Cover Image: LEFT FOR DEAD

LEFT FOR DEAD

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

This is book three in the series. The characters are well developed and there are lots of twists. At times there was so much happening, that it was confusing

Was this review helpful?

Plenty of twists and turns in this good storyline and the third in the series of DI Temple.
Good characters in the book.
Can’t wait for the next one in this series

Was this review helpful?

Thoroughly enjoyed this novel by Deborah Lucy continuing the series featuring Detective Inspector Temple investigating the shooting of two men who turn out to be Liam and Aaron Fortune who are part of the crime family of Fortunes. This book keeps the reader engrossed until the final pages and I would recommend it to anyone who loves a good murder mystery.

Was this review helpful?

Left for Dead is the third book in this series featuring Detective inspector Temple. A gritty,twisty story which moves along at a good pace. A few surprises.

Was this review helpful?

A good story line
Plenty of twists and turns
A real cliff hanger at the end
Can’t wait for the next one in this series
Thanks NetGalley

Was this review helpful?

I found the story to be a little hard to follow at times but overall it is a good mystery. It's twisty and unpredictable and will keep you on the edge of your seat which I love. I would definitely recommend this book

Was this review helpful?

The kind of twisty, jet-fueled thriller that explodes on page one and has you happily abandoning work, sleep, and life as you race to the stunning end. Don't miss it!

Was this review helpful?

This is the third novel in the series, and I have not read the first two. I enjoyed this crime fiction story and read it fairly quickly as I was intrigued to find out who the murderer was. Temple is a likable character and his back story makes you feel sorry for him. He is not well received in his new unit, but proves them all wrong with his intelligence and crime solving skills. Even when pressured to arrest the wrong guy he doesn’t give in and continues to investigate all angles. There were many acronyms relating to police in this story I was unsure of since I don’t read many crime books. I also didn’t understand how the old man in the beginning tied into the rest of the novel until much much later when it’s revealed it seemed like it was just randomly thrown in their in the beginning. Overall I enjoyed this book though it’s not my usual genre and would probably read other books in this series.

Was this review helpful?

British detective, suspense, crime-fiction, family-drama, family-dynamics, law-enforcement, procedural, series, PTSD, guilt, psychological, revenge, departmental-rivalry, department-politics, rumor-mill****

A lot of messy murders, a new DI with a history of undercover work and some haunting regrets who also faces distrust by his new team are the crux of this twisty dark tale of the kinds of stresses and horror that police everywhere are faced with. Riveting.
I requested and received a free temporary e-book copy from Joffe Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

Was this review helpful?

Left for Dead is the third in the Inspector Temple series by Deborah Lucy. I hadn't read the first 2 book in the series, but was impressed with this book. Inspector Temple has a complicated past and his first day with the Major Crimes Unit lands him in the middle of a case he should not be involved with. An elderly woman stumbles upon a crime scene while out walking her dog. She comes across a parked car with 2 men that have been shot in the head. One is dead, and the other very nearly dead. She is so overwhelmed that her dog gets away from her. She goes home to call the police and the story begins. The two men are sons of an organized crime family, The Fortune's. Inspector Temple has had to deal with them in the past and the Fortune's can't stand him. Unfortunately, Inspector Temple's boss sends him to the Fortune home to pass on the news of the 2 boys being shot and 1 killed. This is where things start to get ugly. The team of police that Inspector Temple is in charge of don't trust him because of things that happened in his past and the Fortune's would like to see him taken down.

Will Inspector Temple be able to solve the crime with some behind the scenes wanting him to fail? Will the Fortune's succeed in taking him down? These are questions you'll have to read the book to get answers to. The book takes some twists and turns, especially towards the end. I enjoyed the book and it is now available to buy.
Thanks to NetGalley and Joffe Books for allowing me to read an advanced copy of Left For Dead.

Was this review helpful?

Left For Dead is the third book in the series. This is my first time reading this writer, I am not sure whether you should read the prior books or not.

The book begins in England, July 2018, with a man having been beaten and left for dead but he appears to fight to live as the prologue ends. Chapter 1 picks up in Egypt, October 2019, with a man having woken suddenly from a dream, or maybe a nightmare reliving a memory of not killing someone and wishing he had followed through. Nearly noon he takes a taxi outside a small security station for a hotel where he meets a man. The man is informed he will be going back to England with a new back story and new documents. Next up we are back in England and it is February 2020 with a woman who is fighting being sick after having seen two men dead in a car.

I found the story difficult to follow. Too many characters and no apparent connection in the first several chapters. It's an interesting mystery if you like this particular writing style. It's very unpredictable and will keep you on the edge of your seat if you can get past the first few chapters.

As far as Temple, he is interesting and likeable There is a lot going that causes tension and lack of trust from his supervisors. With a new team get to know and learn their strengths he has a lot getting in the way of solving the crime.

