In Plain Sight by DS Butler. I diid not enjoy the characters or the story very much. I knew who the killer was in the beginning. Thanks Net Galley for the chance to read it.

I enjoyed reading In Plain Sight. I gather this is book #10 of the Karen Hart series but I didn't need to read the first nine to have a good sense of DS Hart and her investigative crew. The murderer was easy to guess from early on but that was okay. The book had enough propulsion that I wanted to keep turning the pages. And, of course, I wanted to know if I was right. I was.
The beginning was interesting. It opened with four teenagers on a bus, three of them being complete jerks until they were thrown off the bus. When they stumbled on the murder victim, that was the biggest surprise of the book. It seemed as if the teens were going to be targeted. As it was, we never see three of them again. The fourth teen just happened to have a father who was in charge of the archiological dig where the murder victim was found. There is a TV production around the dig with outsized egos and a grumpy farmer who threatened the murder victim.
The book was fun and good escapist reading.

This is an enjoyable and fun who done it. Kids stumbling on a body in a trench at an archaeological dig site after taking a short cut home. It happens one of them is daughter of the professor leading the dig. the victim is an unpopular council worker and the additional adornments suggest much more too the story. As does her personal life and reputation. The case escalates and DS Karen Hart is pulled into a complicated and dangerous situation she rushes to get answers before there are more deaths. A captivating story, and plot with interesting characters.. Very enjoyable.

This was a pretty good book. It's my first by this author and I'm open to reading others in the series.

The characters were well written and I liked them, I wish there had been more interactions between them, especially the moody detective and the boyfriend.

I really liked the mystery and the method of killing. However, I didn't like the end explanation. Or that, what seemed like a blase red herring turned out to not be a red herring at all. All the build up devoted to a vicious sadistic killer and it turned out to be so mundane. Not that the killer wasn't a psychotic, but still.

In all, I'm glad I read it, and will read others in the series.

Late one night DS Karen Hart is called out to an archeological dig. Four teenagers seeking a quicker way home across the fields have stumbled upon a dead woman in one of the dig trenches. The victim's hands and neck are locked in a medieval torture device known as the Shrew's Fiddle. The victim, a local woman working with the council, has made herself unpopular with the dig staff, with the tv crew filming the dig, a local farmer, and with her own husband. There's no shortage of suspects.

This is number ten in the DS Karen Hart series. It's a good book, well written, fast paced, with interesting characters and can easily be read as a stand alone. I highly recommend reading the entire series. 4 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer Publishing, and author D.S. Butler for the eARC

Another fantastic book in the D.S. Karen Hart series. Gruesome murders for the team to solve, involving a medieval torture device. Kept me guessing until the very end, a real page turner. Can’t wait for the next amazing book.

Another Amazing read in the Karen Hart series - dare I even say the best yet?

I would absolutely love these to be made into a Scott and Bailey style ITV drama.

These are such easy reads, with an engaging plot and a real chance to get your teeth into an 'easy' crime thriller.

I cannot wait to read the next in the series!

Someone went medieval on a woman and DS Hart is on the case. After ten volumes, longtime readers know the characters and take it personally when one of them may be getting played by a suspect. Every turn, every dead end, every injury takes a toll and makes this an extra-suspenseful one. Not a longtime reader? No problem, since the dynamics between the characters are clearly established and there is a bit of recap that doesn’t fall into repetition. The plot was very entertaining, as usual, even if the baddie was maybe not as unexpected as I would have hoped, but the motive did surprise me. The part that I most enjoyed was the personal lives of the characters. Karen and her relationship with Mike, Sophie and her slow recovery after her brush with death and, especially, one of my favorites in a great side story. The ending tied most of the loose ends, leaving a little for a future volume. Can’t wait!
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Thomas & Mercer.

This is #10 in the DS Karen Hart series but it can easily be read as a standalone.

It was great to be back with DS Karen and her colleagues.

