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Martina Monroe #1

Lo que ella dejó: Un thriller criminal lleno de giros (Los Casos de Martina Monroe nº 1)

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¡Imprescindible para quienes aman los mejores personajes, el suspense y los thrillers criminales más adictivos!

Martina Monroe ha tocado fondo. Degradada a seguir a maridos infieles y estafadores de poca monta, su prometedora carrera como detective privada está al borde del colapso tras un arresto por conducir ebria que arruinó su reputación.

Cuando un misterioso cliente pide por ella para descubrir la identidad de un bebé en una vieja foto familiar, Martina ve su oportunidad de redención. Pero hay un para resolver el caso tendrá que volver al lugar al que juró no regresar jamá su ciudad natal.

De vuelta en una ciudad que guarda más secretos de los que ella dejó atrás, Martina pronto descubre que la foto es solo la punta de un iceberg mortal. Los cadáveres empiezan a acumularse, cada uno acercándola a una verdad enterrada durante demasiado tiempo.

Con la ayuda del detective August Hirsch, un policía duro y decidido, Martina deberá enfrentarse a un laberinto de mentiras, traiciones olvidadas y un asesino despiadado que no se detendrá ante nada para mantener el pasado enterrado.

A medida que aumentan los riesgos y su propia historia oscura vuelve para atormentarla, Martina se enfrenta a una elección resolver el caso y enfrentarse a sus demonios… o convertirse en la próxima víctima de un juego letal que nunca supo que estaba jugando.

Lo que ella dejó es el primer libro de una serie trepidante de thrillers de misterio protagonizada por la detective privada Martina Monroe y el detective August Hirsch de la brigada de casos sin resolver. Si te gustan las historias con juegos peligrosos, giros impactantes y suspense que te mantiene pegado a la página, te encantará la serie de Martina Monroe.

289 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 15, 2021

4321 people are currently reading
9954 people want to read

About the author

H.K. Christie

54 books448 followers
H. K. Christie watched horror films far too early in life. Inspired by the likes of Stephen King, Jodi Picoult, true crime podcasts, and a vivid imagination she now writes suspenseful thrillers. When not working on her latest novel, she can be found eating & drinking with friends, walking around the lakes, or playing with her favorite furry pal. 
She is a native and current resident of the San Francisco Bay Area. 


The MARTINA MONROE series featuring Private Investigator Martina Monroe and her unofficial partner, Detective August Hirsch of the Cold Case Squad, is a nail-bing crime thriller series full of suspense. If you like high-stakes games, jaw-dropping twists, and embattled seekers struggling to do right, then you’ll love the thrilling Martina Monroe series.

The SELENA BAILEY series is a collection of suspenseful stories detailing one young woman's turbulent path to becoming a top-notch, kick-ass private investigator. If you like thrilling twists, dark tension, and smart and driven women, then you’ll love this new dark thriller series. A Permanent Mark is a suspenseful murder mystery featuring a grown-up Selena Bailey.

www.authorhkchristie.com

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5 stars
3,237 (42%)
4 stars
2,708 (35%)
3 stars
1,272 (16%)
2 stars
292 (3%)
1 star
64 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 382 reviews
Profile Image for Megan.
658 reviews39 followers
Read
October 18, 2023
Did not finish
I’m sure it’s a lovely book to read, but the audiobook narrator has the most monotone voice, I couldn’t handle it. I mean, I’ve listened to around 175 books this year and I’ve never heard one with this boring of a voice. Sorry!
Profile Image for Carol.
3,761 reviews137 followers
April 19, 2022
Martina is a widowed single parent struggling with alcoholism and the need to show the people that she works for that she can still do her job. It's the first book in a new series...but I understand that the character is built on a character in another series by this author. All of the characters were so flawed that it actually gave them creditability. The story was interesting and was built around a captivating idea. If you like stories with secrets, mystery, suspense, and danger then this will probably be something you would enjoy.
Profile Image for Emily Stephens .
44 reviews
December 26, 2023
Welllllll I finished this book in a day so I’d say it was pretty good!! I’ll be reading the rest of the crime thriller series written by her.
136 reviews1 follower
July 28, 2024
Couldn’t decide if it was AI written ( poor editing ), AI narrated ( really think so) or both.
Profile Image for Lyndey.
70 reviews1 follower
February 5, 2024
Maybe I’m being too critical, but this read like knock off brand John Grisham. Poorly written and unsurprising. I honestly can’t believe this is a series.
Profile Image for Travis.
633 reviews11 followers
December 23, 2023
The story was decent, but the dialogue is very clunky and there are some persistent grammar issues that keep things from flowing smoothly. I doubt I'll read any more in the series.
Profile Image for Stacy.
382 reviews9 followers
January 3, 2023
This is my first book by this author. It was a great read. I loved the story & look forward to continuing the series!

Martina Monroe is a private investigator and recovering alcoholic. She’s been chasing cheating spouses and insurance fraud but longs to get a case with more challenge. When she is directly requested by a client, she may get her wish.

An ex-classmate is chasing a mystery. Her mother recently passed away and a photo was found of her holding a baby. She is hiring Martina to look into the mystery. Can she solve it?

As she searches for the truth, Martina is confronted with her hometown and the case of her missing best friend from high school. Will she finally find the truth about what happened to her all those years ago?

