Laura is at the end of her maternity leave, racked by anxiety and unsure if she will be able to go back to work as an expert witness interviewer. Her DC partner Niamh is desperate for her to come back so she can get rid of the idiot male DC she's having to work with. An au pair is found, murdered, and the only witness is the toddler she was looking after. Laura's older child goes to the same nursery as the toddler who's au pair was murdered, so she knows the Mum and although she is on the brink of taking extended maternity leave, the case draws her in. Another body turns up and it looks like a serial killer is going to strike again and soon. Glimpses of the killer's back story and thinking keep the suspense level high. Highly recommended, good read.

Loved this book. Loved the previous book with these characters, they are tough women but vulnerable too. Really well written, gripping, twisty and set in Dublin. I really loved it. Couldn't wait to get back into it every time I put it down!! Read it in 3 nights. Clever writing, good story and you're wondering how its all going to play out. So good!!!

I liked this. I liked the backgrounds given in to the main detectives as part of the story. I assume there will be more books to come in the series so that background will be useful to know. The killer was creepy and sinister, with many of the first person parts from him making me shudder! I would read more by this author.
I read an ARC of this book from netgalley.

Enjoyable read. Felt engaged with the characters. Certainly felt for Laura with the pull between motherhood and her love of her job.

Not wanting to give anything away with the storyline. I did have an inkling about what would happen in the middle to the last part of the book but this did not distract from wanting to finish the book and enjoying it

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC! The publication date is the 15th Feb 2024. I devoured this book within a few days I loved it. I absolutely loved the first book of the series, and I’ve been looking forward to the follow-up ever since and I wasn’t disappointed.

The story is told alternately by Laura and Niamh and it was exceptionally well written my favourite characters were Niamh and Laura I would always wonder what’s next for them. The book kept me on the edge of my seat throughout as there was a lot of suspense and I really didn’t want it to end, this definitely should be made into a tv series.

Overall, a fantastic read that was a real page turner. I highly recommend this book and if you read it you won’t be disappointed. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️read!

Now this is what every reader dreams of! One of those books that you can get lost in and that completely consumes you. The writing is flawless, it flows so naturally. The characters are original and so well developed. O loved that you get the inner dialogue aswell so it gives a much clearer insight into who they are but it also never disrupts the flow of the story or takes you out of it. The plot is original and fascinating and yeah, loved everything about it

Laura Shaw and Niamh Darmody #2

I absolutely love the first book in the series, and I’ve been looking forward to the follow-up ever since and I’m so not disappointed.

After a scary start of the novel we get a bit of breathing space as Laura is being assessed if she’s fit for duty. Can she still do the job of a detective with An Garda Síochána after the last terrible case?? Meanwhile a body is found in the Dublin mountains – is it to that of missing Spanish au pair Mia Ruiz? Niamh and Senan McCarthy (McArsey) investigate. The story is told alternately by Laura and Niamh.

First of all, this is exceptionally well written, and I can barely put the book down once I begin it. I love hearing both of the main characters inner voices as they wrestle with a multitude of things, not just this case. I love Laura‘s sense of irony, but most of all you sympathise with her challenges and her uncertainties. As for Niamh, her “in the head“ thoughts on Senan are a hoot, and this helps take some of the sting out of the darkness encountered. Niamh too has some things to resolve and this makes for fascinating reading. I thoroughly enjoy how Niamh and Laura don’t need words, they are so in tune with each other. All the characters are done well, from the wee ones to the big cheeses, such as The Cigare, the SIO, Dan “not on my watch“ McNeil. As for the killers voice, which is interspersed throughout, take a deep breath as this is utterly chilling, and it gives oodles of horrifying creepiness and cringe or three. Wow – so powerful.

