I just finished reading Nobody’s Child by Victoria Jenkins and was absolutely enthralled with it. This is the third in a series of Detectives King and Lane Book who are throughout referred to as Alex and Chloe. It wasn’t hard at all to read it as a standalone but I still think I will go back and read the two previous because I liked it so much. Both detectives are very likable with Alex being the senior detective which she only refers to once when they are not really talking. Happens to all of us. The subject matter is awful but not in the way that you will hate the book but because you are constantly surprised at all the atrocities people will commit to each other. I absolutely loved the ending and would never in a million years have expected it. I have nothing but praise for the author. I will definitely recommend this book to anyone and thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this book in exchange for my unbiased review. Five stars.

I enjoyed this police procedural by Victoria Jenkins.

It was certainly thrilling, well-written and kept me on my toes, as I had no clue until the author revealed it, who was responsible for all the murders on Alex's patch.

Alex has to deal with murders, threats to her own life and discord in her team in this book. It all works and it indeed had me up later than it should have!

Looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

A solid 4.5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Cor! Talk about a gripping crime story! WOO! What a corker!

If there's a class somewhere that teaches an author how to write a prologue that will hook a reader from the get-go and leave them wanting more, I'm pretty sure Victoria Jenkins graduated with the highest honours. Those first few pages already had me on the edge of my seat and I knew I should strap myself in for yet another thrilling ride with Detectives King and Lane.

What to say about the case the detectives are working on. Good grief! Any attack is of course incomprehensible but these are even more vile and reprehensible because while they seem random, the victims are all vulnerable in one way or another. A body is found badly burned after a fire in an abandoned hospital. Identification is impossible. Who was this person and why were they targeted? Meanwhile someone also seems to have their sights set on Alex King. Plenty going on then in this story!

This third instalment in the series also sees tensions rise between Alex and Chloe, putting their friendship to the test. I must admit that this time around, both these fierce ladies managed to get on my nerves somewhat. Alex with her need to try and hide things, knowing fully well she's not very good at it and Chloe with her incessant questions that made me want to slap her and tell her to let it go already.

I quite quickly had a potential suspect in mind but the ultimate reveals, yes plural, left me utterly reeling! And also quite sad because a lot of lives are affected and it takes a cold person not to become invested in them. That ending nearly broke me. 

Once again, Victoria Jenkins manages to come up with an insanely compelling and addictive page-turner. I remember telling myself when I picked up the first book that I needed to get hooked on another series like a hole in the tooth but within those first pages, I knew I was on to a good thing and now, three books in, I know I made the right decision. This series keeps getting better and better and the author yet again delivers an amazingly well crafted plot with interesting and fabulous characters and a multi-layered, suspenseful investigation. Bring on book four! I can't wait!

After a fire is reported to emergency services, Detective Alex King and Chloe Lane come upon a gruesome scene of an unidentified victim beaten and burned. Then another fire strikes a local shop that night. As if juggling multiple and possibly related arson cases isn’t draining enough, Alex’s safety is threatened by an unknown assailant with a clear grudge against her. Before long the stress begins to take its toll, threatening her relationship with her team and her friendship with Chloe.

As I noted in my previous review for The First One to Die, I would highly recommend reading this series in order. The character development in this series is very subtle, and especially in this book, will probably be frustrating for new readers who will miss nuances of the characterization if they are not familiar with the first two novels. The cases themselves stand independently, but Alex and Chloe’s motivations rely heavily on their experiences in the previous books.

I feel this is the first book in the series to really explore the setting; it's obvious that Mrs. Jenkins is very familiar with this part of Wales and since I'm not, I found it was kind of fun to look up the places mentioned on Google Maps and orient myself with the characters. I felt like this novel more than the other two really brings the surrounding area and history to life, as the locations become far more integral to the characters and the case.

Like her previous novels, Mrs. Jenkins edges us into the lives of several characters involved in the case on different levels. Not all of them are always directly related to the case, but their stories are often interconnected in unexpected ways, and always offer an interesting insight into how lives are changed and affected by the crimes committed. Nobody’s Child appropriately revolves around the lives of three families, all who are struggling with troubled children, abusive histories, and attempts at redemption. While the number of characters in this story feels a little more overwhelming than in the previous books, their paths weave together quite well. Mrs. Jenkins is excellent at navigating through a variety of characters with varying personalities and voices, and the various points of views offer a surprising number of twists and turns that make putting the book down difficult.

