Great read

🇬🇧📚 Book Review 📚🇬🇧

Thank you for my ARC 😍

#️⃣ 2023 Books Read: 45
🌟 Rating: 📓📙📘📓(4/5⭐)
🔲 Book Title: Taken to the Hills
🖋️ Author: S J Richards @sjrichardsauthor
📖 Format: 🎧 Audiobook
🎭 Genre:  Crime Fiction 
📢 Tour: @lovebookstours @lbt.crew
📅 Tour Dates: 1st -9th Nov Audiobook Tour  2023
📅 Review date:  9th November 2023
Sorry its a day late,  I got my dates mixed up

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💻📖🎧 Book format & quality 💻📖🎧
Audible narrated book.  Clear narration.  I didn't get on with the narrators voice for the first couple of chapters, but then I got into the story and got lost in that,  so was less concerned about the narration.

🌻SpLD comments (from a dyslexic)🌻
Audiobooks are a win for me and my SpLD,  smashed this book out in one sitting, ancouldn't put it down.  I had to know what was going to happen next.

🎨 Artwork 🎨
I really like the cover,  it was eye-catching and fitting fit the book.

✒️ Details 📉
Interestingly, I'm not normally a crime fiction reading fan, which is odd because I love crime fiction on the telly box.  I really enjoyed this book. It was gripping throughout, and you wanted to know more of what was going to happen next. I had a feel of several crime films I've watched before,  all wrapped into an excellent storyline with characters you felt connected to. A must-read for crime fans!

🤓 Author Synopsis 🤓
Abductions and murder are not what ex-DCI Luke Sackville expected when he left the police after tragedy struck his family.


Luke’s return to the workplace was meant to be a soft landing but when a woman vanishes after being accused of taking bribes, he is assigned a disparate team and tasked with tracking her down.


Their search becomes more urgent when her disappearance is linked to the death of a second woman. When a third goes missing the hunt becomes a race against time. Luke’s return to work presents him with the most challenging case of his career as the murder victims mount.


Murder and intrigue are peppered with humour in this fast-paced crime thriller set in and around the beautiful city of Bath in the southwest of England.


Taken to the Hills is the first in the Luke Sackville crime series. If you like a team you can root for then you’ll love this page-turner. Perfect for fans of JD Kirk, LJ Ross, JM Dalgleish and David J Gatward.

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The narrator really captures the different characters - the tension and the humour

This is the first book in the Luke Sackville Crime Thriller series and the first book that I've read by this author.

It is however, the third or fourth book that has been a murder/crime novel set in the South West England - not too far from me - I need to be very careful when I'm out and about 😬

I loved that this book was quite unique in both it's writing style and our main character.

Luke is an ex DCI having left the force after a family tragedy. When he comes back into the workplace, he's taken a job heading the security team of a large company.
I loved this idea.
He has all the skills of a detective, but taking it a bit easier at work for now.
When a woman from the office goes missing, Luke and his team are tasked with tracking her down but things get more complicated as time goes by.
I liked that he also has an interesting back story that will hopefully be explored more over the series.

There was quite a cast of characters but it was quite easy to keep track of who was who - and of course they all seemed as though they had something to hide and I had no clue who the abductor was at all.
There was also a great twist at the end that completely surprised me.

I absolutely loved Josh - and the whole team - but Josh just had me cracking up.
The banter between him a d Luke was priceless at times and I thought they developed a brilliant working relationship by the end - really great to see as it morphed.
I loved all his crazy words and phrases too!

There was a lot of humour in the writing style which is quite different for a novel of this genre. I often find humour in the cosy crimes but not in this kind of crime thriller.
I found this really refreshing and thought it added a little something to this fast-paced story.
As the tension built and had me racing ahead and on the edge of my seat - there would be an injection of humour that would just stop me dead and have me chuckling.

A really quick read with a refreshing unique style, relatable characters and a great storyline.
I can't wait to see what book 2 holds for the team.



I also listened to this on audio book a d thought that the narrator was brilliant!
He really captured the characters brilliantly and projected the sense of tension and humour well.
I couldn't stop listening to this one!

