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Paper Girls: An Unputdownable British Crime Thriller (DCI Kett Crime Thrillers Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Alex Smith (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 10,828 ratings
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THE NUMBER ONE AMAZON BESTSELLER

The one case he couldn't crack was the one that finally broke him.

Haunted by his inability to track down and save his missing wife, DCI Robert Kett leaves the Metropolitan Police behind and moves to Norwich with his three young children, hoping to heal their broken family.

But his newfound peace doesn’t last. Two newspaper delivery girls have gone missing in the city, and the clues point to a serial kidnapper.

Kett is dragged into the centre of one of the darkest cases of his career—a case that pits him head to head against a horrifying evil.

And a case that might uncover the terrible truth of what happened to his wife.

The first book in the internationally bestselling DCI Kett crime thriller series, with over a million copies sold to date. Terrifying and unputdownable, Paper Girls is officially “a gripping debut!” (JD Kirk), and "the most exciting crime fiction debut we've read this year!" (Thrilling Fiction).

Binge the series now:
PAPER GIRLS
BAD DOG
THREE LITTLE PIGS
WHIP CRACK
RUN RABBIT RUN
STONE COLD DEAD
EVERY MOTHER'S SON
SWEET BRIAR ROSE
JAW BREAKER
KNOCK KNOCK
KING RAT
KNUCKLE BONES
LUCKY NUMBER SEVEN
UNHOLY SAINTS
TRULY MADLY DEADLY

Alex Smith wrote his first book when he was six. It wasn’t particularly good, but it did have some supernatural monsters in it. His latest books, the DCI Robert Kett thrillers, have monsters in them too, although these monsters are very human, and all the more terrifying for it. In between, he has published fourteen novels for children and teenagers under his full name, Alexander Gordon Smith—including the number one bestselling series Escape From Furnace, which is loved by millions of readers worldwide and which is soon to become a motion picture. He lives in Norwich with his wife and three young daughters.

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  1. Book 1 of 16
    DCI Kett Crime Thrillers
  2. Print length
    284 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    October 1, 2019
  6. File size
    3973 KB
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  8. Word Wise
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  9. Enhanced typesetting
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07X2LS1XF
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Relentless Media (October 1, 2019)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 1, 2019
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3973 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 284 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 10,828 ratings

About the author

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Alex Smith

Alex Smith

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Hi there, and welcome to my Amazon author page! Thanks for stopping by and checking out my books. If you want to be the first to know about new releases then feel free to follow me by clicking on the follow button on my book pages or on my author page.

I've been a writer for almost all my life. I wrote my first book when I was six, and even though it wasn't very good it did have monsters in it. It was a sign of things to come, as I spent most of my twenties and thirties writing horror books for children and teenagers under my full name, Alexander Gordon Smith, including the award-winning series Escape From Furnace. It was only after I had my three daughters that I thought about writing a series of thrillers about a detective with young children, and DCI Robbie Kett was born.

I live in Norwich with my family, where I spend half of my time writing and the other half trying to keep up with my three girls.

Feel free to get in touch at alexsmithbooks.com

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
10,828 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Bobbi Stoffers
5.0 out of 5 stars An exciting British crime thriller
Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2023
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An book full of twists and turns throughout. The storyline is great and the characters are well developed. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
One person found this helpful
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DeJ
4.0 out of 5 stars Lives up to Its Hype
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2021
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I wonder sometimes about the quality if a book when the blurb makes claims like "thrilling", " gripping", or "exciting twist" (usually you've figured out whodunit somewhere between chapters five and ten).
The hype for this story, ungrammatical as it is, is true. What's more, it's lead character is engrossing. How he handles being a temporary (we hope) single parent of three active daughters keeps our interest, and the way Smith portrays the diverse personalities of this children is wonderfully realistic.
As for the whodunit aspect, yes, we think we know who the baddies are, but we really don't know until the final chapters. Don't peek! You'll ruin the surprise.
This is really a five star read, but I'm nervous about the next in the series (that I'm just about to start). I just hope it, too, lives up to its hype.
4 people found this helpful
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Barbara Widtfeldt
5.0 out of 5 stars New Take on Single Parent Detective
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2024
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I really got attached to Kett and his three girls. His wife is missing and he leaves London to go to the area of his birth. He has the kids and a new case inspires him to get involved with the local police. His wife Billie was kidnapped in London and is still missing four months later. Now in his new town, three young girls are missing and the clock is ticking. He has a lot on his plate and I couldn't put it down and have ordered the next two in the series.
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Kim Whited
4.0 out of 5 stars Typical kidnap story
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2023
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It was good, predictable,however. I'm not a fan of kidnapping stories. They find them or they find then dead. However, he is a creative writer. I was interested.
One person found this helpful
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Eden.M
3.0 out of 5 stars I Bought This After Seeing…
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2022
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Before I bought this I’d just read 17 books in a row by JD Kirk and was feeling some rather strong withdrawal symptoms, because they are awesome! ‘

