"What He Did" by J.G. Roberts is the second book in the brilliant Detective Rachel Hart series.
The first book from Julia was called "Little Girl Missing" and I loved both of these books and grabbed me within the first few pages. I could not put it down. What He did was full of twists and turns which I love in a book. One thing that was very good within this book was You could read it as a stand alone book as well. However, Its well worth it, to read the first book as well.
It's a very good Police procedural were Rachel is in a new relationship with a Lawyer. All her relationships don't last long and this one is the longest so far. But will Rachel dump her before she starts to get feelings for him?

Rachel has a twin sister and they have a past and you will learn more about them and their childhood relationship.

Rachel has become good friends with Maddy Shaw, she is a local newsreader and whilst on air she is covering a local story about a horrific car crash and she recognises the car as her husbands Simon's. Simon is critically injured. Shocked! Maddy walks off the set and she rushes to his side. Simon is put into an induced coma. Rachel decides to investigate as well. But, it’s not her case, she needs to give her friend Maddy answers, and she will. But she soon realises Simon didn’t crash.

Was this accident a human error? or is it something more sinister that caused the accident?

Was he was distracted?

Did a tyre blew?

Was this accident a human error? or is it something more sinister that caused the accident?

Did someone want Simon dead…..........

But Why??????

A threatening letter is found buried in Simon’s diary. Who sent it? Why and what is Simon hiding??

Rachel must race against time to protect her friend and find the murderer, before another life is taken............

WoW.....I highly Recommend this book. It was Brilliant.

Big Thank-you to NetGalley, Bookouture and J.G. Roberts for allowing me to read an advanced copy of What He Did which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

What He Did is the second in the police procedural series featuring Detective Rachel Hart. Having missed the first book in the series - Little Girl Missing - I was happy to jump straight in and read this independently without any issues as the author, J. G. Roberts, provided enough background to allow me to feel comfortable with the characters and setting. Rachel Hart made a caring, determined detective with plenty of inner reserve and I would have gladly had her on my team.

This novel was a fantastic, electrifying and solid domestic thriller and I really warmed to Rachel from the outset. It was well-balanced and it had me glued to the pages as I was desperate to know the outcome of the story.

DCI Hart decides to investigate the mysterious circumstances when her friend Maddy Shaw learns that her husband Simon has been critically injured in a car crash. Although it isn't her case, if she can give her friend any answers, she will. But she soon realises that it was no accident and someone out there wants Simon dead…

The attention-grabbing plot was very cleverly written, being gripping and suspenseful but not unbelievable. Each individual had a defined role in the story as Rachel embarked on an exciting and exhilarating mission to help her friend. I found myself really rooting for her to succeed and all of the time the tension was being ratcheted up a notch as the author, Julia Roberts hit me with some captivating misdirection and planted a few red herrings. The writing flowed effortlessly with a swift pace to it as What He Did delved into a world of secrets, threats and menace.

All in all, a brilliant, nail-biting and highly recommended crime-thriller.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Bookouture via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

When Maddy's husband Simon is badly injured in a car crash she turns to her friend Detective Rachel Hart. Something doesn't seem quite right & dash cam view of it shows that it might not have been an accident after all. At first things seem to point to Maddy's daughter's boyfriend. Simon's last conversation with him had been somewhat threatening. When a priest is found murdered in the confessional & a suicide may not be all it seems the link is made to Simon- they were all part of an up & coming football team many years ago. What happened & is someone wanting revenge even after so many years?

I enjoyed the first in this series & this book was even better. The story was well plotted & the characters were interesting & believable. I'm already looking forward to the next one.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

First, I want to thank J.G. Roberts, Bookouture, and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.
This was my first time reading one of J.G. Roberts Detective Rachel Heart’s books and it won’t be my last. I would review for her any day! What He Did is a totally gripping crime thriller that blew me away with her intoxicating storylines. You can always tell it is going to be an amazing read if you hook me from the first page. J.G. did just that for I was up till the wee hours of the morning needing to know how it ended!!

There are two strong themes in this book that may be a trigger for the reading viewers so I wanted to bring it to their attention. If these two topics do bother you then this book may not be right for you. One major topic is suicide and suicide attempts. The other is rape and sexual assault. Both are mentioned often in the book.

J.G. Roberts should really market this book to Netflix or to Lifetime Channel! This would be incredible to see on the small screen! In fact at times it played like a movie in my head! You have the incredible cast of characters, the moments that pull on your heart strings, the shocking moments, secrets, the action scenes, the investigations, murder, death, and a few twists and turns you never ever saw coming.

There were so many incredibly written scenes in this book There was one in particular that comes to mind that was very intense. I the reader stepped into Maddy’s shoes when she was on camera giving the news to learn about the horrid car accident. J.G. did an incredible job with that scene and the ones following up to it. To me it was just mind blowing and I was just shocked! I couldn’t imagine being in her shoes!

I really liked Neil’s character and could relate to him. Having an injury that changed his path in life. However, he found his true calling that he was meant to do. Funny that everything happens for a reason.

One thing I loved learning was that J.G. had help collaborating with her family on this story. Her husband assisted her with the big rape storyline. Her son came up with the football team name.

I can’t wait to see what is next for Detective Rachel Hunt.

I read, reviewed and loved the first book to feature Detective Rachel Hart, which was called 'Little Girl Missing' and which was released on 14th June 2019. I couldn't wait to get hold of a copy of the second book in the series called 'What He Did'. Well ladies and gents the wait is over because 'What He Did' was released on 22nd October 2019. My first thought after having finished reading 'What He Did' is just plain 'wow'. J. G. Roberts has written one heck of a fantastic book, which I thoroughly enjoyed reading but more about that in a bit.
The two main characters in this story are a woman called Maddy Shaw and of course Detective Rachel Hart. Maddy is a married woman, who is a newsreader on a national television channel. She is fast approaching middle age and she fears for her job. Maddy is already on a warning and she tries to keep her nose clean because she knows that her boss would love to fire her and hire a younger, prettier woman in her place. Not only might that increase viewing figures but it would also save the programme money. Maddy also feels under pressure in her home life too so the woman is having poop thrown at her from all directions. She is asked to report on some breaking news and she makes the horrific discovery that her husband has been critically injured in a car accident whilst she is 'on air'. I can't even begin to imagine how the poor woman must have felt to have discovered such a thing and at that point I wanted to jump inside the pages of the book to give her a hug. Rachel then becomes more prominent in the story as she flocks to her friend's (Maddy's) side to give her a shoulder to cry on and to give her some support. Rachel becomes intrigued by her friend's husband's accident and even though it isn't her case, she starts to investigate it in the hope that it will give Maddy the answers that she needs. Rachel is the sort of detective that you would want to investigate your case. She is thorough, compassionate, stubborn, determined and once she has a case you can guarantee that she will investigate the case to the best of her ability. Will Rachel solve the case before any further lives are lost? What connects the victims? Why does somebody want this particular set of people dead? Well for the answers to those questions and more you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves to find out as I am not going to tell you.
Oh my word, it took me no time at all to get into this story. In fact by the time I got to the end of the first page, I knew that I would be unable to put the book to one side for any length of time and so it proved to be. I became so wrapped up in the story that I managed to focus on the book and on the book alone. Usually I have the attention span of a gnat but not in this case because I was able to shut out all other distractions to concentrate on the book. The book developed a hold over me that I didn't want to break. I feared that if I put the book to one side I would miss a vital clue or a development in the case. I binge read the book over the course of a day, which in a way I was pleased about and in another way I was disappointed. Don't get me wrong I was pleased to finish because at least I knew how the story concluded but I was disappointed to finish because I was enjoying the author's writing style, the characters and the storylines that much that I just wanted the book to continue.
'What He Did' is superbly written but then I thought 'Little Girl Missing' was also superbly written. The author has one of those writing styles that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with. She certainly knows how to grab your attention and once she has it she will not relinquish it under any circumstances. It was as if she had hypnotised me through her book. The author describes things so well and realistically that I did feel as though I was part of the story myself. I even found that I began to interact with the book as if the different characters could hear me. I know, I know this is a work of fiction and not real but if I love a book as much as I loved this one, I tend to 'live' the story as if it were real. I felt as though I was one of Hart's colleagues and I was part of her investigation.
Reading 'What He Did' felt like being on one hell of a scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several twists and turns along the way. I almost had to read through my fingers at times because I feared what was going to happen next. I gave myself a stiff talking to and I knew that I wanted to discover how the case concluded then of course I had to keep reading. For me, the story hits the ground running and maintains the pace throughout. I was totally gripped by the story and on the edge of my seat for most of it.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'What He Did' and I would definitely recommend it to other readers. I will definitely be reading more of J. G. Roberts' work in the future. Here's hoping that we don't have too long to wait. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board just has to be 5* out of 5*.

