This book had a great plot with intriguing characters. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.

NetGalley Review: Dirty Money by Charlotte Philby – ★★★★☆

Charlotte Philby’s Dirty Money introduces an engaging detective duo, Ramona Chang and Detective Sergeant Madeleine Farrow, navigating London’s criminal underworld. The novel offers a gripping plot with sharp writing and compelling characters. While there are some pacing issues, it’s a strong start to a promising series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

How refreshing an entertaining fast-moving narrative where the main protagonists are female. There are some improbable co-incidences but then that is how fiction goes. It was good not to be bogged down in the minutia of policing however it was a little bit preach-y in places. Overall a good read and I would happily read a sequel if there is one.

A retired journalist trying to get work as a private investigator, specialist police officer. Unexplained wealth orders against an billionaire eastern block family who may have ties to people trafficking, and an MPs murder.
Human characters with strength and weakness.
Would be interested in reading more books about these characters.

This was an incredible thriller which although it was slow to start with and it took me a couple of chapters to work out who was who, I found it exciting and nerve jangling. There was definitely some suspension of disbelief but all in all a cracking read.

I couldn't find my groove with this book. The description drew me in but I am sorry to say that I didn't connect well with the story - it was a slow burn that just never hooked me enough and certainly for the first half of the book I found it hard to keep track of characters and their situations.

Sadly not for me.

I really enjoyed this book. Ramona is a former journalist, now turned private detective. Madeleine works for special services in the Met police and is now working on a big case of money laundering. This is a fast paced story, full of twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat to the end. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy .
Copied to Goodreads.

This is the story of Ramona, previously an investigative reporter and now starting out as a private detective, and Madeleine who is a detective sergeant with the Serious Crimes team. When they meet with obstacles in their work they join forces to progress with their cases and tackle injustice.

The pace of the book is quite slow initially, perhaps because this is the first in a new series and the author is laying some groundwork. Once the story gets going the pace picks up and we are treated to a thriller set in a world of political intrigue, corruption, entitlement and scandal. I liked Ramona and Madeleine; they make a great team and I look forward reading more in the next book in the series. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Hope over adversity......When I was a boy I remember my father trying to light the coal fire (our only heating). With a newspaper covering most of the firebox orifice to induce a draught, we sat shivering for an hour or more until the coal caught properly. I don't know why, or perhaps I do but the opening chapters of this novel reminded me so much of that experience. Yes, it was a really slow burn. However, when it did get going it was a reasonable detective thriller. Two main characters: Ramona Chang, an investigative journalist and wannabe Private Eye, totally unbelievable and DS Madeleine Farrow, a wealthy fifty year old who really doesn't take orders. Two story threads which eventually converge. I am no ex-job but I think I know enough about the law to realise the techniques used to catch the felons were unlawful and a decent defence barrister would make mincemeat out of the prosecutor's case.
Not my favourite two characters and a slow to develop thriller, plus a large pich of salt needed for the legalities, gives it a score of three from me.

Madeline Farrow is a woman born into money and works for the Serious Crime Investigators ,Ramona Chang has a troubled past carries a skate board around with her for protection. and is a recovering alcoholic who is trying her hand at being a Private Detective .The women meet up and together form a strong team for bringing down criminals. I loved this book and look forward to reading the next book in this fabulous series .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

*Dirty Money* by Charlotte Philby is a fast-paced political thriller that brings you into the world of corruption, scandal, and the lengths people will go to protect their secrets. Once it gets going, it's a gripping ride full of twists and moral dilemmas. But, I’ll be honest, the beginning did feel a little slow for me, and the ending left me wanting just a bit more.

The start of the book took a while to get going. The setup felt kind of slow, and it took me a bit to really get hooked. There’s a lot of background info and buildup, which I understand is important for the story, but it did make the first couple of chapters feel like a bit of a slog. Once the plot started to pick up, though, it moved fast, and I didn’t want to put it down.

The middle part of the book is solid, with lots of twists and turns that keep the suspense high. The political intrigue is definitely on point, and the book does a great job showing how money and power can twist people’s decisions. But the ending felt a little abrupt. After all the buildup, I kind of wanted a bit more resolution or a deeper dive into some of the themes the book touches on. It wraps up quickly, and while it’s not exactly a bad ending, I left the book feeling like there was more that could’ve been explored.

Overall *Dirty Money* is a solid, intelligent thriller. The pacing might drag a little in the beginning, and the ending could’ve used a bit more, but it’s a smart, fast read that keeps you on the edge of your seat once the story takes off. If you like political thrillers that mix suspense with personal stakes, this is definitely worth checking out.

