Whoa, I am so in love with Daniel Sellers writing. Psychological thrillers, police investigations, threats, lots and lots of secrets, and most of all MURDER. This is the first book I have read by this author and I only hope he either has written others or will be writing new ones. DCI Lola Harris hires a personal trainer to get into shape and feel better about herself. One day, on a run with her trainer, she notices a car door open with two people tied together inside. One is obviously dead but the other is still barely alive. Fiona Balfour makes a full recovery but says she does not remember what happened. Lola begins to do some investigating to find any clues that might help her figure out what happened. Surprisingly, she finds a similar case in Liverpool that if connected, Fiona is in danger and needs to hide immediately. From here you find that that Lola is the POV and that the questions and investigating leave plenty of room for the reader to speculate about what is happening but you never really figure it out. This book is full of twists, turns, procedurals, and re-examining your thoughts. The secrets are very well kept.


Definitely 5 out of 5 stars


Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author/publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.

Murder in Lovers' Lane is the second instalment in the Detective Lola Harris Mysteries series, set in and around the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Detective Chief Inspector Harris has had a trying few months but is determined to get back on track. After heading an important gangland investigation in the area, which culminated in a mother and child being killed, she has decided to finally end her twenty-year on-off relationship with married man Joe, or the romantic aspect of it, at least, and hired the services of a personal trainer named Johnny Blake, discovered via the Glasgow Police Fitness Club's noticeboard, to improve her mental well-being.

At 7 am one morning, Lola and Johnny head to nearby Pollok Park for a run, where she finds a top-of-the-range BMW half hidden under some foliage with both doors wide open and no sign of anyone else around. Circling the back of the car, Lola, to her shock, discovers two bodies in the boot - fully clothed, face to face in an embrace and tied together with ropes around their shoulders, waists, thighs and ankles. The dark, stocky man was dead courtesy of what looked to be a bullet to the temple. The thin blonde woman lying beside him showed no sign of injury but also lay stock still as though deceased. But she is, miraculously, still alive. Can Lola and crew establish what happened at such a public crime scene?

This is a compelling and highly readable second book with the plot moving at a faster pace than the first which helps keep you engrossed. One thing I really appreciate is that the action begins immediately; there's no hanging around waiting for something significant to occur as the crime happens rapidly and the investigation is then borne from that. Sellers throws you right in at the deep end and pulls no punches in ensuring plot and investigative progression and building suspense with every passing chapter. There is also less extraneous detail than often found in other police procedurals, which keeps the story tight and concise.

After reading the guest book featuring Lola Harris I was interested to see where the series would go and how the characters would develop.
I liked the plots of both books, probably more so this one and I enjoyed the Glasgow setting recognising loads of places but this a poor show for a Glasgow based polis book. I found Lola very unbelievably as DI, her personal story brought nothing to the story and in face weaken her as a character. The rest of the characters are poorly written and highly flawed basically just stereotypical characters…very lazy writing
I felt the author was trying to be woke and feminist in some ways trying to make a political point but it was badly done and lacked true convection. There was a real lack of Glasgow chat and the few stray words thrown in( the odd hen) felt awkward and didn’t marry up with rest of the narrative. I found the layout and way he jumped from Lola to random character POV a bit odd it just didn’t work.
All the negatives aside the plots were good if a little far fetched and slow to take off and the Glasgow setting will always keep me interested. I feel with a little work this could become a good series but they need a lot work. Won’t be reading the next but I’ll keep an eye out any future books and read the reviews who knows they may improve. Make for a good quick read but if you like crime gritty and dark these are not for you. Poors man Val McDermid and they couldn’t tie McIvanney shoes.
One Star- for Glasgow
Two Stars- for the plot…and that’s me being very generous

A great book. Was fast paced kept me intrigued. Loved the whole plot. A book I would give a recommendation for others to read

The pace of this book is fast it rattles along at a good speed. There are some interesting twists and turns that add to the excitement keeping things interesting which keeps you reading to the end. An entertaining read. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

MURDER IN LOVER'S LANE by Daniel Sellers is the second book to feature DCI Lola Harris. It works as a standalone story although more of Lola's backstory would have been beneficial to understand some of her actions related to her personal life.

Deciding it's time to move on after finally breaking up with her married lover, DCI Lola Harris has hired a personal trainer who is tasked with helping her get in shape whether she wants to or not. Johnny has created a fitness plan that includes early morning runs. But the last thing she expects to find on her morning run through the park, is a high-end BMW parked off to the side of the path with a dead man and a live woman tied together. Although Lola discovered the crime, she's going to have to fight to take the lead on investigating it. The bride-to-be, Fiona Belfour doesn't remember anything from the attack but she's an unreliable witness. While the groom-to-be's mother, Rita Rennie thinks she knows who killed him and isn't afraid to say so.

But Lola and her team think there's more to the crime than what's seen on the surface. When they find two similar crimes, the questions of who and why make solving the crime much more complicated.

DCI Lola Harris is a wonderful lead. In her professional life, she's smart, empathic, and knows how to navigate the politics of the police force. But in her personal life, she's stuck in a relationship rut that lead to questionable decisions that test the limits of believability. Still MURDER IN LOVERS Lane is engaging, well-written and offers just enough mystery to satisfy the reader's appetite to see how it all ends.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #JoffeBooks for access to the ARC of #MurderInLoversLane in exchange for an honest review.

Pub Date: 01 June 2023

This is a very good read from Daniel Sellers, well written with some interesting twists and good characterisation. DCI Lola Harris comes upon a grisly scene whilst out for her morning run. She's a tough character and quickly becomes involved in the hunt for a killer. I really liked the Glasgow setting, the pace was quick and the plotting was interesting with good team dynamics. An enjoyable read. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

4.5 stars rounded down.

Detective Lola Harris #2

DCI Lola Harris is turning over a new leaf. She is determined to get into shape. Her new personal trainer is merciless when it comes to fitness. Thankfully, he's also charming and exceptionally good-looking, which helps on a cold early morning run. But turning a corner in peaceful Pollock Park, Lola glimpses something that shouldn't be, a high=end BMW. Doors gaping. A man and a woman roped together. The man is stiff, cold. There's a bullet wound above one open, staring eye. The woman is unconscious - but alive.

The last thing Lola expected to find while she was out on a run was a man and a woman roped together in a car. Lola is a likeable character who is trying to get herself fitter. Once Lola looks deeper into this case, she finds there are much more similar cases. The woman, Fiona Balfour survives, she says she doesn't know why she and her fiancé were targeted. But Lola finds out he was a known gangster who could have had many enemies.

I know this is only the second book in the series, but I did prefer this one slightly more than the first book, Murder In The Gallowgate. This is a well written, twisted and gripping read. I'm looking forward to reading the book in this series.

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

The second in the DI Lola Harris series has a faster pace and is more engaging than the first. The Glasgow detective is involved in a new case from the very start, actually finding the body herself, when she discovers a woman tied to a dead man. The situation becomes complex when she discovers that he is a member of a well known crime family.

With press attention high, and also dealing with a number of both professional and personal problems, Lola finds the case becoming even more complex as time passes. There are several possible suspects, but no one obvious. And some links to a similar case in Liverpool add yet another layer.

This is a narrative with multiple aspects, told at pace, and it works well. The returning characters from the first novel, and a new DS added to the mix, feel more developed and the relationships within Lola's team are an important part of the novel.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy of Murder in Lovers’ Lane, the second novel set in Glasgow to feature DCI Lola Harris.

On a run with her recently hired personal trainer Lola sees an empty car with the doors open in the local park. Looking closer she sees a couple tied together. He is obviously dead, she is unconscious but still has a pulse. When she comes round Fiona Balfour is adamant that she remembers nothing and Lola isn’t sure she believes her. After further investigation Lola discovers links to a similar case in Liverpool and a growing conviction that Fiona is in grave danger.

I thoroughly enjoyed Murder in Lovers’ Lane, which is an entertaining read with some good twists. It does help that it is set in the south side of Glasgow where I was brought up and I can identify and see many of the areas mentioned. There is a comfort in the familiar.

The novel is told mostly from Lola’s point of view, with other characters chipping in as and when. Fortunately there is nothing from the perpetrator so it gives the reader plenty of room to speculate on the who and why, which I did freely with no positive result. The plot, however, is not straightforward as it takes some surprising and unexpected turns that add to the excitement and keep the reader turning the pages. I would observe that there are several people with guns in the novel, so realism isn’t the author’s main priority, but who cares when it’s entertaining?

