Audiobook..
DCI Tessa Burns has trauma in her background.
She served in the army and now works for the police in Ireland, near Dublin.
She gives her all to rescue a little girl being held for a ransom, this leads to another missing child and her missing parents. Where will it lead? She pulls together a team of misfit characters which you come to love and respect, not missing out Pavlov the dog!
Well narrated, held my attention. Will definitely be looking out for the next book in the series.

I loved this book. I cannot wait for more in this series. TW for: Abduction, Torture, Cult-ish Community

The author sets up the two main characters so well, showing their motivations/fears/pasts. The third character I would consider more of a side character, but she is also given a decent amount of the same. The work that went into making compelling side-characters throughout shines through.

This story had a deeper story that will unravel through the series, and I loved it. I have so many questions, I can't wait for the answers.

This story is very compelling, and while parts of it are very tragic, it has an overall hope to it that is. Strong themes are found family, second chances, and others seeing in you what you can't see in yourself.

I highly recommend this book.

Fast paced and really enjoyable audiobook. I look forward to to more by this author in this series and would highly recommend.

This was an enjoyable and well paced book. As is often the case with the first book in a series there is a certain amount of scene setting and getting to know the characters. This did make the book feel a little disjointed, it could almost have been two short stories and a short novel but it does work reasonably well once you understand what is being attempted. Having read a lot of Scottish crime noir it’s interesting to read a similar but very Irish novel within the genre. It certainly left me wanting to read more about the characters.

Fast paced book that will leave you breathless until the very end

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When Aisling Connelly is found cold and cowering after her parents are kidnapped, Detective Inspector is Tessa Burns is called to help. A former child witness herself, Tessa hopes to be able to help Aisling feel comfortable speaking to them fast enough for them to find her missing parents. As the case takes Tessa and her team down a rabbit hole of illegal distilling operations, they have to race against the clock if they want to find the little girl's parents in time.

I really enjoyed this book! It jumps right into the action and keeps your attention the entire time. It does an amazing job of giving you the detailed feel of a police procedural without getting so wrapped up in minutia that it becomes tedious to read. In a similar way, this author manages to walk the line between believable action and off the wall, unrealistic, Michael Bay style insanity. You get so much action with this one, but it's all very grounded and believable. I absolutely loved it!

Such a good book. Fast paced, twists and turns.
Tessa burns manages to turn a bunch of “broken” officers into the perfect team. Each member’s back story is explored in time, and explains why, for them, their job is important. Each new development left me wanting more.
Such a good first story in what, I’m sure, will be an amazing series.

If you get the chance to listen to the audio book, please do so. The charming accent and the quiet lilting voice will pull you in to this psychological thriller that will leave no page un-turned! Moving at a great pace the story unfolds with twists and suspicions all the way through - Enjoy!

I have a new favorite series! S.A. Dunphy has created the DI Tessa Burns series, and I can’t get enough of it! The first book in this series is Little Witness, an absolutely divine start to a psychological thriller and detective fiction series that had me unable to put it down. Once finished, I was so excited to know that Book 2 is already ready for me to devour that book, as well!

In Little Witness, newly, but deservedly, promoted Irish Garda DI Tessa Burns convinces her superintendent to allow her to set up a new squad, dedicated to helping and solving cases where the victim is either young or a vulnerable adult. The ease of this transition required my suspension of disbelief, but the unit itself was Amazing, and soon filled with the best and most empathetic officers, including Pavlov, the world’s best K9 officer.

Little Witness concentrated on the location of little seven-year-old Aisling Connolly’s family after their brutal kidnapping, where a fair number of characters assumed that her parents had been murdered and not just kidnapped. Through DI Burns’ team’s investigation, they find out so many crazy leads and false-starts, but never a straightforward answer to their inquiry on the Connolly’s status and location. It didn’t help that would-be assassins continue to make attempts at Ais’ life.

I can’t wait to read more in this series! Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for this audio ARC!!

Police procedurals set in Ireland seems to be a subgenre that I’m drawn to, and this version of that is exactly what I was hoping for. The overarching storyline was compelling, and I enjoyed that there was the main plot for this book intertwined with a larger story connected to Tessa’s own backstory. I do think the story dragged at times, in part because of the author’s unnecessarily detailed writing style– why do we need to know what everyone ordered at lunch?-- but I was engaged enough to want to continue. I really enjoyed getting to know the main cast of characters, especially Maggie and Pavlov, and will definitely pick up the second book in the series to see where the team goes next!

Recently promoted DI Tessa Burns, whose parents were killed when she was a child, has assembled a team to investigate crime against children. Her team consists of Danny, who grew up in several foster homes with unfortunately a temper, Maggie, a child psychologist who is confined to a wheelchair and her dog, Pavlov. Quickly called out on their first case they must find a missing young girl and her parents.
An Irish crime mystery dealing with abductions, murder, production of bootlegger whiskey and crime families.
I listened to the audio version and it held my interest with its fast paced, twists, and wonderful narrator, Melanie McHugh. I expect there will be more books for DI Burns and her team and I look forward to the opportunity of listening to them. Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture. This review is my honest opinion.

Rating: 4.5

Broken but not beaten, don’t underestimate the Burns Unit.

The story starts out with high energy as we are introduced to Tessa Burns. It helps to set the stage for what is to come. Newly minted DI Tessa Burns forms her team. Bringing together team members who’ve had a rough start to life and you that as motivation in the work they do specializing in child crimes. Each has their own demons and those demons are discussed to support each other and encourage healing.

The team consists of Tessa, Maggie, Pavlov, and Danny. They each of a talent that complements. Maggie and Tessa have a long history. Danny is on probation. He has issues he has to deal with in order to stay on the team. Pavlov is scrappy, smart, and affectionate dog.

