Defiance

Lieutenant Danielle Lewis #2

by J.S. Law

A teenage sailor disappears on HMS Defiance , an infamous closed case reopens, and Lt. Danielle Lewis fights for truth and survival in this high-octane military thriller

After events on board the submarine HMS Tenacity , Lieutenant "Dan" Lewis of the Royal Navy's Kill Team was warned not to pursue those responsible. She should walk away, stop investigating, but her thirst for justice means she can't let it go.

But even as Dan defies the order, continuing to track a sailor on the run, her investigative skills are needed on a new case. A young naval Wren has gone missing from the warship HMS Defiance . Last seen going on board, but never seen leaving. There is no trace of the girl and Dan must work her way through a web of witness accounts to uncover what might motivate her to run, or what might motivate a predator to take her.

Following in the wake of the missing girl, Dan soon closes in on her quarry, but is forced to question whether she is the one who was being hunted all along.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 6, 2016

About the author

J.S Law joined the Royal Navy in 1993 as an apprentice and went on to serve for twenty years, the majority of that time spent in the Submarine Service. He rose through the ranks, taking a commission as an engineering officer in 2001, and serving as a Senior Engineer and Nuclear Reactor Plant Supervisor, where his responsibilities ranged from the safety and operation of the submarine’s nuclear power plant to hydraulic plants, fridges and toilets; it was the latter of these tasks that brought the majority of any pressure.

His final years in service were spent training future submariners in his role of Senior Lecturer in Nuclear Reactor Engineering.
Having written short stories and novels throughout his naval career, James completed an MA in Creative Writing at Portsmouth University shortly before leaving the navy in 2013, completing his debut novel, Tenacity, shortly afterwards.

James lives in Hampshire with his wife, Elaine, and two children. He spends what spare time he has riding his bike around the South Downs and travelling to Edinburgh to watch Scotland play rugby at Murrayfield stadium.

Reviews

[Faith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book in a series of thrillers featuring Lieutenant Danielle Lewis of the Royal Navy Kill Team. It picks up a few months after the events in the first book, "Tenacity". In this book Dani (who was called Dan in "Tenacity") and her colleague John Granger are investigating the disappearance of an 18 year old female sailor from the warship HMS Defiance. In addition, Dani is still obsessing over the unsolved puzzles of the conspiracy revealed in the prior book.

I didn't like this book as much as I liked the first one. This book really piles on the crimes. There are multiple serial rapists/murderers who may or may not be linked to each other and/or to a military-based drug ring. It all got a little muddled (not to mention pervy). In addition to murder, rape and drugs there was sexual harassment, torture, mutilation, voyeurism, sex between crew members and jealousy. I can't see the Royal Navy liking the way the Defiance was portrayed. Almost nothing is resolved at the end of this book so I expect that I will continue with the series since I like Dani and the quick pace of the books and I'd also like to get a few answers. I just hope that the next book edits out some of the characters and crimes.

I won a free copy of an ARC of this book in a giveaway, however the book never arrived so I listened to the audiobook borrowed from the library.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

The next in the series after The Dark Beneath (Tenacity), The Fear Within is another gripping naval-themed crime thriller. These books are just cracking reads. Dan Lewis is a great character, and James Law has a knack for writing excellent plots with plenty of action. One to add to your list for sure. Highly recommended!

[Denise]

"Good people do bad things, and bad people do good things...the world doesn't work in absolutes."

Gripping thriller set mainly near and on a Royal Naval base in Portsmouth. Lieutenant Danielle Lewis and partner, Master at Arms, John Granger, work for the Special Investigation Branch. In this second book the pair face a series of disasppearances and crimes that tie back to the TENACITY (a submarine) and their previous case. A very complicated plot with lots of characters, this moves along quite quickly with information and action.

After rescuing an abused wife in an abandoned shop, the duo is called to the ship, DEFIANCE, because a young female stores assistant had gone missing. Meanwhile, Dan (oh how I HATED everytime I saw that masculine name used for Danielle in the entire book -- but this was an ARC and I am hoping that someone talked some sense into the powers that be and got that changed) is also talking to a serial killer because body parts thought to belong to his victims have come to the attention of her bosses, AND she is also still secretly working on the former case involving a drug smuggling operation on the submarine. Busy lady!

