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book99's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
smittenforfiction's review
4.0
When I received Dead End as a digital ARC from Netgalley I didn't realize it was the third book in the DI Kelly Porter series. It feels like a stand alone novel. When Xavier Paullus II, earl of Lowesdale, is found dead it looks like a suicide. The coroner discovers it wasn't suicide, and Kelly Porter leads the case to find his killer. Kelly is also investigating the disappearance of two young women, Hannah and Sophie. Dead End is an atmospheric mystery with two storylines told mainly from Kelly's perspective weaving a twisty, intense narrative about family secrets, betrayal, and self-acceptance.
As a character Kelly is well-rounded. Definitely active, with wants and needs, internal conflict, all that good stuff. The other characters felt flat to me, especially the killer. I didn't get a good sense of the killers motivations, wants, needs, strengths, or emotions.
The story has too much going on. Xavier's death, the missing women, Kelly's new boyfriend, relationship with her sister, and father. Cutting one or two of these would have made the plot feel less cluttered.
Told from mainly Kelly's perspective, the writing is fantastic, and easy to understand. I guessed the killer early on, yet I still enjoyed the uncovering of details because the characters and setting are so well-written. Dead End is a twisty-turning ride, with a great page-turning pace. A great read for mystery/thriller fans.
Plot 3/5
Writing 5/5
Characters 3/5
Overall 3.65/5- Rounded up to 4 :)
Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for the complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review.
As a character Kelly is well-rounded. Definitely active, with wants and needs, internal conflict, all that good stuff. The other characters felt flat to me, especially the killer. I didn't get a good sense of the killers motivations, wants, needs, strengths, or emotions.
The story has too much going on. Xavier's death, the missing women, Kelly's new boyfriend, relationship with her sister, and father. Cutting one or two of these would have made the plot feel less cluttered.
Told from mainly Kelly's perspective, the writing is fantastic, and easy to understand. I guessed the killer early on, yet I still enjoyed the uncovering of details because the characters and setting are so well-written. Dead End is a twisty-turning ride, with a great page-turning pace. A great read for mystery/thriller fans.
Plot 3/5
Writing 5/5
Characters 3/5
Overall 3.65/5- Rounded up to 4 :)
Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for the complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review.
windy_witch's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first of the novels about DI Kelly Porter that I have read and it will not be my last, I don’t feel that you need to read the previous novels to get a grip of this one. This story is set in the Lake District in Cumbria where two young female hikers have gone missing from the base camp and it is down to DI Porter to find them before alive and well.
Running alongside this is the mystery of the apparent suicide of and old earl, who seemingly hung himself in his own country manor. However, all is not what it seems and it does not appear likely that the elderly man would have the strength to commit this final act.
Many twists were seen in this novel by Rachel Lynch and had me truly guessing to the end who was to blame for the crimes. I will certainly go back to the first two novels in the series and catch up.
whiteswanblackswan's review against another edition
3.0
This one was ok because I felt the ending was super rushed. I wish we had had more time to see it through.
toellandback's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Book three of the DI Kelly Porter series sees her and her small, Lake District based team on the search for two female hikers who've gone missing, however when the apparent suicide of a local Earl is ruled as murder, Porter and her team have their hands full as both investigations have hidden secrets from the past which are about to come to light.
Another great addition to this series as Porter continues to battle with her private life - especially her sister - alongside work, as well as a couple of underlying storylines which are hinted at. It's very fast paced and some of the descriptions are particularly graphic and may not be suitable for everyone, however as a whodunnit and a where-are-they novel, it's really enjoyable and I'll be keen to see how the open storylines continue going forward. Definitely recommended.
Another great addition to this series as Porter continues to battle with her private life - especially her sister - alongside work, as well as a couple of underlying storylines which are hinted at. It's very fast paced and some of the descriptions are particularly graphic and may not be suitable for everyone, however as a whodunnit and a where-are-they novel, it's really enjoyable and I'll be keen to see how the open storylines continue going forward. Definitely recommended.
kirkw1972's review
4.0
I kept waiting for the two stories to overlap. They did but not in the way I was expecting. I love it when I’m wrong! I haven’t read the previous 2 books but I enjoyed this so much I picked them up at the weekend. I liked Kelly. I could sympathise with her family relations a lot. From a professional standpoint it’s great to see a strong female lead with a team that are supportive and equally strong. I’ve read so many crime books where the female lead is still subject to misogyny so I really enjoyed the dynamics of the team.
The setting is gorgeous. I’ve been to the Lakes and could so easily imagine where I was reading about. They are almost another character in the book. The 2 storylines kept me engrossed to the end. A few of the characters could be the bad guys and all of them are quite horrible so it’s no surprise when one of them is the right one.
If I had one complaint the books finished quite abruptly/ A lot of the arrests & action takes place ‘off book’ and you don’t read it. I would have liked a bit more on that but I’m nit picking. Overall loved it and looking forward to reading the others.
The setting is gorgeous. I’ve been to the Lakes and could so easily imagine where I was reading about. They are almost another character in the book. The 2 storylines kept me engrossed to the end. A few of the characters could be the bad guys and all of them are quite horrible so it’s no surprise when one of them is the right one.
If I had one complaint the books finished quite abruptly/ A lot of the arrests & action takes place ‘off book’ and you don’t read it. I would have liked a bit more on that but I’m nit picking. Overall loved it and looking forward to reading the others.
lxurx64's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
samanthajayne_x's review
4.0
I’d like to thank NetGalley and Canelo for sending me an e-arc of this book it is very much appreciated. I read Dark Game & Deep Fear and I really enjoyed both of them.
Okay so to start with I am loving Johnny and I really like his and Kelly’s relationship! I love that we have the same characters reappearing and we still see the teamwork between the police. And the story is just adding to these characters and revealing more about the characters.
I really liked the lasting effects of Deep Fear are still present in this book especially as it ended how it did. But Nikki was a right asshole and she was being really horrid to Kelly and I didn’t like it. So many times through this book I kind of just wanted to lob a brick at Nikki and she didn’t really improve on her attitude. She was the worst.
I love how perceptive Kelly is! She is such a complex character and we just keep learning more about her, and she’s a good character. I didn’t see some of the family secrets coming so it was really interesting to learn about them and I can’t wait to know more. It just keeps dropping making me surprised every time.
I do have to say after a certain incident in the book I guessed who the killer was, and I’m actually proud that I did guess lol! Because with the past two books I haven’t been able to guess who the killer was in the other books so I’m hella proud of myself.
I really enjoyed the story and I am very interested to read the next one!
Okay so to start with I am loving Johnny and I really like his and Kelly’s relationship! I love that we have the same characters reappearing and we still see the teamwork between the police. And the story is just adding to these characters and revealing more about the characters.
I really liked the lasting effects of Deep Fear are still present in this book especially as it ended how it did. But Nikki was a right asshole and she was being really horrid to Kelly and I didn’t like it. So many times through this book I kind of just wanted to lob a brick at Nikki and she didn’t really improve on her attitude. She was the worst.
I love how perceptive Kelly is! She is such a complex character and we just keep learning more about her, and she’s a good character. I didn’t see some of the family secrets coming so it was really interesting to learn about them and I can’t wait to know more. It just keeps dropping making me surprised every time.
I do have to say after a certain incident in the book I guessed who the killer was, and I’m actually proud that I did guess lol! Because with the past two books I haven’t been able to guess who the killer was in the other books so I’m hella proud of myself.
I really enjoyed the story and I am very interested to read the next one!
angelsbookcorner's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I really enjoyed the second book in this series, however I feel this one fell slightly short. While the writing was fantastic and the story was very compelling, I found the ending rushed and no real answers were given. I’ll continue on with the series because I have enjoyed it thus far and still feel as though we got some great minor plot twists regarding Kelly’s character.