3 stars

I am not sure how I feel about this book. On one hand it was a good story; the idea was good and it flowed smoothly. On the other hand, however, it was a little confused. By that I mean the people in the story were confused. No one seemed to be very fleshed out or had much depth to them. The characters were superficial.

This book is a little police procedural, a little mystery and has some vague supernatural elements. The killer is however, very real and comes as somewhat of a surprise.

I want to thank Joffe Books and NetGalley or forwarding to me a copy of this book to read and review.

This book was published originally in 1995, and is now being repackaged and republished now. This is a crime thriller set in Norfolk, where in 1975, 10 year old Cassie and her cousin, 12 year old Suzie took a shortcut along an old ancient pathway, the Greenaway, the subject of local folklore and legend, Suzie disappeared, despite a well organised police search for her, and the case remains unsolved. Cassie suffered from lost memories and nightmares, and her mental health remains fragile. 2o years later, Cassie is married to Fergus, and determined to face up to her past as she and her husband, and friends Anna and Simon return to Norfolk. A young girl with an uncanny resemblance to Suzie goes missing at the Greenway. Once again the police launch a frenetic hunt for the missing girl, viewing Cassie as a possible suspect. A retired detective still remembers Suzie and is haunted by the failure to find her, and finds himself offering to help DI Mike Croft find the missing girl. There is an unevenness to the narrative and some of the characters feel markedly underdeveloped. Nevertheless, this is a entertaining and atmospheric crime fiction read,

Cassie is haunted by the disappearance of her cousin Susie, twenty years previously, and unable to remember what happened that day. In a bid to exorcise the ghosts of her past her husband Fergus takes her back to The Greenway.

Another child goes missing, who looks exactly like Suzie. Is it just a coincidence or something else? DI Mike Croft is tasked to investigate.

Having struggled with reading for the last couple of days it was nice to dive into a quick and easy read like this.

The Greenway is a creepy and haunting read with a storyline that really grabbed me from the very beginning.

I love a bit of the otherworldly stuff and I liked the way that folklore, like fairy hills and superstitions, were combined into the storyline giving that extra bit of atmosphere in the book.

I was expecting a psychological thriller but I felt it turned out to be more of a police procedural, which I’m not really annoyed about because Joffe do them so well, it’s just not what I was expecting.

I have to be honest, while the ending was a bit of a surprise, it fell a little flat for me. Also I love a book that highlights mental health but I felt like Cassie’s diagnosis of schizophrenia was more of plot device to explain away her odd behaviour and strange dreams more than anything else.

Overall The Greenway is a quick and atmospheric read with some good twists and turns and a touch of the supernatural.

Unfortunately, ‘The Greenway’ is a 3-star read.

I love a good fork lord, cold case story! And so the premise of ‘The Greenway’ was very appealing to me.

Synopsis: Twenty years ago, Suzie, Cassie’s cousin, disappeared while playing on the Greenway. Without closure or evidence, Suzie’s case remains unsolved and Cassie remains haunted. So, Cassie has decided to confront her fears and return back to Norfolk. Yet, as soon as she returns, another young girl has gone missing and Cassie is under suspicion. Does Cassie have something to do with these disappearances OR is the legend of the Greenway real?

Cool plot right? And for the most part, it was entertaining, but the character development was insufficient. Cassie was the most rounded character. You learn that she’s struggling with mental illness and that plays a heavy part in whether she can even believe her own testimony about these disappearances. But DI Croft was more a fluff character than the protagonist, which I found odd because there is a series stemming from his role.

Also, the writing wasn’t my particular favorite; it often felt like I was reading a stream of consciousness. And the character dialogue was very rigid/formal at times.

Also, for a fork lord story, the supernatural element wasn’t strong enough to be believable.

I thought after Chapter One; this would be a paranormal book; which I do not read. It is a thriller, about children, which I don't usually read either! However, the author does a great job of the twists and turns, to keep you guessing, did he do it? Is there something out there? It goes like this through the entire book, very well done, I usually can imagine by the middle of the book which is guilty, I want to find out why? Get ready; I did not guess right! Very well done! The ending is a stunning surprise!
I highly recommend! Thank you Netgalley, and to the Publisher, you were extremely kind to answer my email! Great new writer for me, with mega potential!
carolintallahassee.com

