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DCI Simms & Professor Fennimore #2
Believe No One
Forensic expert Professor Nick Fennimore has engineered lectures in Chicago and St Louis - a ploy to get to Detective Chief Inspector Kate Simms. She's in the United States on sabbatical with St Louis PD, and he's keen to see her again. Simms is working with a 'method swap' team, reviewing cold cases, sharing expertise. But Simms came to the US to escape the fallout from their previous case - the last thing she needs is Fennimore complicating her life. A call for help from a sheriff's deputy in Oklahoma seems like a welcome distraction for the professor - until he hears the details: a mother dead, her child gone - echoes of Fennimore's own tragedy.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published July 3, 2014
6 people are currently reading
1712 people want to read
About the author
A.D. Garrett
3 books95 followersAD Garrett is the pseudonym for prize-winning novelist Margaret Murphy.
Margaret Murphy has published nine internationally acclaimed psychological thrillers under her own name – both stand-alone and police series. She is Writing Fellow and Reading Round Lector for the Royal Literary Fund, a past Chair of the Crime Writers Association (CWA), and founder of Murder Squad. A CWA Short Story Dagger winner, she has also been shortlisted for the First Blood critics’ award for crime fiction as well as the CWA Dagger in the Library.
In 2013, writing as A.D. Garrett, Margaret began a new forensic series, featuring Professor Nick Fennimore and DCI Kate Simms. Everyone Lies, which Ann Cleeves rated ‘thriller writing at its best’, was a bestseller, and both Everyone Lies and the sequel, Believe No One, garnered starred reviews from Publishers’ Weekly. Jeffery Deaver commented, ‘A.D. Garrett has done for Manchester what The Wire did for Baltimore. And Simms and Fennimore are complex, compelling, and just plain marvellous.’ Truth Will Out, the third in the series, is now available in all formats.
Website: www.adgarrett.com
Twitter: @ADGarrett1
Margaret will launch a new series in March 2018 as Ashley Dyer. Written in consultation with Forensics expert, Helen Pepper, this series went to multiple auctions across Europe and the United States, and will be a lead title for Blanvalet, Germany in 2018.
Website: www.ashley-dyer.com
Twitter: @ashleydyer2017
Margaret Murphy has published nine internationally acclaimed psychological thrillers under her own name – both stand-alone and police series. She is Writing Fellow and Reading Round Lector for the Royal Literary Fund, a past Chair of the Crime Writers Association (CWA), and founder of Murder Squad. A CWA Short Story Dagger winner, she has also been shortlisted for the First Blood critics’ award for crime fiction as well as the CWA Dagger in the Library.
In 2013, writing as A.D. Garrett, Margaret began a new forensic series, featuring Professor Nick Fennimore and DCI Kate Simms. Everyone Lies, which Ann Cleeves rated ‘thriller writing at its best’, was a bestseller, and both Everyone Lies and the sequel, Believe No One, garnered starred reviews from Publishers’ Weekly. Jeffery Deaver commented, ‘A.D. Garrett has done for Manchester what The Wire did for Baltimore. And Simms and Fennimore are complex, compelling, and just plain marvellous.’ Truth Will Out, the third in the series, is now available in all formats.
Website: www.adgarrett.com
Twitter: @ADGarrett1
Margaret will launch a new series in March 2018 as Ashley Dyer. Written in consultation with Forensics expert, Helen Pepper, this series went to multiple auctions across Europe and the United States, and will be a lead title for Blanvalet, Germany in 2018.
Website: www.ashley-dyer.com
Twitter: @ashleydyer2017
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September 20, 2015Won this book via Goodreads giveaway program. I like crime thrillers, mysteries, etc., and have read many a 'difficult' book, but this one...
Not for me. Didn't finish, but read far enough to know I didnt't care for it. Too gruesome in depiction of torture, binding victims, etc.
The other sections are well-written but very generic. Stereotyped characters. The MC who is female, who is disrespected by many of her 'colleagues.'
But it is the long scenes of victims being tortured, and someone off-screen watching them die via Skype, nah...
Nah.
Not for me. Didn't finish, but read far enough to know I didnt't care for it. Too gruesome in depiction of torture, binding victims, etc.
The other sections are well-written but very generic. Stereotyped characters. The MC who is female, who is disrespected by many of her 'colleagues.'
But it is the long scenes of victims being tortured, and someone off-screen watching them die via Skype, nah...
Nah.
