What do you think?
Rate this book
DI Lockyer #4
Vital Signs
CAN A KILLER LEAVE NO TRACE?
August 2010. The Tobins - a happy, well-off family - spend a sunny afternoon at a birthday party with friends. By dawn, most of them are dead.
It's a crime that grabs headlines and shocks the nation. The key suspect, Aidan Tobin, was known as a loving husband and father, but his desperate attempt to take his own life is as good as a confession. The case begins and ends with him.
August 2021. A survivor of the attacks regains a memory of that horrific night.
Chloë Tobin never believed her father was guilty. Only six at the time, she is the sole witness to the brutal attacks. Now, she insists that somebody else was involved. Could she be right? DI Matt Lockyer and DC Gemma Broad of Wiltshire Police's cold case unit aren't so sure. But as they begin to investigate, they soon discover there's more to this case than meets the eye.
After all, why would a man who had everything destroy it all?
August 2010. The Tobins - a happy, well-off family - spend a sunny afternoon at a birthday party with friends. By dawn, most of them are dead.
It's a crime that grabs headlines and shocks the nation. The key suspect, Aidan Tobin, was known as a loving husband and father, but his desperate attempt to take his own life is as good as a confession. The case begins and ends with him.
August 2021. A survivor of the attacks regains a memory of that horrific night.
Chloë Tobin never believed her father was guilty. Only six at the time, she is the sole witness to the brutal attacks. Now, she insists that somebody else was involved. Could she be right? DI Matt Lockyer and DC Gemma Broad of Wiltshire Police's cold case unit aren't so sure. But as they begin to investigate, they soon discover there's more to this case than meets the eye.
After all, why would a man who had everything destroy it all?
- GenresMystery
470 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 26, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 31, 2026
3.5 / 5.0
A great book from start to finish, but a very complex deep plot that was almost a biting off too much Webb could chew. The plot a complex one, and straight off the bat the number of names flying about parents/partners/sons and daughters it gets really hard to actually understand who is connected to who. Whilst it is mentioned in the book, it takes a while for it to quick. My only bone to pick was how the book focused on of the sub plots that the main plot was left on its own, until it was wrapped in a span of 50 pages or less, then on top of that we see Matt Lockyer’s personal problem and natural character development as well as Gemma Broad’s personal issues. It’s a very packed book, with a lot of pages, I think maybe a less complex plot could have resolved a lot of the longing out, issues surrounding the inconsistent focus on the different plots. Whilst the box left on a bit of a personal cliffhanger, the pacing and focus of attention on the subplots need to be sorted.
The book focuses on an crime that occurred in August 2010, which shocked the nations when the Tobins - a happy well off family spends the afternoon at a birthday party with friends. By dawn, most of the family are dead. The main suspect was the father Aiden Tobin who’s desperate attempt to take his own life was taken as a guilty confession. The case was resolved and ended with him. But 10 years later, August 2021 - a survivor of the attacks regains a memory of that horrific night. Chloe Tobin never believed her father was guilty, she was only 6 at the time but is the only sole witness of the attacks. She now insists that it there was somebody else involved. It’s not up to DI Matt Lockyer and DC Gemma Broad of Wiltshire Police’s cold case unit to start the re-investigation. But as soon as they begin to investigate, they soon discover that there’s more to this than meets the eye.
Overall, it’s not a bad book, I would recommend reading the previous books as the book does spoil some of the past plots/ things won’t make sense as they reference events from previous books. Intrigued to see the direction of the series and where Webb will take this book forward.
A great book from start to finish, but a very complex deep plot that was almost a biting off too much Webb could chew. The plot a complex one, and straight off the bat the number of names flying about parents/partners/sons and daughters it gets really hard to actually understand who is connected to who. Whilst it is mentioned in the book, it takes a while for it to quick. My only bone to pick was how the book focused on of the sub plots that the main plot was left on its own, until it was wrapped in a span of 50 pages or less, then on top of that we see Matt Lockyer’s personal problem and natural character development as well as Gemma Broad’s personal issues. It’s a very packed book, with a lot of pages, I think maybe a less complex plot could have resolved a lot of the longing out, issues surrounding the inconsistent focus on the different plots. Whilst the box left on a bit of a personal cliffhanger, the pacing and focus of attention on the subplots need to be sorted.
The book focuses on an crime that occurred in August 2010, which shocked the nations when the Tobins - a happy well off family spends the afternoon at a birthday party with friends. By dawn, most of the family are dead. The main suspect was the father Aiden Tobin who’s desperate attempt to take his own life was taken as a guilty confession. The case was resolved and ended with him. But 10 years later, August 2021 - a survivor of the attacks regains a memory of that horrific night. Chloe Tobin never believed her father was guilty, she was only 6 at the time but is the only sole witness of the attacks. She now insists that it there was somebody else involved. It’s not up to DI Matt Lockyer and DC Gemma Broad of Wiltshire Police’s cold case unit to start the re-investigation. But as soon as they begin to investigate, they soon discover that there’s more to this than meets the eye.
