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Obscured
DS Lucy Fuller is called to a crime scene; a body has been discovered on a farm on the outskirts of the small town of Kingsford. With her boss held up on a court case Lucy is determined to prove herself as she is left to begin the investigation. Forensic examination reveals that the body is that of a local boy that went missing thirty years ago. Old case notes make links to a child murderer that was prolific in neighbouring counties, but Lucy is not convinced.
Johanna Hale has just been dumped by her latest long-suffering girlfriend. Escaping work for some self-evaluation, she sees the breaking news of her childhood friend being discovered. Returning to Kingsford to build some bridges with her parents she tries to figure out what happened all those years ago.
A friendship soon develops between the two women, as Johanna provides Lucy with background information for the investigation. Meanwhile Johanna conducts her own inquiries resulting in devastating consequences. A thrilling new tie-in to the Payback series.
Johanna Hale has just been dumped by her latest long-suffering girlfriend. Escaping work for some self-evaluation, she sees the breaking news of her childhood friend being discovered. Returning to Kingsford to build some bridges with her parents she tries to figure out what happened all those years ago.
A friendship soon develops between the two women, as Johanna provides Lucy with background information for the investigation. Meanwhile Johanna conducts her own inquiries resulting in devastating consequences. A thrilling new tie-in to the Payback series.
- GenresFictionMystery Thriller
455 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 1, 2022
10 people are currently reading
90 people want to read
About the author
Charlotte Mills
22 books86 followersI guess I would describe myself as a southerner even though I have lived in the north of England for some years now, I work hard to keep my accent intact. After having several careers in the arts, conservation and education where writing or using my imagination has always been in the background I finally took the plunge with self publishing in 2014.
In 2017 I was awarded a Gold Medal for the Fiction - Gay/Lesbian/LGBT category in the Global Ebook Awards for my double novel Out of The Blue - Latent memories.
My first book to be published with Ylva in 2019 was Payback, it was made a finalist in the 2019 Lesfic Bard Awards.
My latest book - Sub-Rosa is set in the south of England and revolves around corruption in a small town and an undercover police officer desperate to find the truth.
In 2017 I was awarded a Gold Medal for the Fiction - Gay/Lesbian/LGBT category in the Global Ebook Awards for my double novel Out of The Blue - Latent memories.
My first book to be published with Ylva in 2019 was Payback, it was made a finalist in the 2019 Lesfic Bard Awards.
My latest book - Sub-Rosa is set in the south of England and revolves around corruption in a small town and an undercover police officer desperate to find the truth.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 8, 2022
A really solid crime/mystery/suspense read, set in England, by excellent writer Charlotte Mills.
A skeletonized body is discovered down a well from 30 years ago, and connects to the disappearance of a young boy in a quiet country street. DS Lucy Fuller is put on the case, but trying to run down clues and evidence from such a long time ago, might prove difficult. Especially when there's so many secrets trying to remain covered.
It's a real proper investigative drama, and I enjoyed the process and depth of it all, with details aplenty. Lucy becomes attracted to a woman named Johanna, who was a kid from the same neighbourhood when the boy had gone missing, she infact knew him and his brother and a few other rag-tag bunch of kids in the area, and we get some flashbacks here and there.
I enjoyed the discovery and suspense of tracing down all the players and guessing what was going to happen, and who the perpetrators were, and how convoluted it all was.
I do have to admit to having a huge issue with some attitudes toward one character, who is albeit unhinged and guilty of crimes, but is also a victim of heinous crime themselves - and so the narrative with a lack of sympathy, really felt odd and misplaced. So much so I feel a bit strange giving it a 4, but I did enjoy the novel overall - I just felt a bit more nuance would have been better here, because I feel this character didn't ever have much of a chance, despite their own behaviours. So a lot more reflection on that wouldn't have gone astray. I wanted more from that storyline, that characters life beforehand, parents, and other relationships and lead-up to where we left off.... PERHAPS there will be a sequel? Because it really doesn't feel finished.
