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Shattered Lives: A DCI Gerald Croft Thriller (DCI Gerald Croft Crime Thrillers Book 1) Kindle Edition
London-based Detective Chief Inspector Gerald Croft investigates a heinous case of rape, murder, and mutilation, but the obvious suspect turns out to have an alibi he cannot disprove. Soon, it is evident a serial killer is prowling the streets. Can DCI Croft identify and capture the psychopath, or will his next victim be terrifyingly close to home?
"An excellent thriller from a very talented author.” John Nicholl, best-selling author of Killing Evil and the DI Gravel series.
"“Sensational and Spine-Chilling.” Readers’ Favorite
“A gripping tale that will hold your heart in a vise." Readers’ Favorite
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateAugust 4, 2021
- File size3.8 MB
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From the Publisher
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Filled with drama and foreboding, Shattered Lives: A DCI Gerald Croft Thriller by Sarah Stuart is a heart-stopping murder mystery. It is an intense story that takes the reader on a ride of horror and suspense. The apprehension and intensity continue building throughout the plot, snowballing into a climactic and shocking finish. I read it with bated breath and could not put the book down until I reached the final page. It is a sensational story with a clever plot and intriguing characters with realistic personalities, both good and bad. Containing gruesome murder scenes filled with blood and gore, Shattered Lives is a riveting novel for mature audiences that will engage any reader who loves spine-tingling thrillers.
Deadly Envy by Sarah Stuart is one of the best thrillers I have ever read. Each chapter tells the story of a different character, introducing you to them and drip-feeding their backstories throughout the book. All the characters are well-developed to the point where you feel like you know them; you'll even find yourself rooting for one of the baddies. It's a busy story and there are lots of subplots going on but they do all tie in together nicely. The suspense builds throughout this expertly written tale and you won't put it down, desperate to know what happens next and how it all ends - you won't be disappointed. Highly recommended to anyone who likes crime thrillers and wants a suspenseful, action-packed plot to test their skills of deduction.
This third book in the series by Sarah Stuart is the best yet! The series has grown from the first book, and each one is more exciting and thrilling than the last. While you could probably read Cruel Duplicity as a standalone book, I would urge you to read the series from the start to truly get to know the main characters. All the characters are well-developed, and the main protagonist grows with the series and gains strength with each book. This is a thrilling, edge-of-your-seat read with plenty of twists and turns along the way to keep you on your toes. You’ll be on Croft’s side all the way through, rooting for good over evil, and this book will keep you hooked right to the very end. It's a fantastic series, and I sincerely hope there’s more to come.
Product details
- ASIN : B09BZJB9HT
- Publisher : (August 4, 2021)
- Publication date : August 4, 2021
- Language : English
- File size : 3.8 MB
- Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 335 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #244,959 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #3,322 in Serial Killer Thrillers
- #4,367 in Police Procedurals (Kindle Store)
- #5,059 in Crime Thrillers (Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
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Sarah Stuart lives in County Durham, North-East England, but London is her "second home". She loves the theatre - musicals, plays, opera, and ballet - and her knowledge of England's capital shows in the background of her books.
The Royal Command Family Saga series is based on Sarah's experience of supplying dogs for the stage, which brought her into contact with producers, directors, wannabe actors, and stars of stage and screen.
The Christian Richard and Maria Trilogy was written to show faith and closed bedroom doors are no bar to fast-paced stories. Sarah acknowledges her debt to Paul Tait, an American composer and performer. for permission to use his song lyrics.
Sarah Stuart's first crime thriller was written with the generous help of John Nicholl, best-selling author of psychological thrillers. He had read her romantic suspense novels and suggested this was the next logical step. Always up for a challenge, Sarah created the world of DCI Gerald Croft in the fictional London Borough of Garton.
Sarah donates her royalties to wildlife charities worldwide, and to rescue shelters for abandoned pets. Her own rescue dogs hold a special place in her home and in her heart.
Customer reviews
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- Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2021“Shattered Lives: A DCI Croft Thriller” by acclaimed author Sarah Stuart is exactly that; a thriller from start to finish.
Unlike many though, we as readers are privy to who the killer is from the start. We know his motives and his purposeful selection of victims. Intelligent, this first time killer leaves few clues for our protagonist DCI Croft, who must assume the standard police protocols when dealing with a homicide. That the new born killer has gotten a taste for the kill quickly ups the body count.
See, the killer has a target but it proves to be elusive. He knows a name, but not much else. He, like the police inspector, must employ detective methods to track down his quarry. It becomes a race between the two! DCI Croft having not only to find the intended victim before it is too late but the killer as well!
