Never Came Home (D.I. Siv Drummond #2) by Gretta Mulrooney


Never Came Home (D.I. Siv Drummond #2)
Title : Never Came Home (D.I. Siv Drummond #2)
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 1789315255
Language : English
Format Type : Kindle Edition
Number of Pages : 332
Publication : First published October 6, 2020

A mother never came home and now they’ve found the body

Six years ago, Lyn Dimas went missing. She had left her nine-year-old son home alone and her daughter was at a school prom.

Now, builders find a mummified corpse tied to the back of a fridge in a derelict building. An old mattress completes the sad scene.

Detective Siv Drummond is called in to solve this baffling case.

Siv discovers the victim had a complicated home life. But why did Lyn disappear on a quick trip to the shop and can Siv unearth the truth of family secrets and lies, before anyone else pays the ultimate price?

A cold case bursts into life to tear apart a family again.

Who wanted her dead?


Never Came Home (D.I. Siv Drummond #2) Reviews


  • Louise Wilson

    DI Siv Drummond #2

    Six years ago, Lyn Dimas went missing. She had left her nine year old son home alone while she went to the shop. Her daughter was at her school prom.

    Now: builders have found the mummified corpse tied to the back of the fridge in a derelict building. DI Siv Drummond is called in to investigate.

    This book will keep you guessing through to the end. Sir is still mourninh the death of her husband. As she investigates this case, she soon discovers that a lot of secrets and lies were told during the original investigation. The story starts slowly, setting the scene. It picks up it's pace in the second half. The family is dysfunctional. There is plenty of people with motivrs. Although this is the second book in the series it cwn be rewd as a standalone.

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

  • 8stitches 9lives

    Never Came Home is the second instalment in the Detective Inspector Siv Drummond series, set in the picture-postcard fictional Sussex market town of Berminster. It isn't necessary to have read the first in the series before diving into this as enough backstory is given to get new readers up to speed. DI Drummond and her partner, Sergeant Ali Carlin, are called to the scene of a dilapidated warehouse at Orford End that was about to be demolished when contractors Ivor Bass and Grant Haddon discover a partially mummified body hung on the back of an old fridge freezer. After identification, they realise they have the cold case of Lyn Dimas on their hands, a woman who disappeared six years ago after leaving the house to walk to the local shops intending to be back at the family home swiftly then was never seen again. The case was investigated at the time when she was reported missing but after tireless work, they found that there were no more solid leads for them to chase and the case went cold. This turns a possible suicide, which is what the police thought could be the case given her husband had just left her for another man, into a full-blown murder investigation. Can they finally solve this case and get justice for Lyn?

    This is a riveting and gritty police procedural with enough mystery, intrigue and interesting developments to keep you rapidly turning the pages. It is certainly in the same vein as Mulrooney’s other books with writing that just flows beautifully and a plot that is well constructed and thought out. This is a tough case, like most cold cases, as people have short memories making it difficult to gain any accurate detail due to the passage of time but dogged investigator Siv isn't about to give up now. However, not only does she have innocent lapses in memory to deal with but barefaced lies from witnesses too. Siv is a young widow who has transferred and moved to the small coastal town from London’s Metropolitan Police for a fresh start and I thought the rest of the cast was just as engaging and relatable as she was. The procedural and investigative aspects of the story are lent credence by the fact that Mulrooney seems to have researched these areas thoroughly. Soon secrets and lies are being unravelled and with a few superb twists and a shocking conclusion, this is a highly entertaining read. Many thanks to Joffe Books for an ARC.

  • Linda Strong

    Detective Siv Drummond and her team are charged with investigating a body found in an abandoned building. She has been tied to the back of a refrigerator.

    The victim is identified as Lyn Dimas ... a mother who went out one evening and never returned ... six years ago.

    Immediately, the team starts looking at her family, friends and what she finds is that everyone questioned is either lying or has secrets they are not willing to share. Her ex-husband, a new husband, old boyfriends, even her own daughter are all suspects.

    This is second in this series and is easily read as a stand alone, but I highly recommend starting with the first book. Siv is a unique character. She's left her life in London following the death of her husband and moved back to her small hometown. She has to work twice as hard as her male team members to be accepted.

    It's well written with an elaborate plot filled with deftly drawn characters. Personal lives of the characters blend well with the professional. The story grabbed me at the very beginning and kept me intrigued until the surprising conclusion.