There was a lot going on in this book and quite confusing to me because I was not familiar with the characters and had not read the first book in the series. In this case, I think that was a huge mistake and would urge anyone considering this title to go back and read #1 first. As far as the character of Danielle Lewis (and just again metnioning that she was called Dan throughout), I'm not sure I can say that she was believable or likeable. Let's say that some of the scenes stretched credulity and leave it at that. The reader really doesn't learn much about her personally and so she was not very three-dimensional nor were any of the other characters in the book. I did find the military connection to be quite interesting as I haven't read many books where the investigators are part of the Royal Navy.

So, despite my annoyances as described above, I did enjoy it and will probably go back and read the first book at some point. Would definitely want to read #3 because this one ends on a cliffhanger!

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Company for the e-book ARC to read and review.

[Roman Clodia · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a sequel to Tenacity, this shows a definite development in book-craft: the various complicated plot strands are juggled with ease, and Dani (no longer Dan) is made into a more sympathetic character. While there's still a good use of the Naval background, this time round the prime crime takes place on a warship which spends most of its time in Portsmouth and the claustrophobic atmosphere on board a submarine which made the first book so memorable is missing.

As the story develops, it draws closer to the prequel and ends with more questions than answers, pointing forward to a further book and with a wide-reaching conspiracy plot to be entangled.

This feels about 100 pages too long but works well for me as a commute read: gripping and fast-paced with just enough complexity to keep me engrossed on the train.

[Jaclyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Fear Within builds on the momentum of the first book in the Danielle Lewis series, and just like the first, this one is a fast-paced, dark mystery. Dan finds herself working on a new case, struggling to let go of the events on the Tenacity. She also finds herself drawn back to the case of her former mentor and partner, Chris Hamilton, who she arrests for rape and murder. Strangely enough, all these cases seem to be connected somehow.

J.S. Law does a fantastic job in creating an atmosphere of intense suspense. In halting the narrative to drive the reader back in time, the reader is forced to anxiously await new pieces of information. This style isn't for everyone, but it does create a sense of anticipation that is sure to appeal to fans of high suspense novels.

The follow-up to Defiance is immensely satisfying. Readers learn more about it's principle character, Dan, and discover the common thread that will bind the series together in subsequent books. The revelations at the end of the book completely blindsided me and will definitely have me back for book three.

*Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Fear Within – An ass kicking investigator

Lieutenant Dani Lewis, of the Special Investigations Branch of the Royal Navy Police, loves kicking ass and taking names. Or that is how it seems to her commander, who does not really trust her, thinking she is not a team player, and solving her current case, just like her previous one does not help her case.

When she is brought a missing persons case, little does she know what it will involve, and that it will include her visiting her nemesis in prison. She has to work how a brand-new sailor who came to work on the Friday, while the ship, Defiance, was in dock, and not be seen leaving, before being reported missing on the Monday.

While she and her Master at Arms search the darkest depths of Defiance, she discovers that all is not as it should be on board. She finds sexism, and on-board romances taking place all clearly against regulations, but what is more she knows that people are lying to her. Having to rely on information from a former, alleged corrupt sailor, now Portsmouth businessman does not sit well with her.

Dani Lewis knows she has a race against time, and people, to hopefully find the junior rating still alive. What she does find her, shocks her, and not forgetting the beatings and the bruising that she always seems to get. Will she ever get to the bottom of what her father is involved with, she has so many questions and too few answers.

Dani Lewis is an intriguing character, highly ambition, not afraid to upset anyone in the pursuit of justice. The Fear Within is her second outing and she really is a detective whose character and back story is continuing to develop. JS Law has written a gripping thriller, that has a breathless plot, great characters and well written.

I highly recommend this book.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Atmospheric, original and dark

[E.M. Swift-Hook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tense Continuing Drama for a Navy Cop

Dani Lewis works for British Navy's Special Investigations Branch and recently managed to put a serial killer behind bars. But it seems the story isn't over. As she investigates a missing naval rating, fingers from the serial killer's victims are being put in the post. As the investigation unravels Dani finds she has to confront some unpleasent truths much closer to home.

What I really enjoyed:
The Plot: Even without having read the first book, the convoluted plot is quickly apparent and layers beneath layers appear as the book goes on.
The Characters. Especially Dani. She is a believable character, who is misled and mixed-up, shocked and self-critical. But always strongly rooted in her own sense of right.
The Pace. This is a book that never lets up.

