Thank you@thebookdealer @orionbooks @4thestatebooks for my ebook in exchange for a review. I always love getting to know different authors and books, l'm a sucker for a good thriller book so really enjoyed this. Once I'd read a few pages and got to know the characters this story was the literal definition of a page turner
Robin is an interesting character with a lot of backstory and past experiences working with the police. Going from working with the police to a small detective agency and having to move from London and back to her small home town are two huge changes for her and her daughter. Then something tragic happens which changes everything.
I liked how the different cases they were investigating intertwined with each other in various ways, and how everything started making sense. The plot twist at the end! If you like thrillers add this one to your tbr list

Lucie Whitehouse is a new author for me, so when I joined this tour, I was truly looking forward to this book. We meet Robin, who is back home in Birmingham after being dismissed from the Met. She hasnt had time to catch her breath when her best friend dies in a house fire. One which her son had to escape from with barely his life. Robin is convinced there is more to the story and takes it upon herself to investigate.

This is a story set at a little slower pace than usual thrillers, but, saying that, it does help with building the characters and getting to grips with Robin's character. She is a woman who keeps herself distanced and seems quite cold at times. The further I got into the story, the more I understood her. Her complex character had me intrigued, and I found myself not being able to stop reading until I had no other choice but to adult.

The first book in a series and one which I am so eager to read every book of. I really enjoyed getting to know all the characters. The complexity of Robin drew me in so much. A thriller that had me hooked with the clever storytelling of Lucie Whitehouse. I am so looking forward to the next book.

#Ad #gifted #compulsivereaders #teamlyons #blogtour #bookbloggersofinstagram #bookblogger #bookstagramcommunity📚

This is my first book by Lucie Whitehouse, I enjoyed the suspense and action but there did feel a lot going on, a lot of characters, storylines and twists. I feel more could be said about the main character - Robin Lyons, she comes across as a genuine person, someone to rely on, a good mother too, to Lennie. I loved Lennie's character and personality!

I got into the story quite quickly but when reading through the book, the names took me a few minutes to work out who was who and their connection to others. I'm usually ok with names but struggled a little bit with this one as there were quite a few. It doesn't take away from the story though so that is good.

I liked the ending, the tying up loose ends, the family coming together to help Robin at a certain point near the end. Great book and
I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series, hoping to know more about Robin as the book goes on.

#blogtour

Blog Tour Review with Compulsive Readers

http://ramblingmads.uk/2024/02/19/teamlyons-blog-tour-critical-incidents-lucie-whitehouse/

✨My Thoughts✨

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’m doing a special project for Compulsive Readers, this time it’s called #TeamLyons.

I will be reading and reviewing all 3 books in the series and the third book will be reviewed on publication day, the whole series sounds absolutely amazing.

I hope you enjoy my review for the first book below.

Sacked from the Met Police for insubordination, Robyn and her daughter have moved back home to her parent’s house in Birmingham.

Robyn gets a little job with her friend Maggie who runs a private investigators until she appeals for her old job back, she’s only been back a day then she gets the devastating news that her best friend in the whole world had been murdered.

This story was so amazing, I can’t describe how good this story was, it was the most realistic and down to earth detective series that I’ve ever read and I’ve read quite a lot of detective series.

The gritty, twisty story kept me on the edge of my seat and the book just kept on getting better and better.

The story of Robyn and her home life was so sad but at the same heartwarming, I saw parallels to my own life regarding Robyn’s relationship with her daughter Lennie and my own daughter.

I’m so excited to read the rest of the series.

Really loved this one!

I loved the multi-layers to the plot and getting to know Robin’s backstory.

I also loved the setting of Birmingham as I could picture where everything was taking place!

This is a gritty thriller but it’s also a book about family, friendship, and relationships. There’s a lot of grief and suspense, there’s a woman who’s facing hard times and must go back to the home she thought having left behind.
It’s a story about women, abuse, exploitation, violence, betrayal.
Robin is a character that grew on me as I was reading the story and turning pages very fast because I wanted to know what was going to happen and how her family relationship was going to change.
There’s a lot of darkness, there’s some moments when any hope seems lost.
But there Lennie, Robin’s daughter, and an investigation as Robin is a born detective and can’t help investigating and collaborating with the local police.
I thoroughly enjoyed re-reading this crime thriller and am happy to read the rest of the series.
If you never met Robin, it’s time to go and read this novel.
Gripping, gritty and twisty, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and Compulsive Readers for this digital copy, all opinions are mine

Critical Incidents is the first book in a series featuring DI Robin Lyons and I am delighted to be taking part in a blogtour promotion reading each book in this series over the course of the next few months. My thanks to Orion and Fourth Estate for my copies of the books.

So, let’s have a look at Critical Incidents: Set in London and Birmingham, we meet Detective Inspector Robin Lyons. Recently fired from the Metropolitan Police’s Homicide Department for not being able to follow orders, she and her teenage daughter Lennie are forced to return home to Birmingham to move back in with her parents.

Having always had a difficult relationship with her mother, Robin doesn’t plan on staying in Birmingham for long, just long enough to get back on her feet financially and hopefully get re-instated with the Met. In the meantime, she and daughter Lennie have to shared her cramped childhood bedroom, sleep in bunkbeds and bite her tongue until she is able to get away. It also doesn’t help that Lennie has had to leave her private school and friends mid-term and enrol in the rough local comprehensive and Robin is temporarily working as a benefit-fraud investigator for her mother’s best friend.

The only glimmer of hope in this sorry situation it that Robin’s BFF, Corinna, her husband and young son still live in Birmingham so they can spend more time together. However, when Corinna is killed in a fire, her 10 year old son Peter is in a coma and her husband has disappeared and is now a murder suspect Robin’s determined to investigate this case and find out the truth, despite no longer being part of the police.

I really became invested in Robin, despite not being the easiest of characters to like at the beginning. She’s a hard woman with high emotional walls which are difficult to break down, but the more we learn about Robin and her background, the more we can begin to understand why she is emotionally cut off from everyone.

With a multitude of characters, Critical Incidents is a gripping page-turner with several storylines all cleverly weaved together and I am thrilled that I already have the next book in the series all lined up on my kindle read to read.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Robin Lyons lost her job as a detective inspector in the Met after releasing a murder suspect against her superior's wishes, convinced of his innocence. With the intention to appeal the dismissal, she needs to find a different way to support herself and her teenage daughter, Lennie. She's heading back to Birmingham to live with her parents and work for Maggie, a family friend who used to be a police officer and now investigates insurance and benefit fraud, among other things. The initial case that Robin becomes a part of involves a young woman who has gone missing, and her desperate mother is unable to get the local police to treat the situation as a serious matter. However, a crime occurs much closer to home when Robin's best friend Corinna is killed, and her husband Josh becomes missing. Wondering about a possible connection to the past, Robin conducts a bit of investigation into Corinna's death as well.

The lack of development in minor characters makes it hard to recall their role in the story. Nonetheless, the major characters, particularly Robin and her parents, are remarkably well developed. Robin's personality makes it hard to like her; she's opinionated, somewhat selfish, and always thinks she knows best. Remember, this is just the start of a series, and it's quite clear that Robin is on a journey of self-discovery, thanks to the obstacles she has faced lately.

Roll on book 2!!

I love a book where you just fall straight in the character are brilliant and you just like them from the start add in the absolute shocking ending and you have a really really good book.
I actually don’t really know where to start I was pretty much blown away,
Robin is struggling a single mum who’s lost her job at the met moved in with her mum and dad and sharing bunk beds with her daughter. Her character growth was amazing she really found her self and worked at it. She’s joined her mums friend as a Pi working on different cases the main a missing young girl. Then her best friend her rock is murdered her young son critical. It’s an emotional crazy ride it was sooooooo good! The ending !!! Like what the hell absolutely brilliant ! Did not see that coming at all.. over all this so a brilliant first in the series and I can not wait see what’s in store for Robin and her daughter.