DI Gina Harte and DS Jacob Driscoll are called to the scene of a deadly assault on a young woman in an alleyway in the dark of night. Jade Ashmore has left a party early but doesn't make it home. It's up to Harte and her team to find out what has happened and why - and more importantly who wanted her dead. Why did she leave alone when her husband was also at the party?

This is a fairly fast paced novel, with short punchy chapters which keep the action moving and your attention focused on the characters. It is probably best to have read at least one of the previous novels in the series in order to understand Gina's personal and career history and how this influences her feelings towards this case. As Gina interviews local residents and other partygoers who would have known Jade, the past and present come hurtling together and threaten to have Gina taken off the case. It's all getting a bit close to home - but is Gina being paranoid or has someone orchestrated the whole scenario in order to get the DI personally involved?

With a cold case from 7 years previous suddenly seeming to come alive when the best friend of a missing woman receives a birthday card containing a fingernail painted in her favourite colour nail polish, Gina has her work cut out to find out whether this is just another coincidence or whether the sender has knowledge of the events surrounding Jade's attack. Why wait 7 years to make themselves known?

We follow the investigation of the two events which throw up some eyebrow raising facts along the way. There are some really unlikeable people in this book and some who I genuinely felt sympathy for. I found this a good balance of characters and a realistic representation of how some of the people we see outwardly as happy, outgoing and funloving are actually very lonely and sad behind closed doors. We are only judged by the persona we present to the world, but if you scratch the veneer sufficiently the real person underneath can be a very different soul. Everyone has their secrets.

I am really enjoying this series, and would recommend it as a good crime/police procedural series if you don't want anything too heavy. A good book to pop in your suitcase for your holiday.

Yay - Gina Harte is back! I am such a big fan of this series by Carla Kovach and am already eagerly awaiting book 5. The Liar's House is book 4 and the series just keeps getting better. I think I have said it before but if you have not read this series - why not!!! It is easily one of my favourite British police procedural series, up there with Angela Marsons Kim Stone books. The cases are complex and twisty, keeping you guessing until the end.

This time we see Gina and her team called to the scene of the murder of Jade Ashmore, a young mother on her way home from a party (that we later learn is a swingers party). There is very little to go on to catch this killer. That is until one of her fingernails is sent to a woman a few streets away. The colour matches that of her friend Samantha's - a woman who went missing 7 years ago. As the investigation goes along, Gina discovers that one of the party attendees was a man called Stephen - who happens to be the brother of her deceased ex husband. She struggles to put way her memories and demons from her life with Terry and it threatens to destroy her career.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for my advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.

Another excellent Gina Harte story, with lots of red herrings.

Gina is still battling her demons and bad memories surrounding her deceased husband, who abused her during their marriage. This is not helped when it is discovered her equally loathesome brother in law is connected to the murder of a local woman. On top of this, she has the unwanted attentions of a man she meets on a one night stand who wants something more than she can offer, not helped by still having feelings for her boss.

I really enjoyed this, though I hope the next book sees a more assertive Gina.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review.

Carla is back with the latest instalment from Gina Harte! I adore this series and have done from book 1. It is book 4 but can be read as a standalone (although you do miss out on the finer details of Gina's past). I am never let down by Carla's books, they improve with longevity. I could not stop reading this, it was that good I read it in 2 sittings. The story is revolving around Gina trying to deal with her work life while her past keeps holding her back...making her a prisoner still. The twists and false turns keep you on your toes throughout! Another excellent book from the Gina Harte stable...bring on the next!!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of The Liar’s House, the fourth novel to feature DI Gina Harte of Cleevesden police.

When Jade Ashmore is attacked and murdered DI Gina Harte and her team are assigned the case. They don’t have much to go on except there is something fishy about the stories of the party Jade attended that night until Diane Garraway phones. She has received a birthday card addressed to her close friend Samantha Felton except Samantha disappeared seven years ago and the fingernail in the card belongs to Jade Ashworth.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Liar’s House which has a compulsive narrative full of twists and turns. I like the mixture of the investigative and the personal as Gina, once again, finds her investigation hitting close to home in quite stressful ways. It is told from a variety of viewpoints, including the new fad of the unnamed killer’s thoughts and actions and he’s just another saddo looking for his warped idea of love. He’s not the only one as the novel revolves around loneliness and what the characters do to ward it off. It’s a topical subject, well handled and explored, even if the outcome is rather scary. I found myself caught up in the storytelling and ever anxious to get back to the novel to see what was coming next as I could never guess. The novel is well paced with plenty of reveals and points of interest, often with an unexpected turn.

DI Gina Harte is a woman with a past which comes back to haunt her on a regular basis. I don’t want to belittle the experience of the victims of domestic abuse but on a fictional level the same worries, book in, book out, are getting a little stale. She does try in this novel to shake up her life with some forays into internet dating but doesn’t have much luck.

The Liar’s House is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for an advanced copy of this book.

As usual, I loved it. The characters are fab, the story-line is fast-paced and twisty-turny and this series is a definite for all you Jane Tennison / Kate Burrows fans. Gina Harte is just the best. 5 /5 for me and one author that I keep an eye out for!

Having discovered this detective series just a few months ago, I have raced through all four of the books in record time. Here's why: 1) the head detective is a woman, a very human, hot mess at times, kind of woman, who is smart, strong, anxious, guilt-ridden, just so authentic. Gina reminds me a bit of Olivia Colman's character in BBC series, Broadchurch. 2) the wingmen/women in the country police station are flushed out and interesting 3) the plot is constructed well, with appropriate red herrings, and plausible complexities 4) the mystery keeps me guessing until the very end, which is saying a lot considering how many mysteries I read. The first book in the series involves an abandoned baby with DNA from a woman missing for four years. The next deals with women found dead and the ring of violence that surrounds the town. The third book takes on the idea of domestic slavery, and this book, #4, draws Gina back into her past amidst the disappearance and murder of multiple women. If you're looking for a cracking good British mystery series to dive into, you won't go wrong with this one.

The Liars House is the 4th book in the DI Gina Harte Series and what a great edition to the series it is.
A local woman is murdered after a Swingers party and her fingernail is sent in a birthday card to a local resident. What is unusual about it is, the card is meant to come from someone that has disappeared seven years previously. Di Gina Harte is sent to investigate the murder and the cold case of the missing woman. When she discovers the other attendees of the party, old memories return, as one of them is Stephen the brother of her late partner Terry.
After discovering of Stephen, Gina finds it hard to concentrate at the task at hand, even nearly getting herself taken off the case. But old flame and boss Briggs has faith in her and her determination and with the help of her team they solve the case.
This is another gripping, fast paced thriller with lots of twists and turns, a great plot, with a surprising twist at the end that I didn’t see coming. 4 stars from me.

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Liar’s House’, fourth in the Detective Gina Harte series written by Carla Kovach, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Samantha Felton disappears on her way home from a social club and several years later a birthday card containing a pink-varnished nail and a lock of hair is put through the letter-box of her best friend Diane. When the nail is analysed DI Gina Harte is surprised to find that they belong to Jade Ashmore whose body has been found following a party organised by ‘SwapFun’. Gina’s at risk of being removed from the investigation as two of the suspects are known to her.

‘The Liar’s House’ is a fast-moving and exciting thriller with lots of action, plausible characters and twists and turns from start to finish. I’ve enjoyed reading more of Gina who still has nightmares from events in her private life that she’s scared could be revealed to her team, and the feelings she has for DCI Briggs following a prior relationship with him which I keep hoping will result in a happy ending. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading this latest thriller which had me gripped from the beginning and was so easy to read I devoured it within twenty-four hours. Although it’s the fourth in a four-book series I’m hoping that maybe Carla Kovach will take pity on us avid readers and give us a fifth in the not too distant future!

This is book #4 in the DCI Gina Harte series. It can be read as a standalone book, but I would recommend reading the series in order to understand the past stories of some of the characters.

I’ve read all the books in the Gina Harte series and have loved all of them. Gina is a great character! At work, she’s feisty, confident and says it like it is. Her personal life does leave a lot to be desired though with her past history of domestic violence, a failing relationship with her daughter and a complicated love-life. This story sees her past history come crashing back to her feet when she’s involved in a murder case involving wife-swapping parties. During her investigations, she comes across someone who she would much rather leave well and truly in the past. She also finds her personal and work life comes very close to crossing over, on more than once occasion!

I love Gina’s relationship with her team and her usual team are all back to help her along with the investigation. The murders are all a little gruesome, yet this adds a dark unsettling feeling to the whole plot of the book. There are red herrings and dead ends galore as you try to work out what exactly is going on and who the murderer is. I genuinely didn’t guess who it was until the big reveal, and the tension and suspense by this point was turned up to the max. When the murderer was revealed everything made perfect sense and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t worked it out earlier. There is a theme of domestic violence and sex parties running through the story, so be warned if these offend you.

Overall, this was another fantastic instalment of this series. As I’ve said, Gina is a great character and I’ve loved her throughout these books. Her past story is awful and as the series moves on, you get to find out more and more about what really happened to her. I really want her to have a happy ending one day, but we all know that that probably will never happen! This book had me gripped and once I started it I knew I wouldn’t be able to put it down. Roll on book #5!!

This is the 4th book in the Detective Gina Harte series. Each book gets better and better. I am being selective in the books I read but I could not resist this one. In this book, a missing woman is tied to the murder of a woman walking home from a party. There is another attack that is also linked. While her personal life leaves a lot to be desired, Gina does her best as a Detective to find justice for the victims and to arrest the guilty parties. I can't wait for the next instalment. Thanks to NetGalley, Bookoutre and the Author for allowing me to read and review this book.

The Liar's House is the 4th book in the DI Gina Harte series by Carla Kovach and it is a decent police procedural which didn't quite hit top spot for me

I hadn't read any of the previous books in the series and found that the main character was not very engaging and quite annoying. Whether these 2 things were connected I don't know although there is sufficient backstory included to allow you to understand that a lot has gone on beforehand.

The story itself starts slowly but builds up to a fairly fast finish and has a number of twists and turns to keep you guessing.

Overall a solid read

I love novels like this. A detective with a dark background that seeps into the investigation, love that shouldn't be and a mystery that rattles you. This book grabbed me and held on tight. The pacing is perfect and reading from the different POV's brings it all together. The publisher gave me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoy this series but this book isn't my favorite. It feels like Gina has made several steps backward in character development. Other than that it's an enjoyable read. There is a lot going on in this story. There are stalkers, murder, mystery, secrets, and surprises. This is a good police procedural with a suspenseful mystery.

Read this book over the course of 24 hours. A very addictive book that kept me engaged and guessing until the very end. I really liked the lead character - DI Gina Harte, though she has her own troubled past she is now focused on her career and tries to keep it on track. This time she is dealing with a murder that somehow links to a disappearance case seven years ago, and the investigation involves people that can ruin her reputation.
A very thrilling and chilling read, with a twist I never saw coming. This is the 4th book in the series but can be read as a stand-alone. I haven't read any of the previous books but I definitely look forward to reading them.
Overall 4.5 stars from me.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for my free advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Liar’s House is #4 in a series but stands on it’s own as a police procedural with several twists and turns.
DI Harte is a lonely women, widow (of her own making), estranged from her daughter, rebounding from a brief relationship with her superior.

After a party, a woman is found dead. A cross town, another woman receives a birthday card for a friend that went missing years ago, a card that contains a message made from magazine clippings and containing a fingernail from the woman murdered the night before.

Throughout the investigation, the details of DI Harte’s past comes close to being revealed and her connections to the suspects might just end her career.

This is a slower paced book with lots of red herrings and purposeful false-starts, really ramping up in the last 10% of the book. Unfortunately, I did not find the main character likeable and for a police women, I found her to be painted in the light of the woman who was ruled by her emotions and what others might think of her.
I feel that the main character needed to be a stronger women in a more positive role. The emotional reactions from her and the other characters felt a little predictable and empty.

It’s possible that if I had followed the series, I may have enjoyed it more.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC In exchange for my honest review.

"The Liar's House" is the fourth book in the 'DI Gina Harte' series though it is the first one I’ve read. This was a great read for me as a standalone psychological thriller, but no doubt it would have been better to have read the books in chronological order. The author has written a really clever and fascinating story that drew me in right from the very first page. Feisty and down-to-earth, Gina Harte was a brilliant Detective Inspector. The fabulous plotting and great pacing by Carla Kovach also contributed to my huge enjoyment of the story. I suspected all of the characters, yet as is often the case, I failed to identify the actual perpetrator.

If you love a good detective series and psychological thriller with plenty of shocks and twists then "The Liar's House" is for you. Highly recommended. Rating: five stars.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Bookouture via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

This is book 4 in the police procedural series about DI Gina Harte. Gina is a lonely woman with an estranged daughter, a flame for her ex-lover (and boss), and a dark secret. All of these are mentioned in this book; as I haven't read the first three, I don't know if they are described in more detail previously. In any event, it wasn't necessary to know the full story in order to enjoy The Liar' House.

The book alternates between Gina and the unknown murderer. Gina is in danger of being removed from the case when it comes to light that both her former brother-in-law and an unfortunate Tinder date are both involved. She convinces her superior to let her investigate, and she and her team follow the threads to the end.

A solid procedural that doesn't require that you start from book 1 to enjoy.

I received a digital ARC via NetGalley.

The Liar's House was a nice little mystery. I think I would have enjoyed it more had I read the other books in the series, but that is not a game changer.
The characters were a little hard to follow at first, but once I got into it I couldn't stop reading. I HAD to know who the killer was and I was SO WRONG for quite a bit into it.
Very fun, good details throughout.

DI Gina Harte is fast becoming my favorite detective. These books just keep getting better. This one (the 4th in the series) drew me in with the poignant memories of a girl who disappeared, and kept me enthralled with the police procedures as the mystery unfolded. A thumping good read from a talented author.