This is the fourth book featuring DCI Rachel King and the series is another favourite of mine. After three stories I have come to know the main characters well so the book is very easy to slip into. Rachel is a working mother of two argumentative teenage girls, student Megan and schoolgirl Mia, and has the strange living arrangement of having her ex-husband Alan living next door. Handy for childcare and home-cooked meals but sometimes she feels trapped by the past. That however looks set to change with the appearance on the scene of Alan's new girlfriend Belinda. Local crime baron turned property developer Jed McAteer is still around, now with the knowledge that he is Mia’s father and he is no longer a wanted man. Of course what he has yet to learn is that Rachel is pregnant by him again after a fling abroad. Unsure what she plans to do, Rachel has only confided in Elwyn so far. Elwyn is also a good friend to her and the only one who knows her about secret past with Jed. She is still stationed at East Manchester CID running her small loyal team of DS Elwyn Pryce and DCs Jonny Farrell and Amy Metcalfe. They are waiting to find out who is taking over from Supt Harding, and Rachel has a shock when Mark Kenton turns up to fill the post. Rachel knows him from their past overlapping cases and it immediately looks like he is going to be a pain to work for. The story begins in the disused Shawcross Mill in Ancoats where two young boys are playing in what used to be a huge cotton weaving shed. They panic when they hear the voice of Dylan "Spider” Healey, a small time local drug dealer, and in their haste to get away, fall through the rotten floor into a cellar where they find a bricked up tunnel. The tunnel is hiding a grim secret – the remains of a man’s body. It’s definitely murder, confirmed by Dr Jude Glover and Dr Jason Fox from forensics when Rachel and Elwyn arrive at the scene. The victim certainly didn’t shoot into his own knees and brick up the tunnel himself to die there. The question is who even knew the tunnel was there? Evidence at the scene and eventual identification of the man shows he was killed nearly three years ago and Kenton wants Rachel to hand the investigation over to the cold case unit but she is determined to solve this one herself. After all it might be her last for quite a while. As their enquiries proceed, taking them from a pub landlady to an ancestral home and meeting some very unsavoury characters along the way, they discover links to a group of people, all of whom seem to be lying and scared of someone. Someone who will kill to keep their secrets buried. With more lives at risk time is not on Rachel’s side as the detectives race to solve the case. As I have come to expect from this author there are loads of delicious twists and surprises in a story with great pace and an engrossing plot. This book could be read as a stand alone but I would definitely recommend reading the series in order as these characters have a lot of history between them. I really hope this is not the last we are going to hear of DCI Rachel King. Some threads have been left open including the new suspicion over the death of her parents, and I wonder if we will soon be reading a story also featuring new faces Nell and Rio? 5*

Remains of a body are found in an abandoned mill and detective Rachel King is trying to find who is the victim and who killed him It is not an easy task but she is checking all the suspects. I loved the plot and the characters.
Thank you Netgalley for this book.

Another gripping read featuring Dci Rachel King

With a pregnancy she is unsure about,a boss who counts the costs given to him in solving crimes you know from the off that you are in for a read like no other 

Alongside the goings on in this instalment there is also the mystery surrounding her parents dearh which i hope develops further in future instalments

Book four in the Detective Rachel King series. 

This was a fast-paced gripping crime novel with plenty of suspicious well written characters. As the story unfolds and develops clues and motives are explored making it a real edge of your seat Who Dun It? challenging everything you previously thought. 

A great edition to a gripping crime series.

This book by Helen Durrant doesn't disappoint the reader. 2 young boys are playing in a disused cotton mill, they fall through some rotten floorboards and discover gruesome remains that have been in a blocked up tunnel for about 3 years Rachel King and her team have the unenviable task of trying to identify the victim and discover who murdered him and why. Plenty of people are in the frame for the murder but nobodies talking. Add to Rachel's worries  she's pregnant and hasn't told the father or her boss 
Really enjoyed this book
Received this book from #Netgalley and publishers in exchange for an honest review

Forgotten Victim is the fourth instalment in the DCI Rachel King series, set in and around the city of Manchester. In a fantastic prologue, the story really starts with a bang that had me hooked even before I had swiped my e-reader to take me to the second page. In this episode, Rachel, the mother of two teenage daughters, is three months pregnant with her ex Jed McAteer’s baby. She is asked to investigate when two boys, 12-year-old Finn Kendal and 11-year-old Jack Handley find the remains of a body in a disused and decaying cotton mill. DS Elwyn Pryce aids Rachel and the pair go in search of the victim's killer. They know it was a murder as there are gunshot wounds in both kneecaps.

Helen H. Durrant has drawn a very deep and complex character in DCI Rachel King. She, fittingly, has secrets that she'd prefer to keep buried. As with the other books I've read by this author, including the first in this series, one from her 'Calladine & Bayliss' series, and one from the 'DI Harry Lennox/DS Jess Wilde' series, the intricate plot is well written. There are multiple suspects to watch, and several twists and turns that resemble a long roller coaster ride. The characters and their respective relationships are credible and I especially enjoy the way their professional and their private lives are interlaced.

This was such a gripping crime thriller that had my heart racing at times and once I had started reading, I didn't want to put it down. I was enthralled right until the great reveal, which was unexpected, to me anyway. Forgotten Victim was brilliant, highly addictive and fast-paced and I can't wait to see what treats might be in store if there is a book five. This is a must-read, very highly recommended.

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

Not holding what it promises. A major disappointment for me, because I hoped for an intriguing and captivating thriller and what I got was simply boring, dragging tellings over and over. The twist was not a twist at all and the book itself held nothing that made it stand out from other thrillers I've been reading which I personally would consider better written. 
What annoyed me most was the female detective's past. How about we not use assault and rape on females to create suspense and a Dramatic Past? Thank you. 

I received a free ARC by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I admit to resisting the temptation to read this for a while now as I had other books that I felt I should read. I'm glad I did in that they were mostly disappointing. I knew this would be good and it was. Plenty of twists along the way while DCI Rachel King and Team try to unravel the grisly remains of a murder in an old cotton mill tied up with current drug issues in the local town. Well written as usual and plenty of context to help the reader along the route. Whilst the murder and detecting aspects were as good as I expect from the author I'm less sure about the chief character - Rachel. For a very competent police officer this seems so at odds with her bizarre personal relationships. Divorced with teenage daughters and living next door to ex-husband, involved sort of part-time ex con lover with whom she is now pregnant by accident. Angst over does she tell him, does she want the baby are starting to take over too much from the policing and I'm sort of hoping that she might gracefully fade away into late motherhood. Thanks to NetGalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy in exchange for my hones review.

We are now far enough into the series for me to feel I am getting to know Rachel and the relationship with Jed brings something different to the series.  Totally different personalities that work together brilliantly Rachel determined to keep Jed at a distance and him determined to break down her barriers.  And now she is expecting his baby.  How long can she keep that secret from her team and Jed?

An then the story wow so many twists and turns.  

A new boss who turns out to be the last person the team wanted or expected and not only is Rachel trying to connect the few clues she has but she is given a deadline and to make life even more difficult her new boss refuses to accept the recent death is connected to a cold case.

But if they thought Rachel could be beaten they were wrong.

Another brilliant story from a favourite author.  5 golden stars from me.

A really enjoyable book and the first one I have read in the Rachel King series. Although I enjoyed this book, I think it would have been even better had I read the earlier ones in this series, simply to have a more comprehensive knowledge of Rachel and her family and team.

Love this author but as much as I loved the book I found it very predictable. Would this stop me from reading this author no way

I wouldn't say that this is one of Helen Durrants best novels. It wasn't bad but it was rather predictable and the ending was very abrupt. There were lots of different aspects that did not gel for me: 
Does she really like the father of her unborn baby or not?
What happened to Alan halfway through the story
What significance did the man who keeps telling her about her parents have? Will all be revealed in the next book?
It won't stop me reading another Helen Durrant book as hopefully this was a one-off.
Thank you Netgalley and Joffre for giving me the opportunity to give my unbiased opinion

When two young boys fall through rotten floorboards and discover a decomposing body in a hidden tunnel under a disused Manchester cotton mill, the case lands in the lap of DCI Rachel King. Identifying the body is the first hurdle to cross, since the local residents are both close-mouthed and wary of kingpins running the drug trade out of the disused mill.

With a new boss breathing down her neck and threatening to hand the case off to the cold case team, and her personal life getting more complicated by the day, Rachel’s under pressure to solve the case fast. But there are a lot of leads to follow, threads to tug on, each one only revealing a small new scrap of information. Until they realise, this wasn’t actually the first victim…

The first thing I have a problem with here is that the title is misleading. Yes, the victim was forgotten (never even reported missing) but the subtitle just doesn’t deliver. There is no massive twist. And frankly? It wasn’t all that gripping. I had my suspicions who the villain was from the first moment of his introduction. His motive was obvious, he had the means and the opportunity and… yep. That was it. All Rachel and her team had to do was join the dots and prove it. I’m not even sure what the ‘massive twist’ was supposed to be… the realisation that there’d been two murders that were connected? Not that massive a twist for a homicide squad, I’d think.

Frankly, this felt like a very ‘average’ homicide case. Person with power abuses it to kill. The concealment of the body enabled them to get away with it for a while. Then the police find out, investigate, and he’s caught. There’s never really any sense of urgency or peril; the weird sub-plot with the mystery man who kept trying to tell Rachel her parents’ death wasn’t an accident didn’t seem to lead anywhere, and with Rachel about to take extended maternity leave and apparently being replaced, the series also seems pretty dead in the water.

The writing is actually pretty good here, with excellent grammar and sentence construction, but I struggled to like Rachel or understand her motivation, and I just didn’t feel gripped by the plot at all. It was all far too predictable. I’m afraid I was thoroughly uninspired, and therefore I’m giving this two stars.

I love Helen's books and have enjoyed the way they are written, while the relationship between the characters was very well told I just didn't find the story gripped me as it usually does. I think its because I find historical murders difficult to get into - Never mind will definitely read another one by this author

Forgotten Victim by Helen Durrant is the fourth book in the Detective Rachel King series that is set in and around Manchester. DCI Rachel King and DS Elwyn Price are investigating a body sealed up in a tunnel under the floor of Shawcross Mill Ancoats, in Manchester. Two boys stumbled across it while trying to get away from someone. The injuries on ths body point to murder, so Rachel and Elwyn get the case. The victim also had a St Christopher on a chain in his hands.
The Mill was originally a cotton mill and had been used as units for different firms to try to build from. Now it is derelict and empty. The owner of the mill, is Rachels first stop. A credit card is discovered in the victims pocket also, the card belongs to Rita Pearce who runs a pub, the spinners arms. She states she lost the card three years previously and has nothing else to say. Someone knows this victim and how they died, will Rachel get to the bottom of this?
At the same time Rachel is carrying her own secret, she is pregnant and only Elwyn knows and she has to make her decisions sooner or later.
Another brilliant Helen Durrant book that grips you as always from the first page. I truly love this series, not just because it is Helen but I love the fact they are set in my home area. The fact I can visualise Ancoats so easily gives an extra interest. I really feel like I am part of the investigation. Rachel is a great character and I like how she isn't perfect, she is real and her situation could happen to anyone. These are only part of the reasons why Helen Durrant is a go-to author for me. I would be here all day if I wrote it all down! A highly recommended series that really keeps you interested and intrigued too.
Thank you to Joffe Books and Jill for the copy of the book for my review today.

Fantastic read, really kept my interest throughout. Good depth of characters and very engaging. There were some excellent twists and turns to the storyline and I didn’t guess the ending which is always a bonus. There was also a good balance between the main story and the background narrative regarding the detective and her personal life. All in all a very enjoyable book and i will definitely be seeking out more titles by the same author.

This is the latest addition to the DCI Rachel King series from Helen Durrant, King is divorced from her ex-husband, Alan, and has two teenage daughters, making life a difficult balancing act.  It is hard to handle the pressures of home and family life with the demands of her career as a police officer, and there are additional strains of her relationship with the new boss, Mark Kenton.  Thankfully a supportive police helps, as King finds herself landed with a complicated police inquiry.  A decomposed body has been discovered in an old, abandoned and disused Sawcross cotton mill in Manchester, and it is clear that this is a case of murder, what with gunshots in the knees.  Finding the identity of the victim is far from easy, could it possibly be a case of a drug related gangland killing or does the truth lie closer to home?  In this mostly engaging and entertaining crime read, King finds herself with a host of suspects with motives for murder, whilst finding herself in the tricky position of being pregnant, the father being Jed McTeer, a former gangster turned businessman.  Many thanks to Joffe Books for an ARC.

What a fab novel to end the year with! (I finished NYE). 
I adore the character of Rachel King.  I love strong but vulnerable female leads who are down to earth and lead fairly normal lives that us mere mortals can identify with.  Rachel is a working mother of two (soon to be three) and is juggling a demanding career with home life.  I love how she isn’t portrayed as superwoman.  She relies on help from her ex-husband with whom she co-parents civilly and often finds herself struggling to give the right amount of time to both roles.  She is neither a domestic goddess, super mum or the most perfect police officer and I think Durrant captured the reality of this struggle with subtle detail.
At work she has a tough case on her hands; a dead body that’s been there a while, limited clues to work with and a whole host of dodgy characters and goings on.  To top it off, her on/off lover is putting the pressure on and a new boss with different values arrives and who is the mysterious stranger who claims to have some answers to Rachel’s past?  Luckily, she has her devoted and sharp team to support her and pick apart the case until they get answers. 
The main plot focuses on the discovery of a body in a concealed tunnel.  Initially there are limited clues but the more the team scratch the surface, the more they begin to uncover.  There are plenty of suspicious characters to chose from but the clues and motives are revealed in sprinkles throughout the novel making this a great ‘Who Dun It?’ kind of plot.  Just when you think you’ve sussed it, something comes to light that makes you change your mind.  Plenty of twists and turns to challenge thoughts.   
There was always something developing so the plot never stood still and the balance between the investigation and Rachel’s personal life was perfect.  It doesn’t detract from the police procedural trope but does add depth to the character’s and their lives. 
A great crime read with twists and turns to keep your mind challenged.

This was my first read of 2021, I deliberately picked it as my first read for the new year as I know Helen H Durrant never let's me down, and did not disappoint. I'm eagerly waiting to see what comes next for at least 3 characters in this series, not just the main one... I'll be looking out for the next book and I hope it is soon

The old cotton mill has been closed for many years. When two young boys decided to take a look around, one of them fell though the floor. Luckily the boy wasn't hurt but they found something that would give them nightmares for a long time to come.

DC Rachel King, along with DS Elwyn Price, are called to investigate the finding of a decomposed remains found in the cotton mill.

Medical examination shows the body had gunshot wounds to the knees and a indent on the side of his head. This was no accident ... they are looking for a murderer ... and an identity for the victim.

The police investigation brings up several suspects, once they've identified the body. They all seem connected, but no one is talking. They seem more afraid of keeping their secrets than telling the cops what they know. Just who are they all afraid of? Why?

Meanwhile, Rachel has a huge secret of her own... something that could affect her job and colleagues.

As more bodies fall, King and Price must reveal secrets of the past in order to catch the killer.

As with all the books I've read from this author, the intricate plot is well written with multiple varied suspects to watch, and several twists and turns that rival a roller coaster ride. The characters are solidly drawn. The relationships are credible .. I enjoy how the professional, as well as the personal, lives are blended. Although 4th in the series, this can easily be read as a stand alone. However, I do recommend starting at the beginning ... lots of nuggets explored that make this such an exciting series.

Many thanks to the author / Joffe Books / Books n All Promotions / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.