Late at night, after an evening out, four friends are thrown off a bus due to their tipsy behaviour and take a shortcut across fields. Their route takes them past a current archaeological dig and they discover a body in a trench. This isn’t an ancient burial, it’s a woman who had clearly only been dead a short time. She is wearing a medieval torture device, called a Shrew’s Violin, around her neck.

One of the group thinks she recognises the dead woman but she decides to keep quiet in case she incriminates anyone.

DS Karen discovers the identity of the woman but she doesn’t appear to have been very popular with the archaeologists or the television team who are filming for a programme. Then a second body is discovered so the team needs to find the perpetrator before they can strike for a third time.

A brilliant storyline with plenty of unexpected twists and turns.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and ‎ Thomas & Mercer for my copy of In Plain Sight by D S Butler.
DS Karen Hart Is called in when 4 teenagers taking a short cut home come across a dead body,
A woman is dead killed in a dreadful medieval way, and found in an archaeological dig.
Can Karen and the team solve this grisly murder. Although this is the 10th book in the series, the story and characters are still good and I’m looking forward to many more.

Christie , Leo and mason were such a thrill to read!
Couldn’t contain my excitement at the ending !
Simply haunting !

In Plain Sight by D. S. Butler, published by Thomas & Mercer, is book 10 in the Detective Karen Hart Series. Yes, the books are with cross overs, but they van easily be tread as stand alones.
This time Detective Hart is assigned to another complex case, a case full of twists and unexpected turns that has the reader guessing till the ver last page.
An incredible, literally unputdownable read, 5 stars.

First and foremost, a huge THANK YOU to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer Publishing, and author D.S. Butler, for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review. Publication date is currently set for January 21, 2025.

A medieval torture device. An archaeological dig. Can DS Karen Hart unearth the truth?

If the above tantalizing little titbit doesn’t awaken your literary senses, I don’t know what will.

It’s certainly shocked seasoned detective, DS Karen Hart and her team of investigators.

When the story opens, it’s the middle of the night, and a group of teenagers are walking home after a night out. When one of the group suggests taking a short-cut home by cutting through a neighbouring farmer’s field, the others follow along – thinking that they’ll save precious time – little do they know their night is about to change for the worse.

Bumbling along in the dark, one of the boys stumbles and falls into a trench which had been dug in the field. Stunned, but mostly unharmed, the boy looks around at the trench he’s fallen into trying to figure out how he’s going to climb out. That’s when he sees it. The body of a woman lying in the same trench, not far from where he’s sitting. Her head and arms are encased in some sort of trap device and her face has contorted into an agonising and painful expression. And she’s very definitely dead.

Detective Sergeant Karen Hart and her team are called to investigate. At the site, the team learn that the trench had been dug as part of an archaeological dig for a television show called Britain’s Biggest Treasure Hunt, a highly popular TV program about discovering ancient Roman remains hidden in the U.K. Hart quickly learns that the victim, Alison Poulson, was linked to the show and was not well liked by the rest of the show’s cast. From the outset the scales of justice weighed heavily with suspects and light on clues.

Yes, there were still challenges ahead; names like Rothwell and Chapman loomed large in their caseloads. But together the team navigated successes and setbacks and supported one another when cases took their toll.

In Plain Sight might be the tenth book in the series, but you can easily read this as a standalone – which is a tribute to D.S. Butler’s writing skills.

Crime Solving Stars:
🌟A refreshing take on the crime genre.
🌟A complex and well-paced tale with layers and twists that will keep you engaged.
🌟If you don’t mind the macabre, there are some shocking and disturbing scenes as the plot unfolds.
🌟The ending contains a surprise that caught me off-guard.
🌟Well developed characters.
🌟An excellent police procedural investigation (which focuses on the use of procedure and its team of officers).

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to publishers Thomas & Mercer for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. The publication date is currently set for January 21, 2025.

