Stolen Darlings

Detective Morgan Brookes, Book 10

By: Helen Phifer

Narrated by: Alison Campbell

The girl’s body is lying still and the crown of rare darling roses is perfectly positioned in her beautiful auburn hair. Morgan thinks she looks picture-perfect. Until she notices the blood dripping down one side of the boulder beneath her....

Following her colleague Ben up to Castlerigg Stone Circle, Detective Morgan Brookes is shocked at what she finds. A young woman has been killed, left on display at the top of the hill with a crown of roses on her head. As the team race to get the popular tourist spot cordoned off, Morgan hears the heartbroken sobs of the woman who found the body, as she identifies the victim as her best friend Cora Dalton.

Morgan can already see that Cora didn’t struggle when her throat was cut. There’s no blood on the beautiful white gown she was wearing, which means that Cora knew her killer. But everyone, including her boyfriend, Jay, has an alibi. As a local shopkeeper, Cora was a huge part of the community, and her neighbors are devastated to lose such a sweet soul.

Then Morgan’s team discover that a local photographer had arranged to meet Cora, and it’s clear from his messages that he chose her elegant white dress. Could their photoshoot have taken a sinister turn?

But when another body is found at another stone circle, wearing an identical flower crown, while the photographer is in custody, Morgan loses the only lead she has. Tracking down the florist who made the crown, Morgan pores over their records and realizes the killer purchased three circles of roses....

Certain another innocent life is at risk and with the killer already steps ahead, can Morgan find the connection between these girls before another life is stolen?

An unbelievably gripping new crime thriller in the Detective Morgan Brookes series. Fans of Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott, and Lisa Regan will be holding their breath as they race toward the epic final conclusion.

©2023 Helen Phifer (P)2023 Bookouture, an imprint of Storyfire Ltd.

Another Great one!!!

Love love loved it. I wish they could just keep going on instead of waiting for next book! Another great one

Another good addition to the series

A good story with interesting characters. Still Morgan goes off on her own. I wish she’d stop but it does work for the plot.

The audiobook is very well done by Alison Campbell.

I look forward to each new book. Now we wait for the next one.

Can’t wait for the next one

I listen to A LOT of British detective thrillers, and this series ranks up there with the best of them. Poor Morgan has been through the wringer. It’s not very believable that one person could have such terrible luck, but I am willing to suspend disbelief for these books. Also, the narration is a real pleasure to listen to.

Relationships

I so enjoy Phifer’s stories, but especially appreciate the affections, loyalties and fun between the characters.

Another Great Morgan Brooke’s Story

Another thrilling novel from Helen. Had me guessing until the very end. Loved hearing Morgan try to connect with her gut feelings.

Fun read, unsatisfactory ending

I really enjoy this series. It’s pretty light, overall, but still entertaining. I particularly enjoy the witchy, second sight, mystical elements of this series. This book had an interesting story going, but failed to fully capitalize. The ending came suddenly and was wrapped up in a few paragraphs in a very unsatisfactory way. I actually went back to re-listen to the last charter and the epilogue, feeling I had maybe missed something. When you’ve written an engaging story, please take the time to relish in the wrap-up and completely satisfy your readers. I feel the abrupt ending was a missed opportunity.