Hart's Ridge Series by Kay Bratt ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

Have you discovered Kay Bratt's mystery series Hart's Ridge? If not now is the time to get started. There are 10 books available with the final book scheduled for Christmas time. If you are a Prime member, you can read the first ebook for free. Kindle Unlimited subscribers can read the whole series for free!

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for honest reviews.

Hart's Ridge

December 2022;  Red Thread; 978-1736351482
audio, ebook, print (320 pages); mystery

When five-year-old Molly walks into a gas station on the outskirts of town, alone and barely speaking, one sheriff's deputy is determined to reunite her with her missing mother.

Hart's Ridge is the first book in a new series by Kay Bratt that features a female police deputy in a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  She is the only woman on the police force and has to be better and smarter than the men just to get recognition for her work.  The other members of the police force seem to be united against her because they don't think that being in the police department is a good job for a woman.  Unfortunately, even her own family is not supportive of her career so she has to work hard to prove herself in all aspects of her life.

Taylor Grey has lived in Hart's Ridge for her entire life.   She's a member of the small-town police force and loves her job.  Her upbringing has been rough and after her mother died, she tried to take care of her three younger sisters as the family went in and out of foster care.  Now as an adult, she still feels responsible for her sisters while taking care of her alcoholic father.   Her hope is that sometime, somehow, her fractured family will come together.

As the novel begins, a five-year-old girl walks into a small store by herself.  Dirty and hungry, she won't tell anyone who she is or where she came from.  Taylor is determined to unite her with her mother and does all she can to locate her.  Will she succeed in uniting Molly's family like she wishes she could unite her own family or will small-town secrets keep her from being successful?  It's a real roller coaster ride for her to try to solve this case.

My review would not be complete unless  I mentioned one of the most likable characters in the story -- Bernard, Taylor's rescue dog who seems to be sad all of the time while Taylor tries to make him part of her family.

Buy Hart's Ridge at Amazon

(Prime members can read for free)

Lucy in the Sky

January 2023; Red Thread; 978-1736351499
audio, ebook, print (298 pages); mystery

Lucy Gray doesn't always start trouble, but it's sure to be there when she arrives. 

Lucy is Taylor Gray's sister and she's always been the rebel in the family.  After she steals money from her sister, Lucy runs away to New York City.  Because she's always been in love with the Beatles, her first stop is the Dakota in New York City where John Lennon was murdered.  While she's in the park across the street from the Dakota, she's approached by someone from the hotel who thinks she's the new dog walker for one of the wealthy residents of the Dakota.  That mistake leads her to have a full-time job and a place to live in the Dakota.  But if we think that the baby sister is going to be on the straight and narrow - think again.  She ends up in a situation that is more difficult than anything she's ever done and she isn't sure how to get out of the mess she finds herself in.

While Lucy is living her new life, Taylor is still a prominent part of the story.  She finds out a big family secret which totally changes her view of her family.  As she works to find out the real truth, she's also struggling with giving her rescue dog back to his original owner.  She's become attached to Diesel and finds it hard to give him back.  Diesel's owner is a good-looking single guy - will there be romance in Taylor's life?

This story left a few questions that hopefully will be answered in book 3 due to publish in March.

Buy Lucy in the Sky at Amazon

In My Life

March 2023; Red Thread; 979-8987966808
audio, ebook, print (264 pages); mystery

Hart's Ridge used to be such a quaint, peaceful little town but when Deputy Taylor stumbles upon a triple murder, she won't stop until she finds the ruthless killer.

Book 3 in the Hart's Ridge series took us back to the small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  In it, we catch up with Taylor, her mom Cate, and her sisters and find out how life is treating all of them.  This series has a bit of everything to make it fantastic -- family, forgiveness, romance, suspense, and secrets.  Plus two of the main characters are dogs - both Diesel from the previous books and Brandy, a mistreated dog that Cate 'rescues'.

Cate is looking for a job and Taylor agrees to take her to a local Christmas tree farm that is hiring workers. When they get there they find three dead bodies.  Homicide is rare in Hart's Ridge and a triple homicide is unheard of.  Taylor vows that she will find out who murdered these people in the town she loves.  She and Shane spend many hours working together to try to solve the crime.  At the same time, Taylor is dealing with issues within her family.  Her mother has just returned from prison where she was wrongfully incarcerated and is trying to learn to live life as a free woman  She would love to establish a relationship with her daughters but isn't sure if too much time has passed.  Also, Taylor's sister Lucy has a small baby but insists that she wants them to live on a houseboat.  Taylor knows that Lucy is keeping secrets and worries about her and the baby.

Plus there are two men who are beginning to have romantic feelings for Taylor and she is uncomfortable at the thought of allowing any romance into her life because of incidents in her past.

This book ended with a lot of threads hanging and that will be resolved in Book 4 - Borrowed Time.  Will Taylor find her happily ever after without changing the person that she is, will Cate be able to establish a relationship with her daughters, and will the entire family be able to reconcile for the future and put the past behind them?

Buy In My Life at Amazon

Borrowed Time 

April 2023; Red Thread; 979-8987966815
audio, ebook, print (248 pages); mystery

No matter how perfect things look, every town has its secrets.

Borrowed Time is Book 4 in the Hart's Ridge series and just like the previous books, it's a suspenseful story that focuses on Taylor and her family.  Once again the book features forgiveness, romance, suspense, and secrets plus several dogs that are central to the story.

This book has two main storylines -- one is the disappearance of Sissy, a young mother and one of Taylor's closest friends. Sissy is well-liked in town and no one believes that she would leave her young daughter.  As Taylor and Shane begin to investigate, there are several different possibilities to track down but as the days drag on, everyone is prepared for the worst.

At the same time that Taylor is involved in this case, her sister Anna begins to have problems.  Anna has never been really close to the family and has refused to accept her mother after her return from prison.  Anna believes that she has a perfect life - a husband,  two wonderful children, and enough money to do what she wants.  When her life implodes, she's devastated but still wants to keep it a secret from her family.  When life gets even worse, she finally admits to her mother what is going on and turns to her sisters for help.  One of the best parts about this series is the way that the family always supports each other and doesn't hold grudges over past issues.

I'm anxious to read the future books in the series to learn more about this family and their life in Hart's Ridge.

Buy Borrowed Time at Amazon

Instant Karma

May 2023; Red Thread; 979-8987966822
audio, ebook, print (212 pages); mystery

Instant Karma, the fifth book of the Hart's Ridge series, gives the reader Jo's story and keeps us updated on the other members of the family.  We also get to meet Farie, an elderly neighbor and we learn all about her past and present as she struggles to get beyond a big mistake that she'd made.

The Grey family has just opened an animal rescue center on Taylor's farm.  Cate, the mom, and all of the sisters are involved in the running of the shelter.  Taylor has less time to help than the rest because she's still a deputy in the local police department.  One of the neighbors makes a huge mistake and rents a room to a guy who seems very nice and caring but once he moves in, he's a boarder from hell.  Faire only took in a boarder to try to save her house and pay her bills and doesn't know how to take the treatment that the new boarder is dishing out.  She gets Taylor and one of her old friends involved and they work to get rid of the evil person in the house.  Will they be successful or will Faire lose her home?  As all of this is going on, Taylor gets reminded of something that happened in her past and quits seeing Sam as she works through her troubled thoughts.  Will she learn to forgive and get her happily ever after?

This book is full of family love, forgiveness, acceptance, and willingness to help neighbors when they need help.  It is great to see the sisters getting along with their mom and each other after years of estrangement.

Buy Instant Karma at Amazon

Nobody Told Me

August 2023; Red Thread; 979-8987966839
audio, ebook, print (264 pages); mystery

Book 6 in the series concentrates on Taylor and Lucy - two totally different sisters.  Taylor was the oldest and always felt responsible for the other sisters.  Lucy was the youngest and she's managed to get into trouble her entire life.

Taylor is exhausted.  Along with her job as a deputy and helping to run the animal rescue at her farm, she's trying to find out who was responsible for her rape years earlier.  She gets a match using familial dna but then has to create a family tree to find out who in the family is guilty.  When a young man who helps at the rescue center gets arrested, the judge asks her to keep watch on him.  When he disappears, she's frantic to find him and when his body is found,  she knows that it isn't just a drowning and works around the clock to find out what happened to the young man that everyone at the farm liked.

Lucy is trying to start a new life with her son.  But things keep happening and she realizes that someone is watching her.  She's sure that it's the rich guy who is the father of her son (but doesn't know about this son).  When she finally tells Taylor about it, Taylor is skeptical   Lucy has always had a vivid imagination and has been in a lot of trouble but no one takes her seriously until it is almost too late.

I thought that this book was the best in the series so far.  There's a lot going on and several mysteries that need to be solved.  I am really enjoying this series and the characters in it.  Can't wait for the next books in the series.

Buy Nobody Told Me at Amazon

Hello Goodbye

October 2023; Red Thread; 979-8987966846
audio, ebook, print (226 pages); mystery

Sometimes in a long series, it's easy to get tired of the same old family members fighting the same old battles.  The Hart Ridge series is just the opposite -- it just keeps getting better!  I'm actually sad that the next book is the last book in the series but maybe the author will take her readers back to Hart's Ridge sometime in the future.

There's a lot going on in Hart's Ridge in book seven of the series.  The Gray family is still arguing among themselves -- not huge arguments but the bickering that's done in a family that loves each other.  Taylor is still searching for the person who assaulted her four years earlier and Sam has found a DNA genealogist he hopes that once this mystery in Taylor's life is solved, she will be able to totally commit to him and their future life together.  His life is upended when a 12-year-old girl gets in touch with him and claims to be his daughter. He never knew that she existed and Taylor isn't sure how she feels about this new revelation in his life.  To make life even more unsettled, there is a double murder of a well-known family in town that left behind three adopted children.  Taylor isn't the lead detective on the crime but she works hard to find out who the murderer is and to reduce the fear that the people in town are feeling.

This is a fast-paced novel with lots of twists and turns and several issues happening at once.  I think Taylor is a fantastic character. She's well-written and we see her strength as she tries to solve the dual murder and on the other side, her love for her family and the people in the town.  This book is a compelling read and I quickly turned pages to find out what happened next.  Can't wait for book 8 which is the final book of this fantastic series.

Buy Hello Goodbye at Amazon

Starting Over

December 2023; Red Thread; 979-8987966853
audio, ebook, print (234 pages); mystery

Originally the author had planned 8 books for this series but she just added a 9th and 10th book so we don't have to say goodbye to our new friends in Hart's Ridge yet.  Every book that comes out in this series is my new favorite.  I certainly haven't gotten bored reading about the Gray family -- the author does a fantastic job of making each book exciting and interesting.

Starting Over tests the family bonds of the Gray family as they face a crisis that threatens to tear them apart.  Taylor is working on a case that hits close to home as she tries to solve the kidnapping of one of her fellow police officer's wives.  The search was very suspenseful and kept me turning pages to find out the outcome.  At the same time, we meet someone new.  Sutton has been hired to help Cate around the house and with her rehab from the gunshot wound that happened at the end of book 7.  Cate wants to be independent and at first, doesn't want Sutton's help.  Sutton is keeping a major secret from Cate and the family that when it comes to light may end the beginning trust that Cate has in her.   Along with the major plot lines involving Taylor and Cate, we get glimpses of what is going on with the rest of the family.

It was wonderful to spend more time with the Gray family and read about their love and respect for each other even as they bicker about the small things.  Taylor is definitely the strongest member of the family but she's going to have to make some decisions soon -- should she work less so that she can continue her relationship with Sam or can she have her happily ever after as she continues the work that she loves?  

Buy Starting Over at Amazon

Blackbird

April 2024; Red Thread; 979-8987966860
audio, ebook, print (238 pages); mystery

Blackbird, book 9 in the Hart Ridge series, was a real nail-biter from the first page to the last.  Taylor has married Sam and Sam's teenage daughter lives with them.  Taylor still spends too much time working her job as a deputy and is still neglecting her family but luckily, Sam pretty much understands how important her work is to her. 

This book has two major plots that both affect Taylor and keep her working long hours.

• Allison and her two young children are living in an abusive household.  Taylor works hard to move Allison to a safe place and to keep her abusive boyfriend from harming her.  The boyfriend is relentless in his pursuit of Allison and Taylor spends a lot of time trying to keep the mom and two children safe.
• One of her fellow officers is having a hard time accepting the death of his wife after a kidnapping (details in book 8) because her body was never found.  He can't get on with his healing until the case is totally solved and Taylor agrees to help him.  Will they find clues that Lydia may not be dead? or is it another dead end?

Both plot lines are exciting and kept me turning the pages to find the outcomes.  There wasn't much of a storyline about the rest of the Gray family but there were updates on all of them during the book.  Right now the author plans that Book 10 will be the last book in the series and I'll be sad to say goodbye to Hart Ridge and the Grey family - especially Taylor.  This is a fantastic series.

Buy Blackbird at Amazon

Hello Little Girl

July 2024; Red Thread; 979-8987966877
ebook, print (254 pages); mystery

This book is a fantastic addition to the series.  There are two main plots that are intertwined and both plots are full of suspense and kept me turning the pages to see the outcome.

Taylor's job is very important to her and she can't seem to quit putting her job over her relationship with Sam.  She's asked to go undercover in a very rough environment and she agrees against Sam's wishes.  Her time undercover is full of danger and suspense as she tries to use her training to keep herself safe in a very unfriendly environment.

The other plot involves Lydia.  Her husband feels that she's still alive and convinces his police department to keep looking for her even though it's been a year since she disappeared.  Lydia is being held by a psychopath and even though she dreams about her husband and family she isn't sure that she'll ever be able to escape to see them again.

I read this book in one sitting and it kept me up way past my bedtime but I was so stressed out worrying about Taylor and Lydia, that I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep until I found out what happened to them. It's a fantastic book!

The author originally only planned to have ten books in the series but in her comments at the end of this book, she promised that we'd see these characters and Hart's Ridge again - in the near future and in time for Christmas.  I am thrilled that there will be more books in the series -- I'm not ready to say goodbye to Taylor and her family.  

Buy Hello Little Girl at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is two hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.   

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