July 30, 2014
Having reviewed the first collaboration between crime author Margaret Murphy and forensic scientist Professor Dave Barclay, Everyone Lies, last year, I was looking forward to Believe No One, the second in the series. Relocating DCI Kate Simms and forensic expert Professor Nick Fennimore to the USA for the duration of this book was a brave and original move, so was interested to see how effectively this would work…
Without a doubt, all the essential tensions and unspoken chemistry between the main protagonists, so evident in Everyone Lies, shone through and the characterisation of Kate and Nick was pitch perfect. I like the more dysfunctional aspects of their characters very much, Nick’s through the loss of his wife and child, and Kate through the pressures of her professional and personal life as a high ranking female detective. I also loved the premise of Kate hot-footing it to America at the earliest opportunity, to provide some distance from her suffocating relationship with Nick, only for Nick to appear in a true ‘tah-da’ fashion, like a genie from the bottle. The ramifications of the intensity of their investigation in the first book, and Nick’s continuing torment over his own personal tragedy, provide a solid base for the development of their of their relationship throughout the course of their American sojourn. Sometimes, I did want to give Nick a good shake, as he does come across at times as too much of a little wounded puppy, rather than adhering to the adage that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and somehow undermining his professionalism as a forensic psychologist of some distinction. Likewise, Kate is a little indulgent with him at times, whilst trying to distance herself, so these less admirable facets of their characters, make them altogether more human, and interesting for the reader, manipulating our empathy back and forth between them.
Less successful for me was the actual realisation of the investigation that both Kate and Nick find themselves immersed in. There was nothing fundamentally wrong with the plot, which I found compelling, as the hunt is on for a serial killer, and serial killers, by and large always provide good morbid entertainment for the average crime reader. The little twists and turns of the investigation were pleasing enough, although I did find the direct echoing of Nick’s personal tragedy, with the disappearance of women and children, a little forced at times. Being a prolific reader of American crime fiction, I can’t quite put my finger on why, but I did feel that there was a certain lack of authenticity about the realisation of the American characters. I did begin to feel that they could have been transposed to any country, and felt they lacked a real sense of ‘being American’. I don’t know if this was due in part to the stiffness of the dialogue when Kate and Nick were interacting with their American counterparts, which to me didn’t carry the cadence of realistic American speech patterns, or just an overall weakness in capturing the feel of the American location generally. It was almost as if the plot and the development of Kate and Nick’s characters took prominence over the attention that should have been afforded to rooting the story in the location chosen and imbuing the American characters with an authentic voice.
However, criticisms aside, I would still recommend this book, along with the first, as a solid pick for crime readers. With the experience of Margaret Murphy accrued from many years as a crime writer, and the intricacy and detail of the forensic psychology that Professor Dave Barclay brings to the collaboration, the foundation is built for a long-running series. I, for one, am very interested to see what Kate and Nick get involved in next…
Without a doubt, all the essential tensions and unspoken chemistry between the main protagonists, so evident in Everyone Lies, shone through and the characterisation of Kate and Nick was pitch perfect. I like the more dysfunctional aspects of their characters very much, Nick’s through the loss of his wife and child, and Kate through the pressures of her professional and personal life as a high ranking female detective. I also loved the premise of Kate hot-footing it to America at the earliest opportunity, to provide some distance from her suffocating relationship with Nick, only for Nick to appear in a true ‘tah-da’ fashion, like a genie from the bottle. The ramifications of the intensity of their investigation in the first book, and Nick’s continuing torment over his own personal tragedy, provide a solid base for the development of their of their relationship throughout the course of their American sojourn. Sometimes, I did want to give Nick a good shake, as he does come across at times as too much of a little wounded puppy, rather than adhering to the adage that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and somehow undermining his professionalism as a forensic psychologist of some distinction. Likewise, Kate is a little indulgent with him at times, whilst trying to distance herself, so these less admirable facets of their characters, make them altogether more human, and interesting for the reader, manipulating our empathy back and forth between them.
Less successful for me was the actual realisation of the investigation that both Kate and Nick find themselves immersed in. There was nothing fundamentally wrong with the plot, which I found compelling, as the hunt is on for a serial killer, and serial killers, by and large always provide good morbid entertainment for the average crime reader. The little twists and turns of the investigation were pleasing enough, although I did find the direct echoing of Nick’s personal tragedy, with the disappearance of women and children, a little forced at times. Being a prolific reader of American crime fiction, I can’t quite put my finger on why, but I did feel that there was a certain lack of authenticity about the realisation of the American characters. I did begin to feel that they could have been transposed to any country, and felt they lacked a real sense of ‘being American’. I don’t know if this was due in part to the stiffness of the dialogue when Kate and Nick were interacting with their American counterparts, which to me didn’t carry the cadence of realistic American speech patterns, or just an overall weakness in capturing the feel of the American location generally. It was almost as if the plot and the development of Kate and Nick’s characters took prominence over the attention that should have been afforded to rooting the story in the location chosen and imbuing the American characters with an authentic voice.