The plot rattles along at a fast clip, mixing the investigation with Lola’s more personal problems, trying to get an old married lover out of her mind and dealing with a subordinate out to get her. There are surprises in that as well, keeping the reader on side and rooting for her. Lola is a great protagonist, smart, tough and feisty, but also kind and vulnerable. I’m looking forward to her next outing, hopefully with a more attractive victim than Fiona Balfour, whom nobody likes.

Murder in Lovers’ Lane is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

procedural, suspense, unputdownable, thriller, law-enforcement, Glasgow, detective, lies, gangsters, threats, secrets, murder, murder-investigation, due-diligence, office-politics, frustration, friction, gaslighting, investigators, animosity*****

DCI Lola Harris gets all the sticky investigations despite the machinations of DS Aidan Pierce. This one is a real mess and the live victim keeps telling bits and pieces that make Harris and other law enforcement question her hold on reality. Until some of the more weird things are verified as true courtesy of some extraordinary due diligence. And then things get really dangerous. The publisher's blurb is better than most, so no need to repeat or do the spoiler thing. Riveting!
I requested and received an EARC from Joffe Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

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This is book #2 in the Detective Lola Harris series. I really enjoyed it and look forward to the next installment. It’s a great series and I recommend the read👏🏻.

Detective Lola Harris has decided to get into shape so she hired a personal trainer to push her into attaining her fitness goal. While on a morning run, the pair discover a crime scene. A car is parked with a couple tied together; the man is dead and the woman is barely hanging on.

The woman, Fiona Balfour, lives. She was to be married in a month but her fiancé was the victim. She can’t remember what happened or why they were targeted. Who would have wanted her fiancé dead?

Lola soon discovers that her victim was a known gangster and could have many enemies. Fiona fears that the killer was targeting her though. As she investigates, Lola will have to piece together the puzzle and find the killer before Fiona becomes another casualty.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

A couple are found by a police officer on a morning run. He's dead and she isn't. There again he's a local gangster and she's just a nice girl who was engaged to him, but is everything really as it seems. The girl thinks that it's happened because of her and the dead fiancé's family think the she's arranged everything. Can the police sort it out before the nice girl ends up dead too. What about the evidence - too much, too good - who can tell.

Brilliant story

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Joffe Books, I read a free advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

Love lost!

Detective Chief Inspector Lola Harris is out running with her new personal trainer, Johnny, when they come across an abandoned car with a couple beside it bound together, the female unconscious, the male dead—shot though the head. Fiona Balfour has no idea how she came to be there, last she knew she and her fiancé Sean Rennie, who just happened to be the scion of a major crime family in Glasgow, were going to dinner. Rita Rennie the matriarch of the family is not putting up with anything! She wants blood, Fiona’s in particular.
Lola, after some manoeuvring is handed the case. What and who to believe? Fiona seems more like a thoughtless, self centred woman who hasn’t grown up. The possibility of this not being the killer’s first time is mooted. The investigation turns to other precincts. Looking for cases similar, with the additional props identified like black confetti, cards from funeral houses. Grim work.
Meanwhile, on the personal front Lola is trying to not contact her married lover who has cancer. Trying not to do anything foolish!
A provocative read that deals with misogyny in the police force. A read that kept me turning the pages.

A Joffe Books ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

Thank you NetGalley and Joffe Books for the eARC.
What a great book! I loved it and this may become one of my favorite series. Detective Lola Harris is a likeable character to root for and the mystery itself is brilliant, so different from the norm...very refreshing.
On her dreaded morning run Lola and her trainer find a couple bound together, the man dead and the woman, Fiona, unconscious. Upon investigation, Lola finds there were other very similar cases. The police are trying to keep Fiona safe, but she's proving to be a terrified, yet recalcitrant and petulant woman, not sympatico at all. Is she hiding something?
Excellent read, highly recommended!

Great book! This book had a bit of everything! It had suspense, intrigue, murder, serial killer, mystery, A great who done it, great police work, and a few crazy twists and turns! The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my Kindle! I definitely recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!