Thank you NetGalley for the eARC.
This is the 2nd in the Detective Karen Hart series.
An old man is found at the bottom of the stairs of his home and rushed to the hospital. They make a shocking discovery in one of the rooms in the house and Karen are faced with a 30-year old mystery. It proves an almost impossible case to solve: the unsolved disappearance of a teacher and the body they are having analyzed, a daunting task after so much time. Meeting Karen and the team again and getting more of their backstories is one of the reasons I enjoyed the book so much. The mystery is fascinating and the ending tense and exciting. Can't wait for the next book! I recommend this book highly.

You did what you thought was best. A old man has fallen down his stairs and is seriously hurt should be a simple call for the police but everything changes when they find the body in the suitcase. Why does Albert Johnson have a body and did he kill them? DI Scott Morgan and DS Karen Hart have been given the case and this isn't going to be a easy case as the body has been there for many years. Albert the suspect is still in hospital and they have a man waiting to talk to him but he isn't been cooperative so they will just need to be patient. They have found out who the victim is Oliver Fox was 45 when he just disappeared and they will need to find out if Albert killed him. The family isn't too happy about the police poking around in their business but they need to find out who and why Oliver was killed. Things are just about to get harder for the team as the murdered man's brother is a former cop and he wants to be kept abreast of everything but that isn't going to happen. The wife is hiding her head in the sand, the sister in law doesn't believe that her ex lover did anything wrong and the sons have their own problems. Looking into Oliver's background they start putting the pieces together and realize that Oliver wasn't such a good man and that he deserved so much worse for his crimes but they still haven't found the killer. Will they be able to find the killer before they strike again? Can the team put their own problems aside and work this case and get it solved? Karen is missing her family, Scott is dealing with someone from his past that is blackmailing him, Sophie isn't too sure if she still wants to be a cop as she never gets to go out and Rick is dealing with his mother's slow decline.
Can DI Morgan pull them all together to solve this case and put the past to rest?
A good solid read. They are a good team that works well together. Scott is going to be the perfect leader for the group seems like a fair man that admits his mistakes. Hopefully Karen will be able to find someone to share her life with. Sophie might need to change her career as I don't think that she has the right attitude for being a cop. I hope that Rick's mom doesn't have to suffer. I was lucky enough to receive a copy via netgalley & the publishing house in exchange for my honest review.

Another great book in this series. If these books keep being written like this, I'm going to have another new favorite series.

I tried to guess who the killer was numerous times but I honestly wasn't even close.

Well written and exciting. Thank you to NetGalley for my copy.

Thank you to #NetGalley for this ARC of #WhereSecretsLie

This is the second book in the Karen Hart series and it reads well as a stand-alone. Butler does well to provide an adequate background to the characters, making the reader feel comfortable diving right into this novel without having any prior knowledge of the previous storyline.

The plot of this book is complex, weaving through the twists and turns of a murder mystery from the past and that of the present. The narrative is character driven, mainly by that of the book’s main protagonist, DS Karen Hart. Parts of the narrative do stall with time spent on unnecessary details that ultimately circumvent the primary plot. However, while the story is slow to build, and has a few trivial moments where the plot stalls , it does pick up midway through and concludes with that "shock-value" that so many readers of this genre crave. Overall, a good read. 3 stars

I haven’t read book 1 in this series so I can confirm that it reads perfectly well as a stand alone book. What appeared initially to be a cold case enquiry turned out more and more complex as the book progressed. The main character DS Karen Hart was easy company and I rather like that she follows up on her gut reaction to things. I have a minor gripe with the fact that she was referred to as Karen while her boss was always referred to as DI Morgan. That aside, it feels like there should be a few more books to come in this series.

Well written, good characters great plot.
When police attend a routine call to an elderly man who appears to have fallen down stairs they find a skeleton in a suitcase that has clearly been there years. DI Scott Morgan, DS Karen Hart and their team are given the task of finding out who he was and how and why he was killed. They discover it is the body of Oliver Fox a school teacher who has been missing for almost 30 years. As they start to dig onto his past they discover that not only he was having an affair with his wife's sister, he was also accused of abusing some of the boys he taught.
What is the connection between the elderly man and Oliver Fox and how far back does it really go?
When it transpires the old man was actually pushed and the team find he had previously received a threatening note Karen and the team must pull out all the stops find out before anyone else gets hurt.
Just when you think you guessed who did it something happens to quash that theory.

