I have loved all the Adam Fawley series and this was no exception. The only negative for me was problems reading the mixed media formatting on my Kindle. There were quite a few areas at the start of the book that did not download correctly and made reading really hard and the very end article was problematic.

The story itself yet again is brilliantly written. I hadn't realised it was a follow up of an earlier novel. It was such a long time ago that I read Close to Home that my memory initially was a little foggy on the previous story. It did come back to me whilst reading and I do think it added to this one having read the first novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me access to an early release. If I could award more than 5 stars I would!

A body is found by a dog walker in a shallow grave in rural Gloucestershire. DNA on the body is linked to Daisy Mason,an 8 year old who disappeared 8 years ago and whose mother is serving a life sentence for her murder.

DI (now DCI) Adam Fawley is recalled from a Counter Terrorism secondment to investigate why his team got it wrong in 2016.

As the plot evolves,clues emerge of where Daisy has been and where she is now.

I love Cara Hunter's books but I'm not a great fan of the insertion of press clippings that appear in a lot of them hence the 4 stars.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Hemlock/Harper Collins Publishing for the chance to read and review this book

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Initially I wasn't going to leave feedback for this one, as the formatting in places was off on my downloaded file making it a little hard to follow at times. BUT - I was so intrigued I decided to push through, and I'm so glad I did!

Even if you've never read Close to Home, this is still easy to follow and can easily be read as a stand-alone, as you get enough background information to follow the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this, I like the inclusion of media such as newspaper clippings etc. Five stars from me, and has made me want to read the rest of the series!

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A woman's dead body is found hidden in a forest and as the police work to identify her, they find a hair from Daisy Mason, who disappeared 8 years ago, and whose mother was convicted of her murder. This leads DI Adam Fawley and team to first question their belief that Daisy was killed by her mother and then try to determine where Daisy has been and what she has to do with this murder.

4.5 stars.

I had trouble getting into this one, but I think part of that was the strange formatting of the arc. This author uses a lot of magazine articles and other types of media as part of the story telling and none of that was formatted in a readable manner and I couldn't get in a rhythm with this book initially. I also, despite the bios and reminders of who each character is at the beginning of the book, was having trouble keeping all of the involved detectives straight. But, around 35%, this really took off and I was totally engaged as the various detectives kept turning up more and more new information. This turned out to be another really good read from this author. I have really come to like this series and I look forward to the next installment.

I enjoyed Cara Hunter's mixed media crime offering 'Murder in the Family' and so was excited to read her new novel 'Making a Killing'. I rapidly hit the NetGalley request button before realising this is book SEVEN of the DCI Adam Fawley mystery novels. Hunter very helpfully gives key updates about characters in the opening pages so that a reader can pick up anywhere in the series. This is a direct sequel to book 1 so I went on an unexpected, but thankfully excellent, reading journey of 'Close to Home' before moving onto this one - I am so glad I did to properly understand 8 year old Daisy Mason, her life and the outcome of the missing persons case. (Run to read it - a real page turner).

In this sequel, it is 8 years after the missing persons case. A woman has been found dead in a shallow grave in an area known for its links to the occult. It would seem like a mystical ritual sacrifice if it weren't for the strand of Daisy Mason's hair found on the body. A hair from a girl who was supposed to have died 8 years ago. DCI Adam Fawley and team are back on the case to find out how they were duped during the original case. Them realising the true events of that time was satisfying for them to unravel and the various character cameos from book 1 were brilliant.

I am not sure this completely lives up to book 1. It is a slow burn (with key characters and plot points being revealed in quite a rushed way later in the book) and the ending is frustrating in its vagueness (though, that probably makes it a brilliant ending, ripe for a threequel!). However, the story is twisty, interesting and the inclusion of the shadow journal adds Daisy's voice to proceedings. I like the opportunity to psychologically understand her and her motivations a little more. The crossovers to the Infamous franchise from 'Murder in the Family' was also extremely satisfying.

This was not my last Cara Hunter book - I am excited to see what she writes next! 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

ARC Review

My Rating : ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 Racing Stars!

PUB Date: Feb 12th 2025

Ok Cara you’ve done it again ! My first read by this author was Murder in the Family and if you liked that one , then you’ll love this one too !!

Hunter is the first author I’ve read that takes the reader literally on a pulse pounding adventure where you feel like you’re part of a Netflix documentary.

If you like police procedurals filled with multi media, newspaper clippings, emails , photos and lots of characters then you will devour this book.

This is part of a series , but I felt it could be read as a standalone.