    Many thanks to the author / Joffe Books / Books n All Book Promotion / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

  • Jen

    This is the 2nd book in a series but can be read as a standalone. It centers around the murder of a local mom named Lyn who had disappeared 6 years prior. Lyn had a complicated relationship with her kids and her ex and it was rumored that she might have killed herself, but detective Siv and her colleagues determine that she was murdered and spend the book untangling the details in order to solve the case.

    I had some trouble getting into this one- it was slow moving for me and there were a lot of characters- I found myself having to take a step back to remember who was who and how they were connected. When the villain was revealed, it was a surprise and was a pretty good twist, though.

    Overall, this is a decent police procedural but just moved at a slow clip for me. I didn't have any trouble with the British slang, as some other reviewers have mentioned, but the pace made it difficult for me to engage. I'd give this 2.5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

  • Books 'n' All Promotions

    It is the night of his sister Lily's prom the house is full of excited girls and smells of make up and perfume. Their mother, Lyn, is desperately trying to be one of the girls while Adam tries to amuse himself. Then the Limo arrives and with a lot of noise and camera clicks the girls are gone and it is just Adam and Lyn. Then Lyn pops out and Adam is left alone for a little while, except it isn't a little while because she Never Came Home.

    The story then moves forward several years. Adam is a young man living in the same house with his Dad and Monty. Lily is married with a home of her own and life has moved on but the loss of his mother has affected Adam badly. Then her body is found tied to a fridge in a derelict building. What happened that night when she disappeared? How did she get there? Who wanted her dead?

    Detective Siv Drummond is charged with finding the answers to all these questions but here is the rub: the detective in charge of the original investigation is the 'golden boy' in her boss' eyes. Can Siv succeed where he failed given this is a cold case? With the powers that be expecting failure Siv is even more determined to crack this case but she reckoned without all the lies and secrets.

    This is a very intriguing story and the reader is pulled in to the story as the lies and events of all those years ago are uncovered and the secrets revealed. However, the ending was one I really did not see coming. Absolutely brilliant.

    The characters develop well over the course of the book. I didn't like any of them (except the detective team) but that seemed to add to the story because any of them could have been the killer and that added to the suspense. Loved the way the author developed Adam from a young boy into a boy-man which worked perfectly given all Adam had experienced growing up and made the whole story very realistic.

    The personal lives of the team bring a personal side to the story and Mutsi!!! Well what a unique character I await bemused to see what happens next with the mother/daughter relationship.

    A very enjoyable read. Thank you to Joffe Books and the author for the advance digital copy. This is my unbiased review.

  • LIsa Noell

    My thanks to Joffe Books, Greta Mulrooney and Netgalley. This was an engrossing tale. It was all kinds of messed up! I think my issue is that it was so convoluted and gone on to sideways! Fortunately, 2 character's kept me wanting more. Siv and Ali. I need these people. Not going to lie, this book had me scratching my head. Twists are great. But, come on! This final one was just nonsense.

  • Erica Nicole

    This was quite a slow read for me. I had to wade through the book (yes, wade) for many days due to a lack of very apparent action in almost half of the book. But the writing style is genuinely good, the plot was just underdeveloped and the transition slow in my opinion.

    The characters were developed very greatly. I love Siv and Ali. The author really put thought into how these characters came about, their backstory, their characteristics and personalities.

    This book let us understand the dynamics of family ties what with ample examples, primarily the relationship between Siv and Mutsi, along with the Dimas family. This along with family love. The Patrick-Noah tandem made me teary-eyed and realize so many things involving certain people in my life.

    This is a puzzle, one perfect for thriller/mystery fans especially because the author has opened so many endgame possibilities! It literally pained me thinking about who is who and which is which! Agatha Christie fans, you might want to give this a try.

    Full of twists and turns, you will be amazed at how intricately Never Came Home was crafted: it will make the clogs of your brain whirr about very, very restlessly.

  • Loraine Philliban

    Gretta Mulrooney is a new author for me and I want to say I was impressed with her book I liked the characters but the pace of the storyline was too slow for me.
    A mummified body is discovered in a derelict building by the builders tasked with clearing out the debris before demolishing the building. It is quickly identified as a missing woman from 6 years ago.
    The story then branches out covering the dysfunctional family of the deceased woman, past work colleagues, old neighbours. At the same time DI Siv Drummond has her own family issues and is still struggling to keep her grief in check for her late husband.
    I did enjoy the characters but I found the pace of the investigation was too slow and the twist at the end a little hard to believe.
    Not my favourite book this year, sorry.

