A stolen car. A group of teenage joyriders. An accident. And a missing girl.

Policewoman Jan Talantire must piece together a puzzle, when it seems as though she does not have all the pieces.

Why was a girl seen running from the scene of the crash? Why had she gone missing from her home the previous night? And where was she now?

These are just some of the questions that DI Talantire must answer, if she is to solve this case. A well written police procedural, this is an intriguing read.

Jan Talentire has been enjoying some down time when she makes the mistake of glancing at her work phone & sees news about a bad car crash on Bodmin Moor. The stolen Mercedes has come off the road & crashed into someone's house & garden. The elderly owner is trying to help the victims. The car is full of teenagers who had obviously been enjoying a joyride. One is dead & the rest are badly injured. The house owner says he's sure he saw a young woman running away from the crash. When a mother gets in touch with the police saying her daughter is missing & hasn't been seen since the night of the crash the police are slow to react but Jan is determined to try & find her.

This was another great read in the series. The descriptions of the joy riders & the crash was very chilling. I like Jan & the way she works with her team & look forward to the next in the series. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

This is the 2nd book in the Detective Jan Talantire series. I read this not realising it was the second book and quite easily read this as a standalone. This book is all about the why they did it.

DI Jan Talantire and her team are back investigating a case of a missing teen.

Jan is on leave when she hears of a nearby crash. She arrives to find an elderly man administering aid to one teen, and the rest in an overturned car, crashed next to the old man's home.

When the man is questioned about what he knows, he tells of the horrific noise of the crash, then the sight of a girl running away from the sight. He believed she possibly escaped from the crashed car.

When word gets out of the accident, worried parents turn up, wondering if it was one of their children crashed after a high speed jaunt on country roads. One of the parents tells Jan that her daughter Jade is missing, and needs medication for her epilepsy. Jan, thinking this is the girl the elderly man saw leaving the scene, asks her superior Wells to initiate the search. Wells thinks this is just a teen being a teen, and says to wait till the next day to begin the search if she hasn't turned up yet.

Frustrated with the lack of immediate police response, the girl's mother ropes in friends and neighbours from the hard luck neighbourhood she, her daughter and the injured teens and their families all live in, and begins posting on social media for help. Jan is frustrated, as she has a sense that it's critical they start the search immediately, but there is already a lot to do just tracking down all the information they need about the badly injured teens and the stolen car they were in.

Once Jan is finally in the clear to bring a police presence to the missing girl's case, she's told a former detective she used to work with will be heading up the investigation, which worries Jan immensely considering his tendency to manage people badly, and sleep with the women under his command, as had happened with Jan years earlier.

The case is twisty, and Jan and her team, particularly Primrose, go to terrific lengths to find the girl, then once she's discovered murdered, to find the killer. This leads Jan back to the owners of the stolen car, as well as back to the neighbourhood all the kids come from, all while working on little to no sleep and undercut by the lead detective on the case.

I could not put this book down once I started it. With the opening, horrific scene of the crash, to the mounting tension to find the missing Jade, then her killer, this book never let up its tension.

Jan is a protagonist I enjoy following; she's empathetic, driven, and respectful of the people who work on her team.

I liked how author Nick Louth dealt with themes of poverty and trauma by setting so many of his characters' lives in a neighbourhood suffering drug addiction, crime, abuse, and fractured families. All this, and the pacing was relentless.

I really enjoyed my second Jan Talantire story and second book by this author. "The Last Ride" is an excellent police procedural thriller, and I sure hope to see more Jan Talantire.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Canelo for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Enjoyable second instalment in this series, although could be read as a stand-alone. An accident on Bodmin, a missing girl and a race against time. Lots of twist in this enjoyable thriller. Thank you netgalley for the advanced copy

"The Last Ride" by Nick Louth is a gripping thriller telling the story of a joyride taken by teenagers. Jan Talantire happens to be in the vicinity of the car wreck and becomes the lead investigator.

During the investigation, parents report their daughter Jade is missing. Jade is friends with some of the teens in the accident. The chase is on for Jan who must find Jade because she has diabetes and cannot go without insulin for more than a day. This part of the storyline was exciting and kept me engaged.

Unfortunately, the storyline fell flat after Jade was found. The investigation became a series of unending characters whose personal lives seemed irrelevant to the case. Too much information.

Jan and her team used social media postings by the teens and DNA evidence to solve the case. All in a matter of days. Money was no object. Suspects civil rights not considered. All the women on the team were stellar and the men were stupid or sexual harassers.
If you are just an average mystery lover, this book is not for you. Young adults may find this book more interesting.

Thank you to Netgalley and Canelo for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Detective Jan Talantire is investigating a devastating car accident after a group of teenagers crash a Mercedes. She is also thrown a monkey wrench into the investigation when one of the teenagers is reported missing by her mother. The detail in the investigation is amazingly done. Where is Jade? What happened in this car before the crash? Detective Talantire is about to reveal a bunch of lies and secrets no one was ever supposed to know. This was my first Nick Louth book, but I will be looking for more. This was fantastically written and kept me hooked from the first page.

The second book in the Detective Jan Talantire story set in South West England is atmospheric and poignant. It begins with a veteran soldier realising something is wrong when he hears a devastating crash and screaming. DI Jan Talantire is holidaying with her mother. She is not enjoying her holiday, and when she cannot sleep in the middle of the night, she monitors the emergency frequency and responds to a likely fatal accident. The story that unfolds surrounds a missing teenager, thought to be at the scene of the accident, but was she in the car and where is she now? The poverty in some areas of Cornwall, in contrast to the culture of leisure and second homes, is highlighted through the lives of the car crash victims. The investigation proves complex with political considerations, tension with the families and conflict within the detective teams, which affects Jan personally and draws on her past experiences. I like the authenticity, easy-to-follow but complex investigation, relatable characters, and relationship dynamics.
It is a gritty and often emotional crime thriller with a driven but likeable lead detective.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

The second in the series about the detective Jan Talentine, set in North Devon/Cornwall . I had read the first and preferred this one. As the book starts, a group of teenagers are involved in an accident during a joyriding trip on Bodmin Moor . Jan is staying nearby at her mothers so goes to the scene. One girl has disappeared, was she in the car or not? A lot happens in this book, the crash is complicated, Jan must work with an ex which adds further complications . There is a lot of reliance on navigation /tracking systems in cars in the investigation which is not that interesting to read about . On the whole a good read, which kept my interest. I liked Jan better in this book, there is more about her background which fleshed her character out more . The location was little more than placenames, so I suppose you do need a little knowledge of the area to build up a picture of the area.
I think this series is going to get better as it progresses, thanks to Net Galley for the ARC

I love this author as he writes the best stories that keep you up reading all night. How can a girl disappear from an accident? All will be revealed with some twists and turns that make this book a best seller!

Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo Crime for my copy of The Last Ride by Nick Louth.
This is the second book in the Detective Jan Talantire Series but can be read as a standalone.
Jan is called out to a crash on Bodmin moor, arriving in the darkness it was impossible to see how anyone has survived
But someone has and they’ve disappeared into the night. Jans going to have to use all her skill and all the help she can get to find this girl.
The clock is ticking.

I love the way Nick Louth constructs both his characters and plots; always believable and well rounded. This is the second in the Jan Talentire series and is as good as the first one.

Having enjoyed the first in the new detective Jan Talantire series I thought i would enjoy this just as much, however after struggling to get past the first chapter I put to one side to try again later.

Picked up and persevered but just did not get that same gripping read as the first so although I did finish I was not impressed

DI Jan Talantire is enjoying a rare weekend off when she hears reports of a car crash close to where she is staying. Jan instantly sets off to the scene, arriving to find the remains of a car with a number of teenagers trapped inside right on the edge of Bodmin Moor.
A witness states that he saw a young girl running from the scene of the crash and a mother reports her daughter, Jade, missing. Was Jade the girl who ran away and if she was how did she escape the carnage.
Jan is convinced that the crash and Jade’s disappearance are connected. But with the surviving teenagers all unconscious in hospital she has no other witnesses to help and has to rely on technical assistance to find out who was actually in the car and when.
The more Jan and the team discover the less they seem to know, and no one is giving straight answers.
This is a gripping story that will keep you guessing right up to the end, with more twists and turns than a country road.

The Last Ride is a captivating detective novel that had me hooked from the very first page! 🌌 The story kicks off with a high-speed car crash on Bodmin Moor, where DI Jan Talantire discovers the aftermath of what initially seems like a tragic accident. But when a frantic mother arrives searching for her missing daughter, Jade, the plot thickens.

The tension ramps up as DI Talantire unravels the mystery surrounding Jade’s disappearance. Was she in the car? If so, why did she run? Louth masterfully blends suspense and intrigue, keeping readers guessing at every turn. The twists are both shocking and well-crafted, making it hard to put the book down.

