When the body of a teenage girl is found in an exhumed grave, Forensic Pathologist Beth Adams and Detective Josh Walker are determined to find the killer. But, the killer now has Beth in his sights. Can Beth and Josh find him first or will Beth become his final prize?

Wow! I have been searching for such a long long time for a series that rivals that of the Kay Scarpetta series by Patricia Cromwell and I have finally found it! Helen Phifer has captured my attention right from the first page. I also love love love the reference to Kay Scarpetta in the story and I’m not going to lie. I may have even done a little fist pump...Jersey style! Heh!

Helen Phifer has such a knack and is such an amazing writer who will easily draw you right into a story where I had a very hard time putting the book down. I can not express just how much I LOVE Beth Adams and Josh Walker. Beth is going through her own traumatic experience that took place seven years ago and she has never really fully recovered from and just when she is starting to get her life back. Josh has been a good friend of hers for many years and he too is going through his own hardship in a marriage that has lost its spark years ago. Beth and Josh are brought together in a grisly case that has left them stumped and when a second victim goes missing it is a race against time to find a killer with little clues as to his/her identity.

The Girl in the Grave is so engaging and the storyline is tightly written. There are a few suspects and a lot of secrets will be exposed. I really was not sure who the killer was and went back and forth quite a few times. I love when a story can really keep you guessing until the final reveal. I do wish there was a tiny bit of more action towards the end and found it wrapped up a little too neatly, but in all honesty The Girl in the Grave is nothing less than a five star read.

I am definitely needing the second book in the series ...like immediately! I am hooked!

The Girl In The Grave reminded me just why I love Psychological Thrillers so much. There wasn't a dull moment in the book and I breezed through it on the tips of my toes.

I loved how fast paced it was, and yet how it managed to capture the essence of each character. I couldn't stop reading the book and only put it down to catch a few hours of sleep before I was back at it.

Beth Adams was an intriguing character and probably one of my favourites along with DS Joshua. Both of them made an awesome pair and I loved their friendship.

The story itself was nail-bitingly good, and I had a few suspects in mind as to who the killer was and I was pleased to realize I'd been right in my guess.

Overall, The Girl in The Grave is the kind of book I look for when in the mood for a fast paced psychological thriller that would keep me turning the pages until I was done with it.

EXCERPT: ....all of them were standing in a circle staring down into the dark, sodden grave. There, poking through the soil, a pair of mottled green and blue legs were clearly visible, the remains of a torn pair of tights still clinging to parts of them. Higher up, a hand with green painted fingernails and half a face were also partially exposed; one milky, glazed eye with long eyelashes stared up at the sky.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: When the body of a teenage runaway is found hidden inside someone else’s grave in a small-town cemetery in The Lake District, an urgent call is made to Forensic Pathologist Beth Adams. Still traumatised by a recent attempt on her own life, one look at the beautiful girl’s broken body is enough to bring Beth out of hiding for the first time since her attack. She’s the only one who can help her trusted friend, Detective Josh Walker, crack the most shocking case of his career.

Beth struggles to believe it’s a coincidence that the gravesite was scheduled to be exhumed, exposing the evidence. Does this twisted killer want to be caught?

Throwing herself into her work Beth discovers traces of material beneath the victim’s fingernails that sets the team on the killer’s trail. But this critical lead comes at a dangerous price, exposing Beth’s whereabouts and dragging her back into her attacker’s line of fire once again.

With Beth’s own life on the line, the investigation is already cracking under the pressure. Then another local girl goes missing… Can Beth stay alive long enough to catch the killer before he claims his next victim?

MY THOUGHTS: I seem to be in the minority for my rating of The Girl in the Grave by Helen Phifer. It was an okay read for me - nothing more. There were a few things about it that I definitely didn't like. The major thing was the bit by bit reveal of what had happened to Beth prior to the start of this book. If it was meant to ratchet up the suspense it didn't work; mainly because we already know she survived it. Personally, I would have preferred the book to have started off with the attack on Beth, then jumped forward to the exhumation.

