This is the third in the Kelly Porter series.
I found this a slow burner but was pleased I stuck with it.
A British crime thriller at its best. So many twists and turns and so much tension right up until the climax.
You can read this book as a stand alone and it does mention her past cases. If anything it should make you want to read the other two books just to find out how she caught them.
Female detectives are really coming into their own in books at long last. Go girl power oops getting carried away.
As I said a good British crime thriller with a touch of the Dark.
I would like to thank the author Rachel Lynch,Canelo and Net.galley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for giving an honest review.

I really enjoyed this novel by Rachel Lynch, despite not having read the previous two books in the series. It is well written, with good characterisation of the main cast of the story, less so of some of the more peripheral characters. The story of two missing young women, and the apparent suicide of the elderly Earl of Lowesdale, all on Kelly’s home ‘turf’ was an intriguing storyline, especially when they inevitably became linked. DI Kelly Porter was an empathetic heroine for the most part. I did find her antagonistic relationship with her sister and her mother to be a bit of a distraction, and for me it added nothing to the story. Unless of course it is setting up a sequel story line?
I also found the highly detailed and meticulously described autopsies gruesome and unnecessary, I skipped over those pages.
I would recommend this book, and will look for more by Rachel Lynch.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my free advance copy.

I've read and enjoyed the previous books in the Kelly Porter series, so was looking forward to this new one. It certainly didn't disappoint. Kelly and her team are investigating the disappearance of 2 female students from a campsite. Could this have links with the disappearance of another girl a year ago, a case that was never solved? Kelly is also dealing with some family issues. This is a real page turner, which I thoroughly recommend. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

Another pacey, high energy police mystery by Rachel Lynch. Set in the English Lake District there is lots of chasing round narrow country lanes, hiking over fells and the obligatory underwater search. Randy goings-on by just about everyone including incest. Keeps you guessing right to the end.

A murder, a pair of missing girls, a cold case of a missing girl and a complex family all set around the Lake District make this another good read about DI Kelly Porter and her team. Although stand alone I think readers would benefit from having read the previous books especially in respect of DI Porter's family relationships. That with her mother and sister continues stormy to say the least but that with her boyfriend steers into comforting stability - something she (and he) needs. The police aspects of the book remain stand alone. First comes the murder of an elderly aristocrat and what turns out to be an increasingly complex set of relationships there too. A protective housekeeper, her unpleasant son, the strange gardener and a rather vague unworldly illegitimate grandson. Keeps one guessing. Then add to that mix two young women missing from a campsite and the finding of a body, skeleton, of a girl who went missing some decades ago. As these plots unravel DI Porter concludes that there is a link between all of them. The abduction and maltreatment of the two campsite girls is harrowing but fits with the story. Of course everything ends reasonably well and the reader can feel satisfied with the result. There are sufficient relationship issues remaining for another book or two I'm sure! DI Porter is developing nicely I feel - a complex character who still feels somewhat of a misfit in the Lakes in-spite of being brought up there. She is a strong character but pleasant with it. The author writes well keeping plots strong and clear, She gives good descriptions of a lovely part of the world and centres the action on a slightly less well-known area of the Lakes too. There are very very few spelling/grammatical "oopsies". I look forward to the next one in the series. Thanks to NetGalley for providing a free copy for a personal, subjective review.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. I really enjoyed this book. The storyline and characters where brilliant. It took a bit of reading to get into the story but it was worth it. Definately worth 5 stars, as I couldn’t put it down.

This s a superb story with all kind of intertwined events. Try guessing the culprit! It is very well written and I defy any reader to want to stop before the end. The lead detective is particularly well described and fits in perfectly. It would make a very good television series.

This started out so well, the characters of Kelly Porter, the police officer and her difficult family and partner, Johnny, were well portrayed. It kept me interested until about half way when i started to skip the odd page of too detailed descriptions but kept going as I was sure something fascinating would emerge. All the personalities were there, Zac, Linda, everyone who'd been part of the Earl's life and we were eager to see what had happened to the missing hikers, Sophie and Hannah. I did feel a bit let down in the end, it was far too long in places and I didn't feel that the finding of the girls and their persecutor, Dominic, was as wonderful and exciting as it should have been. The girls narrative was well done but I feel that this book could have been shortened and included more action, particularly in relation to the finding of the missing girls, to keep you interested to the end.