Sarah Stuart pulls no punches in this harrowing take of greed, pedophilia, and murder. Some readers may have to stop at times to process what transpires. This is all credit to Ms. Stuarts writing style. She creates a world and locks you into it. To say this is a page turner would be cliché, but 100% accurate.
In addition, the book is filled with marvelously developed characters who make up the lives of the detective and the killer. Each has their own tale to tell woven expertly into the bigger picture.
Seeing “A DCI Croft Thriller” is part of the title leads me to believe we will see this compelling character in future books by Sarah Stuart!
- Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2021This story is not for the squeamish or faint of heart. It is a thriller and it's intense. While it is totally fiction, it is also chillingly realistic. Ralph Thyme is only twenty, but an addicted gambler and sole heir to his grandmother's large estate. At least that's what he thought until he finds a diary entry written in his grandfather's hand. He has a sister. Now, he must find her and eliminate her, because he will not share the inheritance with anyone. That is his motivation to begin a killing spree. Unfortunately for many victims, he keeps killing the wrong Olivia.
DCI Gerald Croft is working overtime to catch this killer, but unfortunately, he keeps arresting the wrong men.
The story unfolds multiple plots simultaneously. Sophia suffered child sexual abuse at the hands of her parents from the time she was a baby. She's so damaged, she cannot tolerate a man being near her. But when she sees the same terrified and desperate look in the eyes of Mark Nicholl's child, she cannot stand idly by and let the little girl suffer the same abuse that she did.
DCI Croft has a difficult family situation, with a special needs child. He is torn between family and work.
Ralph Thyme discovers, once he's killed his first victim, that he enjoys it and even craves it. The author did a superb job of letting us inside his demented psyche.
She also included BDSM, an interracial marriage, pedophiles, and graphic violence in the story. As I said, it is not for the faint of heart, but if you like a good thriller that will keep you turning pages, you will enjoy this cat and mouse chase between the killer and the detective. The book has a satisfying conclusion.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2021This is one whopping tangle of a tale. Nor does it begin where you think it does. The greedy, ready to do anything to further his agenda vile twit didn't start the ball rolling. No, the first generation set the stage for the horror to come. I must admit to having times when I wanted to tell DCI Croft to get rid of his tunnel vision. But for the most part he is a person with feelings which sometimes get in the way. Be prepared to spend time reading this one.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2021This is a twisting, turning labyrinth of a thriller. Step inside the mind of a murderer who becomes addicted to the kill and his twisted games of cat and mouse. What starts as an act of greed soon becomes a dark obsession. The characters are all deep and complex, struggling with their own issues and past horrors. The story is fast-paced, intense and wrought with a twisting plot. If you enjoy deep, disturbing story lines as I do, this one is not to be missed.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2022A well-constructed thriller which illustrates the scenes of violent misdeeds from both the killer’s point of view and that of the detective tasked with solving the crimes. The author has succeeded in achieving a balance which ought to appeal to most readers which is important if multiple viewpoints are to be attempted in this genre.
Sarah Stuart, better known for her romance novels, has created the story by detailing a number of relationships. including the domestic background of the murderer, and the detective. I don’t believe that the intention was to shock, although apart from murder, the topics covered include abuse, and rape—one of the worst manifestations of violence.
This is a credible first appearance for DCI Gerald Croft and provides the author with a realistic and fallible character to be kept busy by attempting to solve many more crimes.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2021This first book in the DCI Croft series by multi-award winning author, Sarah Stuart, is a stunner. I should mention that the story revolves around explicit sexual themes and may not appeal to everyone, but it is an excellent detective story. This is a fast-paced book, with DCI Croft racing to catch a possible serial murderer before any more women are killed. With multiple side-stories and great characters, it is a real page-turner.
I have no doubt that the next book in the series will be eagerly awaited
Top reviews from other countries
- PeteyReviewed in the United Kingdom on May 20, 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars A Detective Novel that delivers everything it promises
If you like gripping immersive detective novels with strong characters and engaging plot-lines "Shattered Lives" is for you. Ralph’s journey from greedy, immature layabout to serial killer is traced in vivid detail and the relentless progress of the investigation and the impact of work on family and family on work set against it. There is a strong theme of how exploitation of the vulnerable damages people throughout their life and repeats itself from generation to generation. Readers should be aware that the novel contains repeated graphic scenes of violent, sadistic rape and paedophilia.
