Deadly Wishes (Detective Zoe Finch Book 1)

I am a huge fan of police procedurals and I love discovering new authors and new series. Well 'Deadly Wishes' ticked all three boxes and then some. 'Deadly Wishes' is the first book in the Detective Zoe Finch series and what a story it is! I absolutely, totally and utterly flipping well loved reading 'Deadly Wishes' but more about that in a bit.I took to Zoe Finch from the start and I actually felt as though she had become a friend of mine by the time I got to the end of the book. When the story begins, Zoe is Acting Detective Inspector Finch and she wants to make a good impression on her bosses. Zoe is one tough cookie but then she has had to be as life has hit her in the guts over the years. Zoe is tough, compassionate, sassy, determined, tenacious, intuitive, intelligent, hard working, a devoted mother to her son and occasionally she can be very stubborn. Zoe is in charge of a small team and they all work well together and for the most part, they have each others' backs. Zoe has a reputation for being able to crack tough cases and as the story starts she is still basking in the glory from a previous case. Not that Zoe is a show off or anything- far from it. If I had to give an opinion, I would say that Zoe is a bit embarrassed at all the attention and that everybody seems to know all about her. Will Zoe successfully conclude her first investigation as an Acting Detective Inspector? Well for the answers to that question and so much more you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves to find out as I am not going to tell you.Oh my flipping word, I was blown away by 'Deadly Wishes'. I was completely under this book's spell from the moment I first picked this book up until the moment I read the last word on the very last page. If I wasn't reading the book, I was thinking about the book. If I had to put the book down then I would immediately look forward to being able to pick the book up again. I took to Zoe that well and I found the storylines so intriguing that I just couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I seemed to race through the book and I soon reached the end, which I had mixed feelings about. Don't get me wrong I was pleased to finish because at least I knew how the investigation concluded but I didn't want to finish the book because it meant that I had to say goodbye to Zoe and her team. I soon cheered up when I realised that the second book in the series is called 'Deadly Choices' and it is due to be released on 11th September 2020. I can't flipping wait.'Deadly Wishes' is superbly written and as I indicated above, I was blown away by how fantastic the story was. Rachel certainly got my attention from the start with the murder of a particularly obnoxious man. The more I discovered about him, the more I disliked him and the less I was bothered about who killed him. I needed to know why he had been killed and by whom but I certainly wasn't losing any sleep over the loss of such a 'delightful' (note the sarcasm). Rachel drew me into the story from the start and I actually felt as though I was part of the investigating team myself. 'Deadly Wishes' was a tightly plotted and well written tale that had more twists and turns to it than you would find on a 'Snakes & Ladders' board. Just when you thought that you had it figured out then the story would send you in a different direction entirely. I was gripped by this story from start to finish and I was on the edge of my seat throughout.In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'Deadly Wishes' and I would definitely recommend this book to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Rachel's work in the future and I can't wait to read 'Deadly Choices'. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

A pleasant read. Nothing to grab you. Hardly any likeable characters, didn't care what happened to any of them. Zoe wasn't very bright if she couldn't work out what Carl's role was. I'd worked it out from his first raised eyebrow! I like a more sardonic humour, and more personal relationships when police are chasing baddies. I've read 127 books this year and this would not make first 50.

Deadly Wishes I bought this book as it was on offer, but also because I was intrigued by the storyline and I loved it so much I have now bought all the other books in the series and pre-ordered the ones which have not yet been released.This book is my favorite type of book, what I call an "easy read" and by that I mean that you get straight into the book and the story just flows. There is no trying to remember which character is which and trying to keep up with a complicated plot it just all reads so smoothly. A definite must read I can't recommend it enough.

Every so often I find you read a book by an author you have not read before and you are completely blown away by how good it is and this new series by Rachel McLean is such a book. I confess I did buy it because it was offer, but also because I was intrigued by the storyline and I loved it so much I have now bought all the other books in the series and pre-ordered the ones which have not yet been released.This book is my favourite type of book, what I call an "easy read" and by that I mean that you get straight into the book and the story just flows. There is no trying to remember which character is which and trying to keep up with a complicated plot it just all reads so smoothly. A definite must read I can't recommend it enough.

Deadly Wishes is the first novel by Rachel McLean that I have read and overall I found it an intriguing police procedural murder mystery. It has a gripping plot; an investigation into the murder of Assistant Chief Constable Bryn Jackson by newly promoted Acting Detective Inspector Zoe Finch. However, as we soon discover, nothing is quite what it seems as Zoe encounters resistance from some of her senior line managers and a reluctance from some of the victim's family to help with the investigation. As a result, if you read this type of story to see if you can determine who is the murderer and why they committed murder before the final 'reveal', then you'll find you soon have plenty of suspects to consider.Another aspect I like about this novel concerns the various techniques the author uses to keep us turning the pages, such as having plenty of short chapters and ending many of them with a cliff hanger, and having multiple lines of enquiry progressing simultaneously.However, I should mention that I struggled at times trying to remember who was who as the story has plenty of characters, many of whom are members of the police force. So I wasn't entirely clear who is on Zoe's team and why one particular character appears to be treated as 'persona non grata' (although all is revealed by the end of the story). I also wondered at times about the nature of the investigation and whether or not someone with Zoe's experience would be given the opportunity to investigate the murder of a high ranking police official (or be able to continue to pursue her own line of enquiries when directed otherwise).Overall though, I think any armchair detective will enjoy reading this police procedural murder mystery. I should also add that while this story can be totally enjoyed as a standalone novel, it is clearly the first in a series of novels that will no doubt feature many of the characters we encounter in this story.

Alas, I read the Dorset Crime books (DCI Lesley Clarke) before starting on this, the earlier, series.Nevertheless, this is an excellent read as Zoe Finch tries to justify her recent promotion to acting DI. The murder of ACC Jackson proves to be rather problematic and much more involved than her management would like!An excellent "holiday" read that I greatly enjoyed. Now for book #2 in the series!