What She Said

Review of eBook

When Detective Sergeant Karen Hart arrives on Royal Oak Lane in Aubourn to investigate an abduction report, she knows the witness is Molly, the four-year-old daughter of Karen and Terry McCarthy. While her mother insists Molly often tells imaginative stories, Karen finds the child’s report strangely compelling.

Determined to follow up on the little girl’s story, Karen visits the crime scene. The discovery of a playing card provides a clue and a home security system provides a partial view of a vehicle that might match the one Molly described.

When the report of a missing Aubourn woman, Tamara Lomax, seems to match the information provided by Molly, Karen and Detective Constable Sophie Jones visit Tamara’s husband, show more Aiden, but are left feeling unsettled by what was said . . . and not said. However, the delivery of a playing card, dropped through the Lomax's mail slot, gives credence to the investigation since it matches the one found at the crime scene.

When a second woman disappears . . . one related to Tamara . . . and then a body turns up in a field, the team finds itself racing against time to discover the reason for the kidnapping and the murder before there can be another victim.

It’s a case made all the more difficult by a visiting serial-killer expert turned well-known true-crime writer who may want to help or may just want the publicity that will come from being involved in the case and who manages to worm his way into the investigation as a consultant.

But can even an expert hope to find the truth amid the multitude of secrets surrounding the case?

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Sixth in the author’s Detective Karen Hart series, the story works fairly well as a standalone although a few references to previous events fail to provide sufficient information for readers new to the series. However, the coherent story is strong enough to overcome this slight bump in the telling of the tale.

Several unexpected twists in the plot keep the suspense building and are certain to surprise the reader. The fast pace of the unfolding narrative keeps readers involved and guessing. Strong characters, a “who should you believe” scenario that keeps readers wondering, and a captivating plot that keeps the whole team involved all work together to make the narrative both realistic and believable. That said, the unexpected solution to the complex mystery in the denouement is sure to stun readers.

Recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley
#WhatSheSaid #NetGalley show less

Detective Karen Hart and the team are back at work after unearthing a police corruption scandal. Finally being able to trust the team is a relief for Karen, but it doesn't stop her from clashing with her new boss - even if he isn't actually out to get her.

When a toddler reports to her mum that she saw a woman being abducted, it's all hands on deck to discover whether a crime really has been committed or if it's a case of overactive imagination. But when a playing card that is reminiscent of a serial killer case is found at the scene of the crime, the team call on Dr Michaels - a famous criminal profiler - for some advice.

This wasn't as good as some of the other books in the series. I liked the bigger team but I wanted to see more of show more them all working together rather than all sniping at one another. Karen and Churchill were exhausting. Churchill didn't even seem that bad, maybe a bit smarmy and definitely stubborn but so's Karen. Some of the arguing she did was just petty. Still they did seem to be thawing out towards the end.

I didn't like that we didn't see much of Morgan or Rick or Mike either. I think I might have missed something anyway because I thought Morgan was the team leader? And the same rank as Churchill? But he seems to be benched or at least elsewhere for most of this. The camaraderie between them all at the end was good, I'd like to see more of that. It did take a while for the team to come together over the first few books so maybe this will be the same.

I didn't like Dr. Michaels much and it seemed like Karen agreed until like halfway through where she abruptly seems to decide she's on his side and he's part of the team. Sophie's fangirling over him was kind of funny though. Especially when Karen speaks to the Superintendent Michelle Murray and she's like yes, D.C. Jones mentioned that.

The other characters involved in the case weren't very likable and the whole case seemed rather convoluted and a pretty terrible plan.

I feel like it would've been a stronger mystery if Tamara was trying to set Aiden up or something. The logic behind the rest of it was just dumb. If Aiden wasn't involved I didn't really understand why he was so weird about the loft at his place. And frankly - why wasn't Tamara staying there? If it's a fake kidnapping why bother going to some derelict barn when you could be staying in comfort. They literally could've picked anywhere else to stay.

I also think I missed something major about Nicholas. So Rachel knew it was Nicholas because she saw the carved owl figurine he'd given to Tamara. But how? It wasn't explained how she knew he carved stuff or that it was from him or how that meant he had her sister? I didn't get it.

In any case, when she turned up, why didn't Tamara just come out or Nicholas say your sister's in there, etc.

There was a bit of action and a bit of suspense and a bit of humour but I found it mainly just a bit confusing. I'm not sure if I missed something or it was just not well explained.

So not the best of the series for me, but likely not the worst either. Hopefully the next one will have more of the team working together. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars. show less

A young girl, not-quite-5-year-old Molly McCarthy, is dawdling rather than getting ready for school. She's looking out the window at a white van. A young woman walks by; someone jumps out of the van, grabs the young woman, tosses her into the van; and then drives off. Molly's mother thinks she's making it all up, but eventually does call the police. They send around DS Karen Hart to talk to Molly. Hart believes Molly, in part because Molly reminds her of her own daughter, Tilly, still deeply mourned after her demise in an auto accident. And so, the search begins for the van and the missing woman.

Complicating the investigation is that a new chief inspector, DCI Churchill, has just been appointed to oversee the police station in which show more Karen works. Churchill is skeptical of the competence of women in general, and of DS Hart in particular. He has heard that DS Hart has a way of being a bit unorthodox at times, and also a bit prickly. Some of that may be true, but she does have a way of getting cases solved.

An additional complication is that Dr. Michaels, a famous criminologist from the U.S., is visiting on a book tour with his entourage of publicists, right-hand man, Zane Dwight, and photographer, Nicholas Phinny. Dr. Michaels wants to "help out". But, is he actually helping, or is he hanging out to generate more publicity for himself?

Eventually, they figure out that the missing woman is likely Tamara Lomax. When the police interview her husband, he seems unusually nervous. Was he, perhaps, involved in some way? Later on, they find that Tamara's sister, Rachael has also been abducted in a similar fashion. One intriguing feature of all this is that a playing card, the Queen of Hearts, is found at each abduction site, and so as not to be missed, stuffed through the Lomax's mail slot. Dr. Michaels detailed a serial crime of female abduction wherein an Ace of spades was the "calling card" feature of the crime. Is someone recreating one of Dr. Michaels' previous cases? If so, that would certainly be Good for publicity.

So, why are the sisters targeted? Why is Aidan so twitchy? What's up with the Queen of Hearts? Where is the van? It all comes out in the end in this book. This is essentially yet another British police procedural story. It's a rather popular form of fiction these days, and justifiably so. I've read some of DS Hart's adventures previously, and will likely do so in the future.

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A woman is abducted; the only witness is a young child known to fantasize. DS Karen Hart’s belief in the child’s story is validated when a woman is reported missing. A playing card found at the scene may or may not be a clue and soon a second abduction takes place.

This is the sixth in the Karen Hart series; it is the third I have read. I like this main character. She is likable, capable, and doesn’t suffer fools gladly. The story is fast paced; I didn’t want to put it down and, in fact, read it in one day.

Fans of British police procedurals will enjoy this well written book, along with others in the series. Although there is mention of events from Karen’s background that are not fully explained, this will work well as a show more standalone. I look forward to the next issue in this series for another entertaining read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the DRC. show less