In Norway there is an unspoken rule that you "have" to read crime in Easter. This book is a perfect example of a book that is perfect to read after you have been skiing in Easter. It was easy to read and follow, still it had the suspense that made it hard to put down. I liked how the book build it's characters from the beginning and you could see them grow during the book. You start caring for them and cheering them on.

The middle of the book became a little too slow and filed with things you do not care about, and wounder why it was put in. For instance the second cold case felt like a space filler for the book. Still there are three story lines that are interesting to follow, and I guess one of them will be a red line between the coming books as well.

The end again made me sit at the tip of my chair as the trial started. Same as Lauren I ended up with second thoughts over the results from the trial. Over all this was a strong debut book, and I am looking forward to the next books from the author.

Lauren Riley is 30ish-year-old twice-divorced mother of two older daughters and is a respected detective who works on cold cases. Having a lot of time on her hands she takes on a case by her nemesis, attorney Frank Violanti, which offers a lot of money, to work the high-profile case of David, accused of murdering Katherine Vine, the beautiful, younger wife of Anthony Vine, who runs a successful chain of gyms. Lauren is drawn to David though, she finds him innocent but is he?


A well-written thriller that keeps you wondering who should you really believe? This left me wanting more at the end that i almost wish i didn't read it because now i have to wait for the second one to come out. I loved it Thanks to NetGalley and everyone involved!

Lauren Riley is a detective in the Cold Case unit in Buffalo.
This book follows both some cold cases but the main intrigue was around a current case.
See, Lauren was called by an attorney of defense whom she hates so that she could help his client by finding another lead in the murder of a rich woman who was married to a powerful man. Since she believes the kid is innocent, she agrees to help.

I really liked this story, it wasn’t perfect but I enjoyed getting to know Lauren.
I liked that the story was about several cases but, also, about her personal life. Actually, her life might have been the best part in my opinion, I found her very intriguing and interesting.
The cases also had a lot of unexpected twists. I never saw them coming.
I’m not sure how I felt about the other point of views though… They seemed pretty unnecessary at times, though some of them were very powerful.

All in all, a very good mystery.

This book is very well written making it an easy read. The storyline follows Lauren, in her day job a cold case detective, pursuing justice for a family left for years without a suspect being found for their family members murder. At the same time she takes on work for a defence lawyer to assist him in finding evidence to disprove his godsons involvement in the murder of a local woman who is married to a wealthy businessman. Woven within the book is Lauren's private life and her stalking, violent ex partner who is also a detective. Such a good read that gives you that uncomfortable feeling of not knowing whether the suspect really did it or not. You think you know but are you right? The ending leaves you in no doubt

A cold-case investigation featuring Detective Lauren Riley

At the age of thirty-eight, Lauren Riley is a twice-divorced mother of two college-age daughters, working cold-case homicides. She has fought three hard trials with defence attorney Frank Violanti and won every one of them. She thinks he is a troll and despises him but now he wants to hire her as a private detective to help with the defence of his eighteen-year-old godson who has been arrested for murder. He wants her help because he knows she is very good at what she does and, more importantly, juries trust her. She agrees to help once she meets the young man and also because the arresting officer is Detective Joe Wheeler, a thug with whom she has a history. But should you trust your gut instinct in all things?

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The story flows between the investigation into what happened on the night of the murder and a cold case that Lauren and her partner are working on – a cold case from 1992 where a mother was stabbed and left to die in the street. The police never made much progress with the case and the daughter never got answers or closure. Now Lauren is trying to help her, trying to put the past right. It is one of those books that you can read in an entire day if you are an avid reader. The pace never slackens, the characters never disappoint and the story never wavers.

Saphira

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

This book follows cold case detective Lauren Riley and her partner Shane Reese.

The main story of the book focuses on David Spencer, an 18 year old charged with murder. His godfather just happens to be Detective Riley's courtroom enemy, Frank Violanti. He hires her to be the PI in this case. Her first reaction was to say no way, but after talking to David, she agrees to take the case. She investigates this case on her days off and after her shift, which puts her in a rough patch with her partner.

Story B focuses on a cold case that is brought to their attention by the victim's daughter. I really liked the dynamic you get to see between Riley and Reese as they work this case.

