I’ve been a big fan of the Lottie Parker series since the first book. But the last book wasn’t as strong as the prior ones. So, I was anxious to see how I felt about this one.

It starts fast and furious. Two women are found dead, both in wedding dresses. They look like suicides but appearances can be deceiving. And then the young daughter of one of the women is missing.

We’re given lots of potential suspects. In fact, with every chapter, my mind lit onto another potential murderer. We hear from the murderer, but only his remembrances of his early years.

And Lottie has her hands full. Her staff are letting her down, her boss is on her back expecting miracles, Boyd is keeping something from her and her kids are acting out. Her stress literally palpated off the page. At times, I found her incredibly infuriating, she was so dense. But she always feels very real. Gibney’s strength is in her character development.

Parts of this book didn’t ring true. My thoughts would be that a missing child would trump murder investigations, but for much of the book, the search for the child seemed to take back stage to the murders.

My thanks to netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of this book.

Detective Lottie Parker is back again. .. book 7 in a series that is still going mighty strong. Returning to Lottie and her team is always something to look forward to and this book did not disappoint. Lottie and her family have been through a lot throughout this series and book 7 is no different.

This is a complex case for the team, with a lot going on with a lot of different characters. It keeps you guessing right up until the big reveal. There are women in wedding dresses in suspected suicides, a missing child and links to older cases. How does it all link up? Where is the little girl and who has taken her? Why is there tufts of hair missing? Who is terrorising this village.? Lottie knows that there I see more going on than meets the eye but how far will she take it?

Another great instalment. Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased

This series just gets better and better. When you think that Lottie Parker has faced everything possible, new dangers and challenges pop up! Her children, her mother, her boyfriend Boyd and her work all conspire to thwart her, and that tempting bottle of wine is lurking in the cupboard. This case is fascinating, dealing as it does with several corpses, wedding dresses, tufts of hair and other baffling clues; the plotting is clever and the revelations are breathtaking. Wonderful stuff!

It's so good to see Patricia Gibney back in form, with Lottie Parker investigating a series of murders and a missing child without any of her own family being abducted or threatened (goodness knows, they've suffered enough in the past!) Lottie's family is still important to her and part of what makes Lottie an interesting character as she tries to juggle single motherhood of teenagers with her high pressure job as a DI. The She's recently become engaged to DS Mark Boyd (but hasn't told anyone yet) and seems happier and a little less bitchy, but is concerned that Boyd is acting a little distant. However, she has too much on her hands to worry about it with two murders, posed as suicides, and the young daughter of one of the victims missing. The crimes are hard ones to crack and there will be quite a few false leads before all is resolved in this well plotted thriller. A surprise announcement at the end of the book leaves a bit of a cliffhanger that will have fans of Lottie Parker biting their nails waiting for the next episode in this series. Please keep them coming Ms Gibney!

I always get excited when another book from Patricia Gibney comes out. Broken Souls is the 7th Book in the DI Lottie Parker Series and what a great book it is.
Set again in Ragamullin and the surrounding areas. Lottie is called to Hill Point apartments to a scene of a woman, Cara Dunne hanging behind the door in her bathroom, with a belt around her neck, wearing a wedding dress, apparently a suicide. Then another body of a woman is found. Fiona Heffernan a nurse, her body broken and again in a wedding dress. She has been pushed from the roof of a nursing home where she worked. Lottie fears there is a serial killer about and when Lottie goes and tells the next of kin of death, they find out that her daughter Lily is missing.
Lottie has a very hectic life with not only the with the investigations of the suicides and the disappearance of Lily but, she is trying to juggle her home life with her kids and her half-brother. She also thinks that Boyd is ignoring her, and she is buckling under the strain. Lottie doesn’t know what to do.
This is another excellent episode in the Lottie Parker series. Patricia Gibney is a great storyteller and very good at keeping the reader entertained throughout. This is an unputdownable thriller with lot of twists and turns and my heart broke at the outcome at the end. I can’t wait to find out in the next installment what’s is going to happen in this series.
Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for copy of this book

Broken Souls by Patricia Gibney is the seventh book in the author's Detective Lottie Parker series. This is an intriguing police proceduaral mystery. It is well-written and has interesting characters. I enjoyed reading this book.

When school teacher Cara Dunne is found hanging in her bathroom - a belt pulled taught around her neck, it sadly looks like a cut and dried case of suicide, however, there’s no suicide note, but what makes a suicide verdict seem more likely is the fact that she was wearing a wedding dress. A heartbroken jilted bride perhaps?

Later that day, Fiona Heffernan, a nurse at a local nursing home is found dead by a colleague, having fallen from the roof three floors up. She too was wearing a wedding dress. Now in most communities, this would be an extremely unusual event, but in the tiny village of Ragmullin it’s about as rare as hens teeth. When some hours later it’s discovered that Fiona’s 8 year old daughter Lily is missing, it’s down to DI Lottie Parker to not only make sense of it all, put all the pieces of the puzzle together, and see if these women were linked in any way, but more importantly to bring Lily back safe and sound. However, it’s going to get a lot more complicated before those pieces of the puzzle slot nicely back together.

On arriving at any crime scene, DI Parker is extremely impatient, but that’s merely her professional desire to get right on with a case - no time to waste - as well she knows, the first 48 hours in a case are crucial. When she attends the scene of Cara Dunne’s ‘suicide’ something doesn’t sit right, and she has her suspicions that this is more likely a case of murder.

In the small village of Ragmullin all of the characters, both the ones who are innocently caught up in these murders, and the others who stand out for all the wrong reasons, are interlinked in some way - though it’s difficult not to be in a village of this size.

DI Lottie Parker is instantly likeable, (flawed though she is) and ‘Broken Souls’ is a great police procedural, that combines mystery, murder, and family drama. Although there were some references to previous events in the series, (which I hadn’t read) I don’t think it was detrimental to my understanding of the storyline, and I managed to follow it easily enough.


Very clever storyline and much to commend in this complex and tightly plotted novel.

Hallelujah! After being fairly disappointed by the last two books in the series, in "Broken souls" DI Lottie Parker is (almost) back to form. Sure, she's a little bit less bitchy than in previous stories, but she still acts like everything's about her. If she keeps going that way she will alienate all the people in her life, both work and family. I have to concede that her children sometimes act like ungrateful brats, but she doesn't put much on her part to make things easier at home. I'm curious to see how she'll react after her relapse and if Boyd's revelation will serve to open up her eyes and change for the better her relationship with him. And thank God this time her family isn't implicated in the investigation!! :P

In this case we have a pretty complex mystery, basically because all the characters are related to one another, with intertwining storylines and shared secrets. Maybe because of this I felt like some details were a bit far fetched and not explained clear enough at the end. The investigation was quite enjoyable but the villain was a bit weak in my opinion.

All in all, good police procedural with an interesting enough plot and great improvement after the last two books in the series.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Broken Souls is book 7 in the fabulous DI Lottie Parker series and an absolute belter of a novel.

On a cold December day in Ragmullin DI Lottie Parker, DS Mark Boyd and the team are called out to not one but two suspicious deaths. Both of the dead women wore wedding dresses, both deaths seemed to be suicide but maybe all was not as it seemed.

On top of all that it is discovered that the child of one of the victims is missing and could be in terrible danger herself.

As usual there's never a dull moment with Lottie. Her personal life is as chaotic and fraught as ever and the dynamics and interactions with her team and Boyd, never run smooth and oh boy that ending left me an emotional wreck.

Super, highly recommended read and I Can’t wait to catch up with Lottie again.
5 stars all the way from me !!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy for my honest review.

Another complex case for Lottie and the team. For small town Ireland there are a lot of unlikable characters with secrets, lies and guilty consciences.

I liked that this book didn't involve Lottie's kids in yet another crime. That angle is hugely overused in this series. Despite that criticism I usually enjoy this series but for me this particular book fell flat. The connection between the characters seemed weak and unbelievable, it just didn't sit well.

*4.5 stars

She's back!! I was worried that I wouldn't like this because the last couple books have got on my nerves but I wanted to keep on to my hope that Gibney would deliver a book worthy of this series. I'm happy to say that she finally got back on track. First, and most importantly, she left her family out of the investigation. Big plus right there! The investigation was a good one too. I never like to actually go into that because I think its important to go into mysteries blind so you're surprised. I will say that it will keep you guessing and that Lottie and the team do a great job. I also liked Lottie a little better in the 7th book, she wasn't quite so bitchy in this one. She does still have a couple of tantrums though! The ending will leave some people sad--I kind of wish it would have been different, and maybe it will. I guess I'll have to see what book 8 brings me (us).

**Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED this book!! I have read all the books in this series and this one was brilliant. Highly recommended and five stars from me ... I can’t wait for the next instalment.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Patricia Gibney for the advanced copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

Wow, wow, wow I really loved this book. This is the first book I read by this author and I’m so happy I did. This book is number 7 of the Detective Lottie Parker series but could be read as a stand alone and does not take away from the main story line.

This book was about a female detective who needs to find a serial killer before there are more bodies added on to the death list. She is also searching for a missing girl who lost her mom to this serial killer. The clock is ticking and this detective is sure feeling the heat brought on by her boss to solve this case. Will she do it in time before another murder? Will she find the missing girl alive? These questions and more do get answered by the end of the book.

I wanted to start off by saying that I really loved the female detective Lottie Parker. She was totally fearless when need be but also had a sweet sensitive side as well. I also loved the way she interacted with her team and the way her team responded to her. They all knew what they needed to do in order to get the job done and worked really well together. The story line was great. It hooked lined sinked me in. Who can resist multiple murders along with a missing child? I know I can’t. The book was full of twists and very fast paced. Each chapter brought on more suspense and I could not wait to finish the book. I was up all night wanting to know what happened next.

Between the plot, characters and all the twists in this book it made it an easy and fast read. I would definitely recommend it and happily give it 5 Hearts❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

As usual a fantastic book, love Lottie Parker, an excellent storyline jam packed with twists. Was relieved to discover there will be number 8. Highly recommended this entire series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review.


Patricia Gibney has filled up my heart with love and also broken it simultaneously. Damn she's a good writer!


Crying myself to sleep of that I have no doubt.

Oh yes, I tossed and turned last night thinking about where Patricia Gibney left off DI Lottie Parker, her family and her team. Lottie has overcome a lot, but may be faced with her toughest challenge yet as she realizes her daughters and son are growing up. Not to mention that Mark Boyd, her workmate and love interest is acting a bit off. At least, Lottie can always depend on her job to keep her busy.

Several cases of suicide in a nearby neighborhood soon spell that a serial killer is on the loose and as the team scrambles to get answers, a little girl goes missing. This one was filled with people that were very despicable and honestly they all made good candidates for being the "bad guy." I won't say anything more because who really wants a spoiler. Not me!


So this sequel did not disappoint and it is hands down one of my fave books in the series. I am emotionally wrecked, but I cannot wait to see what happens in BOOK 8.

Goodreads review 02/10/19
Publication date 18/10/19

I can’t get enough of Lottie Parker. Just when I think the things going down in Ragmullin can’t get any worse....surprise!
I love reading a series where I am constantly checking to see when a new book is to be released. I recognize I’ll be waiting a bit for #8. As I know I’ve said in previous reviews the character development and storylines are top notch. You feel everything with the team. You cringe when certain characters enter the scene and can’t wait for others to reappear. Reading a series from inception and literally being able to point out the growth in each character is kind of special I think it shows a connection to the author that doesn’t happen all that often. I don’t like giving a synopsis of what happens in the book, I’m just gonna say hold onto your hats cuz it’s a wild one!
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC for an honest review.

Book 7 in the Lottie Parker series and another excellent addition.
Book 6, although I enjoyed it, did irritate me a bit with the investigation/family overlapping into each other. Despite being a strong book, there was an element of the fantastical, even unbelievable that I didn’t care for much and there was also an element of soap opera to it.

No such worries here as we have clear separation between the two. A strong enough murder mystery element that kept me guessing until the end, the family side of these books is just as important as it’s an essential part of showing who Lottie is and why at times she is very short with her work colleagues and a bit bitchy at times(which seems to irritate certain readers and distance her from them). For me it’s makes her all the more human, all the more interesting and very easy to empathize with.

Patricia Gibney is an excellent story teller and crime book writer. Book 6 was the first in the series that I felt wobbled a bit in balance and quality(although I still enjoyed it) but I’m glad to report she is back on form here.
A bit of a shocking ending that has now left me waiting impatiently for book 8!

Many thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture and Patrica Gibney for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This a really wonderfully written book. There’s a lot of characters to keep track of. A lot of twists and turns. Lottie once again has her hands full. Boyd is keeping secrets from her and her home life is once again in turmoil. The ending is a surprise. I look forward to the next book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Patricia Gibney does write excellent mysteries! It took me quite a while to figure this one out. It involves wedding dresses, criminal activity, the disappearance of a child and secrets of the past. Lottie Parker herself struggles with her demons, and her children and significant other do not make her life easier. Still, she remains one of my favorite detectives exactly because she is so human and I can easily relate to her. The ending of this one made me a little sad. I won't give it away, but I am still hoping for an optimistic continuation in the next installment. If you like this series, read it now. If you don't know the series, start from the beginning!