Stuart Neville is a very good writer and this is a good crime novel, but I do have reservations about it. We are introduced here to DCI Serena Flanagan, a police detective in Belfast. This is billed as the first in a series featuring Flanagan and there is a lot of potential here, I think. Flanagan has just returned to duty following treatment for breast cancer and finds herself embroiled in an old case following the release of two brothers who, as juveniles, killed their foster father. The first two thirds of the book are generally very good, I thought. Neville creates good characters and generates a fine atmosphere of menace and uncertainty. There is also a good sense of place and a well-paced plot which kept me reading. I struggled with the last section of the book, though, as it became more and more implausible. Flanagan has a personal interest in the boys' case, as she does in the suspicious death of a friend who also has breast cancer. To call this a Police Procedural would be stretching the description rather because Flanagan seems to have no concept of procedure whatever. She constantly breaks rules, acts inappropriately toward suspects and colleages, has gut feelings and insights which no-one else believes and (groan!) is eventually taken off the case by her imperceptive and defensive boss and forbidden to go near either case. Have a guess whether she obeys. Needless to say, Flanagan ends up Alone With The Killer In A Deserted Location And Only Narrowly Escapes (twice), after failing to follow any sort of procedure and certainly not calling for proper backup…and so on. (I hope the fact that this is the start of a series featuring Flanagan means that her survival isn't too much of a spoiler.) I'm afraid I ended up muttering "Oh, for heavens' sake" (at least, that was the gist of what I muttered) as the silliness and clichés mounted. It's a shame, because Stuart Neville doesn't need to go over the top like this – he's easily good enough to write a very fine crime novel without overdoing things like this. I have given the book four stars (3.5 rounded up, really) because there is a lot I did enjoy about it, but I hope Neville will calm down a bit in subsequent books and concentrate on the stuff he does really well without (for me) spoiling the stories with ridiculous cliché. There is potential for a fine series here and I hope it develops as befits a fine writer like Stuart Neville. (I received a free copy via Netgalley.)

Set in Belfast, 'Those We Left Behind' is an atmospheric and gripping psychological thriller. A 'must read' for all crime thriller fans. It follows four key characters, along two timeframes which are seamlessly executed. Ciaran Devine is being released on parole after serving seven years for killing his foster father. His older brother, Thomas, released two years earlier is anticipating their reunion. DCI Serena Flanagan has just returned to the department after recovering from breast cancer. Probation Officer Paula Cunningham has been working with Ciaran to help him adjust to his release from prison. 'Those We Left Behind' is narrated in each character's point of view. Ciaran portrays a quiet, insular, troubled and anguished child, even as an adult on release it was difficult to imagine him as a nineteen year old man. It was as if he hadn't aged mentally and just remained in the past. I read somewhere that this often happens. That there is little emotional or mental maturing in very young offenders. Time stays still. They remain in the past, unable to develop or mature. The world moves on leaving them in stasis. The 'outside' becomes a hostile, alien place. If this was Neville's intention to portray Ciaran as emotionally stunted then he did exactly what he set out to do. DCI Serena Flanagan shows signs of being a maverick detective as she will fight to achieve what she believes in even if it goes against the grain and causes tension with her superiors. There is also a vulnerability about her which comes to the fore during her interviews with Ciaran. Paula Cunningham, Ciaran's probation officer, believes he is innocent of the crime he confessed to and works towards helping him break free of the unnatural hold his older brother has over him and tell the truth about what happened that night. Flanagan and Cunningham work together after a murder once again brings the brothers under suspicion. Each endeavour to unburden Ciaran of his loyalty to his brother, but Thomas is not ready to relinquish his hold and be abandoned or betrayed and trouble ensues. There is another strand running alongside the main storyline about the paramilitary and the difficulties encountered by the community who want to live as normal a life as possible in the aftermath of 'The Troubles'. This is only touched on with the team leaders where Ciaran finds work, but it certainly has an impact and demonstrates the current tensions and compromises of working and living alongside each other. 'Those We Left Behind' is a character driven, emotional thought-provoking read about abusive sibling relationships and obsession. Highly compelling it is also about how violent crime affects everyone involved from the perpetrators, to the family of the victim, and the investigating team. Above all it show how there is never any real closure for those left in its aftermath. 'Those We Left Behind' is the first novel I've read by Stuart Neville and I was not disappointed. I look forward to reading what's in store for the main character DCI Serena Flanagan now that she has been awarded justifiably her own series after featuring in Neville's previous novels. 'Those We Left Behind' will surely generate some interesting discussion at book reading groups. Highly recommended. Disclaimer: I received a complementary copy for an honest, unbiased review from the Publisher & Dead Good Books (GoodReads) Group

A steady and reliable murder mystery crime novel. What does that mean? It is very readable but does not thrill, the story is good but predictable and the ending is not surprising. DCI Flanagan gets involved in an old case she assisted in several years ago. She got to be the only Police person 12 year old Ciaran Devine would talk to after confessing to murdering his foster parent. She believes there is more to his confession than is visible to everyone else. It is now seven years later and Ciaran is being released from lock up. His probation officer Paula Cunningham calls Serena Flanagan to get first hand understanding of her new assignee. As always curiosity is irresistible and his release starts a deadly chain of events.

A steady and reliable murder mystery crime novel. What does that mean? It is very readable but does not thrill, the story is good but predictable and the ending is not surprising. DCI Flanagan gets involved in an old case she assisted in several years ago. She got to be the only Police person 12 year old Ciaran Devine would talk to after confessing to murdering his foster parent. She believes there is more to his confession than is visible to everyone else. It is now seven years later and Ciaran is being released from lock up. His probation officer Paula Cunningham calls Serena Flanagan to get first hand understanding of her new assignee. As always curiosity is irresistible and his release starts a deadly chain of events.