advance copy of this ebook at no cost from NetGalley and Orion Book, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

This is the first Lucie Whitehouse book I have read and on the strength of this I will most certainly be reading the others.

DCI Robin Lyons is a single parent and her teenage daughter Lennie is intelligent and the light of her mother’s life. Robin worries about Lennie constantly and would do anything to save her from harm, like most mothers.

Robin’s boss, ACC Kilmartin, gives Robin the most high profile case in the West Midlands. Teenager Ben Renshaw has been found murdered in an isolated stretch of woodland in Birmingham. Ben is known to the police because he and his two friends, Molly and Theo recently testified in the trial of a former schoolmate, Alistair Heywood. Heywood was convicted of sexually assaulting Molly, a claim he vigorously denied.

Alistair comes from a prominent local family with a lot of influential connections and they had refused to accept the verdict, claiming their son had been ‘stitched up’.

Ben and Theo, though were unshakable, despite being subject to a lot of intimidation. Molly’s experience and the resulting court trial opened their eyes to the experience of women at the centre of such trials and the three of them collectively set up a website, StrengthinNumbers.com which encourages women to share their experiences. They have campaigned on behalf of the site and fundraised for it and the Heywoods are extremely unhappy that their son’s conviction is raised every time they do an interview.

The pressure is coming down on Robin to solve this case quickly, but the timing could not be worse. Her daughter has been caught up in a riot and her brother is about to stand trial for racist offences of which he is, in the main, guilty.

The family are under pressure and Lennie isn’t handling it well, which means that Robin, too, is on edge all the time. Her immediate boss, DCS Samir Jafferi knows all about this and is being both helpful and supportive, but when Robin is tracked down by a journalist, she fears all her secrets will come out.

The supposition is that Ben's death is just another element of the Heywood’s  revenge but another death puts all that into a new perspective and Robin realises that she will have to look much wider and deeper to solve this case.

Working with her small team comprising DS Malia Thomas, DC Varan Patel, and Tark, they are working night and day to find leads that make contextual sense of these murders.

Lucie Whitehouse has written a complex and tangled police procedural which encompasses a number of themes, not least the nature of justice. Last Witness is written with skill and sensitivity and the scenes with grieving families feel all too harrowing and real.

As with real life crime, there is little or no satisfaction in finding the perpetrator and that is clearly shown in a novel that brims with compassion and sensitivity.

Verdict: A thoughtful, immersive and complex police procedural that hits all the right notes.

This was a good read. It was fairly slow paced and at times I had no idea what direction it was going to go in but it all came together with an unexpected twist.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Such a suspense-filled story, I couldn't put it down. Last Witness is an intriguing police procedural that kept me guessing in more ways than one. The twists and turns of the police investigation into the teenage boy’s death had me gripped, with the theme of the recent Everyonesinvited movement. But the personal life of the investigating detective, Robin was just as interesting to me and I was really rooting for her to find her own happiness.

Last Witness by Lucie Whitehouse is an upcoming crime thriller following DCI Robin Lyons. Robin is assigned to the investigation into the death of Ben Renshaw, an 18 year who was previously a key witness in a sexual assault case. Robin immediately has her suspicions about who’s involved, but must wade through the privileged and well-connected quagmire of Birmingham’s influential families in order to uncover evidence.

I didn’t realise that this was part of a series, but that didn’t end up mattering as the author covered the backstories of the characters so well. The story revolves around a central incident, but there are so many other dramatic points woven in that it is action packed. I was guessing right up to the end on this one! Really enjoyed the intricate connections between the characters in this book. The last few chapters I had to demolish in one go, as I just couldn’t wait any longer to find out what happened!

Thanks so much to NetGalley for this ARC. This will be published 25.04.2024

DCI Robin Lyons finds herself in a controversial case when a teenager is found dead in city woodland. Just months earlier, the victim Ben, had provided testimony that helped send a former classmate to prison for sexual assault. Is his murder a result of a vow of revenge by the Heywoods, the family of the convicted criminal? Or is the truth something entirely different?

Last Witness is another great release from Lucie Whitehouse – this time, we’re following DCI Robin Lyons as she tries to crack a case of a murdered teenage boy, Ben, who – along with his best friend Theo, helped put a rapist in prison with their witness testimony. Unfortunately, the person now jailed is part of a powerful, shady family with links to organized crime, and they have allegedly made Ben and Theo’s lives since the trial hell – and now Ben is dead. There’s a lot at stake here, and the pressure is on for Robin and the team.

Alongside that, we follow on from the last book as Robin continues to worry about her daughter Lennie and the fallout from that fateful day at a protest – will Robin’s brother keep their secret? His trial is approaching, and this heightened tension builds as the book continues. The fact that the previous book was released years before this one didn’t seem to be an issue for me – it all came flooding back as soon as I started this novel, which is great as I often have a terrible memory when it comes to books I’ve read!

The two main plots featured here are absorbing and, along with Robin’s lingering feelings about one of her colleagues, means we get a good mix of police procedural and mystery with some further character development of Robin and her family which I really enjoyed. I thought the case with Ben was intriguing and developed well, and the themes – which were often quite shocking – were handled sensitively.

Definitely recommended – Last Witness could be read as a standalone, but if you can, start from book one to really get a feel for Robin as a character!

