Four bodies are found under a pier ... in a flooded escape room. Was this an accident .. or something more evil?

Detective Dove Wilson is charged with investigating and what she finds is a link to a cold case. A woman was left for dead in an abandoned quarry and has been in a coma for the past 5 years. Local law enforcement ran out of clues and no one has ever been charged with the crime.

The more Dove investigates, the closer to the truth she gets, she more danger she's in.

Well written with a solid plot and an intriguing story line wrapped in the mists of a murky mystery, the suspense just never ends. There are twists and turns around every corner that lead to an unexpected, surprising conclusion. The characters are solidly drawn with a strong female protagonist in the lead. Although 3rd in the series, this is easily read as a stand alone. However, I do recommend starting at the beginning to full understand the characters' backstories.

Many thanks to the author / Joffe Books / Books n All Book Promotions / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Wow this was a twisty read.I hadn't read any other books in this series but, this was a stand alone book. I loved the atmospheric descriptions of the area and the people. At times it was very creepy. I love reading new authors and this one didn't disappoint. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

The Abberley Beach Murders is the third instalment in the Detective Constable Dove Milson series set in the coastal resort town of Lymington-on-Sea. It's almost dark on a sweltering summer evening when Detective Milson drives out west to Claw Beach for an end of day surfing session. There is not a single other person around as far as she can see, but that is about to change. As she heads back to her car she hears a car door slamming, raised voices, exclamations and the thump of flesh on flesh. A new yell of pain and fear. There she sees two shadowy figures fighting on the ground. When her 999 call connects she requests back up and an ambulance. After announcing herself as police and intercepting the mugging taking place against Alex Harper, one of the attackers begins to punch her and kick her in the ribs once she's on the ground. The following day, Dove and the rest of the Major Crimes Team are called to a gruesome crime scene located near the same beach where the deceased bodies of four people were discovered in a flooded escape room underneath the pier. There are also signs of a break-in near the main gate to the premises of The Beach Escape Rooms owned by Jamie Delaney and Caz Liffey.

It appears the victims, 2 men and 2 women, drowned when Escape Room Six became submerged in water at high tide. The rooms that were below sea level were usually completely safe due to a pipe and pump system, combined with a vented roof, but someone had purposefully bunged the water safety release. While investigating, Dove discovers that Jamie is the brother of Mickey Delaney, a promising Olympic gymnast who had been attacked aged 14, found badly beaten at the bottom of a disused quarry and left in a coma for the past 5 years. The case was never solved and went cold. What connects the spate of muggings, the escape room murders and Mickey Delaney's brutal beating? This is a captivating and compulsively readable procedural with a complex and convoluted plot made up of several different strands each as gripping as the other. The modus operandi of the murders is a unique and fascinating one and there is plenty to keep even the most demanding crime reader happy. Told from Dove’s perspective with interspersed chapters from an unnamed narrator(s), I found it almost impossible to put down as the story had me in its grasp. Twisty, tense, dramatic and superb characterisation. Highly recommended.

I had not read any of D.E. White's work before and I'll definitely be looking to read others. This is the third installment featuring DC Dove Milson and her colleagues. An escape room escapade after hours goes horribly wrong. Is it just a tragic accident or something more sinister? Background on one of the deceased turns up a link to an unsolved cold crime. I enjoyed the interplay between characters, and while this could easily be read as a stand-alone, the previous books will introduce the reader to her recurring characters. An excellent read and I'll definitely be reading her previous work.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy of The Abberley Beach Murders, the third novel to feature DC Dove Milson, set somewhere on the south coast of England.

When four bodies are found drowned in an escape room under the water at the pier, Dove is part of the team investigating. Then they discover that one of the victims was investigated for the attack on 14 year old budding Olympic gymnast Mickey Delaney, who has been in a coma for the past five years. The suspect list is limited but getting proof is more problematic.

I enjoyed The Abberley Beach Murders, which held my interest throughout with its ingenious method of murder and various hypotheses of what happened and why. There are basically three strands to the novel, the four murders, the cold case of Mickey Delaney and an unrelated spate of muggings, so plenty to keep the reader occupied. The novel is told from Dove’s point of view with italicised chapters from an unnamed narrator and this latter I found confusing because I think there may be more than one.

