Sarah Flint

Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.

Not too much to say here. I thought this was a strong debut. I think the biggest issue was the fact that we had two separate plots going on here that ended up confusing things. It would have been better to just stay on the main story-line (women and their son or daughter are being abducted) since there was a lot going on there. I also was left with a lot of questions once the villain was unmasked that I don't think were explained sufficiently. I did love the character of Charlie and her backstory was sad. I hope that in the later books in the series her family keeps popping up.

Charlie is a DC with a loving mother and two younger sisters. She has heart and feels things deeply. Flint eventually reveals Charlie's backstory so stick with it. There are hints dropped here and there that something in Charlie's childhood broke her and at first you may end up confused until the full reveal. Along with that, Charlie is looking into the disappearance of an abused housewife. When the abusive husband ends up injuring Charlie when she goes to conduct a search this seems to start a snowball effect that leads to a lot of secrets being revealed.

I think that other characters could have been developed a bit more besides Charlie, her mother, and her DI. At one point I laughed because her coworkers are described and it's brought up one of them is a lesbian and it goes into that and it was a very weird segue.

I think that the murderer's POV was very creepy, a few scenes were a bit hard to read, but I thought Flint did well with them. I think if we had jumped from the murderer to just Charlie it would have been a stronger book.

As I already said, there are multiple POVs in this one. We have Charlie, but also one of the missing women's husband, his defense attorney, the murderer, the missing women, and then someone else as well. There is a lot going on and often the flow between narratives don't work very well. It may have worked better if we didn't have the second plot line going on. It just made me feel like I was reading two separate stories instead of one cohesive one at times.

The writing was a bit tough to get into. I had a struggle with this one since we start off with so many POVs. It took until the 25 percent mark of the book for this to pick up enough for me to keep continuing with it.

The ending was a shocker and we have Charlie going forward it seems with a possible love interest or friend.… (meer)

Daddy’s Girls by Sarah Flint
DC Charlotte Stafford #5

At the graveside of his wife a man walks away leaving his 18 year old daughter and three generations of family to bury the coffin. A year later the story is picked up and at this point Charlotte and her team become involved in the murder case of an older female pensioner. The fact that this murder case might tie into to an ongoing case that sees the thief invading homes of the elderly to “talk” then steal from them is a bit different. With the murder there has been an escalation and the need to find the perpetrator has increased. At the same time Charlotte and her team are working this case there are side issues that deal with a rapist, drug dealer, dysfunctional family situation and more. The violence level is lower in this book than previous books in the series but though there was less gore there was still trauma to the victims.

All in all this was more police procedural than a glimpse into the lives of Charlotte and her team. We do see the team, a night out on the town, camaraderie, problem solving sleuthing and such. I was surprised by a twist I hadn’t seen coming so that was good...even though I thought I knew who was doing what I was proven wrong and for a person that often reads the end of the book first...that is saying something. Add in the final twist...a secret that comes to light...and a hook for the next book and well...I am eager to read what comes next in book 6.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars… (meer)

Broken Dolls by Sarah Flint
DC Charlotte Stafford #4

Baddies aplenty with a twist at the end I was not prepared for! Prostitution, drugs and murder with evil pimps and women struggling to survive is what this book is about. I came away unsettled and wonder how many times in real life issues are settled as they were in this book and fear it may be more often than I think.

Did I like this book? Hard to answer…it did make me think…
Will I read more by this author? Yes

The story was well written but very dark. If you are not into abuse, violence and this type of story I would warn you off. That said, I am curious to find out what will happen in book five and fear for more than one person in this series!

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars… (meer)