Dead Inside (Maggie Jamieson thriller, Book 1)

A cracking read! DC Maggie Jamieson - you and I are going to get along just fine. Maggie Jamieson has been moved, temporarily, to a new team after dealing with a particularly harrowing case in the murder team she was part of. DAHU is an amalgamation of several services wit the aim of assisting and protecting abused partners; as fate would have it, Maggie's first day finds her investigating a murder .. swiftly followed by the discovery of a further two bodies. With the department under immense pressure to get a result - and quickly - it's down to good old fashioned detective work to get to the bottom of things. This is an accomplished and well-paced piece of writing; a good solid story which focuses on the crime and teases the reader with the barest of facts about Maggie's home life. The characters are all well-drawn, entirely believable and it is a thriller you can really immerse yourself in and give your grey matter a good workout pondering on who the murderer is! I did have a someone in mind, and it turned out I was right - but there is so much more to come after that. A fine, satisfying read and an absolutely stunning debut novel. This is definitely and author - and a series - I intend to follow, and together they have easily earned a full five stars!

Noelle Holten's debut novel, "Dead Inside" is book one in the Maggie Jamieson Crime Thriller series, and boy does it catch your breath right from the prologue! I was practically glued to the pages; when I couldn't read it, you can be sure I was listening to the audiobook! Now, on to the storyline... after closing out the brutal 'Chopper Case' in the 'Major and Organised Crime Department,' or the 'Murder Team' as she liked to call it, DC Maggie Jamieson takes on a position in the 'Domestic Abuse and Homicide Unit,' or 'DAHU' for short. Here Maggie works alongside her new team and Probation Officer Lucy Sherwood, as they take on one of their most unfavorable cases yet - trying to solve a string of murders in which the domestic abusers themselves are now the latest victims! Right from the start, the author provides her readers with multiple narrations and short chapters, making this a relatively quick and all-consuming read. I was particularly interested in Lucy's story, an accomplished probation officer and a domestic abuse victim. Scratch that, a survivor of domestic abuse. While her choice of profession and everyday life consisted of keeping these types of abusers in line, she was not immune from it herself. Lucy was like many others in her situation; she fell in love and dreamt of her happily ever after, only to realize all too late that her nightmare had just begun. Before long, she had more than just herself to think about, but also the children, her career, and the logistics that came with her very survival. "Dead Inside" was a page-turner, to be sure—an addicting, interesting look into domestic violence and what goes on behind some closed doors. The narrations from Lucy and the other survivors were powerfully eye-opening. Learning of the author's own experiences with abusive relationships helped bring further insight into the subject matter. However, the book does quite well all on its own at evoking the appropriate emotions throughout. While this was a Detective Maggie Jamieson book, the driving character here was Lucy Sherwood. "Dead Inside" does a fine job introducing readers to Maggie, learning of her past case, and current struggles. Luckily I've already read book two, and, as I write this, I can tell you "Dead Wrong" is majorly Maggie-based, and the pieces of her that are provided in book one are precisely what's needed to prepare readers for what comes next! I would recommend this novel to those interested in police procedurals and crime thrillers with a heavyset theme of domestic abuse. It's important to note that this book is a part of a series and does end with a cliffhanger. Rest assured that all of this individual story's I's are dotted and t's are crossed, the ending scene purely leaves you wanting and ready for the next installment! If this is your kind of read, then dig in!

Three men who are abusive predators, have been killed, beaten to death the same way that they treated their own victims. DC Maggie Jamieson assigned to the case, has her worked cut out for her to solve this, before another murder takes place. Maggie’s friend Lucy Sherwood, a probation officer who has connections with these men, is hiding a terrible secret of her own. And when her own husband is murdered, Lucy becomes the prime suspect and her secret is out that she has kept to herself so carefully, that she has also suffered abuse at the hands of her husband for a number of years. But is Lucy responsible for these murders? Having been beaten to unconsciousness that fateful night, Lucy’s struggles to recall the details of her husbands murder and believes that she must be responsible, having been finally pushed to the brink and unable to take anymore of his abuse. But a recollection of another person in the house that she thinks she saw leaving the room that night comes to light, but is this just Lucy’s mind playing tricks on her to try and shift the blame from herself. Lucy’s recollection of the night doesn’t sit well with Maggie, and with time running out, she must trust her instincts and keep looking for the perpetrator before Lucy is charged with a crime that she may not have committed. But are Maggie’s personal feelings getting in the way, or will she have to come to terms with the fact that Lucy really is the killer? Do I recommend this book: Hell yes! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ As a first time author, Noelle smashes this one out of the park!! This is a harrowing story which in times is hard to read due to the graphic descriptions of abuse but it is handled in a sensitive way. I really loved the character of Maggie and my heart broke for Lucy and the other characters who were treated in such a horrific way, by men who are meant to love them. I loved the writing style and the short snappy chapters that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout wanting more. I also liked how Noelle used the names of her friends, who some I was familiar with from book blogging. I really enjoyed that personal touch. I have followed Noelle’s award winning blog Crime Book Junkie, for awhile now and I was so inspired by her and her blog that I have recently become a blogger myself so thank-you for that Noelle. I love that you have taken that passion to create your own work, and a fantastic job has been done. I am thrilled that a second book is in works and I look forward to that and more from DC Maggie Jamieson in the future. Thank-you to NetGalley, Killer Reads and Noelle Holten for allowing me to read an advanced copy of Dead Inside in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and are not biased in anyway.