Really enjoyable read. Good characters and a Good story. Well worth a read. Think others will enjoy.

A compelling thriller with an environmental edge.

"Ice Lake" is the first novel in the series featuring Harry Cull, a personable ex-cop whose career has morphed into detecting whether a person is lying... or not. He is a consultant psychologist, and interrogation is his specialty.

Harry is contacted by Pennsylvania State Trooper Edward Cirba. A young man has been murdered on his patch and he wants Harry to help him catch the killer. So much so that he is willing to pay Harry with his own money! The victim was a well-liked local man. He was shot three times with a shot-gun, and left in the woods to be discovered by teenagers.

The camaraderie of the two men was a delight to read. They first met at a convention in Vegas and they remind each other that "What happens in Vegas - stays in Vegas."

Hydraulic fracking has come to town. There is a huge field right next to a local farm. The farmer maintains that the fracking process in environmentally detrimental to his livestock and his own health.

During their investigations they encounter an unsavory strip-club owner, a real-estate agent who is also the major, a dubious fracking industry and money-laundering by organized crime. Did the victim become of interest to mobsters? And why? When a second murder takes place, Cull and Cirba realize that there is more to this issue that they first assumed. Both men were shot with a shotgun. Both were called from a payphone directly before their death...

MY THOUGHTS

Harry Cull is a character that you can't help but like. His life has known tragedy (though you aren't made aware of it at first), he seems super intuitive, very intelligent, and... quite funny (also he is a tea drinker LOL). I loved the way the author created the friendship between Harry and Trooper Edward Cirba. Their wit and obvious (platonic) affection for each other was evident from the off. In my opinion, male friendship is an underused theme in most crime fiction. I also enjoyed the romantic side-story between Harry Cull and MK, the nurse who lives next-door to his rented house.

The locals were described in such a way that you could immediately picture them, and hear their colloquialism "...and that's no lie". I enjoyed the writing. The story flowed easily despite it being about the controversial subject of 'fracking' and of course, murder. The setting was quite idyllic. You could just picture Harry's view from his rented accommodation on a lake in the Pocono Mountains region of Pennsylvania. A view he loves so much that he is reluctant to leave after his 'week' is up.

The ending of the novel captured the 'bad guy' and so justice was done. An essential in crime/mystery fiction. And since it is the first book in the series, it leaves Harry's character and situation open for further novels.

Make no mistake folks, despite it being termed a 'crime thriller' on the cover, this is also a murder mystery. Speaking of the cover, I wondered why it depicted a winter looking scene when the book was not set during the winter... Well, they must have had their reasons. Would I read another novel featuring Harry Cull? Of course! I will avidly watch for the second novel to come out. Recommended! "...and that's no lie"

Harry Cull is a psychologist and works as a consultant human lie detector - using his polygraph machine to enhance his natural skills. He gets to help with the investigation of a murder in Pennsylvania. What an entertaining read - hope to see some more soon!

A page-turner from start to finish... Highly recommended.

Harry Cull is a psychologist and works as a consultant 'truth detector' using his polygraph machine or, for the most part his ability to sniff out a lie. When Ed Cirba asks him to come to the dark woods of North-Eastern Pennsylvania to help investigate a murder he agrees. Harry finds himself falling in love with the beautiful lakeside setting and soon finds himself involved with a number of interesting characters. Was Big Bill murdered because of the property he might have been selling to a fracking company or was there something else behind his death? When another man is murdered who is connected to the investigation Ed & Harry have to up their game ("...and that's no lie!") before there are any more bodies

This book really has it all! Great characters, a measure of humour, a romance, and enough twists to rival the woodland roads. Harry is a great character and I'm really pleased to hear that this is the start of a series as I really want to hear more about him. The author captures the setting really well and makes you feel part of this landscape.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this terrific book.

A man is killed on the outskirts of Ice Lake - shot three times by an unknown assailant. State Trooper Ed Cirba has called on psychologist and ex cop Harry Cull to help him with the investigation. No motive can be found for the killing and then the man's lawyer is killed in the same manner. Harry Cull is an interesting character and this story was a good start to a series. Look forward to reading more.

Thanks to Netgalley, Harper Collins and John A Lenehan for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This story is a mix of cozy mystery and thriller. Set in a small town in Pennsylvania it has delightfully quirky characters that inform the story as well as mislead the reader. Harry is a man with a tragic past and an unusual gift and makes the perfect main character. Ed his state trooper friend makes a great wing man.