However, criticisms aside, I would still recommend this book, along with the first, as a solid pick for crime readers. With the experience of Margaret Murphy accrued from many years as a crime writer, and the intricacy and detail of the forensic psychology that Professor Dave Barclay brings to the collaboration, the foundation is built for a long-running series. I, for one, am very interested to see what Kate and Nick get involved in next…
November 29, 2014
Authored by A.D. Garrett, the collaborative pseudonym of award winning author Margaret Murphy and renowned forensics expert Professor Dave Barclay, Believe No One is the second gripping crime fiction installment to feature DCI Kate Simms and Professor Nick Fennimore.
UK Detective Chief Inspector Kate Simms is on a six month 'method' exchange with the St Louis PD when her cold case team uncovers evidence of a serial killer dumping bodies along a 600 mile stretch of the I-44. For Professor Nick Fennimore, touring the Midwest promoting his latest book, it is a convenient coincidence that a case he has been invited to consult on in Oklahoma, concerning a murdered woman and her missing child, links with Kate's investigation.
As the ad hoc task force involving Simms and the St Louis PD, Fennimore and the Williams County Sheriff's Office, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and an FBI Behavioural Analyst get closer to identifying the killer, they discover a link to a crime that happened more than two decades before, and a world away. Fennimore is stunned by the possibilities given his own tragic loss, and with another body of a young mother and her child missing, he isn't about to let this killer get away.
Part police procedural, part thriller, the third person narrative exposes the perspectives of the investigators, the killer and a young boy running scared.
I really enjoyed seeing the case come together through the hard work and persistence of the officers despite political maneuvering from a boorish local sheriff and the occasional inter-agency skirmish. I felt Kate got a little lost within the cast though I did like her colleagues, particularly the gruff Ellis. Abigail Hicks was an interesting character as well, and I was surprised to learn that deputy sheriffs receive so little training or support for their role.
The killer is suitably creepy with an interesting pathology and surprising motive. Some of the scenes involving the torture of his victims are disturbing, but thankfully are mostly light on details.
'Red' is the nine year old son of one of the victims who escapes the killer but is too afraid to go to the police. I felt both sad and afraid for him and I'm still not sure how I feel about the unusual situation he winds up in.
The personal lives of the feature protagonists, Kate and Nick, matter within the context of the story too, though it is Fennimore's history that is more relevant. Five years ago Nick's wife and daughter were abducted and while his wife's body was recovered in a marsh, his daughter has never been found. Fennimore is convinced she is still alive and the similarities between this case and his own tragedy has him on edge. Meanwhile Simms accepted the exchange in part to escape Nick and their complicated dynamic so she isn't thrilled when he involves himself in the investigation.
With a complex plot and interesting, well developed characters, Believe No One is an entertaining and exciting novel. Though it conceivably works as a stand alone I would recommend reading Everyone Lies first.
September 23, 2015
This is gritty and fast paced. A first, I think, for me where the book is in three perspectives; the detectives/police, the killers, and the next victim up. The author makes it work and the book flies by. There a lot of characters at first since you have the U.S sheriff and officers and then the visiting U.K. Detective Chief Inspector and Forensic expert Prof Fennimore. And then there are the victims, the locals and some flashbacks for Fennimore. But somehow Garrett makes it all work. Author Garrett has a style reminiscent of McDermid or Minette Walters; dark and very urgent. If you enjoy those books where you can't sleep until the serial killer of your nightmares is caught, this is the book for you. Highly recommended.
July 18, 2015
I couldn't put BELIEVE NO ONE down and wish that I could give it another half star. This is the second book concerning forensic expert Professor Nick Fennimore and Detective Chief Inspector Kate Simms. I have not read the first novel, but I intend too. The story-line is about a serial killer who targets young mothers. The characters are so believable; I especially enjoyed 9 year old Red. It's a mad race to try and catch the killer before someone else is killed. Such a clever read!
November 5, 2019
More like 4.5 stars
The first book of this series gave me problems and this book, too. I tried several times only to put it aside and read other books. Finally I was in the right mood for this book and now I couldn't stop reading. It was very entertaining with a satisfying ending. Now I'm off to read the third book.
The first book of this series gave me problems and this book, too. I tried several times only to put it aside and read other books. Finally I was in the right mood for this book and now I couldn't stop reading. It was very entertaining with a satisfying ending. Now I'm off to read the third book.
July 15, 2016
Ein unerträglicher, letzter Blick – Ein komplexer, intelligenter Thriller
Professor Nick Fennimore, dessen Ehefrau vor sechszehn Jahren brutal ermordet wurde und dessen Tochter Suzie seit dem spurlos verschwunden ist, ermittelt gemeinsam mit Detektiv Chief Inspektor Kate Simms, in älteren Mordfällen.
Als zeitgleich im US-Bundesstaat Oklahoma die Leiche einer Frau in einem See aufgefunden wird, sind sich Professor Nick Fennimore, unliebsamer und ehemaliger Mentor von DCI Kate Simms einig, auf die Spur eines brutalen Serienkillers gestoßen zu sein, der es auf junge, gebrochene Mütter und ihre Kinder abgesehen zu haben scheint.
Der Autor:
A . D. Garrett ist das Pseudonym der preisgekrönten Thriller-Autorin Margaret Murphy und des renommierten Forensik-Professors Dave Barclay. (Quelle: Goldmann Verlag)
Reflektionen:
„Ihr letzter Blick“ ist ein hoch komplexer Thriller, der mir einiges herausfordernd abverlangte. Zahlreiche Figuren, Geschehnisse, Schauplätze und zahlreiche Handlungsstränge galt es zu erfassen. Normalerweise mag ich komplexe Handlungen und Lese-Herausforderungen, doch dieser Thriller beherbergt eindeutig ein deutliches „too much“, da viele Informationen und Ereignisse die Handlung übersättigen.
Ich frage mich bei solchen Handlungen gern, wer soll tatsächlich Zielgruppe eines vor Komplexität strotzendem Thriller sein, wenn ich ihn nur einer Handvoll Lesern empfehlen würde? Dem Mainstream entspricht dieses Buch nicht, schon einmal positiv, dennoch bin ich mir sicher, der Mehrheit wird die fast überladende Story auch dementsprechend nicht gefallen.
Gut gefallen hat mir hingegen das Glossar, das die polizeilichen, amerikanischen Abkürzungen von Datenbanken und Organisationen erläutert. Des Weiteren befindet sich auf den ersten Seiten des Thrillers eine Übersicht der zahlreichen Ermittler, die für den Leser durchaus übersichtlich und unterstützend zu werten ist.
Wenn man den zahlreichen Erzählsträngen konzentriert folgt, dann bieten sie auch eine gute Überschaubarkeit aller Geschehnisse und Handlungen aus Sicht des Täters und aus der Sicht der vielen Ermittler. Die häufig wechselnden Perspektiven entwickeln die Spannung, die immer wieder Spannungshöhepunkte aufploppen lässt. Viele Absätze habe ich ein zweites Mal lesen müssen, um die Story voll umfänglich erfassen zu können.
Die Figuren sind sehr detailliert entwickelt, haben alle einen durchaus interessanten Lebenslauf und stammen aus intelligenter Feder, so wie das gesamte Handlungskonstrukt, das insgesamt von einer spannungsgeladenen, explosiven und rasanten Stimmung zeugt.
Die Brutalität, mit der die Verbrechen einhergehen ist schon enorm. Das unendliche Leid der Opfer gibt zudem Raum für emotionale Betroffenheit.
Fazit und Bewertung:
Ein komplexer und spannender Thriller, der mich angenehm herausforderte, jedoch nicht bis in jedes Detail begeistern konnte.
4 Sterne
Professor Nick Fennimore, dessen Ehefrau vor sechszehn Jahren brutal ermordet wurde und dessen Tochter Suzie seit dem spurlos verschwunden ist, ermittelt gemeinsam mit Detektiv Chief Inspektor Kate Simms, in älteren Mordfällen.
Als zeitgleich im US-Bundesstaat Oklahoma die Leiche einer Frau in einem See aufgefunden wird, sind sich Professor Nick Fennimore, unliebsamer und ehemaliger Mentor von DCI Kate Simms einig, auf die Spur eines brutalen Serienkillers gestoßen zu sein, der es auf junge, gebrochene Mütter und ihre Kinder abgesehen zu haben scheint.
Der Autor:
A . D. Garrett ist das Pseudonym der preisgekrönten Thriller-Autorin Margaret Murphy und des renommierten Forensik-Professors Dave Barclay. (Quelle: Goldmann Verlag)
Reflektionen:
„Ihr letzter Blick“ ist ein hoch komplexer Thriller, der mir einiges herausfordernd abverlangte. Zahlreiche Figuren, Geschehnisse, Schauplätze und zahlreiche Handlungsstränge galt es zu erfassen. Normalerweise mag ich komplexe Handlungen und Lese-Herausforderungen, doch dieser Thriller beherbergt eindeutig ein deutliches „too much“, da viele Informationen und Ereignisse die Handlung übersättigen.
Ich frage mich bei solchen Handlungen gern, wer soll tatsächlich Zielgruppe eines vor Komplexität strotzendem Thriller sein, wenn ich ihn nur einer Handvoll Lesern empfehlen würde? Dem Mainstream entspricht dieses Buch nicht, schon einmal positiv, dennoch bin ich mir sicher, der Mehrheit wird die fast überladende Story auch dementsprechend nicht gefallen.
Gut gefallen hat mir hingegen das Glossar, das die polizeilichen, amerikanischen Abkürzungen von Datenbanken und Organisationen erläutert. Des Weiteren befindet sich auf den ersten Seiten des Thrillers eine Übersicht der zahlreichen Ermittler, die für den Leser durchaus übersichtlich und unterstützend zu werten ist.
Wenn man den zahlreichen Erzählsträngen konzentriert folgt, dann bieten sie auch eine gute Überschaubarkeit aller Geschehnisse und Handlungen aus Sicht des Täters und aus der Sicht der vielen Ermittler. Die häufig wechselnden Perspektiven entwickeln die Spannung, die immer wieder Spannungshöhepunkte aufploppen lässt. Viele Absätze habe ich ein zweites Mal lesen müssen, um die Story voll umfänglich erfassen zu können.
Die Figuren sind sehr detailliert entwickelt, haben alle einen durchaus interessanten Lebenslauf und stammen aus intelligenter Feder, so wie das gesamte Handlungskonstrukt, das insgesamt von einer spannungsgeladenen, explosiven und rasanten Stimmung zeugt.
Die Brutalität, mit der die Verbrechen einhergehen ist schon enorm. Das unendliche Leid der Opfer gibt zudem Raum für emotionale Betroffenheit.
Fazit und Bewertung:
Ein komplexer und spannender Thriller, der mich angenehm herausforderte, jedoch nicht bis in jedes Detail begeistern konnte.
4 Sterne
August 25, 2015
3.5 stars
This is an intricate thriller for those who like the nuts & bolts of a police procedural. The blurb above gives a good synopsis of the story & the hunt for the killer makes for a gripping read.
Chapters alternate POV's. Some follow the task force as they piece together cold cases & come to realize what they're dealing with. Fennimore & Sims find themselves in Oklahoma with members of the St. Louis PD, FBI profilers & a local sheriff more concerned with how his hair looks on TV than the fate of some missing children.
In others, we follow the killer & his mysterious colleague as they carry out truly despicable acts. They are seriously twisted individuals & we are privy to information the cops are searching for. It adds a sense of urgency as young women & their children are taken. You desperately want the police to catch up & discover the killer's lair before it's too late.
But the chapters I found most affecting are those that tell of "Red", a 9 year old boy living in a trailer park with his ex-addict mother. It's no secret she will be one of the victims. His life, however, hangs in the balance & it's not til the end we learn his fate.
The 2 MC's are quirky individuals that obviously have a lot of history. Neither is particularly likeable but excel in their professions. I actually like the procedural part of the plot more than their personal story. There is a previous book in the series & I think it would have helped to read that first. Maybe I would have warmed to them knowing their shared past. Having started with this one, I found the frequent references to Fennimore's personal history distracting & I just wanted to get back to the present story line.
Peripheral characters include a local sheriff's deputy & the colourful people who inhabit rural Oklahoma. Their stories make for great reading with distinct personalities that jump off the page & I found them more than compelling than Fennimore & Sims.
It's a well written thriller full of interesting forensic techniques & gadgets. The last quarter of the book is a page turner as the task force races to find their man before another woman dies. Not everything is tied up with a neat bow, leaving questions that will likely reappear in the next book. If you're a fan of gritty/graphic suspense stories, this is a good summer read.
This is an intricate thriller for those who like the nuts & bolts of a police procedural. The blurb above gives a good synopsis of the story & the hunt for the killer makes for a gripping read.
Chapters alternate POV's. Some follow the task force as they piece together cold cases & come to realize what they're dealing with. Fennimore & Sims find themselves in Oklahoma with members of the St. Louis PD, FBI profilers & a local sheriff more concerned with how his hair looks on TV than the fate of some missing children.
In others, we follow the killer & his mysterious colleague as they carry out truly despicable acts. They are seriously twisted individuals & we are privy to information the cops are searching for. It adds a sense of urgency as young women & their children are taken. You desperately want the police to catch up & discover the killer's lair before it's too late.
But the chapters I found most affecting are those that tell of "Red", a 9 year old boy living in a trailer park with his ex-addict mother. It's no secret she will be one of the victims. His life, however, hangs in the balance & it's not til the end we learn his fate.
The 2 MC's are quirky individuals that obviously have a lot of history. Neither is particularly likeable but excel in their professions. I actually like the procedural part of the plot more than their personal story. There is a previous book in the series & I think it would have helped to read that first. Maybe I would have warmed to them knowing their shared past. Having started with this one, I found the frequent references to Fennimore's personal history distracting & I just wanted to get back to the present story line.
Peripheral characters include a local sheriff's deputy & the colourful people who inhabit rural Oklahoma. Their stories make for great reading with distinct personalities that jump off the page & I found them more than compelling than Fennimore & Sims.
It's a well written thriller full of interesting forensic techniques & gadgets. The last quarter of the book is a page turner as the task force races to find their man before another woman dies. Not everything is tied up with a neat bow, leaving questions that will likely reappear in the next book. If you're a fan of gritty/graphic suspense stories, this is a good summer read.
December 22, 2015
A who done it series I will have to keep my eye on. I stayed in the middle of the story here without having read the first mystery. After seeing the complicated story within a story that is evolving I may need to return to book one. After receiving the novel in goodreads first reads opportunity, I learned a great deal about Dr fennimore, a forensic professor with a knack for solving murders. With advanced intelligence comes social ineptitude and not even his English charm can save him from offending local law enforcement. Written like a TV show, it draws you in bit by bit only showing you the tiniest details in hopes that the story will tie together. If you are like me is torture because you just need to know what happens. Be prepared for a cliffhanger of sorts. Plot one gets resolved just at the end, leaving you wondering about the plot that spills over from book one into book two and hopefully resolves in three. The entire premise of the main characters dilemma is based on not knowing if his daughter is alive or dead in the world after his wife is murdered. The Hunt is on but to be continued. Shall we catch some unsavory types in the meantime? But of course.
November 5, 2014
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
This is a detective story, as such it's hard to summarise without resorting to spoilers. Detective Kate Simms is a part of the Method Exchange Team, reviewing the files of unsolved murders. They discover a number of the murders might be related. All single mothers with a troubled past and young children. A serial killer. Meanwhile, professor Nick Fennimore is consulting on a more recent case, another single mother. And then the killer strikes again.
Can they figure out the identity of this experienced killer?
I loved the variety in characters, the cooperation, politics, tensions and interactions between them. The story started out a bit slow but quickly gained momentum and just kept going 'till the last page. A great read.
This is a detective story, as such it's hard to summarise without resorting to spoilers. Detective Kate Simms is a part of the Method Exchange Team, reviewing the files of unsolved murders. They discover a number of the murders might be related. All single mothers with a troubled past and young children. A serial killer. Meanwhile, professor Nick Fennimore is consulting on a more recent case, another single mother. And then the killer strikes again.
Can they figure out the identity of this experienced killer?
I loved the variety in characters, the cooperation, politics, tensions and interactions between them. The story started out a bit slow but quickly gained momentum and just kept going 'till the last page. A great read.
August 16, 2015
This is a little different than the first book of the series. In this one, our main characters are in the US and helping out two different investigations. The cases end up linking, and everyone works together to solve the murders. The killings are horrific and the mystery is good. We see a lot of the work that's involved in solving these kinds of crimes.
The authors did a pretty good job writing the American voices, especially considering they're British and words are different here. There was one error that I caught. You know how Brits say "maths" while we say "math"? In the same way, they say "drugs" and we say "drug" as in a drug arrest. So one of the Americans said something like that, which we know wouldn't be the way we say it. But anyway, that's not really a big deal.
Looking forward to more from this series.
Received an ARC from GoodReads.com for review.
The authors did a pretty good job writing the American voices, especially considering they're British and words are different here. There was one error that I caught. You know how Brits say "maths" while we say "math"? In the same way, they say "drugs" and we say "drug" as in a drug arrest. So one of the Americans said something like that, which we know wouldn't be the way we say it. But anyway, that's not really a big deal.
Looking forward to more from this series.
Received an ARC from GoodReads.com for review.
January 25, 2016
The combination of an established crime writer and forensic specialist works well under the pseudonym of AD Garrett. This book, the second in a series about an English female detective chief inspector and a forensic professor, follows Kate Simms to Chicago where she is working on cold cases with an American police team. Nick Fennimore's appearance unbalances Kate who is trying to forget a the problems she encountered in her first case with Nick in England.
Fast-paced and very accurate in police procedural and forensic detail, this book is a great read for those interested in crime and forensics with the tension of a complicated relationship between the two main characters. Also, the cold cases being investigated are very real to Nick, whose own wife and daughter disappeared ten years before, his wife being fond dead, but his daughter's body never found.
Fast-paced and very accurate in police procedural and forensic detail, this book is a great read for those interested in crime and forensics with the tension of a complicated relationship between the two main characters. Also, the cold cases being investigated are very real to Nick, whose own wife and daughter disappeared ten years before, his wife being fond dead, but his daughter's body never found.
December 23, 2015
i won this book in the Goodreads giveaway and i found this book to be an excellent example of a good police and suspense story line.i enjoyed this book and will be reading it again in my 2016 readings.
I thought this book showed some extreme procedures and felt that this book would not be a good young adult read.
This book is a follow up to the book "Everyone lies",with kate Simms and nick fennimore where they try to find a serial killer before it strikes again.
This book is recommend to anyone who likes good mysteries and suspense...
I thought this book showed some extreme procedures and felt that this book would not be a good young adult read.
This book is a follow up to the book "Everyone lies",with kate Simms and nick fennimore where they try to find a serial killer before it strikes again.
This book is recommend to anyone who likes good mysteries and suspense...
