His First His Second (Alicia Friend Book 1)

I really enjoyed this mystery thriller even though it took a long time before this case was finally put to rest. Detective Sergeant Alicia Friend and her side kick DI Murphy are involved in following leads which in turn which will solve the abductions of girls by a serial killer in Yorkshire.Richard is the father of one of the girl's who has been abducted and Alicia ends up having a close relationship which ends in disaster for them both.There is someone who is likened to a cameleon and there are more than one psychopath on the loose. There are plenty of twists and turns and bloodshed along the way.

Another book I've had on the Kindle for a while now - so read 1/2 an hour or so every night for a couple of weeks. I did enjoy the book and the various storylines and twists within it. As a free download definately worth reading. There were places it was slightly confusing because quite a few characters\ names and I had to keep reminding myself who was who. But maybe that is my age! The plot was good and made sense. I live in Essex but come from Leeds\West Yorkshire so some of the local points of interest were nostalgic. Every night I found myself looking forward to reading more. I liked the 2 main Police characters of Alicia Friend and Murphy. Although at the end I wasn't compelled to go and download the next story - maybe I will over time. The "who dun it" kept me guessing right until the end which is always good in a light read. And the ending did make sense - also good. As I say worth a read and, in a crowded market, I hope the author does well.

Reading this book is like peeling layers after layers of an onion. Such deeply is the key buried inside the story.

I chose this ebook at random, read the review and dived in. I was amused by Alicia Friend, and by the fact the book is set in Leeds. I have drank in The Skyrack, bought tools in Owlcoats, Pudsey. The story twists around like an E-gulping snake at a rave, and the end is very satisfying - I hate books that don't 'end'. This one ties all loose ends but one. That leaves room for the next installment. I am now a fan.

Three stars, defined by Amazon as "OK". I'm not sure yet that it is even that good, having read only five chapters, but I am prepared to persevere. I do not like the Americanisms -"mom" and so on; I cannot believe a Detective Inspector would address a Detective Sergeant as "Detective"; I find our heroine totally resistible; also hard to believe that a character such as Alicia, with her contrived personality (her childishness, pink wellies in the car), yet super psychology skills would be unknown to a Detective Inspector of Murphy's experience. And I wish I could decide if Rhapshaw is a Chief Inspector or Chief Superintendent - there is some flexibility it seems. I'll give it a few more chapters, though I really hate to abandon any book.Well here I am with a postscript, having abandoned this book. It really became too clichéd, with the two neanderthal male sergeants being put in the shade by the witty and clever ray of sunshine that is Alicia Friend; to say nothing of the stodgy inspector. This deletes my 'Judgement suspended' heading and reduces my rating to a single star.

I read a lot of detective stories. This is not like those. Here be plots within plots. Here be no "fillers". The story races along like it's on the way to a hot date. Do I like Alicia Friend? I'm not sure. She may grow on me. She may not. I think there's more to discover about her and I definitely want to read more from this author.

The central character, Alicia Friend, comes across as a genuine human being. Yes she is a reliable police investigator, but she also has those flaws and insecurities that invade all our lives.What begins as what appears to be a case of two missing girls, kidnapped/murdered, becomes a very complicated criminal investigation. Alicia's psychological profiling skills push her into unseen waters. All is not as it seems. Although the story-line takes a bit of concentration it really draws the reader in. Leeds is not a city to be taken for granted. There are mysteries far deeper than even the police can imagine, and not everyone should be taken at face value. They are not all they seem.Plenty of twists and turns, hardly ever expected. Keeps the reader a willing hostage until the very end.

The central ideas behind the story were good but the book was unnecessarily overlong and over-complicated. I didn't really warm to the detectives especially Alicia Friend.