My Guilty Pleasures on The Crime Warp: The Gina Harte novels by Carla Kovach

I love reading a series of books. Something just appeals to me about finding out more and more about the characters as the series progresses, which is why I tend to binge read a series when I find one I love. Today's Guilty Pleasures are Carla Kovach's books. 

Apart from being a very talented author, Carla Kovach is also an extremely talented artist. But today, the Kovach creations we are looking at are her phenomonal Detective Gina Harte novels. I have to admit, the first of Carla's novels I read was Her Pretty Bones, which I got from Netgalley. I soon realised that I wanted to find out more about this intriguing character and ... well the rest is history; I went on a Gina Harte binge and am here today to tell you all about these books which I then went back and read in order. 

I think what I love most about these books is that they raise really fresh and interesting questions. Harte herself isn't your typical detective and that appeals top me. She's a mother, trying, somewhat unsuccessfully to build bridges with her grown up daughter. She has a back story that makes her flawed, yet the fact she's come out the other side of this makes her more interesting. 

Available Here

In The Next Girl, which is book 1 in the series, Harte is faced with resurrecting an case of a missing woman from four years previously, after a surprising discovery on a doorstep you'll be gripped. The first few pages are a thrilling hook raising many questions that drives the book forward at an incredible pace. The subject matter and the mystery both kept me enthralled. As an introduction to Gina Harte herself, The Next Girl was brilliant. Who wouldn't want to read more about a woman, with her own problems, hints of a great backstory and a demanding job. Loved it!

Available here

Her Final Hour explores the idea that none of us really know what's going on in someone else's life. Another fast paced, intriguing book from Kovach with a depth of empathy for a difficult subject matter. This is a delightfully dark novel that pushes human relationships to the edge. For me, one of the key elements of this was discovering more of Gina's back story, which Kovach weaves brilliantly into the current story of a woman murdered in her own home. From a tantalising prologue to an intriguing first chapter and many twists to follow, I read this very quickly.

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Her Pretty Bones is the 3rd in the series and I really feel that Kovach just gets better and better as she goes on. A mother's worst nightmare must be when their child goes missing. It muct get even more horrific when people believe she just ran away. Her Pretty Bones is fascinatingly current. I found it very dark and at times was in tears  .. biut I don't want to give too much away. Suffice it to say that this is another cracking read, with multiple strands and many heartbreaking moments. 
Extremely twisty and really well written.

Available here

The Liar's House - Oh my gosh - this is a completely thrilling read. I was hooked from the start and although I was determined to work everything out before the denouement at the end - I failed abysmally. I love the way we see Harte moving on as a character and loved the twisty hooks and red herrings that threw me off the scent. I love novels when a case from the past and a current one converge. It increases the intrigue and Kovach is a master of that




Her Dark Heart - What a thrill to read this. So precisely plotted with such attention to

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detail. I was hooked from the start as I tried to work out, along with Gina Harte, who was sresponsible for Samantha's disappearance and how it all linked back to the past. 
The psychological elements of Kovach's books raise them above just a normal police procedural and I find that thrilling and compelling. 

Available for pre-order

Finally, Carla's most recent book, Her Last Mistake is due for release on 11th May and is available for pre-order. I for one can't wait to catch up with Gina Harte in this one. 

Here's the blurb:
Dressed in a sage green bridesmaid dress, and smiling for pictures, Holly is the happiest she’s ever been. Hours later, Holly is dead.

People love to hate Holly Long. Smart, beautiful and a woman who men find it hard to say no to, she’s the town’s most gossiped about resident.

Now Holly’s body lies in her hotel room, strangled at her best friend’s wedding party. And the gossip has stopped, because nobody wants to look like they did it.

When police search Holly’s immaculate apartment, amongst her stylish furnishings and expensive jewellery, they discover a different side to Holly. Orderly and precise, she wasn’t the chaotic party girl everyone thought her to be. In fact, Holly was a planner, and her next plan was to come out and tell her biggest secret – something she had been hiding for months, something that had the potential to ruin the lives of more than one wedding guest.

There are plenty of people who might have wanted to kill Holly, but only one who has finally made good on their promise.