This is the tenth in the DS Karen Hart series; it is the sixth I have read. It works well as a standalone.

Teenagers cutting through an archeological dig discover a grisly sight. A dead woman is at the bottom of a pit, with a medieval torture device called a Shrew’s Fiddle attached to her.As DS Karen Hart and her team investigate the limited clues and numerous suspects, a second brutal death occurs.

This is a fast paced, well written mystery. I enjoy the main character, as well as her supporting team. Karen is engaging, capable, empathetic, and doesn’t suffer fools gladly. She also displays a good sense of humor.

Fans of British police procedurals will enjoy this story, along with others in the series.

A terrific read with a sense of the Elly Griffiths and Joy Ellis books - gorgeous setting so eloquently described and quirky characters aplenty. I thoroughly enjoyed the different perspectives and seeing how the teenagers who discovered the body interacted with one another and then with their parents. The archeological aspects were also interesting and added an extra rabbit hole to explore. Some of the characters were unbearably annoying, which only added to the sense of credibility and engagement.

Another amazing follow up book, always amazing and didn’t have a clue how it was going to end until it happened, love this series and it was just as good as the rest of them AAA

A medieval torture device. An archaeological dig. Can DS Karen Hart unearth the truth?! Great read!! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! It had great suspense, intriguing, action packed, gruesome murders, serial killer, mystery, a great who done it and some wild twists and turns! The story was very interesting! I highly recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Another good sortie in this series, which doesn't need to be read in order. More police procedural this time than focusing on personal relationships of existing characters.

This series works well without mention of DS Hart's romance with Mike, or DC Jones's with Harinder. The storyline focuses on the first gruesome murder, and at first it seems as if it's a one- off, but the second adds confusion and potentially another suspect/s to the tale.

I suspected who the killer was, and whilst his explanation fell a bit flat, it sort of did work because of the sometimes-stereotyped character he was (trying not to Spoiler!). I also wondered why some of the team would start something and leave it incomplete, which could've led to the murderer before, but hey, we're human.

It ends with DC Jones in a better place than in the last book, and with DS Hart's life taking a new direction, and that she sees her worth and has the support of her colleagues. I liked that there wasn't TMI, just characters acting like the grown-ups they are.