Leave No Trace

Detective Karen Hart and the team are called in when an eleven year old boy goes missing from a tourist attraction. Quickly ruling out benign reasons for the disappearance, the team are dismayed to find a connection to an old case of Morgan's where three boys were abducted and murdered. Revisiting the old case is rough, but Morgan is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve a different outcome.

This was another great addition to the series. The team appearances are balanced, if not equally, then sufficiently for everyone to get a look in. I enjoy the bantering between them all and the genuine support they have for one another - even if they do get frustrated at times. I loved that Churchill relents on letting Sophie help too and that show more she is still dedicated to being a cop. I feel like the team have really settled into their groove now too and it makes for a stronger read. I like that Mike appears as well although the mention of Karen's neighbour stunned me. I really liked her in the first two books but she's pretty much dropped off the face of the earth since. I wish we got to see more of her.

The mystery was strong. There were lots of twists and turns and my mind was racing ahead to try to figure it out. I was pretty stunned that Tommy had been blackmailing pretty much everyone he met. Like wow. The attitude felt a bit inconsistent though. Seems much closer to the psychopath than whatever impression of normal kid he was trying to do. . I was pretty appalled by the dad though. I mean, he either loves the kid or he doesn't, but he was pretty inconsistent too. And was it ever revealed what exactly the kid had been blackmailing him with? Embezzlement? An affair? If it was mentioned I missed it. But also would you really let yourself be blackmailed by your eleven year old? That was kind of farfetched, even if the eleven year old blackmailing anyone wasn't inconceivable. I hadn't guessed who was responsible but it made sense and was a solid conclusion to a very twisted case.

Another thrilling Detective Karen Hart book, 4 stars. show less

An eleven year old is taken at Tattershall Castle while his mother is distracted and a blue teddy bear left in his place. The MO is reminiscent of three children abducted and murdered fifteen years ago, but someone was arrested and is in jail for those crimes. Could they have charged the wrong person, does he have an accomplish, a copy cat, or is something else at play here? DS Karen Hart and DI Morgan investigate.

This is a fast paced, well plotted, suspenseful mystery with enough red herrings to keep the reader guessing. I didn’t want to put the book down. I enjoy this main character. She is engaging, capable, empathetic and doesn’t suffer fools gladly. D.S. Butler is another author who always captures my attention and doesn't let show more go.

The ninth in the Karen Hart series, it is the fifth I have read. Although the main players’ stories progress with successive books, each one can be read as a stand alone.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #ThomasandMercer for the DRC. show less

A young boy goes missing on an outing with his mother and it appears it may be a copycat of infamous case DI Morgan handled early in his career. Many suspects emerge but the perpetrator was a complete surprise to me and lots of interesting characters people the plot.