This is a strange, compelling and cracking read. It’s multilayered as it’s not just about the investigation. The dialogue is terrific, some of the Irish expressions are simply fantastic and as for the interviews that take place – talk about cats playing with mice! It twists, it turns, the storyline takes us in many different directions until we reach a belter of an ending. Love it! Can’t wait for number three.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Penguin General UK for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

'When they see me, It's too late' by Gill Perdue

If you enjoyed the first in this series 'The Interview', you won't be disappointed with this one! Detectives Laura Shaw and Niamh Darmody are back working together to track a very creepy serial killer with a serious mummy complex 🤢I found the detectives themselves more interesting than the crime plot. Perdue did an excellent job of portraying Laura's struggles to balance being a mother and having a full time job. She made had some interesting points about feminism and it wasn't patronising but written with compassion.

I also loved the story about Niamh and her partner Amber, really absorbing and Niamh is a very well written character who feels very authentic. Seeing her struggle with her relationship and self esteem was a very high point of the novel for me.

I am a bit sick of reading the POV of serial killers and I did feel this got very repetitive in places. She could have made the point without labouring it so much.

Overall, enjoyed reading this and love that it's set in Dublin and that they use Irish colloquialisms etc! Thanks @netgalley for the ARC!

4*

I absolutely loved Gill Perdue's If I Tell (originally published as The Interview), a tense psychological crime thriller featuring Special Victims Interview detectives Laura Shaw and Niamh Darmody.

I've been waiting for more...

When They See Me is a slightly more traditional crime thriller, with the same top quality character writing and this a is brilliant and very exciting book.

Refreshingly different characters, two lead female Police roles. We get chapters from both of their first person perspectives, including their internal dialogues. Shaw is facing up to extending her maternity leave into a career break, while Darmody is missing their special working partnership.

We also get the extremely dark and creepy perspective of the k*ller. A body has been found and they are thinking about the next victim.

The character writing is exquisite. Cop crime cliches are avoided. This is involving character crime writing of the highest order. While If You Tell was brilliant, it was a rather a niche style of novel, I'm delighted Gill Perdue has come up with this book - keeping her deeply involved character style while weaving it into a tense and accessible k*ller thriller.

The finale is sublime, the tension is off the charts. I couldn't read it fast enough while wanting it to never end.

Bound to be in my books of the year.

Read this book ASAP!


Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin

I loved Gill Perdue's first novel, which was called The Interview when I read it though seems to have been later renamed If I Tell. Anyway (annieway, as Niamh would say), Dublin-based detectives and Specialist Victim Interviewers Laura and Niamh are back, with an intriguing and disturbing new case, when a young Spanish au pair is found dead, the only witness to her abduction being a two year old girl.

There's some deeply unsavoury stuff from the killer's POV (I really could do without all the Mummy's feet stuff) but it certainly paints a picture. There's not a huge amount of mystery, as we know more or less who the murderer is (though not his name) and the weird workings of his mind - it's more about catching him, and about what's going on for our two detectives in the meantime.

I love the characters of Niamh and Laura - both are very credible, both with their own issues. Niamh is laid uncharacteristically low by pain-in-the-neck new girlfriend Amber; Laura is coping with a new baby and some ongoing mental health struggles. Niamh's new landlady Dorothy is a treasure, too.

Though I don't know why Laura is so convinced "Noah" is an out-there, eyebrow-raising name for her baby, when it's been one of the top boys' names in Ireland over the last few years. (My generation is a different matter - you'd be doomed to a lifetime of ark jokes.)

Fantastic read, enjoyed it tremendously. Many thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy and provide an honest review.

#WhenTheySeeMe #NetGalley
Awesome thriller.
An au pair disappears in the heart of suburbia. When her body shows up, all eyes are on the only witness to her abduction, a two-year-old child. Detective and expert witness interviewer Laura Shaw knows she is needed. But in the aftermath of a case that nearly broke her, Laura questions if she can continue to do police work. Her partner, Detective Niamh Darmody, is on the case, but without Laura to rely on, she's struggling too. When the discovery of a second body blows all their theories out of the water, Laura and Niamh must accept that the killer is poised to strike again. All they know is that he is tantalisingly close, hidden in plain sight. But they won't see him - not until he wants them to .
Finished it in a day. Loved it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Viking for giving me an advance copy.