The second book in the Detective Rachel Hart series can be read as a standalone, and it is quite the page-turner. The author does an outstanding job of allowing the reader to follow the case along with Rachel, while also throwing in a few twists along the way that keep it interesting. While the investigation aspect is well-done, the personal side of Rachel’s life is also realistic. Although I did figure a few things out before Rachel did, the author kept me engaged right up to the final page. An excellent crime thriller to pick up! For a full review, please see my blog at Fireflies and Free Kicks Fiction Reviews. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a complimentary, pre-release, digital ARC of this book.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book. I really enjoyed it, it drew me in from the first page and I just couldn't put it down. Lots of twists and although this is the second book featuring Detective Rachel Hart , and I haven't read the first, it made no difference and can be read as a stand alone. I would definitely recommend this book.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

I first met Detective Rachel Hart in the first book of this series, Little Girl Missing. Just like before, Rachel takes on another chilling case.

Maddy Shaw is doing her regular newscast. As she begins reporting, images begin showing up on the video screen. She freezes and all of the color drains from her face. It is the worst thing she could have ever imagined. She is reporting of a life-threatening car wreck and it doesn't take her but a minute to recognize that the car belongs to her husband Simon. She races to the hospital to sit vigil at his bedside.

Meanwhile, Maddy is devastated by the fact that she is sitting in a hospital, waiting yet again. The other time, it was due to her daughter. She nearly took her own life. Maddy suddenly panics. She is hoping that her daughter does not hear about it on TV or via social media. At first she thinks she has no one to call, but remembers a detective who stood by her during and after her daughter's crisis, Rachel Hart.

Rachel drops everything to get to Maddy's daughter, prepare her and bring her to the hospital. That is the friend in her. However, the cop in her immediately goes to work. She discreetly asks a coworker to start an investigation. As things slowly unravel, Rachel begins to see that this was no ordinary car accident. Before long, Rachel clearly sees that Simon's car crash was foul play.As Maddy begins to go through Simon's things, she finds a threatening letter. This letter leads credence to Rachel's suspicions.

What a fast-paced, thrilling story! It is not only extremely time sensitive for Rachel to find out who caused Simon's crash, she also has to try and stop other connected murders from occurring, keep Simon alive, all while being there for Maddy and their daughter.

I couldn't put this book down. It was written so very well. It touched on some sensitive subjects for sure, but they were handled quite well. Rachel is a no-holds barred detective and I cannot wait to see her solve her next case.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC to review. This is my honest opinion.

Worth reading.

This is not an edge of your seat thrill ride. Instead it is a slow paced mystery that you can't help but keep reading because you need to know what happened.

It was easy to connect with the characters and sympathize with their situations, at least with the female characters. It was difficult to connect with the male characters once you realize what he did. Even the innocent suspects didn't invoke sympathy. When you witness a crime and don't report it you become the criminal.

The book is well written and flows quite nicely. While it was a good mystery ultimately was not hard to solve a good distance before the end. The who is what kept me guess. I had three suspects I felt were the likeliest to be the criminal. While I was on the right trail the who ended up surprising me.

There isn’t much I can say specifically about the storyline without giving too much away. What I can say is that some of the story touches on some areas of mental health that usually aren't very accurate. In this case however I thought it was handled quite well. Often times people are quick to assume that a person who is depressed can just “get over it”. All people do not handle all situations the same way. As individuals our emotions are also unique.

I truly enjoyed reading this book. While it wasn't roller coaster ride with twists and turns to keep you guessing but it was a good mystery. This was booked two in a series and before I had even finished I purchased book one. I look forward to future books from J G Roberts.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this advance copy, it was a privilege.

Wow what a striking prologue!! I love a cracking prologue to totally set the scene for a crime thriller and What He Did is no different!

Oh bejeezus!!!! What stories was I unravelling??! The more I read the more I was drawn in…What secrets was Simon keeping? The more Rachel dug, the more of that skeleton she found but would she find the full body so to speak?!

Now I mentioned the prologue but the chase to the end what brilliant and then what came after left me wanting more! What a cliffhanger to be left on!!

I haven’t read the first in the series Little Girl Missing (which is buried on my kindle somewhere) but I didn’t feel I’d missed out too much on any of the characters’ stories. This lack of reading needs be rectified though! I thoroughly enjoyed following the investigation trying to second guess what going to happen.

I did not read part one yet due to being too busy when it was published. You know the feeling probably : too many books, too little time, but one thing has become very clear after finishing this book : I am even more looking forward to reading it. 

What can I say about this one? Well, that is very simple. I was taken in by the fluent writing style, dragged away by the intrigueing story and misled by the great storytelling. I thought that I had figured it out what was what. Nope, not the case. :)

The police should be your best friend, but best friends should stand by you, shouldn't they? When fail to do their job not once but twice, it's time to do what you feel you have to do in order to serve justice.

In my opinion this was a brilliant story. More of this, please. 5 stars

Thank you, J.G. Roberts and Bookouture (via Netgalley)

The second Rachel Hart book and it's every bit as good as the first one.

I read it in two sittings as I was completely hooked.

The plot is fast and twisting with lots going on to keep you guessing.

I love Rachel's character and we get to know her and her team a bit more in this book.

After that ending I can't wait for the next instalment.

Will recommend this series to my friends as I thoroughly enjoy it.

This is a fast-paced crime thriller, the second in the series featuring DCI Rachel Hart, and I have some mixed feelings, especially about the cliffhanger ending and some unresolved issues. I assume that's the tag for book 3. I don't know about your reading habits, but mine are such that by the time it comes out, I will have totally forgotten my urgent need to know and may no longer even care. That being said, this is a decent detective novel though quite predictable once we learn what's really going on.

The novel starts with a car wreck. The critically injured man, Simon Shaw, is the husband of one of Rachel's friends. Maddy Shaw, a newscaster on "News 24/7, just happened to be on-air when the bulletin came across. She didn't want their 22-year-old daughter, Siena, to hear it on the television because Siena had recently suffered a suicide attempt after her boyfriend dumped her, so Rachel goes to be with Siena while Maddy breaks the news. It gets even worse for the family, however, when it's discovered that the car accident may have actually been attempted murder. And even more revelations follow -- Simon hadn't exactly been entirely truthful with his wife and had been hiding a big, bad secret from his youthful footballer days. When other dead men turn up, all related to the incident that also involved Simon, DCI Hart knows she has a complex situation on her hands. The detectives are on the hunt for the killer, but it may be someone who they don't expect. It seems that revenge may just be a dish best served cold. NO SPOILERS.

This is a complicated story with lots of background and deals with an historic event. There are lots of characters to keep track of and a great deal of leg work in the investigation. In addition, Rachel's personal life becomes more of a focus as she gets to know Tim, her fledgling defense lawyer boyfriend, a bit better. I admit, I have a hard time when characters have all this emotional baggage they can't unload, but hopefully Rachel can get it together and move on from her feelings about her own past and her twin sister, Ruth. But I doubt it! I don't think Ruth will let her!

I do believe you would want to read the first book in this series first in order to get a handle on Rachel Hart, but perhaps enough is relayed in this narrative to catch you up without doing so. I've read both books now, and it's likely I'll go ahead and sign on for #3. I'm a sucker for female detectives though there's a part of me that wonders how some of these messed up women get to their positions. Sorry, but surely there could be a few that don't have so many mental issues or horrid pasts or skeletons in their closets? But, I digress. This was a solid follow-up though the plot wasn't especially unusual and with the loose ends, I'm not sure how things end up for the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review.

When a woman approaches a man working in the greenhouses of the botanical gardens in South West London, it seems harmless but it is anything but.
What begins as a pretty typical day for the Shaw family soon turns into a day that will dramatically change their lives. Maddie is a TV newsreader with the first Breaking News she has to read out, that of the motorway been closed because of a traffic accident. When she has time to glance at the pictures that are being shown she recognises the badly damaged car as that of her husband Simon. Simon has been rushed to hospital where after surgery he has been put into an induced coma to hopefully recover. While Simon lays oblivious to what is going on his past is rapidly catching up with him. He is the lucky one, his friends and colleagues from another life are not being so fortunate.
Detective Rachel Hart is a personal friend of Maddie and tries on the quiet to find out more about the accident her husband has been in. It soon turns into a case she is asked to head as dots begin to link together from what had been thought of as other random deaths. This develops into a brilliant storyline that I hadn't even second-guessed at. Something that at times has been quite topical in news, but not to this extent.
There is also a secondary storyline, which I believe began to unfold the first book in this series that revolves around Detective Rachel Hart. I enjoyed this side of the story just as much. I really liked Rachel who at times struggled with how much she could tell Maddie and how much she had to keep just to the investigation. So much I hadn't seen coming, a lot like real life in that respect. The last few chapters were tremendously exciting in every way possible. Very much looking forward to the next book in this series.
I wish to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an e-copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.

