Heartlands by Kerry Watts
Published by Bookouture
Publication Date: 18th March 2019
Genre: Crime
270 pages
Book Description:
Call it mother’s intuition, but I knew she was dead the moment she was late home. As I listened to her phone ring and ring, that’s when I knew for sure. My little girl was gone.
Twenty years ago, Sophie Nicoll never came home from school. Days later her body was found in a shallow grave on a remote farm a few miles from her hometown. Two boys from her school were found guilty. The press called the boys evil. Sophie’s family wanted them dead. The judge promised they’d never walk free.
Two decades later and schoolgirl Shannon Ross has vanished from a small town in the Scottish Highlands.
It’s Detective Jessie Blake’s first big case since she joined Perthshire Police. Having recently arrived from London, Jessie lives in fear of people finding out about her past and her reasons for moving north.
When Shannon’s body is found in the river on the outskirts of Inverlochty, Jessie discovers she’s not the only one with something to hide. As the small community begins to crack under pressure, people begin to point fingers. And soon, the big secrets hidden within the small town are revealed – with devastating consequences.
This shocking crime thriller set in the dramatic Scottish Highlands will have you reading well into the night. If you like LJ Ross, Cara Hunter or Robert Bryndza, you will absolutely love this.
Twenty years ago, Sophie Nicoll never came home from school. Days later her body was found in a shallow grave on a remote farm a few miles from her hometown. Two boys from her school were found guilty. The press called the boys evil. Sophie’s family wanted them dead. The judge promised they’d never walk free.
Two decades later and schoolgirl Shannon Ross has vanished from a small town in the Scottish Highlands.
It’s Detective Jessie Blake’s first big case since she joined Perthshire Police. Having recently arrived from London, Jessie lives in fear of people finding out about her past and her reasons for moving north.
When Shannon’s body is found in the river on the outskirts of Inverlochty, Jessie discovers she’s not the only one with something to hide. As the small community begins to crack under pressure, people begin to point fingers. And soon, the big secrets hidden within the small town are revealed – with devastating consequences.
This shocking crime thriller set in the dramatic Scottish Highlands will have you reading well into the night. If you like LJ Ross, Cara Hunter or Robert Bryndza, you will absolutely love this.
My Review:
My thanks to publisher Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this, the first in the Jessie Blake series. I've not read this author before so wasn't sure what to expect, but the description of the book intrigued me as to what was going on.
There are events in two time periods featuring in this book: the rape and murder of a teenager back in the late 1990's and a missing girl in the present day. Two youths were arrested and charged with the historic case and how this relates to the missing person case I was interested to know - if at all.
Detective Jessie Blake is the officer in charge of the present day case when it is called in to the police. She lives some distance away from the rural community where 15 year old Shannon is reported missing from. We know very little about Jessie which helps to not distract from the main story of what has happened to Shannon. There are a few possibilities presented along the way, none of which seems particularly probable - until a huge bombshell from the past of one of the characters. I won't drop any spoilers, but mud sticks and the discovery of long hidden secrets causes shockwaves in the community and forces more than one person to question all they thought they knew. The truth however will shock the reader and I found myself mulling over the facts and implications of events long after I had finished the final pages.
As regards Jessie, there is clearly lots more to come about her background and the series looks like it could get really interesting on the more personal side of the detective team as well as with the future cases they work on.
A very promising start to a new series, I will certainly be looking out for further work by this author.
About the Author:
Kerry Watts was born and grew up in a small town in the East of Scotland where she still lives today. She is always writing and carries a little notebook and pen with her wherever she goes because at her age ideas need to be captured before they disappear.
Kerry specialises in crime fiction because she enjoys pushing the boundaries of what it is to be human. The nature versus nurture debate fascinates her. She loves to put her characters in impossible situations just to see what happens. Her experience as a psychiatric nurse heavily influences her writing. She also wants to create characters that people can relate to who might be facing the same struggles as anyone else.
Authors who inspire her are anyone capable of creating a character who lives inside her head long after she has closed the book. Her favourite fictional character's are Dexter Morgan, created by Jeff Lindsay as well as Hannibal Lechter created by Thomas Harris. She doesn't have a favourite genre as a reader. Kerry will read anything. Written by anyone. If the blurb has a good feel about it she's hooked.
When she's not writing she loves to spend time following her other passions - dogs, particularly rescue mutts and horse racing. The sight of a thoroughbred race horse at full stretch has been known to move her to tears, not just lump in the throat stuff but full on blubbing. And for that she is unashamed. One day she's going to buy a racehorse filly and call her Into Darkness.
She also had a small role in a film called The Rocket Post but decided acting wasn't for her. She would rather create a character than play one.
Kerry specialises in crime fiction because she enjoys pushing the boundaries of what it is to be human. The nature versus nurture debate fascinates her. She loves to put her characters in impossible situations just to see what happens. Her experience as a psychiatric nurse heavily influences her writing. She also wants to create characters that people can relate to who might be facing the same struggles as anyone else.
Authors who inspire her are anyone capable of creating a character who lives inside her head long after she has closed the book. Her favourite fictional character's are Dexter Morgan, created by Jeff Lindsay as well as Hannibal Lechter created by Thomas Harris. She doesn't have a favourite genre as a reader. Kerry will read anything. Written by anyone. If the blurb has a good feel about it she's hooked.
When she's not writing she loves to spend time following her other passions - dogs, particularly rescue mutts and horse racing. The sight of a thoroughbred race horse at full stretch has been known to move her to tears, not just lump in the throat stuff but full on blubbing. And for that she is unashamed. One day she's going to buy a racehorse filly and call her Into Darkness.
She also had a small role in a film called The Rocket Post but decided acting wasn't for her. She would rather create a character than play one.
Social Media:
Twitter: @Denmanisfab
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