MURDER IN THE GALLOWGATE an absolutely gripping crime mystery with a massive twist (Detective Lola Harris Mysteries Book 1)
£0.90
Detective Lola Harris returns from a miserable solo holiday — an effort to get over her useless ex — only to find herself in charge of a high-stakes investigation.
She rushes to a crime scene in the historic Gallowgate neighbourhood. The smell in the basement is thick and sweet, even through Lola’s forensic mask.
The old wooden chair and the rope hanging from its arms are stained red. The earth below is saturated with blood. Six candleholders, their lights burned out, lend the scene an air of a completed ritual.
And yet there is no sign of a body.
A smashed-up phone in the corner puts the investigators on the trail of a local politician who has vanished without trace and a controversial artist who died thirty years ago on a remote Hebridean island.
Lola will have to work with the most obnoxious detective in Glasgow if she’s going to stop the killer from striking again.
Fans of Matt Brolly, Nadine Matheson, Alex Gray, Ian Rankin, Caro Ramsay and Denise Mina will devour this page-turning crime thriller.
PRAISE FOR MURDER IN THE GALLOWGATE:
‘A truly compelling crime novel from an author to watch, which has not only a gutsy and believable central character, but enough twists and surprises to satisfy even the most hardened crime reader. Highly recommended.’ Matthew Booth, author of the Everett Carr mysteries
‘An absolutely gripping murder mystery with a fabulous, strong female detective. The plot twists took my breath away. I’m hooked!’ Victoria Dowd, bestselling author of the Smart Woman’s Mystery series
‘From its disturbing gothic opening to the final twist, Murder in the Gallowgate had me hooked!’ Margaret Murphy, Dagger-winning author of Before He Kills Again
‘A spine-tinglingly tense and gripping novel, with a lovably flawed main detective and host of complex and intriguing characters, Murder in the Gallowgate kept me turning pages late into the night!’ G.R. Halliday, author of the Monica Kennedy series
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A fantastic read, couldn’t put it down.’ Hannelore C.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A new addition to the top drawer of crime fiction.’ J C Gregory
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Loved the pace, the twists, the setting — can’t wait for the next one!’ Ali King
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Compelling characters, storylines that hooked me right in, and a proper flavour of Glasgow made it a brilliant read. I hadn’t intended to read it in a oner, but I couldn’t bring myself to put it down.’ Kay Oh
MEET THE DETECTIVES
Lola Harris, a former hairdresser, is able to get people to trust her at their most vulnerable. She can pierce the toughest facade, asking questions that get to the heart of the matter. But she knows she can play it “mumsy” when she needs to. She drinks too much coffee, and likes a Bacardi and Coke, though she tries not to drink because it makes her maudlin about her useless ex, Joe.
Lola’s main rival in the force is Detective Sergeant Aidan Pierce, who seems hell-bent on sabotaging the case — and her career with it. He thinks he’s the next big thing, and is intensely frustrated that she got ‘his’ promotion. Carefully dressed in expensive Italian suits, he’s a snob, very good looking and vain with it. He’s his own worst enemy, and his manipulative and toxic behaviour has been getting worse. At some point, Lola will have to confront him.
Luckily, Lola has Detective Constable Kirstie Campbell to back her up. Kirstie is committed and plays by the book.
THE SETTING
Glasgow is a city of many different faces, from gritty and unsettling, to modern and slick. It rains a lot: clouds make a lid over the city, and citizens hunch as they hurry about their business. Still, people are very friendly and like a good time.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Joffe Books crime thriller and mystery (15 Nov. 2022) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| File size | 1793 KB |
| Simultaneous device usage | Unlimited |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Screen Reader | Supported |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 408 pages |
| Page numbers source ISBN | 1804056510 |
by cooky
Takes a while to get into it, unusual for me, sorry’s good though.
by Mrs J E-P
DI Lola Harris, having recently broken up with her married boyfriend, is handed a case of a missing politician presumed dead. A number of startling events happen around and involving an art gallery where a controversial exhibition is to be staged. David, an employee of the gallery is also drawn into the mystery as he races to uncover the secrets and memories of an earlier death.
Lola is an interesting but frustrating character. Plagued and distracted by her weakness for her ex and her intense dislike for her DS, Pierce, the case hovers in the background and David seems to investigate and be involved in as much, if not more, of the discovery as Lola.
The historic case that has lead to the murders is well thought out and presented. Clues and information are released throughout, with red herrings, twists and revelations building up the tension. It was interesting that, while dealing with personal feelings and matters, Lola wasn’t the person most involved in stopping the murders, apparently carried mainly by Davids involvement.
I’m sure that Lola’s future stories will involve the further complications of Pierce and her ex.
by Peter Ffrench
It starts off with Lola coming home from a holiday she took to forget an affair that ended badly and being dropped into a case she didn’t want with a colleague she had some dealings with and who is not up to the job but is in there due to nepotism of the worst kind in her view and is trying to undermine her at every opportunity. Despite this she and her other colleague Kirstie get to the bottom of who is killing people in the name of probably misplaced revenge. Her ex lover is still trying to win her back over but seems to be reluctant to commit to their relationship and is just an annoyance throughout the story till he appears in person at the end dropping a bombshell but just seems to be trying to garner sympathy. People in the story are hiding their real identities for obvious reasons but it gets a bit confusing up till the big reveal.
by Father Ted
A new author to me, and I appreciate the work that went into this first in series. I admire those who can construct these complex psychodramas that you follow from several points of view. But they’re not easy to read. The tortured relationship between Lola and Joe, plus the inevitable differences with a junior male colleague in the obnoxious DS Pierce have been done so often that they have lost any interest to this reader. One back story, or internal wrangle per story line, should be enough to pad out the core elements of the piece. Other than that I’m sure it will appeal to many fans of this genre.
by Linda
This is a new author to me, and I liked the sound of this book so I thought I would give it a go. Initially, I found the story complicated, and it took me a while to get into. There was a huge amount of detail to take in which required quite a bit of concentration and I did start to wonder where it was going and how much of this was completely necessary. However, as the story went on, I could see that it was very much required in order to give the story background and explanation. The author has very expertly constructed a complex plot which becomes more and more intriguing as it goes along, with lots of characters who at first seem immaterial, but who eventually turn out to be not quite who they seem and are very much integral to the whole story. This is certainly a challenging read but one which is very much worth it. Each thread of the story takes on its own identity and as they all come together the reader starts to think that they know exactly what is going on, only to discover that, once more, they have been lead down the wrong path. DI Lola Harris is determined to get to the bottom of this case and simply won’t give up. She has another problem on her hands, with DS Aidan Pierce who holds a grievance against her and is determined to make her job that much harder. Fortunately, she has DC Kirstie Campbell by her side to give her all the help she requires, and we gradually see their friendship grow. Once the case is closed, things suddenly take a turn in Lola’s professional life, one which she initially welcomes, but once again things are not as they seem, and the ending has left me wanting more. So onward to the next in the series.
by Barb Dee
Detective Lola Harris has hardly returned from her holiday when she is thrust into a missing person enquiry which quickly becomes a murder investigation and she is under immense pressure to solve the case fast. There is so much going on it is impossible to describe the book without the review becoming a book itself so I recommend reading it. I enjoyed it and look forward to the next in the series. (I do love the name Lola for a Detective)
by Susan Smith
I really enjoyed this book, I could hardly put it down. So many twists and turns, it was impossible to guess who, what or why. I enjoyed all the characters and their interactions. A very good read.
by doglover2
Good story, great characters and very enjoyable