What I struggled with:
The Victims Story. I never think this works in this kind of book and I never really see the point. I think a 'whodunit' works best when we follow the investigator and unfold the plot and relationships from their understanding of it. To me, the sections following the victim, in this case, were more about the author trying to pump a bit of freebie emotion out of the reader than actually adding information to the story.
The Side-Kick Punch Bag. Just about every fight she and her partner get into, Dani walks away slightly bruised and her partner is almost hospitalised. As a reader I began to feel he was some kind of scapegoat the author was using to show that Dani was in real danger without her actually having to face the full consequences of it, her partner was always the one left hors-de-combat not herself.

Overall Thoughts:
A well-written, well-paced, very dark and gritty investigative thriller.

[Sue Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fear within by js law.
A young Naval Wren disappears from the warship Defiance.
With no trace of the girl on board, Lieutenant Dani Lewis, star investigator in the Royal Navy's Kill Team, must work her way through a complex web of witness accounts to uncover why she might run, or what might motivate a predator to take her.
But even as Dani hones in on the truth, threads begin to emerge which take her back to the recent conspiracy uncovered aboard the submarine Tenacity, and even further to the serial killer who continues to taunt her from prison.
A very good read with good characters. Lots of action it really had me thinking too. I hope there is more to come too. 4*. Netgalley and headline.

[Kath · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books continues several themes and threads that began in the series opener, Tenacity, or as it has now been renamed The Dark Beneath so, to get the very best from this book, I would definitely recommend reading that first. Especially as lead character Dani is a bit complex and her motivations and behaviour is better understood with this background.
We open with RN Investigator Dani doing what she does best, going out on a limb to save an innocent. Breaking protocol inevitably gets her in trouble... again! But there are those above her who still believe in her and look out for her so, although reprimanded, she isn't cut loose and is assigned the job of investigating a missing young female sailor on ship Defiance. Apparently she arrived at work one Friday and appears to have gone missing sometime during the day. Assumed she had just taken off for weekend early, she is not reported as absent until she didn't return to her post Monday. As her investigations continue, as she uncovers secrets, lies and more than a bit of duplicitous and nasty behaviour which also lead her in the direction of what happened on Tenacity, a bone she has never really dropped. Her personal life gets included into the mix when she has to face some hard truths from her own past. But Dani has spirit and, indeed, tenacity of her own. But will it be enough to cut through the noise and get to the bottom of things once and for all.
Oh my, this was a rather convoluted and interconnected story. Many threads meander along the way converging and diverging several times along the way until we finally get to the crux of the matter. Dani has to face her fears and revisit her old nemesis too, loved these scenes. But Dani has matured loads from book one. She still has that devil may care attitude to her own safety but she is a little more clued up in the ways she needs to employ to stay as safe as she can. Her investigative skills are also well honed in this book. Cutting through the noise in a close knit community such as a ship is not the easiest task but she manages to peel the layers back to get to the core truth.
Coming from Portsmouth and being of Navy stock myself, I do have a bit of a background to the setting to this book and I have to say that the author manages to keep it real, well, as real as I recall it being from what my parents told me! I always love reading a book based somewhere I know well, it just makes for a better connection in my opinion.
The author wraps up this book as he wrapped up the previous one, the main story complete but with more than a few threads dangling and definitely more than a few questions yet unanswered. Not to mention a few shocks that need further explanation. But, instead of being annoyed at this as I usually am, it has done no more than intrigue me and make me hanker for book three. I really do hope it comes soon.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

