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Daniel Whelan #4
No Second Chances: A British police dog-handler mystery
Ex-police dog handler Daniel Whelan finds himself drawn into the complex affairs of a neighbouring family – with potentially fatal consequences
Lorna Myers thinks she knows where her businessman husband is – until two men come looking for him one October evening. By lucky chance, ex-police officer Daniel Whelan happens to be on hand to take control of the situation, but for Lorna it’s the start of a nightmare. If Harvey isn’t abroad working, then where is he?
When Lorna’s daughter asks Daniel for help with a problem of her own, he finds himself reluctantly drawn into the complex affairs of the Myers family – with what could be potentially deadly consequences for both him and his faithful canine partner Taz
Lorna Myers thinks she knows where her businessman husband is – until two men come looking for him one October evening. By lucky chance, ex-police officer Daniel Whelan happens to be on hand to take control of the situation, but for Lorna it’s the start of a nightmare. If Harvey isn’t abroad working, then where is he?
When Lorna’s daughter asks Daniel for help with a problem of her own, he finds himself reluctantly drawn into the complex affairs of the Myers family – with what could be potentially deadly consequences for both him and his faithful canine partner Taz
315 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 1, 2016
8 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
Lyndon Stacey
19 books24 followersLyndon Stacey lives in a quiet village in the Blackmore Vale in Dorset, with three assorted dogs and a cat, and her books are set in the surrounding counties.
Although she started writing fiction as a very young child, she worked in many and varied jobs after leaving school, alongside which she gained a very good reputation as an animal portrait artist. Writing was always her first love, however, and when she hit on the winning combination of everyday (if tough) heroes and a rural background abounding with dogs and horses, her first publishing deal was not far behind.
Her many interests include reading (unsurprisingly!) horse riding, Canicross, animal psychology, gardening, music & dance, genealogy and motorcycling, but her overriding passion is for dogs, their training, and all kinds of dog sports.
Although she started writing fiction as a very young child, she worked in many and varied jobs after leaving school, alongside which she gained a very good reputation as an animal portrait artist. Writing was always her first love, however, and when she hit on the winning combination of everyday (if tough) heroes and a rural background abounding with dogs and horses, her first publishing deal was not far behind.
Her many interests include reading (unsurprisingly!) horse riding, Canicross, animal psychology, gardening, music & dance, genealogy and motorcycling, but her overriding passion is for dogs, their training, and all kinds of dog sports.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 31, 2016
Daniel Whelan, ex-cop dog handler, is now driving a lorry, delivering feed and supplies to farms. He is always accompanied by Taz, his German Shepard. One day he drives up to Lorna Meyer's farmhouse and discovers two heavies attempting to find out where her husband, Harvey, is. Lorna insists he is in Hong Kong, but it soon becomes apparent Harvey has actually disappeared; he left Hong Kong two weeks ago and returned to England, but no one knows where he is. Meanwhile, Lorna's daughter, Zoe, is searching for her boyfriend, a Traveller (or gypsy). The clannish Travellers are less than happy that Shane is dating a "country" girl and refuse to help. While Daniel and Taz are entertaining characters, there was quite a lot of suspended belief needed to wade through this.
August 4, 2021
SPOILER ALERT
Former cop Daniel Whelan is back with his K-9 Kaz coming to the rescue of Lorna Myers as she is being harassed by a couple of thugs looking for her husband Harvey. He is there to deliver a load of farm and horse supplies. Lorna explains that Harvey is in Hong Kong, though the thugs tell her he returned to England long ago. She has been calling for more that a week with no response. The next day her daughter Zoe approaches Daniel for help finding her boyfriend Shane Brennan. He is a Traveller, part of the community nearby, which includes a number of dangerous criminals including Johnny and Billy, who runs a Greyhound dog rescue.
Zoe has hocked her grandmother's jewelry which had been given to her so Shane could buy a horse and win enough money for them to buy a trailer and go off together. She is only fifteen, and Daniel does not want to help, but ends up starting to look for him. There are only two weeks left before they jewelry could be sold.
The case takes them into dangerous territory, has them finding a ruthless process of killing dogs, and finding the body of Harvey. He had been involved with high stakes poker, and owed money. I did not like this story. Sordid and brutal.
Former cop Daniel Whelan is back with his K-9 Kaz coming to the rescue of Lorna Myers as she is being harassed by a couple of thugs looking for her husband Harvey. He is there to deliver a load of farm and horse supplies. Lorna explains that Harvey is in Hong Kong, though the thugs tell her he returned to England long ago. She has been calling for more that a week with no response. The next day her daughter Zoe approaches Daniel for help finding her boyfriend Shane Brennan. He is a Traveller, part of the community nearby, which includes a number of dangerous criminals including Johnny and Billy, who runs a Greyhound dog rescue.
Zoe has hocked her grandmother's jewelry which had been given to her so Shane could buy a horse and win enough money for them to buy a trailer and go off together. She is only fifteen, and Daniel does not want to help, but ends up starting to look for him. There are only two weeks left before they jewelry could be sold.
The case takes them into dangerous territory, has them finding a ruthless process of killing dogs, and finding the body of Harvey. He had been involved with high stakes poker, and owed money. I did not like this story. Sordid and brutal.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 13, 2024
4th book in this series and very enjoyable! I'm sad that the author isn't writing more of this series with ex-cop Daniel Whelan and his wonderful and heroic police dog, Taz. I really liked Daniel and how he was always risking his life to help people. In this story he was helping Lorna and her teenage daughter. There were two stories going on and they were connected. Lorna's husband, Harvey, has disappeared and a couple of thugs come looking for him and threaten Lorna. Daniel agrees to help her. Then her daughter asks for his help to find her boyfriend. Very good story, very good series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 28, 2025
(3,5) Ci sono libri che capitano sulla nostra strada e questo è uno di quei casi.
L'ho trovato in un caffè di Northampton, in una giornata che poteva essere pessima.
È un bel thriller che affronta temi interessanti come il gioco, le scommesse, l'amore per gli animali e i rapporti famigliari Doltre che la vita dei Traveller.
Si legge velocemente e si ha voglia di leggere gli altri capitoli della saga di Daniel Whelan.
Per chi è a Milano sappia che presto questo libro sarà in qualche bar ad aspettare l'incontro giusto
L'ho trovato in un caffè di Northampton, in una giornata che poteva essere pessima.
È un bel thriller che affronta temi interessanti come il gioco, le scommesse, l'amore per gli animali e i rapporti famigliari Doltre che la vita dei Traveller.
Si legge velocemente e si ha voglia di leggere gli altri capitoli della saga di Daniel Whelan.
Per chi è a Milano sappia che presto questo libro sarà in qualche bar ad aspettare l'incontro giusto
December 26, 2019
A compelling mystery and a great protagonist and dogs. Heaven! The story is satisfying as the mystery is solved and the personal relationships resolved. Great series with a good hero and a great dog!
May 25, 2016
No Second Chances is not your usual mystery that starts with a body and goes from there. Rather, it is a complex drama hinging on two elements, a missing husband being sought by thugs and a teenage girl needing to find her boyfriend, a Traveler, so she can recover pawned jewelry before her mother discovers it is missing. Daniel Whelan and his canine partner Taz left the police service, but his experience comes into play when he encounters a pair of thugs threatening a neighbor. Lorna asks for Daniel's help as her husband Harvey is missing and she doesn't know what these men want. Her teenage daughter, who is as maddeningly self centered as only a 15 year old can be, manages to convince Daniel to help her as well. The only reason he has for doing so is that Lorna is much too troubled to deal with her daughter's issues at that moment.
The teen's wheedling, lies, manipulation, and outright disobedience annoyed me immensely. She definitely matches the stereotype of the wealthy, entitled brat. Her grating personality and lack of redeeming qualities prevented me from becoming too involved in the story. It made the lengths Daniel went to help her seem ridiculous. There was no reason for either Daniel or the reader to empathize with her. This is one example of the central weakness of No Second Chances. The majority of characters are drawn with such broad brush strokes that it is difficult for the reader to form an emotional connection with the characters. Only Daniel and Taz stand out. Taz in particular is wonderfully defined, which wins points with me as I am a dog lover. The plot is original, and nicely developed. I liked how the story was revealed piece by piece. I only wish that I was able to form a deeper connection with the characters.
No Second Chances is a fitting title, as there are no second chances in the world of gambling and greyhound racing - or at least very few. The number of greyhounds who go on to retire to loving homes is but a small percentage of the vast number of dogs bred for the industry. As two retired greyhounds are part of our family, I can testify to the importance of understanding this complex issue. As greyhounds are considered part of the agricultural venue, they are not given the same protections as pets, even in the more enlightened environment of the U.K. I applaud Lyndon Stacey for tackling this topic.
On the whole No Second Chances is a well constructed mystery. I will definitely give Lyndon Stacey, Daniel Whelan, and Taz a second chance.
4/5
I received a copy of No Second Chances from the publisher and netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review
--Crittermom
The teen's wheedling, lies, manipulation, and outright disobedience annoyed me immensely. She definitely matches the stereotype of the wealthy, entitled brat. Her grating personality and lack of redeeming qualities prevented me from becoming too involved in the story. It made the lengths Daniel went to help her seem ridiculous. There was no reason for either Daniel or the reader to empathize with her. This is one example of the central weakness of No Second Chances. The majority of characters are drawn with such broad brush strokes that it is difficult for the reader to form an emotional connection with the characters. Only Daniel and Taz stand out. Taz in particular is wonderfully defined, which wins points with me as I am a dog lover. The plot is original, and nicely developed. I liked how the story was revealed piece by piece. I only wish that I was able to form a deeper connection with the characters.
No Second Chances is a fitting title, as there are no second chances in the world of gambling and greyhound racing - or at least very few. The number of greyhounds who go on to retire to loving homes is but a small percentage of the vast number of dogs bred for the industry. As two retired greyhounds are part of our family, I can testify to the importance of understanding this complex issue. As greyhounds are considered part of the agricultural venue, they are not given the same protections as pets, even in the more enlightened environment of the U.K. I applaud Lyndon Stacey for tackling this topic.
On the whole No Second Chances is a well constructed mystery. I will definitely give Lyndon Stacey, Daniel Whelan, and Taz a second chance.
4/5
I received a copy of No Second Chances from the publisher and netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review
--Crittermom
July 18, 2016
NO SECOND CHANCES – A Daniel Whelan Mystery by Lyndon Stacey
4 Stars
Taz – the super dog!
Daniel Whelan used to be in the police force – until an incident occurred leaving him with no choice but to resign. Taz, a German shepherd was trained for police work, but an injury forces him into retirement. Daniel was lucky enough to be able to adopt him and he is his constant and unconditional companion.
Daniel now works for an animal feed company and it is while he is delivering feed to Lorna Myers that he finds her being terrorised by two men looking for her husband Harvey, who has disappeared. He and Taz help to chase the men off the property but he knows they will be back and so thanks mainly to Zoe, Lorna’s very stroppy, headstrong daughter, demanding his help, he finds himself dragged into searching for Harvey and in the process, uncovers his very nasty secret life that involves travellers, illegal greyhound races and money loan sharks.
Lyndon Stacey has managed to pack so much into this book: Gambling, illegal greyhound racing; travellers (both bad and good) stroppy teenagers and murder. It really is a thoroughly enjoyable book. However, I have to add that it was made all that more special for me because of Taz, his beautiful, highly intelligent dog. As an owner of a German shepherd, I found the interaction between Daniel and Taz described to perfection. This breed is not just highly intelligent and brilliant being used the world over as guard dogs, but if you’ve owned one, you know that they are also unconditionally loyal and gentle with their owners.
I will definitely be looking out for future books featuring this awesome duo.
Treebeard
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.
4 Stars
Taz – the super dog!
Daniel Whelan used to be in the police force – until an incident occurred leaving him with no choice but to resign. Taz, a German shepherd was trained for police work, but an injury forces him into retirement. Daniel was lucky enough to be able to adopt him and he is his constant and unconditional companion.
Daniel now works for an animal feed company and it is while he is delivering feed to Lorna Myers that he finds her being terrorised by two men looking for her husband Harvey, who has disappeared. He and Taz help to chase the men off the property but he knows they will be back and so thanks mainly to Zoe, Lorna’s very stroppy, headstrong daughter, demanding his help, he finds himself dragged into searching for Harvey and in the process, uncovers his very nasty secret life that involves travellers, illegal greyhound races and money loan sharks.
Lyndon Stacey has managed to pack so much into this book: Gambling, illegal greyhound racing; travellers (both bad and good) stroppy teenagers and murder. It really is a thoroughly enjoyable book. However, I have to add that it was made all that more special for me because of Taz, his beautiful, highly intelligent dog. As an owner of a German shepherd, I found the interaction between Daniel and Taz described to perfection. This breed is not just highly intelligent and brilliant being used the world over as guard dogs, but if you’ve owned one, you know that they are also unconditionally loyal and gentle with their owners.
I will definitely be looking out for future books featuring this awesome duo.
Treebeard
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.
April 11, 2016
The subtitle "British police dog-handler mystery" is a bit of a misnomer. Daniel is a former police officer and he does have a former police working dog, but he now drives a lorry for a living. It required a bit of suspension of disbelief to accept the case he just happened upon, and coupled with practically invisible adult female characters and an obnoxious teenager named Zoe, this book was a disappointment.
April 10, 2016
I enjoy reading police procedurals, mysteries and thrillers so this book ticked all the boxes for me. As an animal lover and dog owner too....Taz was a perfect bonus! I have read all the previous books and enjoyed every one. Daniel is a great character and I hope we read more about him. A good plot with great characters. Thanks to Net Galley for the read.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews