I love knowing that the book I am about to read is going to be part of a series. I usually prefer to read about recurring characters than a stand-alone thriller (mainly because I buy in to the characters more readily when I see them grow from book to book). So when I turned to The Girls in the Water and spotted “Detectives King & Lane, Book 1” my heart soared – a serial killer tale with two cops that look like they may become a regular feature in the release schedules – good start!

Happily The Girls in the Water did not let me down. King and Lane are strong characters in their debut outing – King with a “complicated” home life and Lane with a troubled past which will spill over into her work as she reaches out to King to assist with a private investigation into a murder from years earlier.

More pressing for the two is the fact that someone seems to be killing vulnerable young girls. As a reader we get to watch the killer with his victims. He uplifts them and takes them to a remote room “you can scream, nobody will hear you” then subjects them to some extremely unpleasant ordeals before finally snuffing out their life. Potentially disturbing scenes warning for those of a nervous nature! Victoria Jenkins is not going to draw a curtain over the peril that the girls face and it makes her book darker and more intense.

Getting a series established cannot be an easy task but this is a very promising opening and I will certainly be looking out for the next book.

A great start to a new detective series featuring two females! The prologue gets this book off to a good start, and while I thought it lagged a bit at times, it does have a good finish. I really liked the two female leads. They both certainly have their flaws and faults, but you find yourself rooting for them. It will be interesting to see where we go with these women.

**Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley in exchange of an honest review.**

Detectives King and Lane are investigating the deaths of two women whose tortured bodies were found submerged in the water. The investigation leads them to a support group that both women attended. The race is on to find out who is targeting these vulnerable women.

Meanwhile, Lane is struggling with a closed case of her own. She has been receiving anonymous emails that suggest someone knows the truth about her brother who allegedly committed suicide after murdering his high school girlfriend years before.

Both mysteries are captivating and suck the reader in so that you end up speeding through the last couple of chapters to find out what will happen next. A great series opener and introduction to Detectives King and Lane!

Where to start....thoroughly enjoyed this book. Easily invested in the 2 main characters & the story contained plenty of twists - could not put it down!!! Really hope there's more to come!!'

First in the Detective King & Lane series. A good start to a series, enjoyable read with a surprising twist. Bring on Book 2
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

A great debut, hopefully the start of a fantastic series. A fast paced read full of twists and turns.

The Girls in the Water is the first book in an exciting new crime series by Victoria Jenkins featuring DI Alex King and DC Chloe Lane. The novel is fast paced and will keep you gripped to the edge of your seat. It won't take you long to finish this one.

When the body of a young woman is pulled out of the water at a local park, DI Alex King fears that they may be facing a new serial killer. Her worst fears are confirmed when another body is found, the second woman has been killed in similar circumstances and the team now know that they have a new, twisted killer at large who they must stop before the killer kills again.

The Girls in the Water is a promising start to this new series. I loved Victoria's characters, Alex and Chloe. Chloe comes from a tragic past and she is trying, with the help of Alex to find out the truth of what happened to her brother several years earlier who died after his girlfriend was suspected of committing suicide. Chloe's backstory for me was the main pull of the story, I wanted to find out more about her and I really felt that I got to know her character well as I was reading the book, perhaps a little more than Alex, but with the promise of more books to come I'm sure we'll get to know a lot more about her.

There were plenty of surprising twists and turns throughout the book, a couple of the twists I did manage to guess but that didn't spoil the story for me. The ending was really tense and Victoria's writing made sure I continued reading until I had turned the final page.

I'm interested to see where Victoria takes us next with Alex and Chloe; this was a really good debut with great characters that will keep you hooked. I can't wait to read the next book in the series. Thank you to Bookouture and Netgally for providing me with a copy of the book to read and to Kim for asking me to take part in the blog tour.

What initially drew me into this book is that cover. It screamed at me to be read! And, of course, as its a thriller I had to request it. (I've been in a thriller mood for weeks now!!) This proved to be a good start to a new series. King is a veteran detective with her partner, Lane, who is a newbie. I thought it was a good balance of the two detectives. Lane, however, has a backstory that goes along with their new case. A woman was found in the water and days later another is found. So begins a rush to find the killer but soon the two stories will merge into one.

I will definitely look out for more books in this new series. I liked the writing, the mystery, the characters, and the pacing. Great start!

**Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There have been many great series' featuring female detectives released recently, and I think this is going to develop into another one. This first book certainly shows promise,

As the first book, this starts a little slow as we have to be introduced to the characters as well as setting the story for the murders. Both main characters, Alex and Chloe, are often pretty frustrating and sometimes unlikeable in the beginning. However, as the story continues and we learn more about them this changes.

Overall, the book shows a lot of promise and I look forward to reading more from Victoria Jenkins as she develops the characters further over future novels.

I’m always super excited when I’m able to jump in on the ground floor of a new series, it’s intimidating when you really want to read a book and you realize it’s the eighth book already, right?! The Girls in the Water is an excellent beginning to an exciting new series, if you want to catch it from the beginning it’s out now!

Alex and Chloe are the two lead characters, they are partners and Alex is Chloe’s boss. Alex is in her forties and Chloe is in her twenties but despite their age difference, they make quite the team. The case they’re working on is really intense, young women are being murdered and left in bodies of water. When a tie to Chloe’s past is uncovered the tension mounts as they realize she may be in danger as well.

The character development was strong here, both Alex and Chloe have interesting pasts. Alex has a complex relationship with her ex husband, Rob and Chloe’s brother died when she was younger. The dynamics of the team were also engaging, I quite liked all of them besides Alex and Chloe including Dan and their superintendent Harry.

The pacing is steady to start, I think this is partly because Jenkins is introducing the reader to a new cast of characters. Things do amp up as the book progresses and the climax was intense and got my pulse pounding. There were also quite a few surprising turns that caught me off guard, being shocked is always good! I’m looking forward to the next book already and think fans of Patricia Gibney would enjoy this one.

I really enjoyed The Girls in the Water by Victoria Jenkins. Crime is my go to genre and I found this book lived up to my expectations.

I was drawn in after the first couple of chapters and found myself wanting to keep reading to discover how the plot would unfold. There are a number of strong lead female detectives out there in the written world now and I felt this book stood happily alongside them. The book starts with the body of Lola Evans being found in a local park. This is quickly followed by the disappearance of another girl. Can these be linked? It’s up to DI Alex King and her new recruit Chloe Lane to find out who killed Lola and to try and locate the missing girl before it’s too late. However, it would appear there are tough times ahead for Chloe and she could also be in danger.

I really liked the lead characters and felt they brought a lot to the book alongside the main story line. I would happily give this book 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.

Big thanks to Bookouture for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

When Bookouture comes out with another thriller, and one with this line to the start the synopsis: "The first one had been an accident. He had never intended to kill her. But as he looked down at her body, he knew there would be a next one…" how could I not read this one? This was a fantastic debut for Victoria Jenkins, THE GIRLS IN THE WATER is a great thriller will have you turning the pages.

Detective Alex King and her new recruit, Chloe Lane, are called to a crime scene - the body of Lola Evans is found in the river of a local park. Now the pair of female detectives must track down the killer. A few days later a second body turns up, and under similar circumstances. They're all found in water - a river, lake, etc. and the connection is made that all of these women were apart of the same support group.

As Alex and Chloe are racing to find clues and catch the killer, Chloe's personal life begins to interfere. She comes across her brother's cold case file and begins to dig back into his murder. She quickly finds out that these are secrets someone would kill to keep hidden.

I thought this was a solid debut thriller! Bookouture hasn't let me down yet! While the murders seem like they would be center stage in this book, Chloe's backstory and her brother's cold case begin to emerge as the focus. There was definitely a twist thrown in at the end that I wasn't expecting!

I look forward to seeing how Alex and Chloe develop in coming novels!

I give this one a solid 4/5 stars!

3.5, bumped up to a 4. This is a really promising debut. I just occasionally felt like I was missing something, like I'd jumped in and started reading in the middle of the series. I am very interested in two female detectives working together at such a close capacity. The elder is very protective of the younger, and it's an interesting dynamic. I thought I had the case all figured out, and though I guessed some aspects, the ending actually proved me wrong.

A jogger (it's always those joggers) finds the body of a young woman, bound and laying on a riverbank after being submerged for some time in the water. Her body is ravaged. She clearly suffered immensely. It's a hard sight for Alex King to take in. The case barely gets underway before another girl gets missing. The ladies were both young and vulnerable, and they immediately fear the worst... for a reason. It's not long before they find her, but she too is beyond help.

Working to connect the women and find out who knows them both, King and team soon learn that the women have attended the same small support group in the past. This seems like a major break in the case, but they still can't figure out who'd want to hurt them both.

Alex is working the case with a young DI she's taken under her wing, Chloe Lane. Previously a very promising detective, Chloe has been distracted lately. She's been receiving strange emails about her past, and turns to Alex for help. She thinks someone is taunting her about her deceased brother, and is determined to open up old cases. Alex is rightfully more concerned about their current case, but Chloe is adamant.

I'm not quite sure I'm a huge fan of either character yet. We're told that Chloe has been a very promising young detective, focused and intelligent. We don't really see that focus though, as she's much more intent on digging up that old case than the local girls that are currently being kidnapped and murdered. She's had an undoubtedly difficult past, but sometimes it's hard to buy her sudden obsession with it along with Alex's assertions that she's typically a much better detective than she is right now. I'm hopeful I'll get to know both better and like them more in future books.

Solid start to a new series! I'm very interested to see how it continues.

I received a copy of this book from Net Galley and Bookouture, thank you! My review is honest and unbiased.

Basically I wanted to read this one as soon as I saw the cover and the blurb sounded really positive as well. Then I saw positive reviews popping up here and there and the writing style being compared to Robert Bryndza's Erika Foster series and I was sold. This comparison wasn't wrong, because the writing style definitely has a similar feel and is very very engaging. I was hooked as soon as I started reading and both the pace and prose made it very easy to read The Girls In The Water. Of course the sole fact that this first book of a new detective series has a serial killer is already a huge bonus for me... Call me twisted, but I have a weird fascination for those. The case detective King and Lane have to investigate is intriguing and the story has quite a few plot twists and potential suspects to keep you busy guessing. It's always a good sign when that happens! I wasn't completely charmed by the characters though. The whole damage past for the detective characters is just getting old I guess... And I never managed to warm up to Alex and Chloe completely. I do admit I was curious about Chloe's past and it did add a little something extra to the story. And my lack of connection to the main characters was probably my only complaint of an otherwise fast-paced, entertaining serial killer rollercoaster ride. I will be looking forward to book two!

This is an incredible debut novel from Victoria Jenkins. It did start off a bit slow but soon picked up with plenty twists to keep me reading.King and Lane are complex characters with baggage in their past. This is a great new partnership and I look for ward to reading the next book in the series. Many thanks to Net Galley for my copy. I reviewed on Goodreads.

I loved this book. Well written and gripping, I was hooked from the first page.

I hope there a further books developing these characters further as I believe they have a lot of potential.

A body is found in a river. King and Lane are swiftly on the case but have barely scratched the surface when another body is found. With the body count rising, can they get to the bottom of things? As they try and solve these, often gruesome crimes, hindered by their own personal demons fro the past, they face a race against time to find the perpetrator before they strike again?
This was a bit of a slow burner for me. Yes, it's a series opener and there are scenes to set, characters to introduce and backstories to lay down but, to me, this didn't come across as in balance with the actual story going on as it did overshadow it a bit. The story itself was a little repetitive. I understand the need to reinforce the salient points but, at times, this was done a little bit too much. There was also a lot of stuff going on in the characters' own lives that, although on the whole, pertinent to the goings on, did spoil my overall enjoyment of the book. That said, I did read through my niggles and was mostly satisfied at the conclusion.
I don't think it helped me that I failed to connect with the main characters in the book. Maybe I got a bit fed up with their incessant internal musing and the way their personal lives and backstories got in the way of the story I was trying to follow. This would indicate that it is probably a me thing rather than the author's fault. Don't get me wrong, I do love delving into a character's history as I usually find it helps me connect to them, but in this case, it pretty much did the opposite.
The actual crime was well plotted and that part of the book did hold my attention nicely as I tried to follow the clues myself to guess the ending which, when it came, was very well handled and that part did leave me satisfied.
Now the big question... has the book grabbed me enough to get me to read the next? I think it did. In the second book, I would imagine that the characters' lives would take a bit more of a backseat as they have now been defined and are pretty much established. Also, with certain things mostly resolved, I would expect that the crime would be a bit more front and centre in book two. With that in mind, coupled with the fact that the actual crime story being told was good, I will definitely give the sequel a read when it come out.

My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

The Girls in the Water

by Victoria Jenkins

Bookouture



General Fiction (Adult) , Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 03 Aug 2017

I am voluntarily reviewing a copy of The Girls in the Water through Bookouture and Netgalley:

The first person he killed had been an accident but the second one was not.

When Lola King's Body is found at a local park on a cold winter morning Detective Alex King and her recruit Chloe Lane are called in to lead the hunt for a killer.

Chloe's first impression of Patrick Sibley was a boy no one noticed until he got noticed for all the wrong reasons.

Soon another girl goes missing, Emily Phillips a sixteen year old girl is also found dead.

Could Adam Edwards be the man they are looking for?

Will Detective Alex King and Chloe Lane catch the killer?

Find out in The Girls in the Water?

Five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

OMG I LOVED this book! Such a great mystery that actually kept me guessing! It kept me on the edge of my seat and awake all night!! I just could not put this book down. I needed to know what was happening next. I loved that it wasn't obvious on who the killer was, what was about to happen, ect. I can not wait to read more in this series!

Cover love, here we meet again! I have a thing for anything red. Shoes, blood, titles. And this beautiful contrast of blue and red grabbed my heart. And for once, I was starting a detective series with the first installment! What more could I ask for?

When you read as many crime as I do (or more for some of my blogger friends!!!) you discern a certain pattern. A gripping prologue, complicated detectives, grisly murders. This is what you are looking for. Welcome to The Girls in the Water! The book checks off all the boxes!

And you know what? It adds something more. Something that makes you coming back again even when a niggle appears. Something you are keen to explore. I’m talking about the relationship between the two detectives working together on this wet case!

I’m used to strong characters with complicated lives, and neither Alex nor Chloe escape this description. One older, one younger, both plagued by a past that is clinging at their heels.

While we do get a real team effort here and get to meet different persons, the focus is definitely on those ladies and I couldn’t have been happier about it.
It wasn’t hard imagining them grabbing something to it, discussing the progress they were making, but beyond this was building a stronger connection. Alex, as a DI, had decisions to make and Chloe, young and promising DC, was the fresh breeze and clear eyes every intricate enquiry requires. Subtly, the author hinted at a relationship that was stronger than one of simple colleagues’. Alex’s need to protect Chloe, Chloe’s will to find answers by herself without disrespecting her superior. The way some things were natural between them and others so difficult reminded me of the bound between a mentor and a student. That pride, that fear to disappoint, that protective feeling, that need to prove oneself. The trust, stuck between the work, the heavy background of each women, and their personalities. It is absolutely refreshing to find such a female friendship in a crime series!

The fact that this special and original point completely blends into the investigation and adds to it one thin layer after another makes this story so compelling. I will admit that while the plot was interesting and well-crafted, my attention was captured by the characterization and an unhealthy curiosity as to what was going to happen to those women!

Weirdly, none of the facts you learn about her make them very likeable, but as I neared the book, I found I was being less harsh on them. Yes, I still did find Chloe a little bit childish, but her intentions were good. I warmed up a little to Alex in her big house, all alone. Loneliness is something their career often brings, but there are different kinds of loneliness and Alex and Chloe were both stuck in a glass bowl for different reasons. So I can’t say I love them, but I do admire what the author managed to do and I am so thankful to see women sticking together instead of hating each other!

I might have noticed something happening, catching a hint here and there about where the story was going, but I was far from discovering what the author had planned. The investigation dragged a little at some point and I remember thinking Alex King did not really act as a seasoned detective, but at least she wasn’t jaded with her job! The victims and the killer took a backstage place for me, as Chloe’s own thread took more and more room and nothing seemed to progress until a certain point was reached. Still, the stories were believable, the cruelty and blood very present, and the case was good enough to satisfy readers looking for a crime story that doesn’t require too much work on their part!

The Girls in the Water is a promising first book in a series that brings a refreshing and needed angle on its detective characters.