At the start of "Little Girl Lost" a young child is found, wandering the snowy woods in her nightclothes, with no identification and an unwillingness to talk. DS Lucy Black is called out to the scene and so begins her story. Having returned home to care for her Father who is suffering from dementia, Lucy finds herself caught up in the case of the mysterious child, the kidnapping of a teenager, and a delve into the past of her own family. A multi layered tale, the clues are subtly included in the More...

DS Lucy Black has returned to her hometown of Derry to take care of her father, a former policeman, who has Alzheimers. After transferring into CID, she is called out in the middle of the night - and a snowstorm - to investigate the potential sighting of a missing girl (Kate, the daughter of a wealthy local businessman). She doesn't find Kate but she does find Alice - half frozen and unable, or unwilling, to speak. When no one reports her missing, Lucy is given the job of finding out who Alice i More...

By Brian McGilloway. Grade B+

The moment I saw the book online, I was gripped. First of all, I absolutely loved the cover. A small, girl lost in the forest, scared and vulnerable with blood on her hands, dying from the cold, waiting desperately for some one to come by and find her.
The cover, the title "Little Lost Girl" and the amazing back blurb. How could I resist?

Midwinter. A child is found wandering in an ancient woodland, her hands covered in blood. But it is not her own.

Unwilling, or unable More...

As I'm sure I'm about to learn with my month of reading Scandinavian crime, there is something dreadfully yet delightfully chilling about a winter crime. It's below freezing outside, there are tracks in the snow... it's eerie and sets the perfect tone for a thrilling story. Little Girl Lost is set in an Irish winter and manages to blend perfectly into the wild mix of chilly thrillers abundant in the marketplace. I've never read a McGilloway before, but I enjoyed this one so much I had best add s More...

This is a superb book. Once I realised it refers to the Troubles in Northern Ireland I was a little leery as it's not the sort of stuff I usually read but it isn't ALL set around that time at all so that was good.
The best thing about this book for me and what made it an absolute pleasure to read was that there are no mistakes and no formatting or grammatical errors so it CAN be done. Take note, e-book publishers !!
I really liked the character of Lucy, a young policewoman who is the star of the More...

Brian McGilloway gets better and better. He introduces a new hero here in the shape of DS Lucy Black. She is called to the edge of a snowy forest where a girl in a nightdress has been seen, confused and lost. The Derry police are looking for Kate McLaughlin, daughter of a local businessman who may have been abducted. Lucy finds the girl, who is mute with fear – but it is not Kate. This frozen girl seems to be someone called Alice…

This is a crime story with rich characters, particularly Lucy. She More...

To be honest, unimpressed. Downloaded it because it was/is doing well in the charts. I didn't find any of the characters particularly engaging. I am not a fan of the author's writing style - for a start, too many qualifying adverbs and adverbial phrases for fluency of reading in my humble opinion. If you have to use them, shake them up and put some before the the speech.

One description that sticks out as something that I couldn't accept was when a body was discovered in a house in the middle of More...

I enjoyed this book as the genre was different to my preferred novels. I found there was plenty of suspense and mystery included in the novel which made me eager to read on. The setting of the novel being based in a real place and also based upon the factual conflicts in Ireland and Northern Ireland allow me to appreciate this novel more as I know that although it is fictional it is founded or created around true events. My criticism of the book would be that the ending with Travers was perhaps More...

DS Lucy Black is out searching for a missing teenager but instead discovers a young girl wearing just her pyjamas and with someone else's blood on her hands. She will not talk to anyone and so Lucy's task is to discover who the child is and what she is doing out in the woods alone at night. At the same time she keeps getting drawn into the missing teenager case and discovering suggestions that the two cases may not be as separate as intially thought. Lucy's personal life is far from straight for More...

Good solid crime fiction. Won't talk about the plot because half the pleasure of reading a book is finding out what it's all about. Naturally the cop has an interesting background, but it's not the usual stuff involving a love of the bottle or dysfunctional relationship with spouse/partner. It all had a very down-to-earth feel to it, mixed in with some pretty brutal stuff which nevertheless felt very real. First time I'd read anything by Brian McGilloway. I'd be lying if I said I loved it or it More...

Set in Derry, the Protagonist Lucy Black is a copwoman investigating a curious incident of a little lost girl. The story uncovers the unique culture and characters of Derry with a smattering of recent historic facts relating to the troubles. This helps you to get inside the mind of those who live there without being the main backdrop for the story. Cleverly told crime thriller, with short chapters, realistic plots and schemes that grip you to the very last page. I read the kindle version which w More...

I really enjoyed this story - from the very start, when a young girl is found but her discovery is almost overlooked because she isn't the missing girl the police are urgently seeking, to the dramatic ending.
The plot hangs together well, the characters are well drawn and the setting of this book is not only well described but is pivotal to the plot. The photos and comments at the end of the book, showing the actual locations, were a definite bonus.
I'll definitely be looking out for more from th More...

Stand alone police procedural by the much respected author of the Devlin books. Set in and around Derry the story carries much of the history of that troubled City as seen through a serving police family. There are several "little girls lost" in this complex story that will disturb even the most seasoned crime thriller reader. Never written to shock and with moments of humour the story is gently unfolded in short sharp chapters around the life of Detective Sergeant Lucy Black.
I particularly like More...

