The Lost Girl by Tania Carver

The Lost Girl by Tania Carver
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Publisher - Little Brown Book Group

Pages - 416

Blurb from Goodreads

The terrifying new thriller in the Brennan and Esposito series - are you brave enough to read it?

When three men are found hanged in locations around Colchester, Detective Inspector Phil Brennan gets the shock of his life. Not only are the victims dressed to look like him, but each carries a defaced tarot card in the pocket of their identical leather jackets, scrawled across with one name: Phil Brennan.

The bodies aren't found in random locations - they're all in places where DI Brennan has caught a murderer. Someone is sending him a message. And he thinks he knows who it is...

Shocking and thrilling, in this dramatic new Tania Carver thriller DI Phil Brennan and his wife, psychologist Marina Esposito, have their lives turned upside down as the past comes back to haunt their present with terrifying consequences.


My Review

Firsty, if you haven't read the previous books in the series I think you can get away with picking this one up. There are mentions to things that have happened in previous books and this series I have read out of order and just as I find them. DI Phil Brennan and his wife Marina Esposito (psychologist) have been through so much already, they are cautious and do keep on top of personal safety. When three male victims are found, all in places Brennan has connections to it is clear someone is trying to tell him something. A high profile kidnap puts everyone on edge and questioning everything they know and their team. The killer is fearless, clever and has one mission on her mind, no one and nothing will get in the way and Phil and Marina find themselves facing their greatest threat yet.

We open in italics, with a little girl and an event that will change her life forever, anytime we visit her the italics highlights the switch so we can follow the story with ease. There are many themes in this book, murder, psychological torture, rape, abuse, pedophilia, prostitution, police teamwork, grief and loss, to name but a few. Certainly not for the faint hearted or easily offended, some of the scenes are really tough to read even for the hardest fans of dark gritty crime.

The chapters are short making it easy for dipping in and out, the subject matter is horrific in parts and the pace finds the reader struggling to put it down. I have read Carver before and will read him again, I just may need a few fluffy reads inbetween to draw some balance again. Carver creates some really deprived criminals that disgusts you but keeps you hooked to discover just what creates such monsters. 4/5 for me this time, as I said I have read him before and I would read him again but warn readers to pick this one up with caution.

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The Loving Husband by Christobel Kent

The Loving Husband by Christobel Kent
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - on and off 4 days

Pages - 416

Publisher - Sphere

Blurb from Goodreads

Fran Hall and her husband Nathan have moved with their two children to a farmhouse on the edge of the Fens - a chance to get away from London and have a fresh start. But when Fran wakes one night to find Nathan gone, she makes a devastating discovery. As questions about her husband and her relationships start to mount, Fran's life begins to spiral out of control. What is she hiding from the police about her marriage, and does she really know the man she shared her bed with?


My Review

We open with a relatively uncomfortable chapter, a sexual encounter in a bit of a haze and the reader is alerted immediately that something isn't right. Her husband is not in bed, Fran goes to find him and makes a horrifying discovery. The police start digging into Nathan and Fran's life and Fran soon discovers secrets and lies leading her to question what did she actually know about her life.

The story jumps around a fair bit, both in timeline and from character to character. The chapters are not signposted so it isn't until you are a few sentences down the page you know if it is Fran or the police, then a quarter in the chapters are headed with what day of the week it is. The wife, Fran, is a mousy type character and appears to be on edge all the time alluding to some kind of abuse or being in a horrible situation. The information is teased out, both about what has happened and Fran and Nathan's relationship in general. There is a lot of scandal, secrets, lies, infidelity, sex, murder and relationships to name just some of the themes covered in this story.

For me, if I remember correctly, it read a bit like Girl On The Train in that is jumps around so much. The character isn't so much the unreliable narrator, more the way the story is constructed and told. I think some people will love this because it keeps you guessing as to what has happened and what is coming. I personally don't like that as I had to try and keep track of what happened, what is going on, who is the chapter centered on at that moment. I think some readers will love this format and the building suspense however for me it just didn't work and frustrated more than intrigued me. This was my first time reading this author, I would read her work again I just personally don't like this type of format, sure others will love it, 2/5 for me this time.


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