It took me a little while to get into this book as it’s a bit slow going. I was determined to persevere as I was interested in the story line and wanted to see how it ended. I’m glad I did as it was a cracker of an ending that I hadn’t seen coming.
The story starts with a mother and her children, a daughter and a new born baby. The baby disappears and their lives change forever.  Fast forward to Iris Locke who is struggling to break into the Murder department of the Gardai. She’s given a chance, but it’s in her father’s old station and she’s conscious of being in his shadow and working with his old colleagues.  However, she finds her place and they investigate a suspicious fire which killed a mother and her two young children. 
The investigation reveals more station secrets and lies and eventually leads to Iris’ life unraveling before her eyes.
I’m looking forward to the next book to see where Iris goes from here.

I wasn’t too keen on the first half of this book. It was a bit slow going and it just didn’t keep me engaged. However, the ending definitely made up for it. I had no idea what was coming. Looking back there were hints but nothing obvious enough to ruin the reveal and boy was it a reveal. I also wasn’t sure about the main characters, especially Iris and Slattery, at the start but after getting to know them better and reading more of their personal lives they definitely grew on me. 

I am excited to have a new series to add to my collection and I look forward to any future Iris Locke books. I will definitely be picking them up. I need more of them in my life. 

I received a copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review

Ambitious and determined, Anna Crowe has served her share of long hours on the force, but her protective father is still worried that his daughter will be dragged into the dark circumstances he was himself, as a detective.

A murder takes place many years after the strange disappearance of the victim's infant sister, and it becomes clear that the cases are connected. 

The first in an exciting new series by Geraldine Hogan offers a tense story with lots of plot twists and character building. The Iris Locke books promise a rich series for thriller fans to sink  their teeth into.

Iris Locke has always wanted to work on The Murder Squad. However, Limerick's Murder Squad was not what she had in mind- she really didn't want to work in the same place her retired father had been so successful! However it seemed a least a foot in the door.

A mother & her two children are found dead in a burned out house. It is not the fist time her family have been part of a tragedy. her baby sister was snatched from her pram & never found. Iris had briefly met the mother & this made her even more determined to find out what had happened. Was their a connection with the long ago abduction?

Iris becomes totally involved with the case, trying to get to know her new colleagues, trying to understand Slattery who seems fixed on self destruction & wondering why her father is so against her working this case.

This is a great start to a new police procedural series & I look forward to reading more. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

Twenty-five years ago, while Anna Fairley  was helping her mother peg out clothes on the line, Anna’s baby sister Janey, was taken from her pram in the front garden of their cottage. The case of the missing baby girl was never solved, though those working the case at the time had their suspicions…

Jump forward to the present and DS Iris Locke is working back in Limerick after a year spent undercover in Dublin. Not her ideal location because working here, in her hometown, puts her in the long and distinguished shadow of Police Superintendent Jack Locke, her retired father.

When a gruesome and senseless murder gives Iris the opportunity to work in the Murder Squad, she is taken into the team as they are under staffed.

The murder of Anna Crowe and her two small children is seemingly without motive… yet Iris Locke can’t seem to shake the gut feeling that the fact that the victim was formerly Anna Fairley, the big sister in the Baby Fairley case, is just too much of a coincidence.

However, the Baby Fairley case was led by her father and folk around here were loathe to make the connection on that basis alone.

“If he couldn’t solve it, he sure as hell wouldn’t want anyone else coming along and pulling his work apart, pulling his memories apart, pulling his reputation apart. Iris knew that no one would want to discredit her father; no one would want to upset the old man.”


The Corbally Murder Team:

D.S. Iris Locke – Twenty-nine years old and a born policewoman. Single, she is devoted to her career and has always wanted to follow in her esteemed father’s footsteps.

D.S. Ben Slatterey – A fifty-something, cynical, ‘old school’ copper who is devoted to the job in equal measure to his devotion to drink. His two obsessions has alienated him from his wife and daughter. He gets on Iris’s nerves, yet she holds a grudging respect for his work and connections.

