Her Final Hour: An absolutely unputdownable mystery thriller
Page 26
Birds sang in the trees and the April sunshine warmed her back. Gracie ran up to her. ‘Nana. Flowers.’ The little girl passed her a handful of long grass encasing the lonesome daffodil.
‘Thank you, my lovely.’
The little girl chuckled and began running after Rosie. The black spaniel skipped along the field. Gina thought of Mia, the bruised toddler that had been taken from her abusive father. At least she was safe. Darrel’s brother, Alan, had applied to be Mia’s permanent carer along with his wife. The little girl had settled in nicely from what Devina in Children’s Services had told her.
The rest of the group had been detained without bail until their hearings. There had been a mountain of evidence to catalogue and the gathering process was still going on. The Cleevesford Killer had been a group, two murderers and several accomplices, and the press had been permanently camping at the station since. They’d soon leave when another story made the Cleevesford Killer yesterday’s news. This was by far the biggest case she’d ever worked on and in her mind the most complex.
She thought of Rebecca Greene. The woman had been broken knowing Ellie would never be going home. There would be a funeral and subsequent court cases. She hoped that one day Rebecca would heal and find happiness again but after speaking with her, Gina knew it would take a long time. She hoped that justice would be a good start and not just for Rebecca. Melissa’s mother, Annabelle Hewson. She had been even more distraught once the truth had emerged. Gina had been to see her in person and had spent time speaking to the woman, explaining what had happened and telling Annabelle that Melissa wouldn’t like to see her living the way she was. It had worked. Annabelle had arranged to visit her doctor and had poured her drink down the sink in front of Gina. She even contacted Alan Sanderson to arrange a visit between grandmother and granddaughter, taking the chance to bond.
Gina shook her wrist. Since the bandage had come off, she’d been feeling a little improvement every day. Her physical health was on the up, which is more than she could say about her mental health. Sleeping was still difficult. Her nightmares had become more violent but the counsellor assured her that it was because of the shock and trauma she’d been through. She knew the alarm system she’d had fitted was one of the best and she had a CCTV system that linked to her phone and laptop. Every hour of the day, she could see all round the front of her drive and all the way to the back of her garden.
Gracie chuckled and pointed as a light aircraft flew overhead, probably preparing to land at Long Marston Airfield just a few miles away. ‘Plane,’ she yelled as she continued to run, holding her hands in the air. She was chased by the little dog and they both weaved in and out of each other until Gracie tripped. The dog licked her hand and Gracie stroked the dog. Things were finally falling into place – for now.
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If you were gripped by Her Final Hour, read the first book in the Gina Harte series, The Next Girl.
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Get it here!
The Next Girl
Detective Gina Harte Book 1
Get it here!
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You thought he’d come to save you. You were wrong.
‘Absolutely the best thriller I’ve read this year!’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars
‘I absolutely, totally and utterly LOVED reading The Next Girl… has to be one of my top reads of 2018.' Ginger Book Geek, 5 stars
‘Oh my goodness! This was gripping and fast moving from page one.’ Southern and Sassy Wine Lady, 5 stars
Deborah Jenkins pulls her coat around her for the short walk home in the pouring rain. But she never makes it home that night. And she is never seen again… Four years later, an abandoned baby girl is found wrapped in dirty rags on a doorstep. An anonymous phone call urges the police to run a DNA test on the baby. But nobody is prepared for the results. The newborn belongs to Deborah. She’s still alive...
THE GRIPPING THRILLER EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT – if you like Lisa Gardner, Robert Bryndza or Clare Mackintosh, you will absolutely love The Next Girl. A completely unputdownable page-turner with an ending that will blow your mind.
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Also by Carla Kovach
Detective Gina Harte Series:
The Next Girl
Her Final Hour
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Meet Me at Marmaris Castle
Whispers Beneath the Pines
To Let
Flame
A Letter from Carla
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for reading Her Final Hour. I really hope you enjoyed the second instalment in the DI Gina Harte series, and I remain eternally grateful for the continued support of the crime reading community. If you did enjoy it, and want to keep up-to-date with all my latest releases, just sign up at the following link. Your email address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.
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Whether you are a reader, a tweeter, a blogger, Facebooker or a reviewer, I thank you. Every little thing you do makes a big difference to my work getting out there for others to read and I remain grateful.
As a writer, this is where I hope you’ll leave me a review. They not only help me, they help other readers.
Once again, thank you so much and I look forward to giving you DI Gina Harte, instalment three, very soon. In the meantime, I’m an avid social media user so please feel free to contact me on Twitter or through my Facebook page.
Thank you,
Carla Kovach
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I can’t thank my editor, Helen Jenner, enough for all the work she’s put into Her Final Hour. Her advice and suggestions make my stories shine and for that, I’m so grateful to her. I think, as a team, we work brilliantly together and I hope to remain working with her for a long time. Thank you, Helen.
Kim Nash and Noelle Holten, you both give so much when it comes to publicity and marketing. The hours you work are phenomenal and your enthusiasm is second to none. Thank you for all your support. At this point, I’d also like to give the other Bookouture authors a mention. Thank you for being so welcoming these past few months. The level of support that we give each other makes me want to shed a tear of happiness – I love being a part of the Bookouture team and you are like family.
Lynne Ward, Derek Coleman, Su Biela, Brooke Venables and Vanessa Morgan, you all give me so much useful feedback on my writing and ideas, and for that I’m grateful. I love that I have you all in my life and your input and support remains invaluable to me.
Insight into the real world of policing is what makes a story feel authentic. For this insight, I have to thank DS Bruce Irving. Our phone conversations and emails have all helped immensely to bring my fictional police department to life.
Last but not least, I have to thank Nigel Buckley, my husband. As always, he’s there when I’m feeling the pressure, and he’s also there when I’m on top of things and celebrating. Whatever the mood or situation, I always have in him my life and I’m grateful for that. Thank you Nigel for being you.
Published by Bookouture
An imprint of StoryFire Ltd.
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ
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Copyright © Carla Kovach 2018
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Carla Kovach has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work.
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
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This book is a work of fi
ction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
ISBN: 978-1-78681-518-7