Unquiet Souls by Liz Mistry.
a DS Gus McGuire Case book #1.
When the body of a prostitute is found, followed by the discovery of children locked in an attic, DI Gus McGuire is handed the case. But what at first appears to be a simple murder soon turns into an international manhunt for the members of a twisted child trafficking ring. McGuire who is suffering with his own emotional problems, must pick his way through the web of deceit and uncover the truth in time before the body count rises.
Can McGuire identify The Matchmaker before it’s too late? And can he trust those he is working with?
A brilliant read. Great story. I loved Gus. 5*.

I've had this book for years, I still haven't, unfortunately, got to it, so this is a placeholder review to reduce my shelf for my own sanity, but will replace this if I ever get to the book

Unquiet Souls by Liz Mistry was just a brilliant read and I read it in 2 sittings. I was hooked from the first few pages. This was the first book in a new series of DI Gus McGuire and I just loved it and the second book I have read from this author and I loved it.

I highly recommend Liz's books they have been all a great read

Big Thank you to NetGalley and Bloodhound Books for this arc. I forgot I read it Until I went through my old lists.

I am so disgusted that it took me so long to read this book. I read a lot. Like in really a lot. And this is easily one of the best books I've read this year. It was so well-written, fast paced, and I without any doubt did not see the ending coming!!! It was very well done, I can't wait to read some more!

Unquiet Souls is the first book in the DI Gus McGuire series. Originally published in 2016 by Bloodhound books, it's a hefty 416 pages and available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats.

This is a very gritty modern procedural thriller set in Bradford, in Northern England. The setting and atmosphere are very well written and the characterizations and dialogue and writing in general are very high quality. It's a well written book.

That being said, however, this is an extremely graphic book which I found difficult to read. I had to take breaks at several places. The plot revolves around an international pedophile ring. There are fairly graphic descriptions of sexual assault, torture, and murder of children (and adults). There is a completely awful description of neglect and abuse of a group of children which goes on for several pages and describes this group, some of whom are dead, being locked up together and abandoned .

The main characters are flawed and damaged. The lead character is doing everything in his power to circumvent the reasonable protections for police injured in the line of duty by trying to dodge his therapy and recovery work. I found him fairly unlikable, honestly. He has a gigantic chip on his shoulder. The fact that I personally found him not-terribly-relatable doesn't change the fact that this is a tightly plotted and well written book and the author clearly knows what she's doing. DI Gus McGuire doesn't need (or want) my approval.

The language is just about as raw as the subject matter would imply. The bad guys are world class nasty.

Four stars, it is well written, just not for those of us who prefer mysteries with more of a 'Colonel Mustard in the library' flavor, and murders without blood and gore. And cats. And possibly a few librarians or at least a bookmobile. Definitely not that kind of book, here.

The first book in a series introducing DS Gus McGuire and once you have read this one you will be dying to read the others.
A series i would highly recommend.
Fast paced, entertaining and some wonderfully colourful characters you will want to follow through their stories.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Bloodhound Books and the author, Liz Mistry, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of Unquiet Souls in exchange for my honest, unbiased opinion.
In my opinion, for what its worth, you should read this book! It was well thought out and written with amazing central characters. It left me wanting more in this series.
If you enjoy this genre, this book should be on your "to be read" list.

He's still recovering from knife wounds where he was trying to prevent the death of a woman and her child. He survived but his friend with mental issues didn't. Now he's trying to recover from the impact on his mind, too. If only he could go back to work...

Bloodhound Books and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It has been published and you can get a copy now.

The subject matter is not very pleasant but the police action makes up for it. Almost by accident, the police run across a home housing children that are rented or sold to sexual predators. Most of them are from foreign countries and don't speak English. All of them are terrified and hurt. They wish they had Gus back because he's so good at these cases. The psychologist isn't sure he should tackle that but she's getting pressure to let him come back to work, so she signs off. He still has to visit her, though, for regular visits.

As they dig for information about where the children came from and who transported them as well as trying to find all the participants in this ugly plot, they find it's hard going. Most of them have had experience at it and know what to do but this group is good at covering its tracks.

While all this is going on, they have a missing teenager. It turns out she's part of the witness protection program and her mother had let the cops bug their house to get proof her husband was part of the group. They got him and other participating individuals but not those at the top. Now the man at the top has found them and he intends to make her pay.

Sex is a predominate subject in this story but the investigation is what keeps your attention. You can't be sure how it will turn out, if Gus can hold himself together until the end, and you worry about the kidnapped children.

It's full of suspense and will keep you reading. I'd read another in this series.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. A great read and really like Gus McGuire his colleagues, friends and family. Well worth a read

This is the first book in the DI Gus McGuire series, set in Bradford, England. I had not heard of his author prior to joining the UKCBC Facebook group, but having seen lots of recommendations for the series, was happy to see this up on NetGalley. It's a great pleasure to discover a new series with several more instalments to look forward to (currently four) but not such a large number as to be impossible to catch up with.

Angus McGuire is off on sick leave with serious injuries received during an attack by his schizophrenic best friend. Wracked with guilt that he had to kill him to defend himself, and was unable to save the wife and child, he knows that the only cure is a return to work, if only he can convince the stroppy psychiatrist he's being forced to see. Meanwhile, a vicious paedophile gang are importing children from Eastern Europe to rent to the highest bidder, and are hellbent on revenge against the wife who took them down twelve years earlier. When a local prostitute is murdered, and a group of children found hidden in her attic, Gus is brought back in to help his team, but the evil Matchmaker, who leads the gang, is always two steps ahead of them...

