Next of Kin

When the body of a teenage girl is found at a local park, everyone assumes it’s the work of a serial sex offender, but the fact that the girl’s best friend has disappeared has police reassessing the crime. DI Sarah Quinn has her work cut out for her, her new work supervisor at the police station seems to have it out for her and the victim’s father is downright hostile and offers little help. Just when things seem like they can’t get any worse, nasty journalist Caroline Kling shows up. This woman is no stranger to Sarah and she’s just enough of a vulture to do anything to get a story, even if it compromises the investigation, or Sarah’s life. Strong character development and a mystery with a few twists make this a standout read

This is the fifth book in the Sarah Quinn series of books, and honestly, they just get better. A young girl is found murdered in a park, and she is thought to be the victim of a sex offender. However shortly thereafter her friend goes missing, and Sarah realizes that there is more behind the girl's murder.
The story was written in a very quick fashion and made for a great entertaining read.
It is really highly recommended!

Next of Kin is an extremely dark novel, and is best suited for adult readers. It is a gritty, realistic police procedural that may be disturbing for some readers as sexual assault plays a major role.

When the body of a teenage girl is found, it is assumed she is only the latest victim of a serial rapist. The case becomes more complicated when police discover that the dead girl’s friend is also missing. Detective Inspector Quinn is assigned the case, but is undercut at every turn. The victim’s father is angry, but refuses to cooperate with Sarah. The Chief Superintendent has assigned another Detective to assist, one who closes cases, but is known to cut corners. Both the Chief Super and DI Brody want Sarah out of the picture, and this case may be the means of achieving that goal.

Caroline King may not be writing for the papers anymore, having devoted herself to writing books, but she still has journalistic savvy and an eye for news. She wants to do a book on rape, from the perspective of the rapists and the victims, but in a way that hasn’t been done before. To that end, she is wooing Quinn’s former Captain for an in. But her link is closer than she knows.

The investigation is complicated when a convicted sex offender, identified by an anonymous call is found brutally murdered. With more deaths following and few leads in sight, Quinn needs to salvage the case and her career.

Next of Kin is a novel that lingers on the reader’s mind long after the final page. Sexual assault is a brutal crime that damages the victims, the families, and those who are wrongly accused. Next of Kin is a novel of crime and consequences, dark and disturbing, but ultimately unforgettable.

5/5

Next of Kin is available for preorder and will be released March 1, 2016.

I received a copy of Next of Kin from Severn House and netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

—Crittermom

2/15/16

Next of Kin is dark, disturbing, and unforgettable.

http://muttcafe.com/2016/02/next-of-kin/

Young women are being raped. As time goes on, the crimes gets more vicious and then someone dies. Sarah is assigned to the cases and her new boss is unhappy with her performance.

Severn House and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It will be published March 1st.

Sarah is an interesting cop. She's good at what she does but she's holding a position that has traditionally held by a man. Her new boss wants her out of there and one of the good old boys in. She can see that, but she can't hurry the case. She can't find any common denominator between the girls. There's no evidence. Even her second in command, that she's sleeping with, hasn't had any insights to share and he's another good cop.

When her boss brings in a male cop to share her duties, it hurts. She doesn't give up but she knows he rushes cases. Sure enough, he starts making arrests and trying to turn one rape into all of them, murder included. He's wrong, so she keeps investigating.

Police life is not for the weak. She talks to a suspect and accuses him of being involved because of a previous case. He says it was a false charge. What else do convicts say? When he's found dead the next day, she worries that she pushed him too far. It was murder, though, not suicide. Now she has another case to worry but she's not giving up on the girls.

There is a lot of danger in this book. More people die. Sarah keeps plugging. The plot is amazing. You could call it karma, call it revenge, or just call it rape and murder. The sins of the past are coming to rest on the families of the future. It's not the nicest read but police work isn't nice. It was a good police procedural.

Having read Working Girls a few months ago I was delighted to receive a free copy of Next Of Kin from Netgalley and Severn House. I should state that police procedurals are my favourite genre so I was predisposed to liking it before I started but even so it's a cracker that I read in one sitting, unable to put it down.
It starts with the rape and murder of schoolgirl Lisa Webb. DI Sarah Quinn, head of Operation Panther which is hunting a rapist with three victims, is asked to investigate this case as well in case it is linked. With little to go on Sarah is quickly sidelined from the Panther operation and left to investigate the murder of a sex offender identified as the rapist by an anonymous caller. Next Of Kin is a densely plotted, complex novel with much more going on than just a police investigation as it covers, amongst other things, vigilante justice, the politics of policing and father/daughter relationships. I don't want to give too much away but I found these aspects fascinating and very realistic.
I like Sarah Quinn. She is a woman trying to make her way and mark in a boy's club and it's not easy as she ends up second guessing her instincts and actions, especially when it's her boss doing the questioning. Fortunately she has a good team who are loyal and supportive. I also like her relationship with the journalist Carolyn King which again seems very realistic to me - they've known and disliked each other for so long they've almost become grudging friends.
I also really like Ms Carter's style of writing which is easy to read but not simple with a dash of humour and a wonderful way of likening her characters to real life people which lets you know instantly what they're like. For instance her boss, Chief Superintendent Starr, reminds one character of Tony Blair and her replacement on Operation Panther, DI Brody, reminds another of Gene Hunt.
As far as I am concerned there is nothing not to like in Next Of Kin and much to like. I have no hesitation in recommending it as a very good, absorbing read.

It took me a while to get into this Book but once I was in I was hooked. A likeable main character. Read it in 2 sittings and look forward to more from this Author!

The first time I've encountered Maureen Carter and I really enjoyed this book, in particular the use of humour offsets the gruesome plot well. Detailed characters and enough twists to keep you guessing to the very last page.

When I finished reading "Next of Kin", the first thought I had was "why on earth haven't I read books by this Author before".
The action starts early on when a young girl is found murdered, a short distance from her home, having been brutally beaten and sexually assaulted. DI Sarah Quinn and her partner DC Dave Harries are called to investigate and they are already investigating a series of rapes.
This has a gritty writing style and I liked how it reflected the characters. With Sarah Quinn the language and style became more direct and quicker and mirrored her stance that "time pressed and every second counts".
There isn't graphic details of the rapes and murders but the reader certainly feels the emotional trauma and pain of the crimes.
There are twists early on which continue to keep the reader guessing and Page 1 certainly makes more sense at the end.
Mixed into the main plot there are personal and work relationships as well as office politics. There are many characters but it's never confusing and adds to the overall enjoyment of this novel.
I rarely compare writers but as the author has mentioned Mark Billingham, I would say just like him, she creates believable characters and gives us credible reasons as to "why?"
Peppered with humour with gives relief to dreadful crimes - this is a brilliant read.

First book I've read by this author and I would like to read more.I liked the main character DI Quinn, loved the fact it was set in Birmingham as I used to live there so knew many of the places mentioned.I felt sorry for the DI having to contend with the chauvinist police officers such as her new boss, but sadly I think it could be pretty accurate ..The plot kept me guessing, the action was fast and furious and kept me tapping my kindle to get to the next page like a woman possessed,I thought it was a very good read.