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D.I. Olivia Austin #1
Find the Girl
Now you see her, now you don't... A young woman who never made it home and a detective hell-bent on hiding her scars.
Haunted by a vicious incident eighteen months ago, Detective Inspector Olivia Austin left the busy City of London Police to heal back in her home county of Cornwall.
Working for the CID in touristy Newquay was supposed to ease her back into her job gently after a year and a half break, but when a young woman in the nearby fictional town of Peterly goes missing, and a gruesome package is delivered to her distraught parents, there’s a race against time to find her.
Despite battling her own trauma, DI Austin doesn’t know if she’s dealing with a plain kidnapping or a murder case, but there's only one thing she’s determined on and that's to find the girl and bring her home.
Dead or alive.
Haunted by a vicious incident eighteen months ago, Detective Inspector Olivia Austin left the busy City of London Police to heal back in her home county of Cornwall.
Working for the CID in touristy Newquay was supposed to ease her back into her job gently after a year and a half break, but when a young woman in the nearby fictional town of Peterly goes missing, and a gruesome package is delivered to her distraught parents, there’s a race against time to find her.
Despite battling her own trauma, DI Austin doesn’t know if she’s dealing with a plain kidnapping or a murder case, but there's only one thing she’s determined on and that's to find the girl and bring her home.
Dead or alive.
157 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 15, 2021
593 people are currently reading
243 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
January 14, 2022
I tried to find out more about the background of this author with little success so far. I am unsure if she is an American author trying to write a police procedural set in the UK or a UK author trying to appeal to the American market. Either way - it falls down badly. If the former, she really needs to do a lot more research because the blatant Americanisms stick out like a sore thumb and distract the discerning reader from the storyline. In the UK, the person who looks at bodies or body parts is a pathologist, never a medical examiner, police officers would NEVER introduce themselves as Officer Hershel, it would always be by their rank - i.e. Constable Hershel, the same applies to the Detective Inspectors, no-one would refer to them simply as Detective - again it would always be by rank. We are told that the pathologist “went to school in the States but came home because his father was ill”. If he went to school in the States, then to UK minds, he did his education between the ages of 5 - 18 years in the States. If, as I believe to be the case, the author is implying that he did his medical training in the States, then we would say that he went to university, or did his training in the States.
These were just a few examples but I don’t need to list them all.
The dialogue was often stilted and the writing style a little clumsy at times. I was somewhat surprised that the person who turned out to be the perpetrator was initially interviewed and then discounted over the phone. In addition, one inspector congratulated the other on his fabulous interview. I actually re-read that interview to see what I had missed because there really was nothing to it.
I could have forgiven a great deal of these inadequacies if the storyline had been sufficiently gripping but although it had terrific potential, it was not given sufficient room to develop and there was no meat on the bone. I did finish it because I was hoping against hope that it would improve. I shall not be reading any more in the series.
These were just a few examples but I don’t need to list them all.
The dialogue was often stilted and the writing style a little clumsy at times. I was somewhat surprised that the person who turned out to be the perpetrator was initially interviewed and then discounted over the phone. In addition, one inspector congratulated the other on his fabulous interview. I actually re-read that interview to see what I had missed because there really was nothing to it.
I could have forgiven a great deal of these inadequacies if the storyline had been sufficiently gripping but although it had terrific potential, it was not given sufficient room to develop and there was no meat on the bone. I did finish it because I was hoping against hope that it would improve. I shall not be reading any more in the series.
May 12, 2021
Decent, well-written murder mystery with a couple of believable characters. Shorter than I expected but it wasn't padded out with loads of waffle, just a solid crime investigation.
February 1, 2023
Detective Inspector Olivia Austin is finally returning to the police force after a violent incident over a year ago sent her into a mental and physical tailspin. Just when her scars seemed to have healed enough and she's welcomed into the calmer and slower Devon and Cornwall police, the kidnapping and probable murder of a young woman launch Olivia and her new partner on the hunt. What follows is a twisted course of events leading directly to the victim's past and secrets that no one seemingly wants to be revealed.
***************
Written in Olivia's third-person POV, "Find The Girl" (as it is aptly named) drags its characters along a long journey to find the kidnapped Ella Hebden, a 23-year-old woman stolen off the streets just a short distance from her childhood home.