I enjoyed 1st book in series and 2nd book is brilliant very good story and I so enjoy the characters and I enjoy there lives and secrets and the murder enquiry in this is brilliant so recommend cant wait for book 3

A cold case suddenly becomes very hot...

An old man has fallen down the stairs and when the police arrive to check on him at the behest of a concerned neighbor, they are warned not to go upstairs. Intrigued, they investigate and discover a skeltonized body in a suitcase inside a padlocked room. It turns out that this is the body of Oliver Fox who went missing over 30 years previously. In addition, a note is found in the kitchen and reads: "it's time to pay for your crime." The old man, Albert Johnson, succumbs to his injuries before the police get a chance to question him about the body and the note, but he's the obvious suspect when a postmortem exam proves that Oliver Fox was probably murdered. So, the death of Fox is old but the note is new. Have DS Karen Hart and DI Morgan stumbled upon a case that is going to be more complicated than they first imagined? After some investigation, Hart and Morgan discover that Johnson and Fox worked together at Greenhill Secondary School. Was Johson's death an accident or was there foul play involved? Hart and Morgan, along with DCs Jones and Cooper, are pulled into a complex web with an unsolved crime that happened so long ago that it will be difficult to figure out.
NO SPOILERS.

This was an evenly-paced, if somewhat pedantic, police procedural that weaves the past into the present with a connection that presents them with many suspects and strong motives. I hadn't read the first book in the series so the characters were all new to me and I was able to enjoy this without having done so. I can see that Hart is a fairly genre-stereotypical female detective -- she's had a loss, she's on her own, and she's mentally tough. Hart, however, doesn't seem to have a dark side or engage in maverick behaviors at this point -- for which I am glad. I'm tired of damaged female police detectives! I'm a bit wary of a potential romantic development on the horizon as the signs are there. This was easy to read in one setting and though some red herrings are dangled, the revelations didn't come as a big surprise. I liked it well enough that I'm sure I'll try to read the next in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer Publishers for the e-book ARC to read and review.

I have really enjoyed reading this book it certainly grips you with the plot and i was happy to read that i had the killer sussed.D S Butler certainly writes a brilliant book.When police are called to the home of an elderly man by a worried neighbour they are about to make a discovery that will have the team racing against time to stop a killer.If you want to read a good book then i can highly recommend this one.Well worth 5*

This book was a little hard to read at first. The characters felt flat or incomplete, not sure how to explain. The story seemed shaky in the beginning and for the first half of the book it was unable to keep me interested. The second half was much better. I found mysel quite intrigued. Oliver Fox, missing 30 years, turns up as a skeleton in a suitcase. There’s a sizable cast of suspects. Some are easy to rule out. The why of Oliver’s death is fairly simple to deduce but the who and how is the main mystery. I found myself amused with the comical actions of Albert in the hospital. He reminded me of someone but can’t recall who it is. As the suspects beganto dwindle and more secrets were revealed the main characters became more lifelike. In the end this book earned its fourth star for the different angle taken for the big reveal. Well done.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of Where Secrets Lie, the second novel to feature DS Karen Hart of the Lincolnshire police.

When Albert Johnson falls downstairs the police break in to rescue them but he isn’t happy to see them and forbids them from going upstairs. When they do they find a skeletonised corpse in a suitcase in a padlocked room but what seems like a straightforward case takes a few turns when the investigation gets underway.

I thoroughly enjoyed Where Secrets Lie which takes a simple premise and adds many layers, turning it into an exciting whodunnit. I was hooked from start to finish because the reader knows, although the police don’t that there are two killers to find, one from the thirty year old cold case and one from the present day. I didn’t have a clue in either, found myself slavishly following the crumbs Ms Butler provides and still couldn’t work it out. It’s good stuff although I find the writing style a touch tedious as the author tends to over explain and ram things home.

I like the main protagonist DS Karen Hart who has sorrow in her life but gradually seems to be coming to terms with it. It adds empathy to her strong investigative skills and clear thinking, making her almost the complete detective. The story of her blind date is amusing but I sense her interest may lie in her boss, DI Scott Morgan, with whom she is building a good rapport. He is another good detective with a strong streak of decency which comes to light in this novel.

Where Secrets Lie is a better book than its predecessor so I have no hesitation in recommending it as a good read.

