One Left Alive
(Detective Morgan Brookes #1)
by Helen Phifer
She knelt down by the side of the first girl. She had to force herself to breathe as she lifted the soft white cloth covering the girl’s beautiful face…
Every day Morgan wakes at 4.25 a.m., her old insomnia now mixed with a new fixation on the case. But every clue about the murdered family leads to a dead end. Until, trawling through old files, she discovers a link to a cold case from years ago. Another family was murdered in this house, and the killer was never caught.
When Morgan returns to the scene of the crime to discover more about this forgotten case, she finds another body. With Bronte still unconscious in the hospital, Morgan must act fast to solve this case and lay two families to rest, before the killer returns for the girl left alive…
A chilling and gripping crime thriller that will have fans of Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott, and Patricia Gibney glued to the page.
My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
She remembered what it was like to be a teenager all too well; you never accepted anything an adult offered. God, was that what she was now: an adult? It was strange to think that she was probably only five or six years older than him, yet here she was trying to solve the murder of his girlfriend’s family.
If you ask me, she was already dead when they did that. Awful thing to do, vile. It’s like killing her twice; once wasn’t enough so they did it all over again.
What had her life come to getting relationship advice from a doctor who only worked with dead people?… ‘I have to go; I’m not used to being around so many living souls, it’s not good for my chakras.’
‘It’s not like on the television, is it?’ Amy spat crumbs of brownie all over herself, almost choking on the laughter which erupted. ‘No, it definitely is not. We don’t manage to solve the crimes in an hour.’
My Review:
An excellent start to a new series, and I plan to be following every one of their riveting cases if they are all as absorbing and well-crafted as this one. I’m rather new to police procedurals but I enjoyed the deft storytelling and complex characters on both sides of the law. The case was cannily layered and well-nuanced with compelling side stories and welcome hits of humor and humanity to balance the emotional tone. I respected these people as well as their process and look forward to solving more conundrums with them, as well as seeing how well they rub along together in future endeavors.
About the Author
Helen Phifer lives in a small town called Barrow-in-Furness with her husband and five children.
Helen has always loved writing and reading. Her love of horror films and novels is legendary. Helen adores reading books which make the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Unable to find enough scary stories to read she decided to write her own.
Author Social Media Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Helenphifer1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helenphifer
Twitter: https://twitter.com/helenphifer1
Website: https://www.helenphifer.com
Woohoo… Welcome to the world of police procedural. So happy that you liked it. So tagging you for all. Lisa Regan Carol Wyer and many more.
I liked Morgan. I think the author started another series with Beth as forensic expert as the lead. I may be mistaken as all books are flowing into each other now. But this was definitely better
So glad you enjoyed 💙
I love a good mystery. Great review!
I am loving the sound of this , great review
So many of these detective books sound amazing … it’s a genre I really should branch out to 🙂 Great review, as always!
I also enjoyed this book.