This is a brand-new author for me despite her having written so many books! It is also the start of a brand-new series featuring Detective Megan Thomas. She is currently working for the Devon & Cornwall Police Force following five years with the Metropolitan Police in London working undercover. Having moved to Devon for a quieter role, it seems like it will be anything but that when Megan is called to investigate a murder on her first day. With vicious memories overtaking her, Megan is not sure she can do the job anymore after a body is found. When she also has to investigate a rape, Megan realises what her role as a police officer means and vows to bring the culprits to justice…but can she forget her past to let her do that?

I loved this book. We are introduced to Megan straight away and it’s obvious that she is fighting some terrible demons from her past. It’s also obvious that the counselling she is receiving for her PTSD diagnosis isn’t going very well, and to be honest it won’t do until Megan accepts her diagnosis! I really felt for her character and everything she had been through. She appeared so vulnerable and is insecure about everything in her life. She’s divorced, living with her sister and family in an area that is completely different to where she was before, with no friends or social life. It’s no wonder that she is finding things difficult. As the book moves on though, so does Megan and it’s great to see her character develop back into the smart, tough woman and police officer that has obviously been hidden.

This book was a great police procedural thriller, with plenty of twists and turns throughout. With the professional and personal stories for Megan running alongside each other, the plot slipped effortlessly between the two and kept me interested as the storylines unfolded. Filled with great characters to compliment Megan’s storyline, you are left wanting more at the end, and had me making sure that I will be looking out for the next book in the series to see how Megan’s life continues. A gripping story which will definitely appeal to all crime readers. Would recommend!

EXCERPT: Megan puts the mask on and takes the flashlight. The keyed-up feeling in her gut is familiar. She always used to get that before a big op. If she's honest, she's missed it. That buzz of adrenaline.

With the flashlight in one hand, she lowers her upper body down the hole. Vish hangs on to the back of her legs.

The stench makes her gag slightly but she holds her breath and swings the light in an arc. That's when she sees it. The body - and it is unmistakably a human corpse - is hooked around a side beam. Threads of muscle and sinew still hang on the bones. But what causes her to gasp and her whole body to convulse are the rats feasting on it.

Rats! Of course there are rats.

Pure terror seizes her.

'Get me out! Now!' she screams.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: Megan has to climb round and step across the body to get a proper view. What’s left is like a chalk white mask in the rough shape of a face. The innocence is still there, and a hint of the cheekiness. But perhaps she is imagining that.

Detective Megan Thomas moved to Devon for a fresh start, after years spent undercover. She’s staying with her sister and swimming in the sea daily, battling the tides and letting the waves wash her past away. But she can’t outrun everything.

On her first day back, she’s called to a murder. The body lies deep in an underground bunker, and when Megan forces herself to look, it triggers a panic attack. As her heart races and her breathing stalls, she realises she’s not sure if she can go back to life in a regular crime unit. Her memories are too powerful to be buried – maybe too powerful to let her do her job.

But when another body is found on the stretch of beach where she swims every day, Megan remembers why she joined the force, and what she’s fighting for. The victim came to the police for help, and Megan knows they failed her. She won’t rest until she gets answers. But how can she find justice for others, when she’s no longer sure of herself?

MY THOUGHTS: I loved Buried Deep by Susan Wilkins, the first in the Detective Megan Thomas series, a series that I will be following avidly.

Unlike a lot of 'first in the series' books, it is not just a biography of all the characters that are going to play major roles in the books to come loosely connected with a tenuous plot. Wilkins jumps straight in, boots and all, with a gripping plot that had me frantically flipping pages.

The characters are well portrayed, and each has a vital role to play in the plot. Megan has worked undercover for the Met,is the recipient of the QPM, but has behind her an experience that has left her unsure of her own abilities, unable to fully trust her instincts. She's a lonely divorcee, childless, a temporary lodger with her sister's family.

Brittney is one of those young women who've hit thirty and are everyone's friend, but no one's lover. She has a wonderful personality and the makings of a good detective, but little self confidence.

Vish is extremely good looking and still lives at home with his parents. Kitty is a computer and investigative genius. Slater is an enigma, a woman on the corporate ladder who has occasional flashes of humanity.

All in all they're an interesting mix. As were the peripheral characters. Noah, a child who is a bargaining chip. Heidi, a faded star who believes herself to still be a diva. Kerry, fatherless with a mother who doesn't cope, and manipulated by her 'friends'.

Wilkins skillfully weaves several cases together and has struck a delicate balance between the characters personal lives, caseload, and the hidden desires and undercurrents of station life.

If you haven't yet read this, you need to. Buried Deep is an excellent start to a series that promises to be brilliant. I can't wait for #2.

This book was originally titled Damage Done. The title has been changed prepublication.

🚔🔎🎭🛥

#DamageDone #NetGalley

THE AUTHOR: After a degree in Law and a stint as a journalist, Susan embarked on a career in television drama. She has written numerous scripts for shows ranging from Casualty and Heartbeat to Coronation Street and Eastenders. She created and wrote the London-based detective drama South of the Border of which the BBC made two series. She has also written a stand alone psychological thriller and a gangster based trilogy.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bookouture via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of Buried Deep by Susan Wilkins for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon and my webpage sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

Buried Deep is the initial instalment in the Detective Superintendent Megan Thomas series set in the beautiful county of Devon. Megan has relocated to a quieter county joining her sister’s family having served several gruelling years undercover working for the Metropolitan Police; it is not so much a job as a lifestyle and it has cost her many good things, including her marriage. But if the first week is anything to go by it may not be as quiet crime-wise as she’d ideally have liked. As a new member of the Major Investigation Team, she is assigned to investigate a murder on her very first day after a body was discovered stuffed into a septic tank. She also unexpectedly has to look into the merciless and brutal rape of a young girl. Grappling with the PTSD caused by years as a committed undercover officer Megan is more than a little concerned about beginning work as part of a team once again as she had worked independently for so long. Hopefully, her new colleagues will give her a chance.

This is a compulsive and thoroughly captivating police procedural with ample twists and turns and good use of misdirection throughout. I really liked how Ms Wilkins strikes the perfect balance between the crimes and Megan’s personal life and both are equally as compelling which is unusual. It’s exceptionally well written, plotted and paced and I found myself unable to tear myself away and as a consequence read it all in a single tense sitting. It’s clear from this one book exactly why the author is a bestseller; she pens superb crime fiction with bags of suspense and action wrapped up in a thrillingly plotted story and the icing on the cake is our likeable and flawed protagonist who I certainly hope to see grow into her role in the sequel. Some of the secondary characters in the cast also show signs of being interesting and intriguing to follow over the course of the upcoming books. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Bookouture for an ARC.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Buried Deep by Susan Wilkins that I read and reviewed.
This is a book in a new series that has promise but it is new and I would have liked a bit more back story on the main character. She referred to her undercover days and what happened to her a lot but not enough was said to really hook me in and feel for her and what she is going through. I really hope the next book addresses this.
As for the cases in this book they were interesting and the twist with them added a great element that made the book.
I am giving this book three out of five stars because I wanted more about the main character so I could feel for her and really like her.

A good read and a good start to the series. This was a good storyline and the short chapters added to the suspense. I feel that I still don’t know much about the main characters but hopefully that will change in the next book.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Detective Megan Thomas #1

DS Megan Thomas has spent the last five years in the Met working undercover. She has transferred to Defon and is ow wondering if she can return to more conventional policing. Megan suffers with PTSD. She's currently living with her sister and family. Her first case has her investigating the discovery of a young girls body which was found in a septic tank. She's also been put o a rape case.

