Lonely Hearts by Gwyn GB #Giveaway #BookReview @GwynGB @BrookCottageBks #TuesdayBookBlog

Welcome to my stop on the Lonely Hearts Blog Tour

Series: DI Falle

Genre: crime thriller

Release Date: 15^th July 2017

Publisher: Chalky Dog Publishing

Brings a whole new meaning to killing with kindness.

Meet Rachel. She loves animals and works at a dating agency bringing lonely people together – only somebody is watching her every move and she’s scared…

Neil didn’t see who killed him – but his murder brings DI Claire Falle on the case. What she uncovers leads her to discover that a serial killer is preying on the clients of the dating agency where Rachel works.

Can Claire work out the connection between all the deaths before Rachel becomes the next victim?

And what is it in Rachel’s past that haunts her?

As DI Claire Falle investigates the lives of the dating agency staff and clients, she is pulled into a tangled web of loneliness and deceit which will have devastating consequences for someone.

My Review

Rachel Hill works for SoulMates, a dating agency, and is being stalked by someone unknown. When Neil, a friend of Rachel’s as well as a client, is murdered in his bathroom, DI Claire Falle is called to the murder scene. The story is told in the third person from the points of view Claire and Rachel, with flashbacks to Rachel’s childhood, and several short chapters from an unknown narrator. 

Rachel lost her mother when she was eleven years old. Her grief was overshadowed by her father’s inability to cope. He never recovered from the loss of his wife and sought solace in the bottom of a bottle. Rachel was left to look after them both as best she could. The flashbacks were intriguing, leaving me to wonder what relevance they had to the story playing out in the present, and at the same time fleshing out Rachel’s background and character.

In the daylight, and with a tired mind, she starts to question the events of last night. Was there really somebody there? Was she just being paranoid? Is it the tiredness that’s making her jumpy, sending her heart racing when a loose strand of hair falls across one of her eyes?

Claire’s home life isn’t going particularly well, made all the more difficult because her partner and his mates are also police officers. But she’s dedicated to her job and as this is her first murder enquiry since her promotion to Detective Inspector, she knows she has to make a good impression, and disregard any awkwardness. Claire is an immediately likeable character, clearly drawn, and having her personal life and thoughts worked into the story makes her more believable. She is desperate to protect Rachel after a previous case went disastrously wrong.

Engaging and easy to read writing with characters that appeal. Both timelines work well, blending seamlessly and keeping me intrigued, with a good twist which I wasn’t expecting. The ending also came as a complete surprise, so I’m looking forward to the next book.

I chose to read and review Lonely Hearts based on a digital copy of the book supplied by Brook Cottage Books and the author.

About the author

Gwyn GB is a writer living in Jersey, Channel Islands. A native of the UK she moved to the island with her Jersey-born husband, geriatric dog, two boys and goldfish. 

Gwyn is a former national and international newsreader for BBC TV and ITN in London and Jersey. She’s also freelanced for national newspapers and magazines in the UK, once had her own magazine publishing business and has a PR diploma. She is currently working in the digital industry while writing in her spare time.

Gwyn is also the author of ‘Islands’.

Author links ~ Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Instagram | Website  

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