BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'Her Dying Wish' by Carla Kovach.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Carla Kovach, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 16th December 2021.

This is the fourth book I have read by this author. I have previously read 'Their Silent Graves' which is the seventh book in the 'Detective Gina Harte' series, 'The Broken Ones' which is the eighth book and 'One Left Behind' which is the ninth in the 'Detective Gina Harte' series. 'Her Dying Wish' is the tenth book in the 'Detective Gina Harte' series but can be read as a standalone.


I was originally drawn to this book by its beautiful eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that this book is 'Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Cara Hunter and Clare Mackintosh, One Left Behind is a thrilling crime novel that will have you hooked from the very first page!.' I am a huge fan of Angela Marsons so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I am also a huge fan of Carla Kovach and if this is half as good as 'The Broken Ones', 'One Left Behind' or 'Their Silent Graves' it is sure to be an epic read. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of a prologue, 70 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 , UK 🇬🇧 . I always enjoy when books are set in the UK as I'm from Wales and have sometimes visited areas mentioned in the book. This makes it easier to picture where the scenes are set at times. I have in fact visited England on many occasions including going there on holiday last and this year so am looking forward to possibly recognising name places.

This book is written in third person perspective and the main protagonist is Detective Gina Harte. The benefits of third person perspective with multiple protagonists are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything. .

'Her Dying Wish' discusses some topics that may trigger some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Carla discusses/includes domestic violence and rape.

WELL, WELL, WELL CARLA DOES IT AGAIN!!!! YET ANOTHER EXPLOSIVE PAGE TURNER BY AN EXTREMELY TALENTED AUTHOR!!

This book is another riveting installment in this gripping and addictive series. Filled with vivid descriptions it is easy to get lost in the pages for hours. The cover and synopsis work perfectly with the storyline. This book hit every possible emotion and I loved every part of it.

The storyline was unique, very fast paced and filled with suspense, tension, secrets, action and lots red herrings to throw you off the scent. I was completely shocked by who the killer turned out to be and never expected them in the slightest. I always love it when I'm shocked as there's nothing worse than working out the killer and your not even half way through the book yet. I love that several chapters are from the Killer's perspective which gives an excellent insight to how they are feeling and why they are doing what they are. This book discusses domestic abuse and rape and I am a huge believer that both of these should be discussed more often to help victims of either realise there is help available out there and they are not alone. As always Carla has done an immense amount of research and it shines throughout the book. It also leaves you questioning the law, well it did for me anyway and it also highlights what a mother would do for their child. Did I think the punishments were correct for the crimes and reasons? Personally I think not but then where do you draw the line? An extremely well written and thought provoking action packed crime thriller. The descriptions were so vivid I could feel the freezing cold water in some pages and the boiling heat during others. As always this book has left me wanting more in the Gina Harte series!!

Although this is the tenth book in the series I had absolutely no problems reading it without the others. Any details or events that have previously happened are mentioned in just the right amount of detail to let a new reader know what has happened and yet not too much to bore a previous reader.

I love Gina and the fact that she is a strong female role model who has got a history herself makes it even better. I enjoyed meeting all the previous characters along with many new ones who all had their own personalities and were strong Characters, well maybe not all!! A certain character, a few actually I could not stand but I'm extremely pleased that a particular Thorn got their comeuppance, I won't say more than that as I don't want to spoil it for others but once you've read it I'm sure you'll know who I mean. I love the dynamics in Gina's team and the fact they all work so well together. Each of her team has their own unique traits and personalities and I love meeting them in each new storyline that Carla brings out. I am looking forward to meeting them all again when I read more of the fabulous Carla's books.

If you have never read this series I highly recommend starting now. It is always great if you can start at the beginning of a series but the brilliant thing with Carla's books is that it really doesn't matter where you start as they can be read in any order.

CONGRATULATIONS CARLA ON YET ANOTHER EXPLOSIVE INSTALLMENT IN AN EPIC SERIES!!! This is exactly why you are in my top 5 crime authors list!!

Overall a page turning, psychological thriller that will leave you shocked and wanting to read more of this incredible series

Genres covered in this novel include Psychological Fiction, Crime Fiction, Thriller, Police Procedural, Mystery and Psychological Thriller amongst others.