I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read more stories in this series. The pace was steady and I didn't think it slowed at all. All the characters were well written and in such a way that makes you care what happens to them, some to see if they get what they deserve! I will warn you, though, this book does end in a type of cliffhanger. Its an end to this book, but will hopefully lead into the second.

This was quite the suspenseful ride that I was searching for! I was initially intrigued by this book because I have always been a fan of cold cases. I loved reading the main mystery of the recent murder and also enjoyed the side plot of the cold case file. Lauren Riley was a likable character because she was flawed and realistic. She chose broken men, she tried to fix people and loved the wrong person. Even through these flaws she was a strong and intelligent woman and a good cop. I am definitely am looking forward to book 2 of this series! Reading this fast paced thriller was quite the treat! Not only did you get to enjoy seeing the crime thriller side this had some legal aspects as well with the trial and such. Some of the stuff that went on had me in utter shock. I do have to give this story a mild trigger warning for those who might've been in an abusive relationship. Overall this was a grade A suspense that I won't soon forget!😍

It's hard to believe this one is a debut. There's lots going on, and it easily kept my attention. The main character is immensely likable and easy to root for. She's certainly not perfect, but she's doing her best... devoted mother, intelligent detective, and of course unlucky in love. I found myself more involved in the case than I usually am with mysteries, dying to know exactly what happened to the victim and why. I was not disappointed! There's a little bit of a creep factor to it, and lots of suspense and courtroom drama.

Lauren Riley is a highly respected detective who works on cold cases. With two grown daughters in college and nothing to do with her time but work, she takes a case as a private detective when she's offered a significant amount of money for it. It means working with Frank Violanti, a defense attorney she has no respect for, but she's drawn in to assist once she meets the client: David, a recent high school graduate accused of murder. There's just something innocent about him, and she worries she'll regret it if she doesn't help with his case and prove he isn't guilty.

Digging deep into the case while still working cold cases at her main gig, she's stressed to the max... and there's some who believe she never should have taken on David's case in the first place. She alternates between working cold cases with her partner Reese, who is like a brother to her, to dealing with the overconfident and sometimes off-putting Violanti. As if that weren't enough to deal with, she's being watched and monitored by a different player.

This story does wrap things up by the end, but leaves a thread hanging that will leave you looking forward to the next book. I'm already checking to see when it's coming out!

I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley and Midnight Ink, thank you! My review is honest and unbiased.

I was shocked to learn that this is the authors first book.....because she really knocked this one out of the park. It kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The twists and turns kept me guessing the entire time. And that ending....WOW!! I do not see that coming! I will be eagerly waiting for the next book.

This book was given to me at my request by Netgalley and I provided this review voluntarily

A COLD DAY IN HELL by Lissa Marie Redmond
The First Cold Case Investigation

As a cold case homicide detective Lauren Riley is used to dealing with the seamier side of society, and that includes defense attorney Frank Violanti. But after meeting the young kid he's defending on a murder charge, Lauren agrees to do some PI work for him. Detective Riley must navigate the pitfalls of working for "the other side" while continuing to investigate her cold case workload. What will put her in more danger, an old case, the current murder, or her personal life?

Power is the thread that ties everything together in this first Cold Case Investigation, showing what people will do to get it and keep it. A COLD DAY IN HELL illustrates the abuse women face on a daily basis and the power men desire to wield over them. It's also a finely detailed mystery, rich in atmosphere and filled with complex character dynamics.

Lissa Marie Redmond nails the gritty realism in this police procedural. Filled with dark troubled people its multiple mysteries coalesce into one detective's story - and struggle.

“Lauren Riley is an accomplished detective who has always been on the opposite side of the courtroom from slick defense attorney Frank Violanti. But now he's begging to hire her as a private investigator to help clear his client of murder. At first Lauren refuses, wanting nothing to do with the media circus surrounding the case—until she meets the eighteen-year-old suspect.”
I really liked Lauren and thought her relationship with Frank Violanti was really intriguing.
She throws herself into gathering information to defend his client and in the process comes face to face with her violent ex.
Joe is a nasty piece of work and Lauren is determined not to let him get the better of her.
This is a really good read which will have you on the edge of your seat at the end.
Thanks to NetGalley and Midnight Ink for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

When you read a lot of crime/thriller/psychological thrillers, there comes a point when you are on the verge of losing your mojo. Sometimes the answer is to read something for pure pleasure; sometimes it is to stop blogging for a while. And sometimes the answer is to pick up an honest to goodness uncomplicated crime novel and read it in one sitting.

