Review: The Lion's Den (Detective Anna James #2) by Emmy Ellis

                                                              

Print Length: 267 pages

Publisher: Joffe Books (August 13. 2024) 

From Goodreads.com:  A battered body is discovered in a field at Hawthorn Farm. The victim is Maureen Frost, a well-known elderly villager, and her death shocks the tight-knit community to its core.

As a fellow resident of the pretty village of Upton-cum-Studley, Detective Inspector Anna James knows Maureen. She also knows Maureen and her husband Albert have been locked in a long-standing feud with Toby Potter.

Toby has been in love with Maureen for over fifty years. They were going to get married — until Maureen spotted Albert and began seeing him behind Toby’s back.

But Albert’s far from the perfect husband. He’s controlling and abusive and has a sinister past of his own . . .

To understand the present, Anna must look to the past. All while going undercover to expose a mole within the police force tied to the powerful Northern Kings gang. At the same time Anna’s trying to suppress her growing feelings for handsome but roguish gang member Joshua ‘Parole’ Cribbins.

Anna’s about to walk into the lion’s den. Will she make it out alive . . . ?

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My Rating: 2 stars out of 5

This is the second book in this series, and the second I have read by this author, although to be honest, it will probably be my last. 

Again, this is due to the fact that we are told who the killer is (and more or less why they do what they do) in the first chapter and then spend the rest of the book watching Anna chase her tail with these people (all of whom are horrible with no redeeming qualities whatsoever). I also found it funny who within moments of meeting him, Anna somehow seemed to know who was behind it, spending the book just trying to prove it. Sure, the culprit was nervous, but it was like she didn't actually entertain any other ideas. 

And while I appreciated the author throwing in the old deaths as well, as with Maureen's death, it was all pretty obvious who were behind those ones as well. Which makes me wonder just how incompetent the officers who handled those particular cases were if Anna and her crew were so easily able to put the pieces together.

The final nail in this one's coffin though was the way it ended on a cliff-hanger. While I understand it is done as a way to try an entice the reader to keep going, it had the opposite effect on me, especially since it makes the book's blurb misleading as the book ends before Anna actually walks into the metaphorical lion's den.

Despite my personal feelings on this story, I'm sure there will be others who enjoy it more, especially if they don't mind knowing who the killer is in advance.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.