Cover Image: Why She Died

Why She Died

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Member Reviews

This is a fast paced thriller which I could not put down.
It has great twists and turns throughout
A great thriller

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A creepy and disturbing thriller that is a MUST read ! I highly recommend ! Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review this book ! #Netgalley #Bookouture #WhySheDied

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A fabulous book which I could not put down. Really easy to read, gripping and wonderfully told story that I would recommend to others!!

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Another great read in the series. Always look forward to catching up with Rachel on another case. Great twists and turns and very gripping as usual. Can't wait for the next one!

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Well done. Very entertaining, enthralling, and intriguing read and story. I didn’t read the synopsis before starting this so maybe I would have known there was a hanging, which was a bit triggering for me as my best friends suicide was a hanging in the woods. Nonetheless, besides that the story was great and I’ll definitely read more by this author.

Thank you netgalley and publisher for this arc and ability to provide an honest review

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While running in woodland, a student finds her best friend’s body hanging from a tree. Her family and friends all insist there must be another cause for her death, because she would never have killed herself. It’s then confirmed that she was already dead when someone hung her body from the tree.

DCI Rachel Hart has to hunt for the killer with barely any trace of evidence, while also dealing with the recent disappearance of her twin sister Ruth, who absconded from the private hospital where she was a permanent resident.

This is the third instalment in the DCI Rachel Hart series, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. While it was a great read in it’s own right, to understand the context and history better, you should read books one and two before embarking on this particular roller coaster. J.G. Roberts maintained a fast pace throughout, with enough twists and turns to keep even a seasoned sleuth off balance.

Rachel and her liable and supportive DI Graham, felt like old friends by the time I read this book, which made the story feel more personal as if I was part of her team. It also flicked the empathy switch firmly to the ON position. The other team members were more familiar and I shared their frustration every time something didn’t go to plan.

Overall, I think Why She Died is the best in the series so far, and look forward to reading what’s next for Rachael and the team. I have given this book five stars.

My thanks go to Netgalley and Zaffre Books, for giving me the ARC in exchange for my honest review. (dated 21 May 2021)

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I always enjoy Robert's writing and will never pass up a Rachel Hart story. Faced-paced and didn't disappoint,

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Abi and Hannah regularly met to run the same route through the woods together but Hannah isn’t the most punctual person in the world so when she doesn’t show up for their planned run Abi isn’t concerned and heads off on her own but she is absolutely horrified when she sees her friend’s body suspended in mid-air and Detective Rachel Hart is called to the scene.
Hannah’s family and friends insist she had no enemies and had everything to live for and it is discovered she was murdered but Detective Hart has her work cut out for her trying to find the killer as when she delves deeper she finds there were plenty of people with a motive but when another woman is found strangled in the very same woods everything Detective Hart suspected is upended and while she races against the clock to find the killer little does she know the killer is watching her !!!!!

A very suspenseful read with lots of twists and written in such a way I couldn’t put it down .... can’t wait for more !!!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and C.J Lyons for the ARC of Why She Died, my review is honest and unbiased.

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WoW........Why She Died by J.G. Roberts is the third book in the DCI Rachel Hart investigates series. I have just loved reading every single one of these and I was hooked within the first few pages. I found it's a nice easy read throughout which made it a great standalone However, if you have not read the other two books within this great series. I do recommend you go back and read these - they will not disappoint. All the characters were cleverly placed within the latest book by Julia, There are lots of twists and turns and the ending was omg brilliant!... I never saw it coming!

Big thank you to the author Julia Roberts, Bookouture and Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily

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I have yet to read the first book in this series but my TBR piles keeps growing! lol I simply LOVED "What He Did" and as it was so long since I'd read the book, I had to refresh my memory by re-reading the last chapter as my review vaguely insinuated a few unanswered questions that lead me to wonder if my instincts are correct. After doing so, my instincts were refreshed.

And were they correct? That, I cannot say...except that you'll have to read the book to find out for yourself.

As the third outing for DCI Rachel Hart, WHY SHE DIED can easily be read as a standalone as there is enough background information included so as to not confuse the reader. But it would be remiss of me not to advise you to start from the beginning, even though I came in on the second book, which precedes this latest book nicely. You do get to know Rachel and her team a bit better by starting from the beginning.

After discovering her twin sister Ruth has absconded from the mental health facility in which she resides, DCI Rachel Hart took some personal leave until sitting at home drove her stir crazy. But upon returning to work, she took on some more menial tasks before jumping into the deep end. Then early one Saturday morning she got the call. A body has been found hanging in the woods.

Rachel's first thought being that it was Ruth...

University student Abi Wyett had to drag herself out of bed to accompany best friend Hannah on her daily morning runs, though she would much rather stay in bed. But she made a committment to support Hannah in her quest to become the youngest British woman to scale Mount Everest...but time was running out for her to grab that title as she was fast approaching her 21st birthday in twelve months' time. So Abi ran with her each morning, worked out with her and even worked at the Velvet nightclub as a shot girl alongside her...all in her support for her best friend.

