The Missing Diary by Tasmin Turner
Idealistic young lawyer Kit Chase has a comfortable life with her fiancé in New Zealand, but decides she wants to experience more excitement and adventure before she gets married. So she takes a temporary job with an international law firm in post-conflict Kosovo. There she finds more excitement and adventure than she could have ever imagined. Enough maybe to even get her killed.
The Missing Diary (Wish Books) by Tasmin Turner is a compelling thriller set in the year 2000 – a year after the Kosovo War between Kosovo rebels and forces of the Serbian/Yugoslavian government. Although the actual fighting has ended, tension – and political intrigue – remain high in the volatile area.
Fascinating Lead Faces Dangerous Opponents
Kit is a fascinating lead character – who at various times throughout the book is tough, compassionate and also vulnerable. Her first case in Kosovo involves a woman held captive and sexually abused by a brutal crime boss. Kit is determined to find justice for the woman despite a plethora of bureaucratic and other obstacles she soon faces.
Along the way she must deal with the crime boss, a vicious killer named Raco who has already slaughtered an entire Serbian village; a mysterious woman named Merita Shala who is a scaringly formidable opponent for Kit; and all sorts of untrustworthy political operatives around her with their own goals for Kosovo – and for themselves.
The key to the story is an explosive diary, kept by Merita – who is an accomplice of Raco – chronicling many of the horrors that the crime boss and his people have carried out.
Thus, the title of the book.
We get tantalizing glimpses in each chapter of Merita’s writing and what’s actually in the diary. And – when the diary disappears – Kit knows she must find it in order to prevent even more violence from happening.
Seduction, Political Espionage and High Stakes
At the same time, we learn more about Kit’s personal life which is … well, uncertain. Although she is engaged to be married to her fiancé when she gets back to New Zealand, she finds herself more and more intrigued by one of the political people she is dealing with in Kosovo – the representative there from the Russian Liaison Office, who is handsome and charming and seems determined to pursue a personal relationship with Kit.
But, just like she worries about whether or not to trust everyone else in Kosovo, she’s not exactly sure about the Russian official’s true motivations. Is he really attracted to her – the way she is to him, or is he just playing sexual games to find out what political secrets she knows.
As the book races along with one exciting event after another, the stakes are raised even higher for Kit when two separate attempts are made on her own life by forces trying to squelch her investigation.
It’s a wild, exciting ride that author Tasmin Turner takes us on in this fast-moving political thriller that draws on numerous real-life events in order to tell a wonderfully chilling story.
If you like Kit Chase once you’ve read this (and who wouldn’t!), there’s more of her on the way.
The Missing Diary is the first in a series of books from the author that are set in war-torn Kosovo and feature Kit as the heroine. Book #2 is The Price of Justice – in which Kit must uncover the truth about a massive money laundering scheme in an investigation that stretches from Kosovo to Albania to Slovenia.
So we’ll be looking forward to meeting Kit Chase again very soon.
About Tasmin Turner:
Tasmin Turner has a passion for writing thrilling legal dramas set in locations where she has lived and worked. She has several university degrees in politics, law, and international relations. She has experienced life firsthand in the places that she writes about.
She is currently living in New Zealand and writes under a pen name for privacy. As well as writing, she enjoys volunteering for causes that she supports, such as the rehabilitation of native bird species. She keeps up her European language skills, such as French and German, and enjoys frequenting the wonderful local cafes in the heartland of New Zealand.
Tasmin Turner invites readers to explore her books and connect with her on social media to stay up-to-date on her latest writing projects.
Take a look at the trailer for her new book “The Missing Diary: Crime Scene Kosovo Book 1”