This is fast becoming one of my favourite series of crime fiction books and I settled in to devour this book with a high level of expectation. It did not disappoint.
The Lake District is still the glorious backdrop for the events of the book, and whilst it felt slightly more slower paced than the previous books in the series, it felt a lot more rounded. The crime(s) and police procedural are still centre stage, but this time I felt as though I really got to know Kelly Porter and her family and I'm interested to see how revelations in this book develop in subsequent instalments.

My thanks go to Net Galley and the publishers for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Say "scottish" and "crime" and I am captive. Add an exciting female detective and the enthusiasm builds.
The plot begins with pace and an eye for procedural detail which adds appeals for the intelligent reader. The central character feels real and there are a few intruiging strands wafting around, so the pages turn quickly.
Interest is maintained until about three quarters into the book when things start to become quite obvious. The story feels familiar; the relationships become cliched. The ending seems inevitable and rushed as events are tied up..sufficiently to complete the plot but not enough to close the lives of the main characters who will, it seems, live on in a series.

Lynch writes well but the plotline feels contrived and ultimately disappoints. I look forward to her next release as she finds her own voice.

I've not read the other books in this series but this did not matter. This story has a great, original plot and is full of interesting and well developed characters. I will definitely look out for other books in this series

Dead End is the third book in the DI Kelly Porter series, having not read the first two this in no way spoiled my enjoyment of this book and I now look forward to reading the previous two after enjoying this so much.
Two young female hikers are missing but it soon becomes clear that this is not just two girls becoming lost in the Lake District hills but becomes more worrying when links are discovered to unsolved previous missing persons and a decaying body is found.
The Earl of Lowesdale is found hanged probable suicide but post mortem shows otherwise. Gradually these cases interlink and DI Porter and her team have their work cut out for them.
With a great host of well thought out characters and well constructed plot this becomes an enthralling and entertaining read.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for opportunity to review this book honestly.

The Coroner performing an autopsy on a suspected suicide victim, the Earl of Lowesdale, suspects fowl play, leading to DI Kelly Porter becoming embroiled in the investigation at the same time as heading the search for two missing girls who appear to have been abducted whilst on a hiking expedition from their Lakeland camp site. Time is not on her side and the search for the girls becomes more urgent the longer they are missing.

Visiting the Earl’s home - Wasdale Hall - she encounters more mysteries and her gut feeling is that the truth is being hidden by the housekeeper and the gardener who are extremely evasive.

At the same time she is endeavouring to get to grips with family problems - in the main due to a love/hate relationship with her sister, not helped by her mother constantly trying to persuade her to make peace. Kelly takes her mother for a quiet birthday dinner during which, possibly aided by a few glasses of wine, her mother lets slip that she knew the Earl, some of his friends, and Wasdale Hall well, causing Kelly to do some deep thinking.

This is a fast paced book which is extremely hard to put down - read and enjoy.

Dead End by Rachel Lynch. DI Kelly Porter book 3
Set in the north of England, Dead End has DI Kelly Porter working on two cases when two young women go missing and a local earl is found hanging in his study.
I found this book to be intriguing and most enjoyable. Every character was well rounded with enough information to keep them interesting while the reader is not being overwhelmed with too much information or background.
Porter herself has her own life problems threaded through the story as her relationship with Johnny moves forward, her issues with her sister; where there is no love lost, worry over her mother’s health and then the realization that she may not know who her father is. All this while she is tracking down clues and hunting murderers.
With a few possible suspects for the reader to keep the hooked and to think about while being fast paced and well developed.
Having the love angle gave the story an extra element but I couldn’t help but feel it either needed more to be made of the relationship or to remove some of the details and to keep some parts private. It was as if the author was not sure if to slip it into the romance genre or not. Not quite enough to satisfy romance lovers, but too much information for a mystery/detective story.
On saying that it was a good book which I thoroughly enjoyed and would highly recommend to readers of mystery/whodunit detective stories.