So when Hannah didn't come knocking that morning or answered Abi's knock ten minutes later, Abi assumed she was annoyed with her for calling off work the night before and went without her. So Abi decided to catch her up as she couldn't be that much further in front. But when Abi ran into the dense woods as part as their normal route she was shocked to discover Hannah's body hanging lifelessly from a tree.

Enter DCI Rachel Hart and her team.

At first it was believed to be a suicide but everyone who knew Hannah knew she wouldn't take her own life, for she thought it to be a selfish weakness. And the more Rachel and her team dug, the more she was inclined to agree. It doesn't take long for forensic pathologist to confirm that Hannah died from manual strangulation and not hanging...though that did indeed break her neck but by that time Hannah was already dead.

Then a second body is found strangled in the woods, badly decomposed, putting death roughly around four to six weeks ago. Around the same time that Ruth disappeared. Rachel cannot help but draw parallels and fear that this second body may well be that of her sister. Determined to find answers before another life is lost, Rachel questions all of Hannah's friends, colleagues and her boyfriend. And yet she feels there is something she's missing...all the time completely unaware that the killer's sights are focused firmly on her. Can Rachel unravel the deadly mystery before she walks into a trap?

I have to say I love Rachel although I am not generally a fan of overtly strong women leads. Rachel is strong and determined but not a bitch. She is completely likable as is her trusty team. Her camaraderie with her DI as well as the rest of her team makes her one of my favourite female leads.

Rachel hasn't always had it easy. As a child, both her and her twin sister Ruth were kidnapped and sexually abused by a neighbour which has had adverse repercussions on both women's lives. Ruth's manifested in a suicide attempt leading her to be housed in a mental health facility which was a calm and safe environment for her. Which is why Rachel can't understand why she absconded. For Rachel, her childhood experience left her emotionally scarred and unable to commit or trust men. She's slowly learning to trust her lawyer boyfriend Tim who clearly adores Rachel and is beginning to see a future together. His love and patience is a rarity for which Rachel is eternally grateful.

A fast-paced procedural, WHY SHE DIED is multi-layered with subplots and red herrings. The mystery itself is cleverly plotted with plenty of possibilities to keep the reader guessing. The twist, when it comes, throws a light on everything Rachel thought she knew, changing the course of the book towards the final reveal.

WHY SHE DIED is an entertaining read from start to finish, making Rachel Hart one of my favourite series. Recommended for fans of crime fiction, police procedurals and female leads with heart.

I would like to thank #JuliaRoberts, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #WhySheDied in exchange for an honest review.

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The third in the DCI Rachel Hart books, and this was every bit as good as the other two.
Ruth is still missing from the hospital but Rachel feels she has to get back to work to take her mind off her missing sister.
A young girl’s murder is staged to look like a suicide, Hannah is a popular student, why would anyone want to hurt her?
Rachel and her team are tasked with finding the killer, but then another body is found, this one has been hidden in the woods for some time, could it be Ruth?
This was a really enjoyable, fast paced thriller and I very much enjoyed it, Looking forward to the next one.

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This is book #3 in the Rachel Hart series and just like the previous two books I loved the story. It's a fast paced, suspenseful and well written British crime novel with a shocking twist in the end.

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This is my first time reading this author. And I must say it was a page turner. I will be going back to read the first 2 books in series.

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In this, the 3rd book in the series, DCI Rachel Hart is struggling to deal with worries in her private life when she is called out to the apparent suicide of a young woman. She soon establishes that it is actually a murder and when another young woman is attacked realises that there may be a serial killer on her patch.
This is another tense exciting thriller from JG Roberts. The fact that Rachel's personal life is in such turmoil increases the suspension of an already difficult case. I thought this was a great addition to the series and I eagerly await the next book.

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This is the 3rd book in the Rachel Hart series and like the others, it did not disappoint.
Thoroughly enjoyed the storyline of the murder investigation however it’s the ongoing tale of Rachel’s personal life that has me intrigued.
Looking forward to the next instalment.

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I really enjoyed this book and will give it a huge thumbs up. With a great story line and excellent main characters - I would highly recommend this book.

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This is book 3 in the Rachel Hart series. I haven’t read any of the previous books but I will definitely be picking them up now. Rachels character isn’t as immediately lovable as some but she really grew on me and I was definitely rooting for her.

I had my suspicions about certain characters but the ending was so much more dramatic than I expected. I genuinely didn’t know where the story was going and who could be trusted. It definitely had me hooked.

I received a copy of the ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

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A young woman's death is made to look like suicide but clues leave the conclusion of murder. The DCI starts digging only to find another body. As her personal life spirals out of control, can the DCI keep her focus to solve these murders? Will she find her sister before something bad happens to her, again?
A great procedural with several threads that keep the stories moving and the tension mounting until they all come together when you'd least expect it.

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I struggled with the first third of this book as I felt it dragged and I wasn’t really liking the main character who I found quite rude and unlikeable. The storyline did get better half way through the book , however I found the ‘twist’ really unbelievable and for me it ruined the book 😐

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Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this Arc.
This is the third in the series. Having read the first two this one was equally as brilliant!!
Twists and turns throughout. Fast paced just how I like my books.
I would highly recommend it.

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