I like Karen. She's flawed, but honest, and she knows her way around a mystery! This is book 2 in the series, and it's just as great as the first. it does pick up after it, but enough background is given, that the reader can read this book as a stand alone. you read enough police procedurals, you tend to pick up themes, and they can run together. But Butler does a good job in keeping this book fresh from the field by letting the tangled web of lies show itself, a la Agatha, and then show how each step of the way as she unravels a bit Hart stumbles upon an even deeper web. It's a quick read that will have you rapidly turning pages,and a great entry for the last mystery of the year!

I’d like to thank Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Where Secrets Lie’, second in the DS Karen Hart series written by D S Butler, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

The police are called to check on the well-being of Albert Johnson and find him lying at the bottom of his stairs. They become suspicious when he says they’re not to go upstairs but curiosity gets the better of them. They enter a padlocked bedroom and discover a suitcase containing a decomposed human skeleton and a recent A4 sheet of paper on which is written ‘It’s time to pay for your crime’. DS Karen Hart and DI Scott Morgan are asked to investigate and evidence leads them to believe the body belongs to teacher Oliver Fox who disappeared in 1988 but what they consider to be a cold case becomes anything but when discover there were rumours about Oliver and his liking for young boys.

‘Where Secrets Lie’ is a worthy sequel to the first in the Karen Hart series and just as gripping. It has an interesting and complex storyline with a fast-paced plot, twists and turns, several suspects and likeable characters who I feel I’m getting to know better. We learn more about Karen’s private life, the reason for Scott Morgan’s relocation to Lincoln, Rick Cooper’s concern about his mother and Sophie Jones’ desire to buy her own home. It concludes with a final twist which kept me enthralled and although it’s a two-book series one can always hope that D S Butler decides to write a third.

Easily enjoyable book, good storyline, well written, I thoroughly enjoyed this, kept me guessing till the end, kept me awake as I couldn't put it down

Having never read any previous titles in the series I was a little worried I wouldn’t understand the main character, but it was needless; this book can easily be read as a stand alone, although I shall be looking out for the others. The characters were realistic, as were the relationships between them. The story had s9me great twists to it. I would highly recommend this book.

This is the second in the DS Butler series and i am loving it.
A body is found in a suitcase in the bedroom of an old man. The remains are over thirty years old. This thirty year old cold case is about to become very current. Some one is on the rampage and killing but WHY ? What have these new murders got to do with this cold case ?
My god there are so many suspects and red herrings in this book. A real page turner and the climax WOW!!! I had no idea who the killer was until they were revealed. I read this book in one sitting, i just had to keep on reading. This series is turning out to be very good. Can't wait to read the next in this exciting crime series. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
I would like to thank the author, Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for the ARC of this book in return for giving an honest review.

I found out after I began reading this that it is the second in the series. That didn't make it at all difficult to follow, I just really want to read the first book in the series now.

A man is thrown from his balcony and a body is found in a suitcase. We spend our time together finding out how those two things are connected. There are many kinds of police procedurals. They really are not all the same. Some are overly slow building and often have lulls in the middle. Some are just one thing after another. The former is far more realistic, the latter being ridiculous at times. This one falls in the middle. You do get the drudgery of police work, but it isn't drawn out. Everything that happens adds to the story, including character development. Sometimes the home lives of the characters feels completely separate from the actual mystery or crime being solved. This book also avoids the pitfalls of those stories that make huge jumps, have characters making stupid decisions that miraculously work out, or ending in an unbelievable coincidence.

The entire story was fresh and though-provoking. I look forward to reading the first book in the series and future books as the are released.

This is an excellent novel with well drawn characters and realistic emotions covering more than just the crimes themselves. It tied up almost all the loose ends in a most satisfying way and I wonder if the one unresolved issue will feature in a third outing for DS Hart and her colleagues.

The four main police officers work well, together but are also shown individually so as to include their private lives which creep into the case just enough to be a distraction to them getting the job done. Although this is the second book in the series and the first crime does get a mention there are no spoilers and nothing is lost by not having started at the beginning which was my situation.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book in return for an unbiased review thanks to Netgalley and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good police procedure which is well written and exciting without going over the top at any time although the body count was quite high! I will definitely be looking out for the next in the series.

Where secrets Lie is a good read! Karen and team work will together and keep things moving along. D. S, Butler thankfully did not go the typical way of over describing the gory details of the murder.

Thank you to Net Galley, the publisher and author for my ARC. I really enjoyed this second book in the new series featuring Detective Karen Hart. It was well written with plenty twists and surprises, a good story line as well as more details on the background of the main characters. I would rate this book better than the first in the series and well worth reading. I look forward to reading more in this series. Reviews on Goodreads and Facebook.