I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Broken Girls by Joy Kluver Also by this author: Last Seen, Left for Dead
Series: Detective Bernadette Noel #2
Also in this series: Last Seen, Left for Dead
Published by Bookouture on 27th July 2021
Genres: Crime, Suspense, Thriller
Pages: 350
Format: eARC
Source: from Netgalley
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Brambles catch her dress, scratch her legs. She has no option but to go barefoot if she’s going to outrun her hunter. They’d been laughing a few minutes before, but things can change in the blink of an eye. Then he’s on her, and the world goes dark.
The woman is young, judging by the short red dress, and dark-haired. Any other signs of her identity have been erased during her long wait to be found, but it’s clear she has been strangled: this was a vicious and personal murder.
D.I. Bernadette Noel knows that every second counts if they are to catch this killer, but they have no leads – until the discovery that the dead woman’s rings match a stolen property report, and the rings’ owner mentions a missing Italian au pair.
Then a shocking discovery about their victim – and the news that another girl, also young and dark-haired, has been abducted – changes everything the team thought they knew about the case.
Piecing together witness statements, Bernie notices key similarities between the description of the person last seen with their murder victim, and someone the missing girl was messaging online. She is convinced they’re looking at the same perpetrator – and if that’s the case, Bernie’s job is no longer just to catch a killer: it’s to save a life.
With few options left, and time running out, she makes a desperate plan. She’ll risk everything on one shot to force their suspect’s hand and push him into making a mistake. But traps need bait – and if her plan fails, a third girl could die…
A gripping crime thriller with a nail-biting climax. If you like Angela Marsons, Susie Steiner or D.S. Butler, you’ll love Joy Kluver.
Thank you to Bookouture for my copy of this book via netgalley and for letting me take part in this tour. This is the second book in the DI Noel series but could be read as a standalone. I really enjoyed the first book in this series so I was very excited for the next story.
Bernie Noel is the sort of detective you want figuring out your case. She is smart, determined and very shrewd. She has an excellent team especially Matt and Kerry who worked with her in the previous book. I liked the newbies too and hope that some of them will be back.
I liked reading the story from Bernie’s POV. I always love a multiple POV story but this book works really well as a single POV. You only get the clue’s a Bernie does and it did make it much more of a mystery that way.
This case had many layers to it. The more I peeled back the more I was guessing and the more I had no clue Joy did an excellent job of keeping the suspense and mystery up, right until the very end. I was constantly guessing and was surprised every time. I was gripped from start to finish and I cannot wait for another instalment!
About Joy Kluver
Joy Kluver has been an avid reader and writer since childhood. More recently she’s been escaping the madness of motherhood by turning her hand to crime novels. A book blogger, she’s also part of the First Monday Crime team and if you’ve been to any of their events it’s likely you’ve eaten one of her cookies. She also organises author talks for her local library. Joy lives in SW London with her husband and three children. ‘Last Seen’ is her debut novel and the first book in the DI Bernadette Noel series.
Joy is represented by Anne Williams at the Kate Horden Literary Agency
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
@JoyKluver Thank you!
@bookouture Thank you so much, Emma! I’ve been deep in editing mode today and have only just come up… https://t.co/iEyF11ytVb