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THE GUILTY GIRL

 



SYNOPSIS

Something whistling through the door behind her caused her to turn. A shadow spread across the opening. She clasped a hand to her mouth, stilling the fear that was rising. The menacing shadow was followed by a face that sent a cold shiver down her spine…

When the call comes in about Lucy, a seventeen-year-old girl murdered after the secret party she held in her parents’ home, Detective Lottie Parker is first on the scene. As she picks her way through the smashed glasses and the blood spatter on the perfect cream carpet, she is horrified to see Lucy’s angelic face, silvery-blue eyes forever closed.

As Lottie breaks the news to Lucy’s heartbroken parents and the devastated partygoers, she discovers that hours before her death Lucy had revealed a terrible secret about her friend Hannah. And when Lottie finds Lucy’s bloodstained clothing hidden in Hannah’s bedroom, she has no option but to bring the shy, frightened girl into custody.

But Hannah claims to have no memory of the night Lucy died and Lottie begins to question her guilt. Then a fifteen-year-old boy who also attended the party is pulled from the canal. And as Lottie investigates, she discovers something shocking. Her own son Sean was at the party. Why did he lie to her? Is her beloved child a witness or a suspect… or is he now in the killer’s sights?


Title: The guilty girl
Author: Patricia Gibney
Series: D.I. Lottie Parker #11
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication date: June 15, 2022




Patricia is the million-copy bestselling author of the DI Lottie Parker series. She yearned to be a writer after reading Enid Blyton and Carolyn Keene and even wanted to be Nancy Drew when she grew up. She has now grown up (she thinks) but the closest she’s come to Nancy Drew is writing crime!

In 2009, after her husband died, she retired from her job and started writing seriously. Fascinated by people and their quirky characteristics, she always carries a notebook to scribble down observations.

Patricia also loves to paint in watercolour and lives in the Irish midlands with her children.



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REVIEW

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

If you’re a fan of police procedurals and you’re not reading the Lottie Parker series, you’re missing out cause they’re the quintessential police procedurals. We’re already at the 11th installment and the series is still going strong.

A young girl has been murdered after a house party. At first it looks like a simple case as some incriminating evidence appears at the house of another of the partygoers with whom the victim had some history, but a second body a few hours later will put all of Lottie’s capabilities to the test.

If you’ve already read some of the books in this series you know what to expect, and if not prepare yourself for a really complex plot with lots of moving parts and suspects that have become Ms Gibney’s books trademark.

With so many pieces on the table it seems nearly impossible for the author to fit them all together to get the complete puzzle but, once again, she manages to do it seamlessly. The planning board behind this complicated plots must be a sight to hold!

One of the things I love about these series is how much Lottie has changed throughout. She’s gone from belligerent and controlling, alienating everyone around her to a much more likeable character, more respectful of her team and not so abrasive with her kids and mother.

As usual, the story moves at a really brisk pace. With so many investigative lines going on at the same time it was a really entertaining read. The resolution went to some pretty dark places that sadly felt too real.

This time around the focus was completely on the murder investigation so we didn’t get to see much of Lottie’s personal life, but I’m curious to see where that last chapter will take us.

Another gripping police procedural by Ms Gibney that I highly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.





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