‘WOW, WHAT AN AMAZING BOOK!!!!… Parker is called to the remote farmhouse in the bleak Irish countryside. Inside, she finds a scene that speaks of uncontrollable rage: glasses smashed, chairs ripped apart, the woman’s body broken.
A black rain jacket makes Lottie think she knows the killer’s identity, but then she finds a disturbing clue: is the murder linked to an old case at St Declan’s asylum? A case investigated by her own father, just before he took his life.
When another victim is left without her tongue on the hospital steps, and a young girl goes missing, Lottie knows she has to act fast. Can she face her own demons and uncover the truth before another life is taken?
An absolutely gripping page-turner from the bestselling author of The Missing Ones and The Stolen Girls. If you love Rachel Abbott, Angela Marsons or Robert Dugoni, you’ll be completely hooked.
What people are saying about The Lost Child:
‘Wow… I couldn’t put this book down. Easily in my top 5 favourite books for 2017 … A big fat 5 stars – you have to read this book!’ Bonnie’s Book Talk
‘I need to catch my breath, calm my heart and recover my senses … Patricia Gibney has floored me … and all I want is more.’ Sweet Little Book Blog
‘I totally loved this book. One of my top 5 reads of 2017!!’ Orchard Book Club
‘Gripping, heart-stopping, and frantically insane in the best way possible!’ Chocolate n Waffles
‘If you’re looking for a suspense-filled thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat and turning pages far past your bedtime, The D.I. Lottie Parker series are the perfect books for you!’ Butterfly’s Nooknerdia
‘Oh my goodness this book was fantastic!!’ Donna’s Book Blog
‘A slow build of suspense that ratchets up throughout the whole book, culminating in a shocking twist that will leave you breathless.’ Goodreads Reviewer
‘It’s action packed right from the off, not letting up until the very last page.’ Goodreads Reviewer
‘Oh my goodness! I could not put this book down once I started it. … This book has it all.’ Goodreads Reviewer
‘Lots of suspense and heart stopping moments.’ Stardust Book Reviews
‘Epic! Absolutely epic! … Seriously, straight into my top 5 favourite reads this year.’ Goodreads Reviewer
‘An utterly riveting read!!!’ Goodreads Reviewer
‘A real page-turner, I couldn’t put this book down … A big fat 5 stars – you have to read this book!’ Goodreads Reviewer
‘Oh my Lordie!!!! This Detective Lottie Parker series gets better and Better! Wow, what a book!’ Goodreads Reviewer
‘Holy jumpin’ catfish, Batman, what an ending! The jaw-dropping moments just kept a-comin’. Goodreads Reviewer
‘Beautifully written, packed with suspense, another spine-tingling story that I couldn’t put down.’ Renita d’Silva
‘The book twists and turns to a fantastic final chapter, which is the biggest surprise I’ve had reading a book for a long time.’ Nigel Adams Bookworm
‘Boy, Ms. Gibney, you are good! Not only did you engage me lock, stock, and barrel, but you beat me when I was so sure I had it all figured out.’ Goodreads Reviewer
‘This book took me on a thrilling ride with so many twists and turns, it left me reeling.’ Goodreads Reviewermore
A woman is found bludgeoned to death in her dining room. D.I Lottie Parker and her trusty D.S are called to the scene. It looks like a straightforward case of domestic violence, until they discover the dead woman isn’t who they thought she was. A woman is missing. A child may hold the secret. And the clock is ticking…
A few years ago, I worked with a literary writer who had written much about Ireland. She told me the “lost child” is a motif that runs through much of Irish literature. So far that is true of the Patricia Gibney’s crime fiction series featuring detective Lottie Parker.
Of all the books I’ve read so far in the series, I enjoyed this one most. The story is so layered and so grounded in the Irish trinity of motherhood, lost children and the church, that I couldn’t put it down. As a character, Parker is close to a cliché: she’s a Xanax-popping, secret vodka drinker with a disrespect for authority and a stubborn streak as wide as the Irish sea. Gibney has given her a hell of a backstory. Each novel deals not only with the current murder investigation, but explores the tendrils that snake their way into Lottie’s history. That blend of family dynamics, old secrets and murder is what I enjoy most in a book. And Gibney delivers.
If you like police procedurals with a good dose of family drama, this is definitely one for your TBR.
The rebranded covers make each novel look and feel the same.
Lottie really needs to get her crap together, for the sake of her job and family. However, she is a dog with a bone when she is in the middle of a mystery. The ending gave me hope for her future.
This book’s saving grace was the mystery’s plot and that Lottie finally had some answers to the questions she had been seeking about what happened to her father.
Brilliant series
I loved this book so much I bought the whole series and pre ordered the upcoming book. I finished the series and was not disappointed.
Excellent mystery. Unexpected ending. Keeps you reading.
All the characters in the Lottie Parker series are damaged goods, not just the villains. It makes it more of an interesting read. Good plot with lots of twists and turns.
