D. I. Kelly Porter is at the trial for Ian Burton. Her ex-boyfriend Johnny is the main witness for his case. When Kelly gets a call that there is a major incident happening on the peaks of the Lake District. During a race on the fells a helicopter has crashed and killed and injured many of the runners taking part. Kelly and Johnny race to the scene of the accident to help anyway they can. The book begins with the discovery of human remains in the dried-up edges of one of the Lake District's stunning lakes, revealed due to falling water levels as a result of a hot summer. This gives Kelly the opportunity to solve a cold case - one which soon transpires to be a lot closer to home than she could have foreseen. Of course, in true Lynch style, the body count doesn't stay too low for long and Kelly finds herself investigating the far more recent murder of an old school pal. And with intriguing characters and a beautiful setting. This is a series I want to read more off, and it's a story I would happily recommend to others. I enjoyed protagonist Major Helen Scott. She is intelligent and tough and very human as you learn about her personal life. Ms. Lynch does a great job of writing Grant Tennyson into the story as a male counterpart to Helen who does not take over as a savior or diminish Helen’s strength and talent. The past and current family interactions between Khalil and Fawaz add a depth to the story and to the international intrigue. Kelly’s first case involves ten-year-old Lottie Davies, a girl who is abducted, abused, and later brutally murdered. This case shakes this town to its core, and the local community is curious to know what the detectives unravel. Kelly is also following up on the case of a robbery after the death of Colin Day, a local businessman and an illegal immigrant. While the cases seem unrelated, Kelly discovers a web connecting these and other criminal activities that have gone unreported. The more Kelly threatens the crime network, the more her life is threatened by those who would do anything to bury the truth.

DI Kelly Porter has lived her whole life in the Lake District, apart from a brief spell with the Met, so it isn't unusual for her to know some of those involved in her cases, but her latest investigation is taking this to a whole new level. In the middle of a spell of hot, dry weather, local water levels are getting dangerously low with nearby Thirlmere Reservoir gradually revealing some of its secrets,D I Kelly Porter now in court where the trial of Ian Burton from the storyline of the previous book is taking place. This was the case that caused Kelly and Jonny to break up. As the jury go out for deliberations both Kelly and Jonny receive calls – it’s the helicopter crash – they will both be needed for their advanced first aid skills. They rush off together minds focused on what they will encounter up the mountain. I would like to thank Netgalley and Canelo for an advance copy of The Rift, a stand-alone thriller set in France and North Africa.

Pros – The prologue grabs you from the start. Strong female lead, good level of mystery and surprise around some of the victims, suspects. The team is close knit, and I like the way their personal lives are part of the story. It makes the characters more human.I loved this police procedural. I was gripped from start to finish. The clues that pull the investigators in one direction, then a better clue to another. The skeleton is identified as Brian, former classmate as well. Kelly's father - or the man she thought was her biological father, had investigated the disappearance of Brian, and never solved it. Kelly discovers that her hero had feet of clay, and it devastated her. Kelly was a good girl in school she stayed away from the cool kids, she kept her head down and did not rub people up the wrong way yet she remained approachable and knew when the cool kids went bad. This is the eleventh in Rachel Lynch's excellent series and a brilliant addition. The case this time gives more insight into Kelly's past and how her classmates saw her. I found this a fascinating part of the storyline, which made me like Kelly even more. The research undertaken by the author shone brightly throughout and added another level to this first-class read, which will leave everyone desperate for book twelve. The case spins on the discovery that some people are not letting on to know as much as they originally suggested. From the teacher, Mr. Thompson who hangs out with children at the weekend and may or may not been a drug supplier to those same pupils to Michelle the owner of a Holiday camp who took pity upon a local no-good Jason Cooper.