Whoa this book kept me on my toes. It’s my first A.J. Cross book but it won’t be my last. A grisly find on a running trail leads to an investigation that doesn’t make sense. Inspector Watts is set the task of finding the killer. A head has been found but where is it’s body? Then Watt’s boss brings in an expert criminologist who has his own agenda and is less than reliable due to his own demons. Watts also finds himself teaching a young green PC, who has the makings of an excellent detective once she has learnt to rein in her enthusiasm and not cut corners.

The story twists and turns. And yet it’s still not until the end of the book where it all starts to make sense and there’s that aha moment.

It's first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last as I found it gripping and entertaining.
A plot full of twists and turns, solid mystery and interesting characters.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

#DarkTruths #NetGalley I struggled to get into this book, mainly because I couldn't really warm to the characters, which in a crime thriller I really like to do. DI Bernard Watts, who is mysteriously referred to as sarge throughout the book did not seem very dynamic at all. PC Chloe Judd was irritating and annoying although we did get a glimpse of her more vulnerable side later on. The book is billed as a Will Traynor thriller but he didn't really have a big part and what we did see, I didn't like. Would I give the second in the series a chance? Probably yes, to see how the characters develop

Big thanks for allowing the opportunity to read this first in a series. I felt that as a first, it was fantastic. It was a slow go for me at first, but stick with it and you will be rewarded with a well wrapped mystery and the first in what I hope to see many more of, in a new series!

It starts with a headless body.. not something that DI Bernard Watts and his team see everyday. The victim was doing her daily run along a well used jogging trail when she was stabbed to death and the killer took her head with him.

That's troubling enough, but while doing a ground search, they don't find the victim's head...but they do come across other heads ... linking the present crime to a past crime.

Determining that the crimes were all committed by the same man over a period of years, it becomes imperative that the skulls are all identified .... and finding what links them all together.

Watts already has his hands full with a new rookie detective ... one who is young, brash, outspoken, but determined. She's right where she wants to be ... for the moment. Watts and PC Chloe Judd butt heads, and although Watts is dubious that Judd will be much help, he's determined to do his best by her.

Added to the turmoil, the big boss has informed Watts that criminologist Will Traynor will be joining their team. But Traynor may not be the expert that he once was. His wife was brutally murdered years ago and her body never found. Mentally, he's never let go of the idea that she might still be alive. Unfortunately for Watts, his investigation comes second to Traynor's personal problems.

There are many suspects, both past and present, and watching how this team goes about investigating is full of twists and turns ... a few surprises along the way. Forensics, as the title implies, plays a huge part of the story. However, Will Traynor is more a secondary character, while Watts and Judd takes center stage.

I enjoyed how the characters related to each other, and I really look forward to seeing more of Watts and Judd. Traynor was okay as a character, but I'm hoping his story is more developed in the upcoming series.

As a bonus, this author has a history of over 20 years experience as a forensic psychologist. She brings a lot of credibility to her storytelling.

Many thanks to the author / Severn House Publishers / Canongate / Black Thorn / Netgalley /for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

‘Dark Truths’ by A J Cross begins well. We focus on a lone female runner going through her paces before work and the next thing we know is that she has been stabbed and decapitated out in the woods. A murder to solve for DI Bernard Watts and his team which includes the irritating, keen to a fault DC Chloe Judd and the damaged criminologist Will Traynor, still very much in mourning for his murdered wife whose body has yet to be found.
Soon after the team set to work more decapitated heads are discovered and yet none of these victims appear to be linked. Who are the police dealing with and why has the perpetrator performed this gruesome ritual?
This novel held my interest for a while. A J Cross can clearly write well. Yet I never became fully engaged with his central characters; they all seem a little two dimensional and predictable. More to the point, I found it very difficult to buy into the final outcome. The murderer is revealed but there is frustratingly little over the course of the narrative to suggest that they are in any way a possible candidate for consideration. Obviously, Cross has planned to tease and challenge the reader but, honestly, the motives given seemed thrown together quickly with little in the way of psychological authenticity.
My thanks to NetGalley and Black Thorn for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

Solid murder mystery with a varied and complex cast of characters! I love when you have a good mystery and characters that you can really get engaged with, you really want to know what's going to happen with them next. This definitely fits the bill. No spoilers here, but if you like a good police procedural with strong and somewhat quirky (some of them anyway) characters, this is a good one. I will continue the series!

I really enjoyed this book. Loved the characters Watts and Judd, I'm excited to see that this is the first in a series too as I'd love to read more.

DI Bernard Watts is given the task of heading the murder case of a woman who has been beheaded, he's not thrilled to have been stuck with a brand new constable either. PC Judd is bright, and desperate to prove herself worthy but will her inexperience prove a hinderence?

When more evidence is uncovered they recruit the help of criminologist Will Trayner, who is battling his own demons and Watts doesn't think he's up to the job..... Or is he?