D.C. June Quinn – a diligent officer and a widow. She now tries to ‘look out’ for Ben Slatterey, though she tries to do this unobtrusively…

D.C. Dennis Blake – the bookman of the team who organizes and correlates the various reports of any given case.

D.I. Coleman Grady – a remote and solitary man. A perfectionist, he oversees his team with a keen eye. Respectful of everyone on his team, Grady seems to have a soft spot for the errant D.S. Slatterey. Also, Grady seems to have an interesting ‘back story’ which I hope will be revealed in future books.

Superintendent Anita Cullen – new to the Corbally station, she has ‘history’ with Ben Slatterley that will make Ben’s position on the team tenuous at best.

“This was Ireland and still cronyism and cover-up went much further that fact or truth.”

MY THOUGHTS

It is a rare treat when a police procedural series debut ‘ticks all the boxes‘. I can confidently say that “Her Sister’s Bones” definitely met all my requirements in a crime novel.

I loved that the author introduced each of the Murder Team in such a way that the reader gets to connect with them all and wants to learn more about them.

The Limerick location, the outstanding characterization and the well executed plot all came together in a package that most readers of the genre will love.

One thing is for sure, I’ll be the first to pick up the second installment in what promises to be a stellar series. Can’t wait for DS Iris Locke’s next foray in the Limerick crime fighting scene. 

Very highly recommended!

When Detective Iris Locke is assigned to a case in Limerick is isn’t the ideal place she was hoping for but jobs in the murder squad don’t come easy. Limerick is where her father worked for 40 years until he retired.
The case is about a burnt down house with three occupants a mother & her two children they where also found with gunshot wound to their heads. The woman is called Anna Crowe but was Anna Fairley 30 years ago her sister was kidnapped was this to do with the murders or is it just a coincidence . Iris digs deeper into finding out what’s happened but opens many old wounds and secrets. 
Thanks Netgalley

This book was fast paced. Hard to put down. It flowed well and it was very well written. It caught hold of me and had me hooked from the start . I was literally on the edge of my seat reading this book.

An interesting new team of detectives,set in Ireland..A good mix of characters.
The story itself was complex but I figured out quite early the bid secret. I look forward to more.

Had this book not had such a clever twist at the end I would be judging it more harshly. For the most part I found it a little slow with several chapters in which nothing much happens. Having said that I will probably look out for the next book if only to find out more about one of the detectives.

We have a new Detective Iris Locke that has came to Limerick to fill in a position.  She is teamed up with a Detective Ben Slattery that has been on the job for years.  They have a case of a mother and her two children murdered and then the house torched.  There is a coincidence that the mother's baby sister was stolen from the family years ago and never found.  The question is are the two cases linked in some way.  Iris Locke butts heads with the oldie Ben Slattery but she comes to learn that he is devoted to his job.  
This is a new series that I expect to have lots of others books to read.  I think the differences between the team makes them hold together better because they are both the odd man out.

I did not become invested in the story until midway through the novel. The plot seemed to pick up more towards the end. Until then I felt distanced from what was happening and to those characters it was happening to. Some of the text also felt a little over-explanatory. Crime readers are used to certain terms and how an investigation tends to occur. For this reason this debut novel is a four-star read to me, but I look forward to reading more from this author.

This is the first in a promising new series to feature Detective Iris Locke. Set in Limerick, where her dad was also a detective, Iris is involved in the murder of a young woman and her two children. .With a very clever story, beautiful descriptions and a believable plot and characters, this is set to be a winner. I am grateful to Net Galley for my ARC.Reviewed on Goodreads, Amazon and Kindle.

As I so rarely visit my dark side, I’m not going to focus so much on the story and its appeal, but on the strength of the writing. And I think the best place to start is with the characterisation, which is quite tremendous.

Iris herself is a bit of a loner, rather buttoned up, reluctantly joining the murder team in Limerick: her reluctance is largely because of the shadow of her father, a long serving officer there himself, something of a legend, now retired and spending his days on the golf course. I liked her a lot, with her distinct abrasiveness, trying to keep her distance and maintain her professional front.

