A young girl dies, a mother who always controlled her daughter but things are not as they seem. This is an excellent addition and second book to the Detective Jack Kent series which brought more thrills, mystery and suspense. There were plenty of twists and the story read well and was easy to follow even though the blame for the death(s) was never focused on just one person.

A great crime, mystery, thriller book and one I couldn't put down and enjoyed reading, The characters were written perfectly for this story and it made me think the whole way through. What really did happen and who is responsible!?

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

I didn't realise thus was book two of a series so I probably didn't get the full enjoyment. Had I known, I would've read book one first. That said, this is a very good book with a great pace.

Loved this book. The blame went backwards and forwards which kept me wanting to continue reading. The estranged father was a great addition to the complex nature if the book.

This is the second book in the series and it is better than the first. It has a gripping storyline and deepens the main Characters. I look forward to reading more

Thank you NetGalley for this advance reader copy in exchange for my free and honest review. DI Jack Kent has quickly become one of my favorite main characters. I love this character’s honesty and raw emotion. The story lines for both novels in this series I have been privilege to read are well detailed and ring as true reality, sometimes sadly enough. Great author, don’t miss out!

The second book in the series does not disappoint. Jack Kent the mountaineering and lesbian DI based in Birmingham investigates the suspicious death of a teenager who collapses in a shopping centre. The girls medical history and the findings of the postmortem give cause for concern although it is not certain that there was any foul play. Jack’s investigation takes in the estranged parents and the medical fraternity who have been involved in the ongoing treatments of the girl. There are many twists and turns and several threads including a court case for rape which is a continuation of book on in the series.while trying to make sense of the case Jack is also trying to arrange a big climb in Nepal and also sort out a complicated relationship.
This series is a good addition to the British crime genre and asks some bold questions about or relationship with medical professionals.
I read this book over two days and can heartily recommend it to lovers of good police procedural novels.

Apologies for not writing this review sooner. I found this story very intriguing and concerning. Leia a teenage girl has her life controlled by her mother until she is found dead in a shopping mall. Detective Jack is suspicious and immediately questions everything. She is as thorough as always in her search for answers. This is well written and as good as the previous book in the new Detective Jack Kennedy series. My interest was held until the end. I look forward to reading more in the series and from Nicky Downes.

This book had a good storyline, I liked the mystery to it. Cleverly thought out and great characters and interactions.

I found a little hard to follow at times but soon got the pace of it.

Nice little twists and turns along the way.

Leia Thompson, an apparently healthy teenager, suddenly drops dead in a shopping mall. There seems to be no obvious reason, so everybody is convinced she died of natural causes, that is, all except for detective Jack (Jacqueline) Kent.
When Jack delves deeper into the life and medical history of Leia she soon discovers that Leia has a long history of all kinds of medical issues and mishaps, even though there is no medical professional that has an overview of all incidents, hospitalisations, etc.
It soon turns out that Leia and her mother have relocated numerous times and that Leia's mother probably had an affliction called munchausen by proxy.
When another girl dies in similar shady circumstances Jack starts looking for other victims and suspects. Will Jack get to the bottom of who is tormenting these girls and why?

I absolutely loved this book. It is well written, full of suspense and describes a very interesting though awful phenomenon where people hurt children to get sympathy or attention for themselves. There are interesting plot twists and I also liked the secondary story lines.

I am definitely going to read the previous book even though Jack's sidekick Nadia was wrapping up the storyline from that one in this volume. Also looking forward to more books in this series.
I got a free copy of this book on Netgalley, all opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I really enjoyed the first book of the series so I was excited to read this and it didn't disappoint! The mystery was really intriguing and fast paced. This was really a really unique mystery and I wasn't sure how it was going to end. I would recommend this series and look forward to any future installments in it. Special Thank you to Storm Publishing, Nicky Downes and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

An Action-packed Thriller
Broken Girls by Nicky Downs is the story of a teenage girl named Leia Thompson who drops dead suddenly in a shopping mall of apparent natural causes. Leia was in the mall all alone at the time and she is covered in scars all over her body which are both old and new.
Detective Jack Kent is convinced something is not right after speaking with the coroner during the autopsy and finding out some of the surgery's where not necessary. Leia’s mother was very controlling of her but is her mother capable of hurting and torturing her own child. Then another girl suddenly dies and like Leia she also has had a lot of surgery. Both girls had been treated in hospitals but their where also numerous doctors and hospitals where the pair had been treated over years. Is it one of the family members or a doctor causing these girls deaths.
Jack must chase the leads down with her team as they work their way through a web of dark secrets and chilling motives before the killer strikes again? There are plenty of twists and turns in the plot which is fast paced with great characters. An action-packed thriller that grabbed my attention from the start. A book which I highly recommend. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A very good thriller, a young girl dies at a shopping mall. Detective Jack Kent investigates her death. Plenty twist in this well plotted novel. Good characters, would recommend this book. Thanks to Storm publishing and Netgalley for this review copy.

