BLOG TOUR: From Sorrow's Hold (Louise Miller Crime Series Book 2) - Jonathan Peace

December, 1988

Christmas beckons

What should be a time of excitement and joy is forever tainted when a teenager's body is found in the graveyard of Ossett's Holy Trinity Church.

A suspected suicide

As they respond to the devastating event, WDCs Louise Miller and Elizabeth Hines, together with psychologist Karla Hayes, each use their own experiences of suicide to help the wider community as it struggles to understand the terrible choice that was made.

Another missing teenager

Louise starts to believe there is something even more sinister behind the events...

 

What did I think?

From Sorrow's Hold is the second book in the Louise Miller Crime Series but it can definitely be read as a standalone.  I really enjoyed the first book, Dirty Little Secret, and From Sorrow's Hold is even better so I'm very excited to see this series go from strength to strength.

Set in the 1980s, it's incredibly nostalgic but it's also shocking the way that women are treated, especially those in the police force.  Louise Miller and Elizabeth Hines are fantastic detectives but it feels like they constantly have to prove themselves to be worthy of working in a man's world.

Touching on themes of mental health and suicide, it is dark and difficult to read at times.  It is, however, important to keep reminding us of the pain that people can carry inside them and how they keep it hidden from the outside world.  I found this quite emotional to read but it is written very sensitively and respectfully.

I really enjoyed getting to know more about Louise in this book and her adopted cat provides some light entertainment to balance the dark storyline.  The plot is sharp and gripping and the writing is word perfect; I raced through it, devouring every single word and enjoying every second of it.

From Sorrow's Hold is an outstanding novel in a very exciting new series.  I'm delighted to hear that Jonathan Peace hopes to write 41 books in the Louise Miller series, covering the years 1987 to 2023, and I'm really looking forward to seeing where the series goes.  

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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BLOG TOUR: Dirty Little Secret (Louise Miller Crime Series Book 1) - Jonathan Peace

March 1987

Ossett, West Yorkshire

A town of flower shows, Maypole parades and Sunday football games. Behind all the closed doors and drawn curtains live hidden truths and shameful lies.

A body is found

WDC Louise Miller’s first case as detective in her hometown is hampered by the sexism and misogyny of small-town policing. Her four years on the force in Manchester have prepared her for this. Along with ally WPC Elizabeth Hines, the pair work the case together.

What truths lie hidden?

As their inquiries deepen, the towns secrets reveal even darker truths that could lead to the identity of the killer. But when a second girl goes missing, Louise realises that some secrets should stay hidden.

What did I think?

Dirty Little Secret is the first book in a new police procedural series and what a brilliant start; thankfully, there's not a long wait for book two as I'm already looking forward to reading more.

Set in Yorkshire in 1987, when policing is still very much a man's job, WDC Louise Miller is first on the scene when the body of a young girl is found in a phone box.  Remember those red boxes?  Jonathan Peace has captured the era perfectly, not just in the setting but in the misogyny of the police force.  It's shocking to think that this wasn't that long ago but I love how Louise gives as good as she gets.

The characters are so well developed that I could easily picture them in my head and I was as hooked by the characters' interactions as I was by the plot.  Some of their interactions alternated between making me cringe and making me furious as it's quite unbelievable that people got away with saying such things in the not too distant past.  I mean, just that fact that they felt the need to identify a police officer as a woman is jawdropping, but we wouldn't have thought there was anything wrong with it in the 80s.  Thankfully, things have changed!

The police procedural element of the novel is brilliantly done and I really enjoyed seeing how the investigation progressed.  I had no idea what direction it would go in and the ending is fantastic - it has certainly made me even more keen to catch up with Louise and her sexist team again in the near future.

A great start to a new series, Dirty Little Secret perfectly encapsulates the area and the era whilst keeping the reader entertained and on the edge of their seat.  Recommended reading for fans of crime and police procedurals.

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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