Their Fatal Secrets by Janice Frost is the 4th in the DS Merry/DI Neal series. I haven't read the previous books, but this one works fine as a stand-alone.

From the blurb: "Two students coming home from a drunken night out see something strange in the river. It is a young woman’s body.

Hours later, a second young woman’s body is discovered on another stretch of the same river."

DS Ava Merry and DI Jim Neal are assigned to both investigations. And they’re joined by a new detective, Tom Knight. There is an interesting premise in this novel involving the backstory behind the murders. The villain (the standard woman-hating lover of violence for this kind of novel) is revealed almost immediately--and although a frightening character, he is both despicable and strangely uninteresting.

The main characters are not especially developed, but since this is the third entry in the series, for regular readers this probably isn't necessary. The connection between the women makes the plot interesting and persuaded me to finish it.

NetGalley/Joffe Books

Crime/Police Procedural. Oct. 21, 2017.

Two young men find the body of a women in the river one night, and closely afterwards another woman's body is found in the same area. DI Ava Merry and Inspector Jim Neal and their team begin investigating who is killing young woman and dumping their bodies? Suspense builds as they try and figure out what one of the young woman was investigating that could have caused someone to kill her. What does Seth and Johnty have to do with the dead woman? The relationship building between Ava and Jim is interesting to read also.

I would like to thank Joffe Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Their Fatal Secrets’ written by Janice Frost, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
The body of Leanne Jackson is discovered in the River Strom after having been hit on the head with a flat iron. Soon after, the body of Ruby Kennedy is found dead in similar circumstances. Jess Stokes was bullied at school and was befriended by Leanne who came to her rescue. Jess is determined to discover who killed her friend and find out if there’s a connection between Leanne and Ruby.
DI Jim Neal and DS Ava Merry investigate the deaths of the two women, joined by DS Tom Knight who’s been seconded from Hertfordshire and DC Polly ‘PJ’ Jenkins. They make a good team and I enjoyed the interaction between the characters.
This novel is unusual in that at the beginning it suggests who the killer might be but other possibilities were also introduced so I was kept guessing. The plot was intricate, well-written and exciting, with a thrilling conclusion as Jim and Ava fight for their lives in pursuit of the killer. I wanted the novel to go on for a bit longer so I hope Janice Frost will write another and let us know what happens in the relationship between Jim and Ava.

This book has many twists and turns making you second guess yourself each time you think you have fathomed out the culprit. It immediately drops you in at the deep end starting with a murder in the first few sentences.There are several subjects raised in this story,abuse,bullying,relationships both personal and work,mental health and disabilities.
I would like to thank Janice Frost for a fantastic book,I literally didn't want to put my Kindle down.It had me gripped from the first word to the last.I will definitely be reading more Janice Frost books.

D.S. Ava Merry a D.I. Jim Neal are investigating the drowning of a young girl, brutally beaten before ending up in the river. The girl, Leanne, experienced a troubled upbringing, eventually landing in jail. She had, however, turned her life around and was working with mentally disturbed, vulnerable teens. When another girl is killed and the team have combed Leanne's flat for clues, they find a list of girls' names; they realize Leanne was investigating what proves to be a vicious gang conducting sex parties, involving girls who were in care for mental problems. They are all underage...There are 2 suspects and 1 shadowy character who calls himself The Captain, who owns a longboat.
Jess, a girl who went to school with Leanne and was protected from bullies by her, feels guilty and is determined to find out what happened to Leanne. She had scoliosis in school which made her the target of taunts, rendering her very insecure and shy. Leanne was always there to protect her, but when she ended up getting in trouble with the authorities, Jess turned her back on her and is now determined to find justice for her former protector. But then she gets a threatening note warning her off and nasty incidents accelerate: a bag of offal is found in her building, her tires are slashed and her good friend's beloved dog is poisoned. She is constantly looking over her shoulder, terrified, and in the end is attacked in her flat and kidnapped.
Jim and Ava, quite sure of the identities of the men involved are frantically searching for Jess and the perpetrators, before she too is killed.
This is a very good book; the team are very appealing, although Jim is tightly wrapped, he needs to chill...I have a feeling he will, in the next outings, be more relaxed. He deserves it.
The subject of mentally troubled youth is handled very sensitively, shining a light on the lack of proper care available to them. Very topical!
I give the book 4.5 stars; having read the whole series and enjoying it, I cannot wait for the next outing.
Thank you Netgalley, Joffe Books and Angela Matson's for the eARC.

Another gripping instalment in this series, the team face a complex, fast paced, twisted case.