Rachel Lynch delivers another riveting crime novel which is addictive, highly topical and infused with real characters.
DI Kelly Porter is once again thrown into an investigation. What at first is deemed a suicide soon starts alarm bells ringing and we are drawn into a case of bullying, drug addiction together with the local dealers and suppliers.
Hooked from the start i highly recommend this book.

Bitter Edge is the fourth in the DI Kelly Porter series and what a fantastic read it is. The series gets better and better.
Young Jenna Frazer kills herself after an overdose. For Kelly there is nothing to investigate. Her parents don’t want to press to know about her death and the case is close. But events in the nearby school Derwent Academy, where Jenna went to school, starts and investigation that involves and drugs and pupils at the school. The story also continues about DI Kelly and her personal life between herself and Jonny and his daughter and the relationship she has with her mother.
This is another gripping read from Rachel Lynch. Set in the beautiful Lake district. The premise is original, has great plot lines and the author keeps the subject current and realistic. I highly recommend.
Thank you Canelo and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

Having previously read Dead End by the same author, I was delighted to receive this advance copy of the latest in the DI Kelly Porter series. Already knowing the characters certainly gives an advantage and I quickly settled into this latest crime thriller. A young girl has committed suicide and while horrific and dreadfully sad there is surely no crime. Just a promising athlete who had her career cut short which leads to her absolute devastation. Soon after, a girl from the same school goes missing and Kelly begins to believe that maybe all is not as clear cut as it first appeared. A journey into a dark underworld unravels much more than Kelly bargained for but she would leave no stone unturned until she got the answers that explained the terrible events that blighted this beautiful part of the world. Meanwhile, turmoil and change in her personal life left her no time for relaxation. A sad story that has no winners.

I love this series and this did not disappoint. My only criticism is that the descriptions of the area are a little OTT and superfluous/aggravating if you don't know that area. This particular story looks at teenage drug culture and links back beautifully with the preceding books.

This was another great read in the Kelly Porter series , as usual the descriptions of the scenery in the lake district really bring the book to life . In this book we have drugs , teenagers complicated lives , bullying and a face from Kelly's past . When a young girl is ruled to have committed suicide they find a disturbing pattern of similar deaths and start to investigate . I really like Kelly who is coming to terms with a few surprises in her own life .
A brilliant read and I would certainly recommend them all . 5 stars from e

A very enjoyable read! I was very interested in getting my hands on this one after I read the blurb and I am pleased to say that I was not let down.

The story is written very well and the characters are interesting and jump off the page. I would recommend this read!

A teenage girl commits suicide while seemingly high on drugs. The verdict is suicide but something niggles and keeps niggling DI Kelly Porter regarding this verdict, she just doesn't feel it's right.

She's very happy in her relationship with Johnny even though his daughter, Josie can be a pain in the neck and she's making tentative first steps in her relationship with Ted. She's also getting on much better with her dying mum since finding out the truth but of course things are still as they were with her argumentative sister.

There seems to be a lot of drug taking along with bullying in the local school. A teacher has been accused of sexual assault and when a teenage girl goes missing at the fair, Kelly and the Team need to find her before it's too late. There is also a missing child, his father being an old enemy of Kelly's and this storyline is cleverly woven together with the other cases.

A brilliant 4th book - I just love this series and Kelly Porter. Fast, twisty and brilliant with love and some sadness in the mix too.

A great story line with brilliant main characters.. I read this book in one sitting as I couldn't put it down.

DI Kelly Porter is not looking forward to Christmas there is a missing teenage girl Faith Shaw and a two year old boy who has been abducted from his foster parents. The weather is turning colder and the snow has started making the search harder. Then Kelly realises that over a number of years several teenagers from the same school have committed suicide is there a link?
This book not only has the twists of a good murder mystery but keeps you turning the pages until the end.

What can I say, this series of books are a joy to read.

Great concepts and believable story lines.

What I really like is that throughout each book the protagonist has her own personal story running alongside the main focus which is the crime which have occurred.

I like that Rachel Lynch has kept up her writing style. It's become familiar and I really look forward to each new book and Bitter Edge is no exception.

And as always this book could easily be read as a stand alone although I would recommend reading the whole series from start to finish.

Very happy to receive an advanced copy of this thanks!

I absolutely love the Kelly Porter series. I live in Cumbria so with it being based here it’s even better. Kelly is one of my favourite detectives.