I don’t want to give anything away to take away from your experience because that’s what this novel is a twisty criminal experience 👮

Read this if you like :
🦴 Police Procedural
🦴 Multiple POV
🦴 Smart Characters
🦴 Multi Media Aspects
🦴 Classic Mystery
🦴 Twists and Turns
🦴 Books that make you think 🤔
🦴 Fun Reads

This was such a fun read and so different from other novels out there , highly recommend of you’re looking for something unique , keep you engaged and guessing all the way to the end !!

Thank you NetGalley , HarperCollins UK , Harper Fiction and Cara Hunter for this fun ARC !

Respectfully Another Read by Angie

Making a Killing by Cara Hunter is book 7 in the DI Adam Fawley police series. In this episode we see Daisy Mason make an appearance. Daisy Mason was 8 year olds in 2016 when she disappeared, presumed dead. Her mother Sharon Mason was later arrested by DI Adam Fawley and charged with her murder.
Nick Vincent, producer of the true crime series, Infamous, hears of a new angle on a 2016 mystery, he sends one of his researchers to find out more.
Two months later, a female dog walker out walking her dog finds a woman’s body, buried in a shallow grave and her hands tied, in a wood.
Di Adam Fawley investigates and finds that it links to the Daisy Mason case. There are many secrets, lies, twists and turns before the case looks as if it can be solved.
Highly recommended

Good to be back in this storyline although it’s good enough that it could be read as a standalone. The characters are still as vivid and believable and there are enough twists and questions in the plot to keep the reader guessing to the end.

Read
Fantastic.

A full circle for Fawley as we head back to the case of Daisy Mason, fans of the series will go OOH whilst those just dropping in do not fear. You can easily read this without going backwards.

This is a right twisty tale with a very very clever ending some excellent writing and great to spend time once again with Adam and his team

Overall brilliant. Love the creative plot.

What a story! Cara Hunter never disappoints, but this is outstanding. Written as a follow- on from a solved case some 8 years earlier, when 8 year old Daisy Mason disappeared, her mother charged and imprisoned for her murder, though no body was ever found, we meet DCI Adam Fawley again.
He was in charge of the original murder investigation, and is called upon to reconvene some of his team, when new forensic evidence comes to light in a current murder investigation. This sheds doubt on the outcome of the Daisy Mason case.
The ensuing investigation is fascinating and intriguing, maintains a steady pace whilst the reader is eager to keep reading as more information is revealed. I read late into the night with this book, I could not put it down.
Such clever storytelling, excellent writing, and a very twisty plot makes for great reading. Then the ending……. wow!
Even if readers have not read the original story, the author gives a brief synopsis of what happened, who the investigating officers were, who the victims family are, so it’s also easy to read a a stand- alone book.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this book. I cannot wait for the next book from Cara Hunter.

Another brilliant book by Cara Hunter. I love her style of writing and this was a tense fast paced storyline that gripped from the first page and I couldn’t read it quick enough. As it’s a sequel to Close to home I recommend to read that before this book so you get the background. It was great catching up with Fawley again, I hope we get some more books with him soon.

I’m a huge fan of Cara’s books and in particular this series.

I started this one without realising it was a follow up, in part, to book 1 of the series Close To Home. I’ve since gone back and reread this and would recommend reading them in the correct order!

Adam Fawley is recalled back to Oxford after a current case throws up evidence that has incredible repercussions for a previous case of his, a case that led to a murder sentence for a mother of her child, though no body was ever found. Although there may be a very good reason as to why a body wasn’t discovered…..

This case leads to a reunion of the team and the reopening of the Daisy Mason case.

I devoured this book and couldn’t believe how brilliant the story was and how well it continued from the first one. Cara is such a brilliant writer and this book really shows off her talents.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review.

Cara Hunter is back with her latest DCI Adam Fawley thriller. Making a Killing revisits a previous character, Daisy Mason. Daisy, aged 8, goes missing from her home and is presumed abducted. No trace of her is ever found. Her mother, Sharon. Is jailed for her murder after clear evidence is found of her involvement. At the end of the original story we discover that Daisy manipulated her teacher, Kate Madigan into staging her abduction and starting a new life in Ireland. Daisy is no ordinary 8 year old. She's mature and intelligent beyond her years and capable of gross manipulation to get her way. In Making a Killing a body of a recently deceased female in found. A strand of hair with the body is discovered to belong to Daisy Mason. Is Daisy back to cause more havoc or indeed could she be the deceased female? I thoroughly enjoyed this book, thank you to Netgalley for my advance copy. I have 2 little gripes though. The first being that I couldn't read the newspaper articles on my Paperwhite, they just wouldn't line up properly which was a real shame. The second observation i made was that there are a lot of lower ranking police officer characters that I couldn't keep up with. These officer's blended in the finish for me.

