REVIEW: Her Secret Past by Kerry Watts (ARC)

Her Secret Past (DI Jessie Blake #3) by Kerry Watts

Genre: Crime fiction, police procedural, thriller

Read: 25th March 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 22nd January 2020)

★★★ 3 stars

I absolutely loved loved loved Kerry Watts' first two books in the wonderful Jessie Blake series, so of course I needed no persuading to read this one. But unfortunately I don't think it was as up to par as the first two. It was an OK read and upon reading other rave reviews on HER SECRET PAST, I found myself wondering if we'd been reading the same book. It certainly had promise...but this one just wasn't as thrilling as "Heartlands" or "Her Missing Child".

Alice Connor was just 14 years old when she and her 19 year old boyfriend David Law blugeoned her grandparents with hammers in their cottage on Boxing Day 1990. Because they told her that David was too old for her and she couldn't see him anymore. They were the only parents she'd known having brought her up after the death of her own when she was a baby. But  sentiment played no part in the gruesome slaughter as Alice relished in the killings. And then she and David could be together forever.

But a neighbour heard the screams and called the police...who arrived just in time to see Alice covered in her grandparents' blood.

Thirty years later and with a new identity, Rachel is now living in a remote Perthshire town in Scotland. Her husband, wealthy businessman Kenny Ferguson, knows all about her past. Rachel knows all too well the crime she committed and not a day goes by that she doesn't remember and feel remorse. Due to her age at the time, it was alleged she had been groomed by the adult David and after spending six months in a young offenders home, she was given a new name and a foster placement...while David spent 25 years in prison for the murders.

Malcolm and Jean Angus are Rachel's elderly neighbours on a neighbouring farm. Recently there had been words exchanged regarding the use of a paddock Rachel had purchased from the Angus' to train her racehorses and a disagreement over the proposed application the Fergusons had filed with the council. And now, twenty nine years to the day after the Connor murders, someone has shot Malcolm and Jean Angus through the head.

DI Jessie Blake, accompanied by her partner DC Dylan Logan, is called to the brutal murder scene on Boxing Day. They are immediately bemused by the indifferent behaviour of the elderly couple's 21 year old grandson Gordon who is seated beside his dead grandfather enjoying a chicken sandwich seemingly without a care. Gordon's father Tommy, who called it in, is in the sitting room in shock.

After questioning Tommy, Jessie and Dylan learn about the couple's recent dispute with Rachel and Kenny over the land, so they set off for the neighbouring farmhouse to question the couple. But nothing prepared them for the confession Rachel makes...which immediately makes her the prime suspect.

But then money is withdrawn from the dead couple's bank account. So who had access to their money? Rachel surely didn't need the money - her husband is wealthy enough - so who else could it have been? But when evidence at the murder scene is identified as belonging to Rachel, Jessie has no alternative but to arrest her for the murders. Rachel swears her innocence but the evidence is damning.

Not only is the case taking its toll but Jessie's abusive ex-husband Dan is back on the scene, as we have seen in the first two books, but this time he is in plain sight and not hiding in the shadows. Jessie is sure he is up to something but she doesn't know what so she endeavours to keep herself on her toes...and to expect the unexpected. What she didn't expect was for Dan to have a new girlfriend, Hayley, who co-incidentally works with Jessie's boyfriend forensic pathologist Benito Capello in Edinburgh. She has to wonder, is there something in that? And while Hayley means nothing to her Jessie feels she must warn the young woman about Dan...for she feels sure that history is only going to repeat itself. Men like Dan don't change...and it's only a matter of time before Hayley ends up in a hospital room, having "tripped and fallen".

But Dan is not the only person watching Jessie. It seems she has come to the attention of someone with murderous intentions and one night with Ben back in Edinburgh, Jessie answers the door to an unexpected visitor...and finds herself fighting for her life.

Told in dual timelines beginning in 1990 with a series of flashbacks and the present day's investigation, HER SECRET PAST is quite a complex, convoluted tale that carefully weaves the past and the present. And as the secrets begin to unravel, we are left wondering exactly what role everyone had in the bigger picture.

