Four years after Deborah Jenkins vanished while walking home from work, a startling discovery is made: a DNA test links her to an abandoned baby. With time ticking away, D.I. Gina Harte and her team swiftly launch an investigation to locate and rescue Debbie

The Next Girl by Carla Kovach marks the debut of the Detective Gina Harte police procedural thriller series. Featuring a compelling female lead, this emotionally charged and suspenseful novel kept me thoroughly engaged. Looking forward to reading the next installment in this gripping series,

I would like to thank Bookouture & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review

Gripping and suspenseful! A very well-written book with wonderfully-interesting characters. The tension builds at just the right pace as the story unfolds. Will keep you swiping the pages furiously. Worthy of your TBR list.

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book from in order to read and provide a voluntary and honest review, should I choose to do so.

This book started off with such promise but midway through it lost me. The story seemed a little flat and I could not feel any connection with the characters enough to finish this book or carry on with the series.. There were also so many plot holes that it was hard to deal with.

Omg talk about a roller coaster read wow this book kept me on the edge of my seat threw out I just couldn't put it down this writer keeps you hooked and once your hooked your not letting go I found this book thrilling the characters were fantastic and well thought out and the little clues all the way threw keep you guessing until the end this book stays with you long after you close the book this book is well worth the read I promise you wont be disappointed

Deborah Jenkins went out one night and never made it home. Her case grew cold almost immediately, without any information regarding her disappearance.

Four years later, a baby is abandoned, left wrapped in rags. As the police start their investigation, an anonymous call changes everything. Will Detective Gina Harte be able to figure out the connection between the baby and the cold case?

I am a big fan of police procedural thrillers, but I was disappointed in The Next Girl as a whole. The case of the abandoned baby was almost dwarfed by Gina's personal issues with her daughter. The decision the detective made to not tell her daughter the truth does not seem in character with someone of Gina's moral character. The peek into the mind of a criminal was not fully realized, as his mannerisms were exaggerated and comical at times. Overall, The Next Girl was a missed opportunity by the author and, for that reason, I would not recommend it to others.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy via NetGalley and the publisher, Bookouture. The choice to review The Next Girl was my own.

I really enjoyed this first in a series starring Detective Gina Harte, a strong female character with a heart of gold. In this book a baby has been found abandoned outside of a library and a DNA test shows the baby belongs to a woman who disappeared four years ago and the race to find her is on. Very well written and suspenseful.

I’ve been taking a bit of a break from “police procedures “ in books as they were getting a bit blurred around the edges. I needed a clean my palette.

Anyway, this might change with this book I’ve just caught up with on my backlist!
This was so good.

Obviously this was out in 2018 so I’m guessing without looking yet, that there is at least a book 2?

A girl vanishes. Never found, then years later a baby is found and DNA proves that the baby belongs to the missing girl many years later.

That’s all I needed to read before jumping into this.

The actual police procedures were there of course but the story overwhelmed me so much I sort of ignored the fact and saw it as a vital I put to the story.

Edge of your seat
Gasping moments of OMG’S in several places.

Have you read this?
What do you think?

This is the first in a series. I always enjoy reading debut books. Mostly with series I like to have a few out in case of cliffhangers. I have some catching up to do as seventh is due out soon!

I really liked Gina Harte, and her team. They gel well together. I liked hearing snippets of their lives as this makes the characters feel more real. I find I can relate more with characters when you hear about their relationships and home life.

The only thing I didn’t like was the fact we didn’t get a resolution on the characters. And why the person did what they did. I found the tag line misleading saying a heart stopping twist. I didn’t see any.

The plot was difficult to read but well written and I am looking forward to reading more in the series.

Thanks goes to net galley and the publishers for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book in the Detective Gina Harte series. A very good police crime thriller that I really enjoyed. The story was good and I like the way we learn about the characters personal lives also. However the constant reference to coughing up phlegm, spitting into handkerchiefs, mucus in throat etc was turning my stomach. Not really a need to keep mentioning it at every opportunity. People get colds but why it could not just be left at that. For this reason it’s a 3.5 star read for me. However it will in no way stop me reading the other books in this series as I think it’s going to be an excellent series.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to review this book and to be an early reader via NetGalley! However, I will not be writing a review for this title at this time, as my reading preferences have since changed somewhat. In the event that I decide to review the book in the future, I will make sure to purchase a copy for myself or borrow it from a library. Once again, thank you so much for providing me with early access to this title. I truly appreciate it. Please feel free to contact me with any follow-up questions or concerns.

I'd like to thank the publishers via NetGalley for this copy to review.

I have had this one on my kindle for a while now and finally decided to give it a go. I am so glad I did. Absolutely heart stopping thriller. I could not put this book down, and finished in a single day. I can't wait to read more of Detective Gina Harte. Great book!

Gina Harte is a complex and interesting character, who I really enjoyed reading about. I thought the book was well written and the story was interesting, filled with suspense! Made me want to read more of the Gina Harte books!

This is the first book in a new series, and I just can see it going places!! I loved the book from beginning to end. Imagine your wife goes missing, and four years later her baby is found abandoned..... where do you start searching for her? The book was well written and a thrilling ride from beginning to end! Recommended.

The first part of the Gina Harte series was a decent read. i expected more suspense but overall a good read. I hope subsequent books deliver more.

