Today I’m sharing my review for The Girl in the Grave, book one in the Beth Adams series by Helen Phifer thanks to Noelle Holten of Bookouture for the invite and for the review copy via NetGalley.
About the book
At least they’d found her. Once the site was processed and the girl’s body removed, they’d be able to identify her so that her family could give her the burial she deserved. This innocent girl was far too young to be lying in a grave, crushed under the weight of someone else’s coffin…
When the body of a teenage girl is found hidden inside a stranger’s grave in a small-town cemetery in the Lake District, an urgent call is made to Forensic Pathologist Beth Adams. One look at the beautiful girl’s broken body is enough to bring Beth out of hiding for the first time since an attempt on her own life…
Beth doesn’t believe it’s a coincidence that the victim was found the same day a threatening gift was left on the doorstep of her secluded home. Her instincts are telling her that it’s a trap, that she should run for safety. But she knows she’s the only one with the expertise to help her trusted friend, Detective Josh Walker, crack the most shocking case of his career.
The tiny traces of material Beth finds beneath the victim’s fingernails is the break in the case the team need to chase down this twisted killer. But this critical lead comes at a dangerous price, exposing Beth’s whereabouts and dragging her back into the line of fire once again.
With Beth’s own life on the line, the investigation is already cracking under the pressure. Then another local girl goes missing… Can Beth stay alive long enough to catch the killer before he claims his next victim?
An absolutely gripping new crime thriller that will grab fans of Patricia Gibney, LJ Ross and Angela Marsons from the very first page and leave them gasping for breath by the last.
Available to purchase now – Amazon | Apple Books | Kobo | Googleplay
My thoughts
Well if you’re looking for a blooming good crime thriller then don’t look any further, The Girl in the Grave is just that and it’s a fantastic start to a new series.
When the body of a young girl is found dead under a coffin in a grave that’s being exhumed, Detective Josh Walker and Forensic Pathologist Beth Adams find themselves in a race against time to catch a Killer and what follows is a fast-paced story that had me totally and utterly gripped.
The Girl in the Grave starts off at a fast pace, it had me hooked and gave me spine tingles in the first few pages and it didn’t let up and I flew through this story basically sitting on the edge of my seat.
Beth and Josh are old friends, Josh is a good detective and his friendship with Beth is a close one. We know at the beginning that something terrible happened to Beth a few years ago, she struggles to feel safe, always looking over her shoulder, taking security to the extreme but we don’t know why until further on in the book, the author slowly reveals the mystery which I found frustrating (cause I’m nosey) but it had me totally intrigued.
Both Josh and Beth are fantastic characters and although there is a mystery to Beth’s past it was very easy to get to grips with both characters, they felt quite real and I really enjoyed getting to know them.
The author really brings the story to life, set in the Lake District it was very easy to imagine the story playing out, almost like a wee film in my head. I had vivid images of not only the beautiful setting but also of the horrors that the investigation entailed. I still get shivers thinking about it.
The Girl in the Grave is honestly an absolute cracker of a story that had me biting my nails, trying to figure out the who’s, the why’s and the what next. It has many twists and turns and all the way through I had that horrible feeling in my stomach, the feeling where the tension builds and you know you can’t put the book down until you get the answers you need.
So I’ll definitely be recommending this absolute cracker of a book and I honestly can’t wait to read the next book in the series. Hopefully we won’t have too long to wait.
Follow the tour
About the author
Helen Phifer lives in a small town called Barrow-in-Furness with her husband and five children.
Helen has always loved writing and reading. Her love of horror films and novels is legendary. Helen adores reading books which make the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Unable to find enough scary stories to read she decided to write her own.
You can connect with Helen on the following links – Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Website
It's all about the books 