July 16, 2015
This is a real thriller. Enter two police agents from Great Britain. Actually one is a professor whose wife was murdered and child disappears. The inspector from Britain is in a country to exchange methods of crime solving. The two main Characters met when Nick Fennimores wife was muedered. Now they are on hunt again in the States for a serial killer. Envolves single women and their children. taes twists and turns as they chase this evilthrough the book. Found I couldnt put it down til finished. Written by two people authoring as one. Will read this author again.
December 3, 2015
I won this book in a goodreads giveaway. I loved this book. It was full of suspense...kept you guessing throughout. Loved Professor Fennimore...could almost feel his pain, always searching for his missing daughter. The author made you connect with each character. This is a stand alone book but I am assuming there must be another book that will continue on with storylines that were not tied up. I hope so as I would love to know what happens in these characters lives.
July 21, 2015
I loved everyone lies but found this really hard work.
June 13, 2017
The plot was nonsensical, but I liked it enough to want to read the next book in the hope that we find out what happened to Fennimore's daughter.
August 23, 2017
Fascinating book!
July 17, 2018
Interesting and enthralling crime thriller for the most part - a little too much going on that slows the pace of denouement of the main plot - some of which is a little beyond the pale - main characters do not have physical presences for the most part though minor characters are described in detail - assuming the protagonist is Fennimore, he is a cheeky egoist who is hard to like - ending doesn't tie up much leaving many lines in the water while several characters just disappear - good, not great, effort.
October 18, 2024
Just as good as the first
I can't explain how desperately I want to know what is going on with Josh the suspense is absolutely killing me!
This book revolved 2 serial killers and the outcome of it optimistic and gnarly, the descriptions definitely paint a picture and that picture is bloody
I can't explain how desperately I want to know what is going on with Josh the suspense is absolutely killing me!
This book revolved 2 serial killers and the outcome of it optimistic and gnarly, the descriptions definitely paint a picture and that picture is bloody
March 16, 2020
This is the first book I have read by A D Garrett, it won't be the last. It had a great storyline and the characters of Fennimore and Simms were really well developed. Looking forward to reading more of A D Garrett's work
August 19, 2017
Its good but I didnt enjoy it as much as hte first in the series.
March 23, 2018
This was somewhat of a long book and slow at certain points,but was well written that it kept you wanting to continue to read it to find out what happens at the end
February 12, 2019
Good story- UK & US police forces etc working in unison to solve terrible crimes.
July 6, 2019
Why do characters in some books always have dark back stories? It seems to sometimes detract from the thread of the 'main' story, which it has sadly done for me with this title.
March 24, 2025
Didn't finish
February 27, 2017
British Detective Chief Inspector Simms has been sent to work with a cold case task force in St. Louis, Missouri. As they investigate the murder of one woman they begin to suspect there might be an active vicious serial killer.
November 27, 2014
I received this book free through Goodreads. I was thrilled as it was the first book I'd won through Goodreads and it was an A.D. Garrett book, and the second in the Simms and Fennimore series which I am loving.
In this book we have relocated. Both Simms and Fennimore are over in the States but there for different reasons. Fennimore to do a book tour and lecture and Simms to get some space from Nick Fennimore.
I love reading American crime fiction. I just soak it up and I loved Believe No One for its American setting. It had the feel and tone I like. They were in redneck country and the way they spoke and handled themselves felt real. American crime fiction feels like real escapism to me and this had it in spades, but with a couple of British characters thrown in.
Nick Fennimore is drawn into a case by Deputy Hicks who asks for his help and very quickly it becomes clear that their case is linked to the one Simms is dealing with (she is over on some kind of attachment) and they find themselves working together again.
There was an incident when two scientists, one British and one American, clashed over phrasing of words and their understanding of them, because of the language barrier, and this surprised me because I understood both of them and I don't know if that was because I'm a big crime reader/watcher and the reality is people who aren't would have this issue, or that the book was trying too hard to show the differences between the working partnerships.
For me the American characters stood out more. I really like Hicks, the female Deputy and I liked Dunlap the Detective on Simms team, I also liked Ellis who was so bad tempered about everything it was amusing. It wasn't over done. He just appealed to me. There genuinely are people out there that can be that cranky in their jobs.
Everyone is working really hard to catch a serial killer who is murdering women and taking their children. It's tightly plotted and intricately detailed on the American politics inter-agency workings.
It might have been a Simms and Fennimore novel, but the other characters were so well drawn I think they overshadowed them somewhat. I really enjoyed it and I will be reading the next one because Garrett leaves a wonderful cliffhanger on the last page to keep you hooked.
In this book we have relocated. Both Simms and Fennimore are over in the States but there for different reasons. Fennimore to do a book tour and lecture and Simms to get some space from Nick Fennimore.
I love reading American crime fiction. I just soak it up and I loved Believe No One for its American setting. It had the feel and tone I like. They were in redneck country and the way they spoke and handled themselves felt real. American crime fiction feels like real escapism to me and this had it in spades, but with a couple of British characters thrown in.