D.I. Lottie Parker series – great reads!
There is something real in these books that compels me to read them. The lead character is a hopeless mess. She’s raw and unfiltered, angry and reckless…and yet she is endearing. She’s the friend you just want to rescue if you can even though you know she’ll just push you away and tell you she can handle things on her own. She’s tough but she’s not invincible she just wants you to think she is. In reality, she cares deeply for the people around her even though she doesn’t always let them know it. You want this detective in your corner fighting for you because you know she won’t back down, won’t waver under pressure and will press on searching for the truth even when she shouldn’t.
Book 3 in this series was more of the twisted, complex and engaging plots I have found in the previous 2 books, but the final ending had me gasping. OK, so in actuality, I wondered about 10 pages before it was all revealed if the author was going to go there, and she did! I won’t spoil that for anyone else. You will just have to read it and discover the truth for yourself.
It is quite rare for me to nearly finish a book and still be guessing at the outcome. Patricia Gibney really kept the final secret close and didn’t reveal it until the very end. WOW! I like challenging authors that keep me guessing and continue to surprise me, and so I’ll definitely be looking for more Detective Lottie Parker books in the future. Excellent gritty series with real characters! Thank you, Patricia Gibney!!
One must follow the characters through the book, which at times is not easy, but we’ll worth the effort!
scary to think it probably could happen to any of us.
I didn’t enjoy it because it was gory and focused on abuse. I couldn’t finish it because it was upsetting. However, some people might find this novel cathartic.
I’ve recently discovered author Patricia Gibney and I love her Detective Lottie Parker mystery series. They are page turners. I’ve ready all of them and look forward to the her next book.
I didn’t finish. The characters had more problems than they could deal with.
Enjoyed it thoroughly. Realistic characters. Many twists.
From a terrifying beginning of twins locked in a cupboard to a lush in the next room, I realized I was in for a thrilling ride. This is my first Patricia Gibney book and I enjoyed the seamless natural flow of the story. She finds inventive ways to introduce a strong cast, whose agonies and victories the reader feels. Characters such as brusque DI Lottie Parker and protective DS Mark Boyd, each with their own story to tell. Not only does a violent death and a missing person ratchet up the pace, but Lottie’s Xanax and booze dependency threatens to undermine her ability to lead. Can she find something to ‘shave off the bristling edge’? It’s her inner monologue that offers a darker perspective on her life and with Detective Lynch’s and Boyd’s ‘minder’ nature, help is on its way in two different guises.
The chapters from the point of view of the ‘mother’ and child were so harrowing, I did have to take a few breaths to get clear of it. Even a feral and persistent tracker had me looking for an escape route. A burly cast of characters allows for different narrative perspectives and cleverly stitches the threads of this case together. In terms of characterization and storytelling, this book is a must for all who those who enjoy a combination of solid police procedural and thought-provoking works that explore a litany of today’s most pressing issues.
This book is a standalone but reading the first in the series would shed a little more light on the background of Lottie Parker and her team.
I chose to read an ARC from Netgalley and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
Patricia Gibney’s The Lottie Parker series is fantastic. The Lost Child is the 3rd book and I enjoyed it immensely. The author does a fabulous job of telling the primary story of each book while sharing evolving background stories (about main characters) from book to book, which is incredibly entertaining. Ms. Gibney’s ability to surprise seems to grow with each book; who doesn’t love that?!
My jaw is currently on the floor after finishing this one!! This was by far the best one of the series up to this point. It hooked me from the very beginning and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. It was spellbinding and absolutely gripping from beginning to end. And speaking of the end….MIND THOROUGHLY BLOWN!!
This book finds D.I. Lottie Parker once again trying to juggle all of the aspects of her life. As she continues to struggle to cope with her ever-present grief from the death of her husband four years prior, a recurrent drinking problem and the new addition of a grandson to the household dynamics, she is faced with one of the most challenging murder cases of her career. And, the bodies keep piling up. In addition, she learns some utterly shocking and devastating things about her personal heritage. The pressure mounts as she rushes to catch a killer and put the elements of her past into perspective.
Lottie is a character that is so well-written, that when I start a new book in this series, I feel like I am sitting down to read an extra long and uber informative letter from a friend. Gibney has penned Parker so lifelike and relatable, that it is hard not to feel a personal investment in the details and direction of her life. I find myself looking forward to each new story in this series with more anticipation than the serialized books of any other author that I read on a regular basis. Every time I get a new “Gibney”, I feel as if I have hit the jackpot in the literary lottery. And, to my delight, each book tops the riveting genius of the previous one.
If you’re looking for a suspense-filled thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat and turning pages far past your bedtime, The D.I. Lottie Parker series are the perfect books for you!
*I received a complimentary ARC of this book from NetGalley & Bookouture in order to read and provide a voluntary and honest review, should I choose to do so.