Two reviews in one!
Watch Her Die
Tensions are high in the police force: financial pressures and personal feuds are rife but will they interrupt a murder investigation?
DI Temple is estranged from his wife, keeps an illegal gun and is loathed by his superior Harker due to an indiscretion with the latter’s daughter that will never be forgiven or forgotten. He is put in charge of the murder investigation following the death of a beautiful woman with a complicated sexual history but is contantly fighting against beligerent officers, a lack of manpower and a whole load of secretive suspects. Meanwhile his own family are at risk due to a previous case.
Temple is paired with dodgy cop Sloper who has plenty of secrets to hide but also has the ear of the chief. Some parts of the book were fast paced and others were the methodical contemplaition of interviews and clues.
Watch Her Die is a solid police procedure novel and the effect of the personalities of the officers on the case is fascinating to read. There are excellent twists in the book and none of the suspects are particularly likeable or blameless.
Temple’s tenacity in the face of adversity makes him endearing depsite the huge mistakes he has made which impact on his work and home life. As an introduction to a new series and detective, I couldn’t ask for more!
Dead of Night
This book is much darker and involves drug trafficking and the sexual exploitation of young teenage girls.
We meet up with Temple again 6 months after the conclusion of the previous book. His family circumstances have dramatically changed again (but I won’t give away how and spoil the ending of the previous book!) He is also facing disciplinary action for disobeying orders and the police chief who hates him has decided to get revenge at last. Simon Sloper is set against him and we see the seedier side to his behaviour.
Reading about the exploitation of the young girls was quite heartbreaking and often difficult due to the intense sadness the descriptions generated. I have heard of county lines in relation to safeguarding at the secondary school I work at, so know how real the danger to children is right now.
Dead of Night was much more emotive than Watch Her Die. We see how the girls are treated and are also shown the thoughts of other characters so understand their actions better. The unfairness that Temple faces at work and the difficult decisions he has had to make regarding his home life make the reader sympathetic towards him and hope he gets a positive outcome.
I’m hoping for more in this series as Temple recovers from the revelations this case produces…
WATCH HER DIE (Detective Temple Mystery Book 1) by Deborah Lucy
MEET A NEW AUTHOR WHO WILL TAKE YOU ON AN ADDICTIVE CRIME THRILLER JOURNEY.
Please note this book was originally published as “Death Watch.”
HE WATCHED HER DIE
Who murdered Greta Ashton-Jones? This beautiful married woman is found naked, strangled and tied to her bed. Who’s been watching her and taking pictures of her? Who needed to kill her — and why?
Detective Inspector Temple investigates. It’s not the straightforward ‘domestic murder’ he’s been told. Written off by a boss who’s relegated him to the back office, he knows he has to find her killer and fast, but he soon has trouble of his own.
DISCOVER A MURDER MYSTERY YOU WON’T WANT TO PUT DOWN TILL THE STUNNING CONCLUSION
He’s on the wrong side of the law trying to protect himself and his family when a dangerous criminal with a vendetta is released from prison. As things go wrong, losing his job is the least of his problems.
Temple uncovers a tangled web of deceit, betrayal and blackmail which leads him to a depraved undercover world.
CAN DETECTIVE TEMPLE CATCH THE KILLER BEFORE HIS OWN LIFE FALLS APART?
Perfect for fans of Kimberley Chambers, Damien Boyd, Rachel Abbott, Patricia Gibney or Mark Billingham.
What readers are saying about WATCH HER DIE
“Could not put it down.” SP
“Well written and plotted, an excellent and complex crime novel.” MP
‘Loved this book, gripping story, kept me guessing till the end.’ DW
“Compulsive read!” GC
THE DETECTIVE
As a small boy, DI Temple found his mother dead. She had been brutally murdered, with the crime unresolved. Temple is a man on a mission to find her killer, it’s why he joined the police. With the past throwing a long shadow over his life, as a detective, this makes him even more determined to seek justice for other victims as he hunts their killers. His personal quest makes him difficult to live with and difficult to work with and his relationships suffer. But he’ll stop at nothing to protect his family, even though they are estranged and if it means breaking the law.
THE SETTING
The DI Temple novels are set in Wiltshire, a largely rural county. Its landscape of beautiful rolling hills, downs and valleys gives no immunity to the crime that infects its scattered towns and villages. Steeped in ancient history, the tourist guides make no mention of the organised crime groups, the murders and turf wars, or the drugs that saturate the streets, lanes and school playgrounds. The M4 artery across the top of the county pumps its poison from London and Bristol, linking east and west coasts, providing criminal gangs and networks with an easy route to ply their deadly trade.
DEAD OF NIGHT (Detective Temple Mystery Book 2) by Deborah Lucy
A MACABRE KILLER WORKS IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT. HE’S VERY GOOD – NO ONE SEES HIM.
14-year-old local girl, China Lewis is reported missing by her friend Amy. Detective Inspector Temple is tasked to find her. The more he discovers about China, the greater the danger he knows she’s in.
Temple needs to find her and fast. But when his past suddenly catches up with him and two more girls go missing, it becomes personal. Temple’s quest to find the girls takes him into an evil world of exploitation and it seems he’s the only one who really cares.
ONE SERIAL KILLER. THREE MISSING GIRLS.
Temple has to take a gamble that risks the lives of the girls he’s trying to save. As he uncovers police corruption, he is forced to work in the shadows. Who can he trust now?
TIME IS RUNNING OUT TO SAVE THEM.
Perfect for fans of Kimberley Chambers, Damien Boyd, Rachel Abbott, Patricia Gibney or Mark Billingham.
DISCOVER A RACE-AGAINST-TIME MYSTERY FULL OF TWISTS AND TURNS.
What readers are saying about DEBORAH LUCY
“Could not put it down.” SP
“Well written and plotted, an excellent and complex crime novel.” MP
‘Loved this book, gripping story, kept me guessing till the end.’ DW
“Compulsive read!” GC
THE DETECTIVE
As a small boy, DI Temple found his mother dead. She had been brutally murdered, with the crime unresolved. Temple is a man on a mission to find her killer, it’s why he joined the police. With the past throwing a long shadow over his life, as a detective, this makes him even more determined to seek justice for other victims as he hunts their killers. His personal quest makes him difficult to live with and difficult to work with and his relationships suffer. But he’ll stop at nothing to protect his family, even though they are estranged and if it means breaking the law.
THE SETTING
The DI Temple novels are set in Wiltshire, a largely rural county. Its landscape of beautiful rolling hills, downs and valleys gives no immunity to the crime that infects its scattered towns and villages. Steeped in ancient history, the tourist guides make no mention of the organised crime groups, the murders and turf wars, or the drugs that saturate the streets, lanes and school playgrounds. The M4 artery across the top of the county pumps its poison from London and Bristol, linking east and west coasts, providing criminal gangs and networks with an easy route to ply their deadly trade.
DEBORAH LUCY AUTHOR BIO
Deborah Lucy was born in Southsea and bought up in Portsmouth, the island city. In her working life, Deb has worked alongside a number of senior investigating officers as they’ve investigated major crime – from murder, to missing persons to abduction and kidnaps. She’s been at the 7am starts and the 3am finishes, the ‘golden hour’s,’ the high’s, the low’s, the breakthrough’s, the arrests. The slog. The politics.
For three years she worked in the missing adults and children arena, with police, government policy advisors and charities. Latterly, she conducted lifestyle enquiries for international blue-chip companies into the lives of billionaires, millionaires and politically exposed people around the world.
She is a non-fiction author, ghost-writer and has been a consultant on a forthcoming ITV drama series, A Confession starring Martin Freeman and Imelda Staunton, involving a real case she was involved in. She has a master’s degree in historical research. Her experiences lend authenticity to her stories; she also wants her books to be entertaining and find fans amongst those who are the hardest to please – the most discerning of crime readers and real life detectives.
Links
Website: www.deborahlucy.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Deborah–Lucy–1809348826037410
Twitter: @DeborahLucy6
