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Bev Morriss #1
Working Girls
Fifteen years old…brutalised… dumped in a park… throat slashed…. Schoolgirl prostitute Michelle Lucas died in agony and terror, utterly alone. The sight breaks the heart of Sergeant Bev Morriss of West Midlands Police. She thought she was hardened, but gazing at Michelle’s pale, broken body she is consumed by a cold fury. She knows this case is different – this is the one that will push her to the edge. Plunging herself into the seedy heart of Birmingham’s vice-land she struggles to infiltrate the deadly jungle of hookers, evil pimps and violent johns. But no one will co-operate, no one will break the wall of silence. Is it fear or guilt? When a second victim dies, Bev knows time is running out. If she is to win the trust of the working girls - she has to take the biggest, most dangerous, gamble of her life … out on the streets.
351 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2001
6 people are currently reading
109 people want to read
About the author
Maureen Carter
37 books27 followersFormer BBC Newsnight presenter Maureen has worked extensively in newspapers, radio and television. She still freelances in the business, when she's not busy novel writing. As a journalist she's worked closely with the police, covering countless crime stories, including several murders. She's also interviewed victims and seen villains sent down.
Maureen was inspired to write Working Girls by a police pilot scheme to treat younger prostitutes as victims rather than criminals.
"It set me thinking about women on the game," she says. "What made a girl risk her health, and her life, night after night? What, if any, choice did she have? I wondered: could I combine appealing characters from this largely ignored section of society with a measure of social comment and produce an engaging and entertaining crime novel?"
Maureen was inspired to write Working Girls by a police pilot scheme to treat younger prostitutes as victims rather than criminals.
"It set me thinking about women on the game," she says. "What made a girl risk her health, and her life, night after night? What, if any, choice did she have? I wondered: could I combine appealing characters from this largely ignored section of society with a measure of social comment and produce an engaging and entertaining crime novel?"
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 25, 2017
When 15 yr old prostitute Michelle Lucas is found murdered a team of police officers start looking for her killer, Sergeant Bev Morriss is the only woman in the team and her boss Superintendent Bill Byford thinks she is the ideal one to be able to get close to the other working girls in the hope of finding him. Trouble is they are all too scared to talk and it doesn't help when two more are found murdered. Morriss puts her life on the line in an attempt to find him. There's a lot of twists and turns to this story. One minute you think you have worked out who's responsible only to find you are wrong again. This is the first in the series and a thoroughly enjoyable read and one that I highly recommend. It's a 5 star review from me
May 25, 2015
AUDIOBOOK EDITION
Great Story, Great Writing and a Great Narrator
My Review
It doesn't take the listener too long to realise that author Maureen Carter is a class act. As a former commercial radio journalist, B.B.C. journalist, producer and presenter (wow!) she brings all the pizzazz and sparkle of her journalistic writing skills to the world of crime fiction.
"Working Girls" is the first book of the British police procedural series starring D.S. Bev Morriss, and is set in Britains' so named second city, Birmingham. For those who may not know, Birmingham is a massive city located in the West Midlands of England.
I liked Bev Morriss' character from the very start, she is a woman working in what is still a male bastion, and in the course of her work has no doubt, been exposed to the sights of terrible crime and its awful aftermath. Yet she hasn't turned in to one of those hard hitting smart mouthed and know-it-all characters so typical of many a detective novel, no, but she is smart! Yes, she is a bit gobby, mouthy or lippy - depending on where you come from, but she knows people, and knows how to talk to them.
Shocked by the murder of young schoolgirl prostitute Michelle Lucas, Bev, against the better judgement of her superior officer, knows that to protect the girls and get the information she needs, she must join the girls on the street.
I liked the way Bev interacted with the working girls, how she somehow negotiated her way into their world simply by understanding the unspoken terms of the agreement. She knows that however much these girls grow to like her (in spite of her being a cop) ultimately, she can never trust them to tell her the whole truth and she knows why. She understands the certainty of the retaliative cruelty and violence they would suffer. Self preservation underpins their interaction with all authority, if they grass on their pimps they will suffer. Bev finds herself up against some formidable suspects, but nobody is talking.
Bev isn't inured to the horrors of murder, yet she tries hard to conceal any emotional reaction she has from the other officers in case they perceive her as being weak. The impact of the horror and the senselessness of it all seems to drive her in her need to bring justice for the victims. It is this characteristic which also makes her a little single minded in her investigations, she goes forward fearlessly, and, on occasion, a little rashly. This results in a scenario which is somewhat typical of many a female sleuth; where a lapse in using a bit of common-sense lands her in a predictably dangerous situation. I like that the author has made her fallible, she is no super sleuth, just a hard working cop getting on with the job.
On a more lighthearted note, there are also a couple of little side stories to intrigue! Maybe, just maybe, a couple of budding romances? Bev is possibly lining up a new boyfriend for the future, and is her new friend the overworked, overtired and somewhat brusque Dr. Thorne batting her eyelashes at one of Bevs colleagues?
This story is a page turner, and, despite a pretty obvious red herring or two, I thoroughly enjoyed it, it is so well written. I thought the dialogue to be spot on, and the character and location descriptions can't be beaten. As I listened, I clearly saw these people in my minds eye, the vulnerable girls, the awful all-powerful Charlie Hawes, the haughty school mistress, and I could envisage them in their surroundings, I was repelled by the dirty dinginess of Annie Flynnes kitchen, and I felt bad for some of them. Yes, I guess you could say the writing engaged me, it certainly hooked me right in to this well crafted story and I'm ready for more. I believe there are now seven novels in the D.I. Bev Morriss series, as yet only three are in audio form, we need more audiobooks!
Narrator
Narrated by Frances Barber, an Olivier award nominated actress (that's big) with a very distinguished stage and television career, therefore I expected great things! Thankfully, that's just what I got, gorgeous, easy to listen to voice, and as one would expect, perfect timing and pace. To say she does accents well is a bit of an understatement, it's no secret, people from Birmingham talk funny, really funny, (no offence) it's the famous Brummie accent, and Frances nails it. How she switches between the Brum and the Cockney with such seeming ease is pure skill. When listening to her, one doesn't have think about such things as "characterisation" and "gender changes", she just does it, just like that, with such consummate elegance that before you know it, all these characters are just conjured up for you, like magic.
This audiobook was given to me by the publisher Creative Content, in return, this is my honest review
Great Story, Great Writing and a Great Narrator
My Review
It doesn't take the listener too long to realise that author Maureen Carter is a class act. As a former commercial radio journalist, B.B.C. journalist, producer and presenter (wow!) she brings all the pizzazz and sparkle of her journalistic writing skills to the world of crime fiction.
"Working Girls" is the first book of the British police procedural series starring D.S. Bev Morriss, and is set in Britains' so named second city, Birmingham. For those who may not know, Birmingham is a massive city located in the West Midlands of England.
I liked Bev Morriss' character from the very start, she is a woman working in what is still a male bastion, and in the course of her work has no doubt, been exposed to the sights of terrible crime and its awful aftermath. Yet she hasn't turned in to one of those hard hitting smart mouthed and know-it-all characters so typical of many a detective novel, no, but she is smart! Yes, she is a bit gobby, mouthy or lippy - depending on where you come from, but she knows people, and knows how to talk to them.
Shocked by the murder of young schoolgirl prostitute Michelle Lucas, Bev, against the better judgement of her superior officer, knows that to protect the girls and get the information she needs, she must join the girls on the street.
I liked the way Bev interacted with the working girls, how she somehow negotiated her way into their world simply by understanding the unspoken terms of the agreement. She knows that however much these girls grow to like her (in spite of her being a cop) ultimately, she can never trust them to tell her the whole truth and she knows why. She understands the certainty of the retaliative cruelty and violence they would suffer. Self preservation underpins their interaction with all authority, if they grass on their pimps they will suffer. Bev finds herself up against some formidable suspects, but nobody is talking.
Bev isn't inured to the horrors of murder, yet she tries hard to conceal any emotional reaction she has from the other officers in case they perceive her as being weak. The impact of the horror and the senselessness of it all seems to drive her in her need to bring justice for the victims. It is this characteristic which also makes her a little single minded in her investigations, she goes forward fearlessly, and, on occasion, a little rashly. This results in a scenario which is somewhat typical of many a female sleuth; where a lapse in using a bit of common-sense lands her in a predictably dangerous situation. I like that the author has made her fallible, she is no super sleuth, just a hard working cop getting on with the job.
On a more lighthearted note, there are also a couple of little side stories to intrigue! Maybe, just maybe, a couple of budding romances? Bev is possibly lining up a new boyfriend for the future, and is her new friend the overworked, overtired and somewhat brusque Dr. Thorne batting her eyelashes at one of Bevs colleagues?
This story is a page turner, and, despite a pretty obvious red herring or two, I thoroughly enjoyed it, it is so well written. I thought the dialogue to be spot on, and the character and location descriptions can't be beaten. As I listened, I clearly saw these people in my minds eye, the vulnerable girls, the awful all-powerful Charlie Hawes, the haughty school mistress, and I could envisage them in their surroundings, I was repelled by the dirty dinginess of Annie Flynnes kitchen, and I felt bad for some of them. Yes, I guess you could say the writing engaged me, it certainly hooked me right in to this well crafted story and I'm ready for more. I believe there are now seven novels in the D.I. Bev Morriss series, as yet only three are in audio form, we need more audiobooks!
Narrator
Narrated by Frances Barber, an Olivier award nominated actress (that's big) with a very distinguished stage and television career, therefore I expected great things! Thankfully, that's just what I got, gorgeous, easy to listen to voice, and as one would expect, perfect timing and pace. To say she does accents well is a bit of an understatement, it's no secret, people from Birmingham talk funny, really funny, (no offence) it's the famous Brummie accent, and Frances nails it. How she switches between the Brum and the Cockney with such seeming ease is pure skill. When listening to her, one doesn't have think about such things as "characterisation" and "gender changes", she just does it, just like that, with such consummate elegance that before you know it, all these characters are just conjured up for you, like magic.
This audiobook was given to me by the publisher Creative Content, in return, this is my honest review
August 6, 2015
I first read this book in 2012/13. And I then went on to buy all the other books in the series. In typical me style, I have not read the others yet, so as i'm going through some of my series of books, I decided to re read this, to remind myself what had happened before I start book 2.
It was just as good the 2nd time around, and I soon started to remember the characters.
The Main one being Bev Morriss. SGT Bev Morriss is determined to find out who is behind the murder of a young girl, and goes back to basics to try and figure it out.
A Brilliant first book in the series, and if this one is anything to go by, then the other 6 I have bought in the series can only get better.
this book does grab you in pretty early, and is a great read for any crime/police procedural fans.
From the Back Cover
Just 15 years old...
brutalised...
dumped in a park...
throat slashed...
schoolgirl prostitute Michelle Lucas died in agony and terror
... utterly alone.
The sight breaks the heart of Detective Sergeant Bev Morriss of West Midlands Police. She thought she was hardened, inured, but gazing at Michelle's pale, broken body she is consumed by a cold fury.
She knows this case is different - this is the one that will push her to the edge.
Plunging herself into the seedy heart of Birmingham's vice-land she struggles to infiltrate the deadly jungle of hookers, evil pimps and violent johns. But no one will co-operate, no one will break the wall of silence...
Is it fear or guilt?
When a second victim dies, Bev knows time is running out. If she is to win the trust of the working girls - she has to take the biggest, most dangerous gamble of her life... out on the streets!
It was just as good the 2nd time around, and I soon started to remember the characters.
The Main one being Bev Morriss. SGT Bev Morriss is determined to find out who is behind the murder of a young girl, and goes back to basics to try and figure it out.
A Brilliant first book in the series, and if this one is anything to go by, then the other 6 I have bought in the series can only get better.
this book does grab you in pretty early, and is a great read for any crime/police procedural fans.
From the Back Cover
Just 15 years old...
brutalised...
dumped in a park...
throat slashed...
schoolgirl prostitute Michelle Lucas died in agony and terror
... utterly alone.
The sight breaks the heart of Detective Sergeant Bev Morriss of West Midlands Police. She thought she was hardened, inured, but gazing at Michelle's pale, broken body she is consumed by a cold fury.
She knows this case is different - this is the one that will push her to the edge.
Plunging herself into the seedy heart of Birmingham's vice-land she struggles to infiltrate the deadly jungle of hookers, evil pimps and violent johns. But no one will co-operate, no one will break the wall of silence...
Is it fear or guilt?
When a second victim dies, Bev knows time is running out. If she is to win the trust of the working girls - she has to take the biggest, most dangerous gamble of her life... out on the streets!
April 13, 2011
really enjoyed this book, looking forward to reading her next one
August 30, 2017
This was an okay book but for some reason I just couldn't get into it.
May 10, 2019
Audio version of this book 📚- Another cracking listen , great start to a series
June 14, 2022
Great bunch of characters
August 9, 2012
For a first foray into the crime fiction market this shows real promise. If I hadn't known otherwise I would have assumed that this was the work of seasoned writer. I'll be sure to follow Maureen's career from now on. An thrilling ride through the underbelly of a major city.
November 23, 2013
nope, couldn't get into it really tried but sadly no
January 10, 2015
A good read with lots of twists and turns. Based in England, the plot was plausible and kept me guessing. Looking forward to the next book.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews