This is the first book I have read by this author and, on the back of what I read, it won't be the last. This was a brilliant, original psychological Police Procedural with deliciously dark crimes being investigated. I absolutely devoured this book in pretty much one sitting.
The story centres around an old derelict asylum. An estate agent showing a client round when they make a rather gruesome discovery. The police are called; enter Detectives Lucy Harwin and Mattie Jackson who are tasked with finding out who has committed this heinous crime and why? Things soon escalate and it becomes obvious that someone is exacting some kind of revenge. But for what? What really happened at the asylum all those years ago and, more importantly, will Lucy manage to figure it all out and bring the perpetrator to justice before the body count gets higher.
Ooo, this book was good. Gruesome in places but always within context. I followed Lucy avidly as she, together with Mattie, started to uncover the layers that built up the asylum and what happened, specifically to the children that were held there. Lucy is a bit fragile as she is just returning from medical leave after a nasty incident that she is still getting over with as it has left psychological scars. She also has her daughter and ex to contend with but although she could have been a bit of a stereotypical damaged cop, she didn't really come across like that to me.
Pacing was excellent. We had narrative in the present day interspersed with flashbacks from the past and I think they worked very well together even if it meant that sometimes I as a reader was ahead of the cops. Made for an interesting change on the chronology I usually find in these books.
What most impressed me about this book was that the author didn't feel the need to include all the usual reader goose chase elements that some authors rely on to keep the reader going. Instead, the author seemed confident enough in their story and characters enough to keep the reader engaged without too many twists, turns, red herrings, dead ends and other tricks that some employ. I can't tell you how refreshing that was!
Characters were well drawn, believable and easy to engage with. Lucy and Mattie grew on me more and more as partners as the book progressed and a couple of things that irked me about some of the interactions initially were soon forgotten by the end of the book. This was understandable as this book being the start of a series, there has to be a fair bit of catching up for the reader to do with the characters that have been together a while already.
All in all, a cracking read, one that leaves me wanting book 2 as well as wanting to check out this author's other books.

My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

The Lost Children is the first book in a new series by Helen Phifer. Set in the fictional English town of Brooklyn Bay The Lost Children introduces us to the main protagonist Detective Inspector Lucy Harwin, and the rest of her team including Detective Sergeant Mattie Jackson.

The book opens with a prologue based in 1975, before switching to the present day where a body is discovered in a long abandoned mental hospital, last used to house troubled children. On her first day back at work following an extended leave of absence Lucy finds herself called to take charge of the gruesome crime scene. When a second body is found not long after and a link between the two victims is discovered it becomes clear to Lucy that the murders are connected to something that happened in the past, something related to the asylum’s closure. The novel frequently flashes back to the asylum in 1975, with the interspersed chapters building a picture of the horrors of Ward 13.

I don’t want to focus on the plot to much because that would mean spoilers! But I will say for me the book was wonderfully paced, the characters are introduced as the plot moves along so you’re straight into the action from the beginning, there’s no long set up while the main characters and the location are introduced. The flashback chapters create a greater understanding of the history and the crime without being too long that they distract from the present day action.

I found Detective Inspector Lucy Harwin to be a great character. I really enjoyed the fact she was flawed, she’s good at her job but perhaps gets a little too emotionally involved with her cases, but her personal life is a bit of a mess. She still has feelings for her ex and while she clearly loves her daughter she doesn’t find parenting as easy as policing and her relationship with her teenage daughter is strained – I think this reflected the reality of a demanding job, particularly one that is emotionally demanding as well as involving long and unsociable hours. Again I think it’s an area where Helen has got the mix just right, enough of the personal life to develop a well-rounded character without distracting from the main narrative. The only area I would have liked a little more detail would be the reason that Lucy was suspended previously, you do get a brief explanation, which I think is the right decision for the book, anymore would have taken away from the current case, however I would like to find out more about what went wrong before.

Mattie isn’t quite as well-developed as Lucy in The Lost Children. He is obviously a good detective and we learn a little about his personal life throughout the book. It’s clear that Mattie and Lucy would be considered friends as well as colleagues, and Mattie genuinely cares about Lucy’s wellbeing even when perhaps she wishes he would stop asking. I really liked the character and look forward to further development in future books.

