This is the first DI Gina Harte book that I have read, and I loved it. It hooks you from the very beginning and keeps hold until the very last word.

This book sees Gina and her team struggle find the murderer of Jade Ashmore who is found bludgeoned to death after attending a party with her husband.

Seven years before a local woman Samantha had disappeared, and her friend Diane has never recovered. So she finds it strange when a birthday card addressed to Samantha is delivered to her house. Inside she finds a fingernail, which she assumes to be Samantha’s, however the police find it to be Jades’s.

How are Samantha and Jade linked? Is the same person responsible and is Samantha still alive? Gina and her team have to answer all these questions plus Gina has her own issues to contend with. Can she keep her underlying problems separate from her worklife?

This an excellent read, and I look forward to reading the others in the series.

Best one yet!
I love this series, and I love Gina Harte, but this one really was the best of the 4. A young woman is brutally murdered on her way back from a party and Gina and the team are called in to investigate.
There are several suspects, some questionable characters and even someone from Gina’s past!
Each book we learn a little more about what happened with Gina and Terry - her deceased ex husband, and each book shows her vulnerability more.
I am also a little in love with Briggs and just wish she would hurry up and lock it down! They clearly love each other!
If I could give this 10 stars I would - it ticked all my reading boxes and now o feel a bit lost that it’s finished. Next one please ..... x

Compulsive reading, this is an addictive suspenseful psychological thriller like no other.

The plot is unpredictable with lots of twists and turns along with solid engaging characters.
There is also a sense of dread as the story deals with the deep and dark corners of the human psych.

I very much enjoyed this and would recommend it to anyone!

I've been following the chronicles of Gina Harte for quite some time now and the Liar's House is a wonderful new addition to it. The book opens with a dark and menacing incident that hooks you right in. Carla Kovach has expertly managed to keep that atmosphere going throughout the book so this one is really unputdownable.

When Samantha never makes it home after a party, no one but her best friend Diane is left heartbroken. Samantha was known to have quite an ugly reputation and only Diane understood the real her. Seven years later, on what would have been her thirty-fifth birthday, Diane is shocked to find a letter addressed to Samantha on her doorstep. When Diane pulls out a finger-nail painted in the exact same shade Samantha wore along with a birthday card, she knows that something really wrong happened to her best friend.
When the police analyze the nail, they don’t get the result they expected. Instead of linking the nail to Samantha, the nail belongs to another woman, Jade Ashmore. And Jade was murdered the night before the envelope was delivered…. Are both cases liked? Will Gina solve both cases - the death of Jade and the disappearance of Samantha in time before the deranged killer strikes again?

While I love all characters including Gina in this series, I can't help but notice some lines that give me the impression that Gina is not a team-player. To Gina, collaring the murderer herself is seemingly more important than them getting caught is what I perceived. I also missed seeing Gina's daughter and grand-daughter in this book as they were mentioned only in passing. However, the plot of this book was very good and whatever be Gina's demons and flaws she always comes out on top and that's what matters. All throughout the book, Gina experiences an array of emotions - but I loved the last few chapters where we see more of Gina's empathy and her budding friendship with Diane. Can't wait to read the next!

Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture and Carla Kovach for an arc!

Glad for another book in this series as Iam a huge fan. Each book in this series is better than the previous one

Like the others in the series this book is well written and has an amazing story line

This is another gripping, fast-paced thriller with lots of twists and turns, with a surprising twist at the end that I didn’t see coming. Four stars from me. The book moved at a swift pace, a good mystery with a solid plotline made this a fun read.

The author wrote a thriller that started with a bang and just kept going! The twists kept coming, so I couldn't put it down. I cannot wait to read more from this author!

The Liar's House (DI Gina Harte #4) by Carla Kovach
Genre: Crime fiction, Police procedural,
Read: 15th July 2019
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44977917-the-liar-s-house

★★★★★ 5 stars

Despite not having read the first two books in this series, I still found myself diving into this fourth outing with DI Gina Harte and her team filled with expectation. I keep meaning to go back and read them but more books keep falling in my way and I never seem to get there...lol However, if THE LIAR'S HOUSE was your introduction to Gina and her team, I can safely say that all the necessary backstory is filled in throughout so that you would not be left in the dark. In this sense, each book could be read as a standalone as with each we are clued up with a little bit more about Gina's past as the series develops.

Set in the English Midlands, in a small fictional town near Birmingham, Gina returns with all her baggage but this time her past catches up with her as it becomes embroiled into the present case. I loved this addition to the story as it made it so much more interesting and compelling, as we are drawn deeper into Gina's dark past.

A man is watching a young woman through his camera and taking pictures of her as she dances at the local social club. Their eyes meet. She knows he is watching her and she is enjoying putting on a show with another man on the dance floor. What she doesn't know is her partner's wife is also watching from the sidelines. But the man with the camera knows. He sees her. He zooms in on her. He focuses on the necklace she wears bearing the initial J. J for Joanne. J for Joan. J for Jade. The woman, fed up with watching her husband gyrate with a younger woman, abruptly leaves the club. The man refocuses his camera on the young woman again. She needs to be taught a lesson.

Samantha Felton was a good time girl who disappeared after a social club disco seven years ago. No one has heard from her since. She had a string of admirers whom she mostly used to make her married lover jealous in the hope he would leave his wife for her. Were any of these men the key to her disappearance?

In the present day, Jade Ashmore is returning from a party when she hears footsteps behind her. She steps aside, hoping they will pass but is instead attacked. In the moments before she loses consciousness, Jade recognises her attacker as she turns to face him. Disturbed by a late night dog walker, her attacker flees the scene but it is too late for Jade. Identified from her photo ID in her purse, Gina now has the grim task of breaking the news to Jade's husband Noah. And yet, she is surprised to discover the house in darkness when she arrives to deliver the news, waking Noah from his sleep. Why has Jade's absence not been noticed? Has she not been missed? Exactly what is going on with this couple?

Diane was Samantha's best friend and she still misses her terribly, wondering what happened to her seven years ago. Now crippled with arthritis, she receives a birthday card addressed to Samantha on what would have been her 33rd birthday with a sinister greeting in cut out letters. Enclosed is a fingernail painted in the same shade that Samantha always wore. Shaken, Diane rings the police and the fingernail is taken to away to be analysed. Diane begins to wonder if Samantha could still be alive but everyone is shocked when results come back that the fingernail belonged to Jade, not Samantha. Could it be that the two cases are linked?

Then Diane finds a photo left on her table. A photo of Samantha dancing with a man with a young Jade Ashmore looking on. J for Jade. How is the photo connected to Samantha's disappearance and Jade's murder?

As Gina and her team delve into the lives of everyone involved, it was clear to me from the outset that the party everyone was so vague about giving details on was a swingers party. The couples met on a forum called Swap Fun where they engage with others via their profiles and organise meet-ups and swap parties. Was one of the attendees the killer? In attempt to foil any of the killer's future plans, Gina delegates one of team to set up a Swap Fun profile to see if they can get themselves invited to one of their "swap parties".

In the midst of everything, Gina's personal life begins to cause problems as she finds herself regretting letting a tinder date into her world when he refuses to leave her alone or take no for an answer. He keeps messaging her, calling her and turning up unannounced. Then to make matters worse, she comes face to face with him whilst staking out a swap party, with him being one of the guests! Then to add to her problems, she is horrified to discover her past and present collide with the reappearance of her former brother-in-law, Steven, who is as misogynistic and as disgusting as his brother was. As Steven becomes a suspect, Gina finds her past entangled with the case and threatening to destroy her credibility and reputation she has spent years building.

Then another woman is attacked and another disappears from her house. Who has been watching Aimee Prowse? Is the same man responsible? And does it have something to do with Samantha's disappearance seven years ago? And then just when she thought she had finally rid herself of him, Rex calls Gina with important information pertaining to the case.

THE LIAR'S HOUSE pulls no punches with its raw storyline. There are elements of domestic abuse and stalking which are handled with brutal honesty throughout. We are privy to the way the men control their partners through fear. I am sure every man in this book, apart from the police, are completely misogynistic in character. Almost all of them are abusive in one way or another. And then there is Gina's own past and experience with domestic abuse. The psychological damage at her ex-husband's hand has surely helped shape the woman and the detective she is today. We are reminded of events in Gina's past once again, as in every book, and then we are given yet a little more as Carla Kovach sprinkles another tidbit our way.

And whilst we are reminded of Gina's past with every installment, sometimes it can be a little too repetitive over the course of the one book. How Terry died was mentioned several times this time round as was one of her more recent memories of him. I feel mentioning these instances just the once for the reader is enough...no need to rehash it. Unless it is in the context of the story but even then just a vague reference would suffice.

As with the last book "Her Pretty Bones" (which I also reviewed) I mentioned then that her constant longing for her boss, DCI Briggs, was annoying. While she made mention of their non-relationship more than once in this book, I didn't feel it was as sickening or as annoying as it was in the last one. But it is still somewhat irritating that she keeps bringing it up. Gina does have a tendency to over-analyse - particular when it comes to Briggs - the smell of him and all that. PULLEAASEE! That aside, I did feel that Briggs and Gina worked well together this time and I would much rather see more of that than her self-pitying thoughts about what she obviously cannot have.

Another thing I would like to see is maybe her team's characters developed further with some backstories of their own. Because really, after four books, all we really hear about is Gina and her longing for Briggs, whilst we know almost nothing about her teams' characters on a more personal level.

A well-written solid police procedural as well as thriller, THE LIAR'S HOUSE has plenty of suspects to keep the reader guessing. Although I did "guess" who the killer was early on through a few clues I picked up on, his motivation wasn't clear till nearer the end. However this never spoils a book for me as long as there is plenty of intrigue, suspense and dark twists to keep me turning the pages through to the end.

Despite the few niggles, I still felt THE LIAR'S HOUSE is a five star read and is everything we've come to expect from this series. Complex characters, gruesome murder scenes, brutal honesty and brilliant writing. Ingenious and cleverly plotted, I eagerly await book five! Hopefully I will have read the first two by then!

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

I do love a DI Gina Harte novel, her character gets more feisty with every new book, yet she seems more human with every new installment. ‘The Liar’s House’ is part of a series and, whilst they will be ok to be read as a stadnalone, I highly recommend reading the books in order so that you’ll have more of an understanding regarding Gina’s past and her issues with Briggs. That woman does not catch a break!

Diane still can’t get over the disappearance of her friend, Samantha, who seemed to disappear into thin air seven years ago. Her gut instinct tells her that her friend is dead, but she remains forever hopeful. It is just a shame that Diane gets caught up in another disappearence…

There are a lot of characters to keep tabs on, some of which will no doubt leave you with a bad taste in your mouth. No pun intended! Whilst Samantha’s disappearance plays a part in the structure of certain events in the book, there are a lot of gritty situations and red herrings which really kept me on my toes.

My gut instinct told me that the ‘whodunnit’ was one character, and I was absolutely convinced that I was right! I was wrong! So very wrong, and yes, because of that, I was extremely shocked as they were right under my nose the entire time!!!!

I raced through Carla Kovach’s new book, demolishing 64% in one go, but thanks to my body being an -insert bad word here-, I had to put the book down! I didn’t want to -stomps foot-. Anyway, Carla Kovach is such an incredible author. ‘The Liar’s House’ was FULL of addictive suspense, rollercoaster moments, psychological uncertainty, and a level of intensity that went through the roof. I loved every minute of this book and I am eager to find out what is next in store of DI Gina Harte and the gang – this is a series that just keeps on getting better and better!!!!

My first by this author and the Detective Gina Harte series. It did not disappoint. Well plotted and kept me guessing all the way to the end! There is a lot of backstory for the main character and the others develop as the story goes along. Looking forward to the next one!

Wow !! Absolutely loved this book ! This is book four in the DI Gina Harte series ! This is a deliciously intense page turner that was exquisitely plotted !!
Major league suspense at its best ! I highly recommend ! Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review this book ! #Netgalley #Bookouture #TheLiar'sHouse

The Liars House, the latest installment of the Detective Gina Harte series, does not disappoint. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on my copy!
The who done it thriller is a page turner and will cause you to speed read to find out who the serial killer is. A gripping psychological thriller that will satisfy you and leave you asking for more. 4 stars.

DI Gina Harte is faced with a complicated case involving a missing woman from 12 years ago, a recently murdered woman, a woman who was brutally attacked and another who has apparently been abducted. The only commonality among them seems to be a swapping club where the members are apparently all barely known to one another. Harte is alarmed to find that her ex brother-in-law is part of the swingers group -- does he have anything to do with these crimes? The team works hard following the few clues and the red herrings to find the perpetrator. Meanwhile, Gina can't get rid of a Tinder date gone off the rails. NO SPOILERS.

The usual crowd is back and Gina Harte is still fighting her feelings for her boss since they are no longer in a relationship. I hope those two can get together despite the workplace issue. The other team members need a bit more development to cement their working partnership appeal. The pace is fast and the plot is entertaining. I enjoy this series and look forward to the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the e-book ARC to read and review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review. I haven't read any of the first 4 books but this did not impede my ability to read and enjoy this book. The story is told from multiple perspectives which was nice and easy to follow. A very enjoyable read I would read more from this author.

It’s so good to be back to this series and the familiar team and characters. This is book four in the Detective Gina Harte series, best read in order but okay as standalones, as each are different.

Yet again no slow beginnings here we are faced with a brutal murder of Samantha from the start! Another brilliantly written, fast paced, thrilling, page turner and gripping of a read. It had me suspecting, not trusting and interrogating everyone! There are far too many hidden secrets that have to be uncovered.

I have been with this series from the start and it is just getting better and better with each book. I do hope there will be a book five. Fingers crossed. Highly recommend. A well deserved four stars from me. A brilliant series.

This is the fourth book in the series, and even though this one would read nicely as a standalone, I would suggest you read the others first. Just so you make sure you don't miss anything!
The book was well written, gripping from the beginning, and just as soon as I had an "a ha" moment, and thought I knew who the bad guy was, there was another twist in the story!
Recommended!

Book 4 in the Gina Harte series and the best so far.

The characters are intriguing and the plot line has some great twists and turns. I was totally hooked and it kept me guessing all the way through.

Looking forward to reading the next on in this series.

The Liar's House by Carla Kovach is a highly recommended police procedural and the fourth book in the British Detective Gina Harte series.

In a small Midlands town there is a killer on the loose. Samantha is making her way home from a party at a private club, when she is murdered. A body is never found, so her disappearance is labeled as a missing person. Jumping ahead seven years, another woman, Jade Ashmore, is murdered on her way home from a party. As the detectives investigate the new crime, an older woman who was a friend of Samantha's receives a birthday card for Sam with a fingernail inside. When police analyze the nail, they discover that it belongs to Jade, not Samantha, and they realize that the cases are linked.

At the same time Detective Gina Harte is at loose ends. She still misses having a close relationship to Briggs, her boss, so she is trying Tinder dating. She is basically just using it to hook up with men rather than actually seeking a relationship. Her latest date, Rex, seems way too intent on continuing the relationship.

Based on my experience, you can read this as a standalone and get the background information without reading the previous books in the series, although those who have read the whole series are suggesting starting with the first book. From the back ground information it appears that Gina has a rather detrimental acquaintance with unstable, perverse men and unhealthy relationships. Abuse and violence against women is a theme in this novel, as is women making bad choices. This all creates a bit of a quandary for me. I didn't care for Gina as a character based on her personal choices, which made the narrative feel a little more tedious. Once a victim does not mean always a victim.

The plot is a well-written procedural and Kovach provides plenty of suspects to consider as the investigation deepens. The pace is even. I didn't experience any twists or surprises here, but is it a solid procedural. I guessed the identity of the killer right away. The connection to a partner-swapping group just made a gray novel feel even darker. It's not that it is a bad novel, it's just a rather bleak, depressing one. 3.5 rounded up.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Bookouture via Netgalley.

http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2019/07/the-liars-house.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2886605495
https://www.librarything.com/work/23306947/book/170599116
https://twitter.com/SheTreadsSoftly/status/1147909265346240512

The Liars House – Carla Kovach

Detective Inspector Gina Harte returns once more in her 4th novel. (And here’s a fervent prayer for many more!).

Still trying to get over her brief affair w/ DCI Briggs, Gina has taken to Tinder to meet some men. She’s trying to coax her latest date, Rex, out of her bed and home, when she receives a call – a young woman has been found murdered, sometime after leaving a party at a neighbor’s home, with signs of violence to her head. As the investigative team starts their work, they learn that the party involved couples swapping their partners for sex, and that Jade’s encounter was observed by an older neighbor, who seems to have a penchant for observing his younger female neighbors. They also learn that Jade’s encounter was a bit rough, and upon trying to locate her partner that evening, they learn he has disappeared. Gina also learns that one of the party-goers is none other than her ex brother-in-law, which complicates her ability to lead the investigation.

Nearby, an older woman, Diane, finds a birthday card that’s been slid beneath her doorway. Presuming it’s for someone else, she opens it and finds its for her friend Samantha – who disappeared with no warning over 7 years ago. Enclosed in the envelope, she also finds a fingernail, painted with the shade of polish that Sam always wore. Frightened, she calls the police. Gina responds to that call and takes the items for forensic evaluation. When forensics links the two separate cases together, the investigation shifts into high gear.

Meanwhile, Rex, Gina’s Tinder date, doesn’t seem to want to take no for an answer…. And then another woman disappears…

This was a great read!! Love to see these characters grow, and the appearance of the brother-in-law rocks Gina’s world and allows us to see her vulnerability. Full of all the action and suspense you’ve come to expect from Gina Harte, this book will keep you up all night, and leave you wanting for more!! Definitely worth the read and the lost sleep!! Highly recommend!!

I was fortunate to receive this book as an Advance Reader Copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an objective review.

There was a lot going on in this book and not many clues are given to Gina and her team. A woman disappeared seven years ago, but no body was found. The a mother of a four year old girl is found beaten to death and Gina struggles to find something to help getting closer to the killer. When another woman disappear the police finally find something both women had in common. Both were members of a website for people interested in swapping partners.
This is one of those "I couldn't put it down" books. Once started I had to know what would happen next. There was so much suspense and I couldn't guess the outcome at all. Highly recommended.