The Lost Children (DCI Matilda Darke Thriller, Book 9)

Michael Wood

Jun 2022 · DCI Matilda Darke Thriller Book 9 · Sold by HarperCollins UK

About this ebook

Matilda Darke is back...

APRIL 2020: LOCKDOWN

DI Brady has been tracing victims of systemic abuse at a local children’s home after a high-profile accusation pitched it into the spotlight – a case that couldn’t be more personal.

As Matilda and her team piece together the disturbing picture of the history of the home, it soon becomes clear that this is much bigger than they ever suspected.

But nothing prepares them for what they uncover next...

The Lost Children is an utterly gripping crime thriller weaving a breakneck tale of a vast network of secrets and lies, a relentless detective determined to sabotage it, and a murder that shatters two decades of silence.

Praise for the DCI Matilda Darke Series:

‘Tense, twisty, emotional and gripping. Will definitely be reading more from Matilda Darke and this gets a huge 5 stars from me!’ Angela Marsons

‘Matilda Darke is an excellent character’ BA Paris

‘This explosive novel is already making a bang – with reviewers comparing Michael’s work to that of his heroes Val McDermid and James Oswald’ Sheffield Star

‘DCI Matilda Darke is going places’ James Oswald

‘Crackling dialogue, dark wit and an exciting ending. Recommended if you liked Happy Valley’ Mark Edwards

‘Budge up Jed Mercurio ... when you are done working on Line of Duty I think it is time for you to meet Matilda’ LJ, Read and Rated Book Review Blog

‘Excellent plotting. The twists keep on coming making this an irresistible read’ Michael J. Malone

‘I really enjoyed getting to know DCI Matilda Darke’ Robert Bryndza

‘DCI Matilda Darke is the perfect heroine’ Elly Griffiths

Ratings and reviews

It really feels that the author is rushing these out now. Since book 5 the plots have gotten predictable and outright ludicrous at times, not to mention the typos, spelling errors and grammatical mistakes that make a book so much harder to read. A real shame as I was enjoying this series. I will not be following through to book 11 and I suggest the author get a better proof reader or have a word with Google books about their versions because there was an error at least every 10 pages in book 9. Example: Several of the characters said "for crying out loud" multiple times towards the end. Something nobody has ever uttered in 8 previous books and now several people are suddenly saying it. It feels unrealistic and it smacks of a lack of descriptive ideas or just outright speed writing. People don't suddenly change their mannerisms or speech patterns outside of major tragedy, especially not en masse.

EXCEEDING ALL EXPECTATIONS brilliant from start to finish. Michael Woods has got better&better over the years. I'm a N•1 Fan Easy 5★★★★★

readable but implausible/average & stilted dialogue

About the author

Michael Wood is a freelance journalist and proofreader living in Newcastle. As a journalist he covered many crime stories throughout Sheffield, gaining first-hand knowledge of police procedure. He also reviews books for CrimeSquad, a website dedicated to crime fiction.