I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Angela Marsons, Carol Wyer, C. L Taylor, Tess Gerritsen and anyone looking for an addictive and explosive series.


367 pages.

This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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Wow! Scary, tense and tightly written this one is a must read. You never guess what's coming. Take the ride
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc

I’ve read a few of Carla’s books now and they never fail to keep me gripped, it’s great writing and think each book just gets better and better. I can never figure out what’s going to happen next and could question every character in the book and still get it wrong, this book was like being on a rollercoaster with all the twists and turns. I did feel sorry for a few of the characters in the book but that changed as it went on. This along with Carla’s other books is well worth a read and I look forward to the next one.

DI Gina Harte is on the case of arson which has resulted in the death of a local man. His family are distraught but not is all as it seems with his marriage and wife. There is also the issue with the local reporter and Gina’a ex brother in law causing a hate campaign towards her.
Carla’s books never fail to deliver and this was an extremely powerful one. I felt this is the start of a new Gina reclaiming her life years later.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

This was very nearly a DNF.

Although the serial arsonist/murderer story is an interesting one, the side story about Gina’s dead husband, her brother in law Stephen, her mother in law and the reporter digging up dirt on the death of her husband overshadows big parts of the story and I wanted Gina to grow some balls and tell them all where to shove it. I am hoping this book is the last we hear of Gina’s dead husband and their family.

Knocking off a star because of this.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review.

I love Gina Harte and her team and get super excited whenever a new one comes out!
This was just as good as all the others, with a really good story line.
An abusive husband is burnt alive in a house fire - a single candle burning in the garden. Harte and her team are called in and soon realise it’s a serial - but all is not as it seems!
Really well written as always and I just wish Gina would move on properly with Biggs!!

Her Dying Wish by Carla Kovach is the tenth book in the Gina Harte series. I picked up this series with The Liar's House (book 4) and I also thoroughly enjoyed books five through to nine.

The author has written a really clever and fascinating story with a layered plot that drew me in right from the very first page. In this tenth tense tale, the stakes are high and Gina needs her team more than ever. Feisty and down-to-earth, Gina is a brilliant Detective Inspector. DS Jacob Driscoll makes a valuable contribution as does DCI Chris Briggs Other team members are DC Harry O’Connor and DC Paula Wyre, along with PC Smith and PC Kapoor. The great pacing by Carla Kovach also had a hand in my huge enjoyment of the story. I suspected many of the characters though I remained bamboozled to the involved, dramatic end. If you love a good detective series and psychological thriller with plenty of twists and a very dark feel, then Her Dying Wish is for you. Very highly recommended. 😊

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Bookouture via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Her Dying Wish grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go. A dark, compelling mystery that is stronger for the way it highlights the impact of the investigator’s personal demons on her work. DI Gina Harte has a duty to apprehend criminals and apply the law, but is the law always fair? What happens when the victim is also a perpetrator? The author takes readers on a deeply personal journey that will keep you furiously flipping the pages until you reach the shocking, twisted conclusion. Great characters and complex, real world issues. Not to be missed!

Being raped is just the beginning of this story. The aftermath is so much bigger than anyone could guess. This was a real page turner for me and I felt as powerless as Gina. So much tragedy and hurt.

Her Dying Wish Carla Kovach
Another fantastic installment in the Gina Harte series. I love going back to this series it feels like meeting up with friends you have seen in years, yet you just pick up where you left off.
This story kept me guessing and I really enjoyed it.

This is the 10th book in the Gina Harte series, this can be read as a standalone but you will get the most enjoyment from reading all the books.

If you have read a few of these books then you know Gina and her team quite well. Gina has a solid team who know exactly what they are doing. Gina is unravelling quite a lot in this book. Her past is coming back to haunt her and she’s certain her secret will be unveiled and she will lose everything, her job, her family and her freedom.

This case has a lot of personal overlays for Gina. The domestic abuse that Gina and some of these women have faced is horrific. Gina can really understand the women she has met through this case.

Carla knows how to keep an audience hooked and displays her skills fabulously in this instalment. I was very tense with this one. Carla also kept me guessing as I had no idea who was behind all this. Another brilliant addition to the series!