Megan's past is only glossed over in this first book but I'm sure we will learn more in future books. I quite enjoyed our introduction to her. Megan is tasked with two cases to solve while fighting her inner demons. This is a well written story, with plenty of twist and turns and a satisfactory ending. I look forward to reading more books in this series.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Bookouture and the author Susan Wilkins for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a brilliant start to a new series.
This book had me hooked from the beginning and was a fast paced read.
Megan has recently moved to Devon to live with her sister and has transferred from London.
She’s still finding her feet with her colleagues but is dropped in the deep end when a body is found in a septic tank.
The tank is on the property of a famous actress/writer and Megan does not trust her following her interview.
She’s also asked to investigate the rape of a fourteen year old girl which Megan is desparate to get to the bottom of.
Soon another body is found, this time on the beach and Megan is shocked when she recognises the victim.
I really liked the way Megan’s character was portrayed and have to say, I really like her. The book has some other great characters and they all come across really well.
This is the beginning of a new series and I can’t wait to read the next book when it’s out.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I really enjoyed this book. There were a lot of different storylines to follow and a lot of characters. At times it felt complicated and hard to follow.

Buried Deep has a lot of things I really enjoy from books of this genre. Fast paced short chapters which keeps you turning the pages.

My only criticism is that I struggled to connect to the characters. I love it when characters feel like friends by the end. But as this is the first book of a new series I'm sure that will come with more book to get to know Megan more and what she went through in the past. I am looking forward to that.

I enjoyed this new series. although Megan is the cliched “damaged” police officer she is also likable. There are a few cases going on. Megan gets overly involved in one case causing conflict with her boss. Although, this is all a story we have read before It was still an enjoyable ride.

Probably my favourite read of 2020 so far. I was engaged from the very first chapter and very quickly felt like I knew the main character.
Brilliant writing. Great pace. I cannot wait for book 2

Thanks once again to the fabulous Bookouture for allowing to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the two intertwining mysteries and the buildup of characters in this book. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

This is a new author to me and this is a cracking start to what promises to be a very good series. Very well written and full of the atmosphere of the south west, it centres on DS Megan Thomas who has been transferred to Devon after working undercover for the Met and suffering PTSD. The plot is intriguing, the principal characters are well drawn and I look forward to more.

First book I’ve read by this author. It was okay. This is my favorite genre to read so I have a lot of other books/author for comparison when rating this one.

Overall, it was good but not fantastic. I would have liked more on the trauma that affected the lead detective. I feel like that was glossed over. There were mentions of it scattered throughout the story but I feel like if more time was spent on her past, it would have made the character more dimensional.

The mystery was pretty good. I didn’t figure it out as early as I have in other books of the same genre.
Unfortunately, I didn’t care for the ending - the last couple of pages. This is the first in a new series and
I would have liked to have been left wanting more but I wasn’t. It felt almost as if the author just wanted to finish.

Not the worst and I might give book two a chance, Thank you #netgalley and #bookouture for the eARC.

Damage Done is the first book in the Detective Megan Thomas series by Susan Wilkins. Megan, a former undercover police officer in the Met, moves to Devon to start her new, quieter life as a Detective. On the first day of her new job Megan is thrown into a murder investigation. What follows is a suspenseful fast paced thriller. Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC.

Well done, Ms. Wilkins. You had me invested in DS Megan Thomas within just a chapter or two. Recently transferred from undercover work with the Met, she’s now a detective in Devon. She’s dealing with not only PTSD, but culture shock. And she’s also dealing with going back to regular police work from undercover duties. Wilkins perfectly captures the self doubt, the guilt and the anger of trying to get back in the swing of a job she hasn’t done for years.
But it’s not just Megan. All the characters seem fully formed. I could even relate to DCI Slater, attempting to deal with the glass ceiling of the police force.
The book moves along at a good pace, as we hear from a variety of characters. Megan is investigating two crimes - a dead body in the septic tank of a celebrity actress/book writer and the rape of a fourteen year old. The dynamics between the DS, her boss, a new DI and her DCs also add to the tension of the book.
I loved that my idea of who the rapist was turned out to be wrong and that I didn’t have a clue as to the murder victim or murderer. In fact, the ending was about the only thing I guessed correctly.
I really enjoyed this book and hope it truly is the start of a new series.
My thanks to netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of this book.

Damage Done is the first book in a new series by author Susan Wilkins, featuring DS Megan Thomas.