Another thing I was disappointed in was the speed at which Josh and Beth's relationship moved. There was no courtship, no easing into it....it was just full speed ahead from a standing start. I would have preferred to see them circling about warily for a while, both having been subject to bad (and that is an understatement) endings in their previous relationships.

I also didn't think that the points of view from the killer added anything to the story.

I didn't get any sense of suspense or trepidation as I was reading. I think the writing style is fairly flat, which I found quite surprising as I have previously enjoyed this author's Lucy Harwin series.

This isn't a series I will follow up on. 2.5*

THE AUTHOR: Helen Phifer is a published author.

Phifer was born in Barrow-in-Furness, a small town. She grew up there and continued to live there as an adult with her husband and children. She says that the town can occasionally receive some not great press, but confirms that it is a nice area to live in. It is surrounded by gorgeous scenic coast line and is fairly close to the Lake District, which is another beautiful area.

Helen confesses that she has always loved reading as well as writing. When it comes to reading, she likes to pick books that make the hair on her neck go up! Helen always has had a penchant for scary stories. When she eventually could not find enough books in this genre to suit her requirements, she decided that she would boost the amount of scary story books out there by writing some of her own!

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Girl in the Grave by Helen Phifer for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system, please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the 'about' page on my webpage sandysbookaday.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon and my webpage

Overall: This was just what I needed - I am all up to date on my other crime fiction series books, so I just LOVE it when I find a new one. Helen has to hurry up with instalment number 2!! The story centres around Pathologist Beth Adams, who is healing from a past traumatic event, who works along side DS Josh Walker to solve the investigation. I loved the characters, but did find that there were quite a few to remember and keep track of. The Girl in the Grave was fast paced, intense, and kept me gripped until the very last page. This is a must for any Angela Marsons, Carol Wyer or Patricia Gibney fan!

Dr Beth Adams is a forensic pathologist with a past. She was once a doctor in a busy Accident and Emergency Department but a tragic event in her life caused her to rethink her life and she changed career paths to become a pathologist. Throughout the book, pieces of Beth's past are gradually revealed as it becomes entwined with the present and the latest case she'd been tasked to work on.

It began when a exhumation under somewhat odd circumstances revealed a body under the coffin. The girl in the grave had lain there in the months undetected since the funeral. Who was she? How did she get there? And who put her there?

Police were already on scene for the exhumation, but work was suddenly halted as reinforcements were called. Enter Dr Beth Adams. One look at the body and she concluded that the girl was most certainly dead, but a forensic archaeologist was needed to retrieve it without disturbing any trace evidence that may have been left behind. And so the investigation begins...

Beth begins the post mortem on the body of Florence, the 93 year old woman who was said to have died from pneumonia. But information received from a relative of the deceased alleged that she had died in "suspicious circumstances" and requested an exhumation to investigate further. As it turns out, Beth deduces that Florence DID in indeed die of pneumonia and nothing untoward to warrant an exhumation. So who requested it? And why?

It soon becomes clear to Beth and DS Josh Walker, the SIO on the case, that the request was made to lead to the discover of the the girl in the grave...beneath the coffin.

Then another young woman goes missing. And the race is on to find her in time before she too suffers the same fate as the girl in the grave. But with no real leads as to where the killer is keeping his victims time is running out. Are they even any closer to catching the killer?

For Beth, the case should stop after she has finished the post mortem - but it doesn't. Like a modern day Quincy, Beth finds herself drawn to the mystery of the girl in the grave and is saddened that no one has even missed her. She decides to do some digging of her own and when revealing her findings to Josh, she even likens herself to Kay Scarpetta (of Patricia Cornwell fame).

But Beth is even more involved than she knows...

Who has been sending her letters? And who is leaving little "gifts" at her home?

