One Girl Missing (DI Gina Harte #11) by Carla Kovach
Genre: Crime fiction, Crime thriller, Police procedural
Read: 1st March 2022
Published: 9th March 2022
★★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
Five-year-old Cally waits in her pretty pink bedroom for the sound of the front door opening and her mother’s sweet voice in the hall. But when the doorbell finally rings, and Cally creeps out of bed to peer through the banister, a large man in uniform is all she sees. Her mother is missing...
Teacher Annabel Braddock was last seen drinking at the local pub with her best friend, Jennifer. Witnesses saw tears running down her cheeks, and friends say she was having problems with a colleague at work, and that her marriage had broken down.
But as the two women hugged goodbye, neither noticed the car speeding towards them. As the dust settled, Jennifer lay unconscious on the ground and Annabel was nowhere to be seen. She’d never abandon her little girl, so did someone snatch her?
As family crowd around Jennifer’s hospital bed, hoping she’ll wake up, police visit Annabel’s home and her inconsolable daughter, Cally, tells them she had seen a man outside staring into her room as she climbed into bed that evening. Was it her childish imagination, or had someone been watching Annabel’s home?
When Jennifer finally opens her eyes and tells the police what happened that night, it’s clear there are plenty of people with a reason to harm Annabel. With an unpredictable husband, a colleague who denies harassing her and a neighbour who seems to know her every move, could she be in imminent danger? As the hours turn to days, will little Cally ever see her precious mother again? Or will she be next?
If you love fast-paced, gripping crime thrillers that keep you up all night, you’ll be completely addicted to One Girl Missing. Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Cara Hunter and Clare Mackintosh.
MY REVIEW:
While I have not read all of the Gina Harte series, I have read most (but three) and this installment reminds me why I love this series so much. It is engaging, addictive and fast paced throughout making it is good solid crime thriller for fans to sink their teeth into. Needless to say, I eagerly await each installment of this series to see what Gina is faced with next. This time round was a real pickler of a case...but it was intriguing and I couldn't turn the pages quick enough to see if I had worked out the culprit. Carla hoodwinked me last time round but not this time.
Teacher at local school Cleevesford High, Annabel Braddock, is enjoying drinks with her best friend Jennifer at the Angel Arms. But tonight is tinged with marital discord as Annabel has discovered her husband Grant has been having it away with their babysitter and when she confronted him he became aggressive and violent. She confides in Jennifer that she knows her marriage is over but she must stay for Cally, their five year old daughter. Then tragedy strikes on their walk home along the lane leaving one of them critically injured and no sign of her friend.
DI Gina Harte is just readying herself to go home when she is alerted to the fact that one of their CSIs, Jennifer Bailey who is also living with DS Jacob Driscoll, has been the victim of a hit and run. Confirming that Jennifer had been out with her best friend Annabel, he then rushes to the hospital to be with her while Gina races to the scene. But clues are few and far between as the team fight to get to the bottom of this nasty incident which is looking less like an accident.
Annabel is a mother. So where is her daughter? When Gina and her team knock on her door she discovers worried neighbour Evan who had been babysitting Cally but knew Annabel should have been home long ago. Queries about the whereabouts of her husband are vague - something about him sleeping with the childminder and the couple on the brink of separation - but no clues as to his whereabouts. A sleepy-eyed Cally wakes with stories of a ghost in their backyard which Evan puts down to them watching Casper reruns before bed.
Further enquiries lead Gina to the school at which Annabel teaches which thus uncovers several more leads to follow up on - a creepy teacher (a real piece of work, he is) who works with Annabel and has already had a complaint lodged against him and a love-lorn teenage boy. Added to this, when the team finally track down Taylor, the young woman Grant had been an affair with, she throws her two cents worth in informing them that Grant had promised he would leave Annabel and marry her...but it appears he was dragging his heels. It seems their suspect pool is growing.
But the question remains...who ran down Jennifer and abducted Annabel. And why? Can Gina and her team get justice for Jennifer and her friend?
This series just grows from strength to strength as Gina seems to have finally moved on from her past (which is rehashed in several books) and at last has found some stability and peace with her life. But just when all seemed to be settling down with Briggs last time round, now it appears he has moved on leaving Gina wondering where they really stand with each other. That turn of events kind of shocked me, particularly where they were in the last book.
The eleventh book in this brilliant series, ONE GIRL MISSING is multi-layered and fast paced throughout and has no trouble keeping readers engaged from beginning to end. It is addictive and, while I correctly guessed the culprit, many will not as there truly is a pool of suspects to choose from.
I have to say ONE GIRL MISSING is probably my favourite in the series so far. I know I said that about the last one...but this one was just so good. It was completely solid and unputdownable despite the complex storyline. I thoroughly enjoyed it! My only complaint is the on/off relationship with her superior. Either go for it or get over it. Because I'm over rehashing it.
I can't wait to see what's in store next for Gina. 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, #Bookouture for an ARC of #OneGirlMissing 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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