EXCERPT: She stirred and stretched as the light in the room changed. Then she opened her eyes. The shiny light from the landing made everything look a different colour, and played a shadow across the wall to her right. It was this that came into her head, waking her.

There was someone in the room.

THE BLURB: Six-year-old Lola Jade Harper is taken from her bedroom. Her mother is distraught. She is convinced her estranged husband, Gavin Harper, has abducted their daughter.

Detective Rachel Prince is leading the investigation but is soon out of her depth as she searches for the most high-profile missing child in the country. To uncover the truth about Lola’s disappearance, Rachel must untangle the Harper family’s complicated web of secrets and lies.

As the case progresses, the body of a local woman is found. The death at first seems unrelated, until a trail of social media posts lead Rachel to a chilling discovery.

And then another little girl is taken…

With growing pressure from the public and the appearance of someone from her past she’d rather forget, will Rachel be able to solve the connection between the two missing children and the murder - before it’s too late?

MY THOUGHTS: I felt so very sorry for Lola Jade being brought up in a world of fake tans, acrylic nails, hair extensions and NO BOOKS! So sorry that I decided early on that she had decamped her home in the middle of the night to go find a family that had books. But, of course, that was not what had happened.

The Lying Kind by Alison James is #1 in a new series featuring Detective Rachel Prince. She has a relatively normal background, containing a mother she gets on with and a sister with whom she prefers to maintain her distance. There is a mystery man from her past. . .

Rachel has good working relationships with the other members of her team and relies on her DS, Mark Brickall, to be her sounding board. There appears to be a bit of chemistry between these two that, currently, they are both either unaware of, suppressing, or ignoring. It will be interesting, in the coming series, to see how these two develop, both personally and professionally. Of course, I could be barking up completely the wrong tree, as Rachel has two fledgling romantic interests dancing around her.

But I wasn't barking up the wrong tree with my suspicions about just who had Lola Jade and why. It was the how that had me puzzled. And every time I thought I had it figured out, James would toss a spanner in the works.

The Lying Kind is a good solid ☆☆☆☆ read and I will be a definite starter for the next in the series, The Unlucky Ones.

The Lying Kind by Alison James was previously titled 'The Missing Child'.

Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital copy of The Lying Kind by Alison James for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

5☆ Kept me reading all night

The Lying Kind is a detective cat and mouse chase to find 6 year old Lola Jade when she disappears from her bed in the night.
No clues are left no DNA nothing!

The mother and father are going through a bitter divorce. But is any of them to blame for the disappearance?

I absolutely loved Detective Inspector Rachel Prince and Detective Sergeant Mark Brickall.
The relationship they have together is one of trust, banter, friendship and loyalty.

Rachel is leading the investigation, I loved her attitude to uncovering clues. She thinks outside the box and sees things differently.

There is not much I can say without delving into the plot and possibly uncovering too much.

So what I will say is that Alison James wrote a fabulous detective thriller. All of the little procedural details just made this book even better. It was very well researched which strengthened the backbone of the story making it feel real.

 It had all the juicy little twists, it kept me guessing and shouting at the book for the detectives to try there and interview this character.
 It had an element of danger the whole way through as we are treated to lil clues that may or may not be linked to the case.

The characters were perfect. You never knew where you stood with the parents. One minute you believed and trusted them, the next you was convinced they had something to do with it. Which is exactly how it would be in real life. Nothing is as it seems!

The prologue was creepy! It sets the story up and unsettles you a little bit. You are privileged to inside knowledge the detectives don't know.

If you are looking for a well written detective thriller that has all the captivating twists and turns, that keeps you on your toes eagerly turning the pages to uncover the next piece of evidence. Then you will really enjoy The Lying Kind!

Thank you to Bookouture for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

This is an addictive crime thriller that will leave you gasping for answers! Why, who, what!! You’ll want to know!
I recommend this book.
I read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Lying Kind is a police procedural thriller centred on the character of Rachel Prince, a late-thirty-something Detective Inspector assigned to review the case of Lola Jade Harper, a six-year-old girl abducted from her bed some months before and never seen since.

Rachel is an intriguing and intelligent woman, but at times her personal choices made me want to grit my teeth. From her avoidance of discussing a situation many years in the past to her decision to avoid a promising romantic prospect and instead conduct an affair with a married man, I struggled to like her even while I admired her professional dedication and detective ability.

