Helen Durrant at her best. A gripping storyline opening with the find of a body from three years earlier. This leads Rachel Knight and her team into further murders which is linked to the first body and finally solved. Hopefully this will not be the last in this series as it ends with Rachel starting her maternity leave, will she be back?

FORGOTTEN VICTIM is the fourth book in a brilliant crime series by best-selling author, Helen H. Durrant. These novels feature detective DCI Rachel King, a thirty-nine-year-old divorced mother of two teenage daughters who lives next door to ex-husband Alan. Having enjoyed reading most of her novels, I look forward to starting the fourth book in this new series. The novel is set in the Cheshire, ten miles outside Manchester.

The novels in the DCI Rachel King Series Include:
1) Next Victim
2) Two Victims
3) Wrong Victim
4) Forgotten Victim

Two local young lads were walking around in a dark abandoned disused Manchester cotton old mill, the Sawcross Mill, a great playground to explore, when they discovered the remnants of a human body.

Detective Chief Inspector Rachel King is called in to investigate the grisly discovery.

With gunshot wounds to the knees, this was no accident. The body of an unknown male, injured and left to die in a tunnel under the remains of the mill for approximately three years. This was murder.

With the help of DS Elwyn Price, Rachel must follow the evidence and see where it leads her. But people in the area are not talking or disclosing any information, making her job more tedious. Who
can she trust?

Meanwhile, Rachel has a secret of her own. How long can she keep her pregnancy from her colleagues before she has to face up to the reality of her relationship with the shadowy character Jed McAteer?

With the clock ticking and a boss breathing heavily down her neck to solve the case quickly, Rachel must uncover the dark secrets of the past and catch the killer - before it’s too late?

This was a fast-paced gripping crime plot, with an extensive cast of characters, that will keep you on your toes to follow the clues as they are released. Really enjoyed this series and not sure if it will continue, but I hope so.

Many thanks to the author, Joffe Books and Netgalley for my digital copy.

First time reading Helen H Durrant and it won’t be the last. Will certainly readvthe follow ups in this series.. if you haven’t already any of Helen’s books, start with this one. You won’t be disappointed. Recommend.

The fourth in the series featuring Rachel King, a DCI with the East Manchester police department, is a fast paced mystery with enough suspects to keep you guessing. A decomposed body is found in an abandoned mill, and he didn’t die of natural causes. As Rachel and her team set out to identify him, she is also dealing with a new boss, personal issues, and more criminal activity.  I like the way the we see both the professional and private sides of Rachel’s life, and the fact that despite what she is dealing with outside of the job, she remains professional. It’s a refreshing change from some series where a detectives messy private life is constantly interfering with their job. 
A good solid story without outlandish plot lines, I enjoyed the book and look forward to more in the series. 
Thank you to Joffe Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book to read in exchange for my unbiased opinion..

I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy of Forgotten Victim, the fourth novel to feature DCI Rachel King of the East Manchester Police.

Two young boys find decomposed remains in a secret tunnel in a disused mill. Various items found with the body suggest it has been there for less than three years but identifying him and a motive for his murder are more difficult tasks for Rachel and the team, especially as she’s keeping secrets of her own, namely a pregnancy that is tiring her out.

I thoroughly enjoyed Forgotten Victim which is an eventful read that held my attention from start to finish. It starts with one event, the discovery of the body, and widens out to current day attacks and another historical killing, but there is no confusion in this as the narrative is firmly in the present day and is told entirely from the investigative point of view. I like the continuity of this approach, concentrating on the investigation, and it gives logic to the strands that get pulled in and connected. I will admit that I had a prime suspect right from the start but that I got the motive totally wrong. I like the guessing involved and knowing what the team knows and nothing more makes it more fun. I also like that much of the perpetrator and motive are well disguised until a final flurry of information slots it all into place. I like the solution which put a twist on a standard motive.