As I said there is a limited number of suspects in the main plot line so it’s all about trying to sort the lies from the truth and forming a cohesive theory about what happened. I’m still not sure the reader gets the full story, but there are reasons for that and they justify the doubt, although the haziness is a bit frustrating. The other plot lines are clearer, but with the same theme there is still a touch of head scratching and misinformation. When the solutions come there is a certain amount of serendipity involved, but, hey, it’s fiction, so it’s allowed.

I like Dove, who is a very sensible woman with a good head on her shoulders. She has no quirks or hang ups so she’s like a breath of fresh air.

The Abberley Beach Murders is a good read that I can recommend.

My thanks fo NetGalley and publisher Joffe Books for the electronic copy.

This is the third book in series with DC Dove Milson and, though I haven't read the two previous ones, this can easily be read as a standalone.

On the whole this is a good enough read. It starts with an interesting plot where the bodies of two females and two males are found in the underwater room of the Beach Escape Rooms complex on Abberley pier. However, the night before Dove had been injured when she intervened in an altercation at Claw Beach, additionally her investigation uncovers that one of the owners of the escape rooms is the brother of Mickey Delaney who has been in a coma for 5 years after being found at the bottom of a quarry - that is still a cold case.

Now, how are these three things connected? Well, although Dove is assigned the escape rooms murders, her late night musings about the case lead her to make connections - which I found rather tenuous and fortuitous as a means of moving the cases towards a conclusion, well ahead of any real evidence.

So, although this appears to be a complex plot, it really is a complicated investigation with Dove firmly at the centre, apparently able to solve it all.

I became a little bored with the multiple tangents and lack of depth in the investigation(s).

So, sorry, this one really wasn't for me. But of course, that is only my opinion.

Really clever and intriguing murder mystery. I really liked the police characters, especially Dove, who is not a ‘kick ass’ heroine, but a copper with insecurities.

Detective Dove Milson #3

Detective Dove Milson is called out to a gruesome murder scene under the pier: four bodies floating in a flooded escape room. Then Dove discovers one of the dead was a person of interest in a cold case involving Olympian in-the-making Mickey Delaney. She was left for dead in an abandoned quarry and has been in a coma for five years. What's the connection between these cases and do they have anything to do with the attacks on the beach?

This series just gets better by each new book. Filled with intriguing characters and lots of twists. The story has a dual timeline: an assault on a cold case victim and four bodies that were discovered in a flooded escape room. I like the authors style in writing this series. The pace is fast and the plotline gripping. With a few more crimes to investigate makes this book more intriguing and action packed. The story held my attention throughout.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #JoffeBooks and the author #DEWhite for my ARC of #TheAbberleyBeachMurders in exchange for an honest review.

What A Tangled Web…
The third in the Detective Dove Milson series finds the Detective with a tangled web of crime beginning with a grotesque scene in an escape room. An intriguing read with a well crafted cast of characters and a compelling storyline. A worthy addition to the series.

An unputdownable read.
Back with D. Dove Milson this is book three, and Dove is out surfing at claw beach, A man named Alex Harper been attacked Dove has the full description of the attackers the van and registration number and needs stitches herself she just happened to be there at the wrong time, the remote cliff top is now alive with police and ambulances but there are more unexpected incidents for her to come .
This book certainly keeps you on your toes right from the start and I savoured every chapter of it. A special ending with perfect final scenes, Dove Milson's third outing is just brilliant and yes please to the author for more.

The Abberley Beach Murders was a hard story to get into. I found it a little on the dark side. It was really two stories in one revolving around two of the characters Jamie Delaney and Caz Liffey owners of The Beach Escape Rooms. The main character is Dove Milson who is a detective. There is a murder of four people who die in the 6th room of the escape chambers. The other is the mystery of what happened to Mickey Delaney that has been in a coma for 5 years. The other characters add to the story with other small stories throughout the main story. Everything comes to a climax at the end.

I was not crazy about the story and don't know if I would read any of the other books in this series.

Thank you NetGalley and Joffe Books, London for this ARC.

Another brilliant addition to the Detective Dove Milson series. It does work perfectly as stand-alone.

Dove is enjoying a surf when she sees a man being attacked in trying to prevent any further injuries to the victim she tries to help only to find herself becoming their second victim. Still recovering fro the attack she then finds herself back on that same beach investigating the deaths of 4 people in one of the 'Escape' rooms.

