This is the first book in this new series about DI Tessa Burns, set in Ireland. A family vanishes in the middle of the night, but leaves their child behind. The little girl Aisling is terrified, but after being found by the police, Tessa and her friend Maggie she finally starts to open up.

This is a gripping intense criminal drama full of twists and turns. It will keep you engaged and the writer really knows what he’s talking about. The characters are likable and I liked that they were all very different.

I listened to the audio book and can’t fault this narrator, she is ace, her different accents are very good and was easy to follow all the different characters. All were different and really made the story. She promoted the chapters well and look forward to listening to her again.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

I'm kind of on the fence about SA Dunphy's "Little Witness," the first book in the DI Tessa Burns series, a new entry in the Irish police procedural category. On the one hand, I like the premise of a small detective squad tasked with investigating crimes that involve young children, either as victims or witnesses. Tessa's hand-picked squad members--Maggie, who has cerebral palsy (along with her service dog Pavlov,) and Danny, a large man with a big heart and a hot temper--are likable and provide plenty of opportunities for further development in future books. And the opening sequence, in which Tessa singlehandedly rescues a kidnapped child, was gripping and well-written. But I'm a bit ambivalent about the character of Tessa herself; her insistence that everyone call her Tessa became a bit annoying after the third or fourth time it happened, and some of her exploits/decisions (as well as the circumstances surrounding the establishment of her unit) just didn't feel believable to me. There's enough to like here, however, that I'll give the next installment of the series a try. Note that I listened to the audiobook version of this novel, and Irish narrator Melanie MacHugh definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the book with her lovely Irish accent.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for providing me with an audio ARC of this title in return for mt honest review.

Little Witness is the first in a new Irish police series based around Detective Tess Burns and her newly formed team, each with their own unique personalities. Danny, the huge policeman with a fiery temper and a soft heart, Maggie, a wheelchair liaison officer, who holds her own in a battle and Pavlov, the amazing police dog.
The team unites to save a young girl and discover what has happened to her parents. Are they missing, kidnapped or murdered???
A fast paced procedural with lots of twists and turns, which makes it really hard to put down.

4.5 stars 🤩 This little gem is an Irish police procedural with heart!

Tessa burns has just been promoted to DI and given full weight to create her own team. Enter Maggie who suffers from Cerebral palsy and her service dog Pavlov. Not only is she a kiss a*s character who you cant help but fall in love with, but Pavlov stole my heart. Tessa’s other addition to the team is Danny who has had a questionable past. Together, the team work cases involving children impacted by violence.

I loved the impeccable character building throughout this book. I felt like we got to really understand them as individuals and also how they work together together. While not all are in law enforcement, they each bring their own strengths to the team.

Melanie MacHugh narrated the audiobook and did a fantastic job - a highly entertain listen.

A really strong first book in the DI Tessa Burns series. I cannot wait to read Only The Children.

Many thanks to @bookouture for an ALC 💌🎧
Pub date: 12 February 2024

* Review will be up on my instagram page in the near future.

Little Witness, by S.A. Dunphy is an Irish mystery/thriller that has it all : Good Cops✓Irish organized crime✓illegal whiskey✓ kidnapping✓ children in need of protection✓✓. This story is the first installment of the DI Tessa Burns books. I really enjoyed listening to the audio book. Not only was the story good, but the narrator Melanie McHugh drew me in right away with her beautiful lilting accent. I am looking forward to reading/listening to the rest of this series.

This was my first book of 2024 and proved to be a good choice. Thanks to Bookouture for allowing me to read/listen to a digital copy and ALC. The combination enhanced my experience and allowed me to keep reading during some busy real life times.

You can get the gist of the story from the synopsis so I’ll just give my thoughts on what I liked about this book. I love getting in on the first in a series. I enjoy an Ireland setting and love hearing Irish narration. I’ll attempt to do a read/listen of the next book in the series. Another aspect of the book I enjoyed was seeing Tessa assemble a special investigation team. The three share a certain empathy that originated at an early age and is required for the team. There were times when I thought the action packed scenes were a bit over the top but I was invested in the outcome so was willing to let the author tell his story.