  • Alyson Read

    This is the second story in the exciting new series featuring Detective Inspector Siv Drummond. Recently widowed and still grieving, Siv has moved from a high profile role in London's Metropolitan Police to take up a post at a slower pace in her old home seaside town of Berminster. This was where she and her sister were raised by their father after their chaotic Finnish mother Mutsi dumped them finally to run off with yet another lover. She was thrown straight into her first investigation, a double murder case, as soon as she arrived and proved herself a worthy addition to the small team of DS Ali Carlin and DC Patrick Hill, particularly important since her boss DCI Will Mortimer is a bit put out as he wanted his own protégé to get her job. The officer is question, Tommy Castles, moved away but rumour has it he wants to come home again and Siv will need to watch her back. Siv has settled into life in her tiny home, an ex circus wagon in a field, and has even made a friend, although she still hears the voice of her late husband and being tracked down by her ghastly mother has certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons. The story begins in 2013 with the disappearance of Lyn Dimas one night. She had just seen her eighteen year old daughter Lily off to her school prom and told her son Adam, aged nine, that she was quickly popping to the shops. When she did not return later, Adam fled to a neighbour's house and raised the alarm. Lyn was never seen again. Fast forward six years and a team of builders are scheduled to demolish a removal company’s former premises which has lain empty and crumbling for years. When they start to clear the rooms, two of them make an awful discovery. A mummified body is strapped to the back of a large fridge and Siv and her team are put on the case. It doesn’t take long for the pathologist to determine the body was female ad strangled, and a trawl of missing persons soon leads to the body’s identification as being Lyn. As the investigation proceeds, the detectives realise what a dysfunctional family Lyn was part of. They were torn apart by the departure of her husband and there is no love lost between some of them. Enquiries throw up a whole host of suspects involved with the family, their friends and colleagues and the derelict building itself, but most seem to have strong alibis and the burning question is what could have lured Lyn away to leave her son home alone? Many disturbing truths are unearthed and gradually even more possibilities are added to the mix of motives, but one by one their alibis and explanations start to fall apart. Can Siv and her team get to the root of this murder before anyone else gets hurt? I liked the detectives in the team, particularly Ali Carlin, a good detective and mentor, who comes across as dependable and unflappable. Now that they have been introduced in book one, we start to get to know them a little better, especially Patrick and his brother Noah when an interesting dilemma pops up. Siv may think she has problems getting to know people, but it’s clear that the others like and respect her, and she is proving to be a great boss and leader. The plot was clever, twisty and kept me guessing all the way through to the end. There were no distracting side plots, instead a solid story of detectives piecing together of all the evidence to a satisfying and plausible ending. Highly recommended and I am looking forward to reading more books in this series. 5*

  • Tharanga

    This is the second book of the DI Siv Drummond series. This story is based on a cold case mystery about a woman who has disappeared, six years ago and founded in an abandoned building about to be demolished. Her body was partially mummified and tie up to the back of an old fridge freezer. The body turned out to be a mother called 'Lyn' who has two children, with a troublesome marriage, reported as a missing person back at the time ruled out as a possible suicide.

    upon finding the body, Detective Siv Drummond and the team immediately have been called and assigned to the case to solve the case. Six years ago the case turns into a potential suicide case, which is what the police thought could be the case given her dysfunctional family full of lies and secrets. Or could it be murder? Can they finally solve the case and get justice for Lyn? can Siv discover the story behind the mummified body?

    This is my first reading from this author, and it was very interesting reading. The whole story is based on typical criminal investigation and police procedural. I love how the author builds the characters and turn and twist the plot. I could not see the ending and the story will keep you guessing through to the end. When I came to the last plot twist, it was a surprise and was pretty good though.
    On the other hand, the pace was slow-moving for me and there were a lot of characters. I found myself turning pages back and forth to remember who was and how they were connected. Also, I felt the side stories of Siv’s colleagues were unnecessary and make the main story complex and gone on sideways.

    Overall, this is 3. 5 Star reading for me and I really enjoy the story and the characters Detective Siv and Ali. I'm recommending this book to anyone interested in reading a good detective/Crime solve/Mystery book and looking forward to reading more books from this author.

    Thank you to Joffe Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.

  • Lori

    The blurb for this one didn’t grab me, but since I’m usually open to testing out murder mysteries and crime novels I gave NEVER CAME HOME a go. Boy, was this a hidden gem! Complicated plot lines and a mix of characters you love and hate, a tightly knit investigation team, and lots of family drama pack this novel! And, I have found myself a new crime series!

    If you enjoy crime/police procedurals or are a fan of Tempe Brennan and Manon Bradshaw, this one’s for you. Lyn Dimas went to the store one night, leaving her 9-year-old son Adam home alone. She never returned. Six years later, her desiccated body is found in an abandoned building being prepped for demolition. Detective Siv Drummond and her team are called in to reopen this cold case and find out how Lyn ended up here. Through their questioning, we meet Lyn’s bratty daughter, bigoted father in law, “too good to be true” son in law, and “out of the closet” husband. We also get some insight to Siv’s own challenges at home, from her recently deceased husband to her neglectful self-absorbed mother.

    I loved how this book kept me guessing but didn’t just focus on the case. Siv, Ali, and Patrick became more human as you learn about their own life struggles and personalities. As the book was wrapping up, the team took a few leaps to find the killer and close the case. After all the drawn-out investigation throughout the book, it was a bit disappointing some assumptions were made to solve it. After the killer was identified, the book abruptly ended which also was a bit disappointing. It’s like the author got tired and wanted to wrap it up! In the end, I enjoyed it. Siv and her team are characters you will want to hang out with again in the future! This is part 2 in the series, so I will definitely be reading part 1.

    Thanks to NetGalley and Joffe Books for an advanced copy to review. NEVER CAME HOME is available now on Amazon.

  • Wendy

    “Never Came Home” an intriguing murder mystery opens when Detective Siv Drummond and her partner Sergeant Ali Carlin, are called to a dilapidated warehouse that’s about to be torn down. There they are faced with the partly mummified body of Lyn Dumas tied to the back grill of a fridge-freezer. Missing for six years, she disappeared from her home on the night of her daughter’s prom, leaving her son at home for a quick trip to the shops. With no motive and few clues, Siv and Ali begin their investigation with family and friends, unlocking family secrets and lies.

    Set in a fictional Sussex town this enthralling and well-developed plot intertwines police procedure in probing a baffling mystery while integrating the personal ups and downs in the officers’ lives like Siv’s mother Mutsi’s lack of maternal affection and her unconventional lifestyle, as well as DCI Patrick Hill’s troubles with his handicapped brother Noah. Intensity and suspense heat up with a gay husband; a secret affair; and Lyn’s complaint against a former colleague. With twists and turns that keep you glued to every page, the plot quickly and smoothly flows to a shocking ending.

    Among the characters adding excitement to this compelling thriller is Detective Siv Drummond who’s haunted by her past and heavily work-oriented after the accidental death of her husband. She often seems distant and blunt but has a sharp mind and keen deductive reasoning skills. Her partner the overweight Ali Carlin is kind, empathetic and shrewd as the two delve into the life of forty-three year old Lyn Dimas who had low self-esteem but image conscience after her husband’s confession that he was gay. Among Lyn’s family members is stocky, fragile, shy and angry son Adam Dimas; her daughter the spoiled, shallow and upset daughter Lily Aston; and her attractive son-in-law the homophobic, dense, arrogant, and cocky Pearce Aston.

    I enjoyed “ Never Came Home” a page-turner I couldn’t put down until finished.

  • Jimena Patiño

    I want to thanks #Netgalley and the publisher for the copy in exchange for an honest review.
    Can a woman vanish into thin air? It’s 2013 and we witnesses the last time Adam, a nine year old kid, watches her mother, Lyn Dimas, go to the groceries and never came back.
    Six years later, a body is found in a demolition site, in which they’re going to build new apartments. Detective Siv Drummond and her team get themselves a cold case who turned up to be murder. The body of Lyn Dimas is found out tied up in a back of an old fridge in an abandoned place and re opens the investigation of the disappearance of Mrs. Dimas.
    This novel goes through the entire investigation of the case and in times, reveals the problems of Siv and her team. Like Siv dealing with the dead of her husband or her conflictive relationship with her mother, Mutsi.
    It was a slow reading for me, too much British slang got me in some trouble, but there’s a glossary of terms in the end of the book that you can check out.
    Is a dark slow pace mystery that unfolds the complicated life of the Dimas. All the time I feel so sorry about Adam and him carrying the fault of something he couldn’t avoid.
    It was grim but yet interesting, sometimes there was just to many interrogations going on. Is like long version of one of those dramatic detective’s TV show like Vera. The pace was a little bit to slow for me, I’m get used to to fast thrillers but it was a nice reading.
    For me is a three stars reading (I was pondering four since is three and a half actually). The motive and the discovery at the end it was OK but it was my first suspect since the beginning even if there is many others who had stronger motive to kill Lyn.
    Ideal for fans of Wallander and such who wants a female and not so likeable (she is a bit too moody and gloom because of the grief and her job basically) older police detective.

