very very good - kept me guessing all the way ! highly recommended and look forward to the next book from Rachel Lynch.

DI Kelly Porter works in the Lake District. She is bothered by the suicide of a teenager but can't investigate as it seems initially to be suicide, However it emerges that there have been previous suicides at the school and she gets to look into them. The dangers that modern teenagers are exposed to, drugs, social media, insecurity and bullying are well described. Very readable but in spite of the title lacks an edge.

Another brilliant book by this author . Love DI porter and her team, love the series up to now I hope there's more to follow . Great storylines that link in with the earlier books.

What a great book, I loved the setting and the characters. I haven't met DI Kelly Porter before but I will be looking out for more in the series. Well written and a book I would recommend. This is a case of when you want to know the outcome but don't want the journey to end.

What could have in common a teenage girl suicide and a missing girl?
Everyone thinks there’s nothing in common between them except DI Kelly Porter, she doesn’t like that two students at the same high school have drug problems… Could it be that someone is targeting students?
Let me say that in the beginning I was totally lost with all the characters involved in the case; every chapter was a different character with what it seemed nothing to connect each of them! Of course as we entered more to the story we could understand all the characters and their stories, but it was a little bit difficult to enter to the plot.
I really liked DI Kelly Porter, she is a brave and intelligent woman who is not scared to investigate when she can feel that something is not right.
In this case we can read some of the most common teenage problems; bullying, drug use, friendship problems and loneliness. It was not easy thinking that some teenager can manipulate or bully to have more power or be accepted within the class and friends, but I don’t know neither if the parents can prevent it, or simply being alert to search for the red alerts before it would be too late…
But let’s focus on the story, there’s a teenage missing after going out with some friends; they say she left alone but DI Kelly knows that they are hiding something, she just has to investigate a little more to discover what did really happened that night.
I liked how the author shares a little bit of Kelly’s life, not a lot, but some drops to allow the reader connect with her. I will make a little spoiler not about the case, but about Kelly’s story. Because I have to say I couldn’t read the last pages of the book, only the last 4, not because I didn’t like the book, but because they were too deep and hurting for me.
This is the fourth book of the DI Kelly Porter, but you can read it as standalone.
This had been a good read; interesting, realistic and full of different characters to make the story much more complete and compelling. Ready for the Bitter Edge?

Starting with a tragic event, the reader is still reeling, when a young child faces danger at a fairground. This story deals with every parent’s worst nightmares.

The Lake District setting and weather is an important part of the story as three seemingly unconnected events, form part of the puzzle Kelly Porter has to solve.

The police and forensic procedure is an interesting part of the fast-paced plot, which is full of twists, clues, action, and emotional angst. The crime is contemporary and demonstrates the worrying infiltration of organised crime into rural areas.

Kelly Porter continues to be a great character, clever, and finally coming to terms with her personal demons. The police team and her family provide believable supporting roles and the antagonists are convincingly immoral and driven by money at the expense of human life.

I can’t wait to see where this series goes next.

I received a copy of this book from Canelo via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

BITTER EDGE

BY RACHEL LYNCH



CANELO

GENERAL FICTION (ADULT) , MYSTERY & THRILLERS

PUB DATE 25 FEB 2019





I am reviewing a copy of Bitter Edge through Canelo and Netgalley:





Di Kelly Porter is back, but an old foe is back as well and he refuses to back down this time.



After a teenager girl flings herself off a cliff in search of a gruesome death, Di Kelly Porter finds herself asking why. The death has been ruled a suicide so there is really no reason to chase answers but when several of her teams cases converge on the girls school, a darker story emerges. A story that will bring Kelly face to face with an old foe, one who is determined to take back what is rightfully his, he doesn’t care what it costs.



The storyline is gripping as well as complex, allowing the reader to decide for themselves how they feel about the characters. Di Kelly Porter is a strong M.C determined to do what she feels is right, no matter what the facts may say. She is determined to find the answers to a young girls untimely death, knowing instinctively there is more to it than is being said.





Deep in her pursuit of justice for the ever growing list of victims, Kelly finds security in , family and the father she has only just discovered. But just as she draws close to unearthing the dark truth at the heart of her investigation, a single moment on a cold winter’s night shatters the notion that anything in Kelly’s world can ever truly be safe.





If you are looking for a gripping read that’ll keep you in suspense, Bitter Edge fits that bill.





Four out of five stars!





Happy Reading

In this 4th installment of the DI Kelly Porter series, Kelly's relationship with Johnny continues to blossom and his teenage daughter, Josie plays a huge role in the couple continuing to figure out what they mean to one another. Sister Nikki takes a back seat in this book as the relationship between Kelly and her mother, Wendy is more the focus. As for her professional life, Kelly and her team certainly have their hands full between a teenager's suicide, a teacher being excused of inappropriate behavior towards students, a missing teenager from a community fair, a vengeful father, a drug dealer, and a local sexual predator who seems to be tied to it all.

One of my comments from my review of book three, Dead End was that Rachel Lynch focused a lot of her storytelling on Kelly's personal life and less on the crime. I am beginning to see that is actually the author's pattern. The first 15 chapters are bit of a character dump until Kelly and her team finally get something concrete to investigate. But once that happens the momentum really began to build.

I continue to like this series, but I feel it's a bit light in terms of other police procedural series.

In the run up to Christmas, DI Kelly Porter has her hands full - and a lot of the problems come from the local Secondary school. One pupil has committed suicide, a second has gone missing and one of their teachers is being investigated for possessing indecent images. There’s also a missing toddler and her mum’s terminal illness to contend with.

Set in and around the Lake District town of Keswick, the delightfully described scenery provided a relief from the dark storyline. There were times when I found the number of characters confusing, and kept having to check back to see who was who, however it all come together well at the end and the threads of the story were woven back together.

This was the first of Rachel Lynch’s books that I had read, but it definitely won’t be the last. An enjoyable read for fans of crime fiction.

Very cleverly written book that links all the characters to a dramatic climax. The book not only highlights the dangers of social media but how peer pressure and trying to fit in can have drastic consequences. The main character is very likeable and you want her to catch the people responsible for the drug dealing and deaths but I was not prepared for the twists and turns in every chapter!

Please note that there are a number of references to suicide throughout this novel. I know that trigger warnings often need to be highlighted and that’s certainly the case here. There is heavy drug use, depression, anxiety and paedophilia at the heart of the novel.

Having read the previous D.I. Kelly Porter book, I was familiar with the characters and the backstories. It’s another speedy read, with lots of police procedural detail, which I enjoyed in the last book. I also love the Lake District setting.

I have to say I liked Kelly less in this novel. She doesn't get on with her sister, has trouble interacting with her partner's daughter, and seems to be accepting of the fact that her colleague hasn't received a promotion because she's had a few children. Whilst we know her relationship with women seems to be far more fraught than it is with men, this time she was almost a misogynist.

A more minor complaint for me was the product placement that suddenly showed up with literal references to: Lancôme perfume, Ramsay’s Birkenstock’s, Estée Lauder makeup and a Garmin watch. The brands did not add anything to the narrative and left me questioning the purpose of mentioning them.

I really enjoyed the last book and gave it 5 stars. I was underwhelmed this time around. Would I read another in the series? My honest answer is: maybe. Perhaps with less horrific themes and with some adjustments to Kelly’s attitude to women.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Canelo and Rachel Lynch for a copy of an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is another book in this wonderful series
Set in a beautiful location but the book is dark and mysterious.
This is a gripping intense book with many twists and turns

I had not read any of this author's other books but after reading Bitter Edge I have purchased the rest of the Kelly Porter series.
This is a tightly written crime novel about drug abuse in young people. It seemed more shocking because it is set in the beautiful Lake District.
The characters are believable & you quickly became absorbed in their story.

The opening chapter of Bitter Edge will twist your insides out as you reach for the tissues! Rachel Lynch does not flinch at telling the reader of the darkest side of life. In this complex tale that covers suicide, drugs, murder, missing teenagers and child abduction we are once again in the glorious, but rather bleak side, of the Lake District.

D I Kelly Porter has a lot on her plate when a teenager lays serious accusations against a teacher and the death of another teenager is ruled as suicide. Kelly doesn’t want to let it go but there seems to be nothing more to say and her team must investigate what has happened with pupil and teacher but lies are being told. Then a teenager is reported missing and things get a whole lot worse and even more lies are being told. Can Kelly and her team get to the truth? The weather doesn’t help as the temperature drops and the snow falls.

On the personal side we have the progression of her relationship with Johnny, who now has his teenage daughter living with him, sister Nikki and the discovery of her parentage which her mum Wendy is also living with along with Wendy’s terminal illness.

The characters are well drawn and it’s good to get to know more about the team. Kelly is shown not only as the terrific detective that she is but is given the human touch through her thoughts, how she handles the people she comes across through her work and her relationships.

This wonderful series has brought us an absolute stunner of a fourth book. Rachel Lynch writes so well that you cannot help but be engrossed in it’s dark, twisty storyline. The subject matters, harrowing though they are and bringing such profound sadness with them, are so well written, handled so carefully and with such honesty you are compelled to read not just to find out ‘whodunnit’ but to find out if everyone truly gets what they deserve.

This book, indeed the series, is highly recommended so if you’re looking for a really good read you don’t need to look any further.

With thanks to Ellie at Canelo for the Blog Tour invite and to Canelo via NetGalley for an eCopy of Bitter Edge. These are purely my own thoughts.