Megan Thomas has been posted as DS in the Major Crime Team in South Devon, after a five years stint undercover for the London met. Although she has been awarded the Queen’s Police Medal, we get from the start that this mission ended badly for her, and she’s obviously damaged goods. Plagued with PTSD, she sees a therapist, and routinely swims in cold water in the mornings to be able to face her day.

She got divorced not long after her return from her undercover job and is living with her sister and family. She feels lonely, with no partner, no friends, and no social life. She thinks that her time undercover made her forget how to be a detective, and basically ruined her life. Or, maybe that it wasn’t that great to begin with. How she sees herself is affecting her work, and even drives her to paranoia, especially as to how her colleagues see her.

Back to back events send Megan and her team on two parallel investigations. A body is found in a septic tank on the property of a formerly famous actress, daughter of a renowned one. And, we witness a weird dynamic among this family, obviously hiding secrets.

Then, comes an assault on a teenage girl whose family is as much dysfunctional, and whose a seemingly toxic relationship with a « BFF » classmate adds to the misery. Secrets seem to abound there, as well.

Megan is comforted in her self depreciation when her DCI takes ownership of the murder investigation, and later brings a DI to supervise the team. They think Megan gets too much emotionally invested and fact is, they aren’t wrong.

A large part of the book is a character study, and DS Megan Thomas is indeed an interesting character to get to know. However, this approach impairs the rhythm of the book at first. But, at the halfway point, a major twist makes the story shift gears, and it then becomes pretty much unputdownable.

Ultimately, the investigations yield results, but the story doesn’t end there. Flimsy evidence, skilled lawyers, and shifty characters make it difficult for the team to close the deal, and this last part of expert police work makes for a very satisfying final act.

Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for the ARC provided in exchange for this unbiased review.

A really great start to what is likely to be a series. A gripping storyline with lots of twists and turns and plenty of suspicious characters. I liked the main protagonist and found her to be interesting and realistic. Looking forward to reading more.

DS Megan Thomas has transferred to Devon after working four years undercover in London. At the end of her time undercover her cover was blown and she nearly died when she was bound and locked in a dark coal cellar for days with only the sounds of rats scrabbling for company. When first case back involving a body found in a septic tank causes a panic attack she wonders whether she will be able to transition back to normal police work. She also finds herself assigned to investigating the rape of a teenager who is reluctant to name her attacker.

This was a terrific start to what promises to be an excellent new police procedural series. The novel is narrated from a few different points of view which works well to show the thoughts of all those involved. There are some good twists as the police firstly have to identify the body and then to find enough evidence to arrest the murderer. Despite her initial insecurity Megan is a smart cop with good instincts and grows in confidence as the cases proceed. The rest of the police team are well depicted with a good feel for the dynamics between them all, which should form a good basis for their further development in the series.

I will leave a review on Amazon or B&N on Apr 6, 2020

Damage Done is the first book in a new series, I did find it a little hard to follow in the beginning but soon got caught up in the storyline. Sometimes a new start isn't as easy as you would think it would be. I found this book to be action packed, with lots of angst and turmoil. I would certainly recommend this book to others.

I received an Advanced Readers Copy from NetGalley and the publisher, and this is my fair and honest review.

Rating: 1.9 / 5

**Received ARC for honest review from Netgalley.

DNF at 30% -- 100 pages

For any mystery book I read, especially since I know that they're all bound to have twists and complications up ahead, there are just two things that I judge them on before the mystery even gets started:

1 -- the main character(s)

2 -- the writing

The main character, Megan Thomas, and her sidekick cops Vish and Britney were fine, but just...bland and kind of normal. A unique trio as far as trios go I suppose, but there was nothing that stood out about either of them--besides maybe the fact that I often felt that Megan wasn't mature enough to really be considered a 42 year old woman.

However, it was the sub-par writing that turned me off, in that a lot of the sentences felt ticked off, just for the author to fill in space. Clipped, unnecessary, and sometimes even cringey, it was ultimately the writing that got me off-track for this mystery before it properly started.

So, all in all, two stars for a book that I didn't read enough of to really consider "bad", but whose overall level isn't above a "meh". Won't be trying out more mystery series anytime soon, since clearly their writing is above the novel genre requirements.