Dealing with one of the darkest secrets in irish history this novel is set in one of the many mother and baby homes around the country.

Gripping from beginning to end though the subject matter is disturbing to listen to at times.

A young woman is found dead in a cathedral. A day later, her boss is found hanging in a tree in his yard. The deaths don't seem connected until both bodies show the same old tattoo. Then a third body is found dead, and two teenage boys are missing. What is going on in Detective Inspector Lottie Parker's sleepy little town?

This book had a LOT going on. On one hand, it seemed like a bit much. But everything tied together perfectly in the end. I have an affinity for detective mysteries, particularly those taking place across the pond. And this one was fun. Looking forward to reading more of Lottie!

This is the first book in what is now a fairly long running series,

Aside from the dark and gritty plot, there was a lot of character development around Detective Lottie Parker, a recently widowed mum of three. Lottie clearly struggled with balancing her work and home lives, supporting her children with their grief, whilst managing her own, Honestly, I didn't feel she did a great job on that front, seeming to almost hide behind her work to avoid dealing with reality - an approach I think many people might take in an unimaginably difficult situation. I am interested to see how Lottie's personal life and her relationship with her children plays out as the series develops, in particularly with Katie, who inadvertently becomes involved in the plot.

The plot was dark and very disturbing! Set in the 1970s and the present day, the trail of clues from two bodies leads Lottie to St Angela's, a former children's home and to some horrifying historic child abuse.

I felt the pace slowed in the middle and the book could have been shorter, but overall a great read with some shocking twists.

The audiobook was really well narrated by Michele Moran.

3.5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Patricia Gibney and Bookouture, for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I didn't love this one, unfortunately. For some reason I didn't feel connected to the story and there was so much going on and so many characters I found it difficult to follow. I don't think I would read more in this series.

The case being investigated in this book felt quite complex, with a lot of strands that even by the end I couldn't quite see how they were all connected. It was a dark story covering difficult themes, and once again the Catholic church doesn't come out from it well. I enjoyed Lottie Parker as a character, and I thought her family issues provided an interesting background for the main plot line. I would read more from this series.

The audiobook narrator did a fantastic job, she really got into the telling of the story and made it feel quite dramatic and atmospheric, without overdoing it by acting too hard.

I listened to this as an audiobook, and the narrator is excellent at bringing the characters to life. Some chapters in this audiobook deal with child abuse. They are integral to the story but difficult to listen to. The complexities and pacing work well in audiobook form. Detective Lottie Parker is a dedicated and successful investigator. Her personal life after the death of her husband is complex; she has three teenagers with all their complex needs, including grief, whilst she is also coming to terms with her loss. She is always conflicted when her work takes over. Lottie is a compassionate, insightful detective, which she demonstrates with this disturbing case. The investigation team have a believable dynamic, especially the humour, which lightens the story and makes it authentic and human.

The publisher provided a copy of this audiobook.

With thanks to the author, publishers Bookouture Audio, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This was the first Patricia Gibney work that I have read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I found it to be an edge-of-the-seat thriller, with a fantastic plot that kept me guessing right to the end.

Lottie was believable as a main protagonist. Perfect by no means, a widow trying to control three teen children on her own, and a mother that she doesn’t get on with, she struggles to do all of that and do her job with integrity, but somehow manages to pull it off. Some of her dialog with her colleagues (Corrigan, but Boyd in particular) was very funny also, and epitomised the sarcastic and dry Irish sense of humour.

The content does touch on some sensitive topics (child physical abuse, sexual abuse, and church coverups to name a few), which are topical as they echo several historical occurrences that have quite recently come to light here in Ireland, and unfortunately still continue to do so. Some of the chapters cut a little close to the bone and were uncomfortable to read as a result, but overall I was engrossed by the storyline, which was unrelenting as it gradually unfolded to the final big reveal.

Special mention for the narrator Michele Moran who I thought did a wonderful job voicing the different characters, and took the story to another level with her delivery. I was happy to discover that she has continued to narrate the subsequent instalments in the series also, which will certainly encourage me to dig into them.

I just finished The Missing Ones by Patricia Gibney. It was a riveting listen. I can’t wait for the next one. Hurry!!

This book wasn’t great but wasn’t awful. Lottie, the main character seemed to be kind of a bully. There were some parts I really liked, but some parts that just kind if seemed to drag on a bit. Some of their procedures weren’t done correctly, which didn’t seem like it was on purpose for part of the story. I wasn’t expecting it to be as much of a “religious” book as it was. It was like the entire religion was just awful, which I get people have opinions but just seemed very disturbing and kind of disrespectful. I did figure out the general idea of the ended pretty early on, so I didn’t really see a good plot twist, which I love a good plot twist. Overall just an ok book.

I think it is a well written book. I enjoyed the characters and the plot. I listened to this at work and I genuinely enjoyed it

In this gripping police procedural, the darkest secrets come to light as investigators peel back the layers of corruption and abuse within the Catholic Church. Bold, unflinching, and meticulously crafted, this thriller delivers a powerful exploration of justice and morality. With twists that will leave you breathless and a narrative that tackles timely, sensitive issues with nuance, it’s a must-read for fans of intense, thought-provoking crime fiction.

This is the first Patricia Gibney I have come across and It did not disappoint, I liked the character Detective Lottie Parker, she is tenacious and flawed, and full of angst at trying to juggle her demanding job and motherhood to her three children especially since the death of her husband. She has a difficult relationship with her mother but she manages to just about keep it all together.
The story was good and Michele Moran did an excellant job with the narration and made it really easy to follow and kept me engaged. I have already downloaded book two to see how the character develops.

I enjoyed this book. It’s the first book in a series.
Detective Lottie Parker and her team are called to investigate 2 deaths that seem connected. The story is told in two time lines and great twists are revealed throughout.
Lottie is a fiesty mom of 3 teens. She struggles between her personal life and work life after losing her husband to cancer.
The story is a bit long but kept my attention and flowed nicely. At one point, every character was a suspect in my eyes. I love that!
I will definitely read the second book in the series and can’t wait to see how these characters continue to develop.

A copy of this book was kindly provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!!!

I really enjoyed this gripping detective novel. The narration was outstanding and very engaging throughout. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

I listened to the audible version of this book, and wow, I found the narrator just on point with the characters and their personalities. The book itself I always wanted to listen more to find out what was happening, coming from and Irish background when I found what it was going to be about at first I was alittle "oh here we go again" but Patricia made it more emotional then what I've read about before making sure we new each story from the characters back when the things happened this made me feel attached to them. When it finshed I went onto my audible account and bought the next one in D.I parkers story can't wait to carry it on though.

Detective Lottie Parker is leading a team on a chilling case involving two mysterious deaths. A woman is brutally murdered in a church, and another man's death is staged to look like a suicide. Both deaths seem to be connected to the dark history of St. Angela's, a former Catholic children’s home.

I found the storyline challenging to get into. The back-and-forth between characters sometimes confused me, and the lack of urgency combined with Lottie’s personal demons slowed down the pace. I love police procedures, but I found this one to be a little lacklustre.

In saying that, the book did pave the way for wanting to know more about Lottie and the potential for more in the series.

This book has heavy trigger warnings. Child sexual abuse and murder. Religious trauma. Catholic Church. Please consider this before reading.

The narration is great. I recommend listening at 1.25 or 1.5 speed.


Thank you NetGalley for this audio arc.

4/5- I would not say "An absolutely gripping thriller with a jaw-dropping twist" as some other reviewers wrote but I appreciated the twists and turns in this story. It kept me guessing throughout half of the book who the killer was, The end started to drag on for a bit, it is why I would give a 4/5 stars. The narrator does a good job but I had to go back several times as I lost track of who the main character of the chapter was. The transitions were quite unclear. Not sure if it was on the narrator or the author' side.

Thanks to Net Galley for the audio ARC!

I really enjoyed the narrator for this audio book.

The story overall was average.

I feel like the story is heavily character driven but I unfortunately couldn't connect well with any of the characters. Also, the amount of character often made the story a bit difficult to follow. I eventually had to keep a list next to me so I could keep everyone straight.

The mystery/twist is also average.

I did like that it felt like all of the characters' arc felt real and lived in, nothing felt too clean or like every loose end was tied up in the end.

I absolutely adore police procedurals and this one did not disappoint. I love a mystery that provides you with all the evidence and you are watching the story unfold as the characters do.

When two bodies are found with similar cause of death and both with mysterious tattoos Detective Lottie Parker begins looking into the cases. the current case leads her to ones from the past and a children’s home with secrets.

There is something about listening to police procedurals that really bring me into the story and I thought the narration was spot on for this one. The narrator did a great job with pacing and a range of characters that made the narration immersive. I also loved that the story was set in Ireland so we got the accents.

Lottie Parker had the wonderful addition of a family dynamic, she has three children and they play in the story as well and are important figures. I will say that this book wasn't as fast paced as some of the other police procedural's I've read and I think that's because there was so much set up about Loyyie's family dynamic and her past, I don't think this will be an issue in other books in the series. I’m excited to see this is a series with lots more mysteries for Lottie Parker to solve.

Thanks to Net Galley for the audio ARC.

Firstly, thank you to the author, #netgalley and #bookotoureaudio for the opportunity to listen to an arc copy of this novel.

Lottie is a recently widowed, single mother of 3 with a demanding job as a detective. Following a murder in the town, it unravels a whole host of challenges from her own personal attack to the murder of a few more people and what seems to tie them together is St Angela’s. A home for children ran by the Catholic Church. But why would they be targeted?

This book has a great main character. She’s strong willed, likeable and relatable in many ways. I appreciated the authors portrayal of the challenges she faced as a single working mum. Not only that, but she’s a tenacious detective, keen to do anything to get to the bottom of the mystery.

The story was slow to start I personally found. Trying to keep up with the numerous characters and how they tied together alongside the jumping timeline listening by audio I found difficult. This could be due to my own difficulties in staying fully present as I listen to audiobooks while doing other things. The book also at parts seemed to drag and wasn’t as fast paced as I would have liked. Some details seemed to be a non addition to the story but later on it would become clear why it had been added earlier. It did pick up and once I became a bit more familiar with the main players in the story it became easier to keep track of therefore later in the book was more engaging than the first half.

This is not a light read, there are some parts some might find challenging in terms of abuse of children. Whilst not overtly graphic it is something readers should be aware of in advance. There are also heavy themes, for example the Catholic Church is not presented well in the book and it hits close to home how realistic this life must have been for many individuals in similar establishments. The abduction of children and inferred sexual assault was also evident.

For me I think the narrator had a great voice and I loved the Irish accent, I think it fitted the novel well. However, my only criticism was the voices of the characters, for me personally I think just reading the novel would have enhanced the audio and made it easier to listen to. The voices weren’t particularly distinctive and as a result it was difficult to try and establish which character was being presented to begin with. My biggest challenge was with Lorrie’s boss, the voice just didn’t match the energy conveyed. For example when Lottie was getting berated for her choice to go off on her own to chase a potential lead and he was angry, the voice tried to convey anger but it wasn’t done well and took away from the scene in my opinion.

Overall it was a decent audiobook and I would rate it 3.5 out of 4. It had a solid storyline with some interesting views and themes. It kept you wondering how it tied together, how everyone was interlinked. The overall murderer I had a fairly decent idea who it was about 80% into the book which turned out to be right however the last couple of twists I definitely hadn’t anticipated. There’s a lot of scope for Lottie (and in particular her potential love story with Boyd!) that could be explored in further novels. I wonder if it would be easier to read rather than listen but if you are able to stay on track and not get distracted it’s a good one to try.