First Girl to Die (DC Morgan Brookes #4) by Helen Phifer
Genre: Crime thriller, Crime fiction, Police procedural
Read: 7th October 2021
Published: 11th October 2021
★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)
DESCRIPTION:
Morgan shudders as she leans out of the window and takes in the familiar blonde curls and clear blue eyes of the fallen girl below. She knows this woman, and she realises with sickening certainty that her friend is now gone forever…
When Detective Morgan Brookes is called to the scene of a suicide, she’s devastated to recognise the young teacher sprawled out on the grass like a broken doll. She hasn’t seen Brittany for years. Not since the tragic death of Morgan’s high-school boyfriend ripped their friendship group apart. But when witnesses describe Brittany’s erratic behaviour and jumbled speech that morning, Morgan is convinced the fearless, life-loving girl she once knew didn’t jump of her own accord.
Traces of poison found in Brittany’s blood prove Morgan’s theory right, but no one can find the source. Then Morgan uncovers a distinctive jar in Brittany’s home filled with toxic herbs, and the sight of it turns her blood to ice. She has a jar just like it, a handmade gift from her aunt. Is this a coincidence, a set-up, or could the only person she’s ever trusted with her damaged past be capable of murder?
Then another woman from Morgan’s past is found, close to the scene of that fatal teenage party. Has Morgan been looking at this all wrong? Are these deaths connected to that deadly night? And how could someone from her own family possibly be involved?
With her aunt’s freedom and more innocent lives at stake, Morgan must dig deep into her painful memories for answers. Who else was there that night, and what exactly did they see? She must stop this twisted killer before any more of her old friends become new victims – but at what cost?
An absolutely heart-stopping and unputdownable crime thriller, perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Lisa Regan and Rachel Abbott.
MY REVIEW:
I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Helen Phifer's exciting crime thriller FIRST GIRL TO DIE.
I think what I love about Helen Phifer's DC Morgan Brookes series is the personal aspect that continues to linger in the background throughout each of the books. I still haven't yet read the first book, having jumped in with the second one "The Killer's Girl", but I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of them. However, I think this one is probably the best so far. Having said that, I am growing a little weary of Ben and Morgan's second guessing themselves and each other. Will they just get together already?? It's obvious they both want to and Morgan's jealousy over Ben spending the night with her neighbour just had me rolling my eyes. I'm like "well, you won't do anything about it...what do you expect?" She even gave Emily the thumbs up to go for it! Stupid woman.
But I digress...
The story opens with a scene from 2016 in which a group of teenagers climb the fells to spend a night camping at Rydal Caves. Four girls and one boy...this could get a little awkward. The group laugh and joke and drink till they are almost fall down drunk...and then the unthinkable occurs. The boy climbs to the top of the caves and standing too close to the edge exclaims "I'm the king of the world!" before losing his footing and falling to this death.
Now it's 2021 and DC Morgan Brookes is called to a local primary school where an old school friend of hers, Brittany Alcott, is a teacher. Apparently, one of their teachers is acting strangely, mumbling something about a baby and threatening to jump out of the staff room window. In need of a negotiator, Morgan calls Ben who arrives shortly after her and she is shocked to learn that the teacher in question is in fact her old school friend. She tries to reach out to her through the barricaded door but the sound of smashing glass and a thud fills her with sudden dread. Forcing their way in, Morgan and Ben find the staff room empty and a broken window through which Morgan peers to see Brittany sprawled on the ground below, a billowing read cloud forming behind her head.
She hadn't seen Brittany properly since they left school, having parted ways to pursue their own lives. But they did cross paths in the supermarket some weeks before where they exchanged a few brief words before continuing on their way. Filled with a sense of guilt, Morgan wondered if she should have taken the time to talk to her old friend properly. Could she have prevented her from taking her own life?
Within twenty four hours they receive a call about a woman seen naked at Rydal Caves and muttering gibberish to herself. When she was approached by the person who found her, she screamed and ran deep into the cave. Morgan and Ben were closest and raced to the scene where she lead a huffing and puffing Ben up the fell and through the track leading to the caves. They questioned the men briefly before entering the cave, where Morgan heard a splash and found the woman face down in the water. Dragging her out into the light of day, she was shocked to discover the woman was Sienna Waters, another from her group of friends at school. Performing CPR while Ben called for paramedics, Morgan managed to get a weak pulse and Sienna breathing again before she was air lifted to hospital where she remained unconscious.