All in all, I enjoyed it and look forward to the next book in the D.I. Tessa Burns series.

Narration: I thought it was good and wouldn’t hesitate to listen to more of Melanie McHugh’s work.

Thank you to the author, narrator, publisher and Net Galley for providing a free e-audio version of this title in exchange for my review.

I have to say, I really enjoyed this one and look forward to more to come in the series! The characters were well fleshed out, we've learned a bit about each of them, but there's plenty more to learn if the story calls for it. You can see the dedication and determination they have to care for each other and those they protect.

For the audio, the accent and pronunciation really added at least a full star to my rating. The accent really brought the story to life.

4 stars for 'really liked it' and I fully recommend it to others who enjoy thrillers, police procedurals, and mysteries. I thought often of the DI Kim Stone series by Angela Marsons several times - another series I really enjoy and look forward to.

This Irish-American loves a narrated book done in the native tongue. Bonus points for this book for creatin a story that heavily features a strong woman character who is a wheelchair user. I was also drawn to this story by the content regarding whiskey distillation and consumption. Will the good cops save the semi-innocent parents who were held captive on a remote, private island? Will the girl be reunited with her parents after her traumatic separation from them or will she have to be in foster care indefinitely? The action packed story compels the reader to find these answers. The discovery of the location of "the list" was genius!

I had the opportunity to listen to Little Witness, detective mysteries tend to fall into two categories for me. I would consider Little Witness following the traditional template, which for me I can enjoy but don't love.
Having an Irish narrator was a huge reason for me being able to complete this audiobook as it felt far more engrossing than having an American narration would have been.
Tessa's task force was diverse but I didn't feel as connected to them. The one I was primarily intrigued by was Maggie and Pavlov, as I've seen other readers feel as well.

Perhaps I missed it in the narration, or it'll be explored further through the series but Tessa's own history was hinted at which I was really excited to dig into and then felt cast aside.

It was a good first book with a great narrator and if you love that classic detective story you'll likely enjoy the plot a little more than I did.

A lot about this book I loved and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for an entertaining listen. On the whole the characters were well developed and the action well paced. It blurred a little into ‘Lassie come home” with one of the dog sequences but I would look to read/ listen to more from the author.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audiobook. An interesting storyline that kept a good pace throughout, with gripping sections that had me willing for an outcome or fearful of what might be happening for some of the characters.
The fully-formed and complex characters came to life with skilful narration that held my interest from beginning to end and added to my enjoyment of the audiobook.
I always like books in this genre with strong female lead characters, and with this book we get two. I commend the author for including a disabled main character & not using the usual trope of her being either victim, office-based whizz, or someone with super-human skills (don’t get me wrong, Maggie is very skilled at what she does, but the reader/listener is aware that this is from years in the job, training, a lot of adverse life experience and being empathic rather than coming solely from her disability). As a disabled reader/listener it is great to have a book with some representation of a disabled character that goes beyond the superficial.
This author is new to me but I will certainly be downloading book two in the series. It feels like there’s a lot more to come for ‘the Burns unit’ including exploring Danny’s hidden depths & unresolved trauma from losing his parents & growing up in foster care, and hopefully beginning to uncover who killed Tessa’s parents & why.
If you read authors in this genre such as TF Muir, Ann Cleeves, Joy Ellis, Jo Spain, Peter May etc then you will enjoy this book. A great start to what promises to be an excellent series.

I was hooked from the first chapter and finished the book far too quickly!
With well portrayed, non-stereotypical characters, faced paced action and a clever plot, there was nothing not to like.
The narrator was excellent in all respects and was very easy to listen to - not always the case with audio books.
I'm looking forward to reading/listening to the next in the series.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for this advanced reader copy, in exchange for an honest review.

A beautifully narrated book which was a pleasure to listen to.
I really enjoyed this book. It was dark, but not so much to put you off. The race to find the missing couple was sheer heart in the mouth thrilling. There are little teasers all the way through about what really may have happened to Tessa's parents, with the parallels to Aisling's case very obvious. I hope S.A. Dunphy releases another soon

This new series focuses on DI Tessa Burns and her newly developed police task force that focuses on helping children. This book had so much potential, but there were a few things that I did not love. There were parts of the story that just drug by and I found my attention wandering. The parts that I loved were surrounded around the actual task force characters. They are a diverse group with interesting backgrounds.

