This book is another installment in the series of books following Charlie Stafford, who investigates crimes for the Met. I've read most of the others so I had really high hopes for this one.

We open with the death of a premature baby but Charlie and her team are soon investigating again when another body is found. On paper, this may seem like a straight forward detective/crime novel but the themes run a lot deeper than a traditional 'whodunnit'.

The book deals with some very dark issues, namely the sex trade and trafficking of girls from Eastern Europe into it. Drugs are also a prominent theme, with several of the girls also being hooked on them. Some of the scenes are intense and some may find them shocking. Personally they didn't bother me and I felt that they did need to be there to convey the darker sides of the story but I have seen other reviews that imply it wasn't necessary so I suppose it depends on your reading tastes and whether you're okay with reading reasonably explicit and sometimes violent scenes. Given the subjects that this book is dealing with, it's not over the top but I can see how you might be surprised if you didn't realise these subjects were involved.

There was a twist towards the end that I really did not see coming!I thought I had it all sussed out and was quite taken aback at this.

The characters are well developed and believable and the writing style kept me hooked. It was fairly fast paced but not too much. Although it's part of a series, I think it could be read standalone. I didn;t realise initially that it was part of this series, although I was sure I recognised Charlie's name. With that in mind, you don't need to have read any of the previous books to follow this one.

The Broken Dolls is the fourth book in the DC Charlie Stafford crime series set in London. A dead body of a newborn baby is found in a dumpster, a local prostitute has been murdered and a Russian with unknown identity is suspicious of human trafficking. No wonder Charlie and her team have full hands investigating the crimes and trying to connect the dots.

The main theme of the book is sex trade which is depicted in quite a detail with many scenes of violence and brutality. I did not find the scenes disturbing, quite the opposite, they felt authentic to me and had me glued to the book. The same can be said about the crime investigation which comes as no surprise as the author is a former police officer and it shows! The ending caught me totally off guard as I was sure I had it all figured out, but I was very wrong, Ms Flint saved the best for last.

Perhaps the one thing I missed in the book was more of DC Stafford's personal life story. We learn very little about her, which is a shame as she seems to be an interesting character. However, this is probably my own fault as I am yet to read the first three books in the series.

Overall, very enjoyable read, would highly recommend to fans of Robert Bryndza. 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Aria for an advanced copy in exchange of an honest review.

A thought provoking book. Sexual exploitation both by girls being trafficked from Eastern Europe and girls being seduced from Children's homes, are as bad as one another. Girls from abroad with no family to protect them - and worse their traffickers know where their families are and girls who don't have anyone to protect them. We should be doing more to look after children in care.

An interesting story with a twist in the tail. We're left with 2 victims - who are much more guilty than they appear - what does the future hold for them - neither of them are particularly sane. This is a book that engrossed me and the open ended ending - I must admit it worries me.

I thought this book was was just another detective story and I was pretty much right! I pushed myself to read it. Older teens may like it. It was very over detailed and I skipped over parts because of this.. I was so disappointed the description of the book sounded so good! It was just what I was looking for!

Very well written story, it plucks at all your emotions, The Author brings all the charactors to life and makes you feel like you there, I never even saw the twist coming, looking forward to reading more from Sarah

I have tried more than once to get through this book but I am only on Chapter 7 and having a hard time with the story. The scenes for me are too strong. The descriptions are written well. However, I don’t have the stomach for this type of novel.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Aria for an advance copy of Broken Dolls, the fourth novel to feature DC Charlie Stafford of the Met.

When the body of a premature baby is found dead in a heap of rubbish Charlie and the team are called in to try and find its mother but what they surmise is shocking. Unfortunately this is not their only case when shortly after they have to investigate the brutal murder of a young prostitute known as Redz.

I thoroughly enjoyed Broken Dolls which is a cleverly plotted novel with some good twists and an ending I didn't see coming. The subject matter and setting may not suit all readers as it concerns the sex trade and makes for disturbing reading. It is not a subject I know much about but the brutality, violence and mindset seem all too realistic with the "girls" (and many of them are) treated like commodities rather than people. I am impressed by Ms Flint's skill in painting such a convincing picture within the confines of of the genre.

The novel is told mostly from two points of view, Charlie's and Redz' friend and "stablemate" Caz's. It makes for interesting reading to contrast both sides, with Charlie trying to shutdown the pimps and Caz dealing with one. The plot itself is fairly fast paced with plenty happening, much of it violent, and a good storyline which I found quite original. Yes, the sex trade is fertile ground for crime writers but Ms Flint's take is different and the twists are great.

The characters of Caz and her pimp, Razor, are particularly well drawn with their dysfunctional relationship to the fore. He uses her for income and she dreams of a real relationship with him. It makes for poignant reading as he uses and abuses her, shattering her dreams bit by bit.