I have been avoiding books featuring kidnapped children storylines, having read far too many of them in the past year, so was somewhat dismayed to discover that this is a central part of the plot, but by this time was far too invested to give up. In some ways this is a standard British police procedural, with many of the usual tropes, but it stands out from the crowded genre because of the brilliantly drawn central characters, realistically gritty modern multi-ethnic northern city setting, superb writing and gripping tension.

I liked that Gus is a youngish, mixed-race detective from a solidly middle-class background, who actually has lovely parents - this makes a big change to the norm in crime fiction. He's down to earth and humble, but defiant in the defence of his rather anarchic team. I look forward to getting to know them through the rest of the series.

The story is pretty bleak, featuring child trafficking and references to sexual abuse and neglect, although thankfully this is not shown, although horrific child cruelty is. The violence is not gratuitous, and is necessary to the plot. There's moderate swearing, minimal sex, and no animal cruelty.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bloodhound Books for the free ARC in exchange for a voluntary honest review. Unquiet Souls was published in 2015 so is available now.

This was a absolutely fantastic book. The characters in this book was so full of descriptions that it felt like I was actually in the story. Gus is a great and strong character that has seen more than he ever anticipated and bargained for. When a murder turns in to one of the biggest trafficking cases what will happen and will they catch the bad guys? Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to write about this.

I always enjoy books set in locations I know well, and as I grew up in Bradford, I loved reading this. DI Gus McGuire is a complex character dealing with a complex crime. I had to concentrate quite hard as the plot was convoluted, but worth the effort. A good start to what I hope is a series.

I wasn't sure about the premise of this book when I first read the description but I thought I give it a go anyway since it had so many good reviews. The story itself is well written, lots of details, lots of characters. Which in lies some of the problem I had. I got so distracted at times with what was going on. It was a very complex story with lots of moving parts, so if I wasn't careful, I found myself having to reread places because I hadn't been focused entirely on the book and I didn't know who was saying what or doing a task. I enjoy detail, but sometimes it can be overwhelming, which is what I found with this book. I like Unquiet Souls, and will probably read more from this author when I have time to really focus in.

Unquiet Souls (a DS Gus McGuire Case book #1)
by Liz Mistry
Bloodhound Books
Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 27 Jul 2016
I am reviewing a copy of Unquiet Souls through Bloodhound Books and Netgalley:


A dead prostitute is found then the discovery of children locked in an attic. DI Gus McGuire is handed the case and must find the connection.


What was believed at first to be a murder turns into something even darker and McGuire finds himself on a world wide manhunt for a twisted Child trafficking ring.



Will Mcguire be able to find who The Matchmaker is, and stop him/her before it’s late?


I give Unquiet Souls four out of five stars!

Apparently I totally missed out on this series, which is a shame. This first book, where we are introduced to Gus, his colleagues, family and friends, is very difficult to put down. The author gives us just enough background information on Gus and the other characters to understand why they behave like the do, and at the same time having the reader want to know more about them.
The story is gruesome at places, but filled with love at others. Very cleverly written and I'm happy Netgalley send me this book.

Excellent book with a great storyline. Characters that are so well written. I would highly recommend this book to anyone!

Can you move on from the past? DI Gus McGuire has been on sick leave after his best friend attacked him and killed his family. Gus is finding it really hard to move forward as he can't forgive himself for not been able to save them. All he wants is to go back to work so that he can do something worthwhile. He is back in the hot seat and his team needs him as they have just come across a case of child trafficking but it is even worse than they thought. There is a group of well connected people that kidnap children from the EU and use them for their evil needs. Can Gus find a young girl that has gone missing before it is too late? As his team start gathering information they find out that this group has been around for many years and they aren't about to stop but will Gus be able to stop them for good? A young girl will find a way to make sure that she is found, she is scared but she won't give up hoping that she will be found. But will they be able to find her before it is too late? Will this be the case that gives Gus his life back? A great thrilling read love Alice & Gus's relationship they work really well together. How many more hits can Gus take? He has awful luck. Hopefully in the next book he will find some peace. I was lucky enough to receive a copy via Netgalley and the publishing house in exchange for my honest review.

I’d like to thank Bloodhound Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Unquiet Souls’ by Liz Mistry in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

The body of a prostitute is found battered to death in a graveyard and when the police go to her home a number of abused and malnourished Eastern European children are found in her attic. DI Gus McGuire of the Bradford CID Violent Crimes Unit is handed the case to help him recover from a tragic personal incident, but he soon discovers that this isn’t going to be the straightforward murder they anticipated. Has ‘The Matchmaker’ together with his sick colleagues moved from Cambridge to Bradford and started up their child trafficking business again? Can they identify ‘The Matchmaker’ before it’s too late?

‘Unquiet Souls’ is a gripping and fast-paced debut novel that introduces DI Angus ‘Gus’ McGuire and his team. It’s been well-written with a complex plot, lots of heart-stopping action, twists and turns, and a tense and nerve-wracking ending. On occasion I thought Gus was a bit slow to pick up on clues that were there in front of him but that’s just me being exacting. Overall it’s a very entertaining thriller and I’ve enjoyed reading it.

A great read that had me hooked from the first page. Had everything that i expect from a good crime story with plenty of twists and turns. I shall certainly be wanting to read more books by this author. Recommended.

My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers. This is my honest review, freely given.

Great start to this police series and I can't wait to read the next one! It handles a difficult topic very well and made me want to keep reading. Enjoyed the police characters, especially Gus.