The Liar's House (DI Gina Harte #4) by Carla Kovach
Genre: Crime fiction, Police procedural,
Read: 15th July 2019
Purchase: Amazon
(release date: 2nd July 2019)
★★★★★ 5 stars
Despite not having read the first two books in this series, I still found myself diving into this fourth outing with DI Gina Harte and her team filled with expectation. I keep meaning to go back and read them but more books keep falling in my way and I never seem to get there...lol However, if THE LIAR'S HOUSE was your introduction to Gina and her team, I can safely say that all the necessary backstory is filled in throughout so that you would not be left in the dark. In this sense, each book could be read as a standalone as with each we are clued up with a little bit more about Gina's past as the series develops.
Set in the English Midlands, in a small fictional town near Birmingham, Gina returns with all her baggage but this time her past catches up with her as it becomes embroiled into the present case. I loved this addition to the story as it made it so much more interesting and compelling, as we are drawn deeper into Gina's dark past.
A man is watching a young woman through his camera and taking pictures of her as she dances at the local social club. Their eyes meet. She knows he is watching her and she is enjoying putting on a show with another man on the dance floor. What she doesn't know is her partner's wife is also watching from the sidelines. But the man with the camera knows. He sees her. He zooms in on her. He focuses on the necklace she wears bearing the initial J. J for Joanne. J for Joan. J for Jade. The woman, fed up with watching her husband gyrate with a younger woman, abruptly leaves the club. The man refocuses his camera on the young woman again. She needs to be taught a lesson.
Samantha Felton was a good time girl who disappeared after a social club disco seven years ago. No one has heard from her since. She had a string of admirers whom she mostly used to make her married lover jealous in the hope he would leave his wife for her. Were any of these men the key to her disappearance?
In the present day, Jade Ashmore is returning from a party when she hears footsteps behind her. She steps aside, hoping they will pass but is instead attacked. In the moments before she loses consciousness, Jade recognises her attacker as she turns to face him. Disturbed by a late night dog walker, her attacker flees the scene but it is too late for Jade. Identified from her photo ID in her purse, Gina now has the grim task of breaking the news to Jade's husband Noah. And yet, she is surprised to discover the house in darkness when she arrives to deliver the news, waking Noah from his sleep. Why has Jade's absence not been noticed? Has she not been missed? Exactly what is going on with this couple?
Diane was Samantha's best friend and she still misses her terribly, wondering what happened to her seven years ago. Now crippled with arthritis, she receives a birthday card addressed to Samantha on what would have been her 33rd birthday with a sinister greeting in cut out letters. Enclosed is a fingernail painted in the same shade that Samantha always wore. Shaken, Diane rings the police and the fingernail is taken to away to be analysed. Diane begins to wonder if Samantha could still be alive but everyone is shocked when results come back that the fingernail belonged to Jade, not Samantha. Could it be that the two cases are linked?
Then Diane finds a photo left on her table. A photo of Samantha dancing with a man with a young Jade Ashmore looking on. J for Jade. How is the photo connected to Samantha's disappearance and Jade's murder?
As Gina and her team delve into the lives of everyone involved, it was clear to me from the outset that the party everyone was so vague about giving details on was a swingers party. The couples met on a forum called Swap Fun where they engage with others via their profiles and organise meet-ups and swap parties. Was one of the attendees the killer? In attempt to foil any of the killer's future plans, Gina delegates one of team to set up a Swap Fun profile to see if they can get themselves invited to one of their "swap parties".
In the midst of everything, Gina's personal life begins to cause problems as she finds herself regretting letting a tinder date into her world when he refuses to leave her alone or take no for an answer. He keeps messaging her, calling her and turning up unannounced. Then to make matters worse, she comes face to face with him whilst staking out a swap party, with him being one of the guests! Then to add to her problems, she is horrified to discover her past and present collide with the reappearance of her former brother-in-law, Steven, who is as misogynistic and as disgusting as his brother was. As Steven becomes a suspect, Gina finds her past entangled with the case and threatening to destroy her credibility and reputation she has spent years building.
Then another woman is attacked and another disappears from her house. Who has been watching Aimee Prowse? Is the same man responsible? And does it have something to do with Samantha's disappearance seven years ago? And then just when she thought she had finally rid herself of him, Rex calls Gina with important information pertaining to the case.
THE LIAR'S HOUSE pulls no punches with its raw storyline. There are elements of domestic abuse and stalking which are handled with brutal honesty throughout. We are privy to the way the men control their partners through fear. I am sure every man in this book, apart from the police, are completely misogynistic in character. Almost all of them are abusive in one way or another. And then there is Gina's own past and experience with domestic abuse. The psychological damage at her ex-husband's hand has surely helped shape the woman and the detective she is today. We are reminded of events in Gina's past once again, as in every book, and then we are given yet a little more as Carla Kovach sprinkles another tidbit our way.
And whilst we are reminded of Gina's past with every installment, sometimes it can be a little too repetitive over the course of the one book. How Terry died was mentioned several times this time round as was one of her more recent memories of him. I feel mentioning these instances just the once for the reader is enough...no need to rehash it. Unless it is in the context of the story but even then just a vague reference would suffice.
As with the last book "Her Pretty Bones" (which I also reviewed) I mentioned then that her constant longing for her boss, DCI Briggs, was annoying. While she made mention of their non-relationship more than once in this book, I didn't feel it was as sickening or as annoying as it was in the last one. But it is still somewhat irritating that she keeps bringing it up. Gina does have a tendency to over-analyse - particular when it comes to Briggs - the smell of him and all that. PULLEAASEE! That aside, I did feel that Briggs and Gina worked well together this time and I would much rather see more of that than her self-pitying thoughts about what she obviously cannot have.
Another thing I would like to see is maybe her team's characters developed further with some backstories of their own. Because really, after four books, all we really hear about is Gina and her longing for Briggs, whilst we know almost nothing about her teams' characters on a more personal level.
A well-written solid police procedural as well as thriller, THE LIAR'S HOUSE has plenty of suspects to keep the reader guessing. Although I did "guess" who the killer was early on through a few clues I picked up on, his motivation wasn't clear till nearer the end. However this never spoils a book for me as long as there is plenty of intrigue, suspense and dark twists to keep me turning the pages through to the end.
Despite the few niggles, I still felt THE LIAR'S HOUSE is a five star read and is everything we've come to expect from this series. Complex characters, gruesome murder scenes, brutal honesty and brilliant writing. Ingenious and cleverly plotted, I eagerly await book five! Hopefully I will have read the first two by then!
I would like to thank #CarlaKovach, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheLiarsHouse in exchange for an honest review.
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