Unbeknownst to Beth, she is being watched by someone with a disturbing compulsion. But despite locking herself up in a secure fortress, Beth is left vulnerable and exposed as someone she thought she could trust has anything but her best interests at heart. I thought I knew who it was...but I was wrong. To be honest, I narrowed it down to a couple of possible suspects and then picked the wrong one...lol Still, this person has serious links to her past. A past she is trying to forget but is unable to.

DS Josh Walker knows Beth and was there in the aftermath of her attack seven years before. They have become good friends and work well together with a trust and great rapport between them that is evident. With a common past that unites them together, there are hints of a romance blooming between them. It doesn't overshadow the main story, which is good, but rather lingers in the background.

A definite page-turner, THE GIRL IN THE GRAVE is a tense uncomplicated police procedural/thriller that is well written with short snappy chapters (my favourite kind) that will have you reading into the night. Addictive and intense, there is a mix of forensic pathology, police procedural and a bitter fear that is somewhat poignant. Will Josh be able to save Beth again?

THE GIRL IN THE GRAVE is the first in a new series by Helen Phifer set in the beautiful Lake District in Cumbria. It is also the first I have read by this author though I'm aware she has written a number of police procedural/crime thriller series. However, it is Beth and Josh I am looking forward to getting to know more and eagerly await the second book.

I would like to thank #HelenPhifer, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheGirlInTheGrave in exchange for an honest review.

The body of a young woman is found underneath the coffin of another deceased person during an exhumation. The girl had been dead for weeks and was never reported as missing. Dr. Beth Adams, a forensic pathologist (former A&E physician) is called to do the postmortem. Who used this particular grave as a dumping ground and why? Then, another young woman goes missing and is presumed to be in danger. The police frantically search for clues of where she could have been taken before time runs out and they have another body on their hands.

There are many characters in this introductory novel, but Beth Adams is the main focus. She was damaged both physically and psychologically in a previous assault by a man she trusted and has become quite reclusive and prefers isolation at her highly secure home on the lakefront. Her best friend, DS Josh Walker, rescued Beth during the attack that changed her life, and he's leading the investigation into the missing women. Despite the attempt to dangle extraneous clues and red herrings, I suspected the identity of the perpetrator early on. I didn't really get too attached to Beth and the "romance" angle seemed so obvious. The reader may learn to like the characters as the series develops, so I'd give this another chance with a second book read. I just don't see some of the events, and Beth's participation in the police investigation, as realistic or believable. The author has left quite a few loose ends in the plot with development potential.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review.

One of the best books I’ve read in a while and then it’s a new series with two very likable main characters; Beth who is a forensic pathologist and Josh who is a detective and also her friend who has been with her since her attack years ago.
I highly recommend this book and thank NetGalley for letting me read this advance copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

This book starts with a bang when what should be a routine exhumation turns into something far more sinister when they find a body that had been under the now removed coffin. Detective Josh Walker is called to investigate the unexpected body, aided by Beth Adams, the pathologist who will examine the body.

Things quickly take a turn for the worst when another young woman goes missing and it is clear that the two were taken by the same man. Will they manage to find the second woman before it’s too late?

We quickly find out that there is more to Josh and Beth than a working relationship, after Josh helped rescue Beth from an attack that changed her life in many ways.

I really liked Beth as a character, there was something about her that I really liked and identified with. We found out less about Josh but he seems to be a promising character.

As always with Helen Phifer books, The Girl In The Grave is fast paced, easy to read and thrilling. It always takes a few books in a new series to properly settle in and become part of the readers lives and for the characters to feel like part of our world, but I can see Beth settling into my character family very quickly.

I will most definitely be reading more books in this series and pretty much any book by Helen Phifer.

During a ‘routine’ exhumation, a body is found buried under the coffin…..Dr Beth Adams is called in as the forensic pathologist and it’s found to be murder…..but who is the young woman ?

When Annie Potts goes missing, they are concerned it could be the same person that’s taken her…..so DS Josh Walker starts the hunt.

In the meantime, someone is watching Beth.