The mystery itself was fine and I liked seeing some of the inner workings of Olivia's mind as she works through the clues left by the criminal and the secrets she uncovers through interviews with the people around Ella. The perpetrator of the crime was pretty easy to discern, but there were so many persons of interest in the case that, sometimes, I felt like I could be wrong. But I think so much detail into the interviews, gathering clues and information, or just everyday detail about Olivia's day just bogged down the pacing of the book. It was draggy in the beginning, so much so that I had trouble making it past the 31% mark for literal days. And the pacing doesn't really get much better. Yes, it speeds up in the second to last chapter, so about the 92% mark, but that's only because they confront the criminal. Plus all of the involved detail about British police procedure and whatnot bogged down the pacing as well and made it very strange and longwinded. I don't know much about the procedure in the Commonwealth but I've seen other reviews say it comes across like it was either written by an American or was written by a British writer appealing to America. Either way, it was rambly and sometimes too extraneous in detail.
The characterization of Olivia was also a bit lackluster. We know she was in some sort of incident before the beginning of the novel's events that caused her to leave London and go back to the Cornish countryside, but we don't fully find out what exactly happened until the last chapter. We also find out she doesn't want to make any close friends within the police force because of reasons (once again because of the incident we don't know about). There are also some sad feelings about someone named Rhys, who we have no idea about either. Overall, she was fine as a main character but there's nothing that makes me root for her or emotionally care about her to keep reading a series following her.
I'm glad the mystery was solved and most of the loose ends were tied up, but this was a blah mystery that was easy to guess before the detectives. I read it once, but I won't read it again. So if the blurb makes you curious, you could enjoy it as a one-off read but nothing more.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
***************
Written in Olivia's third-person POV, "Find The Girl" (as it is aptly named) drags its characters along a long journey to find the kidnapped Ella Hebden, a 23-year-old woman stolen off the streets just a short distance from her childhood home.
The mystery itself was fine and I liked seeing some of the inner workings of Olivia's mind as she works through the clues left by the criminal and the secrets she uncovers through interviews with the people around Ella. The perpetrator of the crime was pretty easy to discern, but there were so many persons of interest in the case that, sometimes, I felt like I could be wrong. But I think so much detail into the interviews, gathering clues and information, or just everyday detail about Olivia's day just bogged down the pacing of the book. It was draggy in the beginning, so much so that I had trouble making it past the 31% mark for literal days. And the pacing doesn't really get much better. Yes, it speeds up in the second to last chapter, so about the 92% mark, but that's only because they confront the criminal. Plus all of the involved detail about British police procedure and whatnot bogged down the pacing as well and made it very strange and longwinded. I don't know much about the procedure in the Commonwealth but I've seen other reviews say it comes across like it was either written by an American or was written by a British writer appealing to America. Either way, it was rambly and sometimes too extraneous in detail.
The characterization of Olivia was also a bit lackluster. We know she was in some sort of incident before the beginning of the novel's events that caused her to leave London and go back to the Cornish countryside, but we don't fully find out what exactly happened until the last chapter. We also find out she doesn't want to make any close friends within the police force because of reasons (once again because of the incident we don't know about). There are also some sad feelings about someone named Rhys, who we have no idea about either. Overall, she was fine as a main character but there's nothing that makes me root for her or emotionally care about her to keep reading a series following her.
I'm glad the mystery was solved and most of the loose ends were tied up, but this was a blah mystery that was easy to guess before the detectives. I read it once, but I won't read it again. So if the blurb makes you curious, you could enjoy it as a one-off read but nothing more.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
February 6, 2022
Yet another "damaged cop drags baggage around" character. It has been done many times before and this one brings nothing new to the party.
The basic kidnapping story is weak and contains plot holes.
Mercifully the author took pity upon us and kept the book short.
The basic kidnapping story is weak and contains plot holes.
Mercifully the author took pity upon us and kept the book short.
November 26, 2021
Thankfully short
Even for a free book this is incredibly bad. It is about yet another 'troubled' detective, who apparently been the victim of an 'incident' which was mentioned at least once in every chapter without any explanation as to what the 'incident' this poor woman also suffers from eyebrows that have lives of there own, shooting off in every direction in response to everything that happens! !
