This was a very good mystery! Hadn't read any of this series before and it was difficult with some of the names etc. since I'm from USA and don't know much about New Zealand. The locale made it interesting though and I enjoyed the main character, Ngaire. Will have to go back and read the first in this series to understand where she's coming from. I definitely recommend reading this series in order. All in all though a very good read and am looking forward to reading more by Ms. Hayton.

I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
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This is an embarrassingly overdue mention of the second novel in a series which is going from strength to strength. Apologies to the author, the delay is all my fault.

If you're not aware of the Ngaire Blakes series from New Zealand author Katherine Hayton then this is one that needs to go on the to be read pile. Starting out with THE THREE DEATHS OF MAGDALENE LYNTON, then this novel, THE SECOND STAGE OF GRIEF onto the third, which was longlisted in this year's Ngaio Marsh Awards, THE ONLY SECRET LEFT TO KEEP, this is a police procedural which is improving in leaps and bounds with every outing.

Centred around Ngaire Blakes, a Police Detective who in this novel has resigned from the force after a brutal assault has left her suffering from PTSD, Blake is a terrific character. Flawed and complex without being tediously complicated, Blakes is strong enough to take on the world on her own in THE SECOND STAGE OF GRIEF, after isolating herself from friends and colleagues, and running to her estranged father's remote hometown to hide. Only hiding never works, and somehow Blakes finds herself in the position of having to find a killer before a frame up gets her.

The procedural elements of these books work pretty well, and the plots are nicely twisty and tricky, but at the heart of it all is a great character study. Blakes is one of those characters that you can't help but like, even though you'd probably want to shake sense into her if it was real life. She's troubled, she's flawed, she's suffering and she's extremely real and absolutely believable. Setting or sense of place is slightly less important, and in THE SECOND STAGE OF GRIEF if nothing else, Blakes fleeing to her father's place gives the author an opportunity to give the reader a sense of the remoteness and rural nature of the areas that she's moving through.

There was potential in the first book that's been continued in this second outing. There are obvious hints here that Blakes police career is far from over though, and the third book deservedly won a place on the 2018 Ngaio Marsh Awards longlist. More on that next up.

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/second-stage-grief-katherine-hayton ( )

The Second Stage of Grief (Ngaire Blakes #2) by Katherine Hayton is a book I wasn't sure how I would feel about when I first started it. I was pleasantly surprised. It had some dark moods but the plot, characters, and twists made this a very interesting and enjoyable read. Good mystery after all. This is a Kindle scout book. ( )

(A free copy was received for review after nominating this book during its Kindle Scout run)

Genre : Contemporary thriller/mystery in New Zealand.
Short depictions of domestic abuse. Some fairly gruesome crime scenes.
The protagonist Ngaire Blakes put her earlier career as a detective on hold, working as a lawyer while she recovers from a traumatic event, but someone seems determined to hound her while she is still down.

Ultimately, I don't think this will linger with me very long, but it was a very enjoyable one-sitting read, the writing, pacing and almost all the characters hitting just the right notes to keep the pages turning. ( )