Rosh's Reviews > Her Lonely Soul

In a Nutshell: The third book in the Tessa Burns series. Works as a standalone but preferably, read in series order. Decent premise, over the top developments, too smooth an ending. Not my favourite of the series, though it has its great moments.

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Plot Preview:

Cork, Ireland. A young girl named Ellie has just walked into the local police station with her parents, claiming that she has psychic abilities and has foreseen a murder. As expected, she is politely turned away. But when her prediction comes true two days later, the gardai call the family back for questioning. Tessa and her team are despatched by Commissioner Wilson to help with Ellie’s investigation. But before they have a proper handle on things, an aggressive local officer and some bad guys come into the picture and Tessa’s team is left scrambling.
The story comes to us in the third person perspective of the core trio (Tessa, Danny and Maggie) and of some secondary characters, including Ellie.

I had enjoyed the first Tessa Burns book, but the second book had been a slightly mixed bag, with Tessa becoming annoyingly cocky and rash. The only reason I continued with the series was that the epilogue of the second book revealed a promising titbit – that a child claims she's psychic and foresaw a murder. The premise is handled well in this third novel, but certain factors stop it from being a memorable read.


Bookish Yays:
😍 The pre-prologue chapter is stunning! This author sure knows how to get my attention at the start.

😍 There’s only a brief intro of the key trio of Tessa, Danny, and Maggie. This is perfect for a continued series, though newcomers to this series will miss out on knowing the characters intimately.

😍 Pavlov is as amazing as he was in the first two books. Not a surprise. Dogs are awesome!

😍 The pacing is quick-paced at the start, then goes a bit more relaxed, but never slow and never dragged. The tempo is perfect for the plot.

😍 The Irish setting is put to good use in the content, whether through location or people or crime.

😍 Author Shane Dunphy (who writes narrative nonfiction under his full name and crime novels using his initials) has worked as a child protection worker for 15+ years. This background ensures that he writes his best when it comes to the realities and legalities of Ireland’s foster care system and of the children within. His knowledge of the system is impeccable.

😍 The author’s note is exceptional – don’t skip it.


Bookish Mixed Bags:
😐 There is too much foreshadowing at the end of the initial chapters. Thankfully, this reduces a bit later, but I am still not a big fan of this plot device.

😐 It was nice to see all the key characters return in this series. Danny and Maggie are still excellent, as are Commissioner Wilson and Pavlov. However, Tessa hogs much of the limelight this time around. I would have loved to see more of Danny and Maggie, especially in the second half.

😐 Tessa is better than she was in the second book, but she still seems to make impractical judgement calls, which is not expected from such an experienced officer. Her character development doesn’t seem to be in continuity with the earlier books.

😐 Of all the children in the series so far, Ellie’s track is the most atypical, and not just because of the supposedly psychic abilities. The trope used to explain her “predictions” isn’t my favourite, though it is seen so often in fiction. I’d rather read about an ordinary child caught in extraordinary circumstances. The novelty and relatability of the earlier two books is missing.

😐 The Faceless men are back with greater vehemence this time around, but there is still so much more to learn about them. (The author’s note reveals a little, but I wanted the story to be more about these strange and dangerous assassins.)

😐 There are multiple action scenes, which might thrill most action-thriller lovers. However, the violence is greater this time, as is the child abuse.

😐 The book was a solid 3.75 star until about the 70% mark. Once the reveals and the infodumps started, the logic started becoming questionable, and the result was patchy.


Bookish Nays:
😒 The blurb doesn’t match the actual plot in multiple ways! As I pick my reading choices mainly by the blurb, this is very disappointing as the blurb version sounded far more exciting.

😒 I had complained about Tessa getting a romantic track in book two. In this book, I’ll complain about the handling of the romantic track. It nullifies everything established in the second book.

😒 Yet again, there are too many conveniences and coincidences, and worst of all, infodumps by criminals. The plot also contains quite a few logical loopholes, including some made by Tessa herself. (I still can’t understand how she missed such a big clue in Chapter 39.)

😒 The title makes the book sound like a soppy romance. (Thankfully, it is not!)

😒 Sharmin and Nasrin are both female names among Muslims, not male ones. Though these were tertiary characters in the story, it is still annoying to see minority details portrayed inaccurately.


All in all, as long as you are ready to suspend your disbelief, you might enjoy this book as it offers plenty of high-octane action and an interesting investigation. A consistent feature across the three books has been that the plotline is great but the finish is too smooth.

This is the third book of the series, and while it does work as a standalone, I wouldn’t recommend beginning with this book, as the personalities of Tessa’s team members and the work they do are established in the first book.

I wonder if the series is coming to an end here. There is no preview of the next story through any epilogue, and the final chapter seems to pulling the curtain down. But if there is a fourth book, I might still continue with the series, just in case there are more faceless men to come. I guess I’ll take a call once I see the blurb (and will hope that it is more accurate the next time around.)

Recommended to police procedural fans, as long as you are willing to keep those thinking caps aside and just go with the flow. It’s not a bad book, but I certainly expected more.

3 stars.


My thanks to Bookouture for providing the DRC of “Her Lonely Soul” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.


Other books in the Tessa Burns series:
Book 1: Little Witness
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Book 2: Only the Children
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


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