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This is one of those stories that could really happen and to tell you the truth, it scared me to death. A baby is found on the steps of a library and brought to the hospital where they run a DNA test. The test shows that the baby is related to missing woman Debbie Jenkins, a woman who is married with two children and who has been missing for four years. What happened to Debbie? And who is the father of the baby? The premise behind the story is a good one but this book was just too long for itself. It started out with a bang and then started losing my interest halfway through because there was no more new information. The kidnapper was a complete psychopath and a lot of the story had to do with him torturing her and her living in the most disgusting conditions ever. A little too realistic but that’s not why I gave it only 3 stars. It was a little too long and the main Detective Gina Harte was a big mess herself. She wasn’t a very likeable character at all.

Thank you to Netgalley, Carla Kovach, and Bookouture for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The first book in the DI Gina Harte series and shaping up to be a thrilling new series. The book opens with an abandoned baby, linked to a missing person case. The pace is good and there is some really excellent characterisation with Gina and Luke, the husband of the missing woman. Very realistic dialogue filled with emotions of love, sadness and elation. I would like to see more detail in book 2 and less description of the symptoms of the common cold! A nice twist at the end and a 4 stars from me. Thanks to Net Galley for my copy. I reviewed on Goodreads, Amazon and Facebook.

I love a good thriller and this one was that. It pulled me in and didn’t let go. I look forward to more.

I received an ARC from NetGalley. The below is my honest, unbiased opinion. Thank you, Carla Kovach, the publisher, and NetGalley, for allowing me to read an early copy.

She thought he’d come to save her. She was wrong.

Deborah Jenkins pulls her coat around her as she sets out on her short walk home in the pouring rain. But she never makes it home that night. And she is never seen again …

Four years later, an abandoned baby girl is found wrapped in dirty rags on a doorstep. An anonymous phone call urges the police to run a DNA test on the baby. But nobody is prepared for the results.

The newborn belongs to Deborah. She’s still alive.

The Next Girl is a gripping, thriller, mysterious, and unique story. I devoured this book in one sitting and highly recommend that you do the same. The twists and turns are great, the plot was exciting, and the characters were fantastically written. What a wonderful start to a new series! Highly recommend.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

DI Gina Harte is called into the case of a newborn baby dumped in bad weather. When the baby has her dna tested it matches that of a missing lady. The fallout in trying to determine is she still alive and who has her will be monumental.

Wow I loved this book and the backstory with Gina was also an interesting thread. Can’t wait for the second book

What a great start to a series! I was hooked from the beginning and I loved Detective Gina Harte! This book kept me wanting to read more and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. The bouncing to new people and years didn't bother me in this book. Some books this is very distracting to me but not here. I think it was needed and added a different element to this book. I really liked this book and can't books for book 2. *I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.*

Thank you netgalley and bookcouture for an ARC of this book! I struggled to get into it at first but once I did, it was an absolute page turner. It wasn't predictable which is a must in this genre! I'm giving it four stars because the ending seemed a tad rushed and didn't give the reader enough of a visual into how things concluded. Without giving anything away, I would've loved to have seen more with Luke and she together as well as DI Harte and her daughter at the end. Still, it was a great read and I will be looking out for this authors next book!

An actual heart warming detective novel.
Loved it from start to finish. Missing for years happy ending . Been a long time since I didn’t hate any of the characters apart from the obvious

Brilliant read. Really hope that this is a continuing series. Loved the characters.Lots of potential for developing sub plots, not just with Gina but the rest of her team too. Great main plot, which keeps you turning the pages. Very well written, a book you can get into immediately from the first page

This first detective novel in a new series was a fun read! Characters were relatable, storyline was intriguing (an abandoned baby is found on a library step with the DNA of a woman kidnapped 4 years prior) , and there was enough tension to keep the pages turning. I'm looking forward to additional Gina Harte stories. Thanks Netgalley and publishers for an opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Police Procedural done right. The first in a new series is so well done that this will be the book everyone talks about this summer, until Fall when we all learn who is going to be making the movie!

Thx to Netgalley, Bookoutre, and Carla Kovach for this ARC, The storyline was good : a kidnapping coming back to the forefront , and a female detective, struggling with her own issues, and their families coming to deal with it. This is a good start to a series by this author. Looking forward to see where it all goes.

