Well I have to say the wait for the second instalment of DI Jo Shaw (and Dr Isla Munro’s ‘adventures’) was so worthwhile.
Right from the first page the story drew me in and enthralled me.
The storyline is gritty, heart wrenching, suspenseful and dark!! However, Cari Hunter also manages to include some light hearted moments that put together lifts the book to another level.
The developing relationship between Jo and Isla while secondary to the crime thriller also keeps you on your toes so that you are hoping they will over come everything that is thrown at them individually and together.
I love the down to earth characters in Cari Hunters books, the camaraderie and banter and the everyday relationships and life is so relatable. I loved chocolate sponge and pink custard at school!!
I wish I had more superlatives to write about The Stolen Girl but I can highly recommend it.
I can’t wait for the next Cari Hunter book.
Thanks to Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read it before my paperback arrives and give an honest review.

DI Shaw investigating again: atmospheric, gritty, gripping
British police procedural, set in North England: language, details, setting were very real and took me totally in. No much sleep that night. Had to finish the book. What a grand read!
It is a bleak, cold winter. DI Jo Shaw starts a new investigation in the seedier parts of Manchester where the cost of living crisis hits hard. Jo barely survived her last case (if you haven‘t read A Calculated Risk treat yourself!). Now she stumbles into another investigation: graphic, gritty, heart-rendering crime. Consider all trigger warnings on.
What starts off as a slow poking around quickly turns into a deathly search.
Cari Hunter is a master of atmosphere: there is the harsh, desolate crime investigation balanced and made bearable by the strong bonds between Jo and her colleagues of the Serious Crime Team, the first responders and her growing relation with Dr. Isla Monroe.
I was glued to the book. Certainly not an easy, cozy read, but a gripping, insightful and well-written glimpse into the grim reality of fighting crime in Northern England.

I received an ARC via netgalley. The review is left voluntarily.

I am a sucker for British crime books so when I got a chance to read more about DI Jo Shaw I screamed of excitement. I listened to the first book about Jo Shaw and that was amazing. Now reading the 2nd book was great but I am sure it will be even better as an audiobook, I think I need someone else guiding me through all the horrible stuff Jo is encountering in her job.

At the start of this 2nd book about Jo she is recuperating after getting stabbed on the job, she is struggling both mentally and physically. Fortunately, she has her best friend and colleague DI Mark Tully to lean on and of course Isla that she slowly is getting closer to after a 15-year gap. Jo is slowly back to work, but desk duty only is assigned after her trauma. Then a call comes in and nobody else is around so of course Jo takes it, and a quite horrible case start to unravel. Murder, rape, torture, drugs and so much more and it all involves young people. Reading about Jo trying to cope after her own trauma is so hard to read, much more difficult to disassociate now. She will not bail out though since she is so intent to get the bad guys and make them pay for what they did.

In the middle of the crime case that is the focus of the book we can also follow the budding romance with Isla, them finally getting back together after 15 years and it is so sweet. I love to see those workaholics finally find their way back together and would like to read so much more about that.

Overall, a great read I can really recommend, and I will grab the audiobook when available.