But every character in this book has a depth and three dimensions, and the joy of this book for me was in their interactions and back stories. Grady’s very intriguing – a bit enigmatic, a few secrets to explore in later books there, with umpteen sides to his personality – and I liked the softness he was capable of when it was called for.

And then there’s Slattery: he’s not just close to the line but frequently crosses it, a bad boy and a bit of a dinosaur. But he also has a home life full of complications and a touch of sadness, and I found that very touching and some small excuse for his behaviour: by the story’s end, I was cheering for him from the sidelines. The supporting cast at the station is excellent too, every individual well drawn, from the young and enthusiastic to the ones who’ve seen it all.

I won’t neglect the story altogether though, because it’s excellent – an investigation into the murder of a mother and two children, which might have links (but might not) with the shocking disappearance of a child many years before, tantalisingly glimpsed in the prologue. The pace of the story is steady – there’s a degree of police procedure, diversions into the lives of the main characters – but interspersed with those moments when Iris places herself at real risk, when you want to shout “don’t do it” and “look behind you” but she does it anyway and you have your heart in your mouth. The ending is quite stunning, and has all the more impact because it comes from left field a little – and that really works so very well.

I know there’s a tremendous appetite for regionally based crime, but I don’t think I’ve read any Irish based crime before: the Limerick setting is vividly drawn, the streets and the surroundings (and the pubs) becoming familiar as the story progresses.

I’ve mentioned that the pace is steady – but I think that’s what the story and its telling needed, establishing its strong characters and the context for future books, with a few hints of how the relationships between them might develop. A TV series of the future, maybe? I can certainly see the potential…!

Iris Locke's last undercover case had disastrous results and now her career has stalled. Iris longs to be a homicide detective in Dublin, but is assigned to a small squad in Limerick. This is the same station from which her father retired and Iris doesn't want to be in in his shadow. She is assigned to help on a murder case which she hopes could get her career back on track, if it doesn't kill her first.

I really enjoyed this book, which is part police procedural, part thriller. The current case Iris is working on seems to have ties to a missing person's case from years ago. When Iris runs into obstacles whenever she asks questions about the old case, she becomes even more determined that somehow the old missing persons case is related to the current murder. I enjoyed getting to know Iris and the other members of her new squad. Some of the characters are easier to like than other, but I like that none of them are perfect and instead have good sides as well as flaws. 

The book has some slow parts and a few things were confusing as I was reading. However, overall, I really enjoyed the book and was glad to see it is described as #1, so am looking forward to additional books in the series. I read a lot of thrillers, but can truly say I was shocked by the revelations at the end. I have rated the book 4.5 stars and rounded up to 5 because of that unexpected ending which took me completely by surprise. I liked how things ended and look forward to the next book in the series.

I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of Bookouture. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyed the first book in the Corbally Crime series.  I felt like I instantly knew the characters.  Excellent plot that kept me guessing until the very end !

Silent Night by Geraldine Hogan had all of the ingredients for a stunning police procedural and then some! This first book of the Detective Iris Locke series included an intelligent, determined but flawed detective, an atmospheric setting, realistic and believable characters and several unexpected twists in the engrossing, poignant and soul-stirring case they were investigating. The close was both satisfying and surprising. I am already looking forward to the next instalment in what, I think, promises to be a stunning series!

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Bookouture via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

This is a new series featuring Detective Iris Locke.

Up until now Iris has been working on undercover cases but she desperately wants to work for a murder team.  When a temporary vacancy comes up in Limerick, she is reluctant to take it at first as her father was a retired superintendent there, but the case is a strong draw and it appears she has a link to the murder victim.

This was a great start to a new detective series and I liked very much the way the story slowly unfolded.

I look forward to reading more about Iris, I think she could be a fascinating character, especially after discovering who she really is.

Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for giving me an arc of this book and the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review.

Though she grew up there, Limerick wasn’t the first place where Detective Iris Locke wanted to work. However, Murder Squad jobs don’t come around often, and the case itself … well, it’s too tempting to pass up. Initially thought to have died in a fire in her countryside home, closer inspection reveals Anna Crowe was actually shot. Iris is drawn to Anna not only because they had briefly met, but also because her sister was the subject of an unsolved kidnapping case from thirty years prior. To solve the murder, Iris must solve the kidnapping, even if digging up old bones uncovers secrets that threaten everything in her professional and personal worlds.

Crafty twists and a clever hook makes Silent Night a refreshing police procedural. Author Geraldine Hogan has tossed aside cheap gimmicks in favor of a solid mystery and character-driven action. From the opening scenes of Iris descending on her new job in Limerick to the final reveal as everything comes clashing to a close, Hogan meticulously layers atmospheric tension with genuine surprises.

Does this sound like an awful lot of praise being heaped? It should.

A large part of Silent Night’s success relies on Iris herself. From the start, she’s at a crossroads. She understands what she wants: to be part of a Murder Squad. But as her own father is a bit of a legend in Limerick, Iris would prefer a jurisdiction like Dublin Castle. This provides ample friction as Iris struggles against being cast as a nepotism hire while also being pulled into a case that forces her to examine a past where her father looms large. Ultimately, Hogan has infused her with a vulnerable strength that’s hard not to root for.

With such a compelling main character, it’s almost an embarrassment of riches that she’s backed up be an eclectic supporting cast who help her navigate a complicated case. Her partner, Slattery, acts as a gruff foil while never skewing into cartoonish territory. And the suspects themselves lead Iris and Slattery on a wild chase, through strained interviews and plenty of secrets. While this could have led to an obvious ending, the close is both satisfying and surprising.

Solid characters, an engrossing case, and cleverly plotted reveals make Silent Night a fantastic start to a new series.

You may be sitting there thinking to yourself, 'this name sounds familiar', and you would be right. Geraldine Hogan, as a lot of you may already know, has written contemporary novels under the name of Faith Hogan. When I found out that she would be writing a crime novel, I was a little apprehensive as her other books are deeply moving, emotive, dynamic reads, and I just wasn't sure.

'Silent Night' is the first book in a brand new series which follows Detective Iris Locke's policing journey into the Murder team, and she is certainly thrown into the deep end with her first investigation!

I wasn't taken by the storyline at first, I'll be honest. There was a lot of information up in the air, with the storyline to-ing and fro-ing between the characters without first making sense of what had already been written. I didn't really like the feeling of mismatch, but I tried to keep an open mind.

Thankfully the last 40 percent of the book completely turned my opinion around. I was shocked by the difference as it felt like I was reading a completely different story than the one I had started with. Perhaps Geraldine Hogan grew in confidence towards the end of the book, who knows, but I was so pleased by the strength of the latter chapters.

Iris Locke is such an intriguing character, and I can just tell that there is a lot more to her colleagues that meets the eye. I am rather looking forward to finding all of that out, that's for sure.

The concept of missing child, devastating secrets, and murder, was such a compulsive and gripping mixture which, by the end of the book, had my pulse racing. I did not expect the turn of events, and I certainly did not expect my opinion of the book to change so drastically, but it did.

Geraldine Hogan has taken a promising step into the crime fiction genre, and I am looking forward to see where it takes her next

After I graduated from the Trixie Belden and the Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators mystery series for kids, I moved onto Dame Agatha. I raced through her novels, eager to reach the climax where Hercule Poirot reveals all. Re-reading her books as an adult, I was annoyed by Christie’s tendency to withhold key evidence until that final reveal. I like to have the chance to solve the mystery myself. With American and U.K. crime writers being equally popular on the New York Times bestseller lists, I find it interesting to compare and contrast European writers to American ones. Perhaps the desire to solve the mystery herself is unique to American readers.

British publisher Bookouture has released Irish author Geraldine Hogan’s first crime novel, Silent Night, which is the first book in her Detective Iris Locke series. With its Irish setting, police detective protagonist, and gut-wrenching crimes, Silent Night strongly reminded me of a Tara French novel. The book has a strong premise and a shocking resolution, but the middle is a little slow.

Read the rest of my review by clicking on the link below.