Lola Jade’s case is very well done, there were some clever red herrings to throw the reader off the scent even though the threads were there all along to put the truth together, and I really didn’t see the twist coming. The police work was very well and realistically written - and frankly, the dysfunctional personal life of police officers was probably really good as well, but I still struggled to warm to Rachel. Since this is meant to be the first in a series with her as the central character, I think the author really needs to work on making her a little more someone the reader can empathize with. Four stars.

How absolutely brilliant to be in at the start of a new detective series - and an English one at that. I didn't warm to Rachel prince and her DS Mark at first but after the first few chapters they really grew on me. Being the first in the series there was a fair amount of background particularly about Rachel's life before we meet her, however this was interspersed with action and dialogue so didn't feel like you were trudging through too much detail like you can in some novels. Rachel is gritty and determined but there were elements of her softer side with Leila, her mother and at the end which helped to give her a well rounded character. I will be looking forward to continuing with this detective for as long as Alison keeps going - which I hope will be a long time. I think this would make an excellent TV drama series as well!

The author has given us a convincing protagonist in this first outing for Detective Inspector Rachel Prince and I look forward to reading more about her. I am happy to suspend disbelief when reading fiction but could have enjoyed this mystery surrounding the apparent abduction of a child more if the plot didn’t, have holes you could drive a bus through.

Well well well. Hopefully this is the first in a long series as I though this one was great.

Detective Rachel Prince is our central character here. She is part of the Major Crime Investigative Support Team of the National Crime Agency. She gets assigned to an old ongoing case of a missing child, a 6 year old girl called Lola Jade Harper. She has been missing for 6 months and her parents are estranged. The mother is blaming the father for the disappearance, insinuating that he has molested her, while the father claims that the mother is setting him up as she is unhinged.

Along with her sidekick DS Mark Brickall they have to try and figure out what is going on, who is telling the truth and what exactly happened to their daughter. Both parents seem to lie with ease as they try to find out what has gone on.

First up, straight out of the traps you like Rachel Prince. In her late 30s, shes a feisty character but instantly likeable. Plenty of secrets in her past, from the first few pages you sort of get who is is and where shes coming from. An extremely well written and central character. A great start to the book. Her sidekick Mark is also a very likeable character, they bounce off each other great.

The story itself is really well thought out and told. I found the authors writing style very accessible and the story, although involving a large cast of characters, was very easy to follow. There was suspense throughout as you tried to figure out what was going on and who was responsible for what.

I really loved this one. Read it in a relatively short time(for me) which is always a good sign. As stated the two main characters are very well written and you are on their side from the first few pages. Throw on top of that a great plot and a story very well told and you are on to a winner.

i cant really find anything to criticise this book on. It ended very well and I was thoroughly satisfied when I had finished. Its a crowded market at the moment with female detective lead character novels but they seem to be more hit than miss, for me at least and this one goes straight near the top.

Hugely impressive first outing, I look forward to the second in the series and can highly recommend this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and Alison James for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There is something very wrong in the life of Lola Jade Harper, besides that hon is missing. All the evidence points to her father being the one who has abducted her from her bedroom. And when he also disappears that seems to solidify that. Rachel Prince is working this case and when she finds Gavin Harper in Argentina she is sure that he can help find his daughter. But he denies any knowledge about the whereabouts of Lola Jade and accuse his wife, Lola Jade’s mother, Michelle of hiding the truth.
This was a very intense read, I was never sure what to believe. So I kept on reading, turning page after page, getting more and more upset with everyone. Well, not Rachel Prince. She is a great main character. Honest, with flaws, very believable. Everyone else had something to hide and I couldn’t figure out what really had happened. And when a picture started to emerge, I didn’t want it to be true. It was just to horrible, what this little girl had to endure. In the end they find her, Lola Jade, in a purple suitcase in a storage facility.... I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture!

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

DI Rachel Prince and her DS Mark Brickell work for some police organization I didn't quite grasp; previously Interpol possibly, or now incorporating Interpol or something. Anyway, here they are asked to help out Surrey police, who have been trying to locate missing 6 year old Lola Jade for some months. Lola Jade's mother claims her estranged husband must have taken their daughter, and now he has disappeared too.

This was very, very good; well-plotted, with decent clues for the reader to pick up on and only minimal amounts of traumatic detail/suffering of children. The pace was brisk and I read it in one sitting, keen to find out what would happen. I liked Rachel and Mark's working relationship, and the fact that both Rachel and the female DS in Surrey were competent and worked well with others. There was quite a lot of Rachel's personal life (a slightly excessive amount perhaps), where she was less competent and worked less well with others, and behaved quite oddly really.

Highly recommended.

