Title: The Next Girl
Author: Carla Kovach
Series: Detective Gina Harte, #1
Published: April 2018, Bookouture
Format: ARC E-copy, 300 pages
Source: Netgalley via Publisher
Summary:
She thought he’d come to save her. She was wrong.
Deborah
Jenkins pulls her coat around her as she sets out on her short walk
home in the pouring rain. But she never makes it home that night. And
she is never seen again …
Four years later, an abandoned baby
girl is found wrapped in dirty rags on a doorstep. An anonymous phone
call urges the police to run a DNA test on the baby. But nobody is
prepared for the results.
The newborn belongs to Deborah. She’s still alive.
If
you love Lisa Gardner, Patricia Gibney and Robert Bryndza, you’ll love
this jaw-dropping new crime thriller from Carla Kovach. The Next Girl will keep you guessing until the very last page.
My thoughts: As you know, I am a big fan of series, especially crime fiction series, so I love when I stumble upon a new series at it’s onset! Don’t get me wrong – there’s nothing wrong with coming across a series mid-way through, and I have learned to not be as high-strung, if you will, when it comes to reading series in order – though I do find that character development is best when you start at the beginning! But, here we are, a brand new series and I think it’s off to a rocking start!!!
I love when our main protagonist, here a female lead detective, has baggage! It makes for a much more relatable, realistic character, don’t you think? And that’s exactly what we have with Detective Gina Harte. She’s got issues and she’s got flaws, and yet she’s one tough, strong female lead and I think I’m going to really enjoy getting to the heart of what makes her her. We get hints about it, but I think we have really only scratched the surface of it in this first book.
The case in this first book really kept me guessing as to who was behind it. I loved that I really ended up suspecting just about everyone involved. And I loved that Carla gives voice to the guilty party – I always find this so fascinating – creepy, but utterly fascinating. It really adds such an extra layer to the case, allowing us to be in that person’s mind.
I am really looking forward to seeing where this series goes next. It certainly is off to a great start and is perfect for fans of fast-paced, twisted police procedurals. And I cannot wait to continue to get to know all the core characters that we have just started to get to know in this first installment. This is why I love and continue to read series…I love the continuity of characters!
