Former Detective Inspector – now PC – Lucy Halliday is a dog handler in the New Forest. Her specialist search dog Moss is the most important thing in her life – apart from discovering what happened to her husband, a journalist who disappeared two years previously. Most people think he just ran off, but Lucy is convinced that something much more serious happened to him.

When a hand found in Gallows Wood leads to a body, Lucy becomes convinced that her husband’s body must be there too. And when Moss leads her to another corpse in the wood, with the same signs on it, she is convinced she is on the right track. But given Lucy’s past, and a new DI, Jack Ellis, leading the investigation, the tensions within the team might be exactly what the killer needs to strike again.

Lousia Scarr is not an author who I’ve come across before but when Canelo Crime dangle review copies of new books under my nose, I do tend to give things a go. She has written five books in the “Butler and West” series, police procedurals. There are also three(?) serial killer thrillers under the name Sam Holland. Glancing at the blurbs for these, and indeed this one, they seem to be books where the personal lives of the protagonists seem to be just as important as the crime narrative and this, as you know dear reader, can be a problem if the balance isn’t right.

The balance, you’ll be pleased to know, is right here, especially given that the majority pf Lucy’s issues – namely the disappearance of her husband and the events leading up to it – tie directly into the main plot. I was a little less convinced about the relevance of DI Ellis’ backstory, but I’m guessing that’s sequel fodder.

Having said that, I did like the relationship between Lucy and Jack – and I really liked the relationship between Lucy and Moss! Plotwise, things keep moving forwards at a good pace – the identity of the villain (with my mystery-solving hat on) was a little disappointing, but it was effective as an important element of the story, and Lucy’s arc throughout the story was well constructed.

Overall, a very enjoyable police procedural, with a strong and affecting story for the lead character.

Gallows Wood is out now from Canelo Crime. Many thanks for the review copy.