This was a thrilling debut read by a talented author. It was well written, thrilling and kept me gripped until the end. Recommended.

This was a very good read. I almost felt as if I were walking along the stretches that the author described so vividly. Suspenseful and unpredictable.

Struggled a bit to get into this book gave it a chance and enjoyed it I would recommend this book quite a little page turner well written give it a chance.

Couldn't finish this one. Torture and abuse of children and babies is way beyond anything I want to read about.

Absolutely loved this debut novel by Swan Scott. It was very fast paced and full of action. I was hooked from the very first page.
There was only one downside to this novel - I now have to wait for book two. Hopefully I don't have to wait too long!!!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bastei Entertainment for a review copy of The Numbers, the first novel to feature DCI Arthur Law and DS Ellie Buckland.

This is a very promising start to a new series. The characters of Law and Buckland are well chosen and it is easy to relate to them. There are, however, a few things (for me, that is) why this book didn't earn the full five stars. First, the author is actually writing two stories, where one of the stories gives a background to one of the main characters. This is not very subtle; the reader is suddenly getting a lot of information in a chapter, and then the main story goes on. Halfway the book I could see where this was leading to and of course, knowing this is the first in a series, I could also see that the second story will not have a real ending but will serve as a cliffhanger for the second book. No problem as such, however, I didn't like the extra cliffhanger that was presented near the end of the book. I felt that this was a bit overdone.
Furthermore, most of the things that happened in the book you could see coming up from afar. I would have liked just a little bit more tension, less background so that it could be used in the second book, and overall a bit more a feeling of 'where is this going to lead to' instead of 'of course, this is going to happen'.
As for the M25, that plays a prominent role in this story... my husband and I needed to use this only once, during a holiday. On a Saturday afternoon, in our European car with the steering wheel on the left side. I can tell you it was a memorable occasion ;-)

for a first book in the series it was a really great start. the characters are interesting, and Arthur has had the most interesting back story that i have read in a while and i am looking forward to getting to know more about him.
I really enjoyed Eliie's character but i felt like she more of a side character than she was a main, and i hope in the second book we get more from her.
I really enjoyed reading this book and i will defiantly be continuing with the series, i gave it 4 stars

I thought that the characters were well developed and I would certainly be interested in reading the second book in the series. I really enjoyed Ewan’s style of writing.
So why only 3stars? I worked out immediately who the killer was and what the numbers meant and I could not understand why the author made it so obvious. Sometimes it can be revealed to the reader and not to the characters, and I kept waiting for this to be utilised, but it wasn’t. Sadly, for me, this was a major flaw in the plot and the reason why I am only able to give the book 3stars, despite really enjoying the style and way the book was written.

I love being able to start a new series from the very beginning. Many thanks to the author, Scott Ewan, be-books Publishing via Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this British crime fiction. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

They call him The Road Ripper, a particularly brutal serial killer .. a vigilante who hunts down drivers on a London motorway. His signature is the same ... he leaves a written note of what seems to be random numbers under the windshield wipers and a child's toy in the back seat. Each killing is different, more horrific than the one before.

DCI Arthur Law and rookie DS Ellie Buckland are investigating these crimes, trying to learn this killer's message before someone else dies. What they're looking at now is Victim number 6. And they're afraid he's not even close to stopping until he gets what he wants .. whatever that is.

I really enjoyed getting a birds eye view of Law's personal life balanced with his professional life. He's been under a lot of pressure to get these cases solved, but the killer seems to be one step ahead at every turn. Raising a daughter by himself, he has turned to alcohol to deal with the stress. Politics at work are even more stressful as his job is on the line if he doesn't get some answers .. fast.

Buckland, as a rookie, shows spunk and passion about where she is. She wants to be a good detective and even knowing Law's weaknesses, she is loyal to the man. He gets credit for giving her room to learn and grow as a detective.

Action-packed and fast paced makes this a quick read. Once started, I hated putting it down for any reason. His debut novel is a hit with this reader!

I really loved this book! Excellent story with brilliant main characters. I would recommend this book.

An exciting new voice in the UK crime genre. The plot has you gripped from the first page to the last. Admittedly I spotted the killer as soon as he was introduced but his motives were much more difficult to guess.
The conclusion perfectly sets the scene for the next instalment which I can't wait to read

This book just did not do it for me. I felt it was a bit longwinding at times and I struggled with finishing it.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bastei Entertainment for a review copy of The Numbers, the first novel to feature DCI Arthur Law and DS Ellie Buckland of the Met.

Ellie, a new recruit, is thrust into the middle of a serial killer case when her first day at work is to oversee a murder site, the "Road Ripper's" sixth victim. The victims have no connection and the killing methods are different but the positioning of the bodies in a perfect driving position, the toys left in the car and the sequence of numbers pinned under the windscreen point to the same perpetrator. Law and Buckland have their work cut out figuring out the motive, identifying the perpetrator and dealing with the office politics that accompany a major investigation.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Numbers which is just the kind of novel I love, a police procedural with a grisly serial killer and some likeable characters. The plot is suitably twisted - the murders are violent and bloody so it's not for the faint hearted - with some unexpected surprises and turns as it has more going on than just the hunt for a killer. I must admit that I guessed the killer almost from the start although his motivation remained elusive until explained. It didn't spoil my enjoyment of the novel but, rather, added another element to the puzzle as I tried to fit him into events. I don't know if this easy identification is intentional or a début error. The novel is well paced with a slow trickle of reveals until the final action scenes and it held my attention throughout. It also has a very readable style and Mr Scott even manages to make the technical descriptions digestible and understandable.

I really enjoyed the characterisation. Both Law and Buckland have a past but it doesn't seem to cloud their present overly much. Initially they appear a bit clichéd with Buckland seeming to be the annoyingly desperate to impress rookie and Law the jaded, older detective who drinks too much but they soon come into their own as rounded human beings with so much more to offer. I'm desperate already to see where Mr Scott is going to take Arthur Law as there are some stunning revelations about his past in this novel.

The Numbers is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

A very good read, enjoyed it for the most part but found i did get a little tired of reading about all the different roads etc around London, ( but maybe that's just me)
Am looking forward to reading more in the series

An excellent crime thriller that had me hooked from the first page. Fast, pacey with well developed characters. For me, this book had it all - great detectives but some rivalry and deceptions; great descriptions of the murders although there was some repetition listing the victims and how they died; a military angle; a father daughter relationship angle and also the background of Law/Lau's previous life in Hong Kong. All these elements fitted together well and kept me hooked right until the last page. The ending left a few unresolved issues which, I hope, bodes well for a further installment in this series. Loved it!!

I started to read this but got like 13% in and i haven't been able to get myself to continue on. This one starts off kind of boring and maybe that was my trouble with it.... i need more intrigue than this.

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

DCI Law and his new Sergeant Ellie Buckland investigate a gruesome series of murders of motorists, whose bodies are found near the M25. There were lots of things to like about this novel: Law's past in Hong Kong and how that was worked into the main story, the way he and Ellie were vindicated and Law's back-stabbing rival defeated, the uncovering of the meaning behind the series of numbers left at the murder scenes. (I did in fact work out the significance of the numbers before the police, but I think that was down to good writing, rather than brilliance on my part.)

On the other hand, there was no real humour at any point, I had to skim over some of the more appalling descriptions of the various methods the murderer used to torture and kill his victims, the body count was extremely high, and I worked out the identity of the murderer fairly early on - perhaps earlier than the author intended. The fight scene at the end went on a little longer than my interest in it lasted too.

I think the scene is well set for further Law and Buckland instalments, but they might be too gory for me.