Bitter Edge

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.

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.

This is my first book by Rachel Lynch - but I have since downloaded number 3 and will be reading more in the future. I loved the setting - the Lake District is one of my favourite places. I liked the characters in her team and enjoyed Kelly Porter as a character.

The story was fast paced and dealt with some very current issues - drug abuse and teenage suicide.

The characters around Kelly - her family and Johnny added depth to the story and drew you in.

Definitely an author I will be watching out for in future.

Another great episode for DI Kelly Porter. As well as a well-structured and well-paced read, it covers the heart rending reality that drugs "aren't just for losers". So many young victims - even the child dealers evoke sympathy for how they've made bad choices along the way and ended up where they are in a life where they should never be.

I loved this book! I haven’t read the others in the series, yet, but I didn’t need to. It worked well as a stand alone book and I can’t wait to see how it fits into the series. The characters were believable, so much so it made me worry if this actually happens in places like the Lakes. Having spent a lot of time in the Lake District I could picture where things were happening, it was as if this was a true crime. I will be recommending this to my friends, family and colleagues, with a view to it relating to child subcultures. An excellent read!

Bitter Edge is the fourth in the series featuring DI Kelly Porter. Set in the beautiful landscape of the Lake District this book can be read as a stand alone.

I love finding new crime writers to read and I've certainly found one here. Kelly Porter is a sympathetic and likeable protagonist, dedicated to her job and refreshingly without the idiosyncratic tendencies that so many fictional detectives have. She's got issues, of course she has, she's human after all but she doesn't stroppily continue to investigate cases after being suspended as so many of them do.

This novel shows an underside of Cumbria which you'd never guess at as a visitor to the Lake District. A teenager is found dead having jumped off a mountain. Kelly is reluctant to see it as suicide, it just seems such a waste. The girl had been a promising athlete and now her battered body has been found half way up a tree. Reluctantly she accepts it is suicide but continues to interview teenagers uncovering two suicides within the past two years. Are they linked? And how does the teacher accused of molesting another teenage come into it? When another young girl goes missing, Kelly pulls out all the stops to try to find her.

The plot is complicated with many twists and turns and makes for a very satisfying read. I enjoyed it very much though I did feel that the view of teenage life it presented was perhaps unduly pessimistic. I've bought the first in the series - no better recommendation. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I've read all three previous books in this series, and of them all I would say this has been my favourite. Although saying that I do think that about each one. I great thriller that kept me wanting to keep on reading to find out what happens next. I love Johnny and am so pleased that he's featured so much more in the past two books.

Loved this book so much I went back and bought the rest of the series.... Which is about the best compliment I can give.
Set in the Lake District, Kelly Porter is faced with apparent suicides of young people who had previously had everything to live for. She unravels a net of drugs, social media and tables the issues of being young head on.
Clearly familiar with the environment of the Lakes, Rachel Lynch has written a gripping series and third latest instalment is no exception.
The characters are developing well from one book to the next but their side stories do not take over.
Highly recommended

With thanks to Netgalley and Canelo for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

Sixteen year old Jenna Fraser was a champion fell walker until she broke her leg a year earlier. Jenna became addicted to prescription painkillers, when they stopped she turned to illegal drugs. One morning she went to the fells and ran off a cliff, killing herself instantly.

DI Kelly Porter was upset that a young girl would choose to end her own life. She hoped someone else was involved but it was deemed a suicide. Weeks later teenager Faith Shaw went to the local fair with her best friend Sadie Rawlinson and her friends. Faith went missing after going to the toilet at the fair.

Coincidentally Jenna and Faith went to Derwent Valley Academy. English teacher Tony Blackman was also.suspended from the school after Sadie Rawlinson accused him of molesting her. Suspicious Kelly decided to find out what was happening at the school.

BItter Edge is the fourth book in the DI Kelly Porter series. The story was quite dark focussing on bullying and drugs. It was my least favourite in the series , but the story flowed nicely and there were twists and turns a plenty.

I liked Kelly and found the dynamics in her family interesting.
Kelly was still seeing her boyfriend Jonny who is a mountain rescuer. In the last book Jonny`s teenage daughter Josie came to live with him. Josie is a typical teenager but gets along well with Kelly.

Meanwhile Kelly`s mum and Ted had rekindled their relationship. Kelly knew Ted was her biological dad and invited him over for Christmas dinner. The scenes with Ted and the family in hospital were particularly moving and sensitively done.

I recommend I look forward to seeing how Nicki reacts to Ted once she knows the truth. I recommend this book.

At last, a well written story with pleasant characters who have reasonably normal lives set in a beautiful part of the country. . The case for DI Kelly Porter and her team is not pleasant, dealing with drugs and teenagers as it does but it is dealt with sensitively and realistically. The personal relationships of the characters are complex but certainly do not takeover from the detecting. A thoroughly enjoyable read. This must be the 5th or so in the series but can be read as a standalone; it might be better to have read the previous books in order to understand some of the relationships but the detecting is a one-off story. I look forward to more in the series. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first time reading a Detective Kelly Porter novel by Rachel Lynch but I was hooked after a few chapters.

Bitter Edge is a thrilling and addictive thriller, that deals with the difficult issues of drug abuse, bullying and social media. The story is well thought out and will leave you guessing until the very end.

I love crime novels and Lynch has created an endearing and strong character in Det. Porter. I look forward to reading previous novels in the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

This is the first book in the DI Kelly Porter series that I've read - in fact, it's the first book I've read by Rachel Lynch at all, but she's definitely now an author who I'd like to read much more from.