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Mirjam.
33 reviews
June 8, 2024
This had such potential but I just did not like the writing style. It was very “amateurish” (sorry to say as I am no author) but the way this was written wasn’t really fluid. It was a good concept and it is the first in a series so I might give the second one a go to see how the writing style develops.
Profile Image for Catbytheseareads ♡.
804 reviews76 followers
December 6, 2022
Amazing book, great read.
It was so good that I read it in a day! I loved and connected with the characters. My predictions were spot on but... only towards the end, it has you spinning and guessing but not early on.

Thank you to Amazon Prime for the free e-book.
Profile Image for Stacy.
382 reviews9 followers
January 3, 2023
This is my first book by this author. It was a great read. I loved the story & look forward to continuing the series!

Martina Monroe is a private investigator and recovering alcoholic. She’s been chasing cheating spouses and insurance fraud but longs to get a case with more challenge. When she is directly requested by a client, she may get her wish.

An ex-classmate is chasing a mystery. Her mother recently passed away and a photo was found of her holding a baby. She is hiring Martina to look into the mystery. Can she solve it?

As she searches for the truth, Martina is confronted with her hometown and the case of her missing best friend from high school. Will she finally find the truth about what happened to her all those years ago?

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Jessica Wilczynski.
459 reviews5 followers
August 29, 2025
Martina Monroe is a private investigator who is working lackluster cases after an incident nine months ago where she almost lost everything. When a perspective new client requests her by name she is eager to take a more exciting case. The client Kennedy is actually an acquaintance from her childhood who needs help with finding the identity of a baby in a picture with her late mother. When she starts investigating she soon realizes that this case is way bigger than she could have imagined. Detective August Hirsch and Martins team up to help one another with the interconnected cases. When she starts to receive threats to her and her daughter she is determined to solve this case.

This is the first book in a series and I really enjoyed the story and the characters. I really enjoyed the multiple points of view throughout the book and I look forward to continuing the series!
Profile Image for Stephanie Spain.
162 reviews
October 9, 2024
The writing was atrocious. Everything was spelled out. I believe a direct quote(at least close enough) was “I leaned forward with my elbows on my knees. Then I leaned backward and crossed my arms.”

The story was fine. It didn’t blow me away or anything. People are complaining about the narrator on the audiobook, but I think she was just working with what she had.

I don’t think I’ll continue on with the series.
January 4, 2024
My first read of 2024 was a great read will definitely read the other 10 books in this cold case thriller series Martina Monroe is such an inspiration a woman of power to show that recovery after alcoholism can happen to get your life back on track a working mum with a great work ethic to bring justice to those families the first book being a cold case on her very own childhood best friend .
7 reviews
Read
February 16, 2025
H.K. Christie paints a main character with Martina that is not infallible which is a nice pace for a female lead. I love reading about strong female characters, but I want them to be relatable too. The story was a good launching point adding background but not spending most of the book world building. The mystery was interesting and keep me engaged.
Profile Image for Tayler Bell.
82 reviews3 followers
December 31, 2023
This is without a doubt the best book of this genre I have ever read. I bought it because someone on TikTok said it had SVU vibes and it did NOT disappoint. I cannot wait to read the rest of the series.
Profile Image for Books_n_critters.
305 reviews2 followers
March 2, 2024
This was a great book! I really like Martina, and the developing friendship between her and Detective Hirsch was great. The pace of the story was nice and steady and then some serious bombs drop toward the end. Just a great read. I'm looking forward to more books in this series!
Profile Image for Lynne Moffatt.
6 reviews
March 24, 2024
I wasn’t sure whether to give this book 3 or 4 stars, I initially found it hard to get into but stuck with it and the story line did get better to the point I wanted to keep reading and to find out what happens, I would definitely read more from the series.
Profile Image for Katherine.
19 reviews
February 1, 2025
Well written with likeable main characters. Their personal struggles and complicated relationships give them realistic personalities and interesting back stories, without detracting from the main mysteries of the plot. Very easy to read, despite covering some dark subjects.
250 reviews5 followers
November 1, 2025
3.5/5

A good police procedural.. Nice plot.. A few grammatical errors though. A quick read. Being the first book in the series, the author spent quite a few pages to establish the main character and I was going to put it down but persevered... Finally it got interesting after about 17%...
Profile Image for Susan DuCharme.
243 reviews
October 3, 2023
It was an ok read. There was only one little twist. Not very suspenseful. I will give the next book in the series a try.
Profile Image for Marie Wikle.
376 reviews9 followers
November 22, 2023
This explosive thriller grabbed me from the first chapter! I am excited to continue through the entire series.

Love love love!!
Profile Image for tei hurst.
318 reviews6 followers
December 31, 2023
if august and martina were little barbie and ken dolls just know i would be making them kiss
Profile Image for Connie F5.0.
312 reviews2 followers
February 4, 2024
Baby, politics,family secrets and murder. It was predictable. 🤷🏽‍♀️
Profile Image for Victoria Simon.
9 reviews1 follower
March 28, 2024
I finished this book in less than a day if that tells y’all anything😂
Profile Image for BxerMom.
961 reviews14 followers
July 20, 2024
Great book. Will read the rest in the series. Likable characters.
Profile Image for Amypeterson14.
112 reviews1 follower
October 31, 2024
There was nothing exciting about this book. Just seemed to be over explained. Good and interesting story line, just the parts that were supposed to be surprises really weren’t.
Profile Image for Claire.
72 reviews
July 16, 2025
It was an ok read, if she mentioned she was an alcoholic once she mentioned it a 100 times, did we need to know this... no. The twist was good.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 382 reviews

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