Outside of the case, this installment continues to expand on Alex’s journey. Changes at work mean Alex is adjusting to new members of her team. Chloe, feeling more confident and secure after the traumatic events of Girls in the Water, has moved out of Alex’s house and into her own place. Left alone in a big, empty house, Alex’s insecurities and loneliness continue to plague her, making her feel as if she is watching everyone move on with their lives as hers remains at a stand-still. Compounded with the stress of the threats made against her, we begin to see a new side of Alex emerge out of her fear and desperation; it’s a side that is not very warm, or likable. Her struggle with her personal identity and the anxiety she battles is a motif that parallels many of the other characters within the story.

Nobody’s Child touches on several themes such as racism, abuse, neglect, and ableism; but, perhaps, the most prevalent theme is that of vulnerability. All the characters are defined by some vulnerability and often suffer at the hands of someone who exploits it. They are all victims at one point or another: whether it is of an aggressor, or simply of the darkest parts of themselves.

Alex becomes enveloped in her vulnerabilities as well, and by the end of the book is pushed to confront the ugly parts of herself, the parts she’s tried to hide away so she doesn’t have to forgive them - both metaphorically and physically. The ending is a twist, of course, but it is gut-wrenching; in a way, it’s a betrayal, made bearable only because the reader does not have to suffer it alone. The characters are just as devastated, just as aghast at the turn of events as we are.

Nobody’s Child is certainly the most ambitious of the series to date, and I can’t help but respect the risks Mrs. Jenkins has taken with the narrative and the characterization. It’s a journey that successfully upsets the status quo of the Detectives King and Lane universe, but it manages to ramp up the interpersonal drama in a way that isn’t forced or trivial, while still delivering on a complex crime story that is both shocking, distressing… And yet, hopeful. Nobody’s Child has set up some serious changes for Alex and Chloe, and it will be exciting to see where Mrs. Jenkins intends to go with the next installment.

Another really good read from Victoria Jenkins.
Alex and Chloe are thrown straight into the deep end when a body is found burned in a fire at a derelict hospital. From the post-mortem it’s clear the person was badly beaten before the fire started.
Soon other attacks are happening in the area and Alex and the team are struggling to find a link.
There’s quite a lot of characters in this book and at times it gets a bit confusing, but it all comes together in the end.
This booked had me gripped from the first few pages and I highly recommend this series.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

An enjoyable series which I look forward to reading more of. The characters were well developed and the dialogue realistic. Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review! #CountingTheDead(detectivesKingAndLaneBook3) #NetGalley

Another fast paced instalment in this series with a storyline of damaged and broken characters. Alex's unnecessarily spiky attitude is the only negative in this book for me

Wow if you like detectives, crimes and murders this is the book for you. Nobody’s Child has so many plot twists and turns along with unbelievably evil characters you don’t know who is guilty of what until the end. Thanks to the author, the publisher and netgalley for making this book available for me to read and review.

Thank You Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this book. Book 3 in the Detective King and Lane series. They just keep on getting better. I was hooked from page one!!
Innocent and vulnerable people are being attacked or murdered by arson!! It's a race to solve. There are no clues but plenty of twists!!! It's never the obvious suspect though!!!! Can't wait for the next one!! Can't recommend it highly enough.

This is another series I can recommend to fans of a good police procedural. Book three in the King and Lane series continues to deliver. DI King and DS Lane are two strong women. The story here starts with a burned body found in an abandoned hospital. A parallel story involves the burning of a store owned by Muslims.

This is a very realist storyline with lots of current topics - homelessness, hate crimes, spousal abuse. “Attacks such as this seemed to be on the rise, but the news reports that filled the TV and radio with an ever increasing sense of bleakness at the State of mankind always consisted of stories plucked from other places: the big cities that lay miles from the supposedly sleepy hills of the south of Wales valleys.”

And someone has also set Alex in their sights and their attacks are escalating.

As with other strong books in this genre, part of the appeal is in watching the dynamics of the team. Alex is struggling with the tasks of being a leader, not just a team player. And I can sympathize with her struggles over how much friendship can be added to the team dynamics. And then the dynamics really get pushed up several notches.

This book keeps the tension going full steam and I was shocked at the end. Looking forward to book four to see where Jenkins takes us next.

My thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of this book.

A superb story, from first page to last! Set in the Rhondda Valleys, Detectives King and Lane investigate the brutal seemingly, unnecessary murders. A good easy read, I will look forward to more from Victoria Jenkins

NoBodys Child by Victoria Jenkins is book 3 in the Detectives Alex King and Chloe Lane series. Having read the previous 2 books I knew that I was in for another great read and I was not disappointed at all. This book was great, and moved along the relationship between the 2 women nicely.

It is October, and a body is found in an abandoned hospital. The body is so badly burnt that they struggle to identify the victim. When more bodies are found the police start to look for a connection between the murders. Meanwhile Alex is struggling with living alone and finds herself the target of somebody who wants her dead.

Cant wait for book 4!

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book to read and enjoy in exchange for my honest opinions

Nobody’s Child  (originally titled Counting the Dead) by Victoria Jenkins is the 3rd in the Detectives King & Lane series.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Bookouture, and of course the author, for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Series Background:
DI Alex King and her protégé DC Chloe Lane have become close friends, while working some horrendous crime scenes. Both have been dealing with personal issues, but together, and apart, they are working through them.

My Synopsis:
It starts with a homeless man found burning in an abandoned hospital, but he will not be the last vulnerable person to be attacked. There may be an arsonist on the loose. King and Lane will have to sift through a myriad of horrors before coming up with a very unlikely perpetrator.

Meanwhile, King is again dealing with her own issues, and making life miserable for those around her. She is being threatened, and she is pretty sure who is responsible. But she will have to have courage to stand up to him, and what if she’s wrong?

My Opinions:
Jenkins tackled some hard issues in this one, and did not shy away from anything. There were a lot of individual stories going on, with possible connections to each other. Even with the number of characters and situations, if you paid attention, everything flowed smoothly.

I’m not sure I bought into Alex’s “problems”, and her actions. That storyline felt forced, and it just didn’t ring true to me. Really 3.5 stars.

I am still looking forward to the next one!

Another fab book in this series. Fast paced and hooks you from page 1............... . ...........ififufufufufufifudududdududufufifufu

This book had my brain rattling in my head! It kept being thrown from left to right and back again in order to be able to follow this story and I mean this in a very positive way! There were so many characters and storylines that you were wondering how all this was going to come together., but it was never confusing. An author who can pull that off is a genius in my eyes.
You were focused on one thing and due to the short chapters, you were suddenly absorbed by another one. Sometimes my mouth fell open and a few OMG's escaped.
I will be counting the days untill I can put my hands on part 4. I suppose it's clear : I loved it!
Thank you, Victoria Jenkins, Bookouture and Netgalley.

Having read the first two books in this series I was looking forward to this one. I was not disappointed.

Alex and Chloe find themselves in the midst of a shocking set of crimes. They need to decide if they are related to each other and, if so, why. The truth is well hidden and Alex finds herself thrust into the path of danger as they try to work it out. She also finds that she is tempted to do something she will regret with another officer, and shows a different side to her character.

I was shocked when the truth finally came out as it was something I honestly didn’t see coming. That in itself is a sign of a good story. Once again the characters are all written extremely well, the story kept me gripped throughout, and I can’t wait to see what happens to them next.

Many thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for providing a copy.

I have been following the King and Lane series from the beginning. I am a big fan! Loved this book and cannot wait to find out what they will get up to next!

I was looking forward to reading this book. Despite not having read the prior two novels, I was still ready to pick up this book. It can be read as a stand alone novel. This is not the issue I had with the book. My issue is that it seemed to move slowly, even though the chapters are only a few pages and therefore makes reading this book fast.

The other problem I had with the book is that I was not feeling the main female leads, Alex and Chloe. They didn't really show their strong personalities. Thus when you combine the fact that the story was moving at a slow pace and the two main leads were not very interesting, this made for some difficult reading. I did stick with this book to the half way point. This is because somewhere, I was hoping that these issues were improve for me. When it was apparent that this was not going to be the case, I did jump ahead to the last several chapters in this book. I didn't feel like I had missed anything great in thee last several chapters. I might give this author another try in the future but for now, this book did not do it for me.

This is book number three of the Detectives Alex King and Chloe Lane series by Victoria Jenkins, it was previously released under the title COUNTING THE DEAD. I have read both of the other books and thoroughly enjoyed them. Jenkins is a real talent!

Detective King and her team are called to investigate a body found in an abandoned hospital. It is too burned to be identified. Not long after, another person is found dead and King begins to believe that the two instances are related. Alex then finds herself in danger. Could it be the murderer? Or someone else from her past?

I read fiction to relax, so a large cast of characters being introduced simultaneously really doesn't float my boat. In NOBODY'S CHILD, especially at the beginning this made it quite confusing and, although I did very much enjoy this read, I would've appreciated it more had there been fewer people to keep straight.

Having loved the previous two books, I will be continuing with this series. I just hope the next one has less characters. This issue is the only thing letting the title down, in my opinion. The pace and storytelling is excellent and the plot, interesting and engaging. There are twists galore and the way it is written means that the killer is kept under wraps until the finale.

I would like to thank Victoria Jenkins, Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. Vìctoria Jenkins has a great ability to write characters and stories that will appeal to all.

Her two detectives are some of the best that I have read and the combination with her ability to tell stories is sheer bliss.