was quite impressed with this book. I am usually not into series but I read the first one not knowing it was a series and now I am hooked. Book 2 did not disappoint. The twists her turns had me openmouthed as I turned the pages.
Maddy is a news broadcaster and while on air reporting a story, the live feed comes up and it feels as though time has frozen. The victim of the horrific car crash is her husband Simon. After almost losing her daughter Siena, Maddy is overwhelmed on the way to the hospital wondering if Simon will be ok. Knowing the fragile state
of her daughter Siena, Maddie enlists the help of her friend DCI Rachel to go to the house and be with Siena when she calls with the news of her father’s accident and to being Siena to the hospital. Though it is not her department, she agrees to look into the crash as a favor to Maddy. When it turns out that it was not an accident, Maddy must face
that someone wanted to hurt Simon or worse.
When Maddy starts to go through Simon’s belongings, she realizes that her husband was keeping secrets. Maddy hands over Simon’s diary to DCI Rachel and her office finds a threatening letter that starts to bring motive. Maddy also realizes that some recent deaths may be connected to what happened to Simon and the killer may not be done.
Great book from beginning to end and I can’t wait for the next book in the series!
Thank you Netgalley and. Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Maddie and her husband Simon promised to always be honest and tell each other anything. Maddie thought she knew everything there is to know about Simon. Then one morning on the way to work Simon has an accident. He’s lucky surviving the impact, but now he’s lying in the hospital. Put in a coma, he’s unable to answer the questions as to why the accident happened and what he knows about a rape case back in 1994 when he was playing professional football. Maddie has to face the truth, she doesn’t know everything and what really happened in Porto?
The story was really good and I kept on reading and reading. I like Rachel and held my fingers crossed since the first book, that she and Tim would become more than friends. Now I’m not so sure it was a good idea. I don’t know if I really trust him? And I don’t trust Ruth. The ending left me hanging and wringing my hands in horror. What now? I had my suspicions about Ruth’s behavior..... Why did she said these things about Tim? I have so many questions!!!

This is a great series and the second book has provided more of the backstory of Detective Rachel Hart’s life.
Rachel starts to look into a near fatal car crash when she finds out it’s the husband of someone she knows.
It soon comes to light that this was no accident and there is link to a recent death in the area.
Rachel offers support to her friend, Maddy, and her daughter but when the investigation reveals something dark from the past she has to hold things back from them.
The investigation takes some unexpected turns and I really liked the way the story came together.
This is a gripping crime thriller that had me hooked from the first few pages.
After that ending, I will definitely be reading the next book in the series....
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

What He Did by J. G. Roberts is the 2nd book in the DCI Rachel Hart series, and my first book by this author. Maddy Shaw discovers that her husband has been in a terrible car crash, while she is reporting live on the air. DCI Rachel Hart is investigating the case, is the crash an accident or did someone try to kill him. I found this book to be an interesting read, full suspense from beginning to end. I recommend this book.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and the publisher. Thank you.

Quite a different police procedural, it had friendship at the backdrop of it. It wasn't clinical like the other books in this genre, the personal aspects written were more interesting.

It started gently with a family of 3, where the father Simon was hiding a secrets, daughter Siena was coming out of a bad break-up and attempted suicide, and the mother Maddy trying to look after her family. Simon had a near fatal road accident, Maddy called DI Rachel Hart to help. Their lives had crossed previously at the nursing home where Rachel's twin sister was residing. More deaths occured, Rachel investigated, trying to find the links and motive.

My second book by JG Roberts, and I enjoyed it completely. I took quite a bit of time to savor the words. Relationships were explored, family dynamics were shown. Rachel's twin sister Ruth and boyfriend Tim were the added surprises. I had a feeling book 3 would be explosive.

It was not easy being the boss, and Rachel had to work hard to keep a balance. Minor disgruntled attitude of her team made it real. But every investigation has hardwork of the team members. This had hours of legwork and careful analysis to reach to the conclusion. The ending was kind of predictable, but it was the journey which held me gripped to my kindle.

Now I want book 3, I have a strange feeling about some characters in this book. I need to know if my instincts are spot-on.

What He Did is an edge of your seat romantic suspense. This book has a plot that pulled me immediately into the action. I couldn’t put this book down. Fans of suspense will not want to miss this book. I received an arc from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.