Rachel King is in a difficult place personally in this novel. She is three months pregnant and the father is her old love, gangster turned legitimate businessman Jed McAteer. I’m not quite sure that I understand all her qualms about the situation as she seems uncharacteristically dithery about it, but I don’t have to cover the angles she does with children, work and an ex-husband to consider.

Forgotten Victim is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Brilliant addition to the Rachel King books by Helen H Durrant.  A plot that kept me guessing and all the usual favourite characters from this series.  What more could you ask for?

My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)

The body of a man is found in an abandoned cotton mill, and it seems he's been deliberately walled in.  He's been there a few years, and has gunshot wounds to his knees.   It looks like a drug-related killing, but why did he have money stuffed in his mouth...and why did no one report him missing?

It seems like there has been a lot going on in that old mill, and no one is willing talk.  They are all afraid to open their mouths.  But discovering who they are afraid of, is proving to be difficult.  More dead bodies will turn up before this case is solved.

With Mark Kenton back in the picture as their new boss, things are getting tense.

Meanwhile, Rachel has been keeping her pregnancy a secret, but she knows she can't keep it too much longer.




My Opinions:

The books in this series are all fast-paced and an easy entertaining read.

In this one, I easily guessed the perpetrator, but there were a lot of suspects, and each one was interesting.  The plot was good.

My main concern with this one was the relationship between Rachel and Jed, which I have not liked from the start, and Rachel didn't really want anything to do with him either.  The events in this book don't jive with past impressions.

As in previous books, the author provided an appendix of British slang.  I still wish a foot-note method had been used.

I am not sure if this is the last book in the series, but it could be.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy.
I'd seen books by this author pop up in my "recommended" list on Audible and elsewhere, and I thought they potentially looked interesting, but I was hesitant. So when the opportunity came up to read one, I snapped at the chance. A perfect way to see if this might be a new favourite series, or a new series to listen to/get me through a long shift at work. Plus, I have a fascination with tunnels, so the idea that a secret tunnel factored in to the plot appealed to me.
Turns out, no, I'm just not the right reader for this one. As soon as certain details of the protagonist's personal life were revealed (very early on, like, chapter 5?) I thought, oh, red flag. But since (I assumed) that was a secondary plot line, I kept reading. 
This was a quick, straightforward small-town murder mystery. The side plot about the (wildly unlikable) detective's personal life felt like more of the focus than the mystery, which was solved with very little work and a few very lucky breaks. It wrapped up quickly and neatly.
Overall, it just wasn't for me.
I think readers who are already invested in the series would find it satisfying,  especially as it advances overarching plots, but it doesn't work the best as a stand-alone.

2 boys, playing in the dilapidated Shawcross cotton mill in Manchester discover a dead body in a tunnel under the floorboards. It looks like it’s been there for about 3 years and that the man was shot, tied up and bricked in and left to die, a horrible crime. A lot of businesses have rented units in the mill over the years, so it’s not easy to establish the identity of the deceased, or who killed him.
DCI Rachel King has more than enough problems of her own as well. The new DSI is Mark Kenton, a former DCI with whom she has ‘strained relations’ and who’s counting the pennies she can spend on her investigations. He’s already interfering and gives her a week to process this crime before he gives it to the cold case team. On top of all the pressure at work, she’s pregnant and hasn’t yet decided how she will handle this. The father is her on/off lover Jed Mc Ateer, a former ruffian who became a respectable property developer. She’s not sure how much involvement she really wants.
Then, there’s a second mystery that’s only just mentioned and probably will be confronted in a future book. A stranger approaches Rachel twice to warn her that the car crash, in which her parents died, was no accident.

