The second book I have read with Karen Hart and I found this one just as enjoyable, and looking forward to more from this author. Love the setting in Lincolnshire, DS Butler brings the characters to life and the story unfolds in surprising ways. A good read, would recommend to everyone.

An easy read as crime thrillers go but none the worse for that. The police team are engaging - you care more about them than the crime players - and again that's a good thing and has left me keen for book 3 and seeing how they develop. As a bonus, you get a good insight to how police work works and how following through on the mundane and the random can eventually turn up the small key they need.

Where Secrets Lie by DS Butler is a suspenseful thrill ride of a novel that pulls the reader in immediately and does not let go. This is a gripping police procedural that hits all of the right notes and will surely delight fans of the genre.

The novel's prologue introduces us to James, an alcoholic who is thrown off his own balcony by someone he is clearly well acquainted with, thereby setting the stage for the rest of the narrative. The surprises keep coming.

The novel opens as police are called to investigate a call from a concerned neighbour who suspects that the elderly man next door is in some type of distress. Upon finding the man conscious, presumably following a fall down the stairs, police are suspicious when the man tells them to not go upstairs. Further investigation leads the officers to the discovery of a body in an old suitcase. Immediately following this grisly find, police find a note, ominously stating, "It's time to pay for your crimes." The body is old, the note is not.

Once the remains are identified as Oliver Fox, a former teacher who was reported missing in 1988, the case takes on a duality of timelines. Are the police now looking for two killers?

This is a brilliant novel, and I was immediately drawn to the central character of DS Karen Hart. I was not aware that this was the second installment of a series featuring DS Hart. I am anxious to read the first novel of the series, and I am delighted to find a new author to follow in DS Butler.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK, Thomas & Mercer for this fabulous ARC.

A very enjoyable read! I was very interested in getting my hands on this one after I read the blurb and I am pleased to say that I was not let down.

The story is written very well and the characters are interesting and jump off the page. I would recommend this read!

Secrets always have a way of coming to light, most times with unintended consequences. When an emergency call for a welfare check for elderly Bert Johnson comes in, no one expects it to lead to the discovery of a mummified body in a suitcase. Nor did anyone expect it would lead to a trail of murders and a tie to a crime from 30 years ago. This story involved many characters all with ties connected to this case and to other threads that affect the characters lives outside the story. I found this to be a well written mystery with thoughtful characters I want to learn more about.

very enjoyable book to read. Storyline was easy to follow and kept you guessing to tge end. Never imagined how the book would end. Look forward to reading more from this author.

Now this is more like it! I was so disappointed in the first book in this series, Bring Them Home. In this installment, Detective Sergeant Karen Hart is much more believable as a seasoned member of a police force. She is methodical and professional as she and the other three detectives confront a 30-year-old cold case that generates quite a lot of current-day activity.

DS Hart works with Detective Inspector Scott Morgan and two detective constables in largely rural Lincolnshire. The author does a good job on the character studies of victims, suspects and police personnel, past and present. I appreciated the steady pacing, where I was puzzling out clues and making discoveries right along with Hart and Morgan.

It was interesting to see DS Hart taking such a mentorship role with the two DCs -- particularly since she herself had seemed in such need of mentoring in the earlier book.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance readers copy of this book.

Are you looking for an excellent police procedural whodunnit? If so, I highly recommend this book.

Police find an elderly man lying at the foot of his stairs while doing a welfare check. He tells them not to go into a certain room in the house. So what does police do? They go into the room and they discover a corpse in a suitcase. This opens up all sorts of questions...Who is the corpse? How did the old man drag the suitcase out of his attic? How did the corpse get there in the first place?

This captivating novel takes the reader step- by -step through a police investigation and how it is handled from beginning to end. . So many threads are open as clues are developed, but the author closes them expertly. I was impressed with the amount of research that went into the police process...it made it so realistic.

The main protagonist Karen has suffered great loss in her life but she proves to be an excellent investigator working along with her team. Secondary characters play a heavy part in this book. Sometimes it is difficult to ascertain who is actually speaking at times, but overall character development was good.

