I finished the fourth in the series ‘Her Final Confession’ on Monday 29th July. I began reading this then and finished it on Tuesday 30th July. This series is addictive and the story is well thought out and explosive.

Synopsis (as taken from Amazon Kindle Store) is as follows:

Josie works until her arms ache, until the paramedics arrive and pull her gently away from the woman’s cold, fragile body. Noah’s voice cracks beside her as he calls the time of death for his own, beloved mother.

Arriving with her partner Noah for dinner at his family’s immaculate countryside home, Detective Josie Quinn is devastated to find Noah’s mother, Colette, lying lifeless in the back garden, her mouth clogged with soil.

Searching the house for answers, Josie’s team don’t know what to make of the rosary beads buried in the dirt near the body, or the hidden file labelled “Drew Pratt”, the small town of Denton’s most famous missing person.

As she delves deeper into Pratt’s case, Josie quickly discovers he had a brother whose body mysteriously washed up on the banks of a river. There’s also a diary entry suggesting that Colette may have met him on the last day he was seen alive. Can Josie believe the unthinkable, that a kind old soul like Colette might have been involved in their murders? And, will Josie’s new relationship with Noah survive the accusation?

Josie’s only hope lies in tracking down Pratt’s daughter. But when she arrives at her home to find she’s been murderer just minutes before, Josie knows the real killer is one step ahead and won’t stop until Colette’s secret is buried forever. With many more innocent lives on the line, how deep is Josie prepared to dig to reach the truth?

Ability to read – I read this straight off the bat of reading the fourth in the series and I found this one easy to get into and easy to understand. The plot made me curious and more inclined to spend time with the pages and find out what had happened. Lisa Regan’s books have an easy nature in them in that they’re easy to dive into and have become a good escape from reality, for me at least.

Characterisation – I am happy that the continued trend of having one character related to the crime at hand has continued. In the last book it was Gretchen and in this book it has been Noah. It was interesting to see a grieving Noah and see how he handled things because I had always viewed his character with affection and hope in terms of Josie and to see him act in a different way was both interesting and eye-opening. Josie handled his behaviour though the book with grace and courage and it was curious to see how the two of them dealt with the hardships and the events presented and managed to pull through. I felt I learnt a lot more about the characters without actually being given a lot more information about them. It was through their actions and how they interacted with other characters and the scene around them that I felt I got to know them better, rather than from information or description.

As there have now three books that focus on event centred around one character – ‘Her Mother’s Grave’ [Josie], ‘Her Final Confession’ [Gretchen], and ‘The Bones She Buried’ [Noah], – I’m interested to see what direction the sixth book will take.

Visualisation – As I read this off the back of the fourth book, everything was still fresh in my mind but beyond that I feel that I have spent enough time in this story universe to be well acquainted with what is happening to the characters and around them. With each book I read my imagination only gets stronger and my ability to visualise clearer.

Uniqueness – I found this book more compelling that book four. I was more invested in this story and more compelled to find the answers. Regan has the ability to draw me into both parts of the story. the present and the past, and drag me into her carefully thought out plot. I get a sense of excitement when I start reading one of her books and am always surprised at the turn taken and the final outcome. I felt that this book did its job in keeping me curious and surprised and entertained enough to want to keep reading. The plot is always fleshed out and curious in the way it explores what has happened in a language that doesn’t reveal the culprit ahead of time.

Star Rating – ★★★★★