A young girl who was shopping at the mall suddenly drops dead without any apparent superficial causes until her body is examined and that's when the young detective Jack and her team are called in since the medical findings of Leia Thompson's body are determined that severe past abuse may have been committed but they cannot find an actual cause of death. .Jack and team lean towards the mother whose behavior and reactions are very strange to her daughter's death and it seems the poor girl rarely left her home except for doctor appointments and she had no friends or even a tablet or cell phone. How does a young person socially survive today with only books to read without any outside influences or someone to share their secrets.

The case takes a sudden turn when another body is found dead under similar circumstances. The team works tirelessly trying to put the puzzle pieces together and connect the two cases and a few other people could be possible suspects with some crazy turns that were unexpected but clues continue to fizzle out and leave Jack frustrated and angry. Jack's boss puts pressure on her to just get the case wrapped up and closed without actually solving these murders.


This book was an interesting and entertaining detective mystery with quite a few red herrings and twists that were quite enjoyable. The story itself was a fast read but more dramatic than thrilling. The parts I had problems with were Jack's romantic life and thoughts were present way too much throughout the story and for trying to solve these murder cases she had an awful lot of free time. Weekends off to make romantic plans and shorter work days than I'm used to from reading other detective books instead of working around the clock, it just took away from the realism of the police case and became more an unexpected romantic drama for myself.

So I would still recommend this book to readers who might enjoy a softer detective story with many personal experiences in the storyline. My preference is much darker novels and I know many readers prefer a lighter touch. The storyline was very good and also brought in many failures with the medical community dropping the ball over and over which led to a young person's lifelong suffering from medical professionals that turned a blind eye to this poor victim well-being which eventually led to her death yet none of these cause were what actually killed her.

I want to thank the publisher "Storm Publishing" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this digital copy and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given a rating of 3 ENTERTAINING AND SUSPICIOUS 🌟🌟🌟 STARS!!

This was a tragic story about manipulation by a doctor on the health of young girls. Lots of twists and turns and a very complex case for the police. They wre also coping with sexual injury to young students at University. A conclusion which tied up all the loose ends.

A great story with lots of drama and a plot that keeps you guessing, full of suspense with an “alongside” story also playing out. The author touches on a lot of current issues, social justice, policing, child welfare and possibly gender neutral.

The second in this series, set in the West Midlands . It would read fine as a stand alone though the first book does introduce you to Jack and her team so you have more background information. The plot is about the death of a young girl. She has had long term health problems and one of the lines of enquiry is that her mother has been the cause of both these and her death. In other chapters, the trial of a potential rapist is being followed and Jack's personal life is described, the interaction with friends and love-interests and mountaineering as well as her home life. Perhaps Jack's insecurity about her love-life and friendships felt a little off, but that is a minor issue
I enjoyed the fast pace of this book, the different strands of the plot where there is a lot going on. It all felt very realistic. The medical aspect is also fascinating.

Thanks to Net Galley for a great read in exchange for an honest review

I'm so glad I read this book. I was wanting to read true crime books for research as an author myself trying to expand my writing genres and this book was wonderful, in a true story kind of way. It read like a true story and definitely kept me interested. This was a new author to me and I'm so glad I picked it up.

This is book 2 and it can be read as a standalone. There is a secondary plot of a court case for a rape trial which follows on from book 1 but everything is explained and I was hooked on the result of the trial. I struggle with Jack. Her as a detective doesn’t seem to mesh with her as a climber. They feel like different characters. Her romantic life was frustrating and the way she acted felt really immature. I didn’t connect with any of the characters. Shauna is also a terrible friend.

The actual case was interesting with a few suspects and lots of questions. There is a lot of climbing content that doesn’t add anything to the story and takes you out of the investigation. The twist also didn’t really make sense and I don’t understand how the killer was able to do half of the things he did. I’m not sure I’ll continue with this series.

The second book in the DI Jack Kent series. A good storyline though it took a while to get going as the first quarter of the book was mostly about the main characters love of climbing!

I enjoyed this book. It was good continuation for the first book. If you like thrillers this is a good read for you. Thank you to netgalley giving me this arc in exchange for an honest review. .