The description drew me in but the early sections of the book just dragged on for me. The two female leads are very different people, not especially likeable but probably somewhat realistic in present-day London, a completely alien world to me. Ramona, ex journalist now a private detective investigating a high class escort agency whilst Madeleine is a DS investigating money laundering. Eventually the investigations overlap and the two work together. They both want justice. The ending feels rushed especially given the rather drawn out start. 3.5* not quite to round up however. Promising. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

A journalist in hiding over the repercussions from her last story finds that the current follow up she is engaged in - related to a high value escort agency - is unexpectedly woven into a very different scenario where a senior police officer's suspicions of internal interference in a high level corruption investigation are deepening.

While the two women are themselves very different personalities in very different life situations, they may now have some common goals. But will they survive long enough, metaphorically and literally, to untangle what appears to be a deep rooted web of deception in high places?

This is a suspenseful and interesting story with a number of original elements. Well worth checking out! It gets 3.5 stars.

After what felt like a slow, long drawn out start and characters I didn’t connect with at all in the beginning, the story picked up and started to draw me in.

I particularly like that the two main leads were female and the storyline was relevant with topics needing a light shining on them being tackled straight on.

The end felt a little bit abrupt with a few loose ends not having been addressed to give a sense of completion.

But overall, once my attention was hooked this was an enjoyable and intriguing read.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book ahead of its release.

This is an intriguing book requiring the reader to concentrate on the many parts of the story and a wide range of persons. It starts with two women on quite separate jobs. Madeleine works for a government agency concentrating on pursuing mainly foreign families with illegally obtained finance. Ramone has just given up a job on a newspaper to try setting up as a private detective. Her first commission goes more deeply than she expected. Then she and .Madeleine get together to find out who murdered an MP who was revealing the detail of the rich foreigners hiding their true assets. There are many twists to the tale but in the long run the main parts of the story are resolved. It is a good read with an original storyline. I recommend it.

Sadly I wasn’t enough engaged to feel I enjoyed this book. The story will appeal to many. I love the title and the cover. Just not for me.

An interesting story which appears to blend together characters from previous novels by this author. This being the first one I have read I was still able to piece together of the backstory to make sense of the characters motivations. . Ramona a private investigator and ex reporter investigates a report of a sophisticated scam to sexually abuse students while at the same time Madeleine a police investigator is tracking money from a foreign criminal family. When their paths cross the pair work together to their mutual advantage.
The novel covers many aspects of modern criminallife from money laundering to police and political corruption and sexual exploitation.
I enjoyed the writing style and the plotting which made this a thoroughly enjoyable read.

I would like to express my gratitude to Charlotte Philby, John Murray Press, Baskerville, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read the Advanced Reader Copy of this text. This is what I thought of the novel…

Before delving into this book, I was attracted to the bright cover and the initial description, ‘Two detectives. One explosive case.’ I was further attracted by some of the other reviews I had read about the novel that pointed at two female leads, and slow introductions to their backgrounds. However, in reality, I struggled to get into this book from the outset. I struggled with the pace, which I think I had presumed would be a lot quicker than it was. The introduction of the characters, particularly, alcoholic Ramona, was interesting but at the same time, the author is drip-feeding the reader, and it is not at a speed to quench an insatiable thirst.

If a story is explosive, I expect to be hit with some sort of crime or scandal in the beginning and then watch as people get involved to solve it. Instead, this novel is led by first understanding the characters and so my initial interest has not been tailored for. I’m less interested in the detectives’ families (or lack of) in the beginning, and the tour around London, and more interested in what the ‘dirty money ‘ actually is so that I have a better understanding of why the detectives’ lifestyles, characters, relatives, job experience, etc is important. I also found the flipping between perspectives to be confusing because the main characters were, in my opinion, not being anchored to anything meaningful, i.e., what is the point of them and why should I care about them.

Unfortunately, I decided to stop reading after giving it a good go but not really understanding where I was in the plot. My brain struggled to give the novel its full attention and so even though the pace was slow, I found I was unable to recollect where I was at when I switched from Ramona to Madeline, and back again. There was also something about the actual writing style that had me tripping over myself and needing to reread sentences to get the full gist of it. Agagin, this may be down to my own expectations of what I wanted to/or thought I should be reading.

I am only guessing, but from the ratings and reviews, I gather the story does pick up pace and it becomes a book that readers will either love or hate. As such, I rate the book an average 3 out of 5 stars so as not to taint the views already out there.

A gripping thriller, with twists and turns you don’t see coming.

Ramona is a PI, who had to change her name following a scandal she uncovered.

Madeline is a 50 year old Secret Detective who has been put on a case.

When her case leads her bumping into Ramona again they both help each other out with their current cases but the twists and turns in the book uncover some dark corners which you never would guess as the reader

A well written book, with good character backgrounds.

The book started really slowly, although I enjoyed it I felt it could of been a bit faster paced. Really enjoyed how the female characters had strong personalities and interesting backgrounds though. Would maybe give it another read at a later date.