Nick Fennimore is drawn into a case by Deputy Hicks who asks for his help and very quickly it becomes clear that their case is linked to the one Simms is dealing with (she is over on some kind of attachment) and they find themselves working together again.
There was an incident when two scientists, one British and one American, clashed over phrasing of words and their understanding of them, because of the language barrier, and this surprised me because I understood both of them and I don't know if that was because I'm a big crime reader/watcher and the reality is people who aren't would have this issue, or that the book was trying too hard to show the differences between the working partnerships.
For me the American characters stood out more. I really like Hicks, the female Deputy and I liked Dunlap the Detective on Simms team, I also liked Ellis who was so bad tempered about everything it was amusing. It wasn't over done. He just appealed to me. There genuinely are people out there that can be that cranky in their jobs.
Everyone is working really hard to catch a serial killer who is murdering women and taking their children. It's tightly plotted and intricately detailed on the American politics inter-agency workings.
It might have been a Simms and Fennimore novel, but the other characters were so well drawn I think they overshadowed them somewhat. I really enjoyed it and I will be reading the next one because Garrett leaves a wonderful cliffhanger on the last page to keep you hooked.
December 20, 2016
The DCI Simms & Professor Fennimore series is the brainchild of Margaret Murphy, working closely with Forensics expert Helen Pepper. I've found collaborations interesting since reading the Beck series, the terrific Swedish police procedurals written by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö. I loved the characters in those books, which were right at the beginning of the Scandinavian Noir explosion. I'm not sure about these characters. It is obvious that a great deal of research and effort has gone into the forensic detail and the investigations, but I never really got to understand the main relationship between Fennimore and Simms because there were far too many characters fighting for attention. Fennimore is a bit more to the forefront, though he doesn't seem to play a massive role in the investigation until the very end, and Simms is almost a bit-part player. I believe in an early book these two characters worked together in Manchester and perhaps the basis of their relationship should have been examined more thoroughly before moving them both to America independently as part of a rather contrived backstory. I guess this is the problem with a series, though. While the book should stand alone I felt I needed to know more about the characters personally before I could become wholly engaged. The tale itself was interesting enough but I still didn't really understand the killer's motivation. Was he trying to save these people or kill them? What was happening to the children and what was the overall plan? None of this was ever fully explained. The way they established the killer's background through language experts etc was very clever and some of the other police work fascinating, but it was all wrapped up a bit too quickly in the end. Another thing: At no stage could I relate the title Believe No One to the story itself. Was it just randomly drawn out of a hat? It's not as if everyone in the story told lies or something.
July 21, 2015
I received a copy of this book from Goodreads in exchange for a review.
While in the U.S. on a lecture tour, English Forensics expert and Professor Nick Fennimore gets caught up in a murder investigation eerily close to that of his own wife and daughter. At first he is thankful for the opportunity to fill a few weeks of down time between commitments. But when the similarities between the current crime spree and that of his own family mount, he finds himself in a fight for the life of the newest victim. Meanwhile, he is also receiving elusive hints that his own daughter is alive. These communications are the hook he needs to draw C.I. Kate Simms back into his investigation. Chief Inspector Simms is also in the U.S. She is working with a group of experts who are sharing their skills and procedure’s while trying to solve Cold Cases.
Simms and Fennimore have a professional history stemming from the time his own child went missing. So Kate was reluctantly willing to talk to Nick and offer assistance.
As the investigation into the current case intensifies, it is discovered that there are more victims than it was at first thought, with more territory to cover. The murderer has been ruthless in his killings and shrewd in his locations choices, always targeting a mother with a young child. Now the pressure is on the stop this mad man before he can kill again.
This book is intense, riveting and will have the reader holding his breathe.
While in the U.S. on a lecture tour, English Forensics expert and Professor Nick Fennimore gets caught up in a murder investigation eerily close to that of his own wife and daughter. At first he is thankful for the opportunity to fill a few weeks of down time between commitments. But when the similarities between the current crime spree and that of his own family mount, he finds himself in a fight for the life of the newest victim. Meanwhile, he is also receiving elusive hints that his own daughter is alive. These communications are the hook he needs to draw C.I. Kate Simms back into his investigation. Chief Inspector Simms is also in the U.S. She is working with a group of experts who are sharing their skills and procedure’s while trying to solve Cold Cases.
Simms and Fennimore have a professional history stemming from the time his own child went missing. So Kate was reluctantly willing to talk to Nick and offer assistance.
As the investigation into the current case intensifies, it is discovered that there are more victims than it was at first thought, with more territory to cover. The murderer has been ruthless in his killings and shrewd in his locations choices, always targeting a mother with a young child. Now the pressure is on the stop this mad man before he can kill again.
This book is intense, riveting and will have the reader holding his breathe.
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