This is quite a hard hitting book, dealing with teenage runaways, homelessness and drugs. Gina Harte’s team investigate after a young woman is thrown or jumps from the back of a van. She is in a terrible state and dies before she can reveal what has happened to her. In her last moment of consciousness she says ‘help her’ and the police are hunting for the person who needs rescuing.
The pain of a mother searching for her runaway daughter is quite harrowing especially as we, the reader, suspect we know what has happened to the girl. Another girl is concerned about a strange visitor where she works: is there a connection? Meanwhile we see the viewpoint of a young woman enslaved to drugs, kept locked up whilst caring for an elderly lady.
Police detective Gina Harte has her own issues to deal with. Her career has frequently got in the way of her relationship with her daughter Hannah who resents it even more now that she is a mother and wants her own mum to be there for the family. Yet Gina cannot help but be dedicated to her work and bringing the case to a close.
This is the third book to feature Gina Harte and the first one that I have read. It works perfectly well as a stand alone novel but I would like to read the prequels to learn more about Gina’s relationship with her daughter, and future books to see how it and her career develops.
Title: Her PRETTY Bones
Author: CARLA KOVACH
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Description:
THE UNPUTDOWNABLE NEW THRILLER FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE NEXT GIRL
She’s just the girl he’s looking for…
A young woman falls from a van speeding down a quiet road. Battered and bruised, she turns her head to the person who comes to her aid. ‘Help her’, she whispers before her eyes close.
Days later, the body of another young girl is found in a shallow grave just a few miles away. The similarities between the two girls are startling – same age, same frail body, same shocking red hair.
As the town fears there’s a serial killer living amongst them, Detective Gina Harte must put aside her own struggles at home, and catch the killer before he finds another perfect girl.
AN ABSOLUTELY HEART-STOPPING CRIME THRILLER FROM CARLA KOVACH – if you like Lisa Gardner, Robert Bryndza or Clare Mackintosh, Her Pretty Bones will have you hooked.
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 Final Hour, has been published by Bookouture. It is the second in the DI Gina Harte crime series.
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I’m now two thirds of the way through my first month as a vegan and am all set to continue, hopefully for the rest of my life.
This week I have hit a new dilemma as preparing meat for the children to eat made me feel physically sick to the point of retching.
I always said that lifestyle choice should be down to the individual and I never had any intention of forcing my views onto my children.
Veganism is not about food. It is a way of life, a philosophy that underpins our existence.
As such, it cannot be imposed but must be accepted as rational truth by each person who dedicates themselves to ending the slavery of animals for the benefit of humanity.
Being humane, being human.
I have no wish to indoctrinate others but I would ask readers of my blog to educate yourselves and make informed choices.
There are practical reasons for wanting my children to be vegetarian as a minimum. We throw an awful lot of food away. If the children became vegan or vegetarian then we could use up leftovers and do more batch cooking.
My children have eaten several vegan meals in the last few weeks and I think they would easily be able to get the right nutirents to support their growth. My fears are that I don’t want to enforce a choice on them. I don’t want to make their lives awkward when others are tucking into sausages at parties or school.
Veganism is still seen as different and unusual. Food brands and restaurants are making an effort to be more inclusive but choosing to be a vegan in our current society is life limiting. Labelling is grossly inadequate and inconsistent. Opinion is the media is unflattering at its kindest.
In the news this week, they have been discussing the planetary diet which significantly reduces the amount of meat and food that we eat for the sustainability of the planet and human race.
I am fully aware that there are controversies and problems associated with veganism in terms of farming methods and the militant actions that some take. I have written before that as humans we should be kind to ourselves just as we should to animals.
Thinking of the harm we cause to animals is not a pleasant topic. I thought that 20 years of vegetarianism had made a difference but by continuing to consume animal products I was still perpetuating the killing process.
My dilemma is that if I showed my children the images and videos which haunt me, they would choose veganism, or at least vegetarianism, instantly. However, I believe they are too young to see the cruelty that we inflict and want to protect them. At the same time, I want to protect their future health and that of the planet by reducing their meat intake. Yet my children are individuals with the freedom to choose their own way in life, to find their own happiness.
But don’t all children of all species deserve the same…?
Rachel King has already lost her marriage due to her police career, now her children are in danger as well and a lover from her past threatens the career she loves.
A killer is on the loose, leaving a trail of red herrings to distract the police. We see part of the plot from his viewpoint and learn a little about his past.
Meanwhile a young woman is convinced that she once had a twin brother but her father denies it. Is she imagining her twin or did he disappear at the same time as her mother?
Rachel must discover the links between her former lover, who happens to be a notorious criminal, and the murder case, and how the twin query features in the story.
I really enjoyed this book and had no idea of the identitiy of the killer. The loose ends were tied up nicely and there is plenty of scope for developing the police characters and their relationships in later books (I’m hoping for sequels!)
The descriptions of the violence, murder ands and post mortems are not particularly graphic. There is a good balance between the viewpoint of the murderer and that of Rachel and her colleagues.
Rachel is a good lead character and her past mistakes and difficult present make her a more believeable and relatable person so she appeals to the reader.
NEXT VICTIM by Helen H. Durrant
MEET DETECTIVE RACHEL KING IN THIS BRILLIANT NEW CRIME SERIES.
DISCOVER A BRAND NEW MYSTERY FROM #1 BEST-SELLING AUTHOR HELEN H. DURRANT THAT WILL HAVE YOU GRIPPED FROM START TO NERVE-SHREDDING FINISH.
A young man’s body is found burnt and tortured by a Manchester canal.
Detective Rachel King investigates. But she has a secret, the love of her life is a well-known villain. He has recently come back on the scene. But what does he really want?
A brutal serial killer with a taste for good-looking young blonde men.
A student who believes she has a lost brother. But even her own father doesn’t believe her. She was involved with the first victim.
As the murders continue, can Rachel keep her family together and stop the killer?
THE DETECTIVE
DCI Rachel King. Thirty-nine year-old mother of two teenage daughters. Divorced from Alan. She lives in the Cheshire village of Poynton – about ten miles from central Manchester. She is good at her job, gets results but does make mistakes. One of them was getting involved with a budding villain in her teens. No one, family, friends or colleagues know anything about this.
ALSO BY HELEN H. DURRANT
THE CALLADINE & BAYLISS MYSTERY SERIES
Book 1: DEAD WRONG
Book 2: DEAD SILENT
Book 3: DEAD LIST
Book 4: DEAD LOST
Book 5: DEAD & BURIED
Book 6: DEAD NASTY
Book 7: DEAD JEALOUS
THE DCI GRECO BOOKS
Book 1: DARK MURDER
Book 2: DARK HOUSES
Book 3: DARK TRADE
OVER 700,000 books sold of her Calladine & Bayliss and DI Greco Series
I’m one of the ‘baby boomer’ generation. I was born in Edinburgh to an English father and Scottish mother. My father was from the North West of England and this was where the family settled.
I know the area well, both the good and the bad, and so I set my books here. Sitting between two counties, Lancashire and Yorkshire, and between the city and the hills, it offers a rich mix of the industrial and the countryside and all the character therein. I always planned to write crime novels — to create the characters in my books. Since my retirement from a busy teaching job in FE, this is what I’ve done — almost to exclusion of anything else!
I have a grown-up family and five grandchildren. They see me as something of an eccentric — always on my laptop writing away. Writing is something of a second career and, despite having a bus pass, keeps me busy, young and tuned in the world as it currently is.
Twitter @hhdurrant
