Book Description
The little girl looked like an angel in her thin white robe, her long black hair spread around her head like a dark halo on the snow. Her hands rested on her chest, fingers interlaced as if she had fallen asleep while praying. But she would never wake up again…
When Detective Lottie Parker receives news that a child’s body has been found in the frozen grounds of the cathedral, a shiver runs down her spine. She’s terrified it will be eight-year-old Willow Devine, reported missing that morning.
But when she arrives at the cathedral, holding a photo of Willow with her blonde ponytail and gap-toothed smile, she gets a terrible shock. The body is a young girl, wrapped in a white shroud, a rosary clutched in her frozen fingers. But her hair is dark, not fair. This girl isn’t Willow but another eight-year-old, Naomi.
Desperate to find a connection between the two girls and to find Willow before it is too late, Lottie speaks to the girls’ families and discovers that both girls were altar servers at the cathedral. The charismatic priest Father Maguire has a watertight alibi for the time the girls went missing, but Lottie suspects the confused old lady traumatised by the discovery of Naomi’s body is hiding something…
A day later, Willow’s little body is found wrapped in a white robe in the snowy grounds of a church across town. Lottie is devastated, convinced now that she can’t trust anyone, least of all the girls’ parents. Why did Willow’s mother claim the girls didn’t know each other? And why are there no photos of Naomi in her mother’s shabby house?
But when a little boy from the choir goes missing too, Lottie realises she must spread her net wider. Can she stop this twisted killer before another precious life is stolen?
A completely compelling page-turner from bestselling author Patricia Gibney. If you like Rachel Caine, Kendra Elliott and Robert Dugoni, The Altar Girls will have you hooked.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'The Altar Girls' by Patricia Gibney.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Patricia Gibney, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 9th November 2023.
This is the fourth book I have read by this author. It is also the thirteenth book in the 'Detective Lottie Parker' series but can be read as a standalone. I have previously read book 10 in this series 'Little Bones', book 11 'Guilty Girl' and book 12 'Three Widows' and would highly recommend them all.
This novel consists of 99 chapters and an epilogue and the book is set over 5 weekdays. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
WARNING ⚠ ADDICTION ALERT ⚠
Wow!! What an absolutely riveting, non stop action packed crime thriller!!!
I was absolutely hooked from the first page to the last!!! This book is extremely well written with vivid descriptions that absorbs the reader into the storyline. The cover, title and synopsis suit the plot perfectly.
What I love about Patricia is that I don't even have to read the synopsis of any of her books to know that whatever that says the book is guaranteed to be a unique, gripping and addictive read and as always this book was no exception!!! This was yet another explosive addition to this fantastic series where Patricia completely emerges the reader into the storyline. The storyline is filled with suspense, crime, friendship, romance, murder, betrayal , heartache, secrets, family, lies and is absolutely rammed with tension which left me on the edge of my seat biting my nails with my heart pounding throughout. It is extremely fast paced and rammed with action and loads of red herrings. I loved the fact that you get to see what was going on from so many perspectives. The main ones are Lottie and Mark but you also get to see what happens through the eyes of several other characters including the journalist Sinead Healy, unknown characters and Father Keith Maguire among others!! Patricia manages to weave the chapters by different protagonists together perfectly and does not give a drip of information unless she wants you to know it!!! Patricia has absolutely everything covered and I absolutely love books like this as you really do get to see so much that it means you get further and further emerged into the storyline leaving you shocked and bewildered when you look up to discover your reality!! Patricia manages to drip feed the reader with titbits of information to allow you to try to solve it yourself without giving too much away. It is like you are Lottie trying to discover what is going on with your team surrounding you! However, I had no idea who was involved and was shocked when it was revealed so a HUGE well done to Patricia on shocking me. There were such a huge pool of suspects in this book and so many has the motivation , amongst other things that I had no idea who to believe until the bitter end!! I have read so many crime books it is getting harder and harder for me to be surprised but you achieved it so congratulations!! Patricia also did an amazing job of weaving the subject of dementia into the storyline as we see how Lottie's mother is struggling in the same terrible way that so many dementia sufferers do and how it affects the family. My Grandparents had dementia and it is a truly terrible thing to watch a loved one suffer with it. My heart truly went out to Lottie while she was trying to look after her while trying to solve a crime. There was also the lovely Mark who is searching for his son who was taken away by his ex wife months ago. With so much going on in work as well as in personal lives will this amazing team be able to catch the killer this time? You'll have to grab your copy of this amazing read to find out for yourself but I promise you won't regret it!!! An epic, emotional, addictive and explosive addition to this absolutely gripping must read series!!! I cannot wait to see what Lottie, Mark and the rest of the team get up to next!!!
Although this is the thirteenth book in the series I would have had absolutely no problems reading it without the others. Any details or events that have previously happened are mentioned in just the right amount of detail to let a new reader know what has happened and yet not too much to bore a previous reader.
DO NOT EVEN LOOK AT THE FIRST PAGE WITHOUT CLEARING YOUR SCHEDULES AS THIS WILL KEEP YOU HOOKED!!!
I absolutely love Lottie, Mark and the majority of the team and they have become like old friends to me who I Iook forward to meeting again in every book and miss them between books. It was quite sad coming to the end of this book and knowing I am going to have to say Goodbye to them for a while. It is vital for me that I 'click' with the main protagonists and I love Lottie's kick butt attitude and that she doesn't take any CRUD. You see Lottie's more sensitive side in this book with the victims being children but you can also see the disgust when certain events are revealed. I'm looking forward to getting to know her better from the previous books. Mark is a sweet guy and my heart absolutely went out to him when it came to his son and his ex wife after what she has done to him taking his son away from him. Mark has been trying to hunt them down for months but will he have any luck in this book? You'll have to grab your copy to find out.
I absolutely love the fiery team dynamics and enjoyed that there was tension and fights in the team as it portrays the truth that a team won't always get along. All of these amazing, strong, unique and memorable characters come to life and jump out of the pages thanks to Patricia's fantabulous evocative writing skills and they have all become friends that I miss every time I turn the last page and always look forward to meeting them again and again. Keep up the amazing work Patricia!!
Congratulations Patricia on yet another fantastic book and this is exactly why you are on my favourite crime author list!!! I am looking forward to reading your previous and future successes and here's to your next 🥂!!
Overall a page turning and addictive explosive crime thriller that will leave you on the edge of your seat throughout!!
504 pages
This book is just £2.99 to purchase on kindle, free with kindle unlimited and £11.99 in paperback via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
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Author Bio:
Patricia is the million-copy bestselling author of the DI Lottie Parker series. She yearned to be a writer after reading Enid Blyton and Carolyn Keene and even wanted to be Nancy Drew when she grew up. She has now grown up (she thinks) but the closest she’s come to Nancy Drew is writing crime!
In 2009, after her husband died, she retired from her job and started writing seriously. Fascinated by people and their quirky characteristics, she always carries a notebook to scribble down observations.
Patricia also loves to paint in watercolour and lives in the Irish midlands with her children.
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