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shieldsy09's review
5.0
This debut book was very much anticipated and was sitting pre-ordered for what I can only describe as an eternity! But oh my was this worth the wait and what a debut this was!
This was an exceptional book that tackled an extremely difficult and sensitive subject so well with a remarkable understanding for the topic. Although this was fiction, it unfortunately is something that happens daily and this book delivered an understanding that highlighted no matter who you are, where you are or what you do this unfortunately can be anywhere.
The book had me completely gripped with the hard hitting content which consistently kept me turning the pages. I enjoyed the different aspect of probation that was written alongside the police aspect which again made this stand out.
Noelle Holten true hero and inspiration!!
This was an exceptional book that tackled an extremely difficult and sensitive subject so well with a remarkable understanding for the topic. Although this was fiction, it unfortunately is something that happens daily and this book delivered an understanding that highlighted no matter who you are, where you are or what you do this unfortunately can be anywhere.
The book had me completely gripped with the hard hitting content which consistently kept me turning the pages. I enjoyed the different aspect of probation that was written alongside the police aspect which again made this stand out.
Noelle Holten true hero and inspiration!!
csdaley's review
3.0
I have mixed feelings about this book. The subject matter was hard to read, especially in detail. I figured out the mystery pretty early on (not unusual for me). I didn't love it but I didn't hate it. The one thing I will say is the writing was very good and I liked the detectives. Since it is a first book I will absolutely read the next one because I think the subject matter put me off more than anything.
mags_louise's review
4.0
Dead Inside is the first book in the DC Maggie Jamieson series. But rather interestingly the focus of most of the story is on probation officer Lucy Sherwood, a married woman who works with domestic abuse offenders and is herself in an abusive relationship. Yet, for many reasons which become heart breakingly clear as the story progresses Lucy won't do anything to change her home situation that is until it's changed for her, and Lucy finds herself caught up in a murder investigation involving a number of her cases.
And although I wasn't sure at first with how this story was set out, I was soon pulled in, so much so I stayed up until two in the morning reading it, and I was intrigued to see how it would all came together. But for me the murderers came out of left field, yet I did enjoy it, and it certainly piqued my interest enough to want to pick up the next book in the series. Would happily recommend.
And although I wasn't sure at first with how this story was set out, I was soon pulled in, so much so I stayed up until two in the morning reading it, and I was intrigued to see how it would all came together. But for me the murderers came out of left field, yet I did enjoy it, and it certainly piqued my interest enough to want to pick up the next book in the series. Would happily recommend.
always_need_more_books's review
4.0
The book is the first in a series about DC Maggie Jamieson and as the book starts, she has just started a new post with the Domestic Abuse and Homicide Unit. When Drew Talbot, a man who is on probation for domestic abuse is found dead after being badly beaten, and two more men with similar backgrounds are also found murdered, Maggie knows she has a tough case on her hands.
Lucy Sherwood works as a Probation Officer and all three of the victims are men she has dealt with as part of her job. She is also hiding years of horrific physical and emotional abuse by her husband Patrick. When he is also found murdered, Lucy is the prime suspect.
It is up to Maggie and her team to try and solve the murders before anyone else turns up dead.
This is a tough read. Noelle Holten’s background is in probation having worked as a senior probation officer for 18 years and you can really tell she knows her stuff. The book is full of unsavoury characters, men who do horrific things to their partners and although I hate to admit it, I wouldn’t be surprised if these people are based on real cases Noelle has dealt with.
Lucy’s story is just awful – her life with Patrick includes physical and emotional abuse and even extends to rape. He just made me so angry and the irony that Lucy works with people who are abusers is just so sad. She knows she needs to get away from him but just keeps making excuses for his behaviour. Patrick’s little girl, Siobhan lives with them and she is Lucy’s main excuse for putting up with the way he treats her.
Seeing the law from the point of view of a probation officer was interesting and I couldn’t help but feel glad that these unsavoury characters met their grisly ends. Using multiple narratives we get to hear from the abusers and their victims which was an interesting perspective. I also loved that is was set in Staffordshire as that is where I grew up (although thankfully I never saw the darker side of it!) And I loved that Noelle used the names of bloggers and other people in the industry as the characters names! What fun to have your name included in a book!
This was a tense and gritty crime thriller – gruesome and true to life and I look forward to reading more from Noelle!
Lucy Sherwood works as a Probation Officer and all three of the victims are men she has dealt with as part of her job. She is also hiding years of horrific physical and emotional abuse by her husband Patrick. When he is also found murdered, Lucy is the prime suspect.
It is up to Maggie and her team to try and solve the murders before anyone else turns up dead.
This is a tough read. Noelle Holten’s background is in probation having worked as a senior probation officer for 18 years and you can really tell she knows her stuff. The book is full of unsavoury characters, men who do horrific things to their partners and although I hate to admit it, I wouldn’t be surprised if these people are based on real cases Noelle has dealt with.
Lucy’s story is just awful – her life with Patrick includes physical and emotional abuse and even extends to rape. He just made me so angry and the irony that Lucy works with people who are abusers is just so sad. She knows she needs to get away from him but just keeps making excuses for his behaviour. Patrick’s little girl, Siobhan lives with them and she is Lucy’s main excuse for putting up with the way he treats her.
Seeing the law from the point of view of a probation officer was interesting and I couldn’t help but feel glad that these unsavoury characters met their grisly ends. Using multiple narratives we get to hear from the abusers and their victims which was an interesting perspective. I also loved that is was set in Staffordshire as that is where I grew up (although thankfully I never saw the darker side of it!) And I loved that Noelle used the names of bloggers and other people in the industry as the characters names! What fun to have your name included in a book!
This was a tense and gritty crime thriller – gruesome and true to life and I look forward to reading more from Noelle!
lsterling's review
1.0
So many POVs. It feels like tell not show writing with really weak internal monoglue/reasoning development in character. Trauma was forgotten by the next chapter.
rustedtulips's review
5.0
When I first started reading this book at 1pm this afternoon I really didn't think I would overly enjoy it. 12 hours later I have reached its conclusion having struggled to put it down several times today!
A new police task force has been opened, a joint task force across many agencies which includes DC Maggie Jamieson. The taskforce will deal with the ever increasing amount of domestic violence in the district, however the dead bodies of abusers start piling up around them without any real leads to go on.
Maggie's friend and a probation officer in the taskforce, Lucy Sherwood is hiding years of abuse at the hands of her husband. Things get a lot more complicated when he turns up dead. Who murdered several men who abused their partners? What connection does Lucy have to them all ?
The truth must come out.
This story is incredibly gripping. From the first chapter your sucked into the world of domestic abuse, crime fighting and constantly hoping the Lucy will do something to change her circumstances! I honestly could not stop reading, I was pulled in right away and had to know what came next. The story itself is told through several characters points of view with the jumping happening all the way through the story. However it's easy to follow, the timeline doesn't tend to jump back and forward in time with events happening in their proper sequence even between character swaps.
You can tell that this story is written by someone with a lot of experience in domestic abuse, which isn't surprising since the author has this as a professional and personal experience. The character of Lucy is so well written it would only be from true experience of both these clashing world's.
From around half way through I had my suspicions on who the killer was, it seemed very apparent to me and I didn't falter from that suspicion .I was however surprised several times by plot twists so I doubted if I was right or I was missing something several times. You just can't be sure if your right or not!
An incredible, heartbreaking story that had me in tears on several occasions. I highly recommend and can't wait to get stuck into the second of this series tomorrow!
A new police task force has been opened, a joint task force across many agencies which includes DC Maggie Jamieson. The taskforce will deal with the ever increasing amount of domestic violence in the district, however the dead bodies of abusers start piling up around them without any real leads to go on.
Maggie's friend and a probation officer in the taskforce, Lucy Sherwood is hiding years of abuse at the hands of her husband. Things get a lot more complicated when he turns up dead. Who murdered several men who abused their partners? What connection does Lucy have to them all ?
The truth must come out.
This story is incredibly gripping. From the first chapter your sucked into the world of domestic abuse, crime fighting and constantly hoping the Lucy will do something to change her circumstances! I honestly could not stop reading, I was pulled in right away and had to know what came next. The story itself is told through several characters points of view with the jumping happening all the way through the story. However it's easy to follow, the timeline doesn't tend to jump back and forward in time with events happening in their proper sequence even between character swaps.
You can tell that this story is written by someone with a lot of experience in domestic abuse, which isn't surprising since the author has this as a professional and personal experience. The character of Lucy is so well written it would only be from true experience of both these clashing world's.
From around half way through I had my suspicions on who the killer was, it seemed very apparent to me and I didn't falter from that suspicion .I was however surprised several times by plot twists so I doubted if I was right or I was missing something several times. You just can't be sure if your right or not!
An incredible, heartbreaking story that had me in tears on several occasions. I highly recommend and can't wait to get stuck into the second of this series tomorrow!
daiisywoo's review
5.0
This book had me gripped throughout. The short chapters made it easier to find time to read and I couldn’t put the book down. The effort to detail everything was immaculate, as a survivor myself, I felt it really nicely written.
The only downside was that it was obvious who the killers were halfway through the book. Other than that I loved it.
The only downside was that it was obvious who the killers were halfway through the book. Other than that I loved it.
noveldeelights's review
4.0
Behold Dead Inside, the debut crime novel from fellow blogger Noelle Holten, who as a former probation officer has put her years of experience to incredible use to come up with a dark and disturbing story of domestic abuse.
Dead Inside is the first instalment in the DC Maggie Jamieson series. She has temporarily been transferred to another unit and is forced to hit the ground running when an unsuspecting member of the public finds a dead body in the park. The victim was a convicted domestic abuser and he won’t be the last.
But this story is less about Maggie and more about Lucy Sherwood, a probation officer who deals with, well quite frankly, some serious scum of the earth. This is where Noelle Holten’s experience really shines through and all the things Lucy has to deal with on a daily basis come across as extremely realistic and believable. Outside of work, Lucy has a secret and it may just land her in deep trouble.
I must admit it took me a while to get to grips with a rather big cast of characters but once that happened, it was plain sailing all the way and this turned into quite the quickie read for me, helped along immensely by some short and snappy chapters. As you may have guessed from what I’ve said already, this isn’t always a comfortable story to read. Noelle Holten doesn’t hold back on the abuse some of these characters suffer and some of the events really chilled me to the bone.
As for the murder investigation, there was one part I figured out, although that may have just been a lucky guess. Nevertheless I felt immensely smug. However, there was something else that I didn’t quite see coming, prompting me to utter the words “nice one!” while at the same time feeling incredibly sad.
Dead Inside is a powerful debut. Extremely dark and gritty, with characters that will get under your skin, it tackles an immensely difficult topic but I dare say Noelle Holten did it sensitively and the inevitable violence required to make the story work is never gratuitous.
The ending perfectly sets the scene for the follow-up in this series and I have no doubt many a reader will be back for more from DC Maggie Jamieson. Well played, Noelle, well played!
Dead Inside is the first instalment in the DC Maggie Jamieson series. She has temporarily been transferred to another unit and is forced to hit the ground running when an unsuspecting member of the public finds a dead body in the park. The victim was a convicted domestic abuser and he won’t be the last.
But this story is less about Maggie and more about Lucy Sherwood, a probation officer who deals with, well quite frankly, some serious scum of the earth. This is where Noelle Holten’s experience really shines through and all the things Lucy has to deal with on a daily basis come across as extremely realistic and believable. Outside of work, Lucy has a secret and it may just land her in deep trouble.
I must admit it took me a while to get to grips with a rather big cast of characters but once that happened, it was plain sailing all the way and this turned into quite the quickie read for me, helped along immensely by some short and snappy chapters. As you may have guessed from what I’ve said already, this isn’t always a comfortable story to read. Noelle Holten doesn’t hold back on the abuse some of these characters suffer and some of the events really chilled me to the bone.
As for the murder investigation, there was one part I figured out, although that may have just been a lucky guess. Nevertheless I felt immensely smug. However, there was something else that I didn’t quite see coming, prompting me to utter the words “nice one!” while at the same time feeling incredibly sad.
Dead Inside is a powerful debut. Extremely dark and gritty, with characters that will get under your skin, it tackles an immensely difficult topic but I dare say Noelle Holten did it sensitively and the inevitable violence required to make the story work is never gratuitous.
The ending perfectly sets the scene for the follow-up in this series and I have no doubt many a reader will be back for more from DC Maggie Jamieson. Well played, Noelle, well played!
mandylovestoread's review
5.0
Wow - what a debut novel Dead Inside is! Well done Noelle Holten! This book had me absolutely hooked and wanting to keep reading . It deals with a difficult theme but the authors obvious experience in this area was clear. It was realistic and powerful and I really enjoyed reading it. I look forward to more from Maggie Jamieson in the near future, with a start like this one it is going to be a cracking series. I have followed Noelle's reviews for a while now and am so pleased that she is now a published author. I will be recommending this book to my book loving friends to enjoy as well.