There is so many positive themes running through without being preachy you almost didn’t realize you’d been hit with one. I cheered out loud when Maggie, a wheelchair-bound Family Liaison Officer and therapist, took out a bad man. She kicked butt! Pavlov is not slouch here, protecting his humans.

I like the team, I like the story and mystery. Little Ash is a tough little girl that melted Danny’s heart. The bad things in the story were not overly graphic.

The weaving of folklore into the “bad men” characters was well done. I could not put the book down once I’d started.

I enjoyed on the story is a kick-butt-take-down-bad-guys story that is also human with not-so-perfect people doing the hard work.

Suspenseful, emotionally intelligent, and gripping.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the opportunity to do an early read and share my thoughts on the story.
Happy Reading!

This is my first audiobook and therefore my first audiobook review. I have listened to snippets before and had a reaction of no, just can’t do listen to a book, sometimes it is the voice, or just listening to someone else read, but decided I would give it a shot since I spend a lot of time in the car driving to and from work, so I think I will break this review into two parts, the audio book experience and the book/story itself.

Verdict, I’m still not sure audiobooks are for me, as I found myself while driving going off into my own little world which was not the book, finding the cadence of the reading different to how I’d read it and even found myself when reading a book going into that same cadence and it impact my view on the story.

The story…. Dunphy is very detailed in her descriptions and uses wording I would term old English through the story. I can’t recall seeing the use of words like hither and thither in modern stories I’ve read.

We meet Tessa Burns, who I wonder if reading the book itself I would have seen this character as stronger than she came across in the audiobook reading. After overcoming the murder of her parents and going into the foster care system, she serves in the armed forces before becoming a police officer and detective. She is tough as nails, going into a fight to save innocent lives at the possible expense of her own. She forms a new team to do the type of work she has dreamed of, and the main case see this team come together, grow and form a bond while facing danger.

The audiobook didn’t give me tension, a suspenseful feeling and again, not sure if is the narrator or the story itself.

I’m putting myself on the fence with a 3 star rating for my first ALC.

There's nothing quite like discovering a new author right at the beginning of a new series.

From the very beginning of this book, I loved D.I. Tessa Burns' style. Her style of management, her fashion and her extended 'family'.

She proved to be a formidable investigator, using any and all possible sources to help solve this, her debut case as the Boss!

I'll definitely be looking for more from S.A. Dunphy and D.I. Tessa Burns.

Oh. My. Gosh! What a great listen. Oh. My. Gosh! What a great listen. https://bookouture.com/authors/sa-dun...

I really enjoyed this first book in the series by S.A. Dunphy. I haven't read any of her other books, but I think I may have to give them a listen too!

I don't want to give too much of an introduction to this book because I really enjoyed going into the story not knowing much about it. It really helped the story, and the characters, develop more genuinely for me.

I really enjoyed this book for many reasons: one, the characters of the story were lifelike and authentic; two, the plot was engaging and realistic; and three, the squad of detectives was unique along with the squad itself. Often many detective novels have a predictive quality to them, and this did not have that, not nearly to the same extent anyway.

I am really looking forward to getting my hands on the second book. I also really enjoyed this narrator. The accents were great, she didn't try too hard, and as I listened to her tell the story it seemed like she wanted to actually tell it.

The narrator, Melanie MacHugh, delivers a gripping police procedural with compelling characters. Using a variation of inflections.
The mystery involving mobsters unfolds with unexpected twists, offering moments of laughter amidst the suspense. The story introduces two incredible heroines, and I absolutely adore them both. Maggie and Tessa. Maggie's character, with Cerebral Palsy and her loyal service dog Pavlov, is truly intriguing. Their unique backstory, as far as I've discovered, is captivating, and I can't wait to learn more about both Maggie and Tessa. Trust me, these ladies are anything but damsels – they're a force to be reckoned with! While the pace starts off a bit slow, rest assured it picks up and becomes more gripping as the story unfolds.
If you love police procedurals, don't miss this captivating Irish crime mystery!

I really loved this Irish police procedural, and I am so excited about this new series from S A Dunphy, as I have loved all of his previous books too.

The story is about little seven year old Aisling, whose parents Daisy and Joe have been abducted. DI Tessa Burns and her team set out to help Aisling and find her parents. Will they be successful? I really liked Tessa; she is a badass, fiery woman, yet she is also caring and compassionate.

I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook, as it was amazing.

I loved this book so much, and I am just about to read Book 2 in the series, which I really look forward to. I highly recommend this book, and all books by this author, as they are all fantastic!

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

Narrated by Melanie MacHugh ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
by S.A. Dunphy ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I absolutely loved this!! The new trio team were all very interesting and solid characters in their own.

The plot was really interesting, kept me fully engaged needing to finish the whole audiobook in one session.

I want to know more about the faceless men and I'm desperate for book 2. Bring on Feb 12th because I've pre ordered the next one.

I enjoyed listening to this book and following the mystery. I loved the diversity of the characters in the book. I’m looking forward to future DI Tessa Burn books. I enjoyed listening to the narrator, Melanie MacHugh.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to review this book prior to publication.

This is the first book in the DI Tessa Burns series and it won’t be my last. Loved it on audio and the narration was very engaging with the references to different places in Ireland. Interesting storyline that did keep my attention but I’d have liked a few more built up twists and turns but that’s what the next book in the series is for, they can only get better and better. The characters are quirky and so lovable and they just gel well. Really loved Tessa and her no nonsense attitude and I know her backstory is only going to get more interesting as the series goes on. Really enjoyed this one.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review #LittleWitness