Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: The Suspects by Jodie Lawrance

Hi, everyone!

Today is my turn on the Books n All Promotions Blog Tour and I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE SUSPECTS (Detective Helen Carter Book #3) by Jodie Lawrance.

Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Blurb

SHE’S OUT OF UNIFORM BUT SHE’S STILL IN THE LINE OF FIRE.

Discover a thrilling new Scottish crime series starring Detective Helen Carter.

Detective Helen Carter needs a break. Instead, she’s going head-to-head with notorious cop killer Jimmy Osbourne.

Eight years ago, he pulled off the perfect heist and fled to Spain, leaving behind a trail of carnage. But not a shred of evidence to implicate him.

Now he’s back in Edinburgh. But why? Helen has her suspicions.

Within days, a mystery jewel thief surfaces on CCTV. A shooter hits a seedy back-alley.

The suspects are piling up, but Helen knows Jimmy is behind them. All her instincts tell her he’s guilty. She’s watching him. But he has eyes on her too . . .

Can she take him down before he gets to her?

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MEET THE DETECTIVE

Detective Sergeant Helen Carter is used to getting a rough time of it at work. As one of the few women officers around, she has heard it all before: she’s only there as a box-ticking exercise, or she only got the job because of her father, who was a detective inspector. But she can handle it. She knows she can hold her own against any man on the force. The only thing she can’t handle, however, are the constant fights with her fiancé, Ted.

THE SETTING

Edinburgh CID in the 1970s is on the third-floor of the ugly, modern concrete lump that is the police station. On a sunny day, you can look right out to Arthur’s Seat. And on any day, you can see spotty-faced, bored teenagers coming and going from the local high school across the road. With its historic cobbled streets and fair share of deprivation, Edinburgh police are up against every type of criminal imaginable.

DETECTIVE HELEN CARTER SERIES

Book 1: THE UNIFORM

Book 2: THE EVIDENCE

Book 3: THE SUSPECTS

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58741763-the-suspects?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=soclZZZbhf&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

THE SUSPECTS (Detective Helen Carter Book #3) by Jodie Lawrance is the third Scottish police procedural crime story featuring female detective, Helen Carter in the mid 1970’s. While all the books in this series can be read as standalone crime investigations, the characters continue to be more fully fleshed and interconnected as the series progresses.

Eight years ago, Jimmy Osbourne pulled off a heist that would have been perfect except during the escape he killed a police officer and seriously injured the officer’s partner who is out for justice. Jimmy escaped to Spain leaving no evidence behind.

Now Jimmy is back in Edinburgh and Helen Carter is assigned the case. Helen is working to discover Jimmy’s reason for returning as well as finding any evidence to finally convict him.

This is another well written addition to this series, where Helen’s dogged determination and investigation skills are what solve the crimes since this series is set before DNA and other scientific evidence is used. Helen is a character facing all the sexual discrimination of her time in the police force and so she works to be the best at what she does. I did find this addition to the series was a little more difficult to get moving at first, but once everyone was sorted it began to move at a faster pace and kept me intrigued to the satisfying conclusion. All the secondary characters are becoming more fully fleshed and realistic for their time period. I am looking forward to seeing were Helen goes from here.

I can recommend this Scottish police crime thriller book and the entire series!

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Author Bio

Jodie graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2018 with an MA in Creative Writing. When not writing, she is also an actress and has appeared in a variety of television, stage and film. 

She’s also a contributor for BBC The Social. 

Social Media Links

AUTHOR WEBSITE
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
INSTAGRAM

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: The Evidence by Jodie Lawrance

Hi, everyone!

Today is my turn on the Books n All Promotions Blog Tour and I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE EVIDENCE (Detective Helen Carter Book #2) by Jodie Lawrance.

Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!

***

Book Blurb

SHE’S OUT OF UNIFORM BUT SHE’S STILL IN THE LINE OF FIRE.

Introducing the stunning follow-up in a thrilling new Scottish crime series starring Detective Helen Carter.

A young barmaid is found dead. She was murdered on her way home from work to look after her sick son.


Then another woman, Moira McKenzie, goes missing. All that’s left behind is a pool of blood and shattered glass.

Someone is terrorizing the women of Edinburgh and Detective Helen Carter means to stop them.

Helen is certain that Moira’s library records hold the key to her disappearance. But now she must convince her boss, Detective Inspector Jack Craven. And he doesn’t listen to her at the best of times . . .

Then another woman who suffered a similar attack to the murdered barmaid comes forward.

Helen knows the race is on to find Moira alive.

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MEET THE DETECTIVE

Detective Sergeant Helen Carter is used to getting a rough time of it at work. As one of the few women officers around, she has heard it all before: she’s only there as a box-ticking exercise, or she only got the job because of her father, who was a detective inspector. But she can handle it. She knows she can hold her own against any man on the force. The only thing she can’t handle, however, are the constant fights with her fiancé, Ted.

THE SETTING

Edinburgh CID in the 1970s is on the third-floor of the ugly, modern concrete lump that is the police station. On a sunny day, you can look right out to Arthur’s Seat. And on any day, you can see spotty-faced, bored teenagers coming and going from the local high school across the road. With its historic cobbled streets and fair share of deprivation, Edinburgh police are up against every type of criminal imaginable.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58669501-the-evidence?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=7AU64G2Rbw&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE EVIDENCE (Detective Helen Carter Book #2) by Jodie Lawrance is the second Scottish police procedural crime story featuring female detective, Helen Carter in the mid 1970’s. This book starts closely after the story in the first book ends. This second book can be read as a standalone, but having read the first book, the characters are becoming more three dimensional.

Detective Helen Carter is called to the scene of the grisly murder of barmaid Tina French on her way home from work. While she and her colleagues begin working this case, an abused woman, Moira McKenzie is reported missing by her husband. Helen finds the signs of a terrible struggle in Moira’s home with a lot of blood, but no victim.

Helen is still physically recovering from her last CID case as she looks for a killer terrorizing the women of Edinburgh.

I really enjoy reading crime books set in the 1970’s. Helen has to be smarter and more tenacious than any of her male contemporaries being the first female detective in her CID unit. The books are character driven with intricate red herrings and clues due to the lack of so many scientific advancements that police rely on today. It made me cringe, knowing what we know today about investigations, when a fellow detective smoked a cigarette at a crime scene. All the characters are realistically portrayed and their personal lives are quite messy which only makes me want to learn more.

I recommend this throw back Scottish police procedural crime series.

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Author Bio

Jodie graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2018 with an MA in Creative Writing. When not writing, she is also an actress and has appeared in a variety of television, stage and film. 

She’s also a contributor for BBC The Social. 

Social Media Links

AUTHOR WEBSITE
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
INSTAGRAM