Published March 12th, 2025 by Bookouture Thriller, Mystery, Crime Fiction, Police Procedural, Crime Series, Suspense, Noir Fiction
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this dark, gritty and addictive thriller. Thank you to Bookouture for the invitation to take part and for sending me an eBook in exchange for my honest review.
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ABOUT THE BOOK:
It’s dark as the young woman leaves work. Crossing the empty car park alone, she thinks about the warmth of her little house. But she doesn’t make it home that night. Or ever again…
Thirty years ago, Ruth Pritchard’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Elissa, went missing. Police were called, neighbours were interviewed, and even Ruth’s own husband was investigated, but the case went unsolved. Elissa disappeared forever.
Now, Ruth watches the local news and hears about another girl gone from the same streets where her beloved daughter was last seen, and her heart races. A distinctive red scarf was found at a crime scene, and she recognises it instantly. It belonged to Elissa.
After Ruth alerts the police, they rush to speak to her, but nobody answers the door. Her small home stands eerily quiet. Just like her daughter before her, Ruth has vanished into thin air.
Friends say that Ruth suspected someone close to home took Elissa. Others say she never trusted her husband again after he was questioned by police. Did she finally discover the truth behind her daughter’s disappearance? And will her friends and family ever see her again?
From bestselling author Carla Kovach, this absolutely unputdownable crime thriller is perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Cara Hunter and Clare Mackintosh.
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MY REVIEW:
Gina Harte and her team are back. And this time they are investigating a suicide that has links to a kidnapping thirty years ago. It opens with a chilling prologue and then the discovery of a man’s body in his car. The man has clearly taken his own life, but he has left an ominous note talking about a girl he’s tried to keep safe. With no real clues or idea who this girl is, the race is on for the team to identify their John Doe and the girl in the note and then find her before it’s too late. Alongside the case, Gina is going through a lot in her personal life as someone is threatening to expose the secret she’s kept hidden for decades. A secret that will end her career. Can she find the girl, solve the case and stop her secret from being revealed?
Tense, twisty and totally addictive, this heart-stopping thriller had me holding my breath as I read. It might be seventeen books in, but the Gina Harte Series keeps getting better with each installment. Carla Kovach is a thriller queen who delivers stories time and again that are well-written, cleverly plotted, dark, gritty, and nail-bitingly tense. The crimes explored in this series are always hard-hitting and can be difficult to read, but Kovach never makes them feel gratuitously violent and instead amplifies the voices of victims of crime, writing these stories in a way that is raw, honest, but also sensitive to what they have been through.
Ms. Kovach fills her stories with characters that are flawed, relatable and morally complex, exploring how good people can do bad things and making you question what you might do in their shoes. Gina is a fantastic protagonist who is easy to root for, even if I don’t always agree with her. After reading this series for so long, Gina and team feel like old friends and I’m invested not only in the crimes they are solving, but their personal lives too, so I was on tenterhooks as someone threatened to destroy Gina’s life by exposing her secret. Can she keep flying so close to the sun without being burned?
A riveting thriller that kept me guessing, this is another must-read thriller from Ms. Kovach.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Carla Kovach is a USA Today bestselling author from the UK and is published by Bookouture, Sphere, Boekerij and Virtualo. Her DI Gina Harte series has been translated into Dutch, German and Polish.
As well as novels, she has also written stage and screenplays.
Published October 16th, 2024 by Bookouture Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Police Procedural, Crime Fiction, Noir Fiction, Crime Series
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for the dark and addictive One Last Prayer. Thanks to Bookouture for the invitation to take part and for sending me a copy in exchange for my honest review.
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ABOUT THE BOOK:
She races home, her young son clasped tightly to her chest, glancing over her shoulder at every face she passes. She reaches the safety of her home, closing the door behind her. Little does she know the danger that awaits her inside…
When local vicar, Sally, packs away the brightly coloured toys and dog-eared books left over from a morning parent and toddler group, her heart pounds as she discovers a note left behind:
‘Help me.’
Sally knows the mother who sat in that spot. Rushing to Nell‘s small house nearby, her feeling of dread grows. Her frantic knock goes unanswered. Inside, she hears Nell’s one-year-old son Alfie crying, but still Nell doesn’t come.
Running to the back of the house, Sally’s breath catches at the sight of Nell’s lifeless body laid out in the garden.
When police investigate the young mother’s tragic death, rumours start to spread. Some say Nell had enemies. Some say she wasn’t telling the truth about who she really was. And some say she was running from a dark past.
With reports of a mysterious figure seen watching Nell’s house, it’s clear whoever took her life is close by. And when a break-in at the church ends with a brutal attack on Sally, the vicar who found Nell’s body, it’s clear that this killer isn’t finished yet…
Fans of Angela Marsons, Cara Hunter and Clare Mackintosh will absolutely love this gripping new thriller from Carla Kovach. Addictive from the first page, and with a jaw-dropping twist, you won’t be able to put this down!
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MY REVIEW:
Detective Gina Harte and her team are back and this time they are investigating the gruesome murder of young mum, Nell, who was discovered slain in her back garden by the local vicar, Sally. Sally had come to check on Nell and her son, Alfie, after the young woman fled the mother and left behind a note asking for help. Rumours quickly circulate that Nell was hiding something. Could her secrets be the key to her murder? As the team investigates things take a distressing turn when Sally is also attacked. It’s clear that this is someone who will go to extreme lengths to keep their secrets. Can Gina and her team find them before they kill again?
The Detective Gina Harte series is one of my favourite series, and every book goes straight onto my must-read list. I discovered this series the same month I joined Bookstagram so it holds a special place in my heart and it is crazy to me that I just read its sixteenth instalment. But the best thing is, this series isn’t slowing down and Carla Kovach has once again delivered a story every bit as gritty, tense, and compelling as its predecessors. The crime is especially intricate, complex and dark this time around and I went through so many different theories and suspects while reading. And that ending. How could you do that to me?
Carla’s skillful storytelling is a big part of what makes these books so special. It is fast-paced, thrilling, and morally complex, with lots of twists and turns keeping you on your toes from start to finish. You can also rely on her to write compelling characters, such as Gina, who is a fantastic protagonist. And while I love returning to Gina and the team, I also love how well-written the background characters are every time. In this book I really enjoyed getting to know Sally more in this book. I hope we see more from her point of view in the future, but not because she’s attacked!
Dark, nail-bitingly tense and addictive, this is a must-read for all thriller fans.
Published May 17th, 2024 by Bookouture Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Police Procedural, Crime Series
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this dark and ominous thriller. Thank you to Bookouture for the invitation to take part and the eBook ARC.
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BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Her small hands tremble and tears run down her cheeks. Shivering in the dark, damp storeroom, the little girl clutches her favourite toy dog. She cries out for help, but nobody answers. Her mother went missing last night and, as dawn breaks, there is still no sign of her.
Four-year-old Cleo shakes with fear as she tells the police that her mother, Darcie, was taken by a man on their way home last night. Darcie told Cleo to run and hide, and the last thing she saw was Darcie being pushed into the back of a car.
When police look into Darcie’s life, they discover a drunken argument with her best friend hours before she went missing, a dark figure seen loitering near where Cleo was found, and a recent assault allegation against a customer at Darcie’s work.
It seems like everyone around the young mother was keeping secrets, but Darcie had a dark secret of her own – one she hasn’t dared tell a soul.
Did Darcie’s deadly past finally catch up with her? And will she find the strength to fight for her life and keep her promise to return for her beloved daughter?
If you enjoy reading Angela Marsons, J M Dalgliesh and Mark Edwards then you’ll absolutely love this addictive page-turner.
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MY REVIEW:
“Tik, tick, tick. The clock is ticking and when eleven comes, we’ll take a lovely trip down memory lane.”
Four-year-old Cleo is found clutching her favourite toy dog in the barn of the B&B. Shaking, the little girl tells police that a man took her mother, Darcie, as they were on their way home last night. Detective Gina Harte and her team are called in to investigate and quickly begin to uncover clues that point to everyone around her keeping secrets. Not only that, but Darcie is hiding a dark secret of her own that may have come back to haunt her. The clock is ticking. Can Gina and her team unravel the clues and find Darcie before time runs out?
Her Last Goodbye is the 15th book in the Detective Gina Harte Series, and it’s another ominous, tense and gripping thriller. I inhaled this book, hooked once more by the skillful pen of Carla Kovach. My love of this series and author is no secret. Ms. Kovach books are an auto-read for me, and she can always be relied upon to deliver a fast paced story that I can’t put down. She is skilled at crafting dark, morally complex storylines and characters that show both the best and worst of humankind. Her multilayered plots never fail to put your emotions through the wringer, and her characters are all brilliantly written and compelling. And her villains. They never fail to unnerve me, but this time she really sent chills down my spine with the lengths this person went to in stalking their victims. I’ll be looking closely at my ceiling from now on!
One of my favourite things about a book series is revisiting much-loved and familiar characters. It was great to be back with Gina and her team, and I appreciated that Ms. Kovach gave them a break in their private life after the intense goings on in the last book. Gina is a brilliant protagonist. Feisty, determined, and with a strong sense of justice, I love how she fights for those unable to fight for themselves. It is nice to see her past torment her less as time goes on, and I appreciate the realistic but sensitive representation of domestic abuse and trauma that is shown through Gina and other characters in this series. As a survivor it is empowering to see books like this that help us to feel seen and raise awareness and understanding of things such as coercive control. All that aside, I am still rooting for Gina to find her happy-ever-after with a certain someone. Please make it happen Carla!
Dark, suspenseful and pacy, this page-turner is a must for any thriller-lover.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Carla Kovach is a USA Today bestselling author from the UK and is published by Bookouture, Sphere, Boekerij and Virtualo. Her DI Gina Harte series has been translated into Dutch, German and Polish.
As well as novels, she has also written stage and screenplays.
Published September 20th, 2023 by Bookouture Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Noir Fiction, Crime Fiction, Police Procedural, Crime Series
Today is my stop on the blog tour for this first-class thriller. Thank you to Bookouture for the invitation to take part and the eBook ARC.
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SYNOPISIS:
Her perfect night out just became her worst nightmare…
Lauren returns home from celebrating her engagement with friends and stumbles as she gets out of the taxi. So what if her best friend Sienna didn’t show up? Lauren had a good night anyway. As she walks towards the small house she shares with her fiancé, Robbie, she’s surprised to see every window in total darkness. And when she calls his name, the house remains silent. Where is Robbie?
Kicking off her red heels, Lauren heads towards her bedroom, feeling more nervous with every step. And when she opens the door, she immediately knows something is very wrong. The sickly metallic smell sobers her up instantly. And there is someone in her bed…
Moving closer, her heart races in her chest. Instead of her fiancé, in the bed lies the lifeless body of a young woman, and although long dark hair covers her face, Lauren can already see who it is… her best friend, Sienna.
As Lauren’s scream breaks the silence, someone stands outside the bedroom, tracking her every move. Did Lauren’s perfect little home just become the most dangerous place she could be?
Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Cara Hunter and Clare Mackintosh, Her Hidden Shadow will have you hooked from the very first page.