  • Pat Simpson

    This is the second book in the series featuring DI Siv Drummond. I hadn’t read the first one but this read well as a stand-alone. Siv, who recently lost her husband in a tragic accident and is still grieving, has left her high profile post with the London Met and has returned home to the seaside town of Berminster. The book opens in 2013 with the disappearance of a young mother Lyn Dumas. Her 18 year old daughter was attending her school prom and she had left her 9 year old son Adam at home while she went to the shop, but she never returned. Fast forward six years and Siv and her team are called out to investigate the finding of a mummified body of a young woman in a derelict building and she is soon identified as Lyn Dimas. The family were torn apart when Lyn and husband separated, so he became a suspect alongside family, friends and colleagues, all seem to have strong alibis but as the team start to unravel all the lies that surround Lynn’s murder family secrets re revealed. This is a good detective story with plenty of twists and turns and an unexpected ending. A recommended read.
    Thanks to Netgalley and Joffe Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

  • A.J. Sefton

    This is a detective story which looks into the disappearance of a single mother. After the initial set-up, with perspectives from the daughter of the missing woman (an 18-year-old on her prom night) and her nine year old son, the story jumps ahead about seven years and focuses on the detectives looking into the re-opened case and the woman's family. We see how the dynamics have changed, how the daughter has married the boyfriend her mother didn't approve of, and the son who has become increasingly withdrawn.

    There are a lot of characters in this story, some deliberately unlikable or odd and two-dimensional, while there are plenty of well-rounded ones. There are many perspectives as the story is told, often briefly, from their point of view. It is good that the central characters in the police investigation have rounded lives without being too intrusive into the story. My favourite is the weird teenaged son. His thoughts, actions and speech are very plausible.

    This is a good detective story with new characters appearing throughout, making the whodunnit aspect intense. Maybe one or two descriptions could be cut, but this is a good read. Recommended.

  • JJ

    This is the first DI Drummond book I’ve read. Maybe getting book one would have been an idea but I didn’t really feel I’d missed much. Most authors will work in a quick back story.
    The first chapter sets out the Dimas family of lonely mum Lyn, petulant self-obsessed daughter Lily and younger son. Lily is off to the school prom with her friends (acolytes). Mum leaves her son alone to nip to the shop and never returns.
    The story gives us a disturbed family broken since dad, Theo, came out as gay and moved in with his boyfriend. Wife Lyn, furious about the perceived deception, spread vicious rumours about Theo. Theo’s dad disowned him and sided with Lyn. He also spoilt Lily something rotten.
    A mummified body is found tied to the back of a fridge (seriously how would you manage that) in a derelict building about to be demolished for housing. It’s no spoiler to say it is mum Lyn.
    DI Siv Drummond, living in some strange wagon-type thing in the woods is on the case with her team Ali and Patrick. Siv has been fairly recently widowed, her mum, who she does not get on with, has reappeared and moved into a flat in town. Siv doesn’t get on with her chief who wanted his protege for her job. Patrick is a carer to his older brother who suffered a stroke. Ali is a diabetic who loves sugary things. So apart from the dysfunctional Dimas family the police team are not much better.
    It was an interesting story, well-fleshed out characters even if no one really comes out of it smiling.

  • Marion

    When workmen move in to clear a derelict building the last thing they expect to find is a mummified corpse tied to the back of an old fridge.
    Detective Siv Drummond and her team are called in to investigate.
    They identify the body as one Lyn Dimas who disappeared six years earlier when she nipped out for groceries, leaving her young son Adam alone in the house.
    Finding her body reopens the old missing person case, only now its murder!
    As the inquiry progresses Siv is drawn into the dysfunctional Dimas family`s history, sorting through the alibis of the possible suspects and recognizing the truths among the lies is not an easy task.
    Will Siv and her team discover why Lyn was killed and by whom before anyone else gets hurt?
    This one held my interest all the way through, although only the second in the series Siv and her team are becoming firm favourites with me. I`m looking forward to reading more books featuring them.
    Thanks to Joffe Books for sending me this as an ARC in return for my honest review.

