I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy of Devils Chimney, the first novel to feature DC Rutherford Barnes, set in Eastbourne in 2001.

Barnes is still a probationary police officer when he and his work partner PC Harriet Holden catch a burglar who has been in her house and left a message “dead cops sleep long”. A few days later Harriet’s murdered body is found in a sleazy hotel. Barnes is determined to catch her killer.

I found Devil’s Chimney to be a bit of a mixed bag. I liked the plot, the twists and the way the author implies that there is more to the murder than meets the eye but gives little away, leaving the reader guessing and pondering. These positives are counterbalanced by the execution which is slow and overly wordy. It slows the momentum and diminishes some of the impact of the developments.

As I said I like the plot. It builds slowly but implacably towards a solution, perhaps not the most black and white solution but it seems realistic in the pettiness of the motive and the players involved and sad in the cheapness of human life. I think the author was spot on in this respect. To get there, however, there are a good few twists and surprises, which spin the narrative in unforeseen directions and keep the reader turning the pages.

On the other hand the reader is asked to swallow a few unlikelihoods before breakfast. Barnes (never Rutherford) is still a probationary constable when he’s promoted to detective and given a prominent role in the investigation into Harriet’s murder. Then he’s the one making connections and moving the case forward. Obviously a prodigy. The other more unlikely events relate to developments in the plot so I won’t mention them as it would involve spoilers.

There is too much of Barnes’ personal life in the novel. It takes up space and deprives the plot of oxygen.

Devil’s Chimney has a few teething problems but it is a credible debut.

Originally published in 2012, this revised Devil's Chimney by Adam Lyndon is a classic English police series. Detective Rutherford Barnes is a young police constable destined for high office as he and his partner Harriet Holden are on night duty in search of a serial burglar. Upon apprehending the culprit in the act, charges are not sustained and things begin to go awry. Then a colleague is killed and another missing, as the case gets more complicated and the possibility of collusion is discovered. Barnes is wary, finding himself in more trouble and complications as he tries to solve the murder. A quality police procedural with great characters, intricate case investigation and suspenseful tension, making for a four-star rating. With thanks to Joffe Books and the author, for an uncorrected advanced reader copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an unbiased review.
A new name in the crime mystery genre and written by an actual police officer.
The story opens with PC Rutherford Barnes and his partner Harriet Holden patrolling the English south east town when they spot a burglar leaving the scene of the crime. This is no ordinary burglary as it is actually Holden's house he has just exited. This is just the start of a truly entertaining story which kept me wanting more for the entire 450 pages.
A welcome addition to the genre and if Lyndon can further develop the character then one which is going to keep me entertained for many years to come.
Here's to the second book.

A good first installment of this new series. The right amount of intrigue and suspense Thank you netgalley for the advanced copy

This is the first in what I hope will be a series. Detective Rutherford Barnes is a lovely character. After his partner body is found he is catapulted into an investigation.
To start, I found the plot a little difficult but once I had a handle on all the characters I began to enjoy the plot unfolding and felt the author’s inside knowledge of police procedure brought this book to life.
The authors characters were very well sketched out and I enjoyed the way this one was written. I do hope this will not be the last we hear from Rutherford Barnes and, indeed, his wife
I would recommend this one especially to those who like a good crime book

A prolific burglar is causing mayhem for the residents of sleepy Eastbourne. He breaks into houses in the early hours and if confronted threatens the occupants with a knife. That is until young police officer Rutherford Barnes and his partner Harriet Holden capture him in the act outside her house. The place is ransacked and a note is painted on a wall saying ‘DEAD COPS SLEEP LONG.’
A few days later Harriet’s battered body is found and Rutherford vows to discover who killed his partner and why?

This story is a police procedural, written by a serving police officer and you can tell that immediately. It starts well with twists and turns from the very beginning. Its descriptions are excellent, drawing the reader deeper into the story which progresses at a good even pace. I found it exceptionally well written with the twists continuing throughout the story, resulting in a breathtaking climax. Good characters and story make it a great read.