[Scott Ivlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one very good thriller that I read in sometime that I want to read sequel as soon as it's released. There are tons of information that still need to be told. One important one is I want to know all the dialog so bad just what Taz and Dan talk about in the hospital room. Will Taz tell his dark secrets or leave the readers in the dark? This where the third book should start off with, but with J.S Law's writing he holds back all the good important stuff. Like my major disappointments are Dan's unopened letters that has reader trying find out all kinds of details that you can't get it because so much information is well kept hidden from the reader. Dan isn't the type of investigator that doesn't explore the most obvious clues right in front her because she thinks opening mail there is no real point to it.
There is already so much of a mystery in the third book because there is an unknown subject on the loose that is such major character to this on going story. Does Dan also investigate and bring to justice a major criminal in Britain that transports drugs on a Navy ship or is he so powerful a criminal will Dan look the other way? Her Father is so involved in all aspects of Dan's life it will be interesting to he how he fits in with the next book. She learns the who on who was transporting drugs on Tenacity so what is she going to do about it plus she still needs one important thing, evidence before she can close that case. Plus she still needs find out who is shipping packages to her containing a human body part from murdered victims? Is one of Dan's co-workerser unit a conspirator? Is Roger her supervisor trying to cover things up because he is so persistent that he wants Dan to stop visiting Hamilton from prison and is he the real really looking out for Dan on how far she willing to go or is he looking out for his own self interest? He seems off. Dan does suspect that a few characters are connected to her cases but all she really has are puzzle pieces that offer so many questions that need answers like was Sara Cox connected to the ship called "Tenacity" but if so how and why? Who is responsible for so many things that left unknown from the Fear Within and will they all become known in the next book?
J.S. Law gives his readers quite a ride with this novel. The characters and locations are all so good and because this book is so really good I'll be reading "Tenacity" this Summer. So will the next novel put all the pieces together to solve all the mysteries that Dan will be working to solve them all or will she only get more pieces and another case to this on going mystery. Just how much will her father be apart of the next book? What will happen to her and how much more physical turmoil can she take? She and her partner suffered enough already but can take more of it not mention the next novel should have Dan suffering emotional turmoil as well?

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally blogged at: https://bookboodle.co.uk/2018/05/30/w...

I'd read the first book in the Lieutenant Dani Lewis series, originally known as Tenacity, now known as The Dark Beneath, why the change of name I don't know but there's another blog post altogether.  Anyway, I digress, I'd enjoyed that first book as the setting was so different and so was very appreciative to be approved for a request via Bookbridgr!

This is kind of a standalone novel but I think you'd be wise to read the first in the series as this does heavily reference the first book even though it's a new case.

From the opening chapter I had an idea of how the main character, Dani, would play out, she simply cannot follow orders and it beggars belief that she'd be allowed to get away with what she does. Putting herself and her team in danger on more than one occasion, secret missions and insubordination....okay okay it adds to the drama and some poetic licence is needed but with an institution such as HM Royal Navy...mmmm not so sure on that!

This book has a lot of different crimes going, and I'm wondering now if all of what it involved was overkill; serial rape and murder, drug smuggling, torture, stalking, kidnapping and vigilantism so prepare yourself, I found this a lot more hard-hitting than the first.

I didn't like the torture scenes, I know I know you're not meant too but honestly if I'd have been watching this on tv I would have turned over.  There's a couple of scenes where a character is subject to some pretty horrific treatment and whilst this character is not a very nice person at all, I still felt sorry for him - is that normal?!
Overall it was an okay read but I found that I just don't gel with the main character, Dani, at all.  I should, because she is a confident strong lead but she just rubs me up the wrong way and for that reason I don't think I'll continue with the series.

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

What happened to Natasha? How could she disappear on a naval vessel? I'd not read the first book and I think I really missed something because Dani is a terrific character. Don't get me wrong- this can easily be read as a standalone, as I did, but Dani is unique in my experience- a female investigator in the Royal Navy. She's dealing with the impact of her last investigation on a submarine even as she's trying to untangle the mystery of Natasha, whose story we also read as the story switches narrators. This is fast paced and well plotted. AND, I learned a lot about the Royal Navy. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I'm looking forward to the next one.

[Tamara Hodgin · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a poor book. Rambling along, references to previous events in another book. Poor prose. Basic plot of smuggling drugs through naval channels is believable, but depraved naval female officer of 'posh' background is just unbelievable as a character. The book needed serious editing. The protagonist is underdeveloped and relies on reader's knowlege of previous events. If it had not have been on kindle I would have abandond it, but as I use kindle when waiting or travelling I battled on. There are better books on the market.

[D.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A multiple character viewpoint novel, told at breakneck speed which made me feel immersed in the story in 'real time'. A most excellent second book which it adds significant value to the first in the series which was also a very good read. I am looking forward to the next in the series, and hope it isn't too long before it is available to read.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second book in the Lieutenant Dani Lewis series and I could put put it down, I’m now desperate to read book three.
I suggest you read Tenacity first to understand the ongoing plot line that runs in tandem throughout this book.
If you want a bit more depth to your crime fiction this is series for you.

[Sandancer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Annoying Americanisms

Engaging read but I was irritated by the American expressions in a story based in the UK by a British author - obviously writing for the American market but needs to stay true to it’s setting.

[Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant book with a thread running through it that kept you turning the pages to find out what happened. The story involving Hamilton making her look into things promises an interesting thread over the next few books