It's been two years since PC Lucy Halliday's journalist husband Nico disappeared. Now a body has been found in Gallows Wood and Lucy is determined to prove he didn't leave her but was murdered.

Louisa Scarr's 'Gallows Wood' is a compelling page turner with a dog handler as the main character, a job that has only ever been on the periphery of any crime books I've read.

Like with her fantastic Butler and West series, Scarr has a talent for creating well-rounded characters who are deeply flawed and hiding a lot of secrets. Lucy was once DI, but now disgraced and demoted. Meanwhile new DI Jack Ellis is trying to keep his past hidden. I really enjoyed getting to learn Jack and Lucy, along with the slow rapport they build. I can only hope we're spared the sort of drama that Butler and West experienced in book four (which I hated!).

The action is well-paced and I absolutely did not guess any of the twists and turns so I was gripped. I can't wait for more.

Thanks to Canelo and NetGalley for the ARC.

First in the series and what a way to start a series.

Deception, corruption, kidnap, murder an intense engaging read with some fur friends to boot what's not to love.

I always feel that service dogs don't always get the recognition they deserve so this book is like a breath of fresh that highlights the incredible job they and their handlers do, it's clear the author has done her home work and writes with enthusiasm and detail.

Being a cocker spaniel Mum myself I could really relate to the professional relationship that Lucy shares with her furry companion Moss is a wonderful character, dogs give so much to us asking for so little in return.

I wanted to like this one more than I did but I just couldn’t get away from the incredibly annoying central character Lucy.

Gallows Wood is a police procedural featuring PC Lucy Halliday and her police dog Moss as they are called to Gallows Wood where a dead body is discovered.
Lucy, who until recently held a much higher position in the police until her husband journalist went missing a couple of years ago, had a major breakdown and hasn’t fully recovered.
While others think that her husband left her and moved abroad, Lucy is convinced that he has been murdered. So convinced in fact that we hear about it from her 100 times in the first third of the book. It’s hammered down our throats, just in case we were in any doubt.

A new DI is brought in to investigate the found body and when Lucy is convinced it could be her husband(did I mention she’s convinced?) or her husbands remains could also be out there she returns to the woods with her dog to search for more clues.

The DI doesn’t want her interfering with an ongoing case, as her work on the case is finished and especially as she has a personal angle to it, so calls to her house to tell her to stay well away, that she is not to interfere with a case that has nothing to do with her. Her response? She asks him how the investigation is going and he proceeds to tell her every last detail! I mean come on. That’s either some dreadful writing or the author thinks her readers are stupid.

That’s just an example of how excruciatingly bad the first third of this book is. Lucy is such an utterly annoying person that by the time the book does actually pick up you couldn’t care less about her or her plight.

It does get better as the pace picks up and Lucy stops telling everyone that she is convinced her husband has been murdered and to be fair, there is some tension built and the story moves along.

The problem is there are zero well written characters here. Mind numbingly bland and silly with no depth or ounce of realism about them. The DI even has a half baked “ trauma “ story from his childhood that is another weak and pointless idea that goes nowhere.

I’m giving this two stars purely because the pace picked up after the appealing opening third. I don’t think I’ve read a worse written female lead in a long time and I fail to see how this character will feature in a series of books.

I don’t enjoy being mean about books. It doesn’t give me any pleasure at all but you just have to be as honest as you can when reviewing a book and how it made you feel and this one was a bad bad miss for me.

Many thanks to the publisher for the ARC through Netgalley.

Oh my goodness this book was good!! A police procedural with the main character being a canine handler.. what is not to like about that. If you know me at all you know that I cannot pass up a good police series or anything involving a dog.. so it was perfect for me. This is the start of a new series and I can’t wait to read more about these characters. I did see that the author has another series so I will absolutely checking that out.

PC Lucy Halliday is a former DI. She is now working with Moss, a loveable victim recovery dog.🐶 She is called out to a crime scene at Gallows Wood, part of the New Forest in Hampshire. A body has been discovered, but there are parts missing. Moss soon tracks them down though. It leads Lucy to believe that her missing husband, Nico, a journalist who disappeared 2 years earlier, may also be buried here. Her new DI, Jack Ellis is not so sure., and Lucy’s interfering is not helping matters.

This one very dark and mysterious case that kept me on my toes the entire time. It was a struggle to put down as I just wanted to find out how it would all wrap up. Lucy and Jack were such interesting characters with so many layers. I can see lots of revelations to come in this series.

Thanks so much to Canelo for the early copy to read. Love discovering a new author. Publishes on July 11th.