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MY REVIEW:
Lauren stumbles out of the taxi after a great night out with friends celebrating her engagement. The only thing missing was her best friend, Sienna, but she had fun anyway. Life is great and she couldn’t be happier to finally be engaged to Robbie. As she enters her small house all is dark and quiet, so she undresses and crawls into bed next to her fiance. But something isn’t right. He feels cold. And why can she feel something wet? She turns on the light to see the body of her best friend covered in blood. Why is Sienna in her bed? And what has happened to Robbie? Lauren’s scream pierces the air and as she picks up her phone to call the police she hears a thud from another room. The killer is still in the house…
Her Hidden Shadow is another first-class thriller from Carla Kovach. It had everything I’ve come to expect from one of her books and she pulled me in with her compelling characters, intriguing plots, and heart-stopping suspense. I like how she always tackles a deeper topic in her books, this time exploring the effects of trauma with honesty, sensitivity and compassion. Her stories are always hard to predict and I was on tenterhooks as she built up to the big reveal.
This is the fourteenth book in the Detective Gina Harte series and at this point Gina and her team feel like old friends. So despite the dark and difficult topics these books always feel like comfort reads to me. I’m emotionally attached to these characters, something Kovach uses to her advantage by adding in storylines featuring Gina and her team that threaten everything you think you know. It heightens the tension and makes it impossible to put the book down. And boy did she put me through it with this book, though I’ll not say more as I don’t want to ruin the surprise.
Action-packed, tense, addictive, and full of twists and turns, Carla Kovach has knocked it out of the park once again. I can’t wait for book fifteen!
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Carla Kovach is a USA Today bestselling author from the UK and is published by Bookouture, Sphere and Boekerij. Her DI Gina Harte series has been translated into Dutch.
As well as novels, she has also written stage and screenplays.
Published April 14th, 2023 by Bookouture Thriller, Mystery, Suspemse, Crime Fiction, Police Procedural, Psychological Thriller, Noir Ficiton, Crime Series
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SYNOPSIS:
She shuts the door behind her, relieved to be in the safety of her own home. But tonight her house is the most dangerous place she could be. Someone has been waiting for her, and they know she’s home alone…
Sasha loves her job finding accommodation for homeless people, and she’s proud of the small but cosy apartment she rents on the good side of town. She’s worked hard to leave her dark past behind her and make amends for the accident that still haunts her memories. She knows she was innocent, though she’s still careful about who and what she tells of her old life. But not all secrets stay hidden forever…
When her phone rings loudly in the middle of the night, Sasha fears what she’ll hear when she picks up – a deathly silence. It’s happened every night for weeks. Is it a childish prank, or a chilling warning that someone has uncovered her secret?
But the news of a body found at a local shelter means her worst nightmare has come true. It can’t be a coincidence that evidence related to the victim has been found at the same location where the most devastating moment of Sasha’s life took place.
Days later, a second body is found and Sasha’s heart pounds wildly as she takes in the victim’s unforgettable green eyes. She hasn’t seen her in a long time, but she’d know her old friend anywhere. She was the only other person who knew Sasha’s secret, so how can Sasha prove her innocence now?
Sasha doesn’t know who’s coming for her, but she’s certain of one thing: she’s next on the list…
Fans of Angela Marsons, Cara Hunter and Clare Mackintosh will love Their Cold Hearts – a totally thrilling and addictive crime thriller that will have you up all night!
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MY REVIEW:
A homeless shelter should be a place of sanctuary for those in need. But one such place becomes a nightmare when one of the residents of a local shelter is found brutally murdered with what seems to be a cryptic coded message from the killer. A number of suspects soon emerge, but when a second body is found – this time a woman in her home – the mystery deepens. What is her connection to the first victim? What do the killer’s clues mean? And who is next on the killer’s list?
Sinister and suspenseful, Their Cold Hearts had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. Complex, layered, and twisty, Carla Kovach has once again written an intricately woven thriller that took me on an emotional rollercoaster. It’s fast-paced, compelling and twisty with lots of red herrings. I thought I had the killer’s identity figured out, but Kovach blindsided me with the shocking big reveal.
This is the thirteenth book in the Gina Harte series, and it’s no secret that I’m a big fan. At this point Gina and her team feel like old friends and I’ve got a special place in my heart for Gina in particular. In this book, Gina is going through a lot in her personal life partly because of her dedication to her job, and it was a very emotional read in places. Then there’s that ending, which broke my heart into pieces. But I love the relationship that the team shares and how they are a family, something that Gina needs more than ever. But she’s still the feisty, determined woman who will do everything she can to bring a criminal to justice. And the person she’s facing this time made my blood run cold. We only get a few glimpses into their psyche, but they made a chilling impression.
Dark, tense and forbidding, Their Cold Hearts is a riveting thriller that I didn’t want to put down. I’m so glad to have the next book in the series waiting for me so I can find out what’s next for Gina.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Carla Kovach is a USA Today bestselling author from the UK and is published by Bookouture, Sphere and Boekerij. Her DI Gina Harte series has been translated into Dutch.
As well as novels, she has also written stage and screenplays.
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the gifted ARC of this book.
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SYNOPSIS:
Dressed in garish Halloween costumes, two teenage girls run through a patch of dense woodland towards the outskirts of town. But before they can reach the safety of the streets beyond, they make a shocking discovery.
Following a piece of old rope, the girls find a large mound of freshly laid earth, undisturbed in the darkness of the trees. Clawing at the ground beneath them, they make contact with something solid. When they realise what they’ve discovered, the silence is broken by their piercing screams as they stare down at the shallow grave.
