Cradle To Grave by Rachel Amphlett | @RachelAmphlett | #20BooksofSummer

Author : Rachel Amphlett
Title : Cradle to Grave
Series : DI Kay Hunter #8
Pages : 370
Publisher : Saxon Publishing
Publication date : October 9, 2020

| ABOUT THE BOOK |

When a faceless body is found floating in the river on a summer’s morning, Detective Kay Hunter and her team are tasked with finding out the man’s identity – and where he came from.

The investigation takes a sinister turn when an abandoned boat is found, covered in blood stains and containing a child’s belongings.

Under mounting pressure from a distraught family and an unforgiving media, the police are in a race against time – but they have no leads, and no motive for the events that have taken place.

Will Kay be able to find a ruthless killer and a missing child before it’s too late?

| MY THOUGHTS |

It’s been a while since I hung out with Kay Hunter and her team but with a new book coming soon (next month!), I figured it was time to catch up. Cradle to Grave is the eighth book in this series and it’s as solid as its predecessors.

When the body of a man is found floating in the river, little does Kay know this isn’t just a murder investigation. Seeing as the man has no face, identifying him proves to be a tricky undertaking. But just when his name is discovered, it throws up a whole other set of questions and Kay and her team suddenly find themselves in the middle of a frantic search for a missing child.

Any storyline involving a child will have me glued to the pages and that was definitely the case with Cradle to Grave. Even while running on barely three hours of sleep and my eyes playing tricks on me, I couldn’t tear myself away. Just like the investigating team, I too was desperate to find out what had happened to this child. Was the child safe? Did they fall into the river or wander off? Did someone take them? With so little to go on though, I found myself getting increasingly frustrated, which seemed rather apt as that was the exact feeling the team was dealing with as well.

Admittedly, I cracked one defining moment of the investigation before it was revealed but that didn’t bother me at all. If anything, it threw up even more questions. There were still plenty of other things I didn’t see coming and despite thinking I had it all figured out at one point, it turned out I was completely on the wrong track.

As always, the chuckles are provided by Adam as he once again brings home an animal. Or three. The balance that Rachel Amphlett is able to achieve between Kay’s personal and professional life is definitely something I appreciate. This is such a wonderful crime fiction series and Cradle to Grave is another fabulous addition. Tense, twisty and thoroughly enjoyable. I can’t wait for book nine!

Many thanks to Rachel Amphlett for the review copy! Cradle to Grave is available to buy!

Affiliate link : Bookdepository
Other retailers : Amazon US | Amazon UK | Kobo | Rachel’s Store | Waterstones