A great story absolutely full to the brim with twists and turns this book leaves me wanting more from these 3 great characters. I'd highly recommend it.

About 30% of the way through this, I was ready to quit. I think some of the beginning could have been 'down sized' but since I'm only a reader and not a writer, I only know what I like. Might be me, I wasn't 'engaged' however, I asked for this through NetGalley so I felt I should continue...I'm so glad I did, a slow start that revved up and took off. I was a little confused who the main character was but once I got over that...loved the plot. I would have liked a little more depth to the characters personally but I would read the next one.

There are many suspects, both past and present, and watching how this team goes about investigating is full of twists and turns ... a few surprises along the way.
The plot is layered & well written but a couple of the main characters let the story down.
Very good thriller

This is a new series featuring the work of criminal profiler Will Traynor. He is pretty obsessed and the book is a good mixture of forensic investigation and police procedural. I found the pace slow and I failed to like any of the main characters. The plot was clever but, overall, it just failed for me. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

This is my first time reading A.J Cross and I can say I will be reading more.
DI Watts heads up a murder investigation that quickly turns into a case involving historic murders and a serial killer in now hunted.
I enjoyed the characters in this book and the plot of the book kept me turning pages.
Would recommend this to any crime/thriller reader.

A good start to crime and police procedural book. You have your main officer DI Watts and rookie PC Judd, I really enjoy how these two character bounced off each other with Watts being the old timing thinking he knows how things are going to pan out and Judd being the rookie cop that is so eager to succeed. The added bonus of Will Traynor, the forensic psychologist, brought in to help with the case give the story depth, Will also has he own history off horror that is explored. I look forward to the next book!

Dark Truths is a series police procedural by A. J. Cross. Due out 4th Feb. 2021 from Black Thorn, it's 352 pages (print edition) and will be available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a very well written, taut, and engaging procedural with a nicely balanced cast of characters: detectives (one experienced and cynical and one completely green and full of enthusiasm), a forensic expert battling his own violent loss, and the whole apparatus which comes into play after violent death. The first death in the book is grisly; a stabbing and beheading which exposes yet another murder in the same location.

The disparate plot threads wind ever more closely and the resolution is clever and very well engineered. The entire read is finely rendered and surprising. I didn't manage to figure everything out despite being given all the information along the way. I'm impressed and will be looking forward to more from this author.

Four stars. This would be a great selection for fans of the genre, possibly also book-clubs and library acquisition.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this forensic based thriller. I was captured during the first chapter when a decapitated body was found stabbed to death in an East Midlands Beauty spot. From the captivating characters of DI Watts, PC Judd and Wil Traynor, I found this book an intriguing and fascinating story to read. I would certainly recommend reading this book.
I for one, can't wait to read the sequel to Dark Truths

#DarkTruths #NetGalley Truthfully majority of the character are actually really likable . Maggie is intelligent and mature and loves the Sarah Keller agent. Even the simple characters actually very likable which made this thriller even more enjoyable.

A J Cross has a book that starts with a bang and on the last page rounds the story off, inbetween the story has you gripped all the time. Fast moving twisting and turning all the clues are there but it’s only on the last few pages that the author lets you into the secret. This is going to take some beating to claim book of the year

I love crime fiction and was intrigued by the idea of a forensic psychologist being involved in a murder mystery. This is the first in the series featuring Will Traynor helping the police with investigations and is an extremely promising start! Thanks to NetGalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book opens with the brutal murder of a jogger on a popular trail. Her head is removed from the scene in a gruesome and horrifying twist, but forensic investigations of the nearby area uncover a whole host of other problems that need dealing with too. Detective Inspector Bernard Watts is put in charge of the investigation with an inexperienced rookie police officer, PC Chloe Judd, for support. Together, they begin to uncover the truth about the crime, aided by criminologist Will Traynor - who seems to have his own agenda.

This is a well-paced and engaging police procedural. I found that there were plenty of events and twists to keep me reading and enjoyed the interaction between the main characters - including a fabulous and likeable forensics expert, Dr Chong, who I hope features in future books. PC Chloe Judd is also an interesting character and I liked the fact that she is still learning - it was good to see a more insecure and relatable police officer starting to find her feet.

I was less sure about the character of Will Traynor. I thought that he would be more central to the investigation, but actually Watts and Judd are the key figures. He made some interesting observations on the investigation, but also seemed a bit of a liability! I'd be intrigued to see how his story is developed in future books.

Overall, this is a well-written and cleverly=plotted crime novel. I am certainly looking forward to the next book in the series by A J Cross and would recommend this to those who love a twisty police investigation.

This book had me from the start. It was fast paced and kept me guessing all the way to the end which surprised me (which rarely happens). I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

I am disappointed. I tried several times to read this book. I just could not connect to it in any way, shape or form. I was bored from the beginning. There was no oomph for me. I thought the characters were boring and lacked well character to the point I got confused with who I was reading about. I feel terribly bad for this review. I will try to go back before the publication date and give it another go. This book just was not for me.