As the case progresses it soon becomes clear that this case is very much entangled with other cases including the unsolved attack on a promising gymnast from several years ago. Mickey is still in a coma with the police still no wiser as to why she was attacked or by whom.

As the team starts investigating they find more crimes thrown into the mix. Will Dove and her colleagues be able to untangle the web of lies and secrets and uncover enough of the truth to enable them to move towards cracking the case/s?

An absolutely gripping, unique, action packed story that keeps the adrenaliine pumping all the way through with the whole story wrapped up in and ending that had me going WOW.

Absolutely brilliant - more please

A great story with twists and turns that have you hooked and wanting more.This book has characters that blend so well with the plot.5*

This is the 3rd book in the Detective Dove Milson crime thriller series and so far I’d say this is the best one yet. Even though this is the 3rd book in the series if you haven’t read the previous 2 it isn’t the end of the world and this book could easily be read as a stand alone thriller.

With an assault at the beginning of the book, 5 beach murders, links to an unsolved assault case from a few years ago and plenty of other crime to keep you interested I was hooked right from the start all the way to the very end and found myself picking up this book at every opportunity I had.

Sometimes I found it a little difficult to keep up with exactly what was going on and I am so thankful for the many departmental briefings and case updates as I think I would have completely lost the plot but the way it was written really allowed the readers to see clearly where the investigation was going.

D.E White is becoming a new favourite of mine having so far read all the detective Dove Milson books in looking forward to seeing what else she has written. Her books are fast paced, exciting and certainly get the adrenaline pumping. An absolute must read series!

Thank you to NetGalley, Joffe books and D.E White for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an open and honest review.

Interesting and highly original MO in this exciting police procedural - :)

Four victims die in an escape room under a pier near Lymington-on-Sea, and their deaths appear to be linked to the tragic attack of a young, talented gymnast several years ago.

The story starts strong, however, sadly loses a bit of its power and credibility towards the end.
when the writer goes into too minor details, and comes up with too many twists and clues, which subsequently yield nothing; In addition, the main character seems mainly concerned with solving issues of the people around her.

The story is narrated from different perspectives -
This is my first acquaintance with the writer, the story can be read as a stand-alone without any problems.
Loved the description of the area, could have been a tat shorter imho- overall a solid police procedural though 3 plus stars.

Thank you Netgalley and Joffe Books for this ARC.

The Abberley Beach Murders by D.E. White is my first introduction to this writer. I did not feel I missed anything by not reading the first two books in this series. The book has some interesting characters and a good plot and storyline. The writing was done well and kept me interested in the story. The story did have some good twists and turns, which you want in a mystery. Overall, a very good read.

#THEABBERLEYBEACHMURDERS #NetGalley

Although this is the third in the ‘Detective Dove Milson’ series, it was the first I’d read, and it worked fine as a standalone. However, I enjoyed it so much that I’m going to read books one and two!

This was a really clever idea, based around escape rooms at the end of a pier. The police get a call to say that there are four bodies floating in a flooded escape room and, even though she had been the subject of a nasty attack hours previously, Dove still races to the scene.

In a hospital room lies a teenager in a coma. Mickey has been there for five years, ever since she was badly beaten and left for dead in a disused quarry. The perpetrator was never found.

Can there be a link between the attack on Mickey, the attack on Dove, and the deaths in the escape room? This book had me totally hooked and I couldn’t put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Joffe Books for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Joffe Books for the eARC.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable book, full of interesting characters, some good and one or two evil ... especially the perpetrator, who's quite scary!
This is the third Detective Dove Milson and the best one yet. Full of twists and turns that eventually end up being connected, thereby solving both a cold case and the murder of four people, drowning in an escape room (people actually pay to 'play' for this game!) by the beach.
It was hard to put this book down, I loved it and highly recommend it.

Oh my goodness, murder in a beach escape room, whatever next? Its a puzzle in itself working out what happened and who is responsible with lots of twists and turns. Just when I thought I had worked it out there's another surprise!
D.E. White never disappoints. I love her style of writing. Its gripping and has such excellent descriptive qualities that I actually feel as though I am part of the setting!
Highly recommended.
Thank you to D.E. White, Joffe Books and NetGalley for my digital copy.

An intriguing setting of an escape room! A girl in a coma for five years. A series of assaults including one on her sister. Dove is trying to join the dots and see if there is a connection. Finally all the pieces fall into place