I would be interested in reading more about this task force if the investigations were written at a faster pace and really utilized the task force’s backgrounds.

Overall, I liked the audiobook, but I did not love it. It’s not a book that I will likely remember or think about even a month from now. I would only recommend for readers that like a slow burn police procedural.

Thank you @bookouture for allowing me to listen to this audiobook ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

The first in a new series.

DI Tessa Burns is given a newly developed task force, focused on helping children. She assembles her crew and they are off on their first case. A young girl, Ash, was found alone. Her parents were abducted. Tessa and her team work to keep Ash safe while trying to find her parents- preferably alive.

I just didn't connect with this one. I cannot pinpoint why- my mind kept wandering. It did not hold my focus. I liked the concept of the special team- and the three police officers all have interesting backgrounds. Yet I just was not invested.

Melanie MacHugh narrates the audiobook. I love listening to Irish-narrated books. Though I find I have to slow the speed down- I listened to this one at 1.25.

I received an advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was really, really excited to receive an advanced edition of this audiobook, but I found that it just didn’t capture my attention. It was bland.

I cannot wait to see where this group goes! I love the issues these characters have - discussed supportively, encouraged to heal and adjust. The best feature is a woman with physical limitations utilizing her disability to kick butt. I could not applaud her enough.
Intense, fast paced and to the point - great start to a new series!

Little Witness was an Irish crime fiction by S.A. Dunphy and it was brilliant. I listened to the audiobook version that was narrated by Melanie MacHugh. She’s a favorite of mine and was perfect for the story.
DI Tessa Burns has picked her own team to specialize in child crimes. Each one is unique and brings special to this team. This was fast paced and well written.
S.A. Dunphy is one of my favorite authors and I highly recommend this one.
Thanks Bookouture via NetGalley.

I did not finish. The first time I listened I found my mind wandering and missed most of the story. Thinking it was just timing I tried again at another time with my husband. Neither of us could get into it. I think it may have been the narration. I just could not lock into this story at all.

Book Title: Little Witness (D.I. Tessa Burns0
Series: D.I. Tessa Burns Book #1
Author: S.A. Dunphy (Shane Dunphy)
Narrator: Melanie MacHugh
Publisher: Bookouture Audio
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: February 12, 2024
My Rating: 3
Pages: 368

Story starts when seven-year-old Aisling Connolly is rescued by DI Tessa Burns.
Aisling is indeed a little witness as she saw her parents being abducted.
Terra immediately understands the trauma she is experiencing as Terra is former child-witness herself. Soon Aisling reveals some of what happened but is also fearful of being in danger if she reveals too much.

Tessa decided to forms a team of experts who are ‘somewhat’ misfits:
Danny is a detective however got in a situation of being sent to prison for beating up a suspect.
Tessa arranges for him to serve his parole under her serve s
Maggie - Tessa has known Maggie since she was sixteen and Maggie was ten. Maggie suffers from cerebral palsy and although can walk a little; for the most part is confined to wheelchair. However, she not only knows how to defend herself but is an excellent instructor on self-defense for those with a handicap. Plus you will love her service-dog Pavlov!

I started this as I was pleased to find a new great female detective series!
I currently love and follow: Melinda Leigh’s - Bree Taggert, Lisa Regan’s-Josie Quinn, Linda Castillo’s-
Kate Burkholder and James Patterson’s-Lindsey Boxer.
I want to add Shane Dunphy’s Tessa Burns to my list; I will give Book #2 "Only the Children" a try. I did like this team of misfit as well as their concern for children who have or are in a violent situation.
I just am not a fan of profanity and found that f-bomb was overuse. There are so many words that can be
used; it certainly seems lazy as well to use the same nasty word over and over and over!
I did enjoy the audiobook narrator’s Irish brogue!

Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for granting me this early audiobook.
Audiobook Publishing Date scheduled for February 12, 2024.