Cover Image: Cry For Help (Detective Madison Harper Book 2)

Cry For Help (Detective Madison Harper Book 2)

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Cry for Help by Wendy Dranfield is the 2nd book in the Detective Madison Harper mystery series, and another great addition. I enjoyed book one, Shadow Falls: Find My Child so much, that I started reading this book right away. I have definitely found a new author to enjoy. Two people who were falsely imprisoned for murders they did not commit, are now working together as unlicensed private investigators. Nate was on death row, and won a large settlement after his conviction was overturned. Nate now helps other people, and he hates policemen. Madison, a former police officer, asks Nate for help to see who framed her. Madison agrees to help Nate, solve a missing girl case, the first book. Now they are in Colorado to find out who set Madison up. I loved this book with it's non stop action, and range of emotions it brings out. I strongly recommend this book/series if you enjoy a good mystery.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Was this review helpful?

Book 2 in the series, starring Madison and Nate. You can read this book as a standalone but I would suggest you read book 1 because (a) it is a fabulous book and (b) you will get a greater depth of understanding of what makes these two tick.

Madison and Nate make their way to Madison's home town. The place where she was falsely accused of murder. The last place she saw her son. The place where her ex-partner died violently. To say that Madison is dreading going back to Lost Creek, is an understatement. She has to though, to get some answers.

There is SO much going on in this book, I don't quite know where to start. So many threads that the author spins and twists and pulls together beautifully.

Skilfully woven tale that is not for the faint of heart, it is very confronting at times and you need a strong stomach for some parts of it, for sure!

I thoroughly enjoyed it and I can't wait until the next book in the series. I feel like this series is just getting warmed up :)

5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.

Was this review helpful?

A hit right out of the park from the very first page. I adored these characters in the debut book and was super excited for this book to become available. I was not disappointed in the least. This book had suspense in spades and twists and turns galore. It kept me guessing until the shocking brutal end. This book was phenomenal and I could not put it down. The story line is amazing and both brutal and heart warming at moments. There were moments that took my breath away and I gasped out loud. Books that have the ability to make me feel the characters so deeply are rare. I can not wait for the next instalment. This book needs to top your reading list.

Was this review helpful?

Madison (ex Detective) is back in her home town, in Colorado, for the first time since being released from jail for murder. Her ex-girlfriend has just been murdered, and added to that is a death at the fairground. Can Madison find out who killed her ex-girlfriend, and where her young son has gone.

This is the second book in this series, but the main character’s backgrounds are covered in this book, though I highly recommend reading Book 1 – Shadow Falls.

3*s from me as though I loved the story, which flowed well and dramatically, I found the references to Madison’s past (recaps from Book 1 in this series) somewhat clunky. This was probably because I read Shadow Falls only recently, and I was keen to get on with the current action. The writing is such that I always felt I want to read “just one more chapter” – not because of cliff hanger chapter endings, but because this author knows how to draw the reader in and want to stay involved for a little bit longer. Great book, great author, but I loved Shadow Falls even more.

Was this review helpful?

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of Cry for Help, the second novel to feature former detective Madison Harper.

Madison returns to Lost Creek, Colorado for the first time since her conviction for manslaughter to find her son, Owen and look in to the murder of her former lover, Stephanie Garcia. Just before she gets there, teenager Nikki Jackson is found dead from an apparent suicide, but Madison thinks it might be murder and link to Stephanie’s.

I enjoyed Cry for Help which is a tense, action packed read with a complicated plot. It’s not complicated in the sense that it’s difficult to follow, more that it is difficult to untangle the motives and relationships between the character. There is a lot of treachery and double crossing going on and some interesting twists, although many of them are well signposted and lose a little impact as a result. The author keeps up a good pace with a steady flow of reveals and developments so there’s never a lull, and if that that weren’t enough she ratchets up the tension to keep the reader on tenterhooks. The only thing I didn’t like was there’s too much jumping to conclusions with nothing to back them up.

The novel is told from various points of view, including flashbacks to Nikki’s life before she died. It gives the reader a wider perspective and isn’t too disruptive to the flow of the narrative as Madison is the main voice.

I must admit that I thought the backstories of Madison and her boss cum friend, Nate Monroe, were a bit much in the previous novel with both of them being framed and wrongly convicted. Nate takes a back seat in this novel as it’s all about exonerating Madison and their history doesn’t weigh as heavily over the novel because they’re doing something about it.

Cry for Help is a good read that I can recommend.

Was this review helpful?

This is the second book in the series. I read the first one shortly before this one and enjoyed it but I think this second installment is even better. I read this extremely quickly as I did not want to put it down. The twists and turns kept me hooked and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC.

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed this book, though (per usual) I didn't read the first book first- I am bad with keeping series in order! It easily reads as a standalone, though. The story centers on Madison, who heads back to her hometown with her new boss, Nate, after being disgraced 7 years ago by being convicted of a murder she swears she didn't commit. Now her ex-girlfriend has been murdered, another murder occurs, and Madison also wants to track down her now 17-year old son. Lots going on but the author makes it easy to keep these storylines straight.

Madison and Nate were both likeable characters, and even the tertiary characters were easy to understand, even when they weren't easy to like. I don't love when police procedurals spend a ton of time on the detectives' personal lives rather than solving the crime, and this book hit that balance with giving us some insight into Madison's personal life while not overdoing it.

I had a hard time figuring out who the villain was in this book, and when I did, there were additional twists that still kept me guessing. I thought the author did a great job of tying everything together as not to leave loose ends within the investigation, but also to provide plausible connections between the various characters and situations.