The rich setting of Cornwall adds to the atmosphere, and Louth’s characters are relatable and complex. The exploration of friendship, loyalty, and the consequences of reckless behavior shines through, adding depth to the story.

If you're a fan of gripping mysteries that keep you on the edge of your seat, The Last Ride is a must-read! 🚗✨

The Last Ride by Nick Louth is a highly recommended procedural and the second book in the DI Jan Talantire series set in Devon and Cornwall.

A stolen Mercedes packed with teenagers crashes at high speed on the southern edge of Bodmin Moor in Cornwall. An elderly WWII veteran lives by the crash, reports it, and manages to pull one of the teens out of the wreckage. DI Jan Talantire happens to be nearby and is the first responder to arrive at the scene to see the crash and assess the victims. Soon others arrive and begin the task of trying to save the surviving teens in the wreckage.

While Talantire begins to look at the tire marks and the trajectory of the crash, a worried mother turns up at the scene of the accident. Her daughter, Jade, a friend of the joyriders, hasn’t been seen since the previous night. The elderly man said he briefly saw a glimpse of a girl running away from the crash when he came out of the house. Could this be more than a case of irresponsible teens?

This detailed, even-paced atmospheric mystery is a meticulously plotted procedural. The team work well together uncovering clues and information while carefully collecting forensic evidence to discover what happened. The pace and tension do pick up significantly as the novel heads toward the surprising final denouement.

DI Jan Talantire is a fully-realized, engaging character with depth and a personality. She works well with others and is not afraid to stand up for herself with a predatory superior. This is the second book in the series and although it seemed to work as a standalone, it might have been better to start with book one before this. It did feel like I was maybe missing some backstory, although there is a great deal of character development here.

Those who like detailed-oriented procedurals will enjoy The Last Ride. Thanks to Canelo Publishing for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Starting with a tragic automobile crash, the drama grabs you right from the start. The story unfolds with the what seems like just a horrific accident on a lonely road at the edge of the moor in a stolen car on a high speed joy ride. On the surface it appears to be just an isolated mishap but the lone witness swears he saw at least one person walking away from the accident. When DI Jan Talantire arrives first on the scene, she becomes embroiled in this exciting case. Talantire races against the clock to find the missing teenage girl, Jade, but when she is discovered murdered and dumped in another stolen car, the search for her killer begins. Suspects range from her ex to high ranking police officials as Talantire has to unravel the web of drugs, sex and lies that Jade was caught in before time runs out.

Brilliant as ever, this story is the second in the DI Jan Talantire series. Jan is having a quiet evening away when she, foolishly, looks at her work phone. There's a accident and she's the closest. It's horrific - stolen car, 5 teenagers, going too fast, over a wall and ended upside down in a Victorian greenhouse. One dead and the others unconscious so witness statements will have to wait. then a distraught mother reports a missing daughter, best friend of the teenagers and thought to have been with them. Was she or was she not? Lies and damned lies abound when Jan and team interviews parents, other relatives and friends. Drugs are found and there's a related story about them. Some more of Jan's history is explored but not such as to interfere with the detecting story. It's well-written, characters are relatable, if not always in a pleasant way, and plenty of twists and turns. Jan is rapidly becoming a good replacement for Craig Gillard whose time to retire had come. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

Late at night, a stolen car full of teenagers crashes on the edge of Bodmin Moor. Off-duty but staying nearby, DI Jan Talantire arrives to find a scene of destruction. What appears to be a tragic accident soon takes a mysterious turn when a woman turns up at the scene claiming her daughter, a friend of those involved, is missing. When an eyewitness reports seeing a girl running away from the crash, Jan begins to wonder whether they are one and the same and if so, where is she?

This is the second in the DI Jan Talantire series after the brilliant The Two Deaths of Ruth Lyle but this could definitely be read as a standalone. Jan is proving to be a great character, good at her job and relatable and as we see from the sub-plot featuring her superior officer, has an interesting back story that we have, so far, only scratched the surface of.

This is a genuine mystery story as we, along with Jan, try to figure out what has happened to the missing girl and whether or not she was in the car when it crashed. There are plenty of twists and turns along the way as evidence is presented that helps to tell the story of the events that fateful night. The Last Ride is well paced and engaging and kept me gripped until the end.

Really enjoyed this faced paced police procedural from Nick Louth

Jan Talentire is fast becoming one of my favourite detectives.

A real page turner

Looking forward to the next one