REVIEW: Memorial Park by Louisa Scarr

Memorial Park (PC Lucy Halliday #2) by Louisa Scarr

Genre: Crime fiction, Police procedural

Read: 11th July 2025

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Published: 6th February 2025

★★★★ 4.5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Every family’s worst nightmare…

Three-year-old Rosie Logan is missing. Her mother, Maria, turned away for just one moment and now her life is changed forever. It falls to PC Lucy Halliday and her police dogs, Moss and Iggy, to find the girl, under the direction of Lucy's boss and friend, DCI Jack Ellis.

The case brings up old trauma for Jack. His childhood best friend, Theo, went missing when he was eleven and was never found. This is Jack’s chance to make things right. He won’t fail Rosie like he failed Theo.

But the investigation doesn’t go smoothly. The Logan family have been keeping secrets. And every time Lucy and Jack think they’re making progress, they’re hampered by yet another one. Can they find the truth, and Rosie, before it’s too late?

The next thrilling instalment in the new British crime fiction series featuring dog handler PC Lucy Halliday. Perfect for fans of Jane Casey, Robert Bryndza and Cara Hunter.

MY THOUGHTS:

I didn't know this was part of a series when I requested this book but it didn't matter anyway as it can easily be read as a standalone. There's several references to past cases and the like but whether they took place in the first book or are just the backstory for this one I don't know. Either way, it makes an enjoyable foray into crime fiction...even when I'd shelved the idea of any more police procedurals. This one was different. It has dogs.

PC Lucy Halliday is called to Memorial Park on the morning of Valentine's Day. Three year old Rosie Logan has gone missing and her mother Maria is frantic with worry having taken her eyes off her little girl for just a few minutes when a phone call dragged her attention away. A passerby noticed Maria's distress and calls 999 whilst Maria frantically searches and calls out for Rosie. 

The police soon arrive, Lucy and her dogs Iggy and Moss in attendance, to help search the surrounding area for the little girl. But very few clues are found. The investigation leads them to the family - mother Maria, father Tony and brother Eddie - but the deeper they dig, more questions are thrown up. And it appears the family are hiding more secrets than they are telling.

DCI Jack Ellis takes over investigations when it's clear that the on site SIO hasn't got a clue. But then the waters muddy when a cold case rears its head involving Jack and questions are soon raised. What happened to 11 year old Theo in the summer of 1994? And what has Rosie's disappearance got to do with Theo's?

This book maybe 390 pages long but it certainly didn't feel like it. The chapters are short and snappy, keeping the pace moving along nicely. I love the central characters - Lucy, Jack, Pete, Amrit, Fran - but don't much care for the family of the missing girl. The style is easy and the pace is steady throughout without bogging us down with too much procedural. I think I am going to like Louisa Scarr. I shall definitely have to try the first book "Gallows Wood" which I note is recommended.

Overall, an enjoyable and entertaining read with crime and dogs! As a dog lover, I'm all for a procedural series featuring police dogs - why there aren't more, I don't know! And I can't wait to read more.

I would like to thank #LouisaScarr, #Netgalley and #CaneloCrime for an ARC of #MemorialPark in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Louisa Scarr studied psychology at the University of Southampton and has lived in and around the city ever since. She is a full time writer, and when she's not at her desk, she can be found pounding the streets in running shoes or swimming in muddy lakes.

She is the author of the Butler and West crime series, published by Canelo Crime, beginning with Last Place You Look and ending with Out of the Ashes. A new series, about a police dog handler, launched in July 2024 with Gallows Wood. The second, Memorial Park, is out now and will be followed by Broken House in October.

She also writes as Sam Holland and is the author of the award-winning Major Crimes series, following detectives as they investigate murders committed by brutal serial killers in the south of England. The latest, The Countdown Killer, is out now.

Her DS Kate Munro series, Ask Me No Questions and Nowhere to be Found, have been republished by Canelo Crime. 

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