There are a number of other supporting characters, and I can honestly say I didn’t have a problem with any of them, I think they all came across as realistic, from the DS who doesn’t always see eye to eye with Lucy but would still have her back if she really needed it, the eager to please young DC who is a whiz with computers to the DCI who claims to care about Lucy’s wellbeing on her return to work, but is more concerned about how anything that happens could reflect on the force once the press get their hands on it. I also found the characters directly related to the crime to be considered and well written. All in all it’s a really strong start to a series.

Would I recommend it?

Absolutely yes. Helen Phifer did a great job with this novel, she manages to introduce a whole range of characters while keeping the plot moving at a steady pace, something I feel a lot of first books in a series struggle with. It’s an interesting plot that kept me turning pages and I can’t wait for more. I really hope that a future novel has more of a focus on Lucy’s last case that led to her suspension. If you like a contemporary crime fiction tale this is one for you.

To be published to the below blog 23rd March. Will also be copied to Amazon, Goodreads and Waterstones

I never thought I would like an adult book this much! I normally don’t really go for it but I’ve been enjoying thrillers a lot and when I saw this one with detectives I just knew I had to pick it up!

A thing about me is that I absolutely love Police series. I love Criminal Minds, CSI, NCIS, Castle, Law & Order, Dexter, Bones, Alarm für Cobra 11, … You got the point. I just love to see them over and over and I never get tired. And that’s mainly why I got this book. I don’t think I ever read a detective novel (at least in english), and if I did it was way too long ago.

Also, look at that cover, it’s beautiful! It’s so dark and gripping! I had to have it. But although I love the cover, it’s a tidy bit misleading. Because the book doesn’t have that much chapters passed in the asylum. But that didn’t make it bad! I just thought I should mention because I was expecting slightly more.

A thing you have to know about this book is that, although it’s gripping because you wanna know what will happen, it’s also a lot slow passed in the beginning. I thought I wasn’t even going to like it this much because only halfway I actually started getting more enthusiastic with it. But that’s also normal, I’m mean it’s a police series, and they are never that fast-paced until the end. Because in reality, police work is even more slow, as the author mentions.

And talking about that, I really enjoyed that the author was part of the police in her life, and tried to make the characters the most believable possible, from her own experience. And for me that was a plus!

I really enjoyed the characters and see what they were up too. How their personal and professional lives entangled. And how sometimes it’s difficult to not feel personally responsible for some event.

I loved to follow Lucy and Matty. They were amazing working together, and I thought their friendship was very powerful and really touched me. Especially Lucy, she is a bit of a workaholic, which is easy to be when we love a job that much. She used to put her personal life in second and sometimes that’s not a good idea but I loved that she was still able to show that they are both the most important things she has.

I really enjoyed how the mystery was entailed. I’m not gonna lie, I was expecting the end from halfway the book. But it still managed to surprise me in some parts. I loved that it was dark but it was still easy to connect and the way it makes you feel that we are part of it.

The writing was okay, I liked it because it was easy to read and it felt a bit personal. Sometimes it might have been a bit too much, but nothing that would make me stop reading it.

Overall, the story was definitely gripping and I ended the book needing more! I can’t wait to read what is Lucy up to next! I would definitely recommend this book if you like police books / series!

Creepy kids? Check. Asylum? Check. Converse wearing DI? Check. Character named Stephen King? Check! What's not to love? Bookouture is impressive in their thriller choices.

Lucy, coming back after taking some time off from a previous case that rocked her emotionally, is thrown in rapidly with a murder at The Moore Asylum. This abandoned building used to house children back in the 70's who were thrown in for little to no reason by their parents and lobotomies were the new way to be cured. With the increase in body count, Detective Lucy works with her partner, Detective Mattie, to look into the asylum's past. Can Lucy find and stop the murderer before anyone else gets hurt, including herself and her family?

We see through the eyes of Lucy for most of the book with various peeks into the mind of the antagonist, jumping to the past every once in a while to give you a good sense of what horrors happened inside the asylum. The banter between Lucy and Mattie is cute and fun and I wish their friendship had been a little more fleshed out but as the first book in a series, a base was definitely made to see some growth over the course of the next few books, I'm sure. This was a fairly quick read, entertaining from the prologue to the end. While sometimes predictable, fans of thrillers will be very happy with this story. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out and will continue to follow Detective Lucy around on her adventures. Wanna join me?

Love stories involving asylums so this book was a winner from the start. Fast paced and unputdownable.

Thank you netgalley. Detective Lucy Harwin is still trying to get over her last case and is now investigating a case of a killer obsessed with avenging asylum wrongdoings. Full of action right to the end. I loved this book.