I was quickly drawn into the complex web of relationships, the eerie atmosphere, and the relentless pursuit of justice. Packed full of suspense and intrigue. PC Lucy Halliday and her trusty search dog Moss delve into a world of secrets and lies, where the past and present collide, and the truth is as elusive as a scent on the wind. Brilliant start to a series, looking forward to reading more.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for this eARC.

This is my first read by this author - and wow, I think Gallows Wood is one hell of a compelling read that really hit the mark with me. Louisa Scarr drew me into the story right away and grabbed my attention and interest and held it all the way to the end. I think the authors writing is very good and engaging, the story flows well and I really like Lucy and DI Ellis and their histories. I loved following their investigation and was rooting for them throughout. They investigate a murder that leads Lucy to answers she has been searching for since her husband went missing. I think the plot is all to believeable and realistic in todays world with themes of organised crime and police corruption - who can Lucy trust though? The story takes place over a very short period of time and in my opinion the pacing is spot on. The plot went off in ways I didn't expect which just added to my enjoyment reading. The ending is good and ties most things up and sets up the next book nicely, and I'll definitely want to read it and hope Lucy and Ellis work together again.

If you like police procedurals you'll enjoy this read, and I'd recommend it. I'll be looking to read the authors other books too when I can.

4 stars

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for providing me a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a big fan of the Butler and West books so jumped at the chance to read this new book early.

I was hooked from the first page and read the whole thing in a day as I couldn't put it down. The plot was well thought out and engaging, the main characters wonderfully flawed and the side characters (and side doggies!) helped the story along and had their own personalities.

I hope this is the start of a new series because I need more please!

Well-written police procedural with a wonderful dog!
PC Lucy Halliday’s life was traumatically upset two years ago when her journalist husband disappeared , but she has settled into her reassignment as a canine officer with her new partner, cocker spaniel search dog Moss. Her latest case kicks off when a severed hand is found that leads Lucy and Moss to a body, and they soon discover that there is more than one body to be found.
I am a sucker for books about our furry friends. Moss is a winner in two ways. First of all, he is a wonderful companion to Lucy through thick and thin. In addition, the author provides an excellent picture of a police dog at work, giving me a better sense of how the dogs contribute to criminal investigations.
The dog element attracted me to Gallows Wood, but the quality of the writing is what kept me to the end. The descriptions of police work in general were probably the most impressive feature of the book. I read a LOT of books about police investigations, but I have never seen the actual techniques and practices described so well. I felt I learned a lot and fully enjoyed the ride. I was surprised after I read the book to realize that Louisa Scarr does not have a background in law enforcement. Scarr does wonderful vivid descriptions of all sorts, and my Kindle has a number of highlights of passages that I especially admired.
There are also a number annotations on my Kindle annotated exclaiming “Smile” or “Ha ha”, light touches that were nice breaks from the sad and unpleasant events within the story. Many involved Moss, Lucy’s “stress-release”.
The advance praise included in the book description praised it as “gritty and twisty”, but for me these were the only aspects where I was a bit disappointed . My tolerance for nasty violence is limited, and the details of the violence are so graphic that I might have quit reading if the book were not so good overall. The “twistiness’ was also rather heavy; since I do not want to include spoilers, I will just say that I felt it was not likely that the activities would go on as long as they did without being uncovered, for a number of reasons.
Gallows Wood was my introduction to Louisa Scarr; I was very pleased to discover that she has written another series, so new fans will not have to wait for the second book in this new series to enjoy more of her writing.
I received an advance review copy of the book from NetGalley and Canelo Crime.

Love her novels and this one did not disappoint Great premise. Good characters. Plenty of suspense to keep me enthralled. Can’t wait for the next one. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

A new author, a new series and a police procedural well what more can you want and believe me this first book is a brilliant start and I can’t wait for more to come. The story is a complex and addictive one with plenty of twists and turns and for me I found it to be incredibly well written. The characters are quite a varied bunch some likeable and others obnoxious but all are well crafted and believable.
I raced through the read as wanted to know just where it was all going and was well rewarded with a fabulous conclusion and also desperately wanting more so I hope we don’t have to wait too long for the next in this fantastic new series, it’s one not to be missed and thank you Louisa Scarr for a perfect read.
My thanks also to NetGalley and Canelo for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was my first book by Louisa Scarr and it won't be the last! Gallows Wood is the first in the PC Lucy Halliday series. I loved Lucy and the interactions with Moss, her victim recovery dog. Lucy and Moss are called in to find a body after a hand is found in Gallows Wood, part of the New Forest in Hampshire. Lucy meets DI Jack Ellis, the new SIO of the Major Crime Investigation Unit, a job that Lucy once held nearly two years ago, before her life imploded with the disappearance of her journalist husband, Nico Halliday. Before long, Lucy can't can't keep out of the investigations. Soon, there are more bodies found. How are they all connected? Why? Who? Unputdownable, all sub plots come together is a satisfying conclusion with an ending I never saw coming, I loved how well researched the dog handling procedures were within a police context. It was well written and very descriptive. I highly recommend this book.