Which is how I really got stuck into this book in a big way. Lauren is a cold case detective with substantial homicide experience and a P.I. licence for work she undertakes on the side, outside the jurisdiction of the Buffalo PD. She has a great working relationship with her younger partner Shane Reece and the two can judge each other’s moods and actions really well.

Twice divorced with two teenage daughters, she is still quite capable of making mistakes both in her personal and professional life, but she is no-one’s doormat and she loves her work in the cold case unit.

While working on a cold case, Lauren gets a call from an old adversary, defence lawyer Frank Violante. He is defending a young man accused of murder – a young man who happens to be his Godson and he wants to hire Lauren to investigate. Lauren has misgivings about working with Violante, who is a bit of a sleazebag as far as she is concerned, having come up against him while testifying in court on many occasions. Despite these reservations she agrees to meet and listen to the boy after which she consents to work with Violante to see what evidence she can uncover.

This decision will cause her nothing but headaches when she realises that not only is her ex-husband the arresting detective, but the District Attorney himself is prosecuting the case and that does not bode well for Lauren’s job in the Police Dept., even though there is no technical conflict of interest.

We follow Lauren’s investigation into both her cold case and the higher profile contemporary murder and when the courtroom action gets going, the sparks really start to fly. I enjoyed the cross examinations and the exposing of some fairly sloppy police work as well as the uncovering of another plausible scenario.

Though in some ways this is an archetypal US cop/PI legal thriller, with some fairly well understood characters, I think this is a strength. There are some neat twists and turns in the book and the cases are very tidily, if not entirely surprisingly, drawn to a close in this first book.

Will I read the second in the series? Too right I will!

Set in Buffalo NY, this psychological thriller has such interesting and complex characters.

Lauren Riley, 38, is a cold case detective, 16 yrs on the job. Her partner, Shane Reese, 31, is torn between partner loyalty and blue-line loyalty when Lauren's P.I. sideline has her investigating for 18 yr old David Spencer's defense lawyer. Lauren's private lie is very complex and compelling.
Victim Katherine Vine is truly an innocent victim betrayed.

Other cold cases mix with the new murder and leave openings for more stories in this new series.

I look forward to learning more about Lauren, Mark Hathaway, Reese and the rest of this cast.

I received this book via netgalley for an honest review and all I have to say is I NEED A BOOK 2 NOW! I will be so disappointed if it's not going to be a second book because I REALLY ENJOYED this book. I flew through it so fast because I just wanted to know what was going to happen next. It would have been a five-star book ,but it got a little predictable towards the end, and it was a couple of things not tied up ,but I still enjoyed it very much. I definitely want to read more by this author.

4.5 stars rounded up.
This book was easily cruising to all five stars right up until the final furlong where it stumbled a tad for me. After a short time of reflection, although I was still slightly uneasy about things, I conceded that I might just have been a case of being the ending that should be rather than the ending I ultimately wanted and so I began my journey of acceptance about the whole thing and felt better.
This book was a little different to the usual fare offered by the genre insofar as it features Lauren Riley, a serving cop who also has her PI ticket, who is approached by her day job nemesis, Frank Violanti, who wants to employ her out of hours service to do some investigative work on a case that is very close to home for him. A young man has been accused of murder which he vehemently denies although does admit to a certain liaison with the deceased. Obviously given their history, Lauren at first refuses but then agrees to meet with the client. A meeting that piques her interest enough to take the case. An interest heightened by the fact that she has some really rather interesting history with the investigating officer. A cop who, it appears, may have jumped the gun on his early arrest; could he have taken the easy path to get a result? Believing the client to be innocent, can Lauren garner enough to cast doubt on the evidence presented before time runs out for the young man who stands accused?
This book interested and impressed me for many different reasons. We have Lauren, a serving officer who is basically working outside her normal job, crossing the dark side to aid the defence. This kicked off all sorts of conflicts within and without her job and had the potential to alienate her from what she was doing in her day job of solving cold cases. It also gave us a bit more meat on the bones of the main case by also introducing some of the old cold cases that she was also working alongside her day job partner, Reece. She is also a bit complex with her previous relationships and how they impact both positively and negatively with the matters at hand. She definitely has gumption, that's for sure as, at times, she has to really go out on a limb for what she believes to be justice. Her tenacity is well rewarded as she does get to know who her friends really are as time goes on. But she is also wounded and a little bit vulnerable and that made her somewhat endearing as a character to me. Sadly this was negated a bit by some of her dubious decisions and behaviour.
In fact it was this side of things that eventually had me becoming more accepting of the ending when I had a think about things.
When I started this book, I didn't yet know that it was the start of a series. As I finished, I was a little sad to have to leave Lauren as I felt that she was a good character that I eventually started to respect and connect with and would be sad to leave behind. At time of writing my review, I see that this is billed as book one of the Cold Case Investigation series so there's every hope we will reconnect in the future. This also helps with the few things that I feel to be still unresolved at the end of this book.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