The setting is well described and intrinsic to the story, there are also lots of details on environmental issues, so popular in stories today.

The plot and suspense elements are well crafted but the pacing is a little slow for my liking.This said, Ice Lake is an enjoyable read with memorable characters.

I received a copy of this book from Harper Collins in exchange for an honest review.

This book was utterly gripping from start to finish. I enjoyed reading this very much and until now I was unaware of John Lenahan but I will be looking out for more of his books from now on

4.5 stars.
This is an encouraging debut that has all the ingredients of a great thriller. It's well written, full of secrets, suspense and intrigue, some action, murders, drug dealers, gangsters, strippers, romance... But at the same time it's so much more - a sharp and witty portrayal of a small town life, with each character so well drawn out that I feel like I personally know them. The short detours into American history at the beginning of some chapters also added some charm to this gem of a story.
I absolutely loved this book, which was a breath of fresh air amongst the numerous current thrillers with 'a girl' in the title. 'And that's no lie' (I just couldn't resist, sorry).
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

I would give the book 3.5. A detective story, intermingled with romance. The characters a mixture of rough, crazy and very blunt who you could only find in a small town. And as in most small towns everybody knew everyone's business, so when Harry arrived to help solve a murder, he immediately created gossip for the townsfolk.. Fracking was taking place, lots of money involved, but even after a second murder the detectives were still at a loss. A good read

Wow. This book was a slow starter - the tension builds really slowly which makes sure that the story really gets under your skin. This book really stuck with me for a while after reading.

I can't wait for the next installment.

'Ice Lake' is the first book in the Harry Cull series, so not only was this a brand new series to get my teeth stuck into, it's also written by an author I have had no literary dealings with before. Not a bad start really, eh?

The cover of 'Ice Lake' intrigued me something rotten, the colourful tone of it screams 'read me' but with an added 'dun dun dun'. To say I was excited about reading this book would have been an understatement. I couldn't wait to get stuck in!

Set in Pennsylvania, I had to try to re-train my brain as any novels I have read in the past with Pennsylvania in them were from my childhood and included vampires. It's safe to say that 'Ice Lake' does not contain any vampires, but it does contain a murder or too. Same thing I guess!

Straight away this book starts with a murder, and it's a big one. A local man has been killed - Harry Cull has been asked to arrive on scene and do a bit of Pennsylvanian Jeremy Kyle in the shape of lie detector tests. If I'm perfectly honest, it seems as though every person that Cull comes up against is trying to appear on his 'liar' list. The murder investigation didn't seem to be as straight forward as Harry Cull would have liked, especially when a second body is found and drugs are entered into the mix.

My first impression of John Lenahan's novel was completely different to what I actually thought when I read the book. For some reason my brain seemed confused by the cover and the actual content of the novel because of the difference. Although saying that, I can't seem to be able to pinpoint EXACTLY what I found different; except the vibe that is. I'm not saying that in a bad way at all. It's crazy how strong our first impressions can be when it comes to books.

All in all, 'Ice Lake' had me engrossed throughout the entire storyline, my mind was full of questions, and I seemed to spend a lot of the book on my toes. Whilst the book didn't blow me away as such, there was enough promising content to keep my intrigue level peaked, as well as keeping me entertained.

A very promising start to a new book series, I'm looking forward to book number two!

Thanks Netgalley.

Harry Cull is not only a trained polygraph examiner and psychologist, he is also a wee bit of a human lie detector. He can read his fellow humans like books. He also isn’t very subtle about telling them what he can read in their faces, voices and body language. His very direct approach often leads him into some uncomfortable and often contentious situations.

The interactions between Harry and Todd are especially funny, although Harry and Edward Cirba come a close second as a comedy duo. It is this light-hearted touch that makes the story flow in a way that distracts the reader from the dangerous elements of the story. It almost lulls them into believing it is safe.

Hidden behind the dry humour and sharp observational skills is a world of pain. Harry has been dealing with a personal tragedy. The kind of tragedy you don’t recover from. His personal problems make him a little bit paranoid when it comes to connecting the dots in perhaps completely unrelated crimes.

The author also tackles the issue of fracking, which is an important hot topic at the moment. He does this in a way even laymen can understand both sides of the argument. This definitely applies to the ‘loophole’ that was created, so fracking companies can get away with not only contaminating the water supply, but also being able to dispose of waste illegally in a completely legal way.

