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![The Lost Children: The addictive and gripping new crime thriller in the bestselling police procedural series (DCI Matilda Darke Thriller, Book 9) by [Michael Wood]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41D7bj8ZU-L._SY346_.jpg)
The Lost Children: The addictive and gripping new crime thriller in the bestselling police procedural series (DCI Matilda Darke Thriller, Book 9) Kindle Edition
Michael Wood (Author) See search results for this author |
Customers reported quality issues in this eBook. This eBook has: Typos. The publisher has been notified to correct these issues. Quality issues reported |
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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
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherOne More Chapter
- Publication date30 Jun. 2022
- File size3868 KB
From the Publisher
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Book 9: The Lost Children | Book 8: Survivor's Guilt | Book 7: Time is Running Out | Book 6: Stolen Children | Book 5: The Murder House | Book 4: The Hangmans Hold | |
Suspense | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Thrill | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Gripping twist | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
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Book 3: A Room Full of Killers | Book 2: Outside Looking In | Book 1: For Reasons Unknown | |
Suspense | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Thrill | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Gripping twist | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Product description
Book Description
The addictive and gripping new crime thriller in the bestselling police procedural series
--This text refers to the paperback edition.Review
Praise for Michael Wood:
‘A tense, nail-biting story with a truly twisted ending’ Katerina Diamond
“An established master of the serial killer novel takes us on another dangerous journey through the streets of Sheffield. Watch out for those twists – you won't see them coming!” Stephen Booth
‘A gritty and atmospheric thriller with more twists and turns than a hangman's knot. I loved it’ Matt Hilton
‘Solid storytelling and great unravelling of plot. Michael Wood ups the pace as the noose tightens’ Rachel Sargeant
‘Taut, twisting and sharp as a blade, The Hangman’s Hold wrong-footed me at every, devious turn’ Chris Whitaker
'Wood hit the ground running with For Reasons Unknown, first in the DCI Matilda Darke series. In the fourth instalment, The Hangman's Hold, he picks up the pace again with a twisting plot that races to a nail-biting finish’ Chris Simms
‘Bites into you like the rough twine of a hangman’s noose and refuses to let go. Tautly plotted, brilliantly realised, this is further proof that Michael Wood is only going to get better and better. The Hangman’s Hold is going to be big…’ Neil Broadfoot
Praise for Michael Wood:
‘You can count on Michael Wood to deliver a deliciously twisted and intriguing plot, leading to a surprise ending by a likeable and very real protagonist, Matilda Darke’ Yrsa Sigurdardottir
‘She is the perfect heroine’ Elly Griffiths
‘A pitch-black concept, tightly delivered and played at exhilarating pace’ Paul Finch
‘Crackling dialogue, dark wit and an exciting ending. Recommended if you liked Happy Valley’ Mark Edwards
‘DCI Matilda Darke is going places’ James Oswald
‘A compelling, addictive read, it’s hard to put down. I really enjoyed getting to know DCI Matilda Darke. She's strong character with real depth’ Robert Bryndza, bestselling author of THE GIRL IN THE ICE
‘A beautifully written book with a dark heart and a secret that impacts on generations’ Sarah Ward
--This text refers to the paperback edition.About the Author
Michael Wood is a freelance journalist and proofreader living in Sheffield. As a journalist he has 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.
--This text refers to the paperback edition.Product details
- ASIN : B09LXY47HV
- Publisher : One More Chapter (30 Jun. 2022)
- Language : English
- File size : 3868 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 435 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: 3,516 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 85 in Organized Crime (Kindle Store)
- 102 in Scottish Crime
- 288 in Women Sleuths (Kindle Store)
- Customer reviews:
About the author

Hello, welcome to my Amazon author page. I am Michael Wood, author of the Sheffield based crime fiction series featuring DCI Matilda Darke. As of 2022 there are ten books in the series and an eleventh will be released in 2023. I'm also the author of two standalone psychological thrillers that are available exclusively with Audible called The Seventh Victim and Vengeance Is Mine. I am constantly scribbling away and have many other projects up the sleeves of my duffel coat. When I'm not writing, I'm usually moaning about having little sleep and talking about my favourite biscuit on social media. Look me up on Facebook (MichaelWoodBooks), Twitter (@MichaelHWood) and Instagram (MichaelWoodBooks). I'm a massive fan of reading crime fiction as I like to keep an eye on the competition and wondering if I can steal any of their ideas, give the characters a Sheffield accent, and pass them off as my own original creation. Happy reading.
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Featuring themes of child abuse, this is a book with quite a dark heart, but one in which enough of the story is spelt out to make the suffering of the victims felt, both at the time of the abuse and in the intervening years, but that also keeps the worst of the atrocities off the page. Not that there is any doubt about what has happened, or the way in which there has been an absolute abuse of power, but with the violence meted out against the perpetrators, I don't think you really need a graphic exploration of abuse to be able to understand the horrors endured. MIchael Wood has never shied away from quite dark and twisted methods of dispatch for the victims of his novels, and he certainly hasn't this time. Not the first time I've seen this particular method employed and it's certainly effective and sends a very clear statement.
Set during 2020, the book does fall within the time of the pandemic, which brings with it it's own set of challenges in investigating the initial murder. But that is the least of the teams worries, and whilst not ignoring best working practice and legislation on a party-gate scale, they certainly push work bubbles to the very limits. Needless to say tempers are running high and mistakes are made that have catastrophic consequences. It adds tension and conflict to an .already strong storyline. There are some very big changes afoot for the team and I'm not quite sure how the author is going to spin it going forward but I am very curious to learn.
Characters really are key in this series and Matilda Darke and the team are a brilliant bunch, people I enjoy catching up with. There has been significant change for them all over the course of the past few books, not less so that Sian and Matilda and both are struggling as you would expect. I like seeing the more vulnerable part of Matilda, if you get what I mean. She has always been impacted by emotion, but now she is also dealing with fear and whilst it does show an impact, seeing her overcome it and achieve what she does best always brings a smile to my face. I felt as though we go to know a lot more about Christian too, far from the over professional, somewhat contained personality we have seen in other books. He is driven by passion and anger this time around and it's good to see that side of his character set free.
The book sees several story arcs brought to a conclusion, but do no fear. Whilst we might say goodbye to a few familiar faces, it's in no way as dramatic a fashion as of late. Not sure my nerves could cope with that. Then again, as nice as the author has been in certain circumstances, we have to mention that ending. So full of promise, and threat, I can't wait to see how it pans out.
Dark, tense, twisted and thrilling. I loved it. So glad I found this series. Roll on book ten. I think ...
This is probably one of the most harrowing in the series yet, Michael Wood doesn’t hold back the punches as he takes his readers down a dark and disturbing path. He is most definitely not afraid to tackle some of the darker issues in society. When a body is discovered it soon leads back to the discovery of systematic abuse at a local children’s home. The themes are grim, there is no question about this, however, this is a story that MUST be told. Although this is fiction, it is sadly a grim reality across the world, and I firmly believe that fiction has a place in bringing social issues to the fore.
The narrative is sensitive, however, there is also a brutal rawness about it, and I had all of the emotions reading The Lost Children, snotty tears mixed with pure rage throughout. Watching the plot unfold was breath-taking as twist after twist was uncovered. Set at the beginning of the pandemic, the public fear of the virus and the impact on their lives was palpable, yet it never once felt like a book about the pandemic,
You could read this as a standalone, however, you would miss out on the wonderful and outstanding character development along the way. I have come to know and love Matilda Darke and her team over the years. I have laughed with them, cried with them and mourned with them. They have well and truly become a part of my life. Matilda is most definitely up there as one of my all-time favourite detectives, her past haunts her daily, but it gives her such insight into others and drives her forward in each investigation. In this book, another member of the team is also facing their own demons, it was an emotional and powerful exploration of secrets and trauma and of course it makes each of the characters completely authentic and believable. In each book he peels away the layers of his characters, causing us to emotionally connect with them as their journey progresses.
Michael Wood once again left us teetering at the edge of an almighty cliff and screaming for the publication of book ten immediately!
The Lost Children is powerful, emotional and raw, you need to read this now!
There are numerous typos in the book which should be corrected.
Matilda could do with giving her bottom lip a rest from chewing
Maybe professional police officers could attend a scene of crime minus graphic descriptions of vomiting
James Darke is dead although you wouldn't think so as he is a prominent character in every book!