I really enjoyed this book. This is my second time reading the author and I’ve been impressed so far. Bitter Edge deals with fairly hefty subject matter, teenage suicide, sexual abuse and drugs. Kelly is a great character. Jenna’s suicide isn’t something she should pursue but when she discovers a spate of suicides at the girl’s school she becomes obsessed with seeking justice. She feels someone should be held accountable. Kelly is feisty and passionate. Bitter Edge gets pretty dark at times as the adult face behind the supply of drugs and the truth about a second, tragic death is gradually revealed. Bitter Edge is the kind of book that gets its hooks in you and refuses to let go.

Another great book by Rachel Lynch.
It was a riveting read, had me captivated throughout the whole book. Each new addition to this series, just gets better and better. Have tissues ready for the end of the book. So heart wrenching.
Kelly Porter is one of my favorite characters, ready for the next installment already!

Bitter Edge by Rachel Lynch is her best yet in my opinion. She has brought back the tangled, complex plot lines, dark subjects and interlocking story lines that Dark Game had so much of and yet she has taken it one step further. The characters are hauntingly sad and villainous, while Kelly's story deepens itself and we see how strong she really is.
Why I loved this book...
Bitter Edge by Rachel Lynch is brilliant because it delves into the dark depths, handling teen suicide, drug addiction and abuse, child abduction and the worlds revolving these matters. The teenagers are the focus of this book, and I loved the intelligence with which their story and the drugs story was written with. All the way through, I felt in awe at Lynch's command of these mind-boggling topics. She made me feel very differently about drug addiction.
From the beginning, I knew that I would struggle with the reliability of the characters; the teenagers are all lying, the adults are either lying or encouraging covering up the truth, and everybody is connected somehow. I felt that the one character who was very well represented by Lynch, yet harshly dealt with was Sadie. The scene when she comes home to her junkie mother passed out and gruesome, before succumbing to the high herself really struck me. I have never understood why somebody would need that feeling before, and this made me understand the mindset a bit more.
I also loved how much more descriptive the post-mortem has become; Lynch's sheer knowledge of this and the biological intricacies she goes into are fascinating, yet certainly not for the faint-hearted. I did find at times, that the scenes concerning the drug lord and his people were less necessary, and most of their story could be read between the lines, but I appreciated some of the context it provided.
Overall, Bitter Edge by Rachel Lynch is outstanding; a 5* read which will leave you wanting to re-read the entire series. This could be read as a standalone, as Lynch does a brief re-cap of Kelly's family dynamics towards the start of the book. I would recommend this to lovers of Lynch, this series, and people who appreciate incredible police procedurals told from multiple perspectives with completely tangled story lines, which eventually tie together. Thank you NetGalley and Ellie Pilcher at Canelo for my advanced e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

With thanks to Netgalley and Canelo for a free ARC in return for an honest review.

This is the first book I've read in the DI Kelly Porter series by Rachel Lynch and having finished it I now want to read the previous 3 in the series.

The book starts off with the apparent suicide of a teenage girl and deals with many important issues like Internet bullying, child predators and drugs. The book has a few separate threads that then come together nicely.

I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to others. 5 stars!

This is the fourth book in the series featuring DI Kelly Porter. I couldn’t wait to read this as I have enjoyed the other three books and given them five stars. I love the Lake District setting and can visualise what the author is describing having visited this area many times and we also meet up again with Kelly’s police colleagues and her family.
A local teenage girl, Jenna Fraser, seemingly commits suicide, but with her having a promising sports career ahead of her Kelly thinks something doesn’t add up. When she starts making enquiries at Jenna’s school she discovers that there have been other cases of teenagers taking their own lives. A number of things come to light including drugs, drug dealing, bullying and sexual assault and a well respected member of staff seems to be involved. Another girl goes missing at a fun fair and she also attends the same school. We also get an insight imto Kelly’s private life, her relatiionshi with boyfriend Jonny and his teenage daughter Josie. Her mother is terminally Ill and Kelly is still coming to terms with the secret her mother revealed in the last book.
This is another gripping book from Rachel Lynch, fast flowing and dark and with plenty of surprises. A must read that will be more enjoyable if you start from the beginning of the series. I certainly can’t wait for book number five.
Thanks to NetGalley and Canelo for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

I have read about DI Kelly Porter before, she is a good DI that gets the job done. A good strong character is what you need and that is what she is in this series.

Finding a girl dead after running deliberately off a mountain seems like suicide but why would a great sportswomen take her own life and this has happened before in this town so what is going on and why are kids thinking that is the only way out. Then there is the drugs, where are they coming from and how are they getting in the school. This is a lot for the police to work out and they do eventually but not before more death shocks the town.

Can Kelly get through enough for the kids to trust her so she can stop any more parents losing their children?

This was a good pace all the way through with some little twists, you went along with the police as each clue was solved before another one came up.