Lucy is a policewoman (is Detective a better term?) and she founds herself at the centre of the biggest crime in Ireland at the time, searching for a kidnapped teenager and finds another little girl instead of her.
I really liked the character of Lucy, she was very likeable and I found I could relate to her, as far as wanting what is best for everyone and not really doing much about your own needs.

I mentioned I am unsure why I liked it. Its hard to put my finger on it. Unlike most books in this g More...

Well I don't usually read these kind of books, but I think I might start now. I brought it as it was only 59p on Kindle but I wasn't expecting much. I recommended it to my mum because she reads this genre all the time, we both loved it! Maybe I have rated it so high because this is the first crime book I have read and have nothing to compare it to but I really did enjoy it.

It is a very gripping book that keeps you guessing right until the end. It has a good storyline and I liked the characters. More...

A good police procedural, although I suspect at times procedures weren't really followed. Too many occasions where the main character and her boss did the maverick thing, acted on their own, took implausible risks.

But I very much enjoyed the story - the mystery of the little girl found and the little girl lost, and the historical crimes that were gradually revealed. A bit too much co-incidence involved in the denouement maybe. But a strong story and an interesting character in DS Lucy Black. More...

This is the first of Brian McGilloway's books I've read and I must admit I was extremely impressed. A good police procedural which also shows the pressure a young female police officer has combining her job and also taking care of her father who has dementia.

A young woman has gone missing, a child is found in the woods and DS Lucy Black is involved in both. Can she help solve both cases it is an interesting take on a case that spans two decades, with some surprising results. An enjoyable read. More...

Excitement, powerful and gripping will describe this book! At only 300 pages its a great book to get shot into and really enjoy. Well I could not put it down! It was brilliant! I wish it was longer!

The way the author writes this book is great, it's enjoyable and such a page turner. You just wanted to know more and more! When it came to the end I was not dissatisfied, it's every thing a crime book should be. It also gives you historic problems of Ireland which allows this to grip you.

Wow. This book kept me gripped to the very end. A heartfealt feeling towards the main charachter and her connections to the unravelling plot. A great balance of tension, emotion and...fact, something I wouldn't usually be drawn to (the troubles of Ireland) But only enough to keep you interested within the storyline. Personally, It helps not to read blurbs or many reviews to which breaks the intensity of imagination. Just start reading the first few chapters and see for yourself.... X

There's not a massive amount to say about this book, I liked it! Good storyline, I liked the characters, good setting during The Troubles. I didn't quite think it was a 5*, mostly because after reading a few crime novels all with one similar aspect of the storyline (i wont give it away which one but i feel its becoming a crime novel cliche), i was a little disappointed in that one aspect, but on the whole it is certainly a solid 4*.

After the depths of Wolf Hall, this was a very light read that I finished in 24 hours. However, I really enjoyed it. As it says on the tin, it is about a little girl whose lost but turns into two girls lost or abducted. With quite a few turns and twists along the way. Will look up his other books, as they take place in Northern Ireland, which is quite different.

Started off well.
Intriguing thriller about a possible abduction and another young girl found wandering in the woods with traces of someone else's blood on her.
Lucy, the police officer, befriends this young girl and tries to work out what has happened to her and also solve the case of the abducted girl Kate.
Also involves Lucy's home life.
I got a bit bored about 75% of the way through to be honest. Wasn't enough of a thriller for me but not a bad plot and story line

I really enjoyed this book I have read some of Brian McGilloway's Inspector Devlin novels but in this novel he introduces a new lead character DS Lucy Black and is set in Derry city.

As someone from the city I can recognise the areas he describes, it is always a pet peeve that people write books about a place and don't get the geography of it right.

The book is well written and flows well leading to the eventual big reveal.

A very good read. Loved the fact that is was based in 'real' towns and referred to true events in the history of Northern Ireland. The family relationship between Lucy (main character) and her father and mother was very emotive and I wanted to shout at them each in equal measure. Great ending which is always difficult to achieve.

I choose 5 stars because it is the highest I can give. This book is fantastic. The whole way though the book I was hooked. Read it in 3 days flat (normally takes me over a week to read a 300 page book). If you enjoy crime books then I will be really surprised if you do not enjoy it. The story is great so many twists right till the end. It made me smile, made me cry, had me on the edge of my seat right to the end. Brilliant

This book was FANTASTIC!
I bought it on a whim yesterday & finished it tonight. It had me hooked from the start.
I couldn't put it down & didn't want it to end.
I cried towards the end. Very gripping read. Very nicely written. Will have to read more by this author now.

More of a 2.5 if I am being honest. The story was good enough, but there wasn't enough twists and turns for my liking, and i couldn't connect with the main character, so ended up skipping loads because I just wanted to see what happened in the end, without having to go through the options of actually caring!

I really enjo yed this book. I felt a connection to the main chatacter and it being set: in Ireland made the imagery more realitic as I am from the uk myself. The story itself is gripping and has so many layers to it. Although a little predictable at times, I liked it.

Good read, but a bit overlong and took a while to get the connections sorted. I thought the author was a little over-ambitious in trying to weave so many threads together. Having the heroines entire family in the RUC seemed unlikely. However, having said that, I did read it all and enjoyed it, in the main.

dissapoined at first as was expecting a Divine follow on. But this new character DS Lucy Black is so well written and hope there will be more come . The story is really gripping and fast paced highly recommend to all who enjoy police procedurals