Without looking back, they run as fast as they can, failing to spot the person nearby watching their every move…
And when another grave is found just days later, it’s clear a serial killer is praying on the small town. But who is the killer watching now? And when will another grave be filled?
If you like Angela Marsons, Cara Hunter and Clare Mackintosh, you’ll love this heart-racing thriller from bestselling author, Carla Kovach. With gripping suspense and a twist you won’t see coming, Their Silent Graves will have you hooked from page one.
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MY REVIEW:
Some lies won’t stay buried forever…
Two teenage girls on their way to a Halloween party are unprepared for the discovery they are about to make. While walking through the woods the girls come across a piece of old rope they follow to a large mound of freshly laid earth. Clawing at the ground, they uncover a shallow grave and run screaming for help. But they failed to notice the person lurking in the shadows who was watching their every move…
Detective Gina Harte and her team arrive to investigate and discover the body of a man sealed in a coffin. A few days later, another grave is found, and it is clear they are hunting a twisted serial killer.
Racing to find the perpetrator before another grave is filled, Gina receives chilling messages from someone claiming to be the person they are looking for. Messages that threaten to reveal the secret she has kept hidden for decades.
The Detective Gina Harte series is one of my favourite crime series, yet somehow I’d missed book seven. So when I was looking for a mood read thriller I could sink my teeth into, it seemed like the ideal time to finally put that right. And I’m glad I did. This book had everything I’ve come to expect from Carla Kovach: great writing, grim murder scenes, richly drawn characters, chilling villains, and morally complex dilemmas. It showcases her talent for crafting dark, disturbing, and twisty thrillers that are hard to predict or put down.
One of the aspects I particularly enjoyed in this instalment was wondering if Gina’s secrets would be revealed. I loved the heightened tension it created as I questioned not only this, but just how she might be connected to the killer. And speaking of the killer, this one was really hard to figure out! I am usually good at figuring out twists and who a perpetrator is, but this time I really had no set suspect in my mind until right before the big reveal. And even then I was wrong! Their identity was a genuine surprise that made my jaw drop. Well played, Ms. Kovach.
Chilling, ominous and addictive, Their Silent Graves is a pacy page-turner all thriller lovers won’t want to miss.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Carla started writing more seriously ten years ago after having flirted with musical theatre and occasional writing in her youth.
Since then she has written & produced several stage plays, has four self-published books, has acted in several independent films and is currently in the final stages of production of her feature horror film, Penny for the Guy.
She now writes full time as well as co-owning a film, photography & video production company located in the heart of Redditch town centre
Today is my stop on the blog tour for Her Deadly Promise, the latest compelling thriller in the fantastic Detective Gina Harte series. Thank you to Noelle at Bookouture for the invitation to take part and the gifted ARC.
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SYNOPSIS:
Four-year-old Kayden has been sitting alone on the little patch of tired grass outside his house for hours. His cheeks are wet with tears as he waits for his mother’s warm embrace. But she’ll never arrive to pick up her darling boy. She’ll never be seen again…
Church Road is a quiet corner of suburbia where happy families play in the local park and neighbours smile as they pass in the street. But behind the bright red door of number 8 lies the body of Billie Reeves, a young mum who just took her last breath.
Serena is Billie’s sister. When she found out her boyfriend had been obsessively calling Billie, she’d all but cut her from her life. But not before vowing she would make Billie pay for ruining her relationship…
Shaun is Billie’s ex-boyfriend. He left her the moment she fell pregnant. When he turned up at Billie’s door, demanding to see Kayden, she refused to take the risk of him hurting her precious son. He’ll do whatever it takes to get his little boy back…
Nadia is Billie’s best friend. Their kids attended the same school and Billie often opened up to Nadia about her struggles as a single mother. She knows Billie’s deepest, darkest secret. She promised never to tell, but that was before the argument…
When police investigate the quiet little street, they discover everyone was whispering about Billie’s late-night callers. What was going on behind the closed door of Billie’s small home? And if someone was prepared to kill her, what do they know, and who will be next?
Fans of Angela Marsons, Cara Hunter and Clare Mackintosh, will love Her Deadly Promise – a completely gripping crime thriller that will have you hooked from the very first page!
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MY REVIEW:
“One thing I don’t know is how it all ends, but I know it’s not going to be pretty. It’s going to be explosive.”
Four-year-old Kayden has been playing outside in his garden for hours. His mother, Billie, told him not to come in the house until she tells him to, so he’s waiting for her to call him. But she never will. Because while Kayden was playing someone brutally murdered his mother in their home.
Detective Gina Harte and her team are called in to investigate the shocking crime. Who could commit such a savage act? As they delve deeper, they discover that things are not as simple as they seem and that this is a case filled with dark secrets that could hold the key to cracking the case. They just have to unravel them first.
The twelfth book in the Detective Gina Harte series is another gripping thriller. Infused with mystery and a sense of imminent danger, I was on the edge of my seat as I tried to figure out the secrets each of the characters were hiding. It had a dark and ominous atmosphere, like there was something evil lurking in the shadows, waiting to pounce. And I couldn’t get enough.
While I enjoy a good standalone thriller, there is something to be said about coming back to characters you know and love. It’s like catching up with an old friend and I’ve come to care about Gina and her team. Gina herself is one of my favourite crime protagonists, and it was hard to see her going through such a hard time in this book. But in addition to the regular characters, each instalment in a series requires new characters and Ms. Kovach manages to create fascinating new characters who draw us in and tug on our heartstrings or enrage us again and again. And while we know one of them is our killer, the mask they wear is so convincing that it can be hard to see their true face. This was particularly true in this story and my jaw was left on the floor at the big reveal.