I love Cara Hunter's books, so jumped at the chance to read her latest. What I didn't initially realise was that Making a Killing revisits an earlier case in her first novel, Close to Home. I don't think you have to have read that to enjoy this one, but it probably adds something to it. I have read Close to Home, but it was a while ago and I didn't remember much about it (though I did remember the ending).

Anyway, a body found in the woods has DNA on it that links straight back to that memorable previous case for DCI Adam Fawley - DNA from a person believed to be eight years dead, though her body was never found. This discovery puts the cat right among the pigeons - not least, a woman has been in prison for eight years for a murder which not only did she not commit, but which apparently nobody committed.

The newspaper clippings, etc, didn't work very well on Kindle, but did in the NetGalley app, so I had to switch between the two from time to time.

The ending was a little unsatisfying, but nevertheless a great read from Cara Hunter, which did make me want to go back and reread Close to Home.

This is the seventh book in the DI Adam Fawley series by author Cara Hunter. I enjoy this series having read all the previous novel in it.

Nick Vincent, producer of the true-crime show Infamous, uncovers a potential revelation in the 2016 murder case of an eight year old girl in Oxford. Vincent is eager to seize the opportunity so decides to send a researcher to substantiate which sets off a chain of events leading to the discovery of a woman’s body in a shallow grave.

Detective Chief Inspector Adam Fawley led the original investigation and arrested the girl’s mother for her supposed murder. Now he is propelled back onto the case that has so many new questions and disturbing links. Forensic evidence links the newly discovered body to the young girl’s disappearance and Fawley is forced to confront that the wrong person may have paid for a crime they didn’t commit.

The novel grew on me the more I got into it with the familiar characters, well paced plot written in the authors recognisable style that includes newspaper articles, emails etc.

Making a Killing is another exciting read and a worthy addition to the series that I have missed.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I was very excited when I was accepted for an ARC of this book on NetGalley as I had read the series last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. I decided that as this is based on the case from Book 1,Close To Home, that I would re read that before I started this one so that I was reminded of the story. There is however also a recap at the start of the book detailing the characters, which is helpful as there are a lot of different characters in the series.

Making a Killing sees us in 2024 after the last book Hope to Die was set 6 years earlier. This means that some of the team have moved onto different positions but they rejoin back together to revisit an old case where Daisy Mason an 8 year old girl went missing. New forensic evidence has brought into question whether they got the right result back then. The team have to go back through everything they thought to be true before and piece that together with new information found, to try and finally put this case to rest.

This was a great book and kept me guessing all the way through until the very end with twists along the way as we try to work out what has happened. There is the use of mixed media throughout with items such as newspaper articles and photos which I love to see in books.

I would recommend if you have not read any of this series that you read Book 1 Close To Home before this one.

It was a great book, that I would definitely recommend and I can’t wait to see what’s next for DCI Fawley!!!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the advanced reader copy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc, I raced through this pacy, slightly creepy thriller and loved it, especially having read the first book with Daisy in it. A great read.

When I saw that this was a sequel to Close To Home, the book in which we first meet D.I Adam Fawley I couldn't have been more thrilled. I absolutely loved that book so this was one to be read in one sitting. I wasn't disappointed. I don't want to give away any spoilers but this was an exciting, tense read and I enjoyed every minute. I can't recommend this series highly enough. Hopefully the author has plenty of ideas for future installments.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book

Adam Fawley is back with some old faces to investigate a body found in the woods. It is tasked to him to investigate as there are links to the murder of Daisy Mason, a previous closed case that he was linked to. The investigation ends up raising more questions than answers.

I enjoy Cara Hunter’s books and as I read more, I end up loving them more. Therefore I was super excited to read this one, especially when I saw it was a sequel to the first in this series. I was happy to see Adam Fawley and the team back and felt like I was catching up with old friends. The characters are brilliantly written and their connection to one another easily shines through.

I really loved the references to previous novels and felt this added something a little extra for me. Saying that, this can still be read easily as a standalone and the author does a good job introducing all the characters at the beginning of the story. As always, the author’s original writing style is in full swing, with newspaper articles, transcripts and other unique ways to get the story across. There were plenty of twists and lots of suspense to keep me gripped to the story. And the cliffhanger!

Definitely another great addition to the series by one of my go to authors: I need more already. I would read anything she writes! 4.5 stars rounded up. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

Making a Killing is another good police procedural by Cara Hunter and I was pleased to see a return to the Adam Fawley/Oxford series.

Whilst I enjoyed the pacing of events in the book and read it over a couple of days, what lets it down for me is the main premise of the disappearance of Daisy from the earlier novel and for her to be that manipulative as such a young age. As a reader, I also felt that Daisy's shadow journal gave away so much of the plot that it felt like the police investigation was a bit slow to work out what was going on.