The Greenway is a path through woodland connecting two areas of open fields, one end leading to a housing estate and the other end near the village by the beach. It provides a shortcut for walkers and leads around what is rumoured to be a fairy hill (often called Tan's Hill, a shortened name for St. Anne's Hill where magical legends and superstitions abound). Twenty years ago youngsters Cassie Junor and her cousin Suzie were late returning home and used the Greenway as a shortcut. Something caused Cassie to black out and when she came to the other girl had simply disappeared. Despite an intense police investigation Suzie remained missing and Cassie could never remember what had happened. Present day Cassie, now married, returns to the area with her husband and two friends determined to lay her ghosts to rest. She has suffered from mental health problems ever since the incident and has received a large amount of treatment to deal with her problems. During her stay another young girl disappears from the same spot in eerily similar circumstances. DI Mike Croft gets the unenviable task of investigating, and is secretly pleased to receive an offer of help from ex DI Ian Tynan, the man who never let up on trying to solve Suzie's case. Naturally Cassie is suspected of some kind of involvement and her strange behaviour does her no favours in the eyes of police and locals alike. But is the evil lurking there human or of a more mysterious nature?
This is a good strong police procedural. It was first published in 1995 and doesn't feel dated apart from little giveaways like lack of mobile phones and people still smoking in the pubs. Croft and Ian were very likeable characters, and the story was well told and flowed nicely, making it extremely easy to read and enjoy. The ending wasn't that easy to guess but it was a good one which made sense of events. A few little mysteries remain unexplained at the end which I think the reader should make their own mind up about. Very enjoyable and I am pleased to see there are another three Mike Croft books already published.

A psychological thriller with more than a touch of the supernatural. I read this book in one sitting reading late into the night. This book was first published in 1995, how did I miss it ? Full of twists and turns, plots within plots and as for the ending WHAM definitely not what I was expecting. A real page turner, got my heart racing and in places chilled me to the bone. I loved this book and almost five stars.
I would like to thank the author, Joffre Books and Netgalley for the advanced copy in return for giving an honest review.

The Greenway is a kind of pathway that connects two large empty fields.

Twenty years ago two little girls took the shortcut home down the Greenway to get home before they gotin trouble for being late. Somewhere along this path, one of them went Poof! and disappeared. The other little girl remembers nothing of what happened.

Cassie is now a married woman, who still has nightmares about what happened to her cousin Suzie. Cassie still hasn't got her entire memory back. Are her nightmares her memory trying to make an appearance?

She and her husband make a trip back to where it all started.

But then ... another young girl goes missing along the Greenway. Cassie becomes a suspect when she has no alibi that can be proven. Is Cassie responsible for these two disappearances ... or is this an evil place, according to folk lore?

What really happened all those years ago ... and what has happened now?

This is an awesome psychological suspense that will keep the reader glued to every single riveting page. There are interesting twists and puzzling turns to follow. The characters are unique and finely drawn. The ending came as quite a surprise.

First published in 1995, it has held up to the test of time and is as "new" now as it was then. There are three additional books to this series. Have no fear .. there was no cliff hanger here.

Many thanks to the author / Jofe Books / Books n All Promotions / Netgalley for the advanced digital copy of this Psychological Drama. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

An edge of your seat story with twists and turns that you can not expect.

Cassie was 10 years old when her cousin disappeared. They were walking along the Greenway and Suzie just...vanished. 20 years later, another girl disappears along the same path and Cassie is the only hope.

This is the first book in a soon to be series of DI Mike Croft. Croft believes that Cassie is innocent while every one else suspect her. On top of all of this, Cassie suffers from various mental illnesses and it does nothing to help her case.

There is the annoying husband of Cassie but is he annoying or does he just know how to handle his sick wife?

This is an exciting book and I look forward to this series from Jane Adams.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The Greenway is Jane Adams's debut psychological thriller, and it's no surprise to me that it has been shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey Award and for the Author's Club Best First Novel Award. It's a fast-paced, well written and blindingly atmospheric read with simmering suspense to keep you progressing. There are twists and turns aplenty and the characters are realistic and believable. The supernatural elements add further mystery and mystique to this page-turner. It's a quick, easy read and perfectly entertaining, although the conclusion left many questions floating around my head.

I did, however, feel that the characters could've been developed more to ensure the reader fully supported them, but the chocolate box British village setting creates a kind of claustrophobia which encompasses the whole novel; that's not an easy feat. First published in 1995 it's stood the test of time and rarely feels outdated in terms of content. I look forward to reading more of this series and learning more about main protagonist DI Mike Croft.

Many thanks to Joffe Books for an ARC.

Cassie Maltham was just ten that August afternoon in 1975 when her cousin Suzie vanished. They had been walking along the Greenway, an ancient sheltered pathway when Suzie had disappeared. Now twenty years later Cassie has returned to try and lay some demons to rest. But now, another young girl has disappeared from the Greenway.

Cassie has been suffering from mental illness, she had been diagnosed with depression and schizophrenia. DI Mike Croft leads the investigation into the missing girl. John Tynan was the Detective who had led the investigation into Suzie's disappearance and comes out of retirement to help in the new investigation. Cassie is the only link into both the girlls disappearance, but do they trust or suspect her? There are twists galore in this page turning read. I was on the edge of my seat whilst reading this book. It's well written and fast paced.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Joffe Books and the author Jane Adams for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I picked this book up randomly and I am glad I did! Great plot, believable characters, and suspenseful. After you read this book, you'll want to read more by her.

Hills that were deditacted to St. Anne by Pope Gregory often end up being called Tan's Hill. In reality they were originally dedicated to Danu - British Fertility Goddess - and often thought to be fairy hills. Cassie returns to one in Norfolk where her cousin disappeared 20 years before, to come to terms with her past. While there another child - who looks very like her cousin - vanishes. DI Mike Croft is given the case and has to sort out the legends from real life. After all there can be no truth in these old pagan legends - can there?

Thoroughly enjoyed the book, magic.

A very British murder mystery. Well, technically is starts with a kidnapping, and then another decades later, but murder mystery is what it ends up being. And that’s what DI Mike Croft ends up solving. This one was originally published some 23 years ago as a start of Mike Croft mystery series. Now Joffe publishers have picked it up, dusted it off, gave it a new snazzy cover and obsequious amounts of praise, the kind that is difficult to believe does anyone any good, because it sets up difficult to meet expectations and here you go. The book, actually, doesn’t read too dated and has all the quaintness of a small town setting that British crime dramas always utilize so well and even some psychological suspense, especially since one of the persons involve is somewhat mentally unstable and makes for a less than reliable witness/suspect. But overall, it’s just ok, it doesn’t especially wow or make you want to read all of Croft’s mysteries immediately, it’s decent, it’s respectably average, but there is nothing outstanding here. Personally, I prefer this type of British crime drama as done by BBC. In fact, those are lovely, I’m quite a fan. In a book form it was perfectly serviceable, it entertained and I enjoyed the supernatural undertones. Definitely more of a procedural than a dark psychological thriller, if you’re into that sort of thing. It read very quickly. Thanks Netgalley.

A taut psychological thriller with supernatural overtones. Two cousins, Cassie and Suzie, are out playing in rural Norfolk when Suzi disappears. Cassie suffers years of psychological stress and returns to the scene to try, finally, to put the episode behind her, with her husband and two friends, 20 years later. Another girl, similar age and looks, disappears while Cassie is visiting. This part of rural Norfolk has a fairy hill and a greenway, or green trod, to invoke the supernatural. The books ably works through the case from both the police and Cassie's perspectives with well described situations and suspense. You do get involved with the characters and they do come to life. There is plenty of depth there but the book remains easy to read. The police side of the whole story comes to a neat and clean end, that of Cassie less so with several threads left hanging - almost just stopping which was frustrating. Did the author hit a deadline, just run out of ideas about the supernatural or was it deliberate that these remained in the air? Excellent book except for this slight frustration.
Thanks to NetGalley and Joffe Books for sending me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Joffe Books for the eARC.
Cassie Maltham and her husband as well as two friends have gone to Norfolk, where twenty years prior Cassie and her cousin took a shortcut through the Greenway, where Cassie had a blackout and her cousin disappeared, never to be found. They're in Norfolk to help Cassie deal with the horror of the incident. She has ever since suffered from nightmares and psychological problems, even doing a stint in a psych ward. While there, a another girl disappears, plunging Cassie into a living nightmare.
The book has an otherworldly slant and is a pretty good read. The ending was a bit disappointing because it's not clear what really happened and why...was it a paranormal event or not? Nevertheless I enjoyed the book, it was an easy, quick read that kept me entertained. Recommended.

I was drawn to this book straight away, because there is a greenway very close to where I grew up, and I always felt that sense of slightly superstitious unease when walking there that comes from old, legend-wreathed things. Jane Adams captured that atmosphere well, I thought, weaving a very human crime with hints of something else. The writing is serviceable, without much in the way of a beautifully turned phrase, but I think that only served to emphasise the underlying unease.

I was slightly disappointed by the ending. Not for the events themselves, but because there were a couple of things left unexplained. I would have liked either a real-world explanation or a firmly supernatural one for those, but instead they were simply left unresolved – which was frustrating.

Nevertheless, I very much enjoyed the book and found it a very quick and easy read.