A match is struck and the house goes up in flames, a candle left outside like a memorial to their victim. Detective Gina Harte is determined to catch the killer but also desperately trying to keep her own dark secret that could end her career while under pressure from a journalist that refuses to quit. After a second attack the mystery deepens, and Harte and her team are in a race against the clock before more lives are taken.

Her Dying Wish is the tenth book in the Detective Gina Harte series and it is another tense, twisty and pacy thriller from the talented Carla Kovach. Ms. Kovach knows how to pull you in with a compelling plot while keeping you guessing and on the edge of your seat as she takes you on an electrifying rollercoaster ride. And this book did that more than ever.

I’ve become very fond of Gina over the last ten books of this series and feel a personal connection to her as a survivor of an abusive marriage. I’ve been with her through her journey and the many pressures she’s faced, but she is facing her biggest challenge yet and under immense pressure as a local journalist relentlessly pursues her past and threatens to uncover her darkest secret. This ramps up the tension as the secret she’s hiding has the potential to end her career, and probably this series. I was rooting for her every step of the way and the idea of all being revealed felt as terrifying for me as it did for Gina. But did she manage to keep her secret? You’ll have to read to find out.

But there is more to this book than Gina’s secret. There is also a sick killer on the loose who is setting fire to people’s homes while they sleep inside. Their motives appear to be personal but other than that there are no real clues. Gina and her team are in a race against the clock with little to go on and the stakes get higher at each turn. I found myself reading with breathless anticipation as Gina tries to solve the case and save her own skin.

Once again Carla Kovach has delivered a compelling first-class thriller that you won’t want to put down. I highly recommend both this book and the whole series to anyone who enjoys well-written crime fiction.

A detective with a secret, a candle left outside a house, a match is struck, a house fire, a journalist who won’t quit and a mystery.

This book ten in the Detective Gina Harte Series, and I have only read one other book in the series (Book #3). Would it have been nice to know more of the backstory? Yes, but at the same time this did work well as a stand-alone for me.

While investigating her current case, Gina is being pursued by a local journalist who wants to get to the bottom of the death of her husband years ago. In her current case, a man is dead after an arson at his house. With most books of this type, the detectives are running out of time as their backs are against the wall. This is not exception. There are secrets, twists, and turns in this book.

An enjoyable read which had me wondering what was next for Gina and would her secret ever see the light of day?

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 stars

Her Dying Wish by Carla Kovach is the 10th in the Detective Gina Harte series.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Bookouture, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


Series Background:  (Warning – May contain spoilers from previous books)
DI Gina Harte works homicides. Her team consists of: DS Jacob Driscoll, DC Harry O’Connor and DC Paula Wyre, with a lot of assistance from PC Smith and PC Kapoor. Gina is a stubborn lady, and a determined detective. She has had a rough life, which has led to an uneasy relationship with her daughter and grand-daughter.  It has also led to a lack of real friends, and an on-again/off-again relationship with her boss, DCI Chris Briggs. It is not common knowledge that her husband was abusive, and only Briggs knows that she did not save him when he fell to his death many years ago.


My Synopsis: (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
An abusive husband goes up in flames with the house while his wife is staying at a hotel with the kids.  She had left him a few days before the fire.

When another of their friends almost suffers a similar fate, Gina and the team start looking into their lives.  The four women are part of a gym club, and their husbands are also friends.  So, questions arise whether the fire had to do with one of them, or if this is totally unrelated.

But when they discover a child is missing, the whole case takes another turn.

Meanwhile, Gina is being hounded by a reporter who is writing the story of her husbands death, and he plans on making sure that everyone will know that Gina is to blame.  She may lose her family, her job, and her freedom, if the full story comes out.


My Opinions:
Okay, as much as I like this series, I almost stopped reading at the end of the 2nd chapter, when I realized that this was yet another book about Gina's dead husband.  I am sooooo sick of this storyline, which tends to take over the true mystery.  I thought it was finally finished in the last book....now I hope it may be again.

As pretty as the cover is, it again has nothing to do with the book.

The book is told in different perspectives, one of which is a little boy.  Although it was easy to determine the identity of the child early on, if was definitely a great segment.   The other characters were just as interesting.

The overall plot was very good. The book is about rape,  about abusive relationships, about hatred of women, about revenge,  and of course about murder.  All rather depressing and dark topics, but done really well.

