For Crime's Sake: When True Crime Kills

by Carla Howatt

True Crime was her life until it killed her.

When well-known true crime YouTuber Natalie Baker, host of 'For Crime's Sake,' is found dead, her sister Rebecca has a lot of questions for the local Sheriff. Questions he doesn't want to answer.

 

Did she get too close to her cold case?

The Sheriff insists her sister died in a double suicide, but why was it no one had ever seen her with the man she was supposed to love? At least not until their bodies were found on the floor of her home. 

And how was her death related to a missing baby named Sarah Jane Montgomery?

 

A psychological thriller that is guaranteed to have you questioning reality.

186 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 3, 2023

Reviews

[Timothy Baldwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

When her sister Natalie dies in what appears to be a double suicide, Rebecca heads to the town her sister has been living and posting the-crime YouTube videos with quite the following. But everything isn’t as they appear. Refusing to let the case simple close, Rebecca’s delves deep into the world her sister has been living in. And what she finds proves to be a danger to herself and the people around her. Away from her workaholic husband who demands she return right away, she simply can’t leave him, especially since he shows no empathy toward the death of his sister in law. As pieces to a human trafficking case begin to fall into place, Rebecca continues to find herself much deeper in danger than she could have ever imagined. But she pursues the truth and receives the help she needs as a result.

Author Carla Howatt weaves a remarkable story throughout this little novel. Though more than a few editing errors are present, they don’t hinder the story at all. However, the plot could have been a little tighter.

[Yuxiao Chen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an engaging and interesting read. The plot is fresh and the characters are full and real - even the dead Natalie who didn't say a word (for apparent reasons) but was portrayed nicely in others' memories. There are some cliffhangers that made it hard to be put down, and some little details that makes it feel like a real story. Could be even better with some more editing, as some of the sentences read a bit awkwardly and took me out of the story sometimes, and there were also some details that didn't quite match. But overall it's defintely a story worth reading!

[Julie Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given a review copy of this book and I enjoyed it because it had a good plot and believable characters.

When her sister dies, Rebecca isn't convinced about the reasons and digs deeper.

I didn't like the sheriff, who seemed the typical lazy cop nor the husband but they added interest to the story.

Overall, this book had an easy writing style with a good sense of place.

Worth a look.

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have things you need to do don't start this book! You need to be completely free when you start because this book will steal you away from reality of life!