would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this awesome book


any book with morgan brookes and her work colleagues is always going to be good and this one raises it to a whole new level

morgan and the team are called out to a suspected murder and what greets their eyes is a sight so unbelieveable

someone is hanging from a tree ...they are swinging from their neck and their identity is not known as they whoel head is covered... and with that the bough breaks and the whole thing lands on the floor....

its a nightmare case and one that has them running around trying to find evidence and the perps ...but who could be the perp... who would want someone dead like that

just when they think they know the answers another body turns up in the actual house this time....

with time running out and suspects it will take the whole team to find out the truth

wow just wow what a ride this book was.... love that ending...

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Poison Memories’, book 12 of the Detective Morgan Brookes series written by Helen Phifer, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

A body found hanging in a tree is identified as Margery Lancaster who spent many years in prison for attempting to poison her husband and son. On her release she returned to High Wraith Cottage where she lived a solitary life but DC Ben Matthews and DC Morgan Brookes need to identify the person who wanted her dead.

‘Poison Memories’ is an apt title for this thriller where events from many years ago are the main features of this case that’s being investigated by Ben Matthews and Morgan Brookes. I’ve enjoyed reading more of them together with Cain and Amy, plus Morgan’s most favourite person Ettie and her witchcraft. The story has the usual suspense, drama and intrigue I’ve come to expect from this series, plus a conclusion that puts Morgan at risk. This is an entertaining police thriller that I've thoroughly enjoyed and has kept me involved from the first page to the last.

Detective Morgan Brookes #12

Wind howls against the bolted front door, but the woman can still hear footsteps approaching. He has come for her. The memory of what she did still haunts her, and she knows she deserves to die....

Arriving at High Wraith Cottage, Detective Morgan Brookes joins her horrified team, who have found a woman's body chained and dangling from the gnarled branch of an old oak tree. It's a race against time to preserve any evidence as heavy rain destroys the scene, but they've already identified the victim as a woman who once tried to kill her own family.

I love it when a series keeps getting better with each new book, and this, Detective Morgan Brookes series, does just that. It's like meeting up with old friends now, as we know all the main characters so well. Morgan has been called out to join her team when a woman was found hanging from a tree outside her home. It quickly becomes obvious this was not a suicide, but a murder investigation, and this was just the beginning of a spate of murders. But who was behind them?

It's the friendship and banter between all the main characters that makes this series a little more special. The pace is fast in this easy-to-read book. The twists just kept coming. I thought I knew who the murderer was, even though I thought it was a bit obvious, but I was wrong. We get the backstory of the victim, and some might say she deserved what she got. I was so invested in the plot that I couldn't put the book down.

Published 2nd July 2024

I would like to thank #NetGalley #Bookouture and the author #HelenPhifer for my ARC of #PoisonMemories in exchange for an honest review.

I have been a fan of Detective Morgan Brookes since book 1 – This one did not disappoint! I loved it and devoured this in no time! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC #PoisonMemories #HelenPhifer #NetGalley.

Yet another great book in the series. I have read severe[ and they never disappoint. Morgan and her team are soon kept busy when the body of a woman is found hung in a tree with her head covered. it turns out to be a woman who was convicted and sent to prison for trying to kill her young toddler and her husband. Megan soon finds out that the case back then was not all that straight forward and after talking to people that knew the woman back then she no longer felt sorry for the husband that she tried to kill.
Great book that you won't want to put down. I can't wait to read the next instalment.

Poison Memories
Helen Phifer
July 02, 2024

The tale begins with Margery Lancaster once again ending another dreary, lonely day. Another set of hours waiting for the time when the piper comes to end her miserable string of days. She looks around her cottage, nothing new is here. Nightly motions and eerie sounds would soon begin. Phifer’s 12th novel in her Detective Morgan Brookes series begins with a slow, unnatural tick. We know the worst is coming. We don’t know why or from whom.
Poison Memories will be published by Bookouture on July 02, 2024. I was able to read Helen Phifer’s most recent novel via NetGalley. True to form I was drawn into her latest English suspense narrative of the adventures of Detective Brookes and her team at Rydal Falls police station. Eagerly I began another book in the series knowing full well it would be difficult to put down. From her first in the series, One Left Alive, I began a reader’s journey into her characters' lives. With each new book in the sequence I continued on being entranced by the stories. Mystery fans need to explore Phifer’s intriguing viewpoint on exploring the harrowing details of homicide. I look forward to #13. By all means enjoy Poison Memories.

Wow, I cannot stop thinking about this book. It was written so fluidly that I want to keep going and going. It was definitely a page turner.


Detective Morgan Brooks and her team are called out to a remote cottage where a horrible scene has unfolded. They race to preserve all the evidence they can as a heavy rains threatens to wash everything away. The woman they found was Margery “Maggie” Lancaster, who 20 years ago attempted to murder her abusive husband and their infant son.

As they work through their suspect list they are met with another murder, an, attempted murder, and an unknown suspect. It is a race against the clock to identify the man who poisoned 3 members from the same family as he was unknowingly already closing in on victim number 4.

This book was an edge of your seat thriller with multiple twists and turns. I couldn’t put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to have an ARC. *all opinions are truly my own*

Soo excited that Det. Morgan Brookes and the team are back at it! This book is as captivating as the whole series.

The team is on the hunt to find the gruesome killer of the "iron lady", a local recluse who attempted to poison her abusive husband and son. In doing so, the body tally is climbing and all seem to be connected.

The characters as always are easy to connect with and the addition of the lovable aunt Ettie making an appearance always adds to the familiarity of the characters.

This story is captivating, easy to read and follow. There are several twists that keep you reading making it a realtively quick read! You just can't put it down. Helen Phifer is a phenomenal author and i love all of her books, but the Morgan Brookes series has got to be one of my favorites!

Book could be read alone bu the relationship built with the characters is best started at book 1. Do it! Get them all, you won't regret it!

Thank you to Helen Phifer, Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC!

Another fantastic addition to the series. I love that we got to see more of Ettie and the witchy elements. She is my favourite side character. I also adore Declan. The whole team is lovable and hilarious, and they work so well together. High Wraith cottage was the perfect creepy setting and really added to the story. I suspected a certain character from the beginning but I had no idea how it connected. There are plenty of twists and turns and as more is revealed my feelings towards Margery changed. Morgan is also getting better at using her team to avoid trouble but trouble will always find her.

Morgan Brookes is back as is my favourite character Ettie. I raced through this latest investigation and was gripped from the start. This was one of my favourite book of the series as it was strong in plot, characterisation of the detective team and description. It embraced Ettie's belief in the more mystic and was the perfect blend of Brookes' more grounded in reality investigations and Maria Millers supernatural. High Wraith cottage was a ideal setting for this with its gothic atmosphere and history. As ever, I can't wait to read the next.

Wow I can't believe we reached Book 12 already! It feels as if I got to know Morgan only yesterday. How far did we come! Another very interesting story, with a lot of twists ( seriously I really thought quite early " REALLY " we know what happened already? How wrong I was ). This book leans a little bit more into the supernatural but it was really well fitted into the story.

The only thing I could complain about is : THE BOOKS ARE TOO SHORT!! :)

I am a big fan of this series a very addictive read, and I think this one was so creepy. Morgan and Ben are called to a house where a woman has been murdered very horrific. Morgan starts looking into the woman and she did a terrible thing and then another one gets murdered .and the murder house is so spooky can they find the connection and the killer an amazing read looking forward to next book in series

Another 5 star book in the series for me! It gives background so could probably be read as a standalone, but I recommend the whole series. I'm invested in the lives of the main characters now and still finding them well written. This book featured murders and the suspects were initially hard to pin down, but the team followed every lead without loosing their humour. I enjoy the way they interact with each other. Another series where I'm impatient for the next book to arrive!

Morgan and Ben are faced with a grizzly murder of a local woman who just happens to be known for attempting to murder her son and husband years earlier. Can they race to find the killer before more lives are destroyed.
How can this be book 12 already! Morgan and Ben are two of my favourite detectives and they are like a comforting cup of tea with a side plate of murder. I love this series and the nods to girl power with Helen mentioning her own favourite authors and books is fantastic. (On a side note can we have a Declan and Theo novella please)
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Couldn't stop reading!😍

This Morgan Brookes murder mystery kept me glued to the pages, from the prologue to the last page. I couldn't stop reading until near the end, when I wanted to slow down because I did not want it to end.

The first victim was particularly poignant because she's done the unspeakable in her youth when she poisoned her husband and toddler, but as the story of her past and her lonely present came out, it was not so simple to condemn her.

Morgan is such a great character, dogged in her efforts to nab the murderer and solve the case. She's part of a well-oiled team of police detectives and forensic investigators, but she stands out because she is willing to speak up and risk flak for her frank talk, like how she initiates a heart to heart talk with Marc, their DI boss, who seems never satisfied with the team's competence.

Author Helen Phifer has found the optimal balance between the case and the lives of the characters. I totally enjoyed this one.

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

Another excellent read in the Morgan Brookes series which I am sure fans will love as much as I did. I really like the character development within the team and the Lake District setting is beautiful. The plotting was fresh and interesting with good pacing and plenty of suspense mingled with a touch of humour throughout. This series just keeps improving and one I would recommend to lovers of crime thrillers. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

(Detective Morgan Brookes #12) Once again Phifer has you sliding right in with Detective Brookes and her team. I really enjoy the camaraderie that the characters have and how well they click as a team. I have really enjoyed these mysteries since book 1. There are plenty of twists, action, suspense and romance throughout the story. Morgan has been called to a scene where a woman is hanging from a tree in torrential rains. The tree branch breaks, and the women falls destroying quite a bit of evidence. Those begins the mystery of who killed Margery. As Morgan and her team start to investigate Margery life, they find out that she was put in jail for attempted poisoning of her husband and two-year-old son. Pick up this book and find out who killed Margery and how Morgan’s aunt is involved. I highly recommend this series. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Another fantastic read, another murder and more trouble for the team, Will Morgan ever not get into trouble? Absolutely love this series, a fast paced quick read. Brilliant, more please.

Margery Lancaster is preparing for bed when she hears footsteps outside her remote cottage. She realises the time has come for her, many years after her attempt to poison her abusive husband and son.
Morgan and the team are called to the remote site when her body is found and so begins the next case for the team.
What I love most about this series is the characters, their camaraderie together makes the story, they're human and they do and see the most horrific cases but still there is some humour to lighten the load. They work well together.
It's a fast paced read.
There is a link in this story to an historical event which makes the setting interesting

Firstly I would like to thank netgalley and Bookoutune and the fantastic author Helen Phifer for an early copy of her book to read.


This is book 12 in this brilliant series, Morgan and Ben and the team investigating another murder case of a woman named Margery,She was in prision for poisoning her husband and her child.who wants her dead.followed by a murder is there a connection? Theres lack of evidence due to bad weather at the scene..another brilliant read always guessing. Looking forward to reading the next instalment. Highly recommend this series.

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