Only the Children: A completely gripping Irish crime novel with a heart-stopping twist (Detective Tessa Burns Book 2)

Wow it was fantastic kept me on the edge of my seat.

Thank you Netgalley, SA Dunphy and Bookouture for the eArc of Only the childrenThis book continues with DI Tessa Burn's who has taken over special cases that involve finding missing children. This is the 2nd book in the DI Tessa Burns series but im pretty confident it could be read as a standalone book too. The narrative of this book is set in Ireland on a cargo ships that run aground. On investigating, children were found on the boat but other people has been killed. As the children are being placed in protected custody, the battle begins in finding out who these children are. Are their families alive? Are social services going to whisk them away? As Tessa starts solving the riddles of this case, more unfolds for her, and so does her past and why she came into this specialised career.SA Dunphy has a great writing style and flows/paced very well. The characters are well fleshed out and feel real. For me this is a must as the more I bond with the characters,( whether I like or dislike them ) the more emotions I feel reading the overall book. Tessa's back story is very well woven into the fabric of the storyline and you can develop and understanding of why she has sought out this line of work., which makes mer, for me more likeable,I'm eager to see more of DI Tessa Burns!I have also listened to the audio version of this book, Melanie MacHugh who narrated both book 1 & 2. Melanie is a wonderful Irish narrator who suits this genre of books, She has a great voice, easy to listen to and a beautiful Irish accent which adds even more vibrancy to the book.A solid 4 stars.

Have read some books from this author in the past so I thought I would give it a try and found I really enjoyed it plenty of suspense and a team being assembled from some unusual characters but they eventually work together and it all works now onto the second book.😊

Only half way through ìt but good will buy a second book

The main characters in this book are brilliant especially Maggie. A must read this is book 2 of series .

Loved this series I think it’s Shane’s best lot so far. The characters were so real and exciting. Am looking forward to the next in the series with these three characters.

Book 2 DI Tessa BurnsIrish Police procedural series. I loved the audiobook of Little Witness and couldn’t wait to listen to this one. Great to see the same narrator Melanie MacHugh as I love her accent and distinctive voices for the main characters.The police find a grounded cargo ship with the Captain dead and the crew missing, the only survivors are three children.This is a cracking team. The dynamic works so well between Tessa Maggie and Danny. Although the main character is DI Burns, my favourite by far is Maggie and her assistance dog Pav Maggie has a starring role in this book.The plot has a good pace throughout, great plot complexity with multiple layers, always plenty going on,characters to like and loathe.The storyline is dark but not gruesome or graphic. It examines several modern crime fronts.This book is even better than the first for me! It’s straight into my books of the year, which is unusual for a police procedural to achieve.I highly recommend it, and can’t wait for book 3

This case really takes its toll on Tessa because there are so many similarities to her own experiences as a child. But she can't seem to get through to these terrified children until she brings in her colleague Maggie with her secret weapon, a little dog. There is an almost supernatural feel to this story,with it's talk of mermaids and evil. I don't know about other countries but in Ireland you might not quite believe in mysticism but you are afraid to disbelieve. There was plenty of suspense from the outset which led up to a thrilling climax that had the tension ramped right up to eleven. The story of Tessa's childhood is obviously going to run through the whole series leaving the reader desperate to find out more. I look forward to book 3.

I couldn't put this book down once I started it, even though it was 324 pages. I read it in one day!

I love suspense, mystery & characters that are in the military, FBI, Police. It sounded like a good read so I took a chance on it. I Really enjoyed listening to this book!!! It kept my attention & interest! I like reading books on people that save & rescue children from human trafficking! I will definitely check out other books written by this author!

Enjoyed this book- it had mystery / suspense and kept us turning the page- I hope this series continues in the future

I enjoyed reading this book. The characters are believable and the story was stressful, but kept me hoping it would all work out. Ready for the next one :)