My other issue is MC Johanna is portrayed as a workaholic who allowed a previous relationship to fade out entirely, while she worked. We never really get any insight as to why that would change with this new relationship, and all along I felt there was a disconnect with her, throughout. Perhaps because I had thought she was a perp, too. So that might be on me! She had acted pretty shady a fair few times. But then so did all the characters at one stage. lol. So this is one story that absolutely has you guessing and side-eyeing everyone!
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
A skeletonized body is discovered down a well from 30 years ago, and connects to the disappearance of a young boy in a quiet country street. DS Lucy Fuller is put on the case, but trying to run down clues and evidence from such a long time ago, might prove difficult. Especially when there's so many secrets trying to remain covered.
It's a real proper investigative drama, and I enjoyed the process and depth of it all, with details aplenty. Lucy becomes attracted to a woman named Johanna, who was a kid from the same neighbourhood when the boy had gone missing, she infact knew him and his brother and a few other rag-tag bunch of kids in the area, and we get some flashbacks here and there.
I enjoyed the discovery and suspense of tracing down all the players and guessing what was going to happen, and who the perpetrators were, and how convoluted it all was.
I do have to admit to having a huge issue with some attitudes toward one character, who is albeit unhinged and guilty of crimes, but is also a victim of heinous crime themselves - and so the narrative with a lack of sympathy, really felt odd and misplaced. So much so I feel a bit strange giving it a 4, but I did enjoy the novel overall - I just felt a bit more nuance would have been better here, because I feel this character didn't ever have much of a chance, despite their own behaviours. So a lot more reflection on that wouldn't have gone astray. I wanted more from that storyline, that characters life beforehand, parents, and other relationships and lead-up to where we left off.... PERHAPS there will be a sequel? Because it really doesn't feel finished.
My other issue is MC Johanna is portrayed as a workaholic who allowed a previous relationship to fade out entirely, while she worked. We never really get any insight as to why that would change with this new relationship, and all along I felt there was a disconnect with her, throughout. Perhaps because I had thought she was a perp, too. So that might be on me! She had acted pretty shady a fair few times. But then so did all the characters at one stage. lol. So this is one story that absolutely has you guessing and side-eyeing everyone!
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
July 13, 2022
Absolutely Awesome!
Lucy is working on a case to uncover the truth about what happened to a young boy whose remains have been found on a farm. While investigating the case, she meets Johanna, who has just been dumped and happens to be somewhat involved in what might have happened. Their friendship quickly develops into something special, and with both Lucy and Johanna searching for the truth, what they’ll find out could change everything.
I was completely addicted to this from the very first chapter. It was gritty, mysterious, and so cleverly constructed that I had no idea what was going to happen. The interlaced snippets of past events helped to build a picture and throw red herrings into the story to obscure the truth, which was very exciting and had me second guessing some of the characters. I was completely shocked by the outcome of this mystery and can safely say there was no way anyone could predict everything revealed throughout this story!
Johanna’s life or what she thought she knew was changing rapidly as Lucy’s investigations came together. My heart broke for her and how she had to relive painful memories and learn truths that would change her future. I’m just glad Lucy was there, she supported Johanna not only through everything she was already going through before the news of the case, but also through their discoveries. They had a great connection and I hope we’ll see them again in future stories.
Lucy was such a strong and determined character, even though she had her own vulnerabilities. She was very clever and clearly dedicated to her work, which I very much admired. She’ll no doubt solve many difficult cases in her career as she has an ability to look beyond what is right in front of her and investigate based on her curious nature into people and circumstances.
Cannot recommend this story enough! I know my review cannot do enough justice for just how cleverly crafted this is and the talents that Charlotte has for delivering great mystery stories that leave you wanting to know more and completely invested in solving them with the characters. Looking forward to Charlotte’s next book and very excited to uncover the next mystery!
Lucy is working on a case to uncover the truth about what happened to a young boy whose remains have been found on a farm. While investigating the case, she meets Johanna, who has just been dumped and happens to be somewhat involved in what might have happened. Their friendship quickly develops into something special, and with both Lucy and Johanna searching for the truth, what they’ll find out could change everything.