My thanks to #NetGalley, #JoffeBooks and #AdamLyndon for this free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A good police procedural investigating the murder of a police constable. Her partner, PC Barnes is rapidly promoted to detective and involved in the investigation. Sadly I didn't take to him as a character and wondered where the more senior officers were. Perhaps just another example of under staffing but he seemed too good to be true. It is the first in a series I believe so would be happy to see how he develops. I did like the lower level of super-duper tech which seemed appropriate for 2001 when the story was set. A pleasant change. Thanks to NetGalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is a great start to a new series featuring police officer Rutherford Barnes. It's set in the early 2000's, a mixture of police procedure, thriller and a little bit of history. The story was believable and the character of Barnes was very likeable, although he is very naïve! The pace started slow but it quickly speeded up building to a fantastic finale with plenty twists and turns. I would recommend the read and hope to see more of Barnes and his colleagues. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

I love that this book was written by a former UK police officer, you can tell from the get-go that he is very familiar with this life and it carries throughout.
I immediately fell in love with Barnes, he's a wonderful, complex, well-rounded character who helps propel this story forward.
The setting is so incredibly atmospheric and drags you right in. As a fan of atmospheric UK Crime Procedurals on BritBox, this was a nearly perfect book for me. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series.
The only things that weren't totally perfect for me was that the start of the book was really slow, and several times in the opening I wasn't really sure where the story was going to go. I also thought the mystery was a bit basic, but that might just be because of my penchant for Crime Procedurals.
I recommend this book for anyone who likes UK Crime Drama, or atmospheric mystery/thrillers in general.

Rutherford Barnes, #1

On a wild stormy night on England's south coast, ambitious young police constables Rutherford Barnes and Harriet Holden are doing the rounds when they see a burglar fleeing the scene of a crime. And it's Harriet's house. The ground floor is ransacked, Scrawled in red across one wall are the words DEAD COPS SLEEP LONG. Then a few days later, Harriet's battered body is discovered in a shabby seafront hotel. Newly promoted to Detective, Barnes vows to discover who killed his partner and why.

Set in the early 2000s. Detective Rutherford Barnes vows to find who was responsible for his former partner, Harriet Holden, murder. It took a few chapters for me to get into this book and the second half was much better than the first. The characters were quite likable except for Barnes wife Eve, who started getting on my nerves. I also felt the story dragged out in places. The plotline is interesting, I did not know what Harriet had done to get herself killed. I also liked that the police didn't rely on so much modern technology back then.

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

Devil's Chimney is the first in a blockbuster new series by debut author Adam Lyndon, a master of crime fiction. Combining police procedural, mystery, historical facts and office politics with a multilayered plot, Devil's Chimney is a must read for fans of Elizabeth George, Louise Penny and Peter Robinson.

Detective Barnes is young and ambitious. When he arrests Howard Van Leer robbing his partner Harriet’s house, a chain of thefts is solved and he is promoted to detective. The next day, Harriet’s dead body is found in Van Leer’s squalid apartment. Van Leer is in jail. Who killed Harriet, why was she killed and who moved her body to Van Leer’s flat? We won’t learn the answers until the final chapters and the answers are not as simple as they might seem.

The characters in this thriller are well drawn and complex. The idealistic Barnes has to confront the realities of police investigations while dealing with a complicated personal life. Many of the other characters will reappear, I hope, in Lyndon’s next Detective Barnes book. I’m looking forward to it! 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, Joffe Books and Adam Lyndon

Strong characters, interesting story line.
Full review at MurderinCommon.com https://murderincommon.com/2022/06/05/adam-lyndon-devils-chimney/

Atmospheric Mystery….
The first in the Detective Rutherford Barnes series of mysteries in which we meet the newly promoted Barnes on a mission to discover the identity of the killer of his former work partner. A solid procedural, atmospheric and with a good sense of time and place. Characters are both credible and well rounded and, despite a slow burn from the off, the plot soon becomes interesting and the pace quickens. A most promising start to a new series.

A police procedural novel set in Eastbourne. The main protagonist is a probationary police constable, Rutherford Barnes. His police partner is found murdered and Barnes having been quickly promoted to detective status is involved in trying to solve the case.
The plot is entertaining with plenty of twists, some more predictable than others.
Disappointingly, I found this rather a plodding read. The pace of the first half of the book was particularly slow and the book could have done with being shorter.
The characters didn't really gel with me. There was no sense of a team of police officers, rather just a few mentioned. You would be forgiven for thinking that Eastbourne was policed by only three or four officers. I found the main character too unbelievable; he was good looking, fit, clever, hard working and seemed to be at the forefront of all the action even though he was a probationer. In addition the dialogue seemed forced and unnatural.
Overall I found this to be a mediocre police procedural.