Due to a violent attack in her past, she is taking self defence classes and has upgraded the security in her lakeside home…..still paranoid, she finds it hard to relax and only Josh knows why….as he had reached her just in time and saved her……all Beth wants is her life back…

But just who is sending her letters? And who is leaving her little ‘presents’ at her home?

This is an easy read, it just flows so well. A mix of CSI pathology, police procedural and fear……will Josh be able to save Beth again?…..

There’s so much tension in this fast paced thriller it will keep you on tenterhooks right to the very end…….

Thank you to Bookouture, the author and NetGalley for a free copy of the ebook. This is my in honest, unbiased review.

A grave exhumed under odd circumstances leads detectives to the body of another woman -- who was buried underneath a coffin. At the same time, a party girl's best friend goes missing. These things are both clearly linked, but can the crime team solve the first murder in time to find the missing woman still alive?

Toss in a pathologist healing from past trauma, a detective in a bad marriage, and a romantic spark between the two main characters and you get The Girl in the Grave. This is a perfectly serviceable thriller that introduces lots of red herrings in an attempt to keep readers from solving the mystery.

The 'twist' ending wasn't much of a surprise, although the author did a good job of keeping it under wraps for the first 2/3 of the book. The characters are likable enough and easy to root for.

On the downside, one of the oddest circumstances in the book - exactly who requested the initial grave exhumation and why in the world it was allowed to go through without the typical waiting period - is never explained in a satisfactory way.

The author is also borderline obsessed with the word 'whilst,' which fits in since this is a UK-written and based book but still stood out due to the sheer number of times it was used. If you were to base a drinking game around 'whilst,' you'd probably black out before getting 1/4 of the way through the book.

All in all, this was a decent read, but it didn't pull me in as strongly as many other recent thrillers. Still worth reading, though. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

An amazing first book in a new series. I love how well the introduction of the characters is and how Beth is a normal woman with anxieties and not some superhero. I hope her friendship with ? is becoming something more over time because she deserves some good in her life after everything she had to endure. There is a lot of mystery and guessing to the story, a lot of possible murder candidates. Loved it and highly recommend the book.

My thanks to Bookouture for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Girl in the Grave’ by Helen Phifer in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first in Phifer’s new series of police procedurals featuring Forensic Pathologist Elizabeth (Beth) Adams and Detective Sergeant Josh Walker. While this is the first book I have read of Phifer’s, I can see that she has written a number of police procedurals/crime thrillers since 2013 that have proved popular with readers.

In the opening an exhumation reveals the body of a young woman buried beneath the coffin. Clearly she did not belong there and soon Beth is drawn into the case. Then there is a report of another young woman missing and sinisterly something is left in her room that links the cases.

Beth appears to be very wary and we learn that she was attacked seven years ago. Although at the outset we don’t have information about the attack it’s clear that someone is currently stalking her.

I found this a well written police procedural that certainly grabbed my attention and proved very hard to put down. I liked Beth a lot and I felt that it was a promising start to the series.

As a long time fan of both the Kay Scarpetta (who gets a mention in passing) and the Tempe Brennan series, I welcome a British one to feature this aspect of forensic investigation. I certainly plan to look out for further cases featuring Beth and company.

The author wrote a thriller that started with a bang and just kept going! The twists kept coming, so I couldn't put it down. I cannot wait to read more from this author!

Silence falls as the coffin is lifted out of the ground, yesterday’s rain cascading from it like a waterfall. Glancing into what should have been an empty grave, everyone gasps at the sight of blueish-white fingers exposed in the soil below...



Wow. After reading that introduction I just had to read this book. And boy it didn't disappoint. I was hooked from the start until the very last page.

A fantastic first book in what I think could easily become a favourite series for me.

Beth and Josh are great characters and I can't wait to read more about them.

Will recommend this book to everyone I know.

