Blackbird

Hart's Ridge, Book 9

By: Kay Bratt

Narrated by: Mare Trevathan

In the small town of Hart's Ridge, a recent tragedy leaves the tight-knit community reeling.

In Blackbird, the highly anticipated ninth installment of the Hart's Ridge small-town mystery series, Deputy Taylor Gray finds herself supporting a colleague through a painful journey of letting go.

Meanwhile, a young woman and her children must flee from her abusive ex-partner, seeking refuge and safety. Deputy Gray becomes entangled in their plight, blurring the lines between duty and personal conviction.

Blackbird masterfully intertwines these dual plot lines, exploring the complexities of small-town life and the resilience of its residents. Brace yourself for an exhilarating journey to the heart of Hart's Ridge—a ride that promises to captivate listeners until the final word.

©2024 Kay Bratt (P)2024 Podium Audio

Plot twists!

Love the dual story lines. Always eager to find out what’s next! You won’t want to put it down.

WHAT HAPPENED TO LYDIA?!?! (A BIG “SHAME ON YOU AUDIBLE”)!!!

Another EXCELLENT book in this series! Everyone in the family is finding their place in life, and life is good.

Work is still busy and tumultuous for Deputy Taylor Gray-Stone, who is now working in her free time with her fellow deputy, Caleb Grimes, to continue the search for his missing wife, Lydia. After a full year of searching and not finding a single clue as to what happened to Lydia, the FBI and other officials (including his own sheriff’s department) are forced close Lydia’s case in order to focus human resources and funding to other cases.

Caleb knows down to his bones that Lydia is still alive SOMEWHERE, and after some searching with Taylor, Taylor is beginning to think he’s right. Eventually they find an empty house with the space that until very recently held Lydia, but is now empty. Norman Bennett, successful lawyer by day, cruel survival extremist when not at the office, has taken Lydia and he’s on the move with her.

Deputy Taylor Gray-Stone is also helping someone named Allison (she was introduced in a different book in this series as a brand new mother with no husband, no money and a baby who is throwing up and has diarrhea). Called out to Allison’s apartment on a noise disturbance, she holds the baby and instructs Allison to take a long, hot shower. While Allison is in the shower, Taylor cleans up the baby, starts a load of laundry and does the dishes.

For the next year and a half, every once in a while, Taylor remembers Allison and her baby and wonders how they are. One afternoon, Taylor stops in at a Dollar Store for a cold drink, and there, right in front of her, is Allison, her two-year-old daughter AND a brand new little boy.

Circumstances have not changed for Allison. Her life is still a disaster, only now she has a second baby and the father of this baby is abusive.

Much of the story goes back and forth between Taylor and Caleb and Taylor helping Allison. Allison finds her estranged father in Tennessee who is willing to take her in. There, she gets to know his second family and she gets answers to the questions she’s always wanted to know: “Why didn’t you love me? Why did you leave me behind and never look back?”

Life there is going well for about a month — until the abusive boyfriend Wyatt, finds Allison and her children…

The book ends rather abruptly leaving readers wondering WHAT HAPPENED TO LYDIA?!?!

It is SOOOOO aggravating to me to buy the first ten books in this series and find out THAT’S it!!! I AM SO MAD. There SHOULD have been answers to the Lydia story since more than half of THIS book is devoted to her situation and was not resolved. There are also a few hints about Taylor not feeling well generally, being extra tired and a bit queasy now and then (hint, hint). Then, THAT’S IT?! I spent close to $160 buying this series and there’s NO WRAP-UP?!

That didn’t seem right to me. After fuming for a few hours, I went online and discovered there ARE TWO MORE BOOKS IN THIS SERIES!

The first is called, “Hello, Little Girl,” published in July, 2024; the second being, “So This is Christmas” (the final in the series of 12 books.

WHY DOESN’T AUDIBLE CARRY THE FINAL TWO BOOKS?! If they are going to sell the first 10, they SHOULD sell the last two in the series!!!

To be fair, I did find the last two books on Amazon, Good Reads and a few others sites, but NONE of the sites carry the books in listening form, which is a problem for me as I have very low vision. Even if I didn’t have low vision, after HEARING the rest of the series, and associating a VOICE with Taylor and some other characters, it would seem (to me) less of an experience “just reading” the books without audio.

WHAT A LET DOWN thinking I may never know what happens in the last two books. I’m very sad — I do rationally know these are characters in books, but after 10 books following these characters, they feel like friends.💕

Great writing/poor reading

Love the author the plot development and writing. The narrator is overly dramatic and annoying. Interferes with the well written prose.

Absolutely wonderful storyline

Kay did it again. I absolutely love the characters and they have been well established.
I love how Kay included Ladybug and Book Nook in the storyline!!!
I call all the authors I know Ladybug because they are so strong and beautiful. Memaw's litl's has a Book nook under the stairs at my home. I tell you its like going home when Kay writes about characters.
I can't wait to get the next novel in the series. I have them all and I love to revisit them all the time.

Keep up the excellent work.

X

I usually lov this series so much but it
Was aggravating that the story ended so abruptly!