Spiking the Girl by Gabrielle Lord

Publisher's Synopsis

When Private Investigator Gemma Lincoln agrees to investigate a missing student from exclusive Netherleigh Park Ladies College, she finds herself drawn into a double murder case surrounded by a wall of silence. Gemma s best friend Detective Sergeant Angie McDonald helps, but Angie is overworked, unsupported by an incompetent superior officer, and crazy in love.

As Gemma searches for her half-sister and follows the last movements of the murdered girls, an anonymous email tips her off. She must get the tell-tale evidence, but will she survive this encounter and the malevolent hatred that s been following her?

My Review 

Gemma Lincoln never works on only one case at a time, the most refreshing thing about reading the books from this series is that a solid pace is maintained throughout thanks to the high workload she takes on. Effectively, there's always something happening and cases are being resolved at a high frequency. Common to each book is a major case that stands out from the smaller case and occupies the majority of Gemma's attention for the duration of the story. In Spiking the Girl this case involves the disappearance of first one and then a second schoolgirl from the exclusive Netherleigh Park Ladies' College.

Gemma is asked by her best friend and former partner in the police force, Detective Sergeant Angie McDonald for some help in following the case hoping that she might be able to add a new perspective to the search for the girls. Gemma can never resist a juicy case to take on and agrees to help out. Angie featured to a small extent in both of the first two books, but she is given a much greater role in Spiking the Girl both as a friend and as a police officer.

When a third girl from the school disappears the stakes are raised considerably as is the determination of both Gemma and Angie. Suddenly the clock is ticking on the case with fears that the number of victims may continue to grow if it isn't solved quickly.

While working on this major case, Gemma and her employees continually take on a series of smaller cases that range from the run of the mill surveillance jobs to some very off-beat requests by prospective clients adding a healthy splash of humour to an otherwise intense mood.

This is another solid thriller involving Gemma Lincoln but I did have a problem with one part of the story. The story opens with news that Gemma has just broken up with Steve, her undercover cop boyfriend of the past 2 books. This in itself isn't a problem and the fact that she dwells over the ending of the relationship isn't a problem either. In fact it simply makes Gemma appear more lifelike and prone to feelings that we all can identify with.

The problem is the number of times our attention is drawn to the break-up. We can barely go a couple of pages before it is mentioned again and I found the constant punctuations in the story particularly distracting. It was getting to the stage where the whole flow of the investigation was being disrupted and nothing was being added to further the story.

Once the heavy focus is taken away from the break-up and the investigation is in full swing, the pace roars along at a solid rate with phone calls, emails and visitors to the office demanding urgent attention that just can't wait. It's an engrossing mystery told in a straightforward, no-nonsense style that begs you to keep reading. As much as I don't really like the term, I'm tempted to use the phrase "page turner" to describe it.

While it is recommended that you first read the first 2 books of the series, for there are quite a few small references to incidents from these earlier books, Gabrielle Lord doesn't give away too much that would spoil these books for newcomers to the series. Equally, the returning characters are reintroduced, explaining their relationship to Gemma and making it possible to treat the book as a stand alone.

If you are looking for a thrilling private investigator series that features a strong female protagonist who is not exactly perfect, then Gabrielle Lord provides it with the Gemma Lincoln series. Spiking the Girl continues the development of Gemma and her little investigation business while providing an intriguing mystery into the bargain.