This is the first on what I presume will be a series featuring Detective Gina Harte. One of Gina’s first cases was the disappearance of Deborah Jenkins who left work and never arrived home. This case was never solved now four years on Deborah’s family are beginning to move on without her or answers Iof where she went,.
Then a baby is abandoned outside the library and a mysterious phone call tells them to run DNA. The baby is Deborah Jenkins so what follows is the renewed effort to find her and where’s she been for the last four years.
I did like the characters and the story but I wasn’t completely gripped and it was easy to put down. You learnt about Gina’s life outside of work as well as in and the author was very sympathetic to the working police officer’s commitment to the role above all else.
I would probably read book two but it would not be at the top of my pile.
Thanks to Net Galley and Bookouture for an ARC.
#NetGalley #TheNextGirl(detectiveGinaHarteBook1)

Ok I admit I do not kiss ass to Netgalley and give outstanding reviews for books just because I asked for an advanced copy . Sometimes I forget that I requested a book. That is what happened here. I was approved well over a month ago and forgot to download the book. I even sort of thought about just erasing it from my to read pile and but I went ahead an d downloaded it.
In this case I am glad I did read it, it is a page turner in giving us the story of what is going on from the prisoner, the bad man who stole her, her husband and the detective -all their points of view.
I can see this detective is a flawed character but a likable one that will be easy to read and see her figure out more mysteries in the future. Looking forward to next story, that I can buy (not feel pressured to read in a deadline!)

Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!! Debbie was kidnapped one night and hasn't been seen since so she's presumed dead! Four years later a baby is found abandoned. The baby's DNA matches Debbies. What's going on??? I was hooked from the start right to the last page. Thanks a million Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this book. I absolutely recommend it. I can't wait for the next one!!

I found this book quite slow paced and hated the repeated comments about everyone’s coughs and colds. It was an enjoyable police procedural but nothing special. I felt quite deflated at the end because it was a bit of an anticlimax.

Having said that I enjoyed the story but though more could have been said about the intervening years. Another woman detective with personal issues – these could be easily solved if she confided in her daughter

I just love it when I find myself a new author. This is book one in what I believe is going to be a series of books.
​We are introduced to Detective Gina Harte. It's great getting to know new characters and I think Gina Harte is going to be a great character to follow.
What a brilliant story this is, with a great start to the book.
'Old Albert is making his way home from the pub, when he notices a bundle of litter in the doorway of the library. Crossing the road to pick it up and put it in the bin, he realises that it isn't a bundle of rubbish. it's actually a newborn baby wrapped in a blanket. Shocked he manages to get himself to a nearby house, to alert someone and get the emergency services here.
The baby suffering from hypothermia, is rushed to hospital by the paramedics. I was holding my breath the whole way through this. Something drastic has to have happened for someone to leave their new born like this.
Investigating the case is DI Gina Harte, and when they receive an anonymous call to do a DNA test on the baby, they certainly were not expecting to find out what they did.
Gina and her team are eagre to get this case solved, and the team give it their all.

​What a great, thrilling, page turner this book turned out to be. I will certainly be looking forward to reading more from this author, and look forward to meeting Gina Harte again.

Wow, wow wow! Excellent book! Very well written and I am looking forward to more books in this series!

When a newborn is found abandoned outside a library on a rainy night, it reopens the investigation into the disappearance of a woman four years ago. Gina Harte leads the investigation while also battling issues on the personal front. It’s a promising plot but somehow, the book was not for me. I could not connect to any of the characters or feel anything for them.

Enjoyed this new detective series and look forward to the next one.
Tough,female detective faced with a new/ old case while struggling with problems in her personal life.

After reading the blurb I knew I had to read this book and I was not disappointed. What a brilliant story this is. I can't wait to read more by this author.

OMG...gripping tale. Geez I have goosebumps finishing this book. Worst nightmare ever. Being kidnapped and forced to bear that mans child. Definitely suspenseful but reading worthy. Debbie has to put up with a horrible situation but the birth of her child leads investigators to finally look again at her case. Amazing read, loved it.

This book is girl about Deborah Jenkins.whos girl is left on library steps . Deborah has gone missing and Gina Harte has to find out where she’s gone and where . I got this book from Netgallery

A great first novel in the Gina Harte series. A fast paced gritty storyline that keeps you guessing until the end. I liked the characters and how they interacted with each other. I look forward to reading book 2 in this series.

I would like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Next Girl’ written by Carla Kovach in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
On his way home from the pub, an elderly man finds an abandoned baby lying wet and cold in the library doorway. The police discover from the baby’s DNA that her mother is Debbie who disappeared four years ago leaving behind her husband Luke and two children. DI Gina Harte’s first case was to search for the missing Debbie and she and her team are determined to discover what happened to Debbie then and where she is now.
‘The Next Girl’ is the first in the Detective Gina Harte series and has been very well written with plausible characters that I found myself warming to. The plot was tense and action-filled with enough twists and turns to keep me guessing. It finished with an exciting conclusion that kept me on tenterhooks till the end.

