5 Stars from me
DC Cat Kinsella is a really engaging and likeable character and although I’ve accidentally read Stone Cold Heart before book 1 of the series (Sweet Little Lies), the story read absolutely fine.
There are some hugely likeable characters within the book and Frear manages to blend the main storyline – of who killed Naomi – with a subplot about Cat’s own life – while keeping a perfect balance. Neither detracts from the other and yet both are strong and compelling.
The relationships within the suspect families are beautifully crafted and I was lead a right merry dance trying to work out who the culprit was. Very, very readable.
Stone Cold Heart has it all and I look forward to reading more by Caz Frear.
Synopsis:
A fractured marriage.
A silent family.
A secret that connects them all.
When DC Cat Kinsella is approached by Joseph Madden for help with his wife, Rachel, there’s not much she can do. Joseph claims that Rachel has been threatening him, but can’t – or won’t – give Cat details as to why. Dismissing it as a marriage on the rocks, Cat forgets about it.
That is until Naomi Lockhart, a young PA, is found dead after a party attended by both Joseph and Rachel, and Joseph is arrested for the murder. Joseph says his wife is setting him up. His wife says he didn’t do it. The trail of evidence leads to even more questions . . .
Adulterer. Murderer. Victim.
Who would you believe?
After a brief stint in the Mayor’s Office, Detective Constable Cat Kinsella is back at the London Metropolitan Police, wisecracking with her partner Luigi Parnell and trying to avoid the wrath of the boss, DI Kate Steele.
But for Cat and Parnell, it’s serious business when a young Australian woman turns up dead after a party thrown by her new boss. The initial investigation of Naomi Lockhart’s murder points to Joseph Madden, the owner of a coffee shop around the corner from police headquarters. Madden insists he’s innocent, that he was home with his wife Rachel at the time of the murder. When police question her, Rachel contradicts his alibi, swearing that she was home alone.
While the team builds its case against Joseph, Cat is tasked with getting to the heart of the Maddens’ marriage. Cat knows that one of them is lying—but the question of which one, and why, is far more complicated than she could have expected. As she tries to balance the demands of the investigation with a budding romance and unresolved family drama, Cat has to decide how far she’ll go to keep her own past mistakes buried.
With her trademark wit and brilliant plotting, Caz Frear ratchets up the tension and keeps you guessing as she explores the secrets we keep from our loved ones—and the ones we’d kill to keep safe in the dark.
Read and Rated 