The theme that gripped me most in this is the simultaneous vulnerability and strength of the female characters, damaged by parents and husbands, but fighting back successfully and confronting the devils within themselves. Fast-moving and set in a realistic London with a well-sketched background and convincing procedure this is a detective novel that delivers everything it promises.
- Sandra JacksonReviewed in Canada on February 1, 2022
4.0 out of 5 stars A Dark and Explicit Psychological Thriller
Ralph Thyme has just found out he has an older sister, Olivia, who was adopted at birth. He hires a private investigator to track her down but not because he wants to have a relationship with her but because he wants to kill her. Afterall Olivia stands to inherit half of their grandmother’s fortune, and Ralph wants it all to himself. After killing the wrong Olivia, Ralph develops a taste for murder and rape.
Detective Croft has a mystery to solve as murdered and mutilated bodies lead him on the hunt to catch a serial killer. But will he discover who is behind these gruesome killings and will Ralph Thyme find and kill his sister?
Sarah Stuart pens an interesting tale in Shattered Lives. I enjoyed this book and with every murder, hoped Ralph Thyme would soon be caught. He is despicable, though there are a couple of other characters who, while they didn’t commit murder, were just as heinous. The author did a fine job sketching out these evil characters.
I did find that it’s not the sort of story where you want your mind to wander for even a second, especially during dialogue. There are no dialogue tags which sometimes lead me to rereading a sentence or two in order to understand who was speaking, which ultimately slowed the pace. I also found the use of single quotation marks to indicate dialogue difficult to spot, as it seemed to blend in with the text at times, and I really had to pay attention.
If you enjoy psychological thrillers, give this one a try. But be aware that this story does include detailed descriptions of murder and rape and also deals with the trauma of pedophilia, and may be triggering for some readers.
- LittleenglanderReviewed in the United Kingdom on September 15, 2021
4.0 out of 5 stars A good read
This is a well thought-out plot, with a serious underlying theme, and had obviously been thoroughly researched. It is not the sort of book I normally read, preferring travelogues and historical novels, but I was hooked, in spite of some fairly gruesome passages, and wanted to know just how the villain would be brought to account. It is a good read.
- Simon R.Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 1, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Step by step…
Fabulous read!
So involving to read how process and police procedure is followed, even when it leads down the wrong cul-de-sac, up another blind alley, to another wrong conclusion. The weight of evidence, the statistics, the only possible scenario… arrest that man! But wait a moment… what about that? Why would she do that?
Come on Croft, get it wrong and someone dies, so get it right.
Plod, plod, plod. Just so much to do and not enough time or detail. Plod, plod, plod. Always catching up. And always the innocent that make the mistakes. Even the blues and twos can’t get there in time, even if you knew where there was, always chasing shadows. And Christmas doesn’t help. Better arrest that man!
A fabulous cast of characters, all with issues, all with foibles, all with mysteries. So much to hide. But real, no ‘gut feelings’, just process and procedure to sort it all out. Don’t be sidetracked by the dogs or the innocents, keep your eye on the main goal, follow procedure. It’s just that there’s an awful lot to sort out and not long to sort it out. Murder doesn’t take long, and more murders muddy the waters. Come on Croft, plod, plod, plod. They say that murderers always make mistakes. Plod, plod, plod.
- R. CoulsonReviewed in the United Kingdom on August 7, 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, what a roller coaster that was!
Wow, what a roller coaster that was! DCI Croft is thrown into the middle of a murderous and perverted killing spree as bodies of young women are found raped and strangled.
He doesn’t know Ralph Thyme is determined to eliminate any claim on the inheritance he believes is rightfully his. And like Olivia Sophia, he has no idea she was sold at birth to the father who sexually abused her. But what is the connection? Can Croft put together the pieces of the puzzle before Thyme finds and eliminates his ‘final’ victim.
This isn’t a story for the faint-hearted; the scenes are graphic, the struggles real, but it’s a story of victims and survivors and their determination to forge a future in very different ways, whatever the cost. Yes, even the awful Thyme is a victim as well as a murderer.
The courage Sophia shows in order to save the daughter of a stranger from the same abuse she suffered is extraordinary and compelling. Could you or I have done what she did? I doubt it.
The writing is superb, evocative, tender, thrilling, revolting, chilling… all these things and more. I have read and enjoyed both Ms Stuart’s steamy and cosy romance series, and she has taken a brave step into a new genre for which she is to be commended – a difficult subject handled extremely well. I look forward to reading many more DCI Croft books.