Lenahan infuses his crime with his very own brand of banter and wit. Sarcastic tongue lashings and cheeky comments are plentiful in this crime story driven by environmental topics. The author plays with the idiosyncrasies and eccentricities of small town people in a way that is beneficial to both the characters and the story. I always enjoy walking away from a read with the feeling that I have added to my pot of knowledge.
*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my copy of Ice Lake.*

Ice Lake is a fast paced and relevant thriller with an interesting and engaging main protagonist in Harry Cull, whose friendship with another main character, Edward Cirba, was the making of this one for me.

The mystery itself is set around two deaths in a small community with ties to the fracking industry – Harry has a knack for weeding out liars and has an emotionally traumatic background which is cleverly done and sucks the reader in – The author puts a lot of information into this tale but in a very entertaining way, that. alongside the unfolding drama makes this a real page turner.

I was mostly involved with the characters in “Ice Lake” more perhaps than with the mystery element which whilst very well done is fairly standard – the author has a good eye for plotting a novel that keeps you involved in the specific story but sets you up to get emotionally involved in a wider way, I’ll definitely be reading more in this series as it has that hint of quirky that I love.

Overall a highly pleasing and very compelling introduction to Harry Cull – I look forward to more.

Recommended.

Ice Lake is a brilliant debut crime novel and I'm thrilled that it's set to be a series because I'm a little bit in love with Harry Cull. He's just brilliant!

Harry is a former cop turned psychologist who finds himself in the picturesque town of Ice Lake helping an old friend out "unofficially" with a murder investigation.

Trooper Cirba and Harry met in Vegas years before and struck up an unlikely friendship.

Ice Lake is a close knit community where outsiders are not necessarily made welcome. The murder victim Billy, wasn't exactly a golden child, he was well known to local police, but no one would have wished him dead.

Or so the locals think.

And that's where the mystery begins...

Because someone so obviously did want Billy dead. It seems that just when he might have been trying to educate himself and make a better life for himself, that he was discovering things that perhaps weren't supposed to be discovered.

And that made him a target for those who wanted those secrets to kept forever.

I loved the small town relationships in this novel, the relationships between Trooper Cirba and Harry, between the grumpy store owner Todd and Harry, and in particular the relationship between Harry and MJ, Harry's temporary (and very good looking) ext door neighbour.

Harry's willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job done, even if that might be a little unorthodox, really warmed me to him as a character and I can't wait to see what he might get up to next. Roll on book no 2!

Oh my word, I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did...and that's no lie. I'm going to make a prediction right here and now - this is going to be a bestselling, long-running series. Harry Cull is one of those characters that you can't get enough of, like Michael Connelly's Bosch or Peter James' Roy Grace. You've got the story he's investigating now plus the intrigue of his past that had my brain fighting over which story I wanted to read more about. Both are winners as you couldn't possibly choose one over the other.

Harry Cull turns up in the sleepy Pennsylvania town of Ice Lake to help his friend, Trooper Ed Cirba, investigate the murder of a local man. The pair met at a conference in Las Vegas and I got my first inkling of the sparkling humour involved when Cull won't let Cirba forget about their visit to a strip bar, or titty bar as they are hilariously known in Ice Lake. The locals all know each others' business and can't finish a sentence without saying 'and that's no lie', but when another body turns up, clearly somebody is lying.

When two of his pals turn up dead, local drug dealer, Feather, thinks he could be next on the hit list. The interactions between Cull and Feather were one of the many highlights of the book. Cull has a knack of being able to tell when someone is lying, with or without his Frankenstein-esque lie detector machine. With an excellent well-placed quote from Spiderman and paying serious homage to Star Wars, Feather shows his awe of Cull by referencing the jedi knights, causing me to laugh out loud on many an occasion.

Cull has a devastating history that lays down the thread that will link all the Harry Cull books together (and please let there be MANY more). There's always going to be a hint of danger following him around after he got mixed up with the Jersey mob. As we all know from watching The Sopranos, you can run but you can't hide.

Ice Lake is a sizzling start to what I'm sure will become a favourite series for many readers...and that's no lie. The sizzling dynamic between Cull and Cirba reminded me of Starsky and Hutch; always a little bit tongue in cheek and I'm sure I'll spot things I've missed on the second reading. Hopefully we won't have long to wait for book 2, and I'll definitely be first in line for that! I could write so much more about this book (I haven't even mentioned the fracking or the love interest), but seriously - just go buy it!