This book is an excellent start to a series. Detective Rachel Prince is asked to help look for a missing child, Lola Jade Harper. She questions Lola's mother Michelle and goes to Spain to talk to her father. There are a lot of twists and turns in this plot. I liked the fact that DI Prince and DS Brickall have a life outside of work. There are are lot of edge of the seat parts in the hunt for Lola Jade and a brilliant ending.

This is Book 1 of the Detective Inspector Rachel Prince series from debut novelist Alison James. Knowing from the beginning that there will be more novels featuring this character really kept me interested in her quirky character. She works well with her partner Detective Sargeant Mark Brickall. Injured from the beginning of the book while she is out running, Rachel does not let her leg injury stop her from running after clues. She has been tasked with finding out what happened to missing child Lola Jade Harper and hopefully bring her home alive. Her methods of detection are not always what you would expect because Rachel thinks outside of the box. She is single-minded, focusing on finding the little girl before it’s too late. But when the unthinkable happens and another child disappears, Rachel’s job becomes one of cat and mouse. She has to be smarter than the perpetrator, and it is amazing to see how she works things out. The author throws in a lot of red herrings and just when you think you have the mystery figured out, there. Is a twist. The end and the revelation of the criminal was such a surprise that I never saw it coming. Although Rachel is not a particularly magnetic character, she is likeable and eccentric. I am sure that the author has a winning series with Rachel Prince at the center of it!

Wow you are not going to be disappointed with this book, what a great story line.

Lola Jade a six-year-old child goes missing one night from her bed. Who has taken her and why? Her mother is blaming her father for taking her.
DI Rachel Prince is working the case with DS Mark Brickall. They are part Major Crime Investigative Support team of the National Crime Agency. They have been asked to assist Surrey Police with the investigation as all there leads into the case have gone cold.
A local woman is murdered and a second child goes missing. Rachel is trying to see if these are connected to her case. The continue to dig deeper into the mystery and with twists and turns that will surprise you.
This book is so damn good and I am looking forward to the next instalment in DI Rachel Prince. Alison James has written one fantastic debut novel. This was a great solid police procedural book. I was hooked from the very first page until its superb conclusion. I loved the relationship between Rachel and Mark, there sense of humour gave me a few laughs throughout the book. I also enjoyed the other characters in the story and I would love to read more about them all especially DS Leila Rajavi who was pregnant in this story, love to see her story continue also along with DI Rachel Prince.

This book is definitely worth a read. Add it to you TBR list so you don’t miss out on a superb book.

This book has had a name change since reading it and it is now called The Lying Kind which I think this new title gives too much away. I liked the original title better.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

I chose to request this book because I never have a bad experience with Bookouture’s choices of thrillers and this was another fantastic crime thriller! This book had me turning pages and was quite gripping! There was complex characters and I felt were relateable. Highly recommended!

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for my copy.

A small child disappears from her bed and suspicion falls on her father. Detective Rachel Prince is tasked with investigating alongside her DS Brickall.

This is the first in the series and it shows great promise. The attention to detail is good and the way the crime unfolded kept my interest.

BUT the huge problem for me is Rachel, she is just downright horrible. Snarky, sarcastic and quite honestly rude to and about every female she is in contact with throughout the book. She flirts with every attractive man and is dismissive of every woman. Classing herself as not a girly girl is not an excuse not to have any female friends and being openly hostile to every other woman including her older sister. For example she sleeps with her married trainer but blames his wife for planting the idea in her mind.

"Only after she put the idea in my head' Rachel was also smiling.'What happened was HER fault"
No it absolutely wasn't, it is yours for having no moral or ethical code.

Also we get that Rachel is a fitness fanatic but realistically being in the gym sparring so soon after is torn ACL is very unrealistic. You are still putting huge pressure on that joint. Also she seems to exist on a diet of tea/coffee with an occasional salad whilst Brickall lives off junk food. There can be a happy medium.

I really hope that in the sequel that the author allows some development of Rachel into a more rounded character and with a better balanced view of relationships.

Have you ever had the urge to read a book which makes you feel as though you are actually in amongst the hubbub? 

Have you ever read a book which makes you feel as though your hair is standing on end like you have just had an electric shock?

Have you ever been so engrossed in a story that the chances of you becoming a killer should anyone even dare to disturb you, went from 0-60 in the matter of seconds?

If you have answered 'yes' to the above questions, hold on tight folks because OHMYGOD you're in for the ride of lifetime. I have been waiting for a police procedural just like this one, which focused on the investigation side more than the gore of the crime - 'The Lying Kind' did not disappoint.