I love this cover, which is what initially drew me to the book. I am, however, happy to report that the story within the binding was quite good. It was fast paced and creepy, with an interesting cast of characters. I do have to say, I didn't hugely connect with them, but the story was still gripping and I am happy I got a chance to read it!

3.5 stars

I'm not sure that I read the same book that everyone else here has reviewed because I didn't read anything that was "fast-paced," "action-packed," or full of "crazy twists and turns that will leave you guessing..."

I found The Next Girl to be incredibly slow-paced, but honestly, I didn't mind the slow pacing because it felt realistic as to how an actual crime would be investigated (especially new leads on a 4-year-old case in an overworked and understaffed police force). Other reviews led me to believe that there would be some sort of crazy twist, so I was suspicious of nearly every character introduced, but in the end, there wasn't any big twist at all, and I felt a little let down by it. There were a lot of emotional and weepy characters filled with heartache and troubled pasts, a few characters with HIGHLY overemphasized coughs and colds, and an elderly mother who really enjoys her bread, but I didn't really feel a strong connection to any of them. I enjoyed DI Harte's woman-in-charge attitude and her confidence in her job, but I hate to admit that I found myself somewhat annoyed with her personal issues (which seemed like they would be SO simple to resolve!).

I will likely pick up book #2 because there was a lot of potential here, I just hope the next one is a little more twisty and a little less whiny.

An anonymous tip about an abandoned baby girl prompts police to perform a DNA test. The results link the baby to Deborah Jenkins, a woman who has been missing for four years. Deborah's abduction was Detective Inspector Gina Harte's first unsolved case and has haunted her ever since. With new evidence suggesting Deborah is still alive and being held captive somewhere, DI Harte will stop at nothing to find her before it’s too late.

The Next Girl is the exciting first book in the Detective Gina Harte series. The books premise was what initially captured my attention. This fast paced suspense was a page turner for me as I tried to work out the whodunit. DI Harte is a complex character with a traumatic past that hinders her personal relationships so she throws herself into her work. This first novel had a lot going on as it introduces the characters while simultaneously investigating Deborah's disappearance. This novel is a perfect quick read that will keep you immersed as the story unfolds.

I was interested in reading this book by the description but I just didn't connect with the characters enough to really enjoy the story.

The Next Girl – Karla Kovach

I was fortunate to receive this novel as an Advance Reader Copy, in exchange for an objective review.

This tale begins with a quick peek of the kidnapping and death of a prostitute, and then fast forwards to the present, where an older gentleman has just left a pub and comes upon a baby that’s been abandoned on the library steps. Detective Inspector Gina Harte is sent to investigate the baby’s seeming abandonment; the only clues being the rag the infant was wrapped with, and the shoddy job done on cutting the baby’s umbilical cord.

As the investigation continues, a DNA assay links the new born baby to a woman, Deborah, who vanished under mysterious circumstances four years prior. Armed with that revelation, the case investigating the woman’s disappearance is re-opened, and her family is notified of the baby’s finding. Deborah’s bereaved family immediately takes the baby home.

The story is told with glimpses into all of the character’s lives – DI Harte, who is just beginning an illicit affair with a superior, and whose past is haunted by abuse, Deborah, who has been held hostage by an unknown man for the last four years, and Luke, Deborah’s husband who is trying to move on, but can’t seem to let go of the past and his love for Deborah.

As Luke’s family takes in and cares for baby Isobel, Deborah’s captor becomes obsessed with getting the baby back, while the police frantically re-examine old clues and re-interview Deborah’s friends and acquaintances in attempts to discover something they’ve missed. Finally, a witness notes an odd gesture made by a stranger, and Gina is suddenly reminded of someone from Deborah’s past, and pieces it all together – but will they find her in time?

This book was fabulous! The small storylines interwoven into the characters’ lives made the story believable and the main character DI Harte, very likeable. The book was fast paced, and difficult to put down! I cannot wait for further novels in the Gina Harte series! A great read!!

This was a really good read , I warmed to Gina immediately and liked the relationship she had with her officers . When a baby is found abandoned it's a shocking discovery to find her DNA matches to a woman who disappeared 4 years earlier without a trace . Working on the assumption she was abducted and is being held against her will the case is reopened and Gina and her team start going over all the old evidence . The only reason this book is a four not five star is the claim on the front like so many other books out at the minute , it promises a heart stopping twist which for me was more of a whimper . There was no twist despite constantly looking for it . Still a really good read though and I would recommend .