Title:	The Next Girl
	Author:	Carla Kovach
	Published:	March 29, 2018, Bookouture
	No. of Pages:	300
	Cover Price:	$10.99 Paperback, $2.99 Kindle

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Carla Kovach’s first installment in The Gina Hart Series, The Next Girl is an excellent way to start off a new series. Deborah Jenkins is kidnapped while on her way home after working late. Four years later, after her husband and everyone else is sure she is dead and won’t ever be found, a baby is left on the doorstep of a building and the DNA of the baby matches Deborah. Everyone is shocked, but hopeful, since it proves she is still alive. Gina Hart, who has had her own demons to work through, is the detective who is investigating the strange circumstances, and is trying to solve not only where the baby came from, but also where Deborah is.

Set in Britain, the novel is well-written, and will grab readers from the first chapter. The characters are well-developed, and Detective Gina Hart is likeable and a character with human flaws that many readers will be able to sympathize with. It’s always nice to find a character that seems like a real person, and Gina Hart is one who will be believable and likeable through the subsequent novels to come. Kovach has done a good job with the other characters in this novel, as well.

While some of the scenarios are a bit far-fetched, this is fiction, after all, and they fit with the storyline, which is good enough that this novel is one that is hard to put down. The twists and turns, as well as the building suspense will keep readers’ glued to their seats until everything is clarified at the end of the novel.

The Next Girl is well-organized and easy to follow. It doesn’t include graphic violence or language, but does have some adult situations. It is a good thriller, and will most likely be enjoyed by readers.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.