Another excellent debut female detective story. I'm on a bit of a role at the moment with these.

The Lost Children introduces us to Detective Lucy Harwin and her team. We meet her as she is just returning to work after being on extended leave after an operation went horribly wrong. She is straight back into it as a mans body is found in the local, now derelict Moore Asylum. A place that closed in the mid 70s but was a place where the forgotten children of Brooklyn Bay were placed. The troublesome or unruly children from all around the country ended up there.

We begin the book with some of the children of Moore Asylum and their horrendous experiences there. Eventually closed, the horrors are slowly revealed through flashback throughout the book and it soon becomes clear to Lucy, as the murders continue, that this is a revenge mission from someone that was a patient at Moore Asylum. Herself and her sidekick Detective Mattie Jackson try to piece together the lost history of the place and the hidden horrors of its past before more murders are committed and as they get closer to the truth their own safety becomes less and less secured.

I really really liked this book. It sets off at a cracking pace and doesn't let up throughout. If anything the pace is even ramped up further in the last few chapters to reach a very satisfying end.

Lucy is yet another damaged troubled female detective(these seem to be flavour of the moment for writers of this genre) but she is very well written, interesting and doesn't feel cliched at all. She's a bit of an old fashioned detective where she relies on her instinct to lead the way in her investigations. She is separated from her husband and estranged from her daughter, a little too fond of her wine, her job is her life.
Her sidekick Mattie is equally well written and they make a great pairing as an undercurrent of sexual tension between the two of them bubbles underneath throughout.

It's a really good story that is very well told. I was totally drawn into the world of Lucy and Brooklyn Bay and look forward to reading and going on further adventures. I'd highly recommend this if you are a fan of the genre.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Bookouture and Helen Phifer for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Lost Children is the first book in a new police procedural series. We are introduced to Lucy and her colleagues which sets the tone for the next instalments.

The first chapter introduces us to some of the children who were patients at the asylum in the seventies. One of the children disappears from the ward and nine year old Lizzy quickly realises what happened to him.

The case the detectives are working on starts out most intriguingly. When a body is found in the abandoned asylum, it doesn't take long for them to find a connection to the past. Can the killer be stopped before they strike again?

I must admit, I'm a little disappointed in this book. The blurb sounded right up my alley but it didn't deliver for me. I found it quite predictable, not helped by some chapters from the killer's point of view, which pretty much gave everything away.

Lucy seems to have some sort of sixth sense. She has all the ideas and solutions, making decisions without involving her boss. The answers sometimes just drop into her lap instead of being the result of hard-hitting investigative work. It's a little hard to explain but it just didn't work for me. There are a few other things that bothered me but I can't go into detail about those because that would involve revealing half the plot.

I also would have preferred to learn a lot more about the circumstances of the children back in the day. As it is, there are a few mentions of what life was like for them but nothing too profound or in-depth. Things happened that could have done with an explanation but that never came. Then along the way, the story started to focus more on Lucy's private life which completely threw me off. While I understand character development is important when setting up a new series, the asylum storyline had so much potential that I feel was left unfulfilled.

Nevertheless, it's a quick read and there are worse ways to be spending an afternoon.

I would like to thank Bookouture and Netgalley for my advanced copy.

Wow, what a brilliant book that I found very hard to put down. Helen Phifer is a new author to me and what a great find. In the description of this book, The Lost Children was said to appeal to fans of MJ Arlidge, Angela Marsons and Rachel Abbott and I 100% agree.

In the 1970’s The Moore Asylum was closed down, taking it’s shocking secrets with the closure until a body was found in ward 13 that had been lobotomised.

DI Lucy Harwin her partner Detective Mattie Jackson are both such wonderful and believable characters that now belong on my list of favourites and I can’t wait to read more from this dynamic duo.

The Lost Children is a fast paced, full of suspense and a real page turner.

A massive 5* thriller and a brilliant start to a new series. Roll on book two.

Wow......... I loved this book and struggled to put it down. Wish I could give it more than five stars.
The story flicks between the past in the county asylum and present day when a body is found in the abandoned asylum. There is a murderer at large but what is the link between the asylum and the deceased. Will the detectives solve this case or will the murderer get away with it.
This book kept me hooked and although I guessed who the murderer was there was still enough twists to keep me interested and wanting to read on to see what would happen.
Looking forward to new books by this author.