I was completely addicted to this from the very first chapter. It was gritty, mysterious, and so cleverly constructed that I had no idea what was going to happen. The interlaced snippets of past events helped to build a picture and throw red herrings into the story to obscure the truth, which was very exciting and had me second guessing some of the characters. I was completely shocked by the outcome of this mystery and can safely say there was no way anyone could predict everything revealed throughout this story!
Johanna’s life or what she thought she knew was changing rapidly as Lucy’s investigations came together. My heart broke for her and how she had to relive painful memories and learn truths that would change her future. I’m just glad Lucy was there, she supported Johanna not only through everything she was already going through before the news of the case, but also through their discoveries. They had a great connection and I hope we’ll see them again in future stories.
Lucy was such a strong and determined character, even though she had her own vulnerabilities. She was very clever and clearly dedicated to her work, which I very much admired. She’ll no doubt solve many difficult cases in her career as she has an ability to look beyond what is right in front of her and investigate based on her curious nature into people and circumstances.
Cannot recommend this story enough! I know my review cannot do enough justice for just how cleverly crafted this is and the talents that Charlotte has for delivering great mystery stories that leave you wanting to know more and completely invested in solving them with the characters. Looking forward to Charlotte’s next book and very excited to uncover the next mystery!
January 23, 2023
Really loved this book - more of a crime / cold case investigation than Romance, but hit all the right marks for me. Impressed. Highly recommended.
March 6, 2022
Fantastic!!!!!! Another great story from Miss Mills. I really love the characters she creates, they stay with you after you’ve finished reading and it leaves you wanting to meet them again. This story takes you on a journey that investigates an unsolved crime, you are seamlessly taken back in time to the 80s to get a glimpse of how the story unfolds. The romance between Johanna and Lucy on top makes it a very enjoyable and gripping read.
January 28, 2024
3.75 Stars
June 16, 2023
This mystery wasn’t interesting at all or as compelling as the other books I’ve read from the author and neither were the characters. And the blooming relationship didn’t save the story for me either. It was kinda of meh and I was skimming through the additional povs from the 1980s and much of the story towards the end. The ending and the reveal of the killer was also anticlimactic for me.
July 15, 2022
This spellbinding detective thriller caught me by surprise.
Two strong female main characters, both flawed, but both absolutely compelling, tangled both in their developing relationship and in the uncovering of longago crimes. The story is a police procedural, but told partly through flashbacks to the 1980s, when some of the characters were children, partly through the solid process of detective work, partly through the complex stories of its protagonists. Both Johannah, the detective, and Lucy whom she meets in the course of her investigation, have personal history in the game. For the characters in the book, there has to be growth. Nothing is exactly as it seems at the start of the story. For me there was also personal growth. I loved this story.
Two strong female main characters, both flawed, but both absolutely compelling, tangled both in their developing relationship and in the uncovering of longago crimes. The story is a police procedural, but told partly through flashbacks to the 1980s, when some of the characters were children, partly through the solid process of detective work, partly through the complex stories of its protagonists. Both Johannah, the detective, and Lucy whom she meets in the course of her investigation, have personal history in the game. For the characters in the book, there has to be growth. Nothing is exactly as it seems at the start of the story. For me there was also personal growth. I loved this story.
February 8, 2023
I enjoyed this book
The book really kept me engaged I like the character the story line I couldn't put it down And the ending was a surprise there was so many elements to the story that really kept me interesting I recommend this book
The book really kept me engaged I like the character the story line I couldn't put it down And the ending was a surprise there was so many elements to the story that really kept me interesting I recommend this book
May 13, 2022
3.75 round to 4
February 19, 2023
A murder mystery
Another great read from Charlotte Mills. Enough breadcrumbs to think you know who did it and the bam twists and turns with a little romance mixed in. Wonderful
Another great read from Charlotte Mills. Enough breadcrumbs to think you know who did it and the bam twists and turns with a little romance mixed in. Wonderful
April 1, 2022
I've read crime fiction and I've read this book. As an author myself and avid reader of books, I praise the work Charlotte Mills did in this book.
Bravo!!
And to you wonderful readers out there, if you're having reservations about reading this book, you're really missing out.
It doesn't disappoint.
Bravo!!
And to you wonderful readers out there, if you're having reservations about reading this book, you're really missing out.
It doesn't disappoint.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews