The Girl in the Grave (Beth Adams #1) by Helen Phifer
Genre: Crime fiction, police procedural, thriller
Read: 18th July 2019
Purchase: Amazon
(release date: 16th July, 2019)
★★★★ 4 stars
Dr Beth Adams is a forensic pathologist with a past. She was once a doctor in a busy Accident and Emergency Department but a tragic event in her life caused her to rethink her life and she changed career paths to become a pathologist. Throughout the book, pieces of Beth's past are gradually revealed as it becomes entwined with the present and the latest case she'd been tasked to work on.
It began when a exhumation under somewhat odd circumstances revealed a body under the coffin. The girl in the grave had lain there in the months undetected since the funeral. Who was she? How did she get there? And who put her there?
Police were already on scene for the exhumation, but work was suddenly halted as reinforcements were called. Enter Dr Beth Adams. One look at the body and she concluded that the girl was most certainly dead, but a forensic archaeologist was needed to retrieve it without disturbing any trace evidence that may have been left behind. And so the investigation begins...
Beth begins the post mortem on the body of Florence, the 93 year old woman who was said to have died from pneumonia. But information received from a relative of the deceased alleged that she had died in "suspicious circumstances" and requested an exhumation to investigate further. As it turns out, Beth deduces that Florence DID in indeed die of pneumonia and nothing untoward to warrant an exhumation. So who requested it? And why?
It soon becomes clear to Beth and DS Josh Walker, the SIO on the case, that the request was made to lead to the discover of the the girl in the grave...beneath the coffin.
Then another young woman goes missing. And the race is on to find her in time before she too suffers the same fate as the girl in the grave. But with no real leads as to where the killer is keeping his victims time is running out. Are they even any closer to catching the killer?
For Beth, the case should stop after she has finished the post mortem - but it doesn't. Like a modern day Quincy, Beth finds herself drawn to the mystery of the girl in the grave and is saddened that no one has even missed her. She decides to do some digging of her own and when revealing her findings to Josh, she even likens herself to Kay Scarpetta (of Patricia Cornwell fame).
But Beth is even more involved than she knows...
Who has been sending her letters? And who is leaving little "gifts" at her home?
Unbeknownst to Beth, she is being watched by someone with a disturbing compulsion. But despite locking herself up in a secure fortress, Beth is left vulnerable and exposed as someone she thought she could trust has anything but her best interests at heart. I thought I knew who it was...but I was wrong. To be honest, I narrowed it down to a couple of possible suspects and then picked the wrong one...lol Still, this person has serious links to her past. A past she is trying to forget but is unable to.
DS Josh Walker knows Beth and was there in the aftermath of her attack seven years before. They have become good friends and work well together with a trust and great rapport between them that is evident. With a common past that unites them together, there are hints of a romance blooming between them. It doesn't overshadow the main story, which is good, but rather lingers in the background.
A definite page-turner, THE GIRL IN THE GRAVE is a tense uncomplicated police procedural/thriller that is well written with short snappy chapters (my favourite kind) that will have you reading into the night. Addictive and intense, there is a mix of forensic pathology, police procedural and a bitter fear that is somewhat poignant. Will Josh be able to save Beth again?
THE GIRL IN THE GRAVE is the first in a new series by Helen Phifer set in the beautiful Lake District in Cumbria. It is also the first I have read by this author though I'm aware she has written a number of police procedural/crime thriller series. However, it is Beth and Josh I am looking forward to getting to know more and eagerly await the second book.
I would like to thank #HelenPhifer, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheGirlInTheGrave in exchange for an honest review.
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