This is the 4th book in this series but can be perfectly read on its own. I’m not certain if it’s also the last book because at the end Rachel goes on maternity leave and is replaced by DCI Hennessy and DS Greco (known from another series by the same author). As extended maternity leave can last up to a year in the UK (we’re all jealous about that!), I’m not sure if there will be a cross-over or not.
This book is very professionally written, well-paced, sympathetic main characters with complicated home lives, and an original plot. But it’s this story-line that lacks a bit. I knew who the main culprit was long before I was halfway. The why and how I hadn’t figured out but I was really disappointed about finding the ‘who’ so early on. As this is the first book that I’ve read by this author, I can’t say if this is a habit or not but it was quite obvious. There was another small ‘mystery’ that was also obvious to me; who bought Alan’s house. With the clues given by the author, this is perfect for those that like to play detectives themselves. The dynamic between Rachel and her new DSI is also predictable and not uncommon in similar stories
With the multiple suspects and witnesses as well as several family members of the detectives, there is a rather extensive cast of characters.
And for US and other foreign readers, there’s a helpful, large glossary at the end of the book.
All in all, it was a rather short and pleasant read. It wasn’t great but good enough for me, a typical police procedural.
I thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for the free ARC they provided and this is my honest, unbiased review of it.

DCI Rachel King #4

The decomposed remains of a body are found entombed in the depths of a disused Manchester cotton mill. With wounds to the knees, this was no accident. But the question is: was this a gangland killing or murder motivated by a deadly secret closer to home?

This is another well written, thought provoking and gripping read by the author. The characters are well developed. I did guess who the perpetrator and their motive was from near enough when the character was introduced to us. I like Helen's writing style. She has the knack to pull you in from the first chapter. This is a most enjoyable series.

I would like to thank #NetGalley, #JoffeBooks and the author #HelenHDurrant for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This  is the first DCI Rachel king book I have read , I found this didn’t detract from the book or the  understanding of the dynamics of the characters.

Two boys find  skeletal remains in a disused mill in Ancoats , DCI Rachel King heads up the investigation with DS Elwyn Price at her side.
I found the book an easy read with genuine,  appealing characters. There were twists and turns to keep you guessing the identity of the murderer.
I did find the ending a bit rushed , but all in all a good solid read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Joffe books for this ARC copy.

I really enjoyed the mystery plot which was very clean, precise, and easy to follow. Maybe this is why I figured out who the killer was pretty early on in the story. However, it did take me a little longer to figure out why the victim was murdered.

As a first time reader of this series, I had some trouble fully understanding the relationships in the book.  In addition to the people involved in the mystery, there were a lot of characters to keep track of... Rachel, her lover, ex-husband, colleagues, DS Elwyn, among others. I’m really curious about DS Elwyn because he was annoyingly nursemaiding Rachel throughout the  book. 

Another puzzling part of the plot was a mystery man who would arbitrarily appear to warn Rachel that her parent’s accident wasn’t as it seemed. I’m guessing this is a hint to something in the next book, but it was a little odd and misplaced in the storyline.

I recommend this book to readers who like a mystery series with a nice clean mystery plot. 3.5/5

England, family-dynamics, friendship, relationship-issues, murder, murder-investigation, law-enforcement****

Youngsters find a decayed body under a dangerous old severely neglected cotton mill in Manchester. Autopsy proves what the detectives believed, that the unnamed victim had been tortured. At the same time Detective King is facing some difficult personal dramas, they have a new supervisor with an interesting track record who has replaced the old one, and the case itself is a mess. Meticulous due diligence, plot twists, misdirection, and red herrings abound! Great read!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Joffe Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

Forgotten Victim is the fourth instalment in the Detective Chief Inspector Rachel King series, set in and around the city of Manchester. The prologue opens with friends 12-year-old Finn Kendal and 11-year-old Jack Handley tentatively exploring nineteenth-century Shawcross Mill in Ancoats, a crumbling, decaying building from a bygone era, when cotton was big business, which is said to be haunted. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Spider, as he's known locally, is coming their way with his cronies. It's well known that he uses the remote location for his drug dealing. As a violent and ruthless criminal, Finn and Jack decide the best course of action is to find a spot to hide. But they get caught. Luckily one of Spider’s associates persuades him to let them go and so they run pell-mell back into the mill but the rotten floorboards give way to reveal a bricked-up tunnel under the floor in which they discover the remnants of a body. DCI King and Welshman DS Elwyn Pryce are called to the scene where forensic expert Dr Judith Glover informs them the corpse is that of a man and that he appeared to have a gunshot wound to each knee and excruciatingly had been left there to die. It's also noteworthy that he was clutching a solid gold St Christopher pendant in his hand; could it have been ripped off the killer's neck in the struggle?

