Reviews with content warning for Kidnapping - The Next Girl

Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

lifeofchrstnlvly's review

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This book is a straightforward procedural thriller.

It took me some time to finish it due to a lack of compelling tension. Although the stakes were high with a life on the line, the plot revealed the victim's situation while the protagonist, DI Gina Harte, was still trying to solve the case. As a result, I, the reader, was merely waiting for the protagonist to catch up with what I already knew. The question was not 'what will happen?' but 'when and how will the villain be caught?' This aspect dulled the suspense and made me less inclined to pick up the book.

However, DI Gina Harte, the protagonist, was a well-developed character. Even though her personal backstory didn't profoundly affect me, I could understand her because her character was thoroughly explored.

I'm undecided about continuing with the series. I might consider reading the second book in the future, but if it follows the same format, I may not pursue the entire series.

Also, to be honest, Harte was a bit.. dumb for a DI. She actually didn't solve the case in this book. All the pieces just fell into place: she didn't find the victim, someone else did. She didn't take down the perpetrator. Someone else did.

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yarm's review

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Very tense. Good suspense. Hard to put down. Trigger warning for abuse and trauma.

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yvo_about_books's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.25

Finished reading: April 30th 2024

“The combination of thunder and seeing the helpless baby had dug up her memories. Memories she'd rather forget.”

I came across this series when I was browsing my kindle for titles to read to help complete my kindle freebies goal, and since I've been meaning to try Carla Kovach's writing for a while now I decided to give in. The Next Girl is the first book of a detective thriller series, and it starts on a heavy note with a kidnapping case as well as a focus on domestic abuse. It's not a bad read, but somehow there wasn't really anything that made this thriller stand out from other books in the genre either. I think this had a lot to do with the main character Gina, who I was unable to warm up to. She seemed too much like your stereotypical flawed detective with a troubled past, and the rest of the cast wasn't overly developed either. The many references to her past and psychological consequences in the present not only made her seem less competent as a detective, but also started to annoy me considerably. The fact that she was sleeping with her boss didn't really help either to be honest. The plot itself dragged in parts as well, and as a result it took me longer than expected to read The Next Girl . The case itself had a lot of potential and there were moments that were more suspenseful, but as a whole I felt that something was lacking. And while the final part was more engaging, it couldn't fully save this story for me. All in all it wasn't a bad read, but I don't think I will be continuing with this series... I still have too many other detective thriller series I want to start/continue instead.

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jul1a_pl's review

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challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

When reading I felt like it's another crime story which was supposed to be full if plot twists but turned out quite disappointing. The plot was in my opinion unbelievable - I could never imagine this happening in real life so I had issue sympathising with main characters.

For me, the detective was a cliché policewoman - family problems, puts work first, always working, has some trauma what makes it hard for her to has a good relationship with her daughter etc. and her character wasn't too developed. I didn't care too much about what happens and had happened to her.

Apart from a few plot twists in the first few chapters, I wasn't really involved in the story.

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sianynicole's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Enjoyable gritty read. Good mix of character and plot focus. Multiple points of view but not so many as to be boring, and they progressed the story well. Kept me guessing as to who the suspect was. I enjoyed Gina and will look into reading some more of the series. Also, poor Brooke!

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jewelzbooks44's review

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Hard to read certain parts. A good crime thirller. Definitely gives you intense feeling throughout story. Some characters could a had more history to them. Also after everything, more of the bonding of family. 4 stars.

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