‘She shivered, though the kitchen was warm. Icicles of foreboding trickled down her spine. With trembling hands she whipped back her hair at the nape of her neck. As she turned away from the window, she missed the shadow passing by.’One dark winter’s morning, bride-to-be Cara Dunne is found hanging in her home, dressed in her wedding dress, with a lock of hair removed. Detective Lottie Parker is … Lottie Parker is first on the scene. Looking at Cara’s bruised and battered body, she wonders who could have hated her enough to kill her at the happiest time of her life.
The case takes a darker turn that afternoon with another shocking discovery – the broken body of a second young woman, pushed from the roof of the hospital where she worked. Fiona Heffernan was also due to be married, and her body is clad in a wedding dress, a lock of her hair cut off.
The killings seem so personal that Lottie is convinced the girls have been killed by someone they knew. When she goes to break the news to Fiona’s family, she’s on the alert for anything suspicious. But then she makes a discovery that causes her blood to run cold – Fiona’s eight-year-old daughter Lily didn’t return home from her dance recital that afternoon. Terrified that Lily will be the next victim of a twisted and dangerous individual, Lottie takes the case into her own hands, risking her life when she comes face-to-face with the killer…
If you love Karin Slaughter, Robert Dugoni and Rachel Caine, you’ll be hooked by this heart-stopping thriller from Patricia Gibney. Broken Souls will keep you guessing until the very last page!
Read what everybody is saying about Broken Souls:
‘Brilliant as always and totally addictive and I loved it!!… This is a thrill a minute police procedural that just doesn’t let up, so many twists and lots going on it really is unputdownable but that comes as no surprise as every book in this series has been a 5 star read … Patricia Gibney as always writes a superb story never letting up on the action and once more providing us another 5 star read and highly recommended. ‘ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘I love the twists and turns in the plot that keep you guessing right to the end. And that ending! My heart was breaking. I cannot wait for the next one!’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘I absolutely love this series with Lottie Parker and was so looking forward to reading this. It was as brilliant as all of the other books in this series. A great storyline with all the usual twists and turns we expect from Patricia’s writing but a few red herrings in there. Just as I think I have it figured out a spanner is thrown into the works and I have to think again. I couldn’t put it down. Bring on the next book, I can’t wait!!’ Netgalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘A fabulous mix of thrills, mystery, psychological mind twists and a clever, thick plot … a gripping page-turning, riveting book. Highly recommend Broken Souls.’ Goodreads Reviewer
‘What an amazing book. I couldn’t put it down. had my attention from start to finish. plenty of suspense and twists and turns. just when i thought i had it figured out i was proven wrong. will definitely recommend. can’t wait for more.’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘I have to say I got very excited when I saw book 7 was out in the Detective Lottie Parker series, it’s no secret that I love these books… How much can one woman take… Another great police procedural twisty mystery to get your teeth into, I cannot fault these books ever, it has it all… Murder, love drama, family dramas…. How Lottie Parker is still a sane woman is beyond me!!!’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Gibney always keeps me speculating and guessing until the end! Another fabulous addition to the DI Lottie Parker series! If you love psychological thrillers as much as I do, love when an author keeps you on the edge of your seat guessing and haven’t’ read this ENTIRE series, yet, you REALLY should!
This book can be read as a standalone, but it makes much better sense if you read it as part of the series order.
#BrokenSouls #NetGalley
*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.
Broken Souls is a fabulous, tense thriller with well-crafted red-herrings and well-rounded characters. Once again Gibney crafts a stellar mystery with an unusual twist that may or may not be linked to the Church.
I’ve mentioned before that Lottie Parker–recovering alcoholic, with her dysfunctional relationships and single-minded pursuit of the baddies–is dangerously close to a cliche. In this book there were moments when she appears deliberately obtuse as well. At one point, she’s interviewing a witness and her long-suffering partner Boyd interrupts her to tell her there has been ‘another one’. And Parker is so busy being pissed at the interruption that she asks ‘another what?’ I mean, how dense can she be?
But Lottie does get under your skin and with her mother and new-found half-brother ‘conniving behind her back’ while she’s hunting serial killers, those thick-headed moments are easy to forgive.
While each novel is a stand-alone mystery, the Lottie Parker series is well wrapped up with Lottie’s family life and this seventh book in the series references events and brings in characters from the previous books. If you haven’t started the series as yet, you might want to think about it. For me, this book made me want to go back and read the others one after the other.