I read this in a weekend, I couldn't put it down.
I love how Rachel Lynch's lead character is a strong woman in a traditionally male world. But she is respected and has a great team around her, so the story focuses on her job. There are two storylines running, which turn out to be connected. Various characters are put forward as plausible suspects and the truth eluded me until the end.
I also love Kelly's relationship with Johnny, the way they are well matched in ability and fitness, with both being strong, but supportive of each other.
The description of the kidnapper, from the viewpoint of Sophie and Hannah, was excellent and gave me chills as I read it. I could imagine the smell of him.
Great read.

When I red the synopsis of this book I was in two minds about it. I suspected that it might turn out to be a 'cosy murder mystery' type of book. Well I got that one wrong!

The weather in the Lake District is notoriously fickle and as this book progresses that weather takes a decided downturn. As it builds towards its climax one can almost fell the rain trickling down the neck, a reasonable metaphor for the darker turn the book is taking.

I did feel at times that the author might have made more of the stunning backdrop of fells and lakes; although both feature, they are a bit pedestrian. To be fair it is hard for an author to get the right balance between description and action and I guess what is happening is more important than where it is happening.

Like most readers, I tend to follow the clues as they are laid out and try to work out the who, why and how as I read. I didn't feel that the author was laying out a trail of misdirection, the characters were presented before us in a realistic format with both strengths and weaknesses on display and as a reader, I felt that any one of them could have been behind all the events. I did pick out the right person, not for any obvious reason, more of an instinct, but I did also turn over a couple of other characters as possibilities in my mind.

If you like all the loose ends neatly tied then you may be a little frustrated; I didn't feel that all the why questions were resolved. One was obvious, the others less so. Ultimately it didn't damage my enjoyment of the book too much but I would have felt more satisfied with the rest of the answers.

This is the third book in a series but, although it does refer to previous events, it does work well as a standalone. I had not read the previous books but got on well with this one. I may go back and read the previous books

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to Netgalley and thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters are believable, likeable, for the most part, and very well written. This was my first book by this author and even though it is part of a series that didn't cause any problems. There are mentions of a previous case but no spoilers which would discourage me from reading them out of order.
The Lake District is a major player in this story and is well observed and described and there was never a time when anything unnecessary took you away from the storyline. The private life of Kelly Porter was as enthralling as the crimes and investigations and I found her a sympathetic and professional main character.  There are threads which could continue into another book and I will definitely be on the lookout for it.

This might actually be my favourite book of the DI Kelly Porter series. I should probably say ‘so far’ as I trust there will be further books to come. I found myself picturing Wasdale Hall in muted colour like an old movie, maybe influenced by the cover image which is very atmospheric. As with previous books in the series there is a good mix of the investigation and personal life of Kelly. I say this every time I read one of these books but I really must visit the Lake District.
Highly recommended but best read as part of the series.

This is the first book I have read by Rachel Lynch and about the protagonist DI Kelly Porter, this did not hinder the story too much although some mention was made about a family member who had been kidnapped by a serial killer in a previous book.

The book was not just a crime thriller but also dealt with how Kelly Porter feels she doesn't 'fit' either in the area or in parts of her personal life.

The story was an interesting read, police procedure was easily explained without being too over long or complex, the book flowed well and kept me interested, I did guess who the 'baddie' was, but this didn't spoil the enjoyment of the book at all.

I didn't like all the characters, but liked Kelly very much, straight talking, and came across as likeable.and engaging.

Highly recommended, and would read more by this author.

Thank you to Canelo and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

wow...what a tangled web we weave....some much deceit and lies involved with this book...it was great to read...but some of it you could see happening and not that very long ago in the past....

mysteries abound in this book....we have missing teenagers and dead bodies galore ...are they all linked or are they the work of different people

and what other mysteries can the police uncover....brilliant read...kept me glued till the end of the book