What was going on? Two of her old school friends found to be acting strangely and out of character, as if they were hallucinating. One jumping to their death, the other almost drowning herself. It was if they were poisoned - but with what? Their behaviour was hallucinogenic which leaned towards the theory that they may have ingested a psychotic drug or one of the deadly herbs her aunt Ettie uses to make her special teas with. But the fact that Sienna was found at Rydal Caves made Morgan think back five years ago when the boy she secretly loved, Brad, had fallen to his death from the top of the cave. Did what happened then have something to do with what was happening now? If so, then her two other friends, Jess and Lara, may well be in danger also. Each of the women were present the night Brad died. Morgan was supposed to be there but her dad had grounded her and for once Morgan didn't defy him and go anyway. If she had, maybe Brad would never have died.
Then when Morgan is called a fatal road traffic accident based on the fact the woman involved was seen acting strangely, she felt a sense of impending doom. The woman didn't stand a chance versus a delivery van, whose driver was inconsolable, and her body lay on the tarmac as Morgan tentatively approached. She wasn't shocked to discover the familiar face of Jess covered in blood...only saddened. Could she have stopped this? It was obvious now that this was all linked to that tragic night five years ago. Someone was targeting each of the women who'd been there that night...but who? And why? Morgan knew she had to warn Lara before she too became another victim.
Meanwhile, it has been established that the women had Belladonna in their systems, deadly nightshade, which is a strong hallucinogenic and can also be fatal. Ben was aware of Morgan's eccentric aunt who lived in a cabin in the woods, conjuring up herbal teas for all sorts of ailments Belladonna was one of her ingredients as its properties could be healing in minute doses. But what if Ettie had inadvertently used too much and poisoned the women? He has no alternative but to bring her in for questioning which angers Morgan no end when she discovers he had done so stealthily. But Morgan doesn't believe for one minute believe her aunt Ettie poisoned anyone - even inadvertently.
But her superiors now believe Morgan is too close to the investigation to be impartial. So she is sent off to investigate a shop break-in, and she is surprised to learn it is none other than Sienna's alternative shop. Sienna, having recovered from her near death experience, is incensed at the damage done to her livelihood and takes offence at Morgan's line of questioning. There is no CCTV and entrance was via the back of the shop so Morgan, on a hunch, approaches the building society opposite for their CCTV to see if it captured anything. What it reveals leaves Morgan questioning this new-found relevance and sets her on a path to uncover the guilty party once and for all.
FIRST GIRL TO DIE leads readers on a merry chase through various avenues and mud-infested fells to a spectacular showdown. All throughout nothing is obvious to either Morgan or the reader as we plunder our way through trying to tie loose ends together that keep falling apart. The twists throughout will keep you guessing as you try to piece it all together. Even I had no idea who it was, although I did find the ending a little bit of a letdown after all the hype building up to it. I think I would have preferred a slightly different outcome but it was still a satisfactory end to yet another brilliant addition to this addictive series.
A page-turner that kept me reading well into the wee hours, FIRST GIRL TO DIE is a quick read that is as engrossing as it is enjoyable. Unlike the last book, "The Hiding Place" where the villain was easily identified, this one has the reader guessing throughout.
I love the personal aspect of this series and with each book a little bit more about Morgan's background is revealed. While her biological father escaped prison at the end of the second book, this knowledge has been a lingering presence throughout the past two books and one which I'm sure Helen Phifer will revisit soon enough as the threat of his reappearance is sure to haunt Morgan until he does so.
This series is such an easy one to read and I have enjoyed my time in the Lakes District with Morgan and Ben with every book. Each one is a quick read with enough baggage to keep you enthralled but not so much as to bog you down with.
I love almost everything about this series - the characters, the team, the setting - despite wanting to bash Morgan and Ben's heads together to make them both see sense. Their mutual attraction is obvious to absolutely everyone except them! However, regardless of that one irritating aspect, this is one of the best series out there. I love Helen Phifer's easy style of writing and thoroughly enjoyed her previous Beth Adams series - of which there are only two and I long for more of them.
An intriguing and fast paced crime thriller with short snappy chapters to keep the pace moving, FIRST GIRL TO DIE is a fantastic addition to an already brilliantly addictive series.
I would like to thank #HelenPhifer, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #FirstGirlToDie in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Helen lives in a small town in Cumbria. Surrounded by miles of coastline and only a short drive from the beautiful Lake District.
She has always loved writing and reading since the days she learnt how to in infant school. She loves reading books that make the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end and make her afraid to go to the toilet, alone in the middle of the night. She is eternally grateful to Stephen King, Dean Koontz, James Herbert and Graham Masterton for scaring her senseless in her teenage years.
Unable to find enough of the scary stories she loves to read, she decided to write her own.
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