Book #1 in the Louise Blackwell detective series. DCI Blackwell is a former shamed (falsely accused) officer that left London for Weston super Mare. In this book she is trying to solve a crime that appears to be connected to the Church. This was a free book on Kindle in December of 2022. I really enjoyed this book and will be looking for book # 2 in the near future. 333 pages ( )

My thanks