The story begins with random occurrences about a kidnapping, a murder and then a child abandonment investigation. And the story begins from this point. No one knows from where the child came, only that she is a new born and her umbilical chord was not cut properly, indicating that her mother might still be critical. Haunted by her own past, Gina Harte is in charge of the investigation and makes very less head way at the beginning of the investigation. The story then jumps back to Debbie, lady kidnapped and the mother of the baby who has been locked up by a psycho all these years. She is dreading her child's future and convinces her kidnapper, also the baby's father to call the police and tell them to do a blood test on the baby. She is hoping that the tests will allow the baby to reach own mom and husband. Luke, Debbie husband is stuck in his past with no closure. He doesn't what happened, but he knows that Debbie was perfect for him. When he is deliberating his future, he gets a call from Gina informing that his wife has delivered a baby somewhere, pushing the investigation ahead in full force. Gina now has it confirmed that Debbie is very much alive and at the mercy of her kidnapper. Gina is hell bent on finding who the perpetrator is.. Will she reach Debbie on time ? How was Debbie taken ? How has she been off radar all these years ? Are Luke and the new born baby safe ?

Very slow investigation. You know the typical remote town kind of.. where things don't move ahead unless some huge tip lands in your lap.. Which was so disappointing.. Also, in thrillers we have a list of possible suspects, something to build up on the thrill. The lack of clues or investigative instincts put a huge dent in the proceedings for me. I almost lost all hope in the end. The perpetrator seemed so out of context to me, and everything happened only in the last few chapters. There were heart breaking moments, but it did not make up for the lack of thrill. Also Gina and her boss do not have any chemistry. So bland.. I really wanted to like this story, but it failed to impress me. Where are the mind games, criminal traps to force the kidnapper to make a mistake, some good ol' door-to-door info gathering.. some thing different..

**A good storyline with a good character that I am interested in seeing how she develops. The downside is it isn't as gripping/suspenseful as we are led to believe from the cover or tagline. Which was a disappointment.

This is a really promising start into what I think will be a great detective series. i lllk forward to hearing more about Gina. 3.5*

This was pretty enjoyable, I have to say. For a debut in a series, it hit mostly all the right notes. But at the same time, it was missing aspects that I look for to really make a procedural more than just the typical.

What I’m really trying to get at using my food-coma sluggish brain, is this: the novel takes place in the UK. Where? Who knows, you’re never really told, either explicitly or generally. I eventually picked up on it because of the UK expressions. What does the main character, DI Gina Harte, look like? Couldn’t even begin to tell you. I know she has hair because you are told she has hair. Typically a novel like this would take me 7+ hours to read, this one only took 5, just to give you a general idea of how much I feel could have been added to amp things up.

Where is all the in-between information that brings a story, a setting, an atmosphere, to life? Where are all the red herrings and clues and misdirection and “twists” (promised right on the cover) that are necessary when crafting a “thriller” crime story? Put up some fucking missing posters.

In terms of plot, this was pretty straightforward. Which most people will not care about, but I’m picky.

The case DI Harte and her people are working on has no real surprises, or mid-point escalations and obstacles. It’s just A to Z, progress along as you would expect. Then they’ve caught the guy and wrapped it all up in a nice bow. I get that in real life, that’s usually how it works. I’ve watched enough The First 48 to understand reality. But I’m not reading these books to be in reality, I’m reading them to escape it. To feel some heightened emotions, to tap into my empathy and outrage and gross-out factor. These crimes should be dialed up to 11. They should take you on a ride. An evil fucking ride.

That kind of tension is missing, the pulse-accelerating feeling as you get as you move through a story that is hitting the gas on suspense and thrills. See: Meg Gardiner.

Where this book really excels in my opinion, is in the main character of Gina Harte. Kovach did an excellent job in crafting DI Harte as a full person. Her past, her relationship with her daughter, her dedication to the job. I felt like I really understood where this character was coming from, even if I didn’t get a physical picture of her.

I loved the juxtaposition that was created between Gina’s past and present. Her marriage to her former abusive asshole husband ended when he died after a fall down the stairs. Did she push him? Did she push him just a little, to be sure he was really falling? Did she just not attempt to save him? Is there a difference?

She’s a cop who has dedicated her life to solving homicides and she’s not even sure if she committed one herself. THAT is brilliant plotting.

But truthfully, without DI Harte being as strong in characterization as she was, this book would be a dud. The crime everything revolved around was too linear, too much of a flat liner on an vital signs monitor. But because of her, I’ll be back for the next one in the series.

Really enjoyed the first book in this series and hope I get to read more. I got sucked in to the story quickly and especially enjoyed the dynamics between Gina and her team. I'm glad that the abuse of Debbie wasn't over done as I would have found that difficult to read. Your imagination fills in all the blanks whilst still giving enough information for you to feel for her and to be disturbed by her awful living conditions. The story was fast paced and kept you interested and wanting to read more. I look forward to more from Find and Briggs. She deserves some happiness in her life.

Luke is trying to pull his life back together as his wife Debbie’s disappearance turned into a cold case. Four years after her disappearance a baby is abandoned on a cold, rainy night. After an anonymous tip, police decide to run a DNA test. The results point to Debbie being the mom, so the case isn’t reopened. I really enjoyed reading this book. It jumps between three story lines: Luke, Debbie and the main detective. It was a quick engaging read that I did not want to put down. Is Luke’s family in danger? Will they be able to apprehend her capture before it is too late?