This is an amazing book shedding light on a number 9f complex issues. The plot twists and turns managing to combine a fast moving crime thriller with an insight into historic African culture. It also highlights the struggle of female detectives in a male dominated police environment. A good read.

After a rather slow start and a little confusion by the sheer number of characters introduced I really got into this novel and thoroughly enjoyed it. Bhadreshwar tackles many issues, including sexual and domestic abuse, police mistrust and perhaps the most harrowing Female genital mutilation.
Through the recollections of MaMa we witness the brutality of the British soldiers and their camps in the villages of Kenya and how even today the British government refuse to acknowledge what happened. If they don’t admit it then it never happened.
The novel begins with the decapitated head of a former head teacher being discovered in a filing cabinet. DI Diana is called upon to solve the crime. As she progresses she is hampered by the wall of silence by members of her mother’s book club: A group of women who band together to support each other in the absence of the police force, who fails to protect them. Diana follows her hunches, which threatens to have her demoted. Undeterred she goes against her superiors and unearths a web of corruption and female abuse.
Although I guessed the culprit before the end it did not distract from my enjoyment. What I appreciated was a deeper understanding that Bhadreshwar gave me regarding FGM. The silent voices of the women echoed loud and clear.

A great read which I highly recommend.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ahead of publication.

This is a very unusual book and well worth reading. Starting with the discovery in a filing cabinet of the severed head of a former local headmaster and the related deaths of others, the story involves a local female detective who has some problems pursuing the case but she gets there! Her mother and grandmother become significant background figures to her pursuit of criminals. That brings detail about her Kenyan heritage and the issues her grandmother faced growing up there. That leads to important information about female genital abuse which is important to reveal. The combination of the detective’s work with her family background is good. I recommend the book.

An absolute gripping and fabulous thriller a true 5 star read.

Diana a DI base I. Sheffield faces a lot of struggles from those around her and a murder to investigate a severed head in a filing cabinet at the demolition site of a former High School. But this is no ordinary case which as a lover of Thrillers is great news as its not boring.

This is also a story that includes issues of sensitive nature Diana's family hails from Kenya and some of there traditions are definitely not palatable FGM for most if not all of us. But it's an eye opener that it's still so common but that's not the main stay of the storyline, but it's there. The CID is not a great environment to work in either a and the behaviour of some of the team is appalling as well in different ways Diana does not have it easy. but she's determined and a fighter who knows her job. This is an eventful read that's not dull is not always easy reading but it is gritty its a great read and well worthy of reading. Its a storyline where victims or offenders will have to be worked out and our DI's family get tied up in the investigation so there's a lot to ponder.

I highly recommend this is not a one sit reading week weeny for me but it was absorbing and I was desperate to find the answers cross at the way Diana had to struggle and impressed with the resolve.

I struggled with this book unfortunately, it was really difficult to relate to. Plot lines in essence were good, but the pacing, tone. of people, places and the slang really made it hard to read.

I really found this book so difficult to relate to. Plot lines in essence were good, but the jumble up of people, places and the slang really made it unenjoyable. I stayed with it till the end and then wished I had given up on it before halfway.

Sorry but not for me.

This is a novel with many different plot lines. For a lot of the book it feels confused, with DI Diana Walker vainly trying to solve a murder. The case of a former Head Teacher found in a filing cabinet amidst the ruins of his old school is a gruesome one. And there appear to be many different possible motives for his death.

The plot runs slowly through a tale that also involves family relations, atrocities in Kenya and drug running in Sheffield. All of the confusions is tied up very neatly by the close, though.

The slow pace and multiple narratives make this a difficult read. Some of the dialogue seems to be written to imitate dialect, but this is inconsistent and doesn't aid the reader. And the character development is minimal, particularly among the other detectives Diana has to deal with, who appear as stereotypical old school coppers.

I would enjoy it far more with less adjectives, adverbs, pronouns! The over use made it a very difficult read. The underlying story is good and the protagonist I would like to see again- just a bit less painful to read please

This is a difficult book to read as far as subject matter with domestic abuse, drugs, FGM, institutional racism all being dealt with - oh yes, gruesome murder as well - but the author deals with it confidently and brings strands together for a good ending. It’s dark and complex but definitely worth reading.

With many thanks to Netgalley for this free arc and I am leaving this unbiased review voluntarily.
First off there’s a lot going on this book- maybe too much. I really enjoyed the police procedural side and Diana was a good protagonist, however the background story at times seemed overwhelming. For me, this would have been a more enjoyable read with just the murder case. It’s a good debut and well written in parts with a sensitive subject matter handled really well and some good research done by the author.

A great debut novel from Nina Bhadreshwar. A brilliant detective story featuring DI Diana Walker and set in Sheffield circa 2010. Difficult topics are covered throughout the story including undocumented domestic abuse and FGM but the writing is sensitive and it’s clear the author has approached these subjects with compassion. I wondered throughout how the various storylines and threads would come together but they did. Thanks to Harper Collins and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this novel in return for an unbiased review.

3.5 ⭐

There was a lot going on in this book... a lot.
I thought the strands would never tie together.
Unbelievably they did.
I'm not sure I can say I enjoyed the book, but it deals with a lot of sensitive subjects, and I think deals with them well. Having Diane fighting the good fight.
The story took a turn or two I didn't expect, and that kept me nicely on my toes.