Overall, it’s not a bad book, I would recommend reading the previous books as the book does spoil some of the past plots/ things won’t make sense as they reference events from previous books. Intrigued to see the direction of the series and where Webb will take this book forward.
April 20, 2026
I love this series and the detectives Matt Lockyer and Gemma Broad. Another good story with twists all through, solved with the usual determination, the police procedural work is well written too. I also like the up and down relationships between the rest of the characters, especially Matt and Hedy. The back story follows through the books so I would recommend reading them in order, but enough details are given to read this as a stand alone. Hope there are more to come.
March 28, 2026
I absolutely love this series and couldn’t wait to dive in as soon as my pre-order landed in my Audible library. Once again, Kate Webb delivers a police procedural masterpiece, with DI Lockyer and DC Gemma Broad tackling a complex cold case after new evidence surfaces. It seemed like an open-and-shut case, but Lockyer is determined to dig deeper.
The writing is terrific and what I love about this book and the others in the series is the depth of the investigation. It’s like being able to peer into Lockyer’s mind and follow his thought process. The case is chilling and sad —a whole family allegedly murdered by their father, who then attempted to take his own life, surviving but left in a vegetative state. The only survivor is his daughter, left with devastating injuries. There are plenty of suspects, and the author has cleverly tossed in a few red herrings and dead ends so that just when you think you’ve figured it out, everything is turned on its head.
I adore the two protagonists, and I think I might be a bit smitten with DI Matt Lockyer. Both detectives face challenges in their personal lives, and I really hope things start to improve for them in the next book. The peripheral characters are also very well portrayed.
The narration by James Lailey enhanced my enjoyment of this fantastic book.
The writing is terrific and what I love about this book and the others in the series is the depth of the investigation. It’s like being able to peer into Lockyer’s mind and follow his thought process. The case is chilling and sad —a whole family allegedly murdered by their father, who then attempted to take his own life, surviving but left in a vegetative state. The only survivor is his daughter, left with devastating injuries. There are plenty of suspects, and the author has cleverly tossed in a few red herrings and dead ends so that just when you think you’ve figured it out, everything is turned on its head.
I adore the two protagonists, and I think I might be a bit smitten with DI Matt Lockyer. Both detectives face challenges in their personal lives, and I really hope things start to improve for them in the next book. The peripheral characters are also very well portrayed.
The narration by James Lailey enhanced my enjoyment of this fantastic book.
May 3, 2026
Aidan Tobin has been in a coma for 11 years after a failed suicide attempt. It seems he brutaly murdered his wife and children and then threw himself off the top of the building. However, his youngest daughter didn't die in the attack but is only now recovering small vague memories of that night. It's enough to allow Matt Lockyer and Gemma Broad to review the evidence again and reinterview witnesses. It seems that at the time the police thought it an open and shut case and many tests and leads were not followed up.
Matt and Gemma are two of my favourite fictional coppers. They work well together and have interesting private lives. The novel has twist after twist and the tention builds up really solidly. An author who never lets me down and I can't wait for the next one to come out.
Matt and Gemma are two of my favourite fictional coppers. They work well together and have interesting private lives. The novel has twist after twist and the tention builds up really solidly. An author who never lets me down and I can't wait for the next one to come out.
August 7, 2026
Another totally immersive and gripping reading experience! I could not put this down. This is a police procedural series which, book by book, just keeps getting better and better. In 'Vital Signs', Matt and Gemma are reinvestigating a 'family annihilation' after new evidence comes to light. After failing to commit suicide, Aidan Tobin lies in a vegetative state with everyone believing he murdered his wife and children but is everything as it seems? Of course not... and it's up to the cold case team to piece together what really happened on that fateful night. I cannot wait for the next book in the light of the cliff hanger! Please Kate Webb, don't think about finishing this series any time soon... and please let Matt end up with Jody and Gemma with Jason!
April 3, 2026
A series that just gets better and better as you go on. A challenging case that brings out everything DI Lockyer has to solve. Such amazing characters and the overall story arc mean this is absolutely brilliant. Highly recommended
May 27, 2026
I have loved every book in this series so far! I love the complexity of the characters and the stories that arc all the way through the series.
Vital Signs has ended on a big cliffhanger for Lockyer personally and I am itching to find out how he manages it.
Roll on book 5!
Vital Signs has ended on a big cliffhanger for Lockyer personally and I am itching to find out how he manages it.
Roll on book 5!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 4, 2026
3.5 stars. I've read books 1 & 2, but for some reason my library didn't purchase book 3 and jumped right to 4. Feel like I've missed some background action on the main characters. Good mystery though, kept me guessing!
June 1, 2026
As usual I’m gripped by Kate’s imagination and the characters. I also love that it’s set close to where I live so I can easily visualise it all. I can’t wait for the next one.
June 10, 2026
Brilliantly well written cold case investigation. This is a superb series. The main characters have so much depth I feel that I know them personally.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews