
On Cold Ground: Detective Karen Hart, Book 5
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A merciless killer who will stop at nothing. And a detective with nothing left to lose.
When Detective Karen Hart hears a scream echoing out of beautiful Lincoln Cathedral one snowy evening, she is the first officer on the scene. In the chapel a man lies murdered, a bloody cross carved into his forehead.
The twisted killing sends this close-knit community into shock. And a note to the police from the murderer, signed by "The Cleanser", confirms their worst fears: this sadistic slaying is the first of many. The ritual killings will never stop until Hart uncovers the murderer’s ungodly motive.
When early leads become dead ends, Karen starts to wonder if there’s a link to a rumoured conspiracy within police ranks - particularly when an abrasive new officer is assigned to the case. Could the key to catching "The Cleanser" be dangerously close to home? Meanwhile, she is battling her own demons as she struggles to come to terms with the deaths of her husband and daughter.
In her toughest case yet, Karen will come closer than ever before to a dangerous truth. Can she put the pieces of the puzzle together before she’s stopped in her tracks?
- Listening Length9 hours and 9 minutes
- Audible release date25 March 2021
- LanguageEnglish
- ASINB08L9M4BL7
- VersionUnabridged
- Program TypeAudiobook
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Product details
Listening Length | 9 hours and 9 minutes |
---|---|
Author | D. S. Butler |
Narrator | Henrietta Meire |
Whispersync for Voice | Ready |
Audible.com.au Release Date | 25 March 2021 |
Publisher | Brilliance Audio |
Program Type | Audiobook |
Version | Unabridged |
Language | English |
ASIN | B08L9M4BL7 |
Best Sellers Rank | 40,488 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) 936 in Women Sleuth Mysteries (Audible Books & Originals) 1,155 in Police Procedural Mysteries 1,392 in Crime Thrillers (Audible Books & Originals) |
Customer reviews
Top reviews from Australia
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This book picks up 3 months after the conclusion of Book 4. Karen and her colleagues’ workloads are stretched due to events that were revealed in previous books. As a result, Karen must work with a different SIO and team to investigate a gruesome murder. This story is a page turner, with some hunches confirmed and a twist that was really good. This story grabbed me from the first paragraph and was easy to read in one sitting. As a reader of the series, I was intrigued to see how this story enfolded and wasn’t disappointed.
I’m so glad that the Author has chosen to wrap up a long standing storyline without stretching it out into further books. I’m really looking forward to reading the progression of the characters and the crimes they solve for the rest of the series. I highly recommend this series if you’re a fan of the genre.
Top reviews from other countries



Best Sellers Rank: 165 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
No.3 in Conspiracy Thrillers
No.6 in Kidnapping Crime Fiction
No.13 in Women Sleuths (Kindle Store)
I have only read one of her novels - this one - and while I did at least finish it (which is unusual for me these days), I have to say that it will be my one and only dip of my toe in the waters of the D S Butler portfolio. That's because the motivation to keep reading - for me, that is - was to find out "whodunit" and nothing else. To satisfy my curiosity. My earlier guess at the killer's ID had been correct, although it wasn't that difficult. So this, for me. proved to be all about the destination and not the journey.
As for the writing skills on display here, this was the book's biggest weakness. For what is basically a story for grown-ups, the style was simplistic, chatty and could have been written by a teenager. There was a lot of repetitiveness, for example the bit about the post-it note found on DS Hart's desk. The dialogue, which seemed to take up 90% of the writing, was plain vanilla at the best of times and, as the conclusion neared, became borderline absurd. There was nothing challenging in the articulation, no multi-layering, no depth and no breadth. Just paragraphs, sentences, and words.
The remaining 10% - the narrative - was amateurish. There was next to no imagery to grasp on to, no building of images in the reader's mind of faces, of personalities or landscape and surroundings. It was difficult to see anybody or anything. The only face I kept visualising was that of the author herself, typing away at her keyboard. I suspect this story didn't take very long to write, and required little in the way of research.
Characterisation was again of a low standard. I knew nothing about DS Karen Hart before reading this book, and I closed the final page knowing very little more. As for the various other characters - and there were quite a few - it was difficult to engage or bond with any of them, to like or dislike, to develop an interest in.
So in the end, the story is the one element to have held my attention. Here we have a police procedural in which the procedures felt utterly unconvincing and exposed what I believe is the author's inexperience of investigating multiple murders from the perspective of the police. The killer is given a rather corny cachet of "The Cleanser" which again exposed the lack of original and creative thinking on the author's part, given that this novel was published in 2021. It felt out-of-date within a few pages of the beginning.
I received this title free as part of my membership of Kindle Unlimited. You know the old saying "There's no such thing as a free lunch" - well, if you're offered a book for nothing, ask yourself if it will be worth the investment of your time. This one was absolutely not worth mine.
In spite of these negative thoughts, the book's a top seller. I can only assume that readers today are more easily satisfied than they used to be. This is really very ordinary with almost no redeeming benefits at all.


Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 June 2022
Best Sellers Rank: 165 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
No.3 in Conspiracy Thrillers
No.6 in Kidnapping Crime Fiction
No.13 in Women Sleuths (Kindle Store)
I have only read one of her novels - this one - and while I did at least finish it (which is unusual for me these days), I have to say that it will be my one and only dip of my toe in the waters of the D S Butler portfolio. That's because the motivation to keep reading - for me, that is - was to find out "whodunit" and nothing else. To satisfy my curiosity. My earlier guess at the killer's ID had been correct, although it wasn't that difficult. So this, for me. proved to be all about the destination and not the journey.
As for the writing skills on display here, this was the book's biggest weakness. For what is basically a story for grown-ups, the style was simplistic, chatty and could have been written by a teenager. There was a lot of repetitiveness, for example the bit about the post-it note found on DS Hart's desk. The dialogue, which seemed to take up 90% of the writing, was plain vanilla at the best of times and, as the conclusion neared, became borderline absurd. There was nothing challenging in the articulation, no multi-layering, no depth and no breadth. Just paragraphs, sentences, and words.
The remaining 10% - the narrative - was amateurish. There was next to no imagery to grasp on to, no building of images in the reader's mind of faces, of personalities or landscape and surroundings. It was difficult to see anybody or anything. The only face I kept visualising was that of the author herself, typing away at her keyboard. I suspect this story didn't take very long to write, and required little in the way of research.
Characterisation was again of a low standard. I knew nothing about DS Karen Hart before reading this book, and I closed the final page knowing very little more. As for the various other characters - and there were quite a few - it was difficult to engage or bond with any of them, to like or dislike, to develop an interest in.
So in the end, the story is the one element to have held my attention. Here we have a police procedural in which the procedures felt utterly unconvincing and exposed what I believe is the author's inexperience of investigating multiple murders from the perspective of the police. The killer is given a rather corny cachet of "The Cleanser" which again exposed the lack of original and creative thinking on the author's part, given that this novel was published in 2021. It felt out-of-date within a few pages of the beginning.
I received this title free as part of my membership of Kindle Unlimited. You know the old saying "There's no such thing as a free lunch" - well, if you're offered a book for nothing, ask yourself if it will be worth the investment of your time. This one was absolutely not worth mine.
In spite of these negative thoughts, the book's a top seller. I can only assume that readers today are more easily satisfied than they used to be. This is really very ordinary with almost no redeeming benefits at all.



A really good storyline that keeps you reading and interested,two separate cases running side by side and a big twist that I never saw coming,plus Karen Hart on going case of corruption this is a book that Will keep you reading.
Love this series and the team of detectives