Broken Dolls is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

Wow where do I start with Broken Dolls? As we have become to expect from Sarah Flint this book was absolutely thrilling and heart stopping.

DC Charlie Stafford has a lot on her plate with this one with two cases a dead baby and a dead prostitute. Are they connected or are they totally random attacks? As she tries to unravel the cases we see the seedy and violent side of prostitution, people smuggling, drug taking and crack houses. These women live a dangerous life and live for their next fix.

This was an extremely well told story as I had absolutely no idea of who the killer was until the reveal at the end, and what a surprise that was! I would never have guessed it in a million years. I really enjoyed this book, I like Charlie and her team they are a cohesive group that work well together. The story was fast paced, kept me entertained and interested all the way through and kept me guessing. I had a hard time putting this one down it was a real page turner that kept me reading late into the night.

The ending was just amazing and blew my mind! It was bloody amazing!

I loved this book it was really good, I am giving it 5 stars because it deserves it, it was a great book and I highly recommend it.

Here is the publishers blurb on the book:

The all NEW heart-stopping, un-put-downable serial killer thriller from the bestselling author of Mummy's Favourite. Perfect for the fans of Angela Marsons.
A baby lies abandoned amongst the rubbish;her tiny face as white as alabaster, her body as stiff as a miniature doll.
A young prostitute lies beaten, her figure lying like a mannequin on the frozen concrete, her blood spilt, her life ebbing away.
As DC 'Charlie' Stafford and her boss DI Hunter struggle to identify the victim from the violator their hunt brings them to the crack houses of Lambeth, littered with damaged people, their lives scarred by tragedy and violence, most broken beyond repair.
As further lives hang in the balance Charlie must enpower the weak to speak out against those who seek to cause harm.
But can a broken doll ever truly be mended; or will the wounds of the past, fashion the events of the future?

Sarah Flint, you got me good on this one with the climax. I really thought I knew the ending.
After reading the three previous books in the Charlotte Stafford series, I really couldn't wait to get my teeth into Broken Dolls and it certainly did not disappoint. It has everything to get your heart racing. I would highly recommend it.

Charlie is back! And this time it is the most vulnerable among us who are being targeted.

A newborn, dead in a dumpster. A young girl dead in an alleyway. Are they connected?

Feeling that time is of the utmost importance she and her boss Hunter, try to track down the baby's mother and stumble onto a trafficking outfit. Importing young girls and grooming them to be prostitutes. Treated no better than a stray dog.

There are really two tales in play here. One story line is looking at the murders of the prostitutes and the other is the sex crimes. When one of their informants helps them put the pieces together they are sure they have the right people behind bars.

But do they? If something is broken over and over, will it ever be right again? Or will it just continue the pattern of hurt and lies. Can a person be beyond repair?

I always enjoy Charlie and I am hoping for more on Ben in the next one!

Well Done!

Netgalley/Aria  August 07,2018

I always enjoy a good detective book and this certainly ticked all the boxes. Could be a little confusing at times with all the characters and plots but it had me gripped to the end. Unfortunately it shows the seamier side of life a lot of which actually exists. Good to see 2 female strong characters as well.

This is a book about human trafficking, and the young girls forced into prostitution. These young girls usually come from poor families and are encouraged by someone offering them a better life to leave home to start a job, and be able to send money to their parents. The surprise is arriving and being set up in meager places to live and forced to service the customers. They are threatened with the death of their families if they try to escape. This story implements both prostitution and human trafficking.
It is well written, intriguing and scintillating. Definitely keeps your attention with a surprise ending. I truly enjoyed reading this story.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

DC Charlie Stafford is back with the team with the case of a premature baby found dumped. How does think link to Russian criminals? A prostitute is found murdered and all evidence points to her pimp who swears blind he didn’t do it. Bodies are piling up, can Charlie solve the murder?

As always Sarah’s books are gritty and have those little twists. I would have loved more about Ben and Charlie and their developing romance maybe in the next one!

Thank you NetGalley and Aria for this arc.

From the publisher's description, I thought this sounded like it was right up my alley and couldn't wait to read it. It delivered less than I'd hoped for. There were actually two main story lines all mixed together, so that slowed down my reading -- trying to keep the different criminals and victims straight in my head. Which might not have been such a problem, but there were too many characters for me to also try to keep straight. Also, there was a lot of verbiage setting the scenes/moods that I found slowed down the pacing of the story. Overall, not an awful book, but I did find Charlie and Anna's "maternal instincts" to be kind of cloying about halfway through..

2.5 stars

I loved Sarah’s first DC Stafford book and I’ve loved this one just as much. The author draws you into the characters lives, where you feel a connection and this keeps the pages turning! Can’t wait for the next book in the series!