This is the latest in Lucie Whitehouse's superb Birmingham based crime series featuring the tenacious and flawed single mother DCI Robin Lyons, with her bright teen daughter, Lennie. An anxious Robin is handed the most controversial, incendiary, and high profile of cases by ACC Kilmartin, 18 year old Ben Renshaw's body has been discovered in woodland. Ben, and his best friend Theo Gillespie, were witnesses to the sexual assault of their friend, Molly Zajac, by someone they were at school with, Alistair Heywood. They gave testimony at the court trial, that ended with a rare conviction and prison sentence, a crime and sentence Alastair's powerful and influential local family deny and refuse to accept, promising reprisals.

Ben and Theo, along with their families, have faced a brutal and intimidation campaign, but this does not prevent them and Molly setting up StrengthInNumbers.com, a prominent site where victims of sexual assault can share their experiences. Is Ben's death, as assumed to be, part of the Heywoods exercising their malign power, or are other factors at play? As Robin stresses about her brother, Luke's sentencing, and the potential repercussions for her, Lennie, and her supportive boss, DCS Samir Jafferi, matters are exacerbated by the calls she is getting from a local journalist looking into her life, family and career. Robin and her team, that includes DS Malia Thomas, DC Varan Patel, and Tark, struggle to get viable leads on a complex case that has more death and surprising twists and turns, with its buried tentacles reaching into a painfully haunted past.

Whitehouse touches on many contemporary themes in our society, such as violence against women and the #MeToo movement, and other complicated issues, like a victim's right to be silent on crimes committed against them, and the question of justice, given Robin's secrets. There is humanity and compassion in this utterly gripping and immersive read, sensitively exploring the harrowing crimes where nothing is as it appears, the nature of friendship, with its widely disparate cast of well constructed characters, the good and the ugly, and providing a fascinating picture of Robin's personal life and family. A brilliant addition to a marvellous series that I recommend highly! Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Love the Robin Lyon’s novels. Great writing and premise. Amazing characters. Page turner. Plenty of suspense to keep me guessing..Definitely looking forward to the next offering. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it

This is my first novel by author Lucie Whitehouse and it was a good and interesting read.

We follow DCI Robin Lyons whilst she starts to investigate the death of an 18 year old young man. We learn that Ben was a witness to one of his classmates crime and he actually went to prison. Ben had been subject to harassment from the boys family and it is now Robin's job to sort this situation out and figure out who killed Ben.

Robin is thrust into the workings of the city's power players and it make for an interesting read.

Apparently this book is a series of novels but you can definetly read it as a one-off/standalone novel.

Fast paced and rather gripping with really good well rounded and likeable characters.

Thanks to Lucie Whitehouse, netgalley and the publishers.

For me this was a good read but it wasn't the best Ive read by this author.Some parts were to drawn out and parts were rushed especially the ending.The crime its self was interesting and well written and I enjoyed catching up with DCI Robin Lyons.
I look forward to reading more from this author.
Thanks to Netgalley and Orion Publishing for the ARC.

I really wanted to enjoy this book. The plot line was great but for me I just couldn’t gel with this book and found it quite long winded. Thank you to NetGalley, Orion Publishing Group and the author for the chance to review.

This is a very good crime thriller, filled with so many twists to occupy the reader. I like the character of DCI Robin Lyons, although there was quite a bit of background information on her which just slowed the read down for me. The plotting is good, but I felt the ending was a bit rushed and this spoiled it for me. It's a good read with convincing characters. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

It’s been nearly 3 years since I last encountered DCI Robin Lyon’s, and I was worried that I’d have forgotten a lot of what happened in the first two books. Whitehouse’s writing is such, however, that it took me right back to the second book and I was able to pick up on things pretty seamlessly. The last third of this book felt a little rushed, but on the whole, it was a good’un!

Last Witness is a clever, twisty read, set apart from many other crime novels by the quality of the writing. I immersed myself in the story and could never have anticipated the ending. It is often dark and intense but is lifted by the warmth of the main characters and the humorous asides of the police officers. DCI Robin Lyons is an appealing character with a complicated life of her own, especially relating to her teenage daughter Lennie, who was caught up in a far right demonstration in the previous book. I enjoyed the different storylines and there was plenty of intrigue to keep me from putting this book down. Highly recommended!

Sometimes all you want is an straightforward, well written, tense and gimmick free mystery and Lucie Whitehouse delivers on all counts. A great story with an engaging dedicated investigation team. Highly recommended, will read more

So tense so chilling a true page turner.DCI Robin Lyons is a strong character I enjoyed her throughout the series.Highly recommend.#netgalley #orion

DCI Lyons and her team are investigating the murder of a teenage boy. As the case unfolds, it's clearly far more complicated and far-reaching than a straightforward murder investigation. The story twists and turns and the conclusion is unexpected.
I had to concentrate hard to follow the many interlinked characters and this is an enjoyable read.
I haven't read any of the earlier DCI Robin Lyons books, but this book stands well enough on its own.

As a resident of South Birmingham (where much of the action is set) I really enjoy recognising the areas that Whitehouse refers to and I think she paints an accurate picture of the second city for readers who are less familiar with it than I am. I wasn't as engaged with this episode as I have been with previous stories, perhaps I just needed a bit more about Robin's dysfunctional life or a more intriguing plot...having said that the twists were excellent and I didn't guess what was coming. A solid read just not the best in the series.