Overall, this was a good book and now I need to go back and read the first one in the series. I'd recommend this to those who like mysteries and police procedurals. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I was so excited to read this second book in the Madison Harper series! ABSOLUTELY LOVE this series. Madison is back in her hometown to find her son Owen and find out who set her up for her partner's murder which put her in prison. This book has so many twists and turns and was not at all what I expected the outcome to be! I love that this author keeps you captivated and wanting to read into the night. I look forward to the next book in the series hoping it's about Nate finally finding Father Connor. I would give this book and series 10 stars if I could. It's the perfect thrilling mystery. Love it!

Was this review helpful?

Book 2 in the Madison Harper series. I thought the first one was great and didn't think the second one could be even better but it was! Madison returns to her home town to bury her ex and to continue the search into who framed her and what happened to her son Owen. With Nate and Brody along for the ride, Madison finds more and more clues.
With most mysteries I usually see the end coming but did not in this one for the most part. Great characters-even the secondary ones. Many surprises throughout. Do yourself a favor and read this series. Greatly anticipating the next one. Keep on writing Wendy!

Thanks to netgalley and Bookouture for the fantastic read.

Was this review helpful?

This book sees Madison determined to find out who framed her for murder and where her son is. It is a shock a minute with twists I just did not see coming. I read this book in one sitting and I think most readers will find it impossible to put down. Incidentally, even though this is book 2 in a series it can be read as a stand alone. I look forward with bated breath for the next release from this author.

Was this review helpful?

Wow!!! This story was unputdownable. From start to finish I was hooked. With thrills and spills, and twists and turns I did not see coming, and characters that were intriguing to say the very least. This was a brilliantly suspenseful and enthralling story; and it didn't make any difference that I'd not read the first book in the series. But believe me after this I definitely will.

Would highly recommend.

Was this review helpful?

Wow, I thought the 1st book was good, this one was even better, full fast paced action packets, I couldn't put it down. Absolutely love Nate and Madison, such a great satisfying outcome, can't wait to see what happens next

Was this review helpful?

Great series and I was delighted to see Book #2 which I snapped up as soon as I realized it was available. This is another good read in the mystery adventures of Madison Harper, former cop who wants to clear her name and rejoin the ranks of the police, Nate Monroe her reluctant partner just recently exonerated and released from death row and their dog Brody. They manage to unwittingly become involved in a homicide while trying to clear their own names only to have them collide. Hard to put down and I look forward to Wendy Dranfield’s next installment of the Madison and Nate show.

Was this review helpful?

This is a follow up to the first book wherein Nate, Brody and Madison proceed to Lost Creek to clear her name and find her son. Where the first book was a good detective work, the second one falls short with no detective work on the part of the duo except for an interview. All the events just happen and the perpetrators are killed or arrested in the conclusion. The reason for the severity of the sibling animosity to the extent of killing is unclear. I liked the first book more.

Was this review helpful?

Another fantastic read in this series from Wendy Dranfield, great story-telling, strong characters, I just loved the book from beginning to the end and it kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.

I can thoroughly recommend this book and I can't wait for number three in this series. Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read this book. A very worthy five stars from me.

Was this review helpful?

I started reading this book right after posting my review to Shadow Falls (book 1 in the series, but if you happened to read this one first it would be okay as mentions of the missing child case are vague enough to leave that story unspoiled). That book gave us details about Nate's backstory and this time, as Madison comes back to her small town in Colorado, we get to learn more about what happened there. Again, the many twists and turns, combined with short chapters that make it so easy to decide to read "one more" several times in a row, placed this book firmly in the "unputdownable" category for me. So, even if I was very uncomfortable at times because of the way the teenage girl died (for some reason, the sight or mention of any sharp knife has always given me the urge to protect my wrists), I couldn't help enjoying the story. I wish I could tell more about what I liked but mentioning my favourite scenes would reveal too much so I'll just say it was even better than I had hoped. And now I'll wait for book 3 as patiently as possible.

Was this review helpful?

Number 2 in the Madison Harper book and I was really lucky to be able to have read this immediately after finishing number 1 Shadow Falls. This book starts as number 1 finishes with Madison, Nate and Brody on the way to Lost Creek to confront Madison’s past. A brilliant rollercoaster of a ride that concludes the history behind her wrongful conviction and those responsible. I read this book in one sitting in less than a day and loved every minute of it. I’m really looking forward to the next instalments in this series where we can find out what happens in Nate’s quest to bring those responsible for his wrongful incarceration to book

Was this review helpful?

Oh I am so happy this book is being published already. I means I did not have to wait a very long time to see what happens next. Woohoo!!
I enjoyed the first part of the series, but I was totally blown away by this one. It was so shockingly, incredibly, amazingly good. I don’t seem to be able to find enough adjectives to describe my feelings.
The good thing is that it’s not over yet. I can hardly wait for the next book.
If you read my previous review, you might remember that I said I hopped into the back of Nate, Brody and Madison’s car on their way to their next adventure. Well, I hardly had time to fasten my seatbelt before I was thrown right in the middle of the action.
OMG! Well, they say you have to be prepared to expect the unexpected and tell you what: they were absolutely right! I never saw that coming and the author did not give me a lot of time to come up for air. I barely had the time to pick up my jaw from the floor and my mouth fell open once more.
Great, great book! 5 stars

Thank you, Wendy Dranfield and Bookouture

Was this review helpful?

Fantastic read. I have been completely unable to put this one down. I cannot wait to read more by this author.
Full review to follow on blog tour.

Was this review helpful?

Wow wow wow I loved this book and can’t believe I now have to wait to find out what happens next. I am really not very patient so hope it’s not long! This story follows Madison and Nate as they head back to her home town to try and find out who framed her for murder and what happened to her son whilst she was in jail. After her ex girlfriend is murdered she is yet again arrested in a town that doesn’t want her there and is now fighting to prove she is innocent again and yes not knowing who she can trust and who and why they are after her.

Was this review helpful?