This is the 10th book featuring my favourite detective, Karen Hart. But about the 4th that I've read. I love the character of Karen Hart, a gutsy detective, standing for no nonsense and a very good detective. In this book, the discovery of a woman's body at an archaeological dig shocks Karen. The body is found with a shrew's fiddle around her neck, the fiddle is a barbaric form of torture mostly for women who nag. There are no end of suspects, including a television crew who were televising the dig, for the murder of the woman, who was not well liked and rubbed everyone up the wrong way. A great story with brilliant characters, I enjoyed it and look forward to reading more Karen Hart stories.

D. S. Butler is back with another sensational story about DS Hart and her team of police officers. This is book 10 in a fabulous series, however it can be read as a standalone as D. S. Butler leaves no loose ends when referring back to previous books, recapping where necessary without overdoing it for readers who have read the books.
This is your comfy chair and cup of tea thriller, it has a shocking murder and a concise descriptive timeline of clues and hunches until the crime and its perpetrator is revealed. I cannot find any fault in the DS Hart series, each book is a joy to read and usually read in one sitting. The sprinkles of hints and suggestive words are genius to keep the reader in their toes.
5 star read … just brilliant!

#inplainsight #netgalley #favauthor #thrillerreads

A good new addition to the series. Begins as a group of teens find a body in a trench and one of the teens recognises the body as a coincidence. The victim turns out to be very unlikeable and so there are a number of plausible suspects and red herrings, with the added mystery of the murder weapon. There are some amusing moments with the TV presenters. My one slight criticism is that the killer was maybe revealed too early, but I can see the reason why because there was more to the story after the suspect was identified.
I enjoy this series so am familiar with the characters, but it works as a standalone read as well.
Thanks Netgalley.

Another great book. This series gets better and better. I love the characters and the story was amazing

Another excellent book in this Karen Hart series. Fast paced and enjoyable I sped through the book as I wanted to know what happened but was also sad to finish it. Such a well written book. Bring on the next instalment.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

A group of teenagers find a body in a dug trench resulting in Detective Karen Hart and her team being called in. With an old fashioned torture device being around the victim’s neck, a link to a tv show investigating buried treasure is quickly found. The victim wasn’t well liked and suspects are plentiful.

This was another great addition to this series. I enjoyed historical references, as well as the chance for other characters to be explored and find relationships. I enjoyed seeing thought processes through Karen’s eyes, especially that light bulb moment when she knew exactly who the killer was. One of the best bits about the book was that all the loose ends are eventually tied up! An enjoyable read and highly recommend.

A woman’s body is found in an archeological dig site, but this is no ancient burial. The victim was recently killed and her body was encased in a Shrew’s Fiddle. You will not forget its name because it’s brought up incessantly throughout the story. It’s described as this horrific, misogynistic ancient device but when I looked it up, it wasn’t even that bad! It’s not meant to kill you or even torture you, it’s a shaming device for being a nag or a shrew hundreds of years ago. Sure, it’s uncomfortable, but the description kept stating that it tightly bends the person’s neck at an unnatural angle and the thing is, it does not. A person can stand up perfectly straight in one, with their hands each having their own hole, one in front of the other. So once your arms get tired, then yes, you would be bent over, but there’s a clear difference between immediate suffering and eventual soreness.

And guess what? Nothing keeps the person standing, they can sit or lay down to alleviate the strain on their muscles. That’s a big issue I had with the story – the author tries too hard to make this an anti-woman death device. It’s an obnoxious mechanism, but I’d choose it over thumbscrews or an iron maiden any day. If you’re going to use an actual historical device, don’t exaggerate it as a horrendous torture tool akin to the rack when anyone can research it and see that it isn’t. Emphasize the degradation of women in general – that’s something that is and always has been true.

So, because the dig site was part of a reality archeology TV show there are plenty of suspects, and DS Karen Hart has to work with her team to stop the killer before more people suffer. Was it one of the crew? The local council? The experts brought in from the university? Or a family member or friend completely unrelated to the dig? You’ll have to read and find out. Just know there is a lot of unnecessary repetition, maybe to stretch out the length? Phrases and thoughts expressed multiple times by the same characters, enough that it stood out while reading. Whittling that down would help the flow of the story. Which I’m surprised wasn’t called The Shrew’s Fiddle.