‘Lost Victim’ by Helen H. Durrant

Published by Joffe Books,
25 April 2023.
ISBN  978-1-80405901-2 (PB)

This is book 6 in the Rachel King series.  It can be read entirely independently of the previous books in the series.  

Detective Rachel King is back from a period of recuperation after a harrowing case. She is feeling unsure of herself and her private life is in turmoil.  What she doesn't need is to find herself immersed in a gruesome murder.  The body of an elderly woman is carefully posed on the altar of a local church.

Lots of false leads and several intrigues take place before the murder of poor Mary Dunn and the even more gruesome murder of a young girl whose body is found in the crypt of the church is finally solved and the murderers brought to justice.  

This is a gripping tale involving the underworld,  of drug dealing and vengeance.  Just as intriguing as the forensic evidence and the work of the detectives and pathologists is the story of Rachel Kings' balancing of a stressful and all encompassing job and her role as single mother to three children.

Team work is necessary to follow all the twists and turns of the case and I never lost interest in the mystery surrounding the deaths of two entirely innocent people.  A terrific read and one hopes that Rachel King will continue her role as detective even though there is a suggestion at the end of the story that she might have had enough of dealing with the worse in human nature.
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Reviewer: Toni Russell  

Helen H. Durrant writes gritty police procedurals and is published by Joffe Books. Until six years ago she hadn’t written a word, now she has twenty six titles out there and counting. Her novels are set in the Pennine villages outside Manchester. Writing was a dormant ambition. It was retirement that gave her the opportunity to have a go. The success of her books came as a huge surprise, now she can’t stop!

www.helenhdurrant.co.uk

Toni Russell is a retired teacher who has lived in London all her life and loves the city.  She says, ‘I enjoy museums, galleries and the theatre but probably my favourite pastime is reading.  I found myself reading detective fiction almost for the first time during lockdown and have particularly enjoyed old fashioned detective fiction rather than the nordic noir variety.  I am a member of a book club at the local library and have previously attended literature classes at our local Adult Education Centre.  I am married with three children and five grandchildren.