Dangerous Dating?

20-year-old student Amber is ambushed and abducted when she’s leaving her flat to go out on a date she met on a dating app. A few days later, she’s found in a lake stabbed in her chest. She was an outgoing and happy girl with lots of friends and no enemies. Not much later, an attack on another female student goes wrong and she barely escapes. She also had a profile on the same app.

It is up to DI Gina Harte and her team to solve those crimes before another girl falls victim to this creep. But we find out that the perpetrator has his eyes on one of the policewomen that have a profile on the dating app but we don’t know who. Both Jhanvi and Paula (who’s engagement just flopped) were already on it and after she finds out that her boss and lover Briggs also has a profile, Gina makes one herself. For investigative purposes, she claims but the men that send her a smiley look very attractive.

The reader also possesses some knowledge as to the motivation of the killer that the police doesn’t but the full story is only revealed in the last pages of the book. It’s always just a bit more complicated than one thinks.

This is the 8th book in this series, but they can all be read on their own. It’s always better to read the books in the right order for the continuity of the background stories.

This book really focuses on the criminal aspects although we can say that Jahnvi Kapoor gets the main role this time. I hadn’t seen much of this very courageous PC in the last book, but she turns out to be a powerful and brave woman. I don’t know if I could do the same things that she ends up doing if I ended up in similar circumstances but it’s a well-done job! The home life of the other officers, even that of Gina and Paula is only mentioned in passing remarks or where it influences the narrative.

Carla Kovacs knows how to weave an interesting and suspenseful tale. As is customary there are a bunch of people that behave very suspiciously because they harbour secrets that have nothing to do with this investigation. This way, valuable police time gets wasted on non-related matters as ex-marital affairs and drugs that could have been used for real leads.

It was excruciating to watch Maddie and her Nanna in the knowledge that she was destined to be the next victim. She’s such a caring and loving person. I hoped that she could be saved in time.

The investigation focuses mainly on the imaginary dating app that’s intended for mere dating and not for serious relationships. It also shows the inherent dangers of such apps. You never know for sure who you’re talking to and when you meet IRL, things may be different from what you expect. I have been hitched for a very long time and never tried Tinder or other dating apps and I do the pity young people of today. Even before Covid closed down pubs and parties, they seem to have lost their appeal as a meeting place for singles.

As to the culprit, I didn’t guess his identity this time. This person was actually off my radar, so it’s a good surprise. I had my eyes on a different suspect but in retrospect, there are a few, well-concealed hints.

I thank Netgalley and Bookouture for the free ARC they provided and this is my honest, unbiased review of it.