Emma (SCR)'s Review of The Killer's Girl (Detective Morgan Brookes, #2)

by Helen Phifer

‘Mama, wake up.’
The little girl reached for her mother’s face with one pudgy hand. But the eyes stayed closed, and the blood continued to trickle across the floor.

When the body of a young woman is found, tied to her bed and the victim of a brutal attack in her own home, Detective Morgan Brookes is sickened by what she finds as she searches the house. And unprepared for the nightmares it inspires about her childhood.

When the DNA collected gives a positive ID, Morgan can’t wait to put the attacker behind bars. But the person it matches to is already in prison. How could the DNA of someone who has been locked up for over twenty years have shown up in Morgan’s crime scene? And then they make another close match. To Morgan herself.

Faced with the impossible proof that she is somehow connected to this case, Morgan delves deep into the crimes of a killer who stalked the Lake District two decades ago. But distracted by the old case, she misses the signs that he has found a new victim. And when he strikes close to home, Morgan finally realises that she has been living on borrowed time. To find this killer, it’s clear she must confront the nightmares in her past…

This review was originally posted on Star Crossed Reviews I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. This book really got under my skin. I actually woke up in the middle of the night thinking I could hear noises in my house (it was just the boiler). I was seriously creeped out by this story. This is the second book in the series but there is enough background on the characters in this book that you could read it as a standalone. If you do however enjoy super creepy police procedurals with an element of psychological thriller thrown in then I'd definitely say jump into this series.

Morgan Brookes recently joined CID and is still recovering from her last case, the murders of The Potters (book one). Morgan is as feisty as ever in this book. She follows her gut and isn't afraid to speak her mind. Even if it does land her in hot water with the bosses. Morgan knows her stuff and her bosses are in denial. The poor girl has been through the mill with these two books and I don't really see a brighter future for her on the horizon.

One character I LOVE is Amy. Oh Amy, I think we would be very good friends. She is sarcastic, witty and forthright. I really hope she gets more spotlight as the series progresses. She's such a fun character.

This case has a lot of twists and turns. Helen keeps you on your toes. I was on edge fearing for all the characters, their friends and their families. Helen is not afraid to kill someone you like so don't get too attached!

The epilogue in this book gives some good insight into where this series is going and I CANNOT wait for book 3!

The Killer's Girl (Detective Morgan Brookes, #2)

by Helen Phifer

Reviewed by Emma (SCR) on Dec 25, 2020

Reading updates