3.5*
The Girl in the Grave is a thriller novel, the first in the Beth Adams series, following a forensic pathologist named Beth Adams.
During an exhumation the body of a young girl was found under the coffin,which brings a lot of questions: Why was the exhumation ordered in the first place? Is it a coincidence that the girl's body was in a grave about to be exhumed? Or is it part of a plan conducted by a very sick and dangerous individual?
I think my favorite part of this book was Beth's character development. From the very beginning it is obvious that she has suffered some sort of trauma in the past and it made her paranoid, obsessed with security and very lonely. Throughout the novel she starts to realize that she cannot go on living like this as it is not really living. And she finally begins to open up. It was lovely to see that and really rooted for her.
The murder mystery was interesting. I did not guess who the killer was and at one point I suspected three different people. But the ending was rushed and a bit anticlimactic.
My main criticism is the writing style. There were too many perspectives in this book that did not really need to be there. Instead of reading from random people I would much rather spend time reading from Beth,Josh who is the lead investigator on the case,and the killer. That way their personalities could have been better explored. And there were also a few inconsistencies in the first half of the novel. Like for example, one second Beth would be panting, and the next she would let out a breath she was holding, little things like that. But as the novel goes on it does get better.
I will definitely read the next book in this series, there are some aspects of the story that I am interested to see unfold.
Thank you to netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It’s a first book in the series about forensic pathologist Beth Adams. I will definitely read more about her. Interesting, fast paced criminal thriller. “The girl in the grave” starts with discovering of a young girl body under the coffin of different dead woman which was mysteriously requested to be exhumed. Did the killer want the police to find the girl in the grave? More clues and unpredictable situations to come.

Thank you to Net Galley and Bookouture for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked the premise of the story and it was well written. Started slow for me in the beginning and the characters were hard for me to like. Something just seemed off. But still a good thriller.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Girl in the Grave: (Beth Adams Book 1)
Helen Phifer
2⭐⭐
This book sounded like it was going to be amazing and i had high hopes for it. However after starting this book I had my doubts that i was going to like it. It starts out way too slow for my likeing and kind of boring. Then it started picking up speed and caught my attention more but failed to keep it. It's not the most exciting thriller I’ve ever read and it's not the worst. It was an okay read . I figured out too early on who the killer was and that ruined it for me.There were WAY too many characters for me and their names started with the same letter. Some That seemed to have no purpose at all. That made it so confusing.I had to keep going back and re reading and take out my notebook to keep track of them all. There was also several things that seemed so far fetched. Hopefully book 2 will be better. This book just was not for me. However I would consider reading another one of Phifer's books in the future. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great start to a new series.
Beth Adams is still recovering from being attacked in her home and now works as a pathologist.
She’s good friends with Josh, a local detective and is called out to a particularly troubling crime scene.
The body of a young woman has been found in the grave of a woman whose body was being exhumed.
No-one can get to the bottom of why the exhumation was requested and Josh suspects it was orchestrated by the killer of the young woman.
Soon another young woman is abducted and Josh faces a race against time to find her before it’s too late.
Beth is trying to live her life after the attack and is taking small steps to get back to normal when her whole world is turned on it’s head.
Josh saved her life once before but can he do it again?
This is a brilliant read and it will have you on the edge of your seat during the final pages.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for this arc.

I have read the first three books of the Lucy Harwin series by this same author and enjoyed them all very much.

But sadly I was not nearly as impressed with the Beth Adams or Josh Walker characters. The story line felt predictable and stale ("Been there. Done that"). Beth, in particular, felt unreal. She's apparently still traumatized by an attempt on her life seven years ago and yet she goes off to investigate the first and second victim's lives of this story on her own??? All the while locking herself in after dark and jumping at shadows? Oh, she's also apparently very attractive to most all men that come into her orbit and thinks of them often (when she's not busy shaking in her shoes). Josh also has unresolved "issues". The "psychologically damaged" protagonists are really getting to be overdone for my tastes. At some point the story goes from interesting and engaging over to yawning incredulity.

2.0 stars