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

Our Review
The thriller starts with State Trooper Eric Cirba tracking down his old pal, Harry Cull. Harry is an ex-cop turned psychologist and Eric invites Harry to join him in the Pocono Mountains in North East Pennsylvania to assist him in finding Bill's killer. Bill's body was found shot three times in a local wood. Later, a second body is found which adds to the urgency to resolve the case.

In the books early chapters, you quickly gain an understanding of the location and characters. The descriptions written for both, make it easy to relate to, and visualise whilst reading. Several of the chapters have factual content at the start which really helps to build a picture and understanding of the area.

The key character - Harry Cull - is a likable character and is known for his expertise in solving crimes. You gain an understanding of Harry, his past, family and his detective role. There is banter between both Harry and Eric, which adds to the books entertainment.

The book also contains several key characters who are all easy to get to know. Including;
- Todd who owns the local cafe and warms to Harry.
- Major, who has and continues to work in real estate.
- Frank, who is Bill's brother and also Harry's landlord whilst he stays at the lake.
- MK, local nurse and Harry's neighbor (and a romantic interest of Harry's).
- Local Solicitor who deals with land conveyancing and other legal issues with the village characters.

With the murder based in the Pocono Mountain, there are some key issues which the book covers. The area contains valuable land, which has the potential to be sold raising substantial money, for fracking. Having friends who live, and have land, in this area of Pennsylvania, I become very interested in reading and learning of these issues.

Other issues covered include drugs and the mafia. The author has covered these issues in a light and understandable way. Issues which could have made for very heavy and difficult reading were made very easy to read.

What does become difficult to unravel (almost impossible) as in most crime thrillers are the lies and deceit behind the characters alibi.. Who is telling the truth? What is everyone hiding? But will you guess the killer and motive?

This book is suited to those who enjoy reading "who done it" thrillers. The tempo of the book is easy paced, the story unravels at a slow pace and is balanced between the issues, getting to know the characters and solving the murders.

It's a enjoyable debut thriller, that has set the scene and provides great opportunity for the next in the series. There is so much more to Harry and I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series.

Harry Cull is an absolutely brilliant character, he is so interesting and I love the way he works and acts. I also love his interactions with other characters, in particular Trooper Cirba, their relationship and banter is so enjoyable and made me laugh with their back and forth over a previous encounter.

The Lake in Ice Lake is definitely a character in itself and I could easily picture the town, with the local "grocery" store and houses with gardens that run down to their own dock at the lake. It feels like the hub of the town.

I found the "lie detecting" really interesting as my husband is a magician and he has done courses in NLP (neuro linguistic programming) and knows how to see peoples tells etc. He's practised more than a few times on me. Knowing the inside information on this, it was good to see some explanation as to how people can seem like they are a human lie detector as it's not normally covered in fiction books.

I can't really say anything about the story itself as I would hate to spoil anything, but I can say that I absolutely loved the story and really enjoyed how things were worked out. I think the writing flowed well and it was a really easy read. I read Ice Lake really quickly and I'm already looking forward to more Harry Cull books. I think I've found another new favourite lead man in crime fiction.

This is a definite recommendation from me.

When I read the description of Ice Lake I was intrigued, especially as it’s the start of a new series and I love a good series.
Ice Lake opens with a murder, a local man called Bill,  liked by everyone is found dead in the woods and Trooper Edward Cirba decides to call on his old friend Harry Cull, ex police and now a psychologist, for help. Armed with his lie detector Harry sets off to Ice Lake to help Cirba try and untangle the mystery.
Harry Cull was an interesting character, having once worked in the police he now has his own consultancy after a trauma saw him leaving the force and splitting up from his wife. He has a knack for knowing when someone is lying, reading their body language and picking up the little ticks that people have when they lie. This is something that’s always interested me so it was quite different having Harry as the main character. Working alongside Cirba, I liked the banter and friendship they had. They worked good together.
The story was well plotted, and at the beginning of a lot of the chapters it gave you factual information on the area which was something different. I’d definitely say this was a promising start to a new series, it was suspenseful and with lies and secrecy I couldn’t quite figure out who the suspect was. I wouldn’t say it was a fast paced story but it certainly had enough to keep you turning the pages and it also left enough open to get excited to see what will happen next in the series. I’m quite looking forward to seeing what’s in store for Harry Cull next.

Loved every minute of reading this. I loved Harry Cull and his snappy dialogue, I loved the pace of the book . It's so exciting to me when I read a book and know it's the start of a great relationship with a new character and this was one of those times.