This is part of a series. It can be read as a standalone.
The main character is very engaging. The characters are likeable and well developed. This is a well written police procedural

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

Find Her Alive is the seventh installment in the Detective Karen Hart series, but it can be read as a stand-alone thriller. The book follows Karen Hart, a police detective who is recovering from a traumatic loss and trying to rebuild her life. When one of her friends from a counseling group asks for her help in finding a missing woman, Karen agrees to take on the case. However, she soon realizes that the woman, Phoebe Woodrow, was involved in a shady deal with a local gangster and a lucrative medical research project. As Karen digs deeper into Phoebe's disappearance, she faces danger, deception, and betrayal from all sides.

The book is fast-paced and gripping, with twists and turns that keep you guessing. The author does a great job of creating a realistic and suspenseful atmosphere, with vivid descriptions of the settings and characters. The plot is well-crafted and complex, with multiple subplots and red herrings that add to the mystery. The book also explores relevant and timely issues.

Another cracking case in the Karen Hart series and it doesn't disappoint. Lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing. Looking forward to the next case.

While this is the book #7 in the series, this can be read as a standalone as the cases are not linked. There may be references from previous books that the author usually explained quickly in the next few sentences, if not, chapters.

Instead of blatantly just providing background information that are repetitive in every book (and annoys reader who’ve been through every book), the author seeps such information into the story flawlessly, i.e., when Karen went outside to check on what Sandy is barking about because the canine never barks at nothing, the author introduced her family while explaining why Karen was paranoid and why she was worried.

However, I also noticed that not much background information was provided for side characters that holds slight importance or people surrounding Karen when they were first mentioned. As someone who’s not been following the series, I kept wondering who these people are and what is it that they do in the series.

The first 10 chapters or so focus on the circumstances leading up to the actual case involving the victim, Phoebe; the checking of leads, speaking and assuring witnesses before they confirmed they have a definite case. I thought ten chapters was too long of a “foreplay” for a 300+ pages book before we get into the “main event”. I also didn’t quite understand the purpose of dedicating a few chapters to write about Rick and his mother.

While I understand that nothing much usually happens when they are investigating, but I thought the story was a little bland throughout. It felt like nothing really happened, but you’re already 75% into the book. It’s like a roller coaster and you’re just cruising on a straight line waiting to ascend and for the drop to happen, but it didn’t.

But I definitely loved that the book mentioned how female are always the target of blame even though they are the victim to male harassment. It broke my heart to see the victim’s assuring Karen that she’s wearing work clothes and was all covered up when she was drugged at the bar.

I have read this author before and always found her to be quite engaging. Karen Hart has had a fair bit of grief in her life and has just tried to get some order back in her life. She still goes to counseling sessions and while there strikes up a friendship with another woman who approaches Karen about her friend who has gone missing she is looking after her cat but she insists her friend Phoebe is not like that and that she is responsible and something is off, so Karen reluctantly starts to look into it to find that quite a few young girls have had their drinks spiked and ended up not knowing where or what had happened.
After looking at CCTV footage she agrees the girl looks drunk but turns out drugged, just as she is about to make it big by selling her company that she formed making scanners for the NHS at a far cheaper rate, can this be correct? Her partner there are only 2 people in this company but the buyer is a nasty piece of work and has his fingers in as many pies as he can get but nobody has managed to bring in a lawsuit against him and he knows it.
After finding the laptop and managing to get into it, it looks like these scanners are all but perfect, in fact dangerous.
Her partner Cary suddenly goes over the top of the railing up on the roof was it murder? In his hand he has a few strands of hair, has Karen finely got her man.
I did feel the plot lacked a bit of oomph and it seems that no one won in the end. and that's how far it went with the ending.
I did feel a bit let down with the end as I have read this author before and I know she can do better.
I would like to thank Netgalley for a copy to read and in no way has altered my review.

A great read
This is the seventh in the Detective Karen Hart series
And it doesn’t disappoint
Another brilliant book in this series
Thanks NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley and the Author/Publisher for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book.

Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault

When I first requested this book, I must admit that my tired brain was unaware that this was book 7 in a series. However, that made me the perfect candidate to analyse if the book reads well as a stand-alone, which it thankfully did VERY well.

Detective Karen Hart’s friend from her counselling group asks for a favour; a friend has failed to collect her cat and it is very unlike the friend to do so. unfortunately, everyone in this friends’ family believes she’s not missing. Detective Hart has a feeling that the woman’s disappearance has something to do with the ongoing investigation into cases of women’s drinks being spike and women being SA’d. The journey that Detective Hart goes on to discover the truth has an insane number of twists and turns that had me GRIPPED until the final page.

I am a massive fan of not seeing the end coming, and this book delivered. The storyline was well-crafted and perfectly threaded that there wasn’t a moment that felt unbelievable while simultaneously keeping me on the edge of my seat and tethered to my book. The narrative is so well-written that I felt as though I was WITHIN the investigation.

In truth, I can’t wait to go back and read the rest of this series and any future books in the series.

This is the fourth book I have read in this series and I really need to read the other titles I have missed to get me up to date with this series. I have so far read 'Where Secrets Lie', 'Don't Turn Back' and 'On Cold Ground' which is where Karen finally learns who was the mastermind behind her husband and daughter's deaths. Karen also has found a new romantic interest and is slowly putting her past behind her and building her life back.

This is a very good police procedural series and like the previous books I have read, the mystery is well plotted, fast paced and with a twist that I didn't see coming. I really like Karen Hart as a character: she is mentally strong, hard working, honest and is a team player with a no nonsense attitude towards work.

My thanks to NetGalley, the publishers Amazon Publishing UK/Thomas and Mercer and the author D. S. Butler for the e-Arc of the book.

I really like the character of Karen Hart. There are so many things that endear me to her: she is a hard-working police officer with a good team and after some earlier trauma in her personal life, things are looking up now she has a relationship with Mike.

Karen investigates the case of missing Phoebe Woodrow, a woman who is about to launch a new medical device. Something that would make her a fortune. Is there some professional jealousy involved with her disappearance or is she linked to the cases of women's drinks being spiked? And how does Quentin fit into everything, since he is a known local gangster?

A good, solid police procedural.

Looking forward to reading the next book.

4.5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer.

I do like the books written by this author. The police procedural is very different and gives a unique slant on solving crimes that I haven’t read elsewhere. It has been interesting watching the characters develop.
I am so glad discovered thus author.

I was given a free copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own

Well written detective story. I like the relationship between DS Karen and her team. The ending was good and I will certainly read the next one in the series. Highly recommend

There are 7 books to date in the Karen Hart series and each one is as fresh and exciting as the last. This book deals with the terrifying crime of drink spiking but there is much more to this story as the team discover when looking for the latest young woman to go missing.. I love this series for its realism, Karen hasn't moved on completely from the loss of her husband and child. With so many authors she would be remarried with more kids and her past shoved to the back of her mind but here we see her trying to make a new start without ever forgetting the terrible loss she endured. I look forward to the next book in this thrilling series.

This is the seventh book in the series featuring Detective Karen Hart. Karen is still struggling with life after the death of her us and and daughter up things are looking better as she is now in a new relationship with Mike. Karen and her team are investigating a spate of drink spiking leading to assaults. A friend approaches Karen and asks her for help as another friend, Phoebe, is missing after she went out drinking and hasn’t returned home. Karen begins to consider that the cases may be liked. The team discover that Phoebe was about to make a fortune from working in medical research but she also had connections with Quentin Chapman, a local gangster. The pressure is on for Katie and her team to find Phoebe alive. This was an excellent read and the series just gets better. I can’t wait for book number eight.
Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book,

Many thanx to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

This is such a great read, the writing was wonderful and kept me reading to find out exactly what happened to Phoebe.! There was just enough descriptive writing to paint the scenes and the number of stories within the main tale kept throwing red herrings! I thought I had guessed the ending but I was so wrong! A really enjoyable book and now off to find more by this author!

This is the seventh book in the Detective Karen Hart series but this book can easily be read as a standalone, without spoiling the enjoyment of the book. The books are set in Lincoln which gives a nice backdrop to the series.

Karen and her team are supporting in the investigation of women being drugged in pubs, and then being abducted and assaulted. A friend also reports to Karen that her friend seems to have gone missing after dropping off her cat for one night and not returning, but her family says they saw her the next day. This sets Karen off on an investigation of her own. Could events be connected?

I feel this book kept up the good standard of previous books in this series, and the author has done a great job of getting a good group of characters together who you enjoy spending time with. It is also layered with rivalry and friction between different detectives within the station, people that should really be pulling together.

There was a well-developed plot in this one, that was almost revealed layer by layer due to Karen’s tenacity. I also liked the way Karen was there to support one of her team who was going through one of the most difficult times they were ever likely to go through. It also feels as Sophie has finally matured and developed as a character in this one, but missed her being a more integral part of this book.

Overall I would strongly recommend this book, and the series, to those that like good quality crime fiction with a strong female lead, and with books that move along at a good pace. I look forward to returning to this series with the next book.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Find Her Alive is the 7th book in the Detective Karen Heart series. I have not read the pervious books in the series, and so there were certain references to incidents or characters which I found difficult to follow. This story mainly deals with an intriguing case Detective Karen comes across, through a close acquaintance. A woman is missing and every evidence points to the possibility that she might have been harmed by someone.

A crucial clue leads Karen Hart to the possibility that she might be the victim of a serial seed offender who is operating out of their city. What happened to the woman? Is she dead or alive? Has she been harmed or is she in hiding? These are the things we get to know while reading the book.

The author has told a fairly captivating story which manages to hold the attention of the reader quite well. However, the emotional conflicts of many of the people in Karen's team failed to touch me as much as it ought to. Also, the intrigue element of the story, though fairly interesting, is not very compelling. The ending of the story was however very well-crafted and written; that makes up for the lukewarm reaction I had to the rest of the story. You could pick this story up if you are looking for something which is not very emotionally complicated and has a strong ending.

A British murder mystery of two inter twisted cases including murder, disappearance, and roofing. I liked the detectives and their lives as shown and it was an interesting case.

Thankyou to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this ARC.
This book is number 7 in a series that i have not read before but i did enjoy this and it was easy to follow.
This book had suspense, intrigue, action, murder, mystery and great police work! The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my Kindle! I will definitely recommend this book to others.
Thankyou
5/5 stars

"Find Her Alive" by D S Butler is the seventh book in the "Karen Hart Series". However this one can be read as a stand alone.
Karen is trying to built her life back together after a tragic incident in her past. Erica who also attends Karen's counselling group, asks Karen to search for her friend Phoebe who appears to have gone missing.
The plot which is centered around the search for Phoebe is cleverly written, it is twisty and full of unexpected surprises. It draws the reader in.
The characters are realistic especially Karen herself. It was great to have a sub plot about one of her colleagues but I left Karen was a bit lost in this on her own, I think that reflected her home life. I missed not hearing about her other colleagues. at the station. I hope they are back in the next book. I enjoyed this book and I recommend it and the Karen Hart series as a whole.

Another great addition to the Karen hart series. Poignant and heart wrenching in places with a fast paced exciting storyline.