5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
It was so lovely to be reading about DI Bernie Noel again, I completely love her character and having loved Last Seen I was delighted to pick up Broken Girls.
There is so much packed into this story and it holds a pace and momentum throughout this is highly engaging.
I love the conflict with the higher ranks and can’t imagine how awkward that must be to work around – hats off to Bernie, I think I would struggle to combat ‘Worthless’ every day.
I was interested to see DS Anderson back in the mix, and followed that thread with interest. No spoilers from me…
The main thrust of the story was a murdered girl and a missing girl – plus a world of internet safety, bike races and lovely little spooky story to boot!
I enjoyed how the team solved the various elements, and Joy Kluver writes it so well that it was almost like sitting on Bernie’s shoulder and experiencing everything with her.
There are several threads which all pull together to create a well considered and cleverly plotted thriller that certainly held my interest until the end.
Great series so far and I am looking forward to the next one.
Blurb: Brambles catch her dress, scratch her legs. She has no option but to go barefoot if she’s going to escape. They’d been laughing a few minutes before, but things can change in the blink of an eye…
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…
Read and Rated 