The Next Girl: Detective Gina Harte, Book 1

By: Carla Kovach

Narrated by: Tamsin Kennard

Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

She thought he’d come to save her. She was wrong.

Deborah Jenkins pulls her coat around her as she sets out on her short walk home in the pouring rain. But she never makes it home that night. And she is never seen again....

Four years later, an abandoned baby girl is found wrapped in dirty rags on a doorstep. An anonymous phone call urges the police to run a DNA test on the baby. But nobody is prepared for the results.

The newborn belongs to Deborah. She’s still alive.

If you love Lisa Gardner, Patricia Gibney and Robert Bryndza, you’ll love this jaw-dropping new crime thriller from Carla Kovach. The Next Girl will keep you guessing until the very last second.

©2018 Carla Kovach (P)2018 Bookouture

possibly the worst book on earth

Just really, really awful. I have a read a lot of awful books, and I genuinely can't think of one that is more awful than this one. I honestly don't know what the "heart-stopping twist" even WAS. Seriously. If someone could tell me, that would be awesome. NOTHING happened in the book that could be termed a "twist." The book isn't even a MYSTERY. The reader knows all the answers from the first page and the whole book is just (a) gratuitous descriptions of everyone's suffering, and (b) incredibly frustrating monologues by dumb-as-rocks detectives--who (SPOILER ALERT) don't even solve the crime! The crime just, in the end, bubbles up and out of its setting and into their laps. The characters are not dimensional enough to be even one-dimensional. And don't even get me STARTED on the depiction of mental illness. Good lord, if you are going to write a book with a character with mental health struggles, do even one iota of research about mental health. This book, in addition to being meritless, goes far in creating and affirming stigma against people with mental health struggles. So. Thanks for that. I shouldn't have taken a break from Louise Penny. Everyone, don't bother. Read Louise Penny instead. How do these books get good reviews?!?

Seriously Could Not stop listening!!!!

My only complaint is with the narrators male voice. It was pretty awful and hard for me to imagine the husbands character differ from the scumbags. Not enough of a deterrent to reconsider getting the book. If they were all this good I’d never get ANYTHING else done. Well worth the credit !

Don't waste your time or money

It was not "gripping" and it certainly did not have any twist. I listened up to the very last second hoping that there would be something to justify the time I spent listening to this but alas, still nothing happened. You know pretty much everything that happened right away so it's rather infuriating to have to listen to how constantly sick and nauseous the main character is while the detectives slowly (very slowly) discover things you already know. My reaction after finishing was "that was it?" It wasn't the worst book I've ever listened to but I wish I had used my time and money on something different.

Great listen!!

This was a memorable listen. So many books/audios are forgotten or left behind, but this author, in perfect harmony, keeps the story moving and holds your attention all the way through. “The Narrator” FABULOUS. Can’t wait for the their next audio.

Unoriginal, Obvious, and Illogical

I really wanted to like this book. Truly. I need a new series to read but this won’t be it. This story is plagued with several issues and it’s clumsy.

What did I like? I cared about the characters and, overall, the dialogue was well-written. I liked the tone and timbre of the reader’s voice.

What didn’t I like? ****Spoilerish****

(1)    Why would the villain who has gotten away with his crime for four years suddenly provide the police a clue that would reopen the case? The somewhat ambiguous answer here is just sloppy and doesn’t make sense. And yet, without it, there would be no story. Without giving away what happens, I ask the author, you couldn’t have come up with another way to reopen the case?
 
(2)    Since when do babies who were born with no prenatal care and left outside in the freezing temperatures of December, somehow barely surviving death by exposure, go to a neo-natal ward for just a couple of days and then are recovered enough to be released from the hospital? And why would people, including a sick DI get to come in to see (and touch) the baby with no masks and gloves while in said care? Really?
 
(3)    If your family member had been abducted and there’s now evidence they’re alive and you’ve had an intruder try to break into your house, why wouldn’t you move temporarily or install security cameras (especially since this is a modern novel and in this modern age, security cameras are very affordable)? Why not just be vigilant instead and hope for the best even though your young children are living in your home? This is not suspension of disbelief, this is just silly.
 