  • Sharon Rimmelzwaan

    Never Came Home by Gretta Mulrooney is the second book in the Detective Inspector Siv Drummond series that is set in a fictional Sussex market town of Berminster. Although it is a second book anyone can dive straight in as Gretta Mulrooney has ensured to fill in the history of Siv and how she ends up here in Berminster.
    This opens with D.I Siv Drummond and her partner Sergeant Ali Carlin being called out to a warehouse that's due to be demolished, but the contracters discover a partially mummified body hung onto the back of a fridge freezer. Once the identification process is complete, they realise it is the body of a woman who went missing six years previously, Lyn Dimas, who went to the shop and just never returned.The case was investigated at the time but no conrete leads were found at the time. This creates a cold murder case investigation for Siv and the team.
    A book that, like the first book, has a bit of everything. It is a gritty crime thriller that is full of mystery, intrigue and suspense. The secrets start to be exposed as the team are determined to get justice for Lyn.They doggedly unravel the lies that surround the murder and we are faced with the turns and twists as they go along. The shocking conclusion creates another jaw dropping moment in a Gretta Mulrooney book. I am happy Siv is back and am hoping to see her again at some point in the future.
    Thank you to Joffe Books and NetGalley for the copy of the book to write this review today.

  • Lynn McCrum

    This is the second book in the series about DI Siv Drummond written by Gretta Mulrooney but can easily be read as a standalone (I had not read the first book but will be going back to do so).

    In 2013, a mother is caught up in the excitement and frenzy as her daughter and her friends get themselves ready for their school prom. Once they are safely ensconced in the limousine taking them to the prom, the mother (Lyn)makes her 9 year old son (Adam) a sandwich and asks that he watch a film whilst she nips out for a short time. She never returns!

    Fast forward 6 years and an old building is being emptied before being demolished. However, on starting to empty the contents the contractors make a gruesome discovery - a mummified body tied to the back of a large fridge freezer. DI Siv Drummond and her team must try to find the murderer and inform the next of kin of their discovery.

    There were plenty of twists and turns and secrets in this book and it was interesting to discover how people fitted into the storyline. I didn’t guess who the killer was or there reasons for doing so.

    Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

  • Kerry https://likeherdingcatsblog.wordpress.com Robinson

    This novel does work as a stand alone but I recommend beginning with the first book in the series as it really gives a good overview of Siv’s character and how her relationships within her team are developed.

    When the body of a mother who has been missing for six years is found, Detective Siv Drummond and her team have a huge task ahead of them. Starting with the victim’s family everyone is a suspect. I really enjoy crime novels where I become completely suspicious of everyone and Gretta certainly grants this wish for me. Snippets of information were revealed at crucial points and my mind was constantly changing about who could have done it and why. Mulrooney’s plots are never simple or straight forward and this one certainly kept me guessing form beggining to end.

    The character of Siv continues to evolve and I love how her personal and professional life develops throughout the book. The balance is well written and the two entwine so the plot continuously moves forward. Siv’s professional life is a great representation of how women often have to work twice as hard to earn recognition and respect in some workplaces.

    The first part of the novel sets the scene and then in the second part, the investigation really picks up pace.

    A fabulous crime novel with suspects everywhere.

  • Laura Hundley

    Lyn Dimas is helping her daughter prepare for her prom night and everyone is so excited. As the evening rolls on, Lyn goes Pops out for a second leaving her son Adam at home. The only thing is Lyn never came home. Flash forward to some builder working on a dilapidated building and there they found a body tied to a refrigerator. I will say that the story moves quite fast at first but then takes a turn to become slower. It is almost an all too familiar story although you get more of a thrill ride because you really do not know what happened. Did she commit suicide as the police think, or could it be something more sinister?

  • Sveva

    This is the second book of the DI Siv Drummond series, but it was my first Gretta Mulrooney book I've read.

    The story follows the investigation of a cold case murder after builders find a mummified corpse tied to the back of a fridge in a derelict building. It is the body of Lyn Dimas who went missing years before. She had left her nine-year-old son home alone and her daughter was at a school prom.
    This was quite a slow read for me. I did enjoy the characters but I found the pace of the investigation was too slow for me.
    If you like a police/investigation focused thriller, this is the book for you!

    Thanks to Joffe Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.