Cover Image: Bitter Edge

Bitter Edge

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Member Reviews

Very happy to receive an advanced copy of this thanks!

I absolutely love the Kelly Porter series. I live in Cumbria so with it being based here it’s even better. Kelly is one of my favourite detectives.

This story is based around drugs. A young girl kills herself while on drugs and then another goes missing...... Kelly has to try and unravel what’s going on.

I literally didn’t put this down until the end! Brilliant.

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Thank you NetGalley and Canelo for this arc.

Bitter Edge is the 4th DI Kelly Porter book and I still need to read the first 2 books (but I've got them on my kindle now!) I tore through Bitter Edge in just a few hours. Kelly starts off juggling a couple of cases and somehow ends up dealing with a whole lot more that once again turns into a gigantic Gordian Knot of a mess.
With the help of other neighboring police forces they somehow manage to cut the head(s) off the hydra and tie most of the mess up in a fairly satisfactory manner. Kelly's personal relationships run through the background of the story and also continue to progress in a natural manner.

The book's blurb promises this is perfect for fans of Angela Marsons and Robert Bryndza. And it delivers on that promise.

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This series just keeps getting better and better. Love this series. Love the progression of Kelly, both professionally and personally, and interwoven with an excellent multi layered who dun it.

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I would like to thank Netgalley and Canelo for an advance copy of Bitter Edge, the fourth novel to feature DCI Kelly Porter of the Cumbrian police.

Teenager Jenna Fraser commits suicide and Kelly finds it difficult to accept. She wants to find a reason but has no power to investigate until events take a turn and she finds herself at Jenna’s school, Derwent Academy, investigating other crimes. What she finds gives her a crash course in teenage behaviour.

I enjoyed Bitter Edge which is a clever mystery with several twists and turns. I found the novel initially difficult to grab hold of as it is all over the place, narratively speaking. It opens with the tragedy of Jenna’s death and then switches point of view through various characters whom the reader has to assume will be relevant later in the novel. In an investigative sense, therefore, the novel is slow to ramp up but as it continues I came to value this early scene setting as it gives the reader a good sense of character and places later actions in context. I soon found myself hooked by the various angles and possibilities. I liked the way Ms Lynch pulls all these various strands together into a cohesive and plausible whole. The resolution is clever and satisfying and while it makes sense I wonder if it’s legally possible.

I can’t say that I enjoyed the rather bleak picture it paints of modern teenage life with bullying, drugs and celebrity fixation rife. I’m not one to get nostalgic about my schooldays and I fully understand that Ms Lynch is describing the extreme end of that life but it seems extremely shallow and nihilistic and doesn’t exactly chime, apart from the selfies and celebrity doings, with the teenagers I know. I think what I’m trying to ask is where’s the optimism and joy in their lives?

Ms Lynch reserves that for the adults. Kelly is in a happy place with her relationship which is going from strength to strength, her acceptance of Ted as her father and her new understanding with her dying mother. She is even keeping her fractious sister at arm’s length. I particularly enjoyed her interactions with Josie, her boyfriend’s teenage daughter, Josie as they seem natural and realistic. On the work front she is a tenacious investigator who invests personally in her hunt for justice.

Bitter Edge is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

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I love this series. The subplot is as enjoyable as the gripping main plot as we catch up with Detective Kelly Porter, her team and her family, set amongst the beautiful backdrop of The Lakes
Another great addition to this series, which just gets better and better with each instalment.

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This is book 4 in the Kelly Porter series and the best yet! I love the character development, and the characters are very believable. The setting of the lake District is just perfect and the plot in this book kept me totally intrigued. I enjoyed reading more of Kelly's family and Johnny's daughter. A must read series, from a great author, which I highly recommend. My thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for my ARC. Reviews on Goodreads and Facebook.

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Absolutely freaking brilliant !!! This is book 4 in the DI Kelly Porter series and it has fast become one of my favourite series and it just gets better and better. What I love about the brilliant Rachel Lynch is that she writes so damn real and say’s it just like it is, the characters are believable as are the the multi layered plot lines and this makes for a tremendous read.
It’s set in the beautiful scenery of the Lake District (not so far from me) and again we meet up with Kelly’s work colleagues and family which all adds to the enjoyment of the book. The plot lines as always are exceptionally good and I just cant’ fault anything about it it’s a joy of a book and I look forward to reading the next in the series. So I would say this is a must read most definitely and please don’t miss it..start from the beginning of the series (if you haven’t already) and I promise you won’t be disappointed at all its 5 stars and more.
My thanks to NetGalley and Canelo for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

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