3 wife beaters are dead - and not many people seem to feel sorry about it all. Maggie Jamieson has to track down this killer - easier said than done when the victims are not seen as victims to all. Probation officer Lucy Sherwood is linked to all of the dead men but could she be a killer. On the outside she is a strong woman, who is good at her job. But at home she is a victim of domestic abuse. Her husband Patrick is a pig to be honest, who constantly belittles Lucy and also physically hurts her. She knows she has to leave but there is a step daughter involved. But then her husband is victim number 4 - and Lucy is the prime suspect.
This book is dark and graphic and is hard to read in parts. But it makes it real, shows just what these men are doing to the women that they supposedly love. And shows that it is not always easy to leave or change things for the women. It is fast paced and will leave you wanting more. The ending took me by surprise and I did not pick who the guilty party was - that is something that I love in a book. There are a lot of familiar names on this books as well, writers and book bloggers are all there.
A pleasure to read and enjoy this book. Thank you to Harper Impulse, Killer Reads and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.
3 wife beaters are dead - and not many people seem to feel sorry about it all. Maggie Jamieson has to track down this killer - easier said than done when the victims are not seen as victims to all. Probation officer Lucy Sherwood is linked to all of the dead men but could she be a killer. On the outside she is a strong woman, who is good at her job. But at home she is a victim of domestic abuse. Her husband Patrick is a pig to be honest, who constantly belittles Lucy and also physically hurts her. She knows she has to leave but there is a step daughter involved. But then her husband is victim number 4 - and Lucy is the prime suspect.
This book is dark and graphic and is hard to read in parts. But it makes it real, shows just what these men are doing to the women that they supposedly love. And shows that it is not always easy to leave or change things for the women. It is fast paced and will leave you wanting more. The ending took me by surprise and I did not pick who the guilty party was - that is something that I love in a book. There are a lot of familiar names on this books as well, writers and book bloggers are all there.
A pleasure to read and enjoy this book. Thank you to Harper Impulse, Killer Reads and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
4.5
Finished reading: May 17th 2019
"He turned her from a confident, carefree, intelligent woman, into a shell. She felt like nothing. Like she was in someone else's body, skin, mindset."
*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Killer Reads in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
Holy bat in hell, what a read! Now excuse me while I go pick my jaw off the floor... I already had a feeling I was going to enjoy this crime thriller by fellow book blogger and now debut author Noelle Holten, and my expectations were more than met. I literally cancelled all plans, settled down in my favorite reading chair and flew through Dead Inside in one sitting. It was simply brilliant! I loved that we not only have the typical detective (Maggie) to follow, but that we also have a probation officer (Lucy) in the spotlight. It definitely shows in the little details that Noelle worked as a senior probation officer herself for eighteen years, and it was fascinating to see a lesser explored angle being used in a crime thriller. The same goes for criminal psychologist Kate, who brings another refreshing angle to the investigation and it's these three women together that makes this story work so well. It's true we don't get to see all that much of Maggie yet, but I'm having a feeling we will be getting plenty of her in the sequel.
Dead Inside is all about domestic abuse and what effects it has on the victimis and those around them. Signs of abuse are often not easy to see and the victims often feel that the situation they are in is impossible to escape. Psychological abuse is still abuse and harder to discover for outsiders... As someone who has been in a toxic relationship in the past, I know how hard it can be to let go. Trigger warnings are in place for the mentioned abuse, rape, violence and alcoholism. Dead Inside shines a light on domestic abuse from the point of view of both victims and (in a less direct way) abusers. At the same time, we also have an active murder investigation going on with 'victims' who don't exactly arise sympathy. This angle alone is a very intriguing as it makes you wonder about right and wrong and if certain people just had it coming and karma came looking for them, or if even those dirtbags have rights... This story is lightning fast and isn't afraid to go dark and messy. There are various twists and turns involved in Dead Inside, and while I did see part of it coming, I definitely didn't guess the final reveal. And what a way to end the story! The whole Bill Raven case sounds fascinatingly disturbing... I already can't wait to read the sequel and Dead Inside hasn't even officially been published yet. Crime thriller fans, you have found a new title for your wishlist! Trust me, you don't want to miss out on this outstanding crime thriller debut.