Detective Lucy Harwin is still trying to recover from her last case where a mother and her child were murdered. She is now on the trail of a killer who fixated on avenging the asylums wrongs. The Moore Asylum was home to the forgotten children of Brooklyn Bay. A scandal forced it closure. Then the body of an elderly man is found, his body is strapped to an acient gurney.

This is an action packed, fast paced and at times a tense read. The content is believable. A decent enough read.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Bookouture and the author Helen Phifer for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! I seriously have never been let down by Bookouture. How they keep publishing amazing thrillers, I'll never know, and I'll keep reading them! The Lost Children was definitely twisted, creepy, and I loved everything about it. I love the whole asylum element to the story. You know some creepy stuff is going to happen when children and an asylum are involved!

For decades, the Moore Asylum was the home for unwanted and forgotten children. However, after a scandal, they were forced to close it's doors. Now, the abandoned building comes back to life after an elderly man is found dead, and strapped to an old gurney. Enter Detective Lucy Harwin, she is brought onto the case with her partner Detective Mattie Jackson, and they soon find themselves on the trail of a killer that is trying to correct all of the asylum's wrongdoings. As she unearths the long buried secrets of Moore Asylum the attacks escalate and a woman is murdered on her own doorstep, Lucy is now forced into a terrifying game of cat and mouse with a twisted individual. Can the detectives stop a killer who seems to have nothing to lose?

It was a quick read and I could not put it down! I loved all the elements and it moved quickly. I highly recommend this to any thriller lover, or a lover of Bookouture. You will not be disappointed.

Thanks to Bookouture for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book in the Lucy Harwin series and what a great start! It has a really tense plot and very good characters. Lucy is called out to a murder at the old local asylum and the plot unfolds. I never guessed the ending and I really look forward to book two. Well done the author for a well written start to a new series. many thanks to Net Galley for my copy. I reviewed on Goodreads.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of The Lost Children, the first in a projected series of police procedurals set in the fictional coastal town of Brooklyn Bay to feature DI Lucy Harwin.

The novel opens with a scene from a hospital in 1975 and then cuts to the present day when an estate agent showing a potential buyer round a former mental asylum discovers a murdered body. DI Lucy Harwin is called back from medical leave to lead the investigation but it takes on a life of its own as the body count rises, there are no suspects and precious few clues.

The plot is not particularly profound - it is the straightforward hunt for a killer with Lucy having all the theories and ideas, most of which turn out to be true and a subplot of her troubled relationship with her teenaged daughter. It is, however, quite an exciting read, especially towards the end which is action packed. With its flashbacks to the events of 1975 and occasional switches to the unnamed killer's point of view the reader is much better informed than the police. This is not my preferred format as I like to live the investigation with the police but it is well done and not overly intrusive. It's sad to say but I had no problem believing what went on in the hospital.

The characters are, at first glance, fairly stereotypical. Lucy is undergoing mandated therapy after a case ended badly three months previously. She is driven and dedicated to the detriment of her relationship with her daughter and she drinks too much and eats junk food (no mention of doughnuts but plenty of cake eating). Her wingman is DS Matthew "Mattie" Jackson, also smart and dedicated and content to play second fiddle to Lucy. They are close and their friendship brings a warmth to the novel the subject matter doesn't allow.

The Lost Children is an easy way to pass a few hours so I have no hesitation in recommending it as a good read.

I wasn't hooked straight away and totally taken in by detective Lucy.
The plot kept me guessing but didn't annoyed me like some storylines. The characters were solid and beliveveable.
I always enjoy Helen Phifers books and again I was disappointed.
I will look forward to the next instalment.

The Lost Children Helen Phifer

I jotted something down in my note book really early into reading this book.

“Refreshing, an author who knows current police procedures and terminology”

That little note reflects why this crime thriller stands out from many of the others on the shelves today.

That and the fact that there is a full cast of excellent characters surrounding DI Lucy Harwin, work colleagues, family, and even the victims and their families, all add to the eclectic mix of people she encounters on a daily basis.

The opening to the book is going to be familiar to some readers. There have been a few books partially set in the care homes and institutes of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s recently.

And why not, every year there seems to be another case of historic abuse associated with these establishments.

This book stands out though. Helen Phifer has written a thriller in more ways than one.