The mystery parts of these books are all 4 or 5 stars, but my annoyance at the character development is starting to really annoy me.  So,  although I will again wait for the next in the series, I sincerely hope that it will devote more time to the actual current crime, and less to Gina's ancient history.

Thank you to Netgalley, Bookouture and Carla Kovach for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This is the tenth in the DI Harte series and it certainly doesn't disappoint. It is dark and gripping from the get go. This book takes thriller to a new level. I actually read this in a day as I was physically unable to put it down. I'd give it 10 stars if I could. I can't wait to find out what is in store for DI Harte. Carla Kovach is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors.

My thanks to Bookouture for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Her Dying Wish’ by Carla Kovach in exchange for an honest review.

This is the tenth in Kovach’s D.I. Gina Harte series of police procedurals set in the fictional Midlands town of Cleevesford.

While reading previous books in the series does allow for the gradual development of various characters’ back stories, Carla Kovach always provides background information so that readers new to the series don’t feel lost.

The novel opens with a chapter from the perspective of an unknown person, who before pouring petrol through a letter box and lighting a rag to ignite it, sets a small candle in a jar to burn nearby. They then slink off into the night leaving the house blazing.

This is the start of a complex case that takes some troubling directions. No further details to avoid spoilers.

In addition, the ongoing subplot linked to the death many years ago of Terry, Gina’s husband, has been stirred up by a sleazy journalist, who is being spurred on by members of Terry’s family. I felt a great deal of empathy for Gina as this harassment clearly interferes with her job and peace of mind.

As always I zoomed through this novel in a couple of sittings, as once started it proved almost impossible to put down.

The DI Gina Harte series is one of my favourites and I know that I can always count on Carla Kovach to deliver a fast-paced police procedural with an intriguing plot.

I wish I could somehow give a split rating on this book. I really liked the murder mystery. It had a nice twist to it and even though I caught on to a lot of it pretty quickly, it still took me almost to the end to put all the pieces together. However, I debated DNFing the book because of the continuing story line with Gina's ex-husband. She catastrophizes what will happen if the story gets out. Really? She is going to lose her job and family and friends over this? No that won't happen. It probably won't even make the front page for more than one morning and only because the reporter works for a scandal page. Why is someone going to get worked up over something that was deemed an accident that long ago when the whole news cycle is about 16 minutes? I think for future installments I will wait until others have reviewed and see if this whole story line has been put out to pasture before I read anymore. Like I said, the mysteries are always interesting but I can't enjoy them with all the worrying about Terry's death.

A big thank you shout out to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read and give an honest review of this book.


This twisty tale makes for a good, fast read (as in can’t put it down). Do you need a book to read on Christmas vacation or as you travel? This is it. You would think that a mystery that has arson, murder, blackmail, revenge, spouse abuse, kidnapping, would be too complicated. It wasn’t. The plot lines and characters were well developed and made sense. All loose ends were tied up at the conclusion of this book.

The investigating detective, Gina Harte, has her own baggage that she is dealing with. Her mother-in-law and brother-in -law both think she lies and is covering up something in her husband’s death. A persistent and bothersome journalist keeps pestering her for details in her husband’s death and threatens to write whatever version he comes up with.

Four gal-pals became friends through the friendship their husbands/partners shared. On the outside the relationships look healthy and supportive. However, they cover up a tangled web.

Although I have never read a book by this author, Carla Kovach, in this series (and this is number 10) I easily became invested in it. There was enough information and history to quickly and painlessly catch up. I can’t wait to go back and start this series from the beginning.

This was my first Carla Kovach book and while I was worried jumping into a series at book 10 was a bad idea, this book can certainly stand on it's own.

Her Dying Wish is a gripping suspense novel with a strong female lead. I had a hard time putting this book down! Around the 70% mark I did find it lagged a bit as most readers will begin to solve the puzzle, but there was still enough action in the final chapters to keep me engaged.

I will definitely be reading more from Kovach and specifically this series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is book 10 in the Gina Harte series. This was a slow starter for me. I wasn’t crazy about some of the dialogue between the characters - it felt choppy and forced.

However, once I got past the first several chapters, the story really picked up. So much so that I was up late into the night finishing it.

Well done. I can’t wait to see what is in store for Gina next.

Thank you #netgalley and #bookouture for the eARC.