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.
Left for Dead by Joy Kluver Also by this author: Last Seen, Broken Girls
Series: Detective Bernadette Noel #3
Also in this series: Last Seen, Broken Girls
Published by Bookouture on 10th January 2022
Genres: Crime, Suspense, Thriller
Pages: 385
Format: eARC
Source: from Netgalley
Goodreads
Amazon Kindle
The detective stared at the young woman lying on the bed. She almost looked peaceful, her face like porcelain. Despite everything she had been through, she was still beautiful.
When DI Bernie Noel hurries to Keira Howard’s hospital bedside, she knows that Keira has been lucky. Barely conscious and badly injured, at least she is alive. Convinced that Keira’s attack is the latest in a string of increasingly violent assaults on young women in the area, the next victim might not be so fortunate. So she vows to find the man who did this, and to stop him before anyone else gets hurt.
Spurring her team into action, she quickly hones in on a prime suspect. But then he suddenly dies while on police watch, and Bernie’s investigation goes into freefall. When Bernie’s superiors won’t let her take the case any further, her gut instinct tells her there’s much more to his death than meets the eye. If it was murder, who would want him dead, and why? So she determines to set out on her own to find out what happened.
But the closer Bernie comes to discovering the truth, the more she is putting her own life in danger. And with Keira finally strong enough to talk her about her attack, Bernie worries she may be at risk yet again. There’s someone out there who has killed to stay safe in the shadows; can Bernie stop another senseless death, and save Keira, before it’s too late?
An utterly compelling crime thriller full of twists and suspense, perfect for fans of Val McDermid, Angela Marsons and Cara Hunter.
Thank you to Bookouture for letting me take part in this tour and for my copy of this book via Netgalley. I really enjoyed the first two books in this series so I was very excited to see what Bernie got up to next. This is the third book in the series but all can be read as standalones.
Bernie may be pregnant but that’s not going to stop her from finding out what happened to Keira and unravelling this mystery. Bernie needs to learn to slow down and take care of herself. I really like Bernie. I think she does an excellent job of running the team and is slowly learning to delegate. She has a good relationship with those in her team. I liked seeing how she worked with Leigh too.
The case was very complex but very intriguing. I had an inkling at the start that this was going to get complicated and very messy. There were a lot of secrets being kept and as they started to unravel things got very interesting.
This case will have you hooked very early on. I raced through this book, I just couldn’t put it down. I was so eager for Bernie and the team to get to the bottom of this case. It was just so gripping! I can’t wait for more!
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 Emma! So glad you enjoyed #LeftForDead!