The main protagonist, DI Lucy Harwin, is a little bit out there. Dyed Red hair, tattoo’s, and an attitude. Divorced from her husband, estranged from her teenage daughter, and living alone. On forced gardening leave following her involvement in a tragic serious incident, we meet Lucy at her counselling on the day she is supposed to start back to work.

Unfortunately for her a gruesome murder is waiting for her on her return to the usually quiet seaside town of Brooklyn Bay. What a setting for a book, once a prosperous seaside resort, now struggling with the recession and lack of holiday makers.

Lucy has a good team, some of which we get to meet in detail, but others who play interesting little bit parts, hopefully they will start to build in future books.

Lucy’s mainstay, and probably her best friend is DS Mattie Jackson. They have one of those relationships where they both know a little bit too much about each other, care a little bit too much for each other, and act like an old married couple without actually ever being in a relationship.

As the murders start to stack up, the once happy seaside town starts to look like a dangerous place to live.

Lucy and Mattie, and their team, start to link the crimes. At about the same time the reader will start to link two or three characters with being the murder.

Helen has written this book teasingly well. Yes, I knew who the killer was early, well I thought I did. It was always one of the three people but gentle little shifts in the story had me moving from one to the another regularly. If I’m honest I didn’t actually positively identify who was responsible for the crimes until the last couple of chapters.

I recently wrote a blog about Angela Marsons DI Kim Stone books.

In that I said you don’t always need a cliff-hanger finish to make you eagerly await the next book in the series. The best series are those which have a cast of characters that make you want to read about them again. To look forward to seeing how they have fared since the last book.

That’s exactly how I felt at the end of this book. I loved the story. I loved the characters. I loved the setting. I loved the fact that it was written by somebody who works in the police, see the letter from Helen at the End of the Book, so all of the phrases and techniques are current and accurate. Most of all I’m looking forward to meeting Lucy, Mattie, Col and the rest of the Major Investigation team; Jack and Amanda the CSI team, and most of all the glamorous Pathologist Dr Catherine Maxwell again in future books. There is so much potential for these characters that each could take a turn at being the main protagonist, and the series would still move forward nicely.

I have a list, on my computer, that I call UK Lady Killer Writers. I look forward to each of their books coming out.

Angela Marsons
Marri Hannah
Marni Riches
Robert Galbraith (I know but we know who she is)

There is now a new name on the list. Helen Phifer.

What a night that would be. Sat around a table with that little cohort drinking Red Wine or Jack Daniels, and nothing to do but talk about crime thriller plots.

I loved the fact that I wasnt able to guess the ending and was completely surprised with how it turned out. I wasnt a fan of the first person point of view chapters but I understand why they were there. In another review I said I wouldnt read anything else by Helen Phifer but I'm glad I gave her another chance, I take back what I said and will definitely look out for the next in this series.

Wow this is a cracker of a book. Fast paced and tension fi!led I was hooked from the first page. Sat and read it all this evening.

Looking forward to reading a follow up.

I really enjoyed this book - it promises to be a really good series. The characters are likeable and believeable.

The book starts with Lucy visiting a police psychologist following an enforced break from work. She is haunted by her failure to prevent a grisly murder.

She has a teenage daughter who is very rebellious and is still in love with her ex husband. She is very fond of her partner Mattie and I kept hoping some romance would develop there.

She is summoned back to work to investigate a murder at a former asylum. The victim has been lobotomised! They have hardly started the investigation before another body is found. A really engaging read and I look forward to the next book

This is a promising start to a series. Lucy Harwin is a damaged and aloof copper but her gut seldom lets her down. At the start of the book she is just coming back after an unspecified traumatic event, and she is thrown head-on into a complicated, and gruesome, murder. An unknown man was killed with what looks like an ice-pick to the eye. He is also found in an abandoned insane asylum, so eventually they figure out that this method was supposed to recall a lobotomy. They have hardly started the investigation before another body is found, and a murder spree shortly follows. There are tons of suspects (alas, I bet on the wrong horse and was surprised when the real culprit was revealed). There are also flashbacks to 1975, when the asylum was functioning and the seed of the problem was planted. The chemistry between Lucy and her partner Mattie is so heart-warming and their dialogues so funny, that I was really rooting for them. And the climactic chase in the end is very, very good. The only thing I didn’t like was the few chapters written in the first person. I can see that it was so that we didn't guess the gender (and identity) of the murderer from the start, but I wish it had been done differently so that it was less confusing. I'm still giving this novel five well-deserved stars.