The plot seems to be about a kidnapping. The culprit turned out to have been the lovely ex boyfriend who everyone loved and the horrible current boyfriend, who everybody hated was innocent.
Apart from the above the writer have no knowledge of grammar, punctuation or spelling and did not find it necessary to research police procedures.
Appently to differentiate from her 'cosy mysteries' she dropped the word 'bastard' in at random times.
Even for a free book this is incredibly bad. It is about yet another 'troubled' detective, who apparently been the victim of an 'incident' which was mentioned at least once in every chapter without any explanation as to what the 'incident' this poor woman also suffers from eyebrows that have lives of there own, shooting off in every direction in response to everything that happens! !
The plot seems to be about a kidnapping. The culprit turned out to have been the lovely ex boyfriend who everyone loved and the horrible current boyfriend, who everybody hated was innocent.
Apart from the above the writer have no knowledge of grammar, punctuation or spelling and did not find it necessary to research police procedures.
Appently to differentiate from her 'cosy mysteries' she dropped the word 'bastard' in at random times.
March 17, 2021
DI Olivia Austin has returned home to Cornwall after suffering trauma and tragedy at her previous post in London. Her scars are not all visible and the roughened skin on the outside hides a deeper anxiety that threatens to resurface, which Olivia continues to fight daily. With her new partner, DI Dean Lawrence, she is assigned to a local kidnapping case, where a severed finger results in a desperate search to find Ella Hebden, hopefully still alive. As they pursue several suspects and possible clues, Olivia finds herself learning to trust and rely on her partner. She must deal with her personal demons as well as a sadistic evil hiding behind a ordinary exterior. This book is quite a departure from the author’s previous cozy series and I enjoyed it. I look forward to learning more about Olivia as she deals with the past and begins to move forward with her future.
January 23, 2023
Extremely rivetting
D I Olivia whilst just returning to active duty, from a horrific and tragic experience, is immediately 'thrown in at the deep end' when a young women, on her way home from London, to visit her parents' country residence, is suddenly apparently kidnapped. To make matters worse a severed finger is delivered to her parents' home early the following morning it is up to D I Olivia and her new partner to track down the perpetrator and find where the woman has been sequestered An unusual set of of circumstances throws up a possible lead back in London however things turn awry and she and her partner are again put in to a dangerous situation A well worth reading story for all mystery readers.
D I Olivia whilst just returning to active duty, from a horrific and tragic experience, is immediately 'thrown in at the deep end' when a young women, on her way home from London, to visit her parents' country residence, is suddenly apparently kidnapped. To make matters worse a severed finger is delivered to her parents' home early the following morning it is up to D I Olivia and her new partner to track down the perpetrator and find where the woman has been sequestered An unusual set of of circumstances throws up a possible lead back in London however things turn awry and she and her partner are again put in to a dangerous situation A well worth reading story for all mystery readers.
March 20, 2021
Short and Slow
A young woman is abducted on her way to her parents home. A ghoulish souvenir is sent to them the next day. DI Olivia Austen has been cleared for duty after a traumatic incident . In order to find the missing girl she must hold her demons at bay and put her talents to work.
This is an okay read. I identified the doer early on. The conversation is stilted and the story is rather slow.
The story is resolved at the end. It is short but could do with more suspense.
A young woman is abducted on her way to her parents home. A ghoulish souvenir is sent to them the next day. DI Olivia Austen has been cleared for duty after a traumatic incident . In order to find the missing girl she must hold her demons at bay and put her talents to work.
This is an okay read. I identified the doer early on. The conversation is stilted and the story is rather slow.
The story is resolved at the end. It is short but could do with more suspense.
January 8, 2022
Sorry couldn't finish this
Got a few pages in and was driven crazy by the Americanisms. Gave up when a pathologist was described as a medical examiner. We don't address junior police officers as 'Officer ' or detectives as 'Detective'. Was also put off by the twice repeated misuse of the word quipped. This means to utter a light hearted, witty remark. Not just to say something ordinary. I don't understand with you have tried to set this in Cornwall. Why not write a story set in the US?
Got a few pages in and was driven crazy by the Americanisms. Gave up when a pathologist was described as a medical examiner. We don't address junior police officers as 'Officer ' or detectives as 'Detective'. Was also put off by the twice repeated misuse of the word quipped. This means to utter a light hearted, witty remark. Not just to say something ordinary. I don't understand with you have tried to set this in Cornwall. Why not write a story set in the US?
March 15, 2021
I enjoyed this first book in a new series by Nic Roberts. DI Olivia Austin has a past and we slowly are finding out about it. Her new partner DI Dean Lawernce and her are getting to know each other too. I like how this book reminds me of some of my favorite British mysteries. The description says it is a fast-paced crime thriller and I think that is very accurate. This, not a cozy and it is not a gory thriller, it is just right as far as I am concerned. Looking forward to book two.
March 30, 2021
DI Olivia Austin is back in the Cornwall area, restarting her police career. A girl has gone missing and Olivia along with her newish partner Dean will be working fast to solve this case. The author shows you in recaps what has happened to Olivia while in London to bring her back to the area all the while moving forward on the missing person case. This was well written and keeps your attention all the way through. Great start to the series!
September 3, 2021
Before letting writers loose on Kindle should they not be vetted to protect the rest of us? A very simple and done to death plot written in a mixture of American and English. The phrase,' we didn't get it yet' is a nonsense - a verb in the past followed by an adverb in the future! In England police officers are not referred to as 'Officer' they are accorded a rank.
Yet another poorly researched book. I won't bother with the remaining ones
Yet another poorly researched book. I won't bother with the remaining ones
February 4, 2022
Super
A totally amazing book right from the beginning. It was absorbing, worthy of the page turning over quickly to see what would happen next. Unfortunately, the swearing in it, even though it was minor, was unnecessary in my opinion. Four stars awarded. The storyline was enchanting and flowed freely into different strands which complimented each other. A well written book. Thank you.😊
A totally amazing book right from the beginning. It was absorbing, worthy of the page turning over quickly to see what would happen next. Unfortunately, the swearing in it, even though it was minor, was unnecessary in my opinion. Four stars awarded. The storyline was enchanting and flowed freely into different strands which complimented each other. A well written book. Thank you.😊
November 22, 2025
Overwritten
The story isn't bad. The characters are okay. The writing is irritating, however. No one can just smile: the corners of their mouths are tugged gently, or some nonsense. There isn't much to the story, actually, but the unnecessary, rather purple description makes it longer. I don't think I will read another in this series or by this author. It's a shame. I am always looking for good series and writers.
The story isn't bad. The characters are okay. The writing is irritating, however. No one can just smile: the corners of their mouths are tugged gently, or some nonsense. There isn't much to the story, actually, but the unnecessary, rather purple description makes it longer. I don't think I will read another in this series or by this author. It's a shame. I am always looking for good series and writers.
March 26, 2021
This book is an excellent way to start a new series. DI Olivia Austin has suffered a great tragedy and now she's on the case of a missing young woman. Olivia is strong, smart and most importantly damaged. I can't wait to see where this series is headed. I received an ARC of this book from the author and I'm voluntarily providing an honest review.
May 15, 2021
Lost in translation
In Australia we don't use hum as a verb for speak, and a quip is a clever response. The verbs for speaking were weird and the prose awkward at times. I wondered about the editing. I've never made those sort of comments about a book before. Having said all that I did enjoy it enough to purchase the next book in the series.
In Australia we don't use hum as a verb for speak, and a quip is a clever response. The verbs for speaking were weird and the prose awkward at times. I wondered about the editing. I've never made those sort of comments about a book before. Having said all that I did enjoy it enough to purchase the next book in the series.
June 1, 2021
Great read
Not the longest book you will ever read but I felt it the perfect length. I liked the characters and the plot was captivating. It all moved along at a good pace.
Some of the language niggled at me a bit, like people just referring to the 2 main investigators as Detective, never Inspector, which they both were.
Other than that I thought it a good read.
Not the longest book you will ever read but I felt it the perfect length. I liked the characters and the plot was captivating. It all moved along at a good pace.