An intriguing story full of great characters,the dogs,! Full of twists and turns,blackmail,police corruption. Who can be trusted?

I just can’t resist a police procedural that involves a working dog, even when my TBR queue is already overwhelming. And this one was worth it. PC Lucy Halliday is now a dog handler after formerly being a DI. Her life fell apart when her journalist husband went missing two years ago and she’s just now putting the pieces back together. And then, she’s brought in to search the New Forest for a dead body. And it turns out, that body was just the first.
I liked that Lucy’s dog is a spaniel, mostly of the cocker variety. Not the typical cadaver dog. The dog handling scenes all came across as realistic and easy to envision.
The story arcs back and forth between Lucy’s POV and that of DI Jack Ellis, recently arrived in the department. He resents her butting into his investigation. Both characters are well developed, with problematic pasts. I won’t hold it against Ellis that he’s such a neat freak that he’s not a big dog fan (especially, as he loosened up as the story went on).
It was fairly easy to figure out who was the ultimate bad guy and none of the twists caught me off guard.
This is the first in a new series and I’ll be looking forward to following through with the next.
My thanks to Netgalley and Canelo for an advance copy of this book.

writing: love it | plot: solid | ending: WHEN IS THE NEXT BOOK DROPPING?????

my opinion

Louisa Scarr? More like Louisa Star!!! *crickets* Anyways, Louisa is back with another banger. I was sad to say goodbye to Butler & West, but this new series hit the mark. Manifesting another 5 books in 5 years please. No pressure or anything.

Scarr also writes as Sam Holland, but her books as Scarr are much softer. Maybe softer isn't the right word, but whereas Sam Holland is all about maximum levels of freak nasty, Scarr is more about character development and delicate writing.

Lucy is a complex character and I look forward to peeling back to layers over the next 5 books (again, no pressure). That little bombshell dropped at the end... Colour this hoe hella intrigued. I appreciated her character arc, but did she really have to link up with a homeless man? No shade but like ?????? Anyways. Ellis was also interesting, I thought I had him figured out but bloop, nope. Fingers crossed that he solves THAT cold case (no spoilies). Also, if Lucy and Ellis aren't endgame, I will riot.

Usually I don't like the—for lack of better word—aspects involved in this case, but Scarr made it work. It could be because of my extreme bias for her books, but it didn't make me roll my eyes. I'm a little nervous to see how this... issue... will be dealt with in future books because ... well, I can't really get into it because of spoilies but if you've read the book, you'll understand.

I've never read a police procedural with a dog in it, but I'll never say no to a dog. Moss provided some much-needed levity to the book and it was interesting to learn about the different types of police dogs and their training. It wasn't TOO info-dumpy, so don't be scared.

Anyways, Holland's books may test my will to live but Scarr never disappoints. The duality LOL.

pros & cons

pros: well-plotted, complex and distinct characters, was there a vibe between Lucy and Ellis or did I imagine it???, Moss was a unique addition, beautifully written DUH, set the scene nicely for the rest of the series with some interesting nuggets

cons: just missing a lil SOMETHING to make it a banger... maybe a bit more butt cheek clenching suspense needed (but not The Echo Man level chill, respectfully)

tysm Canelo for the arc

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

This features police dog handler PC Lucy Halliday, who has a voluminous back story and used to be a DI before being demoted due to events in this backstory. I found her unlikeable, self-sabotaging and far too immature to have ever been a DI for the first third of the book, but after that I either got used to her or her character developed, because by the end I was rooting for her. I am not a dog person, but I even became quite fond of Moss. Lucy inserts herself into an investigation headed by new DI Jack Ellis, who also has issues in his past, although thankfully not quite so many as Lucy.

I enjoyed this and found it readable, although the plot didn't entirely hold together for me. Still, I look forward to more in this series.