I am not a big crime thriller reader but every now and again after reading a lot of women’s fiction I like to read something completely different. I loved the Angela Marsons books which kept me guessing and had a strong female protagonist so I was looking for a book that offers another strong heroine but that will keep me guessing so when I saw the appealing cover of The Next Girl by Carla Kovach I read the synopsis and couldn’t wait to see what this author had in store for me.
When a new born baby is left outside in the freezing cold night air and a call is made to Detective Inspector Gina Harte little does she know that a case that she never managed to solve was about to re-open and this time she is determined to get to the bottom of the case.
Deborah has been missing for over four years, her husband and their two children have had to move on with their lives never knowing what happened to Deborah. When Luke receives an unexpected visit from Gina with news that Deborah it seems is still alive he is full with mixed emotions.
Deborah having given birth to a baby girl is desperate to be reunited with her family but she has no way of escaping her capture and she is growing weaker by the day.
Will DI manage to find any clues to lead her to Deborah’s whereabouts?
This was a captivating read that had me hooked from the first page. The book is told from Luke, DI Gina, the capture and Deborah’s point of views which gives us a big insight into what is going on and has the reader shouting at the characters desperate for them to act on things that could lead them to Deborah.
There was continuously something happening in the book and it flowed at a fast paced, each time with the perpetrator getting too close for comfort. The desperation which Devorah felt flowed through the pages and I was willing for her to be able to escape or be found.
Because this is going to be a series of books we also begin to find out DI Gina Hartes’ background and although it did give depth to her character and made us see why she was so determined to put this case above and beyond everything at times I did get frustrated reading about her as I was desperate to get back to the case! I love how we are kept guessing as to who has Deborah captive right up until the last few chapters. I had my suspicions as to who I thought had her and what their motives were but we are given a few clues that slightly led us down the wrong path which made us keep guessing!
I really enjoyed this book and I will definitely be looking to read more in the series as they are released.

The Next Girl by Karla Kovach is a solid crime thriller that is not heavy on dramatic twists but is more focused on the investigation. In this case, the police are baffled when DNA results link a newborn baby to a woman who disappeared four years ago. This new turn is what reignites interest in Debbie’s disappearance.

The lead detective in this story is Gina. I can’t even explain just how much I liked her. Gina is so real, relatable and she has one tough backstory. I know almost all crime thrillers have detectives with haunted pasts but with Gina, it felt different. I really liked this lady and was rooting for her all the way.

As I have mentioned, the investigation was the key part of this narrative. I feel like it was realistically portrayed. There were door to door interviews, media appeals and DNA tests that didn’t magically give results in an hour. The detectives followed each clue to get answers. I also liked the portrayal of the day to day lives of the cops. The detectives fell ill, others were training for a marathon, there is one whose wife was always baking something for the cops, all these made it feel like they were cops in a real police station.

I liked the fact that the family of the missing woman featured strongly in the story. I have always heard about people disappearing without a trace. This book gave me insight on what life might be like for the families left behind. The pain of not knowing whether their loved one is alive or dead. The misery of searching without answers. The lack of closure that makes it hard to move on. I can’t even imagine how traumatic it is to lose a loved one without knowing exactly what happened.

I guessed who the baddie was from the minute that this person was introduced in the story. This did not affect my interest in the story though. I was still captivated by the investigation and wanted to know exactly how the cops would make the connection. In the end, I was satisfied by how the case was closed.

This is the first book in the Detective Gina Harte series. Although the case was closed, there are issues in Gina’s personal life that still need to be resolved. I can’t wait to catch up with this detective in the next book. This is one series that I will be following keenly.

What a gripping, tense start to a new detective series which looks set to be a new favourite! Although it focuses on Detective Gina Harte, the book didn't feel like your average crime novel - though a lot of it fits the 'police procedural' format (which, I should point out, I am a big fan of, so nothing to complain about there), a good portion of the story also takes place from the victim's point of view and from that of missing person Deborah Jenkins' husband, and this adds a fresh take on the story and, to me, makes it more of a crime thriller - and a really engaging one at that!

Gina herself is a great character - she has her faults and quirks but she adds a lot of interest to the story. The Next Girl is also a stark reminder of how hard the police have to fight to run certain tests; it really highlights the pressure they're under due to cuts in funding which I found very interesting (though worrying too, of course, as I am aware this element is sadly not complete fiction).

I loved the way the story cuts between different people; it keeps you guessing and reading on, and add that extra element of who exactly is telling the truth. It has just the right balance between action, threat, and fast-paced detective work - all wrapped up into a great start to an exciting and promising new crime series!

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookoutre for the opportunity to preview this book.