As they wait for more detailed forensics and post-mortem report, the pair visit the boys to gain further information and begin to interview those associated with the land, including Mathew Shawcross, whose family still currently own it. Who would have motive to kill and dump the body in that location or is the area the corpse was found merely a coincidence? This is a compulsive and absorbing crime caper and it held my attention easily from start to finish. I loved the team dynamic and we gain more backstory for the individual members, including Rachel and Elwyn, and I found it all added to the compelling nature of the story. In this episode, Rachel is 3 months pregnant with her ex Jed McAteer’s baby and has only entrusted Elwyn with the information, so it'll certainly be interesting to see how it plays out in future. It all gels and makes for an interesting read. One of the aspects I absolutely adore about these books is the fact that they are told in such a straightforward, linear and no-nonsense manner, which makes it impossible for you to not get sucked in and become effortlessly immersed in the excitement leading to a more enjoyable experience. With an addictive, atmospheric and well-crafted plotline, this is a pacy and suspenseful page-turner I highly recommend.

I’d like to thank Joffe Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Forgotten Victim’, the fourth in the Detective Rachel King series written by Helen H Durrant, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

As two young boys explore Shawcross Mill they fall through rotting floorboards into the basement below and looking for a way out they come across the remains of a body.  DCI Rachel King and DS Elwyn Price are called out to investigate and their new boss, Mark Kenton, gives them just a week to identify the body and solve the crime but Rachel is struggling as it becomes clear that those involved are keeping secrets and don’t want to tell her the truth.

I’ve enjoyed all of the books in the DCI Rachel King series as they’ve always been gripping with lots of action and excitement, but ‘Forgotten Victim’ seems to miss out and concentrates too much on Rachel’s pregnancy, her family and her on/off relationship with Jed McAteer.  The closing of the case is rushed, and finding the vital bit of evidence to charge the killer to finalising the investigation is only mentioned when Rachel visits her team three months into maternity leave, the conclusion squeezed into a couple of lines in the epilogue.  I’m disappointed but still look forward to reading the next thriller by this author.

Wow!!  Fabulous read, bloody brilliant in fact.  Really good book, I love this series and this didn’t disappoint.   Had me engaged so far that I read it in one sitting.  Can’t wait to see what’s in store for Rachel in the next book.  Thoroughly enjoyed this book, it totally deserves five stars.

Another great book by Helen continuing the life of detective Helen King who is pregnant again but keeping it secret from her colleagues, the only one in the know being DS Elwyn Price and they are  investigating the death of a body discovered by two boys  in the cotton mills in Manchester which closed in the past.   From the first page to the last, it keeps one enthralled, and I look forward to her next book!

I really do enjoy catching up with Rachel, Jed and the rest as it is always an interesting adventure.  There were lots of plot strands and I enjoyed finding how they would develop.  Once I worked at the culprit I then wanted to work out why  and how the strands fitted. 

Always a good read - I also learn a bit about Manchester which I have never been to so I like learning new things. 

I was provided with an advance copy bu netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest and fair review which I have done.

A great book.  So many appealing characters, a solid mystery and plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing.  I really liked the detail of the various relationships across all aspects of the book - personal, professional and within the community which was the context of the investigation.

Another solid instalment in an established crime series with well developed characters (although Rachel's constant complaining about how hectic her home life is can get a bit monotonous; with her ex husband looking after the kids 8feel its overplayed at times).
For me the perpetrator and motive were obvious as soon as the character was introduced but still a worthwhile read.
Will this be the last book in this the series?