Left for Dead (DI Bernadette Noel #3) by Joy Kluver
Genre: Crime fiction, Crime thriller, Police procedural
Read: 8th January 2022
Published: 10th January 2022
★★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
The detective stared at the young woman lying on the bed. She almost looked peaceful, her face like porcelain. Despite everything she had been through, she was still beautiful.
When DI Bernie Noel hurries to Keira Howard’s hospital bedside, she knows that Keira has been lucky. Barely conscious and badly injured, at least she is alive. Convinced that Keira’s attack is the latest in a string of increasingly violent assaults on young women in the area, the next victim might not be so fortunate. So she vows to find the man who did this, and to stop him before anyone else gets hurt.
Spurring her team into action, she quickly hones in on a prime suspect. But then he suddenly dies while on police watch, and Bernie’s investigation goes into freefall. When Bernie’s superiors won’t let her take the case any further, her gut instinct tells her there’s much more to his death than meets the eye. If it was murder, who would want him dead, and why? So she determines to set out on her own to find out what happened.
But the closer Bernie comes to discovering the truth, the more she is putting her own life in danger. And with Keira finally strong enough to talk her about her attack, Bernie worries she may be at risk yet again. There’s someone out there who has killed to stay safe in the shadows; can Bernie stop another senseless death, and save Keira, before it’s too late?
An utterly compelling crime thriller full of twists and suspense, perfect for fans of Val McDermid, Angela Marsons and Cara Hunter.
MY REVIEW:
I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Joy Kluver's thrilling LEFT FOR DEAD.
Rejoining DI Bernie Noel a few months from where book 2 left off, LEFT FOR DEAD is the best yet. I absolutely loved it and couldn't put it down! And while each book can be read as standalones, to get the most out of Bernie's background and ongoing story, it's best to have read Books 1 and 2 first. Readers will be less likely to be in the dark surrounding some aspects as they fall into place rather leave you wondering what went on before.
As I said, I think this book is the best one yet. The team have not only grown but so has Bernie. Having transferred from the Met to Wiltshire a short while ago, Bernie was running from a past she would rather have left in London. Hence, her reluctance to front press conferences or to be seen on camera. In the first two books, there appeared to be quite a bit of angst among the ranks...particularly regarding her stand-in superior in the last book who was filling in for DCS Wilson, and DI Dougie Anderson brought in as FLO in the first book and to whom Bernie took an immediate dislike. Things didn't improve in the second book either as he was drafted in once again by her stand-in superintendent.
LEFT FOR DEAD opens with Bernie being awoken from sleep with the baby she is now expecting pressing down on her bladder but before she can answer the call of nature, her phone rings with the news that a nineteen year old woman, Keira Howard, has been found in Town Gardens brutally attacked and sexually assaulted. Without another thought she is up and on her way to the scene with her now live-in partner Dougie Anderson on route to headquarters to which he's been summoned.
At the scene Bernie meets Local Crime Investigator Leigh Roberts, based out of the local nick in Swindon, who has been investigating a spate of sexual attacks on young woman in the area. It appears that Keira could be the fifth victim but Bernie's not so sure. Still, she seconds Leigh to help on the investigation given her knowledge of the case and her thorough investigative skills. But she soon learns that Leigh is not all that she appears to be leaving her team wondering if she has made an error in drafting her to the team.
Meanwhile, Dougie has been working on a covert op in Serious Crime but when it goes belly-up and the suspect makes a run for it only to be collected by a lorry, Dougie finds his neck is on the line and is suspended from duty pending further enquiries. But when Bernie overhears a conversation between DCS Wilson and the Chief Constable regarding the identity of the suspect who was no in ICU, she wonders what bearing it has on her and why they deem it imperative to keep his true identity from her. Something else is going on here and despite it being none of her business, Bernie resolves to get to the bottom of it somehow. Especially as Dougie is being made the scapegoat for an operation that was, in effect, the Met's.
When Keira wakes, Bernie and her DS Kerry Allen head to the hospital to question her, hoping she can offer them the answers they need to move forward in the case that appears thus far to be stalling. But the nurse only allows five minutes with Keira during which time they could ascertain nothing that didn't already know before being shuffled out.
Investigations lead Bernie and the team back and forth from Swindon, including Bernie's introduction to Swindon's magic roundabout (google it and prepared to be wowed) which left her somewhat addled amidst her aching wrist from a previous injury and baby brain.
Then when the team finally hone in on a suspect, with surprising results, they are then further shocked when he dies whilst in police custody, thrusting Bernie's investigation into freefall. Given the gravity of the situation and apparent tenuous links, her superiors recuse her from the case sending her home for some much needed rest and placing her DS Kerry Allen in charge. But Bernie refuses to let go as her instinct tells her there is more to his death than it seems. So if is was murder, who would want him dead? And why? And how, given that he was in a secure unit under police watch? Surely someone had seen something.
Regardless of the circumstances, Bernie is determined to uncover the truth and find out what happened. But the closer she gets, the more she is placing herself and that of her unborn child, in danger. And now that Keira is awake and able to talk, she too could be at risk yet again. But the clock is ticking...Can Bernie find her attacker and her suspect's killer before it's too late?
WOW! This certainly is a gripping crime thriller and, I say it again, the best one yet in the DI Bernadette Noel series. At last all the team are working from the same page and no longer is there any angst amongst the ranks. And the developing relationship between Bernie and Dougie is rather sweet and a refreshing change from the usual single workaholic detectives that find themselves alone with a bottle to drown their sorrows. And how the two cases entwined was very clever and even lead me in a different direction. I have to say, Joy Kluver has hoodwinked me yet again because I don't think I have ever correctly guessed the villain in her books when I easily do in others. And this one was no different. While I did partially guess correctly, I was completely off-base with the rest of it.
LEFT FOR DEAD is a thrilling and addictive fast paced read, made pacier with the delightfully short and snappy chapters. As in most cases with the series, the book leaves us on something of a cliffhanger but in a good way. The ending actually left me with tears in my eyes. Bring on Book 4!! I can't wait, especially as Bernie's pregnancy advances and where that will leave her in future books.
Fantastic read, LEFT FOR DEAD is perfect for fans of Val McDermid, Carol Wyer and Carla Kovach.
I would like to thank #JoyKluver, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #LeftForDead in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Joy is represented by Anne Williams at the Kate Horden Literary Agency.
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