Four-year-old Kayden has been sitting alone on the little patch of tired grass outside his house for hours. His cheeks are wet with tears as he waits for his mother’s warm embrace. But she’ll never arrive to pick up her darling boy. She’ll never be seen again…
Church Road is a quiet corner of suburbia where happy families play in the local park and neighbours smile as they pass in the street. But behind the bright red door of number 8 lies the body of Billie Reeves, a young mum who just took her last breath.
Serena is Billie’s sister. When she found out her boyfriend had been obsessively calling Billie, she’d all but cut her from her life. But not before vowing she would make Billie pay for ruining her relationship…
Shaun is Billie’s ex-boyfriend. He left her the moment she fell pregnant. When he turned up at Billie’s door, demanding to see Kayden, she refused to take the risk of him hurting her precious son. He’ll do whatever it takes to get his little boy back…
Nadia is Billie’s best friend. Their kids attended the same school and Billie often opened up to Nadia about her struggles as a single mother. She knows Billie’s deepest, darkest secret. She promised never to tell, but that was before the argument…
When police investigate the quiet little street, they discover everyone was whispering about Billie’s late-night callers. What was going on behind the closed door of Billie’s small home? And if someone was prepared to kill her, what do they know, and who will be next?
Review
I have always enjoyed this series. I fell 3 books behind and didn’t get the ARCs but I have bought them and can’t wait to read them soon. Luckily, having read 8 books in the series so far, I was able to fill in the gaps as far as the characters’ lives and quickly get up to speed.
Gina Harte is dealing with a personal issue and is more alone than she has ever been. However, there is no time to dwell on her personal misery as she is quickly drawn in to a complex case filled with twists and turns. Billie is a single mother found murdered in her home. She lives in a small community with a circle of friends so its hard to imagine anyone targeting her.
I love small towns as settings for thrillers. The secrets and scandals have never failed to hold my attention. There is always so much drama that makes me happy that I live in the city. In this story, there is a group of school mums whose circle is broken by the murder of one of them. Then the secrets started coming out. Ooooh, they were juicy and scandalous! I was rubbing my hands in glee as each twist dropped. This was such an exciting read.
I have always loved Detective Gina Harte. She’s grown as a character and has had her ups and downs. It was fun to reconnect with her in this fast-paced, twisty, jaw-dropping case. I truly enjoyed this one and cannot wait for the next book in the series.
A Haven for Book Lovers 
Such a great recommendation for this book. I have to take a look for the series, Diana!
Thanks Marialyce. This is such a good series. It has about 12 books so far but totally worth getting into if you ever get the chance.
Haven’t read this series, but sounds like a good one for sure! Glad you enjoyed reading this one.
Thank you. Its pretty good. I love your profile pic by the way ❤
Thank you, it’s from when I got married in August 2021. 🙂
Small town secrets are usually entertaining! Sounds like an absorbing mystery on many levels.
They sure are and yes, this was quite an enjoyable read.
Small town secrets are so fun! I’m glad you enjoyed this one. I love the cover!
It was such a great read. Thank you Deanna ❤
Fab review! This is one of the series I’ve been meaning to start… I’m falling more and more behind haha. I’m glad you are still enjoying it! I have the first book on my kindle now, so fingers crossed I will be able to get to it some time soon.
haha it happens. It happened to me with the Kim Stone series. I am so far behind that I don’t think I will ever catch-up. I hope you’ll get a chance to check this one out someday though
I know the feeling! It took me ages to catch up with the DI Kim Stone books… I do hope to finally start the Gina Harte books though; one of my goals is to read more kindle freebies this year, so that might just help me pick up the first book faster.
Great review, Diana. My heart broke for Kayden just reading your review. It sounds like a complicated mystery, but I know Gina Harte will be up to it. 😊 I have dipped in and out of this series, but have several to read. I like the sound of this one, but need to go back and read all the ones I have missed. Perhaps I need to add this series to my Finishing the Series challenge.
Thanks Carla. This was a heartbreaking case but yes, Gina totally handled it :D. I have also missed a couple of books in the series. I hope we will both enjoy catching up with with the missed titles when the opportunity arises.