Bitter Edge is a well-written, multi-faceted police thriller/ crime novel that features a great lead character: Kelly Porter, a Detective Inspector with her own problems to contend with, as well as trying to solve various cases including a missing teenager, a very dodgy fairground worker and a spate of drug-related crime in the area. Kelly is likable, tough and fair, and I really enjoyed reading about her, as well as her partner Johnny. I don't know all the backstory with the two of them, or what else may have happened in Kelly's past (it talks about an 'old foe'), because I haven't read the first three books, but I don't feel that this hampered my enjoyment as I understood what was happening and who was who regardless. 

The descriptions of the Lake District, where Bitter Edge is set, creates a really atmospheric but at times eerie setting, and as you're reading it's easy to imagine getting the danger of getting lost in the bitter winter months whilst hiking or climbing. This adds a sense of danger to Kelly and her team's investigations, and to the work that Johnny does in his position as a mountain rescuer. This also echoes some of the more shocking and uncomfortable themes that Rachel Lynch tackles in Bitter Edge, which soon become apparent.

The pacing of this novel felt just right to me, with plenty of developments keeping me interested, along with the more personal touches where we find out some of what Kelly has going on in her personal life, and these make her seem like a much more real and interesting character.

Various storylines come together towards the end (I love stories that do this!) to make a gripping and enjoyable read, despite some aforementioned dark themes and occurrences. I will definitely be reading more from this series!

I have burnt the midnight oil to finish this book. It was impossible to put down. First of all, may I say what a fantastic series this is. It's informative on so many issues like policing, questioning, forensics, autopsies, drugs, personal relationships, teenage behaviour, bullying, schools, social media, the rise in suicide in teens, misplaced loyalty and cancer. It was a huge learning curve for me in the detail. At first, I believed it was a little disjointed, but it all melds together into a complex network of misdeeds. (understatement) My mind was screaming for answers all the way through and there a surprise at the end which turned my sympathy upside down. LOVED the snow. I thought the imagery was particularly good as ever. Having said that, I spent my childhood there so knew all the places, the sudden changes in weather patterns and the need to respect its unpredictability. A personally nostalgic journey. I did considerable mountaineering and was part of the Borrowdale Mountain Rescue team in the sixties. My only dislike in the story was the raw, ripe language employed in dialogue and narration (reported thoughts which weren't only from low-lives) As for the school's' lack of support & cooperation I was disgusted. Even the teachers use bad language. I really think the way things are going especially in inner city schools that random drug tests should be performed, bullying policies strengthened that work and not a glossy rhetoric to impress Ofsted, phones forbidden in schools and playground duties performed by specialists on spotting the signs of bullying instead of untrained dinner ladies as in many schools. More information to parents and pupils should be issued on the drug abuse. Security should be tighter on guns and knives too and visitors to the schools. I often wonder if there should be higher age restrictions on social media. This book brought out that none of the parents knew what their youths were doing. The saddest and most emotive quote from an addict of 15/16 "She needed the high more than she wanted to break the cycle." That sounds SO hopeless. Well done again to DCI Kelly Porter and her ingenious team. Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo

This is another brilliant page turner featuring the kick-ass Kelly Porter! What's great about these books is that no two stories are the same, and they often taken the least expected path. Bitter Edge is no exception. At times it's a gritty, uncomfortable read, featuring missing children and the scourge of drug use amongst teenagers. Aside from that it's an excellent story with a host of characters that you will either love or hate!

This is the fourth book in the DI Kelly Porter series.

Rachel Lynch has continued to develop this interesting group of detective characters, based around Kelly Porter. Within this novel, a criminal from an earlier book makes a reappearance.

I particularly liked the use of very up to date themes involving the negative aspects of social media on young people.

I like the use of real geographical locations in the Lake District. I also like the sensitive way the back-stories of the police characters, is interwoven into a fast moving crime thriller. The tension builds to a dramatic ending. I won't say any more for fear of spoiling the story.

If you can, try to read the books in order. However this book also stands out well on its own merits.

I pass on my thanks to Netgalley and Canelo books for a copy in exchange for this review.

This was exactly what I needed to get me out of a bit of a reading slump. I have read this series from the start and the familiar characters and setting made it an easy read. I feel I have to counter that comment by saying that the storyline is a bit dark and in that respect not so easy to read. Kelly Porter is a likeable character and there’s a good mix between her home and working life here. This now feels like a series that could go on for many years and I hope it does.

Once again Rachel Lynch has written a first class thriller mixed into the landscape of the Lake District, this time as snow and freezing temperatures make the area even more picturesque and dangerous than usual.

The death of a young, talented, athlete is determined to be suicide but as the victim is linked to first one new case and then another Detective Inspector Kelly Porter finds herself shocked at almost everything she and her team unearths in a case which covers an area larger than just her beloved Lakes. The description of the sordid side of life should be at odds with the location but the desolation, the loneliness and desperation of teenagers to fit in can occur anywhere. Ms Lynch adds that to the perceived invincibility of those who care only for themselves and the money they can earn from their young victims to make an excellent read.

Main characters from previous books are also present and the insight into Kelly's private life is a welcome relief from the tensions of her working day and were also vividly drawn. I was delighted there were no well used cliches in this story; things I felt sure would happen didn't and things which did surprised me in a good way.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it to anyone following this series, enjoys a mystery set in an area they know or is just looking for a good read. This book is all of these things.