Carla Kovach is one of my auto-buy authors thanks to this series. Her books are always well written, morally complex, darkly thrilling, and filled with compelling characters. I also enjoy how she weaves important issues such as domestic violence, mental health, and, in this book, the cost of living crisis into her stories, giving them greater depth and making the reader think. I also like that her books are often hard to predict, keeping me on my toes as I read. But this time she had something truly tantalising in store with the book’s final line. How can you do that to me?! I need the next book now! I’m going to be thinking about what it could mean until book thirteen.
Suspenseful, captivating and twisty, this is perfect for anyone who enjoys a multilayered thriller.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Carla Kovach is a USA Today bestselling author from the UK and is published by Bookouture, Sphere and Boekerij. Her DI Gina Harte series has been translated into Dutch.
As well as novels, she has also written stage and screenplays.
Welcome to my final list of anticipated books released in 2022. December is a quiet month, but there’s still 15 books on my list.
The Widow by Kaira Rouda
Published: December 1st Publisher: Thomas & Mercer Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Fiction
SYNOPSIS: A husband with secrets. A wife with no limits. A riveting novel of marriage, privilege, and lies by Kaira Rouda, the USA Today bestselling author of The Next Wife.
Jody Asher had a plan. Her charismatic husband, Martin, would be a political icon. She, the charming wife, would fuel his success. For fifteen congressional terms, they were the golden couple on the Hill. Life was good. Until he wasn’t.
Martin’s secret affair with a young staffer doesn’t bother Jody personally. But professionally? It’s a legacy killer. Soon a reporter gets word of this scandal in the making, and Martin’s indiscretions threaten to ruin everything Jody has accomplished.
When Martin suddenly dies, it’s a chance to change the narrative―but the reporter won’t let go of his lead. As the balance of power shifts in the Asher house and on the Hill, it’s time for Jody to take control. And there’s nothing the ruthless widow won’t do to secure the future she’s entitled to. Even if she has a secret of her own.
Her Deadly Promise by Carla Kovach (Detective Gina Harte Book 12)
Published: December 2nd Publisher: Bookouture Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Psychological Fiction, Noir Fiction, Crime Fiction, Police Procedural, Crime Series
SYNOPSIS: Four-year-old Kayden has been sitting alone on the little patch of tired grass outside his house for hours. His cheeks are wet with tears as he waits for his mother’s warm embrace. But she’ll never arrive to pick up her darling boy. She’ll never be seen again…
Church Road is a quiet corner of suburbia where happy families play in the local park and neighbours smile as they pass in the street. But behind the bright red door of number 8 lies the body of Billie Reeves, a young mum who just took her last breath.
Serena is Billie’s sister. When she found out her boyfriend had been obsessively calling Billie, she’d all but cut her from her life. But not before vowing she would make Billie pay for ruining her relationship…
Shaun is Billie’s ex-boyfriend. He left her the moment she fell pregnant. When he turned up at Billie’s door, demanding to see Kayden, she refused to take the risk of him hurting her precious son. He’ll do whatever it takes to get his little boy back…
Nadia is Billie’s best friend. Their kids attended the same school and Billie often opened up to Nadia about her struggles as a single mother. She knows Billie’s deepest, darkest secret. She promised never to tell, but that was before the argument…
When police investigate the quiet little street, they discover everyone was whispering about Billie’s late-night callers. What was going on behind the closed door of Billie’s small home? And if someone was prepared to kill her, what do they know, and who will be next?
Fans of Angela Marsons, Cara Hunter and Clare Mackintosh, will love Her Deadly Promise – a completely gripping crime thriller that will have you hooked from the very first page!
Published: December 6th Publisher: Thomas & Mercer Genre: Suspense, Psychological Thriller
SYNOPSIS: Two kidnappings, thirty years apart. Can Stacey face her own dark past in order to save her stepdaughter?
When Stacey’s ex-husband turns up on her doorstep begging her to help save his kidnapped thirteen-year-old daughter, Lyra, the terror is all too familiar. Stacey’s own violent kidnapping thirty years ago was never solved, and while a severe case of amnesia spares her from recalling the specific horrors, she remembers enough…
Stacey knows her father never paid the ransom―she has the missing pinkie finger to prove it. She knows she was only saved because of an anonymous tip-off to the police. And she knows her captor was never apprehended.
Lyra’s kidnappers have made it clear the police must not get involved. But Stacey can’t shake the eerie similarities between the two cases, and she’ll use whatever she can, from her journalistic powers to her shady contacts, to save Lyra from the same nightmare. Desperate to find any link between Lyra’s abduction and her own, Stacey forces herself to revisit her forgotten, traumatic past for clues.
But can she make sense of the terrible secrets she unearths in time to save Lyra? And if she does, is she ready to face her own tormentor?
Published: December 6th Publisher: St Martins Press Genre: Suspense, Coming-of-Age Story
SYNOPSIS: My Dark Vanessa meets The Queen’s Gambit in this new novel of suspense about the bonds of family, the limits of talent, the risks of ambition, and the rewards of revenge.
When former piano prodigy Saskia Kreis returns home to Milwaukee after her mother’s unexpected death, she expects to inherit the family estate, the Elf House. But with the discovery that her mother’s will bequeathed the Elf House to a man that Saskia shares a complicated history with, she is forced to reexamine her own past––and the romantic relationship that changed the course of her life––for answers. Can she find a way to claim her heritage while keeping her secrets buried, or will the fallout from digging too deep destroy her?
Set against a post #MeToo landscape, Rachel Kapelke-Dale’s The Ingenue delves into mother-daughter relationships, the expectations of talent, the stories we tell ourselves, and what happens when the things that once made you special are taken from you. Moving between Saskia’s childhood and the present day, this dark, contemporary fairy tale pulses with desire, longing, and uncertainty, as it builds to its spectacular, shocking climax.
Published: December 6th Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire Genre: Suspense, Young Adult Fiction
SYNOPSIS: No matter how you try to hide it, the truth will always come out . . .
When a small plane crash ends with a group of seven teens washed up on a deserted island, their first thought is survival. With supplies dwindling and the fear of being stranded forever becoming more of a reality, they quickly discover that being the most popular kid in high school doesn’t help when you’re fighting to stay alive.
And when strange and terrifying accidents start to occur all around them, the group realizes that they are being targeted by someone who was on the plane, and that the island isn’t their only danger. A terrible secret from a party the night before the flight has followed them ashore–and it’s clear that someone is looking for justice. Now survival depends on facing the truth about that party: who was hurt that night, and who let it happen?
SYNOPSIS: To marry is madness. To escape is impossible.
I must pull myself together. I had to find Dr Rastrick and demand my immediate release. My stomach knotted at the prospect, but I knew I was perfectly sane and that he must see reason.
In 1886, a respectable young woman must acquire a husband. But Violet Pring does not want to marry. She longs to be a professional artist and live on her own terms.
When her scheming mother secures a desirable marriage proposal from an eligible Brighton gentleman for her, Violet protests. Her family believes she is deranged and deluded, so she is locked away in Hillwood Grange Lunatic Asylum against her will.
In her new cage, Violet faces an even greater challenge: she must escape the clutches of a sinister and formidable doctor and set herself free.
This tantalizing Gothic novel from Noel O’Reilly tells a thrilling story of duty and desire, madness and sanity, truth and delusion from within a Victorian asylum.
The Witch and the Tsar by Oleysa Salinkova Gilmore
Published: December 8th Publisher: Harper Voyager UK Genre: Historical Fiction, Fairy Tale, Fantasy Fiction, Historical Fantasy
SYNOPSIS: ‘A delicate weaving of myth and history, The Witch and the Tsar breathes new life into stories you think you know’ Hannah Whitten, New York Times bestselling author of For the Wolf
Yaga lives deep in the Russian forest, tending to any that call upon her for her healing potions and vast wisdom.
She has been alone for centuries, with only her beloved animals for company. But, when Tsaritsa Anastasia, wife of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, shows up at Yaga’s cottage on the brink of death, Yaga is compelled to travel with her to Moscow to keep her safe.
However, the Russia Yaga sees as she makes her journey to the heart of the country is one on the brink of chaos. Tsar Ivan – soon to become Ivan the Terrible – grows more volatile and tyrannical by the day, and Yaga believes the tsaritsa is being poisoned by an unknown enemy. But what Yaga cannot know is that Ivan is being manipulated by powers far older and more fearsome than anyone can imagine.
Set in sixteenth-century Russia, The Witch and the Tsar upends the stories we know of Baba Yaga as the bony-legged witch of Slavic fairy tales and the stuff of nightmares. For beyond the rumours of her iron nose, fangs for teeth, and house on chicken legs, is the story of a woman so wise and strong that she has to be cloaked in lies to hide her true power.
Published: December 8th Publisher: Penguin UK Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Historical Mystery
SYNOPSIS: A LOST CHILD. A LONG-KEPT SECRET. THE HOUSE THAT HOLDS THE KEY
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Spring 1937: Teresa is evacuated to London in the wake of the Guernica bombing. She thinks she’s found safety in the soothing arms of Mary Davidson and the lofty halls of Rochester Place, but trouble pursues her wherever she goes.
Autumn 2020: Corrine, an emergency dispatcher, receives a call from a distressed woman named Mary. But when the ambulance arrives at the address, Mary is nowhere to be found. Intrigued, Corinne investigates and, in doing so, disturbs secrets that have long-dwelt in Rochester Place’s crumbling walls. Secrets that, once revealed, will change her life for ever . . .
Who is Mary Davidson? And what happened at Rochester Place all those years ago?
Published: December 8th Publsiher: Sourcebooks Landmark Genre: Historical Fiction, War Story
SYNOPSIS: Three women, a nation seduced by a madman, and the Nazi breeding program to create a so-called master race
At Heim Hochland, a Nazi breeding home in Bavaria, three women’s fates are irrevocably intertwined. Gundi is a pregnant university student from Berlin. An Aryan beauty, she’s secretly a member of a resistance group. Hilde, only eighteen, is a true believer in the cause and is thrilled to carry a Nazi official’s child. And Irma, a 44-year-old nurse, is desperate to build a new life for herself after personal devastation. All three have everything to lose.
Based on untold historical events, this novel brings us intimately inside the Lebensborn Society maternity homes that actually existed in several countries during World War II, where thousands of “racially fit” babies were bred and taken from their mothers to be raised as part of the new Germany. But it proves that in a dark period of history, the connections women forge can carry us through, even driving us to heroism we didn’t know we had within us.
Published: December 8th Publisher: Orenda Books Genre: Mystery, Crime Fiction, Police Procedurals, Crime Series
SYNOPSIS: When a human skeleton is discovered at the site of a controversial new dam in remote northern Botswana, rookie Detective Kubu is drawn into a terrifying local feud, and discovers a deadly covenant that could change everything…
While building a pipeline near the Okavango Delta, a contractor unearths the remains of a long-dead Bushman. Rookie Detective David ‘Kubu’ Bengu of Botswana CID and Scottish pathologist, Ian MacGregor, are sent to investigate, and MacGregor discovers the skeletons of eight more men.
Shortly after the gruesome discoveries, the elder of a nearby village is murdered in his home. The local police are convinced it was a robbery, but Kubu isn’t so sure … and neither is the strange woman who claims that an angry river spirit caused the elder’s death.
As accusations of corruption are levelled and international outrage builds over the massacre of the Bushman families, Kubu and his colleagues uncover a deadly covenant, and begin to fear that their own lives may be in mortal danger…
Published: December 8th Publisher: Orenda Books Genre: Mystery, Psychological Fiction, Humorous Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story
SYNOPSIS: A failed writer connects the murder of an American journalist, a drowned 80s musician and a Scottish politician’s resignation, in a heart-wrenching novel about ordinary people living in extraordinary times.
Renowned photo-journalist Jude Montgomery arrives in Glasgow in 2014, in the wake of the failed Scottish independence referendum, and it’s clear that she’s searching for someone.
Is it Anna Mason, who will go on to lead the country as First Minister? Jamie Hewitt, guitarist from eighties one-hit wonders The Hyptones? Or is it Rabbit – Jude’s estranged foster sister, now a world-famous artist?
Three apparently unconnected people, who share a devastating secret, whose lives were forever changed by one traumatic night in Phoenix, forty years earlier…
Taking us back to a school shooting in her Texas hometown, and a 1980s road trip across the American West – to San Francisco and on to New York – Jude’s search ends in Glasgow, and a final, shocking event that only one person can fully explain…
Published: December 8th Publisher: Crooked Lane Books Genre: Suspense, Thriller, Psychological Thriller
SYNOPSIS: In 1997, Eve Foster’s daughter, Kelsey, runs away to New Mexico and vanishes without a trace. Eve is convinced that she’s the victim of a serial killer who’s been hunting women in the region – but Kelsey’s body is never found. Years later, Eve dies, leaving everything to her adopted twin daughters. The majority of the wealthy estate in Vermont goes to Lisa, the ‘good daughter,’ while Connie inherits only a small stipend and a property in New Mexico. Connie, often the target of Eve’s cruelty, suspects this was another of her mother’s vindictive games. Connie arrives in New Mexico to find a small, dilapidated red house in the desert, and the home’s mysterious caretaker, Jet Montgomery, living in a shack on the property. She learns there’s been a string of women murdered in the area – murders that no one will talk about. Before Connie can get to the truth, her mother’s sadistic mind games come creeping back from the grave – and now the danger becomes all too real. With a serial killer on the loose and a trove of deadly secrets coming to the surface, Connie is in a desperate race to save herself and what little is left of her shattered family.
Published: December 13th Publisher: Mira Books Genre: Mystery, Thriller
SYNOPSIS: A mother questions everything she knows about her son when a local woman is found dead.
Valerie has been forgetting things. Her daughter worries about her being on her own in her big Victorian house–one rumored to be haunted after a tragedy decades earlier–and truth be told, she is a little lonely. With few options, she asks her adult son to move home, but it’s not quite the reunion she hoped for. Hudson is taciturn, moody and frequently gone.
The neighbors already hold a grudge against Hudson, and they aren’t happy about his return. When a young woman is found murdered a block away, suspicion falls on him immediately, without a shred of evidence. While Valerie fights to defend her son, she begins to wonder who she really invited into her home.
It’s a horrible thing for a mother to even think…but is it possible she’s enabled a monster? A monster she is living with, alone?
SYNOPSIS: One mother on the run. A safe place to hide. But you can’t escape the past forever . . .
Faye is 39 and single. She’s terrified she may never have the one thing she always wanted: a child of her own.
Then she discovers a co-parenting app: Acorns. For men and women who want to have a baby, but don’t want to do it alone. When she meets Louis through it, it feels as though the fates have aligned.
But just one year later, Faye is on the run from Louis, with baby Jake in tow. In desperate need of a new place to live, she contacts Rachel, who’s renting out a room in her remote Norfolk cottage. It’s all Faye can afford – and surely she’ll be safe from Louis there?
But is Rachel the benevolent landlady she pretends to be? Or does she have a secret of her own?
Published: December 27th Publisher: Paitkus Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
SYNOPSIS: Brandi Maxwell is living the fashion intern dream.
Except, the dream looks more like living on the breadline, scrubbing sick from couture dresses, and dealing with daily microaggressions about her braids – all things she’s sure she can ignore in the name of success.
The one thing she can’t ignore is Taylor Van Doren.
Model, icon, heiress to the fashion house throne. Taylor only wants two things: her father’s money and Brandi’s boyfriend. Nothing will stand in her way. Certainly not a poor Black girl from New Jersey.
But when Brandi overhears something she shouldn’t, their fates become dangerously intertwined. And she must find a way to navigate the cutthroat world of deceptively beautiful people before she becomes fashion’s latest victim.
Today is my stop on the blog tour for this gripping thriller. Thank you to Bookouture for the invitation to take part and the eBook ARC.
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SYNOPSIS:
Five-year-old Cally waits in her pretty pink bedroom for the sound of the front door opening and her mother’s sweet voice in the hall. But when the doorbell finally rings, and Cally creeps out of bed to peer through the banister, a large man in uniform is all she sees. Her mother is missing…
Teacher Annabel Braddock was last seen drinking at the local pub with her best friend, Jennifer. Witnesses saw tears running down her cheeks, and friends say she was having problems with a colleague at work, and that her marriage had broken down.
But as the two women hugged goodbye, neither noticed the car speeding towards them. As the dust settled, Jennifer lay unconscious on the ground and Annabel was nowhere to be seen. She’d never abandon her little girl, so did someone snatch her?
As family crowd around Jennifer’s hospital bed, hoping she’ll wake up, police visit Annabel’s home and her inconsolable daughter, Cally, tells them she had seen a man outside staring into her room as she climbed into bed that evening. Was it her childish imagination, or had someone been watching Annabel’s home?
When Jennifer finally opens her eyes and tells the police what happened that night, it’s clear there are plenty of people with a reason to harm Annabel. With an unpredictable husband, a colleague who denies harassing her and a neighbour who seems to know her every move, could she be in imminent danger? As the hours turn to days, will little Cally ever see her precious mother again? Or will she be next?
If you love fast-paced, gripping crime thrillers that keep you up all night, you’ll be completely addicted to One Girl Missing. Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Cara Hunter and Clare Mackintosh.
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MY REVIEW:
Best friends Annabel and Jennifer are hugging each other goodbye at the end of a girls night out when a car speeds towards them. Jennifer is left unconscious on the ground and Annabel is nowhere to be seen, only her bag and spots of her blood left behind. Detective Gina Harte and her team are called in and as they investigate it soon becomes clear that there are multiple people who might want to harm Annabel. But can they figure it out and find Annabel before it’s too late?
The eleventh instalment in Carla Kovach’s Gina Harte series is another compelling thriller. There are numerous suspects in this case, each with a valid motive, and they are all on the run: a cheating husband, his young girlfriend who was also the family childminder, an angry father, a teenage pupil with a crush, a colleague she was rumoured to be seeing and a friendly neighbour. But who took Annabel? I was sure it was each of them at one point or another and even wondered if some of them were working together. It is a tangled web of suspicion that is full of so many twists and turns I thought I’d get book whiplash! But was my final choice the real culprit? Or had Ms. Kovach duped me again with her red herrings?
One of the things I love most about reading a series is coming back to the familiar, much-loved characters and I was glad to be back with Gina and her team. Gina is dealing with emotional turmoil after seeing Briggs out with another woman. Is this the end of her relationship? And the whole team face heartache as they wait to learn if one of their own will survive, Jacob being particularly tortured as he hopes the love of his life pulls through. The new characters were well written as always. I felt a real bond with Annabel and could feel her terror as she’s held captive and wonders if she will ever see her young daughter, Cally, again. And it was Cally, along with teenage student Omar, who went right to my heart in this book. They were such great characters who it was impossible not to feel for. I was rooting for them, especially as young Omar takes it upon himself to save Annabel himself in order to keep her secrets.
Dark, suspenseful, gripping and action-packed, One Girl Missing is another riveting thriller from Ms. Kovach. Fans of this genre will love not only this book, but the whole series and I recommend them both highly.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Carla started writing more seriously ten years ago after having flirted with musical theatre and occasional writing in her youth.
Since then she has written & produced several stage plays, has four self-published books, has acted in several independent films and is currently in the final stages of production of her feature horror film, Penny for the Guy.
She now writes full time as well as co-owning a film, photography & video production company located in the heart of Redditch town centre.
Welcome to my stop on the tour for this compelling thriller. Thank you to Bookouture for the invitation to take part and the gifted eBook.
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SYNOPSIS:
Kerstinis wide awake. While her family sleeps around her, the devastating secret her husband just told her is spinning through her mind. Does she really know the man she married? And are her children still safe in this small town?
She jumps as she hears a sound from outside. Peering into the inky darkness, her eyes focus on movement at the bottom of the garden. Someone is out there.
She watches as the figure strikes a single match. Kerstin gasps at the sight of the face staring back at her, smiling, as if enjoying her fear.
A car door slams and the figure makes a dash for the trees, leaving something behind – a small memorial candle. As it flickers in the darkness, Kerstin knows exactly what it means. Someone is coming for her, and her family is in terrible danger…
Fans of Angela Marsons, Cara Hunter and Clare Mackintosh will love this utterly gripping crime novel. Her Dying Wish will keep you up all night!
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MY REVIEW:
A match is struck and the house goes up in flames, a candle left outside like a memorial to their victim. Detective Gina Harte is determined to catch the killer but also desperately trying to keep her own dark secret that could end her career while under pressure from a journalist that refuses to quit. After a second attack the mystery deepens, and Harte and her team are in a race against the clock before more lives are taken.
Her Dying Wish is the tenth book in the Detective Gina Harte series and it is another tense, twisty and pacy thriller from the talented Carla Kovach. Ms. Kovach knows how to pull you in with a compelling plot while keeping you guessing and on the edge of your seat as she takes you on an electrifying rollercoaster ride. And this book did that more than ever.
I’ve become very fond of Gina over the last ten books of this series and feel a personal connection to her as a survivor of an abusive marriage. I’ve been with her through her journey and the many pressures she’s faced, but she is facing her biggest challenge yet and under immense pressure as a local journalist relentlessly pursues her past and threatens to uncover her darkest secret. This ramps up the tension as the secret she’s hiding has the potential to end her career, and probably this series. I was rooting for her every step of the way and the idea of all being revealed felt as terrifying for me as it did for Gina. But did she manage to keep her secret? You’ll have to read to find out.
But there is more to this book than Gina’s secret. There is also a sick killer on the loose who is setting fire to people’s homes while they sleep inside. Their motives appear to be personal but other than that there are no real clues. Gina and her team are in a race against the clock with little to go on and the stakes get higher at each turn. I found myself reading with breathless anticipation as Gina tries to solve the case and save her own skin.
Once again Carla Kovach has delivered a compelling first-class thriller that you won’t want to put down. I highly recommend both this book and the whole series to anyone who enjoys well-written crime fiction.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Carla Kovach is a crime and horror author from Worcestershire. Her most popular work, the DI Gina Harte series is published by Bookouture. As well as books, she also writes stage and screenplays.
Emma's Biblio Treasures 