There were twists and reveals that you may or may not see coming. I figured one of them out rather early in the story but was disappointed to see that it didn't play a bigger part. The other twists, though, I never saw coming. And I certainly never guessed till just before it was revealed who the villain actually was.

What I did love in HER SECRET PAST is what I love to see in every book - short snappy chapters! They keep the pace moving quickly and the tension palpable.

I really love Jessie. She is a detective with heart and not your stereotypical copper that grumps and ends every night with a bottle of prosecco. But after three books, I would have thought we would have more insight as to what is going on with her ex-husband Dan. In all three books he has been clearly stalking her, more secretly in the first two though still with some stealth in this one, it doesn't seem to have gone anywhere. He is still just there and we still don't know to what purpose.  I thought by now there should be something more happening there.

I also love Dylan. He has just become a father again and things at home are a little tense as they tend to be with new babies. I would like to see a little more of Dylan and his personal life maybe somehow connected to a future investigation. Something to spice things up while we learn a little more about him in the process. He still seems a bit tight-lipped on his personal life no matter how often Jessie has offered her ear.

Although HER SECRET PAST is the third in the series, it cane be read as a standalone as with the previous two. There is an underlying theme regarding Dan but readers won't miss out on anything as all he seems to be doing is stalking Jessie and keeping track of her in each book. Plus, any backstory information is given to readers to keep them appraised.

While I didn't enjoy HER SECRET PAST as much as the first two books in the series, it is still an OK read. I will still be coming back for more with the next book in the hope it is more on a part with the previous ones. And I would still recommend it to fans of the crime fiction genre.

Bring on book four! I cannot wait!

I would like to thank #KerryWatts, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #HerSecretPast in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Her Missing Child by Kerry Watts (ARC)

Her Missing Child (DI Jessie Blake #2) by Kerry Watts

Genre: Crime Fiction, Police Procedural

Read: 1st October 2019

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(release date: 26th September 2019)

★★★★★ 5 stars

WOW! When I read "Heartlands", the first novel in the  Jessie Blake series by Kerry Watts, I knew that the next book would be even better but WOW! I gave the first one 5 stars...so how can I top that? Because HER MISSING CHILD (previously titled SAFE HOME) is even better than the first!

Darren and Claire Lucas are newly married with a 6 month old son Finlay. However Claire is suffering from post natal depression and finds even the simplest tasks an effort, spending most of her time either crying or sleeping. When Darren returns home from work and sees Claire sleeping on the couch, he decides to go say hello to his little man whose smile brightens up his day. But when he reaches into Finlay's cot, he discovers his son is gone. Vanished. Without a trace.

Panicking, he calls out to Claire, rousing her from her sleep and asking her where's Finlay. But Claire hasn't seen him since she put him down for his nap some hours ago. Distraught, Claire runs to her neighbours who have been a godsend helping Claire out since Finlay's birth, wondering if they have him. But they haven't seen him either. So where could Finlay be?

In the depths of winter, the Scottish weather is bitterly cold with pelting rain and thick snow. So worryingly, if Finlay is somehow out in this weather, he would most certainly not survive the cold.

Detective Inspector Jessie Blake and her partner DS Dylan Logan are called to the scene, acutely aware that unless little Finlay is found this case could end up a traumatic investigation for all involved. But no one could anticipate just how complicated this case would become.

Jessie, more than anyone, knows the pain of losing a child and Finlay's disappearance re-opens old wounds she had long since buried. Added to that, her ex-husband Dan has been messaging her, intent on a reconciliation claiming he has changed. But just a couple of minutes in his presence brings all her old fears back to the surface, undoing years of therapy. When her cat Smokey disappears, I started to envision all sorts of horrible ends for Jessie's closest companion at the hands of her abusive ex. But rest assured, Smokey is fine. *whew*

But is Finlay fine? Can Jessie and Dylan find the baby before it's too late? Just what is Claire's mother hiding? Can the detectives get the priest Father Murray to reveal her secret? And where was Darren really when Finlay went missing? And Claire's sister Theresa, who was seen traipsing through the snow nearby...does she have something to do with Finlay's disappearance?