So trying to decide what to start reading next had me stumped, then by chance I happened to see someone on GoodReads saying how good this series by Alex Smith is and also saying he, I think he anyway, said he’d also really enjoyed Kirks books, so I took a chance and bought this, and I’m pretty glad I did.

The writing style of both authors is very similar, even the actual characters, scenes, the humor, all quite similar, and NO I’m not saying they’re copy catting, in NO way at all! It’s just a funny fact and my brain still being 1/2 left behind with the prior books.

I’d agree with the other person on GR, and I wish I could remember who they are, the books;series/writing etc are both good and I’ve already bought books 2 & 3 of these.

There were a couple of things that nagged at me in this book, but it’s the authors first book, so I’d say he’s batting a strong 3 out of 5 and if I could of added a 1/2 star I would of.

That’s it, enjoy the books & a thank you to the author for breaking me out of my reading slump!
3 people found this helpful
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Auntie Annie
5.0 out of 5 stars Ketts instincts about kidnappers are well honed
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2020
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What a thrilling ride! DCI Kett has moved back to his hometown, a single dad and possibly a widower. He offers to assist the local police find a missing girl. The case feels close to him as he has three young daughters: 7, 5, and 3. Though he has solved several missing persons cases for the Met, local police resent him. Still, he finds a young policewoman who is willing and very capable to work with him. Then another girl goes missing, then they find a third has disappeared. The solution of the case is as unexpected as can be, yet entirely plausible. The reader can identify with Kett as he tries to succeed at both policing and fatherhood with the sneaking suspicion he is failing at both. I will definitely be following him in the next book: Bad Dog.
7 people found this helpful
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Anne
5.0 out of 5 stars Binge Worthy Reading
Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2023
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I curled up on the couch on a cold windy afternoon and fell in love with this book. The personal background of DCI Kett is enthralling, the mystery is mesmerising, the characters are delightful all this makes this thriller binge worthy.
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Good cop novel
Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2023
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Lots of unusual turn of events. I figured it out before the end but he added another twist to keep you coming back
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Anne Ryalls
5.0 out of 5 stars Good story
Reviewed in Canada on May 30, 2023
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Alex Smith is a great writer!
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mrs p gholamali
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 10, 2024
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This is the first of the DCI Kett series and wow what a start. Loved the details with Ketts girls .
I have now just finished reading book 11 in this series and unbelievably they just keep getting better and better ! Alex ( Gordon) Smith has such a comfortable style of writing. All the characters are so brilliant and believable and they get more filled out with every storyline.
The stories are very clever and I find myself on the edge of my seat with most of them , but luckily there’s a lovely amount of humour to take the pressure off .
I would recommend this series to everyone.
3 people found this helpful
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Neelabh Pratap Singh
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but not great
Reviewed in India on November 10, 2021
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A police officer with a troubled past comes to a small town and stumbles upon a deadly crime. A common theme and I don't really have any issue as long as the story is good. So when 2 paper girls are abducted from broad daylight, the local police hires DCI Kett who is in a compassionate leave with his 3 daughters (his wife has gone missing 3 months ago). The first thing I noticed is the humour. Initially it brought a freshness to the usual dark serial killer story but after a while it felt as an overdose. Secondly, the entire police investigation was based on ex-convicts in the area being the prime suspects. While it might have worked for other readers but to me it looked far to simpler and hence, one star less. Kett's banter with his boss and kids was good, but perhaps the author should look to tone it dow going forward. While I appreciate the humour, in a crime thriller, I prefer dark and gritty storytelling.
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carolM
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in France on September 12, 2021
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J'ai tant aimé que j'ai achete les 2 prochains dans le series de suite.
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Southern Woman
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow
Reviewed in Australia on February 24, 2024
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This is a great start to the series. Captivating lead detective with a very engaging back story. I'm really looking forward to getting to know him and his story better. The lead up to the end was pulse pounding.
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