Hope to Die

Product Information

And, what does it have to do with a shocking, sensational crime from the late 90’s, that’s recently been turned into a Netflix’s documentary series? Many thanks to Netgalley and Penguin General UK - Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking, Penguin Life, Penguin Business for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly. As we should all be aware by now, feeding ducks bread is bad because the food has little nutritional value and can harm ducklings' growth, pollute waterways and attract rodents and other pests. While I haven’t read all the books in the Fawley series (this is my third and I am definitely planning on going back to read the first three), I’ve become quite attached to the characters and really enjoy reading about both the police investigation and the lives of the team.

The case takes several very surprising turns and the plotting is impeccable, absolutely nailing the thrill factor even when some of the topics it covers are on the tragic side. The only comment on this is that these inserts are in very tiny font and are a bit challenging on the Kindle – I couldn’t get them to enlarge. I'll say nowt about the plot as all you need to know is in the blurb, (some of the reviews I've read were a tad spoilery 😬), but I will say it was great to be back sleuthing with DI Fawley and the team (well that's what it felt like 😄).When links are discovered to a past child murder, it seems that DI Fawley and his team have a very complex tale to unravel. This is quite hard for me to review as this is my first Cara Hunter book and at the time of joining the blog tour I wasn’t aware this was book six of a series 😫 and only realised this once I started reading it and put it on goodreads as currently reading so I do think that sadly took away some of the reading experience as I felt like I had missed out on things from previous books. There is something not adding up at the crime scene from the beginning, and the team struggle to identify the deceased man. This is the sixth book in the series featuring DI Adam Fawley and his team – although there are some plotlines that run across the books (mainly to do with the team’s personal lives and relationships), I think this could be enjoyed as a standalone novel.

I have no doubt that this series would translate extremely well onto the small screen, but even in book form it offers a enjoyably immersive experience to the reader.The people involved also seem plausible – the police team are well-developed as separate characters (and there’s even a cast list with back-stories at the front of the book if you need a hand). An all round winner, and I have no hesitation in recommending this book, and the entire series, to mystery, crime, thriller, psychological suspense, domestic drama, and police procedural fans.

And yes, this is based on a true story, but since other creative liberties were taken, I think it would've been worth it to make the motive a bit clearer. I think the ending was supposed to be a shock so was a bit disappointed because it really wasn't at all. The format is exactly the same as in the previous books, with short sections as opposed to chapters and mini-cliffhangers everywhere in sight. I buddy read this with Pat, and Ceecee (because they couldn’t wait to read it either 😊), and all three of us enjoyed it.

This is the sixth book in the DI Adam Fawley series, but only the second one that I have read personally. At first DI Adam Fawley’s team is pretty stumped, there is not much to go on but gradually through a lot of hard graft they learn that the couple had changed their names some years ago. It probably helps that the setting is local to me so I can really see what's going on but also because the main characters, our well known group dynamic, are so brilliantly drawn and relatable.