There is so much happening in HER MISSING CHILD but with its short snappy chapters and clear outline, it was very easy to follow. Unlike a few other books where I have on occasion confused the odd character, there was none of that here. Everyone had a part to play, some small and some major, but each on their own were important to the story and the direction of the investigation. But which one of them is guilty?

I love the untangling of all the secrets and lies that are always feature highly in psychological thrillers and procedurals, and this one is no different. From the reader's perspective we see some secrets but not all, and we watch with baited breath as each of them come to light and unravel before our eyes. And at the risk of sounding slightly unhinged, I'm a real sucker for missing child thrillers and investigations.

HER MISSING CHILD deals with two mental health conditions - post natal depression and bipolar disorder - and Kerry Watts deals with both topics with thought and sensitivity. Although this isn't the first "mother-with-post-natal-depression" story I've read, I think it's the first with bipolar and it added a different dimension to the story. We are left to ponder if that plays a part in the investigation, whilst sympathising at the same time.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this series but this one is so much more. I have loved Jessie and Dylan from the starts but here they really come into their own. I have enjoyed watching their characters develop as we get further glimpses into their backstories. Where "Heartlands" finished off with Dan watching her flat in the shadows of the night, HER MISSING CHILD ends with even more promise of what's to come. And I can't wait for the third installment in this series to see where it takes us. The tension surrounding Jessie's ex, Dan, is palpable and you just know that's not going to end well as we await the explosion that is sure to come.

Despite being the second in the series, HER MISSING CHILD can be read as  a standalone, with snippets into Jessie's past enough to keep you in the loop.

HER MISSING CHILD is everything you could want in a police procedural and more. It has heart and sensitivity, and both Jessie and Dylan are thoroughly likable. I cannot wait to see what Kerry Watts has in store for us next!

Highly recommended.

I would like to thank #KerryWatts, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #HerMissingChild in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Heartlands by Kerry Watts (ARC)

Heartlands (DI Jessie Blake #1) by Kerry Watts

Genre: Crime Fiction, Police Procedural

Read: 28th March 2019

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(release date: 21st March 2019)

★★★★★ 5 stars

Before I started this book, I did what I always do and read some of the other reviews to get a feel for the general consensus. Despite others' opinions, I still go in with an open mind - which may sound strange considering I check out the reviews beforehand with the idea of what to expect - because when I open the book, it's my opinion and my opinion alone that decides whether I am going to enjoy it or not.

Having said that, I began HEARTLANDS with no real expectations beyond what the description outlined. So of course I was surprised by the mediocre reviews of the book when I found it completely intriguing and compelling! So much so that I read it in two sittings, reading over 70% of the book right through to the end and staying up till almost 3am just to finish it! For me, this is a fantastic start to what I envision to be a promising series and I look forward to reading more of Jessie Blake in the near future.

HEARTLANDS begins some 20 years prior with the horrific rape and murder of local teenage girl, Sophie Nicoll, for which two boys of the same age were convicted. The detail of the crime through the eyes of these boys is both graphic and intense while at the same time terrifying for the girl. Although the POV is from that of the boys' you can still feel Sophie's terror at the same time.

Fast forward some 20 years and the disappearance of another teenage girl of similar age and appearance in Iverlochty in Perthshire, Scotland sends alarm bells ringing. But what does Shannon Ross' disappearance have to do with Sophie's murder in the North East of England two decades before? Are the cases somehow related?

These are questions the reader asks themselves throughout while Jessie Blake, newly promoted Detective Inspector transferred to Perthshire from London, and her partner DC Dylan Logan are not privy to this fact until nearer the end. But that doesn't stop us, the readers, from wondering and trying to find a link. While we get bits and pieces of the puzzle before the detectives, we are no nearer to piecing them together to form the bigger picture any quicker either. But don't let that deter you. There is a lot to sink you teeth into in this book.