The book is billed as being the first in a series, if it is, and if the other books in the series are as good as this, we are in for a treat.
Set in 2001, a less technologically based investigation, of a series of hideous crimes, unfolds.
The main character is a young, strong willed officer who we will hopefully see develop over the years as the books catch up with the current times.
As a standalone story it is outstanding, as the first in a series it’s exciting.
I really can’t wait to see where this goes

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. I really enjoyed this book it had a believable story and some good characters, I look forward to reading more by this author.

A fantastic first book into a new series. If the first book grabs my attention I will keep an eye out for any to follow.
A brilliant storyline, likeable characters would recommend to many others

This book started off strong for me. I liked the main character, and I thought it was an interesting and different from typical relationship with his wife which could set the book apart from the usual ones. I liked that the book weaved the personal elements in throughout giving the main character (with the unfortunate name he never uses) a human side. However, I just didn't gel with the story, or many of the other characters in his team, perhaps this may change over time (as I would give a second book in the series a go).

I thought this book is unique in that it heavily leans into its Britishness and most mystery thrillers I read are either American or neutral to me. The book definitely has an atmosphere of its own - set in 2001 and I'm not very familiar with that time period as I was born then, so I enjoyed that. Quite minor but I did not think the author needed to make a note that smartphones were different in 2001, I'd like to think that people know this but I digress. Especially because I highlighted about 10 or so words I hadn't heard of before, which is unusual for me so the vocabulary was very adult-oriented to me. I do think that the time period could have been integrated more clearly in the plot. However, I appreciate the note regarding Devil's Chimney and Belle Tout, so I question why the glossary was at the back of the book. I figured if it were at the front, the reader would be able to refer to it as they are reading along without spoiling themselves of other pages but I also understand how the glossary can be spoiler-y in nature. Anyway, after I finished this book, I was not surprised at all to find out that the author has been serving as a UK police officer for a long time. The voice is present in the writing and it does not detract from the writing surprisingly; I thought it would.

The plot is basically that our protagonist Barnes and his cop partner, Harriet apprehend a criminal fleeing from Harriet’s house. Shortly after, Harriet is found deceased and an investigation is underway. Barnes navigates his personal life and seeking justice for Harriet, but there’s more to it than what’s immediately obvious. This book does a good job of exploring relationships, work politics and attitudes between police colleagues, but I thought Eve (Barnes’ wife) was really annoying and irrational as her motivations did not make sense. However, I liked characters such as Hadrian and Emily. I think Barnes’ was likeable enough and really felt for him, which is a good thing.

I thought the first 10% was a bit boring so I took away a star, it took me a bit of time to get through but I pushed through and got really invested, peaking in the 50% mark until the end. I read this book in one sitting so that’s a good thing. I really appreciated that there was an epilogue because I am sick of books cheapening out with vague endings and that is a reason why anyone should care about this book. Furthermore, a standout is the police in action.

Lastly, I don’t think this was the most shocking or elaborate mystery ever so that is why it was not a 5 star for me, but it was an enjoyable read and it’s very in line for this subgenre of books (procedural detective fiction). Like many mystery and thriller books, I start off not understanding the title or cover, but figuring out afterwards is neat.

Thank you Joffe Books and NetGalley for the eARC.
DC Rutherford Barnes and his partner Harriet are on the hunt for burglars at night after a spate of them, when they discover Harriet's house has been ransacked and a nasty message left for her. Soon thereafter Harriet goes missing. Her horribly mutilated body is found by Barnes and then a female detective goes missing as well.
Barnes is promoted to Detective and vows to find out why Harriet was killed, while his delighted wife, happy with Barnes' promotion and pay raise, decides they must try for a baby.
Barnes is a likeable character and the book is ok, but I found myself getting a bit bored after a while; I feel the story could have been shorter. All in all though, it was a reasonable read.