Old Sins by Charlie Cochrane

Past sins have present consequences.

Detective Chief Inspector Robin Bright and his partner, deputy headteacher Adam Matthews, have just consigned their summer holiday to the photo album. It’s time to get back to the daily grind, and the biggest problem they’re expecting to face: their wedding plans. Then fate strikes—literally—with a bang.

Someone letting loose shots on the common, a murder designed to look like a suicide, and the return of a teacher who made Robin’s childhood hell all conspire to turn this into one of his trickiest cases yet.

Especially when somebody might be targeting their Newfoundland, Campbell. Robin is used to his and Adam’s lives being in danger, but this takes the—dog—biscuit.

NOTE: This title contains references to abuse and self-harm.

Book 4
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Riptide Publishing

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Veronica – ☆☆☆☆
Adam and Robin are enjoying the final days of their summer holidays in the park when there is a shooting. Several days later the men return to work and Robin is dealing with another shooting, which is made to look like a suicide, and Robin and his team are investigating both. As with the previous Lindenshaw Mysteries, Adam is gathering information from various sources to help Robin with his case and trying not to get into trouble.

There are many strands to this mystery, including two shootings, a local drug lord that the cops can’t seem to pin anything on, the mystery surround the death of a local boy during World War II, and the contents of a locked box. It was great watching the cops investigate and seeing how all the pieces fit together. I didn’t know who did it or why, so I was along for the ride with the cops and I learned what was going on as they did. I like not being able to figure out the mystery before it is solved.

While the crime solving is going on, Adam and Robin are living their daily lives and trying to decide when and where they will finally tie the knot. The mundaneness of their lives at home gives the story a down-to-earth feeling.

This series has really hit its stride with Old Sins. It was a fab read and my favourite book in the series so far.


Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
3.5 stars

This is a gentle and very civilised crime series. There is something very nostalgic about Robin’s old-fashioned police work and something reassuring about the idyllic rural life Robin and Adam have built together. Adam and Campbell do a bit of their own sleuthing in this fourth book as once again, Campbell takes a starring role.

As much as this is a charming read, sometimes gentle and slow can get a bit tedious. The characters do go round and round with the same clues and I found myself drifting off in a few places. I will admit that I didn’t follow the investigation easily and I kept having to go back for information I’d missed the first time around.

I enjoyed the characters and I love that Adam could be the most enthusiastic teacher I’ve ever encountered. Prue and Ben really come into their own in this book and I like the old secrets and the quirky village residents.

This is a charming, slow read and I love the nostalgic nods to classic British detective novels. It’s not the most exciting crime novel, but the characters are warm and the little slice of rural England is inviting.

Also Available in the Lindenshaw Mysteries

Book 1
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Riptide Publishing

For reviews & more info, check out our The Best Corpse for the Job post.

Book 2
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Riptide Publishing

For reviews & more info, check out our Jury of One post.

Book 3
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Riptide Publishing

For reviews & more info, check out our Two Feet Under post.

Because Charlie Cochrane couldn't be trusted to do any of her jobs of choice—like managing a rugby team—she writes. Her mystery novels include the Edwardian era Cambridge Fellows series, and the contemporary Lindenshaw Mysteries.

A member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, Mystery People and International Thriller Writers Inc, Charlie regularly appears at literary festivals and at reader and author conferences with The Deadly Dames.

Connect with Charlie

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Old Sins (Lindenshaw Mysteries #4) by Charlie Cochrane to read and review.