To start with, HEARTLANDS is told in dual timelines from the previous crime to the present one, and from various perspectives. While none of it is in the first person, the third person POV enables us to be privy from just about everyone's perspectives and little pieces of their secrets. But how do we put them all together to make sense of the bigger picture? Honestly? I didn't care. I just enjoyed the ride just to see how it came to an end. I have always enjoyed dual timelines as they give us a wider perspective and this one was a whole lot wider with a completely different story unfolding in the first instance to the one coming to light in the present day.

Some have said there are too many characters with too many subplots to make sense of it all. But I disagree. Yes, there were a lot of characters but that was because there were two separate stories unfolding throughout. I do agree that some characters didn't seem to have a real purpose and just suddenly disappeared without any real reason from the story while I felt they could have been built on a little more, particularly as two that come to mind specifically for me from both timelines had such an impact on two separate characters that they deserved a little more time spent on and with them in those cases. One character seemed to be integral to the story at one point and then suddenly was gone! It all seemed a bit, well, sudden. Some aspects of the present day story did seem a little convoluted which could have been smoothed out a little better. However, having said that, at no point was I confused with who was who and with what fitted where. I was completely immersed within both stories as I watched each of them unfold and finally merge.

The main characters in HEARTLANDS, aside from Jessie and Dylan, were Rob and Cassie and Louise and Jason. Both couples were well rounded in the sense that the reader really gets to know them as well as empathise with them. As their stories centre around Shannon's disappearance we really see the core of each of them, though some more than others. The other central characters at the periphery of the story is Eric (Shannon's best friend), Ben (Shannon's uncle and Louise's brother) and Andrew Foster (a schizophrenic man Shannon looks out for while her uncle Ben and his friends ridicule him). Other periphery charcters are Blair Crawford (the journalist who covered Sophie's murder) and Tom Nicoll (Sophie's older brother) - both who have their place in the story. I would have liked to have seen a little more of Eric considering he was Shannon's best friend, and as best friends go they are normally the key to every teenage girl's secrets and the heart of their story. I did think Blair Crawford was a little redundant in the present day storyline as he didn't really do anything. And what was the note that was pushed under his door that he silently thanked Tom Nicoll for? We never really saw that play out.

The characters in the Daniel Simpson storyline in the aftermath of Sophie's murder were also well rounded, apart from the support worker Gail Robertson. I felt as she'd had such an impact on Daniel that she should have had a little more depth because by the next chapter in that storyline she'd suddenly departed. The fact that her departure had had such an impact on Daniel that he responded in such a negative way meant that her presence in his life had meant something to him. While his psychologist and social worker both were present through most of his storyline, I felt Gail should have had a bigger part to play also. Her sudden departure explained in a subplot kind of way just felt a little too dismissive of her importance to him. 

As for Jessie Blake - I like her. Though we have only just scratched the surface with her backstory still lurking, I quite enjoyed the time I spent with her and Dylan, whom I also liked. I hope to see them both paired up again in future cases despite them both being in different parts of Perthshire. Yes, I would have loved to know more about Jessie although the focus here was mainly on the case at hand. But we did get little snippets sprinkled throughout the book to whet our appetites. And we were given that cliffhanger at the end in case we needed more. But so far, all we know about Jessie is that she moved to Perthshire from London to escape a past and a secret; that she was married, her husband's name was Dan and he went to prison; that she had a son; that she has an old friend called Carol who was constantly texting; she has a sister called Freya, a mother called Moira, a neighbour called Dave and a Russian Blue cat named Smokey. That... and now she lives in fear of Dan finding her. Anything beyond that, we'll have to wait for the next book!

I have to mention that I really liked the fact that Shannon was a well-liked kind-hearted girl. She was not the town bitch that got what she deserved, as the case is with many victims of these types of books. She really was just a lovely girl.

HEARTLANDS isn't the type of thriller you'd expect. It's not edge-of-your-seat but it is intriguing and it is compelling. It's a police procedural with a difference. The setting in the Scottish highlands of Perthshire gives it a different edge. I like it. When the killer is revealed it's unexpected but not a shocking twist. This book was much more than that. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this gripping thriller with a difference.

I would like to thank #KerryWatts, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for this deliciously disturbing ARC of #Heartlands in exchange for an honest review.