Some of the language niggled at me a bit, like people just referring to the 2 main investigators as Detective, never Inspector, which they both were.
Other than that I thought it a good read.
September 20, 2021
Didn't enjoy this. It was very rushed with not enough detail about anything and the storyline and police procedural stuff was weak, considering the 2 main characters were supposed to be detective inspectors. Parts of it were as if they had just met, other parts implied they had worked together for a short while which was confusing. I won't be reading any more of the series.
December 29, 2021
A perfect first book for a classic detective crime series. Likable main characters, sad back story, emotions, suspicious, suspens, twists, blood, mental health, friendship, pink hair, addressing domestic violence, a sweet mum and a cat called Earnest. I am excited to read more about DI Austin's adventures.
January 10, 2022
I really enjoyed the story and found the characters really likeable. The only reason I gave it 3 stars and not higher is because I prefer a more indepth look and more detail. I'll definitely read the rest of the series as I'd like to see how things pan out for Liv and Dean. This would be the perfect start for readers who are new to crime and want an idea of what to expect.
January 25, 2022
ok
Some spelling mistakes . But Dean Lawrence’s flippant remarks about the utterly traumatic experiences of the victim “bounce back” ??
And a couple of pages later , “ I’m glad you were separated” . It’s like the author was tired of writing and needed to wrap things up quickly. Meh….
Some spelling mistakes . But Dean Lawrence’s flippant remarks about the utterly traumatic experiences of the victim “bounce back” ??
And a couple of pages later , “ I’m glad you were separated” . It’s like the author was tired of writing and needed to wrap things up quickly. Meh….
April 20, 2022
Honestly I enjoyed the book. It’s not the best but it’s by far not the worst. I can’t quite make my mind up whether this is an American author who is trying to write a British crime series or if it’s just a British author who has used some Americanisms. There’s small mistakes that have been missed on editing but ultimately not a bad story
October 14, 2022
A nice short read I struggled about with the first half of this book as the main character seemed to keep going on about an incident and how it affected her without explaining what the incident was. The second half felt like the author had settled into the story telling more and it flowed a lot better.
January 22, 2023
Not my favourite crime read if I’m honest… I felt like the plot was pretty predictable but also the whole motive etc… wasn’t really explained that well?
Good enough to deserve more than one star but I would’ve liked it to be slightly more fleshed out to deserve a higher rating (obviously personal opinion!)
Good enough to deserve more than one star but I would’ve liked it to be slightly more fleshed out to deserve a higher rating (obviously personal opinion!)
March 27, 2021
This is going to be a great series. Di Austin and DI Dean led an interesting and thorough investigation to find a missing female. The author did a great job of helping us get to know them and the others they work with. They will make a great team in future books.
April 2, 2021
A solid read
First book from this Author and very enjoyable. Will be catching up with more in this series, good partnership between the main characters and looks like developing into something special as they work together. Recommended read.
First book from this Author and very enjoyable. Will be catching up with more in this series, good partnership between the main characters and looks like developing into something special as they work together. Recommended read.
May 16, 2021
A Good read with
A HAPPY ENDING Intriguing characters follow small clues to lead them to a positive closure to their case. Well written scenario puts the reader in the picture.
A HAPPY ENDING Intriguing characters follow small clues to lead them to a positive closure to their case. Well written scenario puts the reader in the picture.
June 24, 2021
Good start to a series
Olivia Austen is back on her first case, healing from a past trauma and settling into a new station and work partnership. Events move quickly to a quick and satisfying solve for the detective team.
Olivia Austen is back on her first case, healing from a past trauma and settling into a new station and work partnership. Events move quickly to a quick and satisfying solve for the detective team.
August 30, 2021
I really tried to like this but found it a bit baffling, in terms of setting and genre. Despite the premise of a police procedural set in Cornwall, it read more like an American-set romance story, which was a bit confusing.
December 13, 2021
Great Story and Interesting
From the beginning, this story was told differently and kept me interested till the end. Feel I know the police dealing with the matter. Will look out for Book 2 now
From the beginning, this story was told differently and kept me interested till the end. Feel I know the police dealing with the matter. Will look out for Book 2 now
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews