Thank you to D S Butler, Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for the eArc pf Before Dawn.

I have come across D S Butlers books and this is the 8th book in the DS Karen Hart books. I have the rest on my TBR list on Amazon but lept straight in with this one as Ive heard they are all very good.

The storyline was easy to pick up even though there is an underlying narrative for DS Karen hart throughout these books. I found this one really easy to read as a stand alone book and has also spurred me to move the rest of the books up my TBR list!

One of DS Karen Harts associates and friends was in the wrong place at the wrong time and bludgeoned in a dark valley and hospitalised. DS Karen pulls out all the stops not only to find out why DC Sophie Jones was operating alone, but also uncovers what Local mobster Quintin Chapman is doing. This narrative hold a lot of tense moments and some great twists. The characters are well defined and you can tell that DS Karen Hart ia goos at her job and that she cares for her people. This is a great thriller police protocol novel.

4 stars

I really enjoyed "Before the Dawn", book 8 of the excellent " Karen Hart Series". It was one of my favourites in the series so far. It was great to have the team return in this one as I missed them when Karen pretty much worked on her own in Book 7.
The plot centres around the attack on one of Karen's team, DC Sophie Jones, It is up to the team to find the person who assaulted their colleague and. friend.. The plot moves at a good pace with lots of twists so it keeps the reader engaged.
Although this is Book 8 in the series it can be read without reading any of the previous 7. I recommend this book to anyone who likes police procedurals and I am looking forward to Book 9 later on this year.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for my copy of Before The Dawn by D S Butler.
I really enjoyed this latest outing of Detective Karen Hart, when a young colleague is injured it’s up to Karen and her team to find the answers.
This is a great series and getting better with every book.

This is the first book I’ve read in the series and by the author. It is Book 8 in the DS Karen Hart series, however despite not reading any of the preceding books, it was easy to pick up as a standalone.

One of DS Hart’s colleagues is brutally attacked, the team frantically try to uncover the perpetrator, whilst also dealing with the shock and upset. As they start building a case, Quentin, Karen’s nemesis ends up getting embroiled.

The book is fast paced, with various red herrings and twists. I did work out the culprit, their motives however were more difficult to place, everything made sense though at the end.

I liked how amongst the crime side, the book delved into Karen’s personal life and her relationships with both her partner and the team.
This police procedural keeps the reader engaged, overall, it is a really good read. I’m looking forward to reading some of the early books in the series.

4 stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this ARC in return for an honest review.

Before the Dawn by D.S. Butler is a fast paced crime novel featuring Detective Karen Hart. When her friend and colleague DC Sophie Jones is found brutally attacked and left for dead, Karen vows to find out who is responsible. This proves to be difficult when no one knows what Sophie was doing in such a remote place at that time.

I really enjoyed this book. I love a good crime novel and the fact that the main characters were all very relatable helped this book to be more than just a detective story. I liked the individual stories that were intertwined throughout the book also.

Detective Karen Hart book 8.

Once again, like the previous books, I raced through this one. A fast paced plot full of emotions that will keep you hooked start to finish. Loved it.

Only one person can help crack this case—but he’s also the prime suspect.

DC Sophie Jones was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Viciously bludgeoned one night in a dark alley, she is left fighting for her life in hospital, leaving no clues as to why she was there or what might have motivated the attack.

For Detective Karen Hart, fiercely protective of her young protégée, this is already deeply personal: an attack on Sophie is an attack on the whole team. When a car workshop near the crime scene is linked to local mobster Quentin Chapman, the man Hart has spent years trying to bring down, it’s hard not to jump to the most obvious conclusion.

8th in the Detective Karen Hart series, and quite possibly my favourite so far. DC Sophie Jones finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time when she is brutally bludgeoned in a dark alley one evening. No one knows who attacked her or why. Detective Karen Hart and her team are on the case to get to the bottom of it.

Fast paced with great twists. Well worth a read and a great next installment to the series.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and the published for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

#8 in the Detective Karen Hart series is my very favorite, so far. It made me so sad when DC Sophie Jones was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and she was viciously bludgeoned one night in a dark alley. She was left fighting for her life in hospital, leaving no clues as to why she was there or what might have motivated the attack. I absolutely love her!!

As anyone who follows my reviews knows, it drives me batty when the men rub their chins! I've never seen a man do that when he's thinking but it happened more than a few times in this book. We also had foreheads and backs of necks being rubbed, as well as characters running their hands through their hair. None of it happened nearly as often as the book I complained about, but it still made me laugh!!

Anyway, I can't wait to read #9!! This is a fab series!

Many thanks to both #Thomas&Mercer and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of <i>Before the Dawn</i>. #DSButler

Before the Dawn by D.S. Butler is the 8th in the Detective Karen Hart series.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Thomas & Mercer, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


Series Background:    (Warning – May contain spoilers from previous books)
DS Karen Hart lost her husband Josh and her daughter Tilly in a car accident. She later discovered it wasn't an accident, but it was covered up by some corrupt police officials.  She currently works with DI Scott Morgan,  DC Sophie Jones, and DC Rick Cooper.  Their boss is DCI Churchill.  She has recently started dating Mike.


My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
DC Sophie Jones has made a bad decision by trying to please her boss.  She decides to follow a lead on her own, without letting anyone on her team know what she's doing.  She is viciously attacked and left for dead.

Now she's in a coma, and Karen is devastated.  They are trying to figure out who assaulted Sophie, and why.  But they have very little to go on without Sophie's input.  The team concentrate on the car repair shop near where Sophie's body was found, and they link it to Quentin Chapman, the local mobster that Karen has been trying to take down. But Chapman denies having any knowledge of the attack, and he actually requests Karen's help to find out who is targeting his employees.  He fears for his own life.

Karen's emotions and thoughts are all over the place.  She can't believe she is even thinking of helping Chapman.  She is feeling hurt that Sophie had not come to her for help, and dismayed to think that Sophie was doing this just to earn Karen's praise.  She is also starting to wonder about her own judgement.


My Opinions:
Another fast and entertaining read by this talented author.

It was interesting to see how the team reacted when one of their own was attacked.  They truly are a family and their interactions work well.  I also liked that Karen thoughts were all over the place, and that she doubted her own perceptions.  It felt very real.

The plot was quite good, and although I had an idea of the actual perpetrator fairly early, the journey was interesting.

Anyway, this was a great addition to the series, and I'm already looking forward to the next!

Before the Dawn is the 8th installment of the Karen Hart series by DS Butler. Due to be published January 23 2024. This is one of my favorite series thus far I have read all 7of the prior books and so happy I got the chance to read this one as well. Really hoping there will be more to the series in the near future because I am hooked. When one of their own is attacked and hospitalised, detective Karen Hart and her team investigate. Who would want to hurt Sophie and what was she doing in th location she was found?
Investigations lead to a garage and known criminals. Will Karen and her team solve this case fast enough?


Thank you DS Butler, Netgalley and Thomas Mercer for allowing me the chance to read this great book!

Before the Dawn is the eighth book in the Detective Karen Hart series. I started this series with book 6 and have enjoyed each one.

DC Sophie Jones arrives to meet someone with information on a case she is looking into. But someone sneaks up behind her and hits her in the back of the head. She falls to the ground and is left for dead. Karen hears the news, and it becomes all hands-on deck to find the person responsible.

There are a lot of suspects that could be responsible for what happened to Sophie. Even Karen's co-worker Haringer becomes a person of interest. It will take all of Karen's team to work to solve the case.

Detective Karen Hart is looking at local mobster Quentin Chapman, who she has spent years trying to bring down, but he tells her that he thinks someone is trying to kill him. Doubtful that he is telling her the truth, she is placed in danger while in his presence. Can the two cases be linked together?

Exciting and riveting, this is a real page turner. The action heats up right away and escalates throughout. This is a wonderful continuation in the series. The characters are well written and fully developed. Looking forward to many more in the series.

DC Sophie Jones was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Viciously bludgeoned one night in a dark alley, she is left fighting for her life in hospital, leaving no clues as to why she was there or what might have motivated the attack. For Detective Karen Hart, fiercely protective of her young protégée, this is already deeply personal: an attack on Sophie is an attack on the whole team. When a car workshop near the crime scene is linked to local mobster Quentin Chapman, the man Hart has spent years trying to bring down, it’s hard not to jump to the most obvious conclusion. But Chapman not only denies any knowledge of the incident—he asks for Karen’s help. Someone is killing his associates, and he fears he might be next.
The eighth outing for Karen & another page turner. I loved how the team worked together to solve what happened to Sophie & I was kept guessing until all was revealed – it’s always a plus when I don’t work out who the villain was. I also loved that more of Karen’s personal life was revealed. Whilst this book could easily be read on its own I love reading a series from the beginning so that I can follow relationships & learn how they grow & develop
My review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

This is the eighth book in D.S. Butler's Detective Karen Hart series. I have read each of the prior books in this series and this is one of my favorites. This case is personal to DS Karen Hart and the rest of the team since one of their colleagues has been attacked. I really like how everyone works together to find out what happened to DC Sophie Jones.

It looks like the crime could be tied to local mobster Quentin Chapman, who played a large role in the prior book, but Chapman strongly denies it. (This book still works fine as a standalone.) Other crimes may be tied to the attack and other suspects come up, making this a complex investigation. Karen isn't sure who she can trust in this complex investigation, but she is determined to find the person behind the vicious attack on Sophie. Part of the book is dedicated to Karen's personal life, and it helps the reader get to know Karen without detracting from the case. I recommend this book, which I would rate 4.5 stars, and this entire series.

I received an advance copy of this ebook at no cost from NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer but my review is voluntary and unbiased. h

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and it won’t be the last - I am going to start at the beginning of the
DS Karen Hart series and read the other books as I’ve enjoyed this one so much.

DC Sophie Jones was going to meet someone that she felt was going to give her some information that was invaluable to sometime was working on - the main issue about this was that Sophie hadn’t shared this meeting with anyone and nobody knew where she was going. Sophie was attacked from behind and left for dead. DS Karen Hart and the rest of the team were baffled as to who Sophie had been meeting and why!

An investigation was launched into Sophie’s attack and the team worked tirelessly to try and gain some insight into what Sophie had been doing there at that time of night alone.

DS Hart is convinced that Quentin Chapman is involved in Sophie’s attack - he is Karen’s nemesis and she would love to bring him and his empire down.

This book is really good and kept me guessing until the very end. I would definitely recommend it to others.

I’d like to thank Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Before The Dawn’, the eighth in the Detective Karen Hart series written by D S Butler, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

When DC Sophie Jones is hit over the head and left unconscious late one night, DS Karen Hart and her team need to discover what it was she was unofficially investigating that warranted such a savage attack. All the evidence leads Karen to believe that Quentin Chapman who she’s previously had a run-in with is involved.

‘Before The Dawn’ is a worthy addition to the series that has kept me turning pages late into the night. It has an intriguing and well-thought-out storyline with lots of drama, suspense and twists and turns, eventually proving my guess as to the identity of the person responsible to be correct. It’s an exciting thriller with perfectly described believable characters who work well as a team to support Karen who puts her life on the line as she attempts to get Sophie’s attacker locked up behind bars. This is a thoroughly enjoyable thriller that I can recommend and hope there’ll be another in the series.

The Karen Hart series reaches book number 8 with Before the Dawn which is another solid police procedural thriller from D S Butler.

The investigation commences with one of Hart’s colleagues being attacked which leads to a complex investigation for the Team.

The storyline moves along at a decent pace as this is a worthy addition to the series.

The Ds Karan Hart is a great series if you like police procedurals.. when a new member of the team is viciously attacked and put on life support, it was a shock to find out the reason and person behind it . Why was sophie in that particular neck of the woods? Why did she go alone?? What was she hiding from the rest of the team?.
When criminal Quentin Chapman becomes terrified for his life, karan thinks that both quentin and sophies accident could be linked to bigger things. Who is hiding something and why ?? Highley recommend

This is one of those books where the characters leave the page and waltz, fully formed into your head. Seriously, I can’t rate the characterisation highly enough. The plot is very good too, I honestly didn’t suspect the perpetrator for a moment. A book with a lot of heart and I will be looking out for more.

Before the Dawn is book 8 in the DS Karen Hart series, having read them I believe that these shouldn't be read as standalones to enjoy them at their best you really need to know the teams past history. I have enjoyed getting to know Karen and the team, learning about their lives, the highs and lows not to mention their habits and foibles.

When a young, eager officer, DC Sophie Jones is attacked and left for dead outside a row of business units. Karen and the team go all out to catch the perpetrator then what follows is a story full of twists, turns and a few red herrings. The team feel frustrated as the case isn't moving as quickly as they'd like but because the victim (she'd hate to be called that) isn't out of the woods their need to find the attacker takes over.

I'll admit to initially believing it was the man we were meant to suspect but something about that just seemed too easy so I changed my mind. I also have to admit that what begun as suspicion and a healthy dose of dislike became a grudging respect especially after an incident later in the book. I'm always happy when I don't know who does the actual crime.


Thanks to the author D. S. Butler, Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for the ARC. All opinions are mine and mine alone.

4* - would've been a 5* tale had it not been for the 'cancelled search' on a certain person right who kept turning up for no reason at the end of the tale.

This was my intro to the author and this detective series. I liked that it's set in the UK and feels low key and believable compared to US books that tend to be more glossy, more for show, with less of an emphasis on the personal lives of the characters.

The book had me taken in until just before the end, when Karen herself provided clarity that a person being 'fingered' as a murderer couldn't be, given she'd been in his presence a few minutes ago. There was a bit of repetition about keys and about the accuser contradicting themselves, which is where all became clear and fell apart a bit. Karen should have put two and two together at that point and gotten 4, having just done the same and gotten 5 - she's a DCI after all - so she let herself down. Until then, this was on track to be a 5* read for me, but for the lack of insight when it was glaringly just a process of elimination to determine if Person A or Person B was the killer. I'm unclear why the editors didn't pick up on that. Hmm.

Still, it's worth a read and I might check for a back catalogue and upcoming books, too.

ARC courtesy of Thomas and Mercer books and Netgalley, for my reading pleasure.