Wednesday, November 20, 2019

REVIEW - Her Dark Heart


Today is my stop on the Blog Tour for Her Dark Heart by Carla Kovach.


DESCRIPTION:

Rory is waiting at the door of the pre-school – a painted picture of his mother Susan in his small hand. But Susan isn’t going to see the picture, because she has vanished.

Susan Wheeler is a devoted mother. She would do anything for her three children. She drops them off and picks them up every single day. Until one day when Susan kisses them goodbye and then never comes to pick them up.

Susan’s mother Mary is worried. Susan is recently divorced and has been finding things hard recently, but she loves her kids – she’d never leave them.

Susan’s sister Clare is furious. It’s just like her to go missing. It’s not the first time, either. Susan has always been a troublemaker. Always seeking attention. She knows Susan has been lying to the family for years. And she knows that Susan has been sneaking out of her family home for weeks…

As the hours turn into days, even Clare becomes fearful for Susan. And, when Mary discovers Susan’s diary, she begins to uncover a dark secret from her childhood. Something no one in the family knew. When the final diary entry leads the police to a man who is discovered dead in a local park, they’re left wondering whether Susan has vanished because she is a victim. Or because she is a suspect…

An explosively compelling crime thriller from bestselling author Carla Kovach – if you love Lisa Gardner, Robert Bryndza or Clare Mackintosh, you’ll love Her Dark Heart.


BUY LINKS:

Amazon: https://geni.us/B07WZMKTB6Social
Apple Books: https://apple.co/347kkWi
Kobo: http://bit.ly/326Hsmb
Googleplay: http://bit.ly/2MJQLEP



MY THOUGHTS:

Title:   Her Dark Heart
Author:  Carla Kovach
Series:  Detective Gina Harte #5
Genre:   Mystery/Thrillers
Publisher:  Bookouture
Format:  Kindle ARC
No. of Pages:   349
Date of Publication:  November 19, 2019
My Rating:  4.5 Stars

When Susan, divorced mother of three, disappears, there are mixed reactions. On the one hand, her mother Mary is very concerned. Conversely, her sister Clare is perturbed and is certain that Susan's disappearance is a repeat of her past actions. 

Detective Gina Harte is on the scene, hoping to discover what happened to Susan. She makes more than one visit to the family, including Susan's ex-husband, and Mary's home. Currently, Susan's ex is caring for their two daughters, and Mary has the couple's young son. Meanwhile, Clare and her son are living at home with Mary and her husband. Tensions are definitely on the rise, especially as Clare's feelings towards Susan are made clear.

Mary has secreted some things from the police, things she found while searching her daughter's home. She unearthed Susan's diary and reluctantly shares information with Gina. Susan had been hiding secrets from her past, and the investigation leads to the body of a man somehow connected to Susan. Gina cannot help but wonder, is Susan a victim or guilty of the man's murder? Is her disappearance much more than meets the eye? 

Meanwhile, the story shifts back and forth between the search for Susan, while at the same time sharing the perspective of the guilty party, with more than one victim ending up in danger. Despite these entries, I was completely surprised as to what was eventually revealed.

What a riveting story!  The dual timelines were intriguing, especially when the mystery element became rather thrilling. Meanwhile, the family drama was compelling. And the conclusion, shocking beyond belief! This is the fifth book in the Detective Gina Harte series. Having had the opportunity to read the previous two titles, I have come to admire Gina and her work ethic. I look forward to continuing with this series.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Carla Kovach was born in Birmingham, UK and now resides in Redditch, Worcestershire. Author of supernatural drama 'Flame,' psychological thriller 'To Let,' crime thriller 'Whispers Beneath the Pines,' and holiday comedy, 'Meet Me at Marmaris Castle.' Carla also writes stage and screenplays, some of which have been produced in the Worcestershire area. Her feature film 'Penny for the Guy' is being made and is set for release in 2019.

Her latest book, Her Dark Heart, has been published by Bookouture. It is the fifth book in the DI Gina Harte crime series.

Author Social Media Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarlaKovachAuthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CKovachAuthor
Website: https://griffbuck.wordpress.com/


14 comments:

  1. This looks tasty - lovely review, Robin

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  2. This sounds like a good series! I've added the books onto my TBR list. Great review!

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  3. Oh I am absolutely checking out this book! I love these kinds of books.

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  4. Oh! I just saw this on another blog! Glad it was a win for you, I've only seen good things so far. Great review!

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  5. I'm so glad that you enjoyed this! Looks like it would be a great book for mystery fans!

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  6. This book keeps popping up. Seems like everyone are enjoying it.

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  7. Great review, I enjoyed the book too. I've only read from book three onward, have you read the first two in the series? I'm wondering whether I should go back and read them at some point.

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    1. Thank you. I really need to go back to the beginning of the series. I only read 3-5.

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  8. This sounds like my kind of read. How many books in the series so far?

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    1. There are five books in the series, but I only read the last three. Going to try and get to the first two soon.

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  9. Been hearing about this a lot. Glad you loved it

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  10. Great review Robin, I'm really glad that you are fully enjoying reading this book series so far in. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome post.

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