What She Left

Martina Monroe #1

by H.K. Christie

She’s on her last chance. When the bodies start piling up, she’ll need to save more than her job.

Martina Monroe is a single bad day away from losing it all. Stuck catching insurance fraudsters and cheating spouses due to a DUI, the despondent PI yearns to return to more fulfilling gigs. So when a prospective client asks for her by name to identify an unknown infant in a family photo, she leaps at the opportunity and travels to the one place she swore never to go: back home.

As the pressure mounts and the temptation of booze calls like a siren, Martina digs into the mystery and discovers many of the threads have razor-sharp ends. And forced to partner with a resentful detective investigating a linked suspicious death, the haunted private eye unravels clues that delve deep into her past… and put her in a dark and dangerous corner.

Can Martina and Detective Hirsch unlock the truth before they’re drowned in a sea of secrets?

What She Left is the first book in the nail-biting thriller series starring Private Investigator Martina Monroe and Detective August Hirsch of the Cold Case Squad. If you love stories with high-stakes games, jaw-dropping twists, embattled seekers struggling to do right, and suspense that will keep you on the edge of your seat, you'll love the Martina Monroe series.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook, Crime, Ebooks

498 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 15, 2021

About the author

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

Reviews

[Megan]

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!

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Emily Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Sherry Stacey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn’t decide if it was AI written ( poor editing ), AI narrated ( really think so) or both.

[Lyndey · Rating 1 out of 5]

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.

[angelpompom · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I liked it, the writing wasn’t flowing well in some places. I like Hirsch more than Monroe right now. I just don’t see a big development in her especially after her rock bottom. In his POV you can hear his feelings but Monroe is more boring and monotone like in her head.

[Travis · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Kurryreads (Kerry) · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT2LkBMQG/

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Mirjam · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Catbytheseareads ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Mary Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast read but wasn’t many twists as I had hoped.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Jessica Wilczynski · Rating 4 out of 5]

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!

[Stephanie Spain · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[˚₊‧ ❀ ‧₊ Michelle Bell ₊‧ ❀ ‧₊˚ · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 .

[Callie Stull]

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.

[Tayler Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Books_n_critters · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!

[Lynne Moffatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Jawahar Surti · Rating 3 out of 5]

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%...

[Susan DuCharme · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Marie Wikle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This explosive thriller grabbed me from the first chapter! I am excited to continue through the entire series.

Love love love!!

[tei hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

if august and martina were little barbie and ken dolls just know i would be making them kiss

[Connie F5.0 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baby, politics,family secrets and murder. It was predictable. 🤷🏽‍♀️

[Victoria Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book in less than a day if that tells y’all anything😂

[BxerMom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Will read the rest in the series. Likable characters.

[Taya Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literally could not put it down. Good quick read!

[Amypeterson14 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.