Her Dying Wish (DI Gina Harte #10) by Carla Kovach
Genre: Crime thriller, Crime fiction, Suspense, Mystery
Read: 17th December 2021
Published: 16th December 2021
★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)
DESCRIPTION:
Kerstin is wide awake. While her family sleeps around her, the devastating secret her husband just told her is spinning through her mind. Does she really know the man she married? And are her children still safe in this small town?
She jumps as she hears a sound from outside. Peering into the inky darkness, her eyes focus on movement at the bottom of the garden. Someone is out there.
She watches as the figure strikes a single match. Kerstin gasps at the sight of the face staring back at her, smiling, as if enjoying her fear.
A car door slams and the figure makes a dash for the trees, leaving something behind – a small memorial candle. As it flickers in the darkness, Kerstin knows exactly what it means. Someone is coming for her, and her family is in terrible danger…
Fans of Angela Marsons, Cara Hunter and Clare Mackintosh will love this utterly gripping crime novel. Her Dying Wish will keep you up all night!
MY REVIEW:
I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Carla Kovach's latest crime thriller HER DYING WISH.
I love the DI Gina Harte series and with each installment I have warmed to the series and the cast of characters even more. Although in this latest fare, Gina's team have taken a little more of a backseat as the focus and spotlight shines a little too brightly on Gina herself and the secret she has kept hidden for so long. In saying that, I do recommend reading the rest of the series before embarking on this one as it will make a lot more sense in doing so. That and a few other story arcs will fall into place a little easier if you have followed Gina's journey from the start. Although having said that, I did come in on the 3rd book in the series and have yet to go back and read the first two...lol
The story opens with a Prologue set eight years ago with a tragic event that is at first puzzling as the reader tries to unravel the clues as to what has taken place and who it could be. Fast forward to the present day - 14th November - and the same first person narrative outlines a tragedy that is about to occur, as we can only surmise from the opening lines of the chapter. We are lead step by step through every phase until the main event and are left in no doubt of the outcome.
It's the early hours and DI Gina Harte has woken from a restless sleep. She had just fought off a nightmare to end all nightmares sparked by the monster of her dreams latest attempt to get her to talk about her dead ex-husband Terry. Slimy reporter Pete Bloxwich has joined forces with Terry's mother and brother in a campaign against her which sees her as a murderess in what they claim to be Terry's sudden death all those years ago (note - this is not a spoiler as it has been the common theme throughout the series).
Whilst ruminating over the latest threats from the reporter, her phone rings with a call from her DS, Jacob Driscoll, who relays that there has been a fire in which a person has been reported to have died. As she arrives on scene she is greeted with the crumbling remains of what had been a beautiful and expensive house, in one of the most affluent areas of Cleevesford. Despite the cordon, there are plenty of people standing around in nightwear and coats holding umbrellas in one hand and filming on their phones with the other whilst children peer out from behind their bedroom curtains. Gina braced herself for the scene that awaited her as soon as the firefighters cleared the place as safe. And the charred body that had been Glen Chapman, owner of the crumbling remains in which they now stood.
It soon becomes clear that accelerant was used and that it was a planned arson attack. The question is why? And was Chapman the intended victim? Or was it is his wife, who had left the house with her children some days before after a blazing row? And what was the significance of the lone candle found burning in a jar in the garden of the residence that had just been razed to the ground?
Before Gina and her team can delve further into the life of Glen Chapman and his wife Faith, there is a second attempt on the house of the Chapman's friends, Cameron and Kerstin Godwill. But Kerstin was awoken by a sound that had her investigating its source and she scared off the attacker before they could light the rag they had place in the letterbox. Gina at once suggested the family find alternative accommodation until they investigated fully and it was deemed safe to return. But the following night when they receive a call that this time the attack was successful and despite their recommendation to stay somewhere else, Cameron Godwill refused to be chased out of his home and, thinking the attacker had already tried and failed and therefore wouldn't come back, decided to remain in his home. To his peril, it seems, as he too perished in the fire.
After three days and two arson attacks, Gina and her team are no closer to finding out the reason for these attacks or the significance of fire and the candles. But things are about to get a whole lot more complicated when Gina discovers one of those in the group of friends is none other than her ex-husband's brother, Stephen. The very person who is trying to bring her down by setting the slimy reporter Pete Bloxwich on her tail. Gina knows that to continue leading this investigation would be a conflict of interest and after reporting it to her superior, DCI Chris Briggs, places Jacob as lead SIO of the case. The less she has to do with Stephen the better, not just because he is the exact same as her dead husband, but he and his mother could make life very difficult for her...as if they aren't already.
Things start to get yet even more complicated (if that's possible) with the abduction of a 4 year old boy, Erik, with the kidnapper using threats of harm to the child to force the mother to do their bidding for the entire unfolding of the plan they have orchestrated. Should they refuse or fail, the child will die.
Throughout every circumstance thrown her way, Gina manages to juggle it all with the help of her trusty team and ever supportive superior, and lover, Briggs. Will Gina be able to find the arsonist, the child and stop Bloxwich in his tracks? Or will she finally unravel under the pressure of it all as her professional and personal lives collide once and for all?
The reveal, when it comes, is bittersweet. There is sadness and heartbreak but also madness in one person's desire for revenge. The account is as chilling as it is heartbreaking and as misguided as it is understandable. Illustrating just how tragic the fallout from a violent crime can be and with such significant consequences.
HER DYING WISH is the tenth in the DI Gina Harte series and I have to say is one of the best yet. The collision of Gina's professional and personal lives was inevitable and yet it is cleverly crafted to illustrate Gina's own dilemma as she struggles to deal with everything. She has long been able to survive on her own but here her past she has tried so very hard to keep secret has come out and is about to unravel spectacularly. I have grown to like Gina, though I'm not sure I totally warmed to her in the beginning, I am definitely rooting for her now.
Surprisingly, I didn't quite guess who was orchestrating everything but I did narrow it down to a couple, of which the villain was one. I didn't even guess the motivation behind it. Carla Kovach really hoodwinked me with this one...I think because she had us all focused on Gina's personal dilemma my eyes were taken off the ball with the case at hand. In a way that the left hand doesn't see what the right hand is doing. Clever.
The title HER DYING WISH may leave readers a little puzzled throughout as it doesn't appear to bear any significance whatsoever to the events taking place but it does become clear in the final pages which leaves something of a, not quite bitter taste, but something similar...if not sadder.
As usual, I was not disappointed with this latest installment and eagerly await the next one to see where things take Gina next. I would be interested in a follow-up on Stephen, given how things ended for him in this one, and how much credibility he has left. Would Gina find his threats as empty or loaded? And how would she handle things then?
I'm not generally a fan of strong independent women who often go their own way despite the consequences. But I do love a good crime thriller and that's what this series is. I love how we are given a glimpse of all sides - the villains, the police and those who are collateral damage - and it is not all procedural. This is an entire series of good solid crime thrillers that are well worth the read. If you haven't already done so, grab them! Read them! And then you can devour this one too!
I definitely recommend this book in conjunction with the previous nine books first and it is perfect for fans for good solid crime thrillers.
I would like to thank #CarlaKovach, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #HerDyingWish in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Since then she has written & produced several stage plays, has four self-published books, has acted in several independent films and is currently in the final stages of production of her feature horror film, Penny for the Guy.
She now writes full time as well as co-owning a film, photography & video production company located in the heart of Redditch town centre.
Social Media links:
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