I’ve been able to listen to all of these books on audio and the Irish narrator really adds to the sense of place and characters.
People have raved about Patricia Gibney for a long time, but I was too stubborn to listen. I have learned my lesson. This was an excellent crime thriller. Fortunately for me, it could be read as a stand-alone, although there were numerous references to past books in the series (to be expected, as this the 7th). If you have read the others in the Detective Lottie Parker series, you will be very pleased with this one. If you’re like me, and haven’t read any of them before now, do yourself a favor and pick up this series. You’ll be glad you did. For more details, please visit my blog at Fireflies and Free Kicks Fiction Reviews. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a complimentary, pre-release, digital ARC of this book.
Broken Souls by Patricia Gibney
D.I. Lottie Parks #7
Creepy characters – suspects aplenty – unsettling – made me wonder…
Having just read the book description before starting the book I was surprised with how the book began and even looked ahead to make sure I was reading the correct book. It actually took the prologue and a few chapters before I reached a point where I knew I was in the right book. Once Lottie was on the scene I felt perhaps I was where I was supposed to be. I had no idea what the prologue would refer to but thought perhaps it might be either a victim or an eventual murderer that I had just met…and I did feel sorry for the little boy that I met in the first few pages.
Eventually Lottie and her team are dealing with deaths that might look like suicides but are really murders and the kidnapping of an eight year old girl. There are numerous suspects and creepy people for the reader and police team to sift through before the case is solved. Lottie is still not someone I can relate to or even like much. I have a feeling she is good at her job but perhaps not the warm caring mother her children would benefit from. I also wonder about her relationship with Boyd and what he sees in her.
What I liked the procedural aspect of the story
* That Lottie’s family were not singled out as victims
* Lottie’s team members – at least what I saw of them
* That McMahon might be taken down a peg or more soon
* The bad guy was caught
* It took me awhile to figure out what was going on (also didn’t like that at times0
What I did not like:
* The reason why the bad guy ended up as s/he did
* More than one of the characters that were suspects…even though they were not the perpetrator
* Lottie’s distance from people and unwillingness to engage
* Feeling at loose ends at the end of the book – especially in regard to the eight year old who was kidnapped.
Did I enjoy the book? I think so
Would I read more in this series? Might try one more to see if I can warm up to Lottie or not
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC – This is my honest review.
3 – 4 Stars
This has to be the toughest case for Lottie Parker and her team yet. There is no real connection between the victims, it’s not even sure if it murder or suicide. And nobody knows how the missing little girl fits in to what’s going on. Hooked from the first chapter, I couldn’t put the book down. I had no idea as to why things happened and who might be involved. And maybe, just maybe, we might get rid of ACTING Superintendent. That really would make my day. There is so much going on in the personal life of Lottie Parker that I can’t wait for the next book.
So many secrets and a little girl to save: pageturner for me
4.5stars
This was my first time reading a Patricia Gibney novel and I must say, what a compelling story! The murder investigations and search for a missing child by Irish garda DI Lottie Parker and her team had driving urgency, lots of red herrings and SO many secrets to uncover in this rural community that it kept me totally invested in the story. And the mysterious attitude of Lottie’s fellow detective and love interest Boyd kept me waiting for the shoe to drop right through to the end.
The opening chapters, all seemingly disconnected, soon resolved into a complex series of macabre deaths suspiciously alike in their staging and all linked by a single common strand.
I am ready for the next in the series and will be going back to the earlier stories because Gibney tells a fascinating tale and I want to learn more about Lottie, Boyd, Kirby and Lottie’s family.
Thanks to publisher Bookouture and NetGalley for providing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
Broken Souls and they are indeed broken souls is the 7th book in the Lottie Parker series
How I love Lottie Parker and her team of detectives ! As the pages turn, in my mind I am trying to solve all these murders along with them, but I cant compete with the team.
One of the things I love about Lottie is you feel you know her: she is much more than just detective, she is a mother, a daughter, sister , fiancee. She has so many human sides and above all she cares for all those broken souls and is determined to solve their murder so they might rest in peace.
A great cast of characters, who can you trust ? Not many of them.
The pages fly by with twists an turns and I couldn’t put the book down.
I will be first in line for book 8 featuring Lottie Parker!! Can’t wait to get my hard copy.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to shadow Lottie and her team in Broken Bones.
Broken Souls by Patricia Gibney is the seventh book in the author’s Detective Lottie Parker series. This is an intriguing police proceduaral mystery. It is well-written and has interesting characters. I enjoyed reading this book.