The Awesome Foursome are a group of best friends but there are secrets. One of the women, Holly, is pregnant by a secret lover and she is found dead at the wedding of one of her friends.
DI Gina Harte is the lead officer but it becomes a personal case as one suspect is linked to her own daughter. Can she put her emotions on hold to get Holly the justice she deserves…?
The action in Her Last Mistake is fast paced and we see some perspectives from the killer as well as the victims, so we gain a better idea of the motivation behind the crimes. There isn’t much forensic detail so nothing to worry about if you are squeamish. The final moments of the victims is quite harrowing but also absolutely compelling, probably because it is written so well that we can put ourselves in their place.
There are plenty of good old fashioned clues and a number of suspects who are acting suspiciously especially during the interview scenes. This allows readers to follow the investigation and make their own guesses about the identity of the murderer.
Gina is a strong lead and continues to have a romantic entanglement with her superior officer. She is vulnerable due to her abusive past and desperate to reconcile her antagonistic relationship with her daughter. This makes her a character that we can feel empathy for as well as be impressed by her dedication to her police work. It also makes her realistic and likeable, as I’m sure many readers like me struggle to balance work and family life.
Her Last Mistake is actually one of my favourites from the series. I read it very quickly as I couldn’t put it down!
Take a look at my reviews of Carla Kovach’s other books which feature Gina: Her Pretty Bones (book 3), The Liar’s House (book 4), Her Dark Heart (book 5).
Media Kit:
Title: Her Last Mistake
Publication day: May 11th 2020
Author: CARLA KOVACH
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Description:
Dressed in a sage green bridesmaid dress, and smiling for pictures, Holly is the happiest she’s ever been. Hours later, Holly is dead.
People love to hate Holly Long. Smart, beautiful and a woman who men find it hard to say no to, she’s the town’s most gossiped about resident.
Now Holly’s body lies in her hotel room, strangled at her best friend’s wedding party. And the gossip has stopped, because nobody wants to look like they did it.
When police search Holly’s immaculate apartment, amongst her stylish furnishings and expensive jewellery, they discover a different side to Holly. Orderly and precise, she wasn’t the chaotic party girl everyone thought her to be. In fact, Holly was a planner, and her next plan was to come out and tell her biggest secret – something she had been hiding for months, something that had the potential to ruin the lives of more than one wedding guest.
There are plenty of people who might have wanted to kill Holly, but only one who has finally made good on their promise.
An unputdownable crime thriller with an ending you will never see coming, this is the latest gripping novel from bestselling author Carla Kovach. If you like Angela Marsons, Cara Hunter and Clare Mackintosh, you’ll love Her Last Mistake.
Author Bio:
Carla Kovach was born in Birmingham, UK and now resides in Redditch, Worcestershire. Author of supernatural drama ‘Flame,’ psychological thriller ‘To Let,’ crime thriller ‘Whispers Beneath the Pines,’ and holiday comedy, ‘Meet Me at Marmaris Castle.’ Carla also writes stage and screenplays, some of which have been produced in the Worcestershire area. Her feature film ‘Penny for the Guy’ is being made and is set for release in 2019.
Her latest book, Her Last Mistake is the sixth book in the DI Gina Harte crime series.
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A world at war, family divisions, love and loss. Into the Darkest Day is a beautiful tale set in the present day and during the Second World War. British sisters Lily and Sophie Mather fall in love with two American soldiers, Matthew Lawson and Tom Reese. In the present, Sophie’s grandson visits Tom’s granddaughter and a tentative relationship emerges as they investigate the reasons that Tom may have left his Purple Heart medal with Sophie but kept a Distinguished Service medal belonging to Matthew.
As readers, we are in the privleged position of seeing both timelines. I enjoyed the present day unravelling of the mystery of the medals but my heart was caught by the tale of Lily and Matthew during the war. I read this book over the VE Day bank holiday weekend and this added an extra poignancy. Plus I am a history graduate so have an avid interest in the subject and enjoyed the historical realism.
The main four characters of Abby and Simon in the present and Lily and Matthew during the war, are appealing and inspire empathy with their dilemmas and experiences. Sophie and Tom also receive a sympathetic treatment despite their selfishness and self pity.
This book was originally titled The Forgotten Heart which I think should have remained as it has multiple layers of meaning in relation to the plot and characters. First of all, it could refer to the Purple Heart medal, but did Tom and Sophie ever really forget each other or their broken love? It could represent Abby and Simon’s lost love and family in the present day which makes them both afraid of opening up their hearts again. Finally, it could refer to Matthew’s lost emotions due to the heartache and cruelty he has experienced due to Nazi brutality and the bloodshed of war.
This was quite different in tone and style to the other books by Kate Hewitt that I have read (No Time To Say Goodbye, Not My Daughter, The Secrets We Keep). It was a very emotional book about the best and worst of humanity, utterly captivating.
Into the Darkest Day Book Description:
She had to step outside and hold the paper up to the moonlight to read it, but when she was able to make out the words, her heart felt as if it would drop right out of her chest. Because the message was in German.
1944, London:
When Lily meets enigmatic GI Matthew in war-torn London, she doesn’t expect to fall in love. While her sister starts a reckless affair with another GI, Lily tries to hide her growing feelings for Matthew.
But Matthew has a devastating secret. One that could change their lives forever.
Present day, USA:
Abby lives a quiet life on an apple farm in Wisconsin. Tormented by survivor’s guilt after the tragic deaths of her mother and brother, Abby leaves the orchards as little as possible, keeping her life small, peaceful and safe… Until she is contacted by Englishman Simon Elliot, who arrives nursing a heartbreak of his own, and bearing a World War Two medal that he claims belonged to Abby’s grandfather.
Together they begin to piece together the heartbreaking story of their relatives’ war. But as the story brings Abby and Simon closer—tentatively beginning to lean on one another to heal—they uncover a dark secret from the past.
And like Lily and Matthew nearly eighty years before them, it will make Abby and Simon question whether you can ever truly trust someone, even when they have your heart…
A heartbreakingly powerful, epic love story about courage, friendship and broken trusts, Into the Darkest Day is an unforgettable story perfect for fans of Nora Roberts, Kristin Hannah and The Notebook.
Author Bio:
Kate Hewitt is the author of many romance and women’s fiction novels. A former New Yorker and now an American ex-pat, she lives in a small town on the Welsh border with her husband, five children, and their overly affectionate Golden Retriever. Whatever the genre, she enjoys telling stories that tackle real issues and touch people’s lives.
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Jo is devastated by the disappearance of her husband. Is he alive or dead? Her best friend Louise suggests a holiday but Jo can’t afford one: she considers house-sitting and finds one online that has photos of her husband Will. Has she finally found him after all this time…?
The character of Jo is an interesting one which drives the plot with her deep sense of sadness and hope. She has suffered such a huge loss due to Will’s disappearance. It represents her lost opportunity to have children, her lost confidence in herself and their lost shared future together.
I admit that I found myself confused at some points during The Happy Couple as Jo frequently sees Will and talks to herself. This device shows us the impact that the stress of abandonment is having on her, and her desperation to find Will and her old life again. Her inner voice actually speaks out loud sometimes and this does allow a touch of humour as other characters respond. However, my overwhelming feeling was concern as it is clear that Jo’s mental and emotional health is very delicate.
We catch glimpses of Jo and Will’s marriage and it becomes obvious that there were tension between the so-called Happy Couple. I correctly guessed the major plot twists that led up to the book’s finale, and I am not sure how credible I found the plot overall, but it was definitely an enjoyable read and sustained my interest until the end.
Take a look at my review of The Liar’s Wife, also by Samantha Hayes.
The Happy Couple book description:
Me and Will. Will and Me. A perfect match. He said he would always be there for me, but it’s been a year since he drained his coffee, walked out the front door and vanished.
Did he leave me? Or did something terrible happen? I’m scared someone finally found out about what happened on the drive home that night…
I lie awake at night trawling the internet for rental properties, desperate for an escape. Until I see my husband’s gorgeous face smiling back at me from a photograph on the fireplace in someone else’s home, and something inside of me snaps.
At the house, I find no trace of him and the woman who lives there has no idea who I am. But I’m certain she’s hiding something behind the locked door upstairs. I know that if I want answers, I have to stay.
You might think that what’s inside that room is the answer to all my questions and the end of all my pain. But it’s only the beginning…
Nail-biting and completely gripping, The Happy Couple will make you question how well you really know the ones you love. Perfect reading for anyone who adored by The Wife Between Us, The Girl on The Train or Gone Girl.
Author Bio:
Samantha Hayes grew up in Warwickshire, left school at sixteen, avoided university and took jobs ranging from private detective to barmaid to fruit picker and factory worker. She lived on a kibbutz, and spent time living in Australia and the USA, before finally becoming a crime-writer.
Her writing career began when she won a short story competition in 2003 and her sixteenth novel, THE HAPPY COUPLE is out 6th May. Her novels are family-based psychological thrillers, with the emphasis being on ‘real life fiction’. She focuses on current issues and sets out to make her readers ask, ‘What if this happened to me or my family?’ And you’ll always find a BIG twist at the end of her novels!
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING says “We’re big fans of Samantha Hayes. Her believable psychological thrillers are completely gripping…”
To find out more, visit her website www.samanthahayes.co.uk
Or connect with Samantha on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/
SamanthaHayesAuthor
And she’s on Twitter @samhayes
and Instagram at samanthahayes.author
TRIGGER WARNING: this book deals with sexual abuse which some readers may find upsetting
Sara has spent her life supporting her family but has finally considered her own needs and returned to work part time. Her husband comes home with the devastating news that he has lost his job and wants to set up his own company using Sara’s inheritance money. The only problem is that the money has been lost in a bad investment.
Desperate to keep this a secret, Sara steals the money from her work. Her colleague discovers this and pays back to money, asking for favours in exchange. Does he have ulterior motives and can her marriage survive the lies…?
I had quite an emotional response to this book as it is very easy to sympathise with Sara who has put her own dreams on hold to raise her family. Matt has worked hard all his life to provide for his family and now feels like a failure and is determined to achieve his new goals. Yet I couldn’t help feeling so angry with Matt’s selfishness, his devaluing on Sara’s contribution. I felt that this was a comment on society’s under-appreciation of women’s work in the home and the patriarchal division of labour.
There is a great deal of unpleasantness in One Mistake. and it is difficult to know who Sara can trust. As a result of her choices, she is abused and some readers may find this distressing. There are also moments of violence as well.
The tension within the plot and narrative is maintained until the end of this psychological thriller. The anticipation grows and I almost despaired of Sara making herself vulnerable rather than admitting the truth.
One Mistake is the new title of the book, but in reality I felt that Sara makes a whole stream of mistakes. Alternatively, the mistake could be husband Matt’s as we discover at the end of the book…
MEDIA PACK Info Sheet
Author: Rona Halsall
Book: ONE MISTAKE (previously titled I Owe You)
Publication Day: 05/05/2020
Buy Links
Description:
How far would you go to protect your happy home?
Sara made one promise to herself when she was growing up in foster care: that if she was lucky enough to have a family, she’d always do whatever it took to protect them. Looking around her home with its cosy kitchen and living room, where her energetic teenage daughters and gorgeous four-year-old son all eat, play and live together, she knows she’d do anything to keep them safe.
So when Sara’s husband Matt loses his job and every shred of his confidence with it, she knows it’s up to her to bring the family back from the brink. Though she doesn’t know where she can possibly find the money they need to keep afloat.
Until her boss at work offers her a deal. He’ll help out. She just has to do him one little favour. But could trusting him save Sara’s family, or will it be a mistake that costs her absolutely everything?
This year’s most gripping psychological thriller – perfect for fans of My Lovely Wife, The Girl on the Train, and Something in the Water.
Author Bio:
Rona lives on the Isle of Man with her husband, two dogs and three guinea pigs. She has been a bookworm since she was a child and now she’s actually creating stories of her own, which still feels like a dream come true.
She is an outdoorsy person and loves stomping up a mountain, walking the coastal paths and exploring the wonderful beaches on the Island while she’s plotting how to kill off her next victim. Rona also makes sure she deletes her Google history on a regular basis, because… well, you can’t be too careful when you spend your life researching new and ingenious ways for people to die.
She has three children and two step-children who are now grown up and leading varied and interesting lives, which provides plenty of ideas for new stories!
Social Media Links:
To find out more about Rona’s novels, go to www.facebook.com/RonaHalsallAuthor or follow @RonaHalsallAuth on Twitter.
I confess that this is a bit of a cheat meal. I make this with bolognese leftovers so the only preparation is the mashed potato on top. Of course, when you are 9 and it is the first time you’ve peeled a potato, it’s a big deal!
Chris always complains that this isn’t proper cottage pie which should be gravy based but I don’t care!
The mashed potato could also top a tin of baked beans (this was known as bean extravaganza when I made this at uni) or chilli (I’ve had this for Christmas dinner in the past!) In my vegetarian days I would have topped this with cheese but my kids prefer it without.
It is easy to make this vegan by preparing the mash with vegetable spread and plant milk, and this is naturally gluten free.
This version serves 3 children or 2 adults
2-3 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
a knob of butter or spread
a splash of milk
portion of bolognese (see Matthew’s last recipe)
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
Boil the potatoes for 20 minutes until soft. They will cook quicker the smaller you chop them.
Drain and mash them.
Beat in the butter and milk, and mix to a smooth consistency.
Place the bolognese in the bottom of an oven proof dish and top with the potato.
Bake for 20 minutes until the top is golden.
How old were you when you peeled your first potato?!