Was this review helpful?

I found the story hard to follow at times but overall it is a good murder mystery. It's twisty and unpredictable and will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Was this review helpful?

When 2 men are found dead by a dog walker the police are very quickly able to identify them as the sons of the local crime family, seeking to avenge their deaths means a race for Detective inspector Temple on his first day in the major crime unit to locate the killers before the family deal out their own justice

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed this book. It had enough twists and a plot that kept me reading it late into the night. The characters were believable and the storyline pulled together crimes from past and present. It also set the scene for another book

Was this review helpful?

D I Temple is an intriguing character and there is much more to him than meets the eye. His tragic back story will mean you want to forgive a lot, though. This is a great mystery in a wonderfully well drawn setting, reminding me of Joy Ellis’s ability to bring the Fens to life. Plenty of twists and surprises, so not the sort of mystery you can skim through. I liked that it kept me focused and thinking.

Was this review helpful?

DI Temple, on his first day, is called to investigate the shooting of two brothers, part of the local villainry. One is dead, the other seriously inured. Temple has history with the villain's family, a complicated personal life and some, his team know this and that about him and have made 42, they do not like him not to mention that the general public is glad to see the two villains being taken down. This is the third in the series and, although there is quite a lot of backstory, it would probably be better to read the previous two - but then the back story in this would probably be tedious! A reasonable amount of police procedure with twists and turns but rather too much about Temple. I didn't find him a sympathetic person so didn't "root" for him that much. 3.5* rounded up. Thanks to NetGalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

A gripping read that was twisty, unpredictable and dark. I couldn't put this down it was a riveting storyline that had me on the edge of my seat.

Was this review helpful?

Detective Inspector Temple #3

Detective Inspector Temple's first day with the Major Crime Unit - and the last case he should be mixed up in.

It's elderly Vera Drake out walking her Jack Russel terrier who finds them. Two young men, in a car in the woods, their bodies slumped in the front seat as if sleeping. DI Temple is the first at the scene. Each victim has a single gunshot wound to the head. One of them is still alive - just. The pair are quickly identified. They are members of a organised crime family. Temple's had dealings with them before. It didn't end well.

Book three in this series and it's filled with surprises. DI Temple has joined a new team, but not everyone in the team is happy to see him. His first case with them is two young men who had been shot in their car. Temple has a complicated personal life, There's lots of twists and the characters are well developed. I do think you have to read the previous two books before reading this one as there are references to them in this book.

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

Was this review helpful?

The third and latest in the Detective Inspector Temple Mystery series is Left For Dead by Deborah Lucy. A woman out walking her dog discovers the murdered bodies of two sons of the local crime family. DI Temple is first on the scene and has had previous dealing with the family who are determined to avenge their deaths. With few clues, little public sympathy, his murder team highly sceptical of him and a boss who doesn’t want him makes for a truly difficult investigation. A classic police procedural with a climactic finale, that was lessened somewhat by the inkling of the murderer halfway through the story. So overall, an enjoyable read with a three and a half star rating. With thanks to BHC Press and the author, for an uncorrected advanced reader copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given.

Was this review helpful?

I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy of Left for Dead, the third novel to feature DI Temple of the Wiltshire Police.

Two young men are found shot through the head in their car. They are quickly identified as Aaron and Liam Fortune, members of a local crime family. Liam is dead, Aaron is clinging to life and nobody seems interested in helping the police with their enquiries. They were nasty men so the public has shrugged its shoulders and the family are determined to mete out their own justice.

This is the first novel in the series that I have read and it seems to work as a stand-alone with all Temple’s past difficulties that have a bearing on the present succinctly recapped. What I didn’t expect or like is that the novel is as much about a general prejudice against Temple at all levels of the force as it is about a murder investigation. The intrigue and scheming don’t interest me and I find it difficult to believe that so many people would rush to judge him harshly based on rumour and innuendo, but then, paranoia seems to be the predominant emotion in the Wiltshire Police.

The novel has all the usual attributes, tension, danger twists, blind alleys and a strong interest in Temple’s personal life. He is not as squeaky clean as he initially leads the reader to believe, but he is also not guilty of the many things his coworkers think he is. His unease and the threat posed to him by the Fortune family are the source of much of the tension. There is also the subplot about his mother’s murder, which seems a bit convoluted and obviously has more to offer in future novels.

The murder investigation is fairly standard in some ways, but the author manages to introduce enough kinks to make it interesting and enough procedural detail to make it realistic. It seems to get a bit tangled up in itself in the middle of the novel, with Temple’s past run ins with the Fortunes clouding the present.

Left for Dead is not for me, but readers who like a more character driven novel will find it entertaining.

Was this review helpful?