What an excellent start to a new crime series and I can't wait for the follow up! This has everything you could wish for in a crime thriller. excellent characterisation, good plotting, suspense, action, thrills, intrigue, corruption and police dogs! I like that little bit of information which kept me dangling at the end and wanting more from this well written book by the author. I just hope there is not too long before we have a follow up! I highly recommend the read and also the previous books featuring Butler and West are also very good. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

The signs are unmistakable. The dog halts, his nose up, nostrils quivering. Every inch of him is poised. Moss has a scent!
Great read! I definitely enjoyed reading this one! This book had fantastic characters! It had suspense, intrigue, action, murder, mystery, revenge, a great who done it and a few twists and turns! The story was very interesting and had me glued to my kindle! I definitely recommend reading this one! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

lucy and her dog Moss are called out to search for a body after a hand was discovered in Gallows Wood.
Lucy used to be a DI, married to a journalist, Nico, but was demoted because details of investigations were leaked, and it was believed that she leaked police information.
Nico went missing, and everyone but Lucy believed that he left her - she knows in her heart that he is dead.
She takes it upon herself to search the woods and finds another body. Coincidentally, both victims have ties with a police officer.

So excited to have found another excellent author of police procedurals!
And with a female lead!
I loved Moss, his bond to Lucy is unbreakable, and he wheedled his way into Jack's heart.
Cannot wait for the next in this series. This book is full of action, clever investigating, new friendships and a lot of emotion as well.

Thanks to Netgalley and Canelo Crime for the opportunity to read this book.

My Rating: 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ great start to a new series from an awesome author!!!

The signs are unmistakable. The dog halts, his nose up - nostrils quivering. Every inch of him poised. Moss has a scent. When a hand is found in Gallows Wood, PC Lucy Halliday and her specialist search dog Moss must find the rest of the body.

Like every case since her husbands disappearance Lucy wonders if this will bring her closer to the truth. With a new DI, Jack Ellis on the job, Lucy struggles to stay out of the case and out of the way. But she is hiding things too… she has more to the story than she is letting on.

Everyone in this story has a secret and no one wants to be found out!!

First of all thank you to my good friend Lit with Leigh for the fun Buddy Read, Leigh I did think that you were going to blast past me (you did for a bit there) and I was going to be left in the dust - but in the end we finished almost at the same time. Buddy reads on StoryGraph are super fun and I loved this one!!

I recently (thanks to Leigh again), read all of Louisa Scarr’s Butler and West series and I wish it was still going - I adored those books and will live in hope that LS is going to bring them back to us. But in the meantime as soon as I saw this book was up on NetGalley I hit request immediately!!

I wont lie it took me a bit to get into this one, I was worried the cute dog was going to bother me - now before you all throw rotten apples at me, I don’t have anything against dogs but I wanted a thriller not a cute mystery with a cute dog - I needn’t have worried this got pretty dark in places. AND the dog was adorable which I loved btw!!

But it still took me a bit to get into it because it wasn’t Butler and West - perhaps if I hadn’t binge read all 5 of those in May it wouldn’t have been an issue 🤣 however the writing was on point and I got stuck right into it. Once I got to about 25% I started blasting through this hoping for some sexual tension between Ellis and Halliday. Sitting on the edge of my seat when things started to pop off.

For me I am not usually a big fan of Organised Crime or drug related crime books but this has a bit of that and it was done really well. Louisa Scarr does her research which I really appreciate because even though this is a fiction thriller I felt like I learnt a thing or two.

I wont lie - the scenes (and believe me you will know when you get to them) between Nico and Lucy… oh my god… watch your TWs I was feeling it. LS was able to tell those tales and get a visceral response she can tell a story!

I am really keen to learn more about Ellis in the next book I hope we get more of his backstory and I really hope he keeps teaming up with Lucy - I mean its kind of guaranteed since its her series but still I liked them together and I do wonder if there will be some will they wont they… who knows!! If the Butler and West series is anything to go by they will drive by each other at least 708 times before they figure it out though.

Overall, I really enjoyed it and once I got into it I finished most of it in one day - which had a lot to do with the cold weather and a lazy Sunday 🤣

Thank you to Canelo Crime, NetGalley and Louisa Scarr for an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Lucy has so much baggage I felt sure I'd missed five previous books, but luckily not. She just has a lot of history.
I was really drawn into this story, slowly at first, then my reading picked up pace as the story did.
Lots of nice twists in the story, or unexpected elements.
Also things ensuring I come back for the next book.
I'm.not particularly a big fan of animals, but I was totally won over by the relationship.between Lucy and her dog.
Being a dog handler I think is quite the USP for crime book too.
Look forward to more.