The Second Stage of Grief by Katherine Hayton

eBook $3.99 on Amazon

On the Radar: Book 2 in the Ngaire Blake Series

After reading the first book in the Ngaire Blake series, The Three Deaths of Magdalene Lynton, we wanted more from New Zealand author Katherine Hayton. Book 2, The Second Stage of Grief, delivered on our expectations for more gripping crime thriller action and then some.

In the first novel we meet Detective Constable Ngaire Blake, a Maori detective from Christchurch. The victim of a recent brutal off-duty assault has left Blake with physical injuries and debilitating PTSD. In this second novel in the series, Blake has resigned from police service until she is physically and emotionally healed enough to return to duty. But as Blake tries to put past trauma behind her and her life back together, an incident from her past as a uniformed constable comes back to haunt her with a vengeance.

Blake gets dragged into a grisly murder investigation, and she’s shocked to discover that all the evidence points to her as the suspect. As the body count climbs, Ngaire figures out someone from her past not only staged an elaborate frame up as an act of revenge, but intends to add her to the list of corpses before they are through. She flees to the cold comfort of her estranged father’s hometown. In danger and not knowing who to trust, she severs contact with her closest allies and police colleagues, resolved to rely on only herself to identify the killer before it’s too late.

There is a lot for crime thriller fans to like about this book. A few chapters into the book and the reader believes the killer chasing Blake has been identified. It is only a matter of time until the police catch him and put an end to the threat. Hayton does such a superb job of leading us down the primrose path we're certain the story is cruising toward the denouement. But, not so fast, Hayton says as she tosses yet another unexpected twist into the mix. If you enjoy an edge-of-your-seat thriller where the identity of the villain isn't revealed until the very end, you'll love The Second Stage of Guilt. If you like gritty crime thrillers with plenty of psychological suspense, and a strong woman protagonist who overcomes her own demons to rises to the challenge, don't miss this entertaining crime fiction novel.

The Second Stage of Grief is available both in print (hardcover and paperback) and as an eBook. The electronic edition is an Amazon Kindle exclusive and available to Kindle Unlimited subscribers to read for free. We give this novel a five out of five-stars rating.

Foregone Conclusion is the fourth novel in the thrilling Malone Private Investigator Series of Crime and Suspense Thrillers. If you like breathtaking action, laugh-out-loud humor, and a hint of romance, then you’ll love this edge-of-your-seat detective thriller.

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