Two days later as a nearby house is set on fire and with the body count rising, Lottie and her team begin to unpick a web of secrets and lies, as the murders seem to link back to a case investigated by Lottie’s father before he took his own life.
With little knowledge of what really happened to her father, Lottie knows this is a case that could give her some answers. But how much does she want to know? And how far is Lottie prepared to dig to uncover the truth?
The Lost Child is a thrilling page-turner from the bestselling author of The Missing Ones and The Stolen Girls that will have you guessing right to the very last page. Perfect for fans of Rachel Abbott, Angela Marsons and Robert Dugoni.
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No Safe Place
Detective Lottie Parker Book 4
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Her bare feet stuck to the frost as she ran. She wanted to scream out loud, but she knew he’d find her if she made a noise. As she stopped to listen for his heavy footsteps, she wondered if she would ever make it out alive…
As funeral mourners stand in silence at Ragmullin cemetery, a deafening cry cuts through the air. Lying crumpled at the bottom of an open grave is the bloodied body of a young woman, and Detective Lottie Parker is called in to investigate.
Knowing the body can’t have been there long, Lottie wonders if it could be Elizabeth Bryne, a young woman who vanished without trace just days earlier. And with a new boss who seems to have it in for her, Lottie is under pressure to solve both cases quickly.
As two more women go missing from Ragmullin, Lottie and her team fear there is a serial killer on the loose. And the disappearances are strikingly similar to a cold case from ten years earlier. Could history be repeating itself?
As journalists begin to interfere with Lottie’s investigation, she fears the killer is about to strike again. Lottie is in a race against time to find the missing women, but the killer is closer than she thinks. Could Lottie be his next target?
If you love Angela Marsons, Robert Bryndza and Rachel Abbott, you’ll love the latest pulse-pounding thriller from Patricia Gibney. No Safe Place will keep you guessing until the very last page.
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Tell Nobody
Detective Lottie Parker Book 5
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The boy’s body was so white it was almost transparent. But that’s not what caused the nausea to rise up her throat. He was so young. His body was unmarked, surrounded by a halo of plucked wildflowers.
One hot summer evening, eleven-year-old Mikey Driscoll is on the way home from playing with friends. Two days later, his body is discovered on a bed of wildflowers by some local teenagers.
The case is assigned to Detective Lottie Parker and this time it’s personal. The victim was a close friend of her son, Sean, from the run-down Munbally estate on the other side of town. Sean tells his mother Mikey was behaving normally before he died, but Lottie can’t help but feel that her son is keeping something from her…
Then days later, another boy is found dead, surrounded by wild flowers next to beautiful Ladystown Lake.
On the hunt for a twisted individual with a terrifying calling card, Lottie must uncover the web of secrets within Mikey’s circle of friends. Someone is hiding something but who are they protecting and can Lottie find out before it’s too late? Lottie is desperate to catch the killer before he strikes again because this time her own child could be in terrible danger…
If you love Karin Slaughter, Robert Dugoni and Rachel Abbott, you’ll love the latest heart-stopping thriller from Patricia Gibney. Tell Nobody will keep you guessing until the very last page.
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Final Betrayal
Detective Lottie Parker Book 6
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‘She lifted the flap of the envelope and pulled out the single white page. As she opened it up she stared, open mouthed. Four words were typed on the page. I am watching you.’
When Amy Whyte and Penny Brogan leave a local nightclub in the early hours of Sunday morning and don’t arrive home, their families are beside themselves with worry. Conor Dowling has just been released from prison, a man full of hatred for Amy, the girl who put him behind bars in the first place.
The case is given to Detective Lottie Parker, when the girls’ blood-soaked bodies are found, days later, in a derelict squat. Chillingly, both girls are clutching silver coins in their hands – what message is this killer leaving behind? All the signs point to Conor but his alibi is water tight.
As Lottie examines Penny and Amy’s final days alive in a desperate search for clues, two more girls are found stabbed to death in a luxury apartment complex. Caught up in what is fast becoming her toughest case yet, Lottie is unaware that somebody is watching her every move.
Then Lottie’s two daughters, Katie and Chloe suddenly disappear from the town centre. Terrified that the killer has her girls, the stakes have never been higher for Lottie.
But as Lottie puts everything on the line to find her daughters and solve the case, she’s about to find herself in terrible danger – someone has a personal axe to grind with her and they know the best way to get to her is to hurt the ones she loves the most.
If you love Karin Slaughter, Robert Dugoni and Rachel Abbott, you’ll be hooked by this heart-stopping thriller from Patricia Gibney. Final Betrayal will keep you guessing until the very last page.
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Acknowledgements
I can hardly believe that Broken Souls is my seventh book in the Lottie Parker series. There is no way I could have achieved all this in two and a half years without the support of many people in my life.
Firstly, to you, my readers, thank you for reading Broken Souls and for your continued support for me and my books.
My family are totally behind me in all that I do, and I’m so appreciative of their understanding in giving me the time and space to follow my dream. To Aisling, Orla and Cathal, I am forever grateful. You are beautiful human beings and I am proud to have you as my children. And thank you to my wonderful grandchildren, Daisy and Caitlyn, Shay and Lola, for bringing sunshine into my world. You help keep me grounded.
I have the most supportive agent I could imagine. Ger Nichol of The Book Bureau is one of the best, and I’m so thankful to have her working on my behalf. Thanks to Hannah at The Rights People, and also to Marianne Gunn O’Connor.
Lydia Vassar-Smith is my wonderful, patient and insightful editor at Bookouture. Thank you for helping me to bring Broken Souls to life.
Thank you to Kim Nash, head of publicity at Bookouture, for all the PR work; for reading my books and sending me tremendous encouragement and support. Special thanks also to Noelle Holten and to those who work directly on my books: Alexandra Holmes, Leodora Darlington, Alex Crow and Jules Macadam (marketing). I’m also so grateful to Jane Selley for her excellent copyediting skills.
Thank you to all at Sphere, Hachette Ireland and Grand Central Publishing who work on my books.
Michele Moran brings the Lottie Parker series to life in audio format, so thanks to Michele and the team at The Audiobook Producers.
The writing community is very supportive of me and my work. Thank you to all who have listened to me, chatted and advised me, especially my fellow Bookouture authors. To all the book bloggers and reviewers, thank you. You are instrumental in helping readers find my books. Special thanks to Sarah Hardy of By the Letter book review. I am so grateful to every reader who has posted reviews, because you all make a difference.
Once again, I wish to acknowledge the tireless work of libraries and their staff, and also bookstores and local and national media. The highlight of my 2019 year (so far) was being invited by Ryan Tubridy to appear on the iconic Friday-night show The Late Late Show along with Liz Nugent and Jo Spain. Thank you, Ryan.
Special thanks to John Quinn for advice. I write crime fiction and seek guidance where necessary, but inaccuracies are all my own. I tend to fictionalise police procedures to help with the pace an
d the storyline. It is fiction after all!
I am blessed to have good friends, people who ‘get’ me. Antoinette Hegarty, Jo Kelly, Jackie Walsh, Niamh Brennan and Grainne Daly, thank you for picking me up when I’m down and for all your words of encouragement.
This year my mother celebrates her eightieth birthday; she and my father have been solid rocks behind me all my life. Thank you, Kathleen and William Ward.
Thanks to my mother-in-law, Lily Gibney, and family, who have been in my life since the day I met Aidan.
My siblings are always around; we all live in the same town! It is great to have them close by and I’m appreciative of all their support for me, my children and my work. Thank you, Cathy Thornton, Gerry Ward and Marie Brennan. I dedicate Broken Souls to my sister Marie. She reads early drafts of my work and offers invaluable advice. Marie, I want to wish you a very happy retirement after thirty-six years teaching little children. Now you have more time to read and travel.
Finally, and I know I’ve already mentioned them, but my children, Aisling, Orla and Cathal, are three of the strongest, most polite, respectful people I know. As teenagers, they lost their dad, Aidan, to cancer, and they have gone through a pretty rough time in their lives. Maybe that is why they have grown into such caring, supportive and fine young adults. I am so proud of you and thankful to have you in my life.
All characters in my books are fictional, as is the town of Ragmullin, but real life has strongly influenced my writing. I’ve always lived in Mullingar, the town of my birth, and I’m so grateful for the support for me and my books that I’ve received from everyone.
Now I’m off to write book eight in the series!
Published by Bookouture in 2019
An imprint of StoryFire Ltd.
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ
www.bookouture.com
Copyright © Patricia Gibney, 2019
Patricia Gibney has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
ISBN: 978-1-83888-079-8
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places and events other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Broken Souls: An absolutely addictive mystery thriller with a brilliant twist (Detective Lottie Parker Book 7) Page 36