This story is based around drugs. A young girl kills herself while on drugs and then another goes missing...... Kelly has to try and unravel what’s going on.

I literally didn’t put this down until the end! Brilliant.

Thank you NetGalley and Canelo for this arc.

Bitter Edge is the 4th DI Kelly Porter book and I still need to read the first 2 books (but I've got them on my kindle now!) I tore through Bitter Edge in just a few hours. Kelly starts off juggling a couple of cases and somehow ends up dealing with a whole lot more that once again turns into a gigantic Gordian Knot of a mess.
With the help of other neighboring police forces they somehow manage to cut the head(s) off the hydra and tie most of the mess up in a fairly satisfactory manner. Kelly's personal relationships run through the background of the story and also continue to progress in a natural manner.

The book's blurb promises this is perfect for fans of Angela Marsons and Robert Bryndza. And it delivers on that promise.

This series just keeps getting better and better. Love this series. Love the progression of Kelly, both professionally and personally, and interwoven with an excellent multi layered who dun it.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Canelo for an advance copy of Bitter Edge, the fourth novel to feature DCI Kelly Porter of the Cumbrian police.

Teenager Jenna Fraser commits suicide and Kelly finds it difficult to accept. She wants to find a reason but has no power to investigate until events take a turn and she finds herself at Jenna’s school, Derwent Academy, investigating other crimes. What she finds gives her a crash course in teenage behaviour.

I enjoyed Bitter Edge which is a clever mystery with several twists and turns. I found the novel initially difficult to grab hold of as it is all over the place, narratively speaking. It opens with the tragedy of Jenna’s death and then switches point of view through various characters whom the reader has to assume will be relevant later in the novel. In an investigative sense, therefore, the novel is slow to ramp up but as it continues I came to value this early scene setting as it gives the reader a good sense of character and places later actions in context. I soon found myself hooked by the various angles and possibilities. I liked the way Ms Lynch pulls all these various strands together into a cohesive and plausible whole. The resolution is clever and satisfying and while it makes sense I wonder if it’s legally possible.

I can’t say that I enjoyed the rather bleak picture it paints of modern teenage life with bullying, drugs and celebrity fixation rife. I’m not one to get nostalgic about my schooldays and I fully understand that Ms Lynch is describing the extreme end of that life but it seems extremely shallow and nihilistic and doesn’t exactly chime, apart from the selfies and celebrity doings, with the teenagers I know. I think what I’m trying to ask is where’s the optimism and joy in their lives?

Ms Lynch reserves that for the adults. Kelly is in a happy place with her relationship which is going from strength to strength, her acceptance of Ted as her father and her new understanding with her dying mother. She is even keeping her fractious sister at arm’s length. I particularly enjoyed her interactions with Josie, her boyfriend’s teenage daughter, Josie as they seem natural and realistic. On the work front she is a tenacious investigator who invests personally in her hunt for justice.

Bitter Edge is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

I love this series. The subplot is as enjoyable as the gripping main plot as we catch up with Detective Kelly Porter, her team and her family, set amongst the beautiful backdrop of The Lakes
Another great addition to this series, which just gets better and better with each instalment.

This is book 4 in the Kelly Porter series and the best yet! I love the character development, and the characters are very believable. The setting of the lake District is just perfect and the plot in this book kept me totally intrigued. I enjoyed reading more of Kelly's family and Johnny's daughter. A must read series, from a great author, which I highly recommend. My thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for my ARC. Reviews on Goodreads and Facebook.

Absolutely freaking brilliant !!! This is book 4 in the DI Kelly Porter series and it has fast become one of my favourite series and it just gets better and better. What I love about the brilliant Rachel Lynch is that she writes so damn real and say’s it just like it is, the characters are believable as are the the multi layered plot lines and this makes for a tremendous read.
It’s set in the beautiful scenery of the Lake District (not so far from me) and again we meet up with Kelly’s work colleagues and family which all adds to the enjoyment of the book. The plot lines as always are exceptionally good and I just cant’ fault anything about it it’s a joy of a book and I look forward to reading the next in the series. So I would say this is a must read most definitely and please don’t miss it..start from the beginning of the series (if you haven’t already) and I promise you won’t be disappointed at all its 5 stars and more.
My thanks to NetGalley and Canelo for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.