A very nice debut and a good start to a new series. Redmond has clearly drawn on her personal expertise to craft Lauren, a cold case detective in Buffalo, New York. She's a tough one (although her personal life is a mess imho) and she's the one that even her enemy wants to do an investigation. There's good banter with Frank, who hires her when his godson David is accused of the murder of a local celebrity after the two have rough sex. Hmm. You can kinda guess where this is going but there are some nice twists. This is very much a set up book so there's a lot going on (although that's also how life goes.). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This should satisfy readers of both procedurals and legal thrillers.

I really enjoyed this book, Lauren a Cold Case Detective and a Private Investigator on the side, take a case with the Defense Attorney that she has always won against. While they have hated each other they are ow working together and the contempt and witty banter between the two is hilarious.

I loved the story as it unfolded, aside from Lauren's very idiotic taste in men and decisions regarding men. The ending was chilling and makes me want to read more of this series. So many great characters, and great story telling.

I really enjoyed this book, because the characters are great, and there is so much happening I couldn’t put it down.

Lauren Riley works on cold case homicides, but is also a Private Investigator. This means she is working more than one case at a time, and sometimes even working for different sides. We also find out a lot about her private life sometimes when there is more than one case in a crime novel it can get complicated but this flowed nicely. I especially loved the courtroom scenes.

I definitely want to find out more about Lauren and some of the other characters, so I hope there will be a follow up soon.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

Usually I struggle to read US crime novels as I don't know enough about how the ranks of detectives, attorneys, etc fit together and which holds the most clout in legal terms. This novel however captured my attention throughout. I found it reminiscent in mood to the 'Shades of Blue' series starring Jennifer Lopez which recently aired its second series here in the UK.

The scene is set in the cold case department of Buffalo police HQ where Lauren Riley and her partner Reese work together to try and solve some of the old cases which never saw a conclusion to the crime. A single mom to two college students who live away from the family home I found Lauren's character really well developed and, if slightly stereotyped, very real.
Twice-divorced Lauren works two jobs; her day job is in the cold case department and she supplements this income with a lesser position as a private detective. It is in this second role that defence attorney Frank Violanti requests her services to try and prove his godson's innocence in a murder case. Lauren and Frank have clashed across the courtroom on several occasions so Lauren is quite surprised that Frank should ask for her assistance in any capacity. The two characters have a grudging respect for each other professionally and manage to rub along together to find out the facts of the case not without a few bumps along the way.

The main problem with the case is that the prosecuting officer is one of Lauren's ex partners Joe Wheeler. He is still bitter about his split with Lauren and would desperately like to have another chance to be back in her personal life. He sees this as his chance to prove to her what a good catch he would be. Unfortunately his inability to control his temper puts paid to any remaining respect Lauren had for him and his personal involvement takes over where his professionalism should be his first priority. Wheeler tries to claim that Lauren's involvement in this case is a conflict of interests with her day job in an attempt to get her thrown off the case and therefore make his job of prosecuting the young man so much easier. No spoilers here but there are some strong court scenes which make for great reading.

The author demonstrates an excellent knowledge of how evidence is collected in a criminal case in the US and how both the defence and prosecution can use this evidence to strengthen or destroy the case in question whether that be in a current case or a resurrected cold case.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was pleased to discover (as I had hoped) that there will be a second book in the series released in early 2019. I highly recommend that you give this book a chance, especially if you are a fan of US TV crime series.
My review will appear on my blog (www.sandiesbookshelves.blogspot.co.uk) on or around publication date.