It’s a decent police drama about a kidnapped woman and how her family cope, whilst the police reopen the investigation. The description of the husband and how his wife’s disappearance affects him and the children is moving, as is the thread of domestic violence that’s weaved throughout. However, it didn’t grab me and so, for me, it’s a 3* read.

I can’t recommend this book highly enough! I loved it!!! The plot was thrilling, it had me hooked from the first page, I couldn’t put this book done. The way the story unravelled was brilliant, it kept the reader guessing until the end. Five stars from me! I can’t wait until the next book in this series comes out.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Carla Kovach for the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

oks
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Sandy *The world could end while I was reading and I would never notice* Jones
Sandy *The world could end while I was reading and I would never notice* Jones's Reviews > The Next Girl

The Next Girl by Carla Kovach
The Next Girl (Detective Gina Harte, #1)
by Carla Kovach (Goodreads Author)
30817744
Sandy *The world could end while I was reading and I would never notice* Jones's review Apr 07, 2018 · edit
really liked it
bookshelves: 2018, netgalley-arc, new-to-me-author, 4-star, contemporary-fiction, crime, thriller, mystery, family-drama

EXCERPT: 'When you smile, you make me the happiest man alive. Make me happy and I make you happy. Do you trust me?' She nodded.
'Good. Breakfast will be served in a minute.' He pulled the door closed as he continued to whistle. She listened as he took the plates from the cupboard and slammed them onto the countertop. He then turned the portable television on and she heard the sound of a morning news show. As he turned up the volume, the cries she'd suppressed burst out. Sobbing, she clenched the blanket and silently screamed into it. As she drew her legs towards her chest, her body leaked more liquid. She lifted one leg off the other and yelped as pain seared through her body. The ankle chain cluttered as she moved her other leg.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: She thought he’d come to save her. She was wrong.

Deborah Jenkins pulls her coat around her as she sets out on her short walk home in the pouring rain. But she never makes it home that night. And she is never seen again …

Four years later, an abandoned baby girl is found wrapped in dirty rags on a doorstep. An anonymous phone call urges the police to run a DNA test on the baby. But nobody is prepared for the results.

The newborn belongs to Deborah. She’s still alive.

MY THOUGHTS: The Next Girl is an encouraging start to a new series featuring DI Gina Harte. I wouldn't go quite so far as to classify it as a police procedural, I thought that some of the investigative techniques left something to be desired, but it does develop into a good crime thriller.

Even after learning Gina's background, I didn't at first like her. She seemed to be a caricature of most major female detectives currently being written - heavy drinking, hard-nosed, has been in an abusive relationship, estranged from family. However as the book progressed her character seemed to soften and mature and my feelings towards her mellowed accordingly.

There are a few interesting personalities amongst the cast of supporting characters and I look forward to seeing how they develop and grow.

This is a good solid 3.5 star read and I look forward to more from this author.

Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital copy of The Next Girl for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system.

This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

A baby is found abandoned and DNA tests shows the babys mother is Deborahs a woman who disappeared without a trace 4 years ago.
Such an original and great story line and it deserves a 5 star rating.
The Next Girl is a fantastic book and I loved the detective Gina Harte chatacter who has her own demons to cope with. Very well written and the search for Deborah keeps readers gripped from start to finish. The author describes the story from every angle and does it well. I see she has another book out in August which i will definitely be reading.

The Next Girl is a decent police procedural with some interesting characters and a good plot, but I’m afraid it did not blow me away. This may not solely be a reflection of the book – it may be because I’ve read a number of similar books recently: many police procedurals, with lots of lead detectives with secrets and several missing persons.

I think the main issue for me was the pacing: the first 25% of the book covers the police finding out what we the readers already know from the half a dozen lines of book blurb, so for a quarter of the book it felt like there was no mystery or tension; we were just waiting for the police to catch up. For me, it took until about the halfway point before the pace really picked up; things got moving then and I enjoyed the second half much more.

I liked the characters of Gina and Jacob and their colleagues – particularly Wyre and O’Connor – and it was perhaps a refreshing change to see such a pressured team with no (negative) inter-personal tensions. The subplot of seeing things developing from Debbie’s husband and mother, Luke and Cathy’s, points of view gave it an original slant and those parts of the book really pulled on the heartstrings. Although the tension ratchets up in the final third, and there is a satisfying and rational reveal, I do not feel that it was fair to have promised a “heart-stopping twist”.

I would be interested to see more from Gina and to see how her relationship with her daughter pans out, as well as her new-ish romantic relationship. (And to see what O’Connor’s wife might bake next!)

As always, I am grateful to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of The Next Girl.