What an intense, rollercoaster ride of a read this is! If there were prizes for the amount of times you said the same word whilst reading a book, I would probably win hands down for my multiple use of 'OHMYGOD'. As soon as something happened, a rather loud 'OHMYGOD' followed shortly after - I'm not even joking!

'The Lying Kind' is phenomenal, and I don't use that word often!!! The only thing I could fault about the book was the fact that it had ended. The theme itself was brilliantly written, psychologically twisting, with a perfect pace which kept its momentum for the duration of the novel.

Each character, in my eyes, was well thought out as they all had a part to play in the book without coming across like they were just filling empty spaces (if that makes sense). I thought Detective Rachel Prince was incredibly ballsy and, even though she did come across as a bit of a wet blanket sometimes, her personality was more realistic because of it.

I honestly felt as though I was involved in a high speed chase every time I turned the page of 'The Lying Kind' - I kept waiting with baited breath every time I thought the investigation was going to be concluded! In my head I was shouting 'HURRY UP!!!!' because I was just so gripped by what I was reading.

Can you tell that I loved this book? I cannot stress it enough - you HAVE to go and read Alison James' novel as it blew me away at the speed of lightening.
Such a fast paced, gripping, highly detailed read which left me begging for more. Oh I am so glad that this is the start of a brand new series otherwise you guys would be needing to peel me off the floor and stop me crying. I need more....now!!

Fluffing, fluffing brilliant. Seriously. What a corker!

First book in the series featuring Detective Rachel Prince is centered around the disappearance of a six year old girl . This is a gripping dark and intense book with a well defined plot that gets right under your skin . Dramatic Storytelling at its best !! Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the e-book in exchange for my honest review ! #Netgalley #Bookouture #TheLyingKind

Thank you to Bookouture for my copy of this book. I was intrigued by the blurb and I thought the cover was striking.

This is the first in a new series following Detective Rachel Prince. Rachel works for the National Crime Agency or the NCA as its known. Rachel has had various roles within the force and is now brought in to assist on complex cases. We learnt a lot about Rachel the detective but not so much Rachel the person. She is very closed off. Her family relationships seem strained as do her personal ones. She's not one to open her heart and soul. I hope that as the series progresses we learn more about her.

The case of missing Lola Jade is quite an interesting one. I remember a high profile case on the news once that was kind of similar to this. It's definitely something that could happen in real life but it's not something that would be your first thought when looking at a case like this.  I won't say anymore on the story line except I really enjoyed it. The investigation was full of twists and turns, but wasn't necessarily action packed. It showed us the tedious side of police work as well as the heart racing parts. Alison had me on tenterhooks towards the end. 

The pace of the writing is spot on. There was no point when I was just wishing the story would hurry up. There were points where you were plodding along nicely and then other points where you were racing through but it all fitted the story. 

This was my first book by Alison and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to more from Alison in the future, particularly from this series .

The Lying Kind by Alison James is the first book in a series featuring Detective Rachel Prince and the story is based round the disappearance of a six year old girl Lola Jade Harper.The book is full of twists and turns that keeps you guessing up until the final chapters and the character of Rachel Prince i'm sure will be explored in the upcoming books in this series which i'm looking forward to reading.An excellent 5 star read.

I'm always a bit leery when something like 'a totally gripping crime thriller' is included in the title, but the blurb for this one caught my attention. The crime portion of this story was interesting, if a touch drawn out. There's a lot of running around asking questions, and I have no problem with that as long as it leads somewhere, but at times it felt like our investigators were running in circles. Once things pick up and start falling into place, the pacing is much better. It just felt like it took a little too long to get there. As this is Detective Rachel Prince Book 1, there is considerable time taken to introduce the characters, particularly Rachel and her partner, Brickall. That is where I ran into problems. Not so much with the introductions, but that neither of these characters were especially likable. They are well-suited as partners, considering there doesn't appear to be much of a moral code between them. Rachel is often disdainful of other women and doesn't make the best choices in her personal life. Flawed characters are often some of my favorites, but Rachel doesn't appear to see anything wrong with the way she conducts herself, which doesn't do much to entice a reader to want to know more about her. So, to sum it up, we have a decent mystery with some twists and a conclusion that is a bit dark and twisted, but it's hard to become invested in a series when you don't even like the good guys.

I love reading crime and there is nothing I like more than discovering a series that I love and an author that I want to read more of. And this book, this author is definitely one of those! Oh what a wonderful, gripping, tense and brilliant book! What a spectacular start to a series! Cannot wait for the next in the series! 4.5/5