The story was fast paced and keeps the reader engaged until the unexpected ending. I did not read the first book of the series, but had no difficulty understanding what was going on.

I highly recommend this book.

An old man falls down the stairs and the first officers on the scene find a body in a suitcase in a bedroom. DS Hart, her boss DI Morgan and DCs Jones and Cooper have to investigate a 30 year old murder.

This is a well written police procedural. The book deals with the sensitive subject of historic child abuse, which is sensitively handled and doesn’t go into detail. Throughout the book I suspected one character after another but Ms Butler had me fooled till the end. The police characters were all likeable, especially DS Hart, and it will be great to see how things develop for them in further books. I feel that there may be some romantic involvement between Karen and her boss in the future!

Although this is the second book in the series, it is my first encounter with DS Karen Hart, and it reads well as a standalone, although I will now be reading Book 1.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

D.S. Butlers Where Secret Lie is a fantastic thriller which sucks you in from the very start. After finding a decades old corpse in the upstairs of an older mans home, the police force must figure out who it is and how it got there. Set in a town outside of London this story does a phenomenal job of hooking the reading and developing a linear story; with some twists and turns. The only con of this book is the character development. Character development is somewhat random and does not add to or advance this story. Overall I found this book to be sensational and felt this author did a great job of dealing with sensitive subject matter and development of suspense!

I really enjoyed this book. It is a fast paced and had plenty of action in it. When a suitcase containing a dead body is found in an attic it leads to the solving of a 30 year old murder. I liked the characters in this book and their stories. I like being able to imagine people and their surroundings and feel empathy for them.

An elderly man is found at the bottom of his stairs after a neighbour raised the alarm. Not something the would usually overly concern the police- unless they happen to find a very dead body in a suitcase in the man's bedroom! There is also what could be classed as a threatening note in the house.

The body was killed by a blow to the head forty years ago. He had been a teacher at a local high school where the old man was once Headmaster. He was also the brother of a retired high up policeman who instantly makes life difficult for DI Morgan & DS Karen Hart & their two DCs.

This is the second in a series. I missed the first one but that didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book. I really warmed to the police team. I liked the way the author gave insights into their characters & lives without making it seem contrived.

There were lots of twists. Early on I was quite convinced I knew the solution- I was wrong! This was a great read & I'm really looking forward to reading the next in the series, Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book Netgalley.

This is a story about DS Karen Hart, her and her team are investigating a body that has been found in a suitcase. It's been there for a long time, but someone knows who is responsible and they are going after the people involved.

I really enjoyed this, it's very well written and I read it quickly because I was desperate to find out who was responsible.

Fast paced, with great characters I would recommend this to anyone who likes crime and thrillers.

The author wrote a thriller that started with a bang and just kept going! The twists kept coming, so I couldn't put it down. I cannot wait to read more from this author!

Where Secrets Lie, the second novel in the Detective Karen Hart series, is a fascinating, multi-layered whodunit, and right from the beginning I enjoyed the dual storyline; both the cold case that suddenly heats up again thirty years later and the present day crime means there are two different killers to identify, convict and imprison. Butler manages to fool this seasoned crime reader for the duration as it didn't matter how far I read into the story the killers were well hidden. This led to unpredictability when the conclusion arrived after the captivating twists, turns and tension. I enjoyed it more than the previous book and appreciated Ms Hart as an astute and intelligent investigator. She is empathetic and emotionally strong and a force to be reckoned with.

This is a fast-paced and gripping novel that is refreshingly real and the characters flawed and human. Although I had the pleasure to read the predecessor, this works perfectly as a standalone too. I am already looking forward to seeing how things evolve, so roll on the next instalment.

Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer for an ARC.

I really liked this story, even without reading the first book. It kept me guessing! I plan on going to read the first book now!

Where Secrets Lie by DS Butler is the 2nd in the Detective Karen Hart Series

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Thomas & Mercer, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Series Background (Warning – May contain spoilers from previous books):
DS Karen Hart lost her husband Josh and her daughter Tilly in a car accident. Years later, she struggles to move on, living in the same large house, afraid to move lest her memories of them weaken. She pours her energy into her work. Hart, who relies heavily on her instincts and hunches, has a new boss, DI Scott Morgan, who takes a very logical/fact-based approach to the job (and his life), leaving little room for emotional thoughts. Hart is trying to keep her own emotions in line, while also trying to keep her constables reigned in. DC Sophie Jones is fairly new, and ambitious. DC Rick Cooper is more experienced but dealing with an aging mother. The two constables are constantly bickering.

My Synopsis:
When elderly Albert Johnson takes a fall in his home, the police find, in an upstairs bedroom, the skeletal remains of a body in a suitcase. It is quickly determined that the bones belong to the missing Oliver Fox. He has not been seen for 30 years.

Fox’s family are not exactly forthcoming with information, and his brother is making things worse. Attempting to solve this cold case is further complicated by the fact that the witnesses the team try to interview keep turning up dead. This is no longer a cold case but an active murder investigation.

Meanwhile, Karen’s sister tries to set her up on a blind date, Sophie is thinking about a career change, Rick is trying to understand his mother’s dementia, and DI Morgan’s past is about to become public knowledge.

My Opinions:
This series is getting very good. These books are an easy read, and although I thought the last book moved slowly, this one did not. The pace was good, and there was enough going on that you were never bored.

The characters are getting deeper as we learn their pasts, and we see that they are now becoming a team. The author is slowly building a family of the four detectives, and she is doing a good job.

I m looking forward to the next book!

Old men, an old corpse, old secrets = a cold case for the Linconshire, England police detectives. Who is trying to expose old secrets and who is trying to hide them, and who is lying?

If you are a fan of UK police mysteries, this might be the new book you are looking for. After reading "Where Secrets Lie", you'll likely agree that hiding the truth never truly solves anything and actually makes life worse. Well written with a swift, easy yo read pace, this pre-pub release would have been on my "purchase" list. I'll look for more by this author.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

Where Secrets Lie is the second book in the DS Karen Hart series.

The book began with the death of website designer James Hunter. James was a recovering alcoholic who fell off the wagon after two years. During a drinking binge James told a friend from his AA group a secret he had kept for hidden for years. Later James stood on the balcony of his luxury flat and he was thrown over the balcony by his companion.

SIx months later the police were contacted by the neighbour of retired headmaster Albert (Bert) Johnson. She had not seen Bert that morning and called the police when she heard groans coming from behind his front door.

Bert was angry the police were in his house and told them not to go upstairs. Intrigued the officers went to Bert`s bedroom and found a suitcase containing a dead body. In Bert`s home they find a recent letter saying its time to pay for your crime.

Kate and her boss DI Scott Morgan soon discovered the body was Oliver Fox who had gone missing thirty years earlier. Oliver was a teacher at Bert`s school.

Detective Constables Rick and Sophie discovered an allegation of child abuse was made against Oliver. However his older brother was a senior policeman who managed to bury the allegations.

Bert had a heart attack once he was admitted to hospital. Before he died he told Rick it was not an accident and he had been pushed downstairs.

When another colleague of Bert and Oliver is viciously murdered. Karen and the team have to solve a cold case with links to a more recent murder.

Meanwhile Karen is persuaded to go on a blind date which goes wrong. Scott is blackmailed by his ex boss and Sophie is not sure if policework is her true vocation.

Where Secrets Lie was a good solid police procedural. I read the first Karen Hart book and it was like meeting old friends.

I was intrigued by the plot from the beginning and found it hard to put down. As well as the crime I also enjoy reading about the teams home lives . I like Karen who is a good officer, but uses her job to hide her grief.

I recommend this book and can't wait to read Karen`s next investigation.

I really enjoyed his book. It is a fast paced drama with plenty of action in it. When a suitcase containing a dead body is found in an attic it leads to the solving of a 30 year old murder. I liked the characters in this book and their stories. I like being able to imagine peple and their surroundings and feel empathy for them.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.