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Fantastic start to a new series!

I love finding a new series and was delighted when I found this one. It’s a bit different as it’s not a police team investigating but an ex police officer in a new role in civvy street.

The plot is fast paced and keeps you guessing. The seriousness of the crimes is beautifully balanced with humour within Luke’s new team.

If you love a gritty crime story interwoven with a loveable team you can get to know them this is for you.

I’ve already bought and downloaded the next one in the series!

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Great!

I read Taken to the Hills last month and loved it so couldn’t resist when the audio came up for review!

The narration for this book was great. No monotones or annoying voices here! The narrator used different voices for each character and it worked well. It was pretty close to how I imagined the characters sounded.

As I said in my first review, I loved all the twists and turns, the first sign of an excellent crime thriller!

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Looking forward to book two!

Firstly, the title is what got me. It's spooky, and yet, the cover made me feel like it wouldn't terrify me too much. Guess what? I was right.

This was a mix of mystery and thriller, with a dash of humour. I mean, they're the ethics team! Need I say more? It was just a perfect mix of the right people who came together for the right reasons. It all worked out in the end. And yet, I'm left wanting more!

The audio for this was fantastic. I really think the narrator did a great job. I was able to keep up, my confusion level was at a minimum, and I really enjoyed myself.

This is book one in a new series, and I, for one, am looking forward to more. Definitely recommend.

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Great characters and gripping plot with unexpected twists

Really enjoyed this book; particularly liked the characters (obviously apart from the deliberately unpleasant ones). One of those books where one is intrigued to find out what is coming next!

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Great storyline

This is Book one in 'Luke Sackville Crime Thrillers.' We begin bt meeting Ex-DCI Luke Sackville, he is just returning back to work after being away after the death of his wife. Luke's new work role is in security. A woman that works for Filchers, the same company as Luke has disappeared, but it's not as simple as that, she's accused of taking brides, and she can't be found anywhere. Luke can't but wonder is there more to it. When other women that has also worked for the same company go missing, Luke starts his own investigation, with the help from his new team, some that you wouldn't expect. There are plenty of twists and turns, along with a few clues as the story moves on. The narrator worked well with the different characters and the parts they played in the story. I'm looking forward to Book Two

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Loved this!

What a brilliant book! I listened to the audiobook version and I loved Luke and Josh the Joker as I called him. Josh is the inexperienced newbie but Luke takes him under his wing and helps him to progress in the case. What a brilliant story for Luke and Josh to follow up on! The disappearance of two women. What's the motive, who's taken them and what do they gain from it? Luke and Josh are on the case.

I could quite happily re-listen to this as soon as it finished, it was well thought out, well written and flowed. Loved the description with the interviews or "interrogations".. thanks Josh! His catchphrases made me laugh and his endearment for Luke as "Guv" was nice to hear. He's a young guy that needs guidance and Luke is there help him on the way.

I cannot wait to read/listen to more Luke Sackville stories in the future!

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You can only make one first impression.

This is a brilliant debut novel. Luke is a likeable leader that anyone would be proud to call guv. His sidekick Josh is just fantastically funny. The story has plenty of breathtaking turns that make this book difficult to put down. The narrator brings each character to life in a way few other people could, and has such a range of voices you would be forgiven for thinking you were listening to a full cast. Overall this was an absolute pleasure. I very much look forward to seeing more from this very fine author.

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Brilliant Listen.

This is a brilliant debut novel from SJ Richards. It is skillfully written with characters you can't help rooting for. Luke, the ex DCI, Josh, the young wanna-be with his own blend of the English language, Helen and Sam the accountant and Maj the ex security guy are all thrown together in this fast paced, action packed edge of the seat thriller. I found it impossible to put down and it's had me chuckling in me boots at times and at others holding my breath. A 10 star listen if that were possible. A book I shall definitely be listening to again, I hope there will be many more in this series. Highly recommended. Aubrey Parsons narration was outstanding as always and he is the perfect choice for this kind of detective story. **********
I was kindly given a copy of the book by the narrator and leave this honest unbiased review.

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1 person found this helpful