(4)    If a family had experienced a break-in and then subsequently a fire in their home, why would a social worker bring a baby to that home the day after the fire? Here’s a note, they wouldn’t in the real world.
 
More things I didn’t like:
 
(5)    The lead character, DI Gina Harte, has a “mysterious” past. There are hints from the earliest parts of the book as to what that past is. It’s so thinly veiled, you can pick up the whole story from the earliest onset of the story. And yet, despite her past, Gina comes across as “soft” which seems incongruent.  When I think of the well-developed complexities of Marson’s DI Stone, Bryndza’s DI Foster, or Finch’s DS Heckenburg. DI Harte seems pretty one-note.
 
(6)    I didn’t care for the character of Brooke. She started out lovely but she turned into a caricature of the “desperate woman” when the person she cares about had to call off their romance. Lame.
 
(7)    DCI Briggs turns it around over the course of the novel but, quite frankly, in the beginning of the novel, he seemed pushy and smarmy. Ew.
 
(8)    I guessed the killer immediately. I’m not that smart. It was just that obvious. Was that intentional?
 
(9)    I like this reader a lot. I’m guessing she’s new and needs practice. Several times when doing a man’s voice, she would transition to the female character but stay in the male voice and vice versa. In one case, she was doing the voice of a DS who had a cold and then transitioned to a character who didn’t have a cold, but still maintained that voice. The producers and editors should have paid attention as well.
 
(10) Last, but not least, I’ve read dozens of books with an almost identical storyline to The Next Girl. (And what does the title even refer to?) Earlier I referenced Marsons, Bryndza and Finch. Their plots and storylines are innovative, much like the Luther series. Kovach needs to step up her game if she wants to play with the big kids.

Not my thing

I struggled to finish and didn't enjoy the voices of the narrator. Did not click with any of the characters unfortunately.

Wordy

The descriptive parts of the book drug on and on and on. Totally killed the book for me. Toward the end I would just skip past those parts.

Good story.

Good story but the characters were rather one dimensional. I didn't guess "who done it" but frankly, I didnt really care. It was just ok.

good read

it was a good book, just expected a better ending. I expected more to the actual story as well.

it's ok.

it was a struggle to get thru. If you are just looking to have a simple book to listen to this is ok. wouldn't pay for it

Enjoyable story

I enjoyed this story and it was well narrated. I did get a little irritated with the graphic descriptions of two characters with colds which carried on throughout the book. Frequent descriptions of noses being blown, mucus being cleared from throats, snot and sore noses did get a bit too much for me at times. It was also noticeable that several characters bit their bottom lips, ran their fingers through their hair and pressed their foreheads with some regularity. Having said that, I did enjoy the experience of listening to this and will try this author again.

A good listen and so much more

This story kept me mesmerised. No fillers, no distractions, just a good story to immerse myself in. I loved every minute. No annoyingly false or difficult accents to contend with. Just a very good tale. Can’t wait for the next book to arrive.

Returning this one

I've had a run of bad luck recently with my downloads and I really wanted a book I could get my teeth into. The premise for this one sounded great and I started off with enthusiasm. Misplaced enthusiasm as it turned out. It's not well written and some of the dialogue and thoughts of the characters were very poor, very artificial and forced. It seemed to me that the author hadn't done much research into how a police investigation would be conducted and had picked it all up from watching cosy TV series.

Brilliant!

One of the best books I’ve read this year! Can’t wait for the next one

Loved this

Absolutely loved this book, kept me completely gripped
I’m so Looking forward to august 2018 :)

Kept me hooked!

Great story, kept me hooked! The twist in the kidnapper is good! The accents of the narrators annoyed me, particularly the children.

excellent

I enjoyed listening to this book . the suspense was great. I intend to read another in this series

Easy story doesn’t require too much concentration to follow.

Good characters - sadly, the ‘baddie’ was pointed out too early on for me which was a shame. I felt the author underestimated the intellect of the readers in doing so. Sometimes it just doesn’t spelling out.
I will listen to the next one out of interest.

loved it 6*

loved it 6* very good gripping well written story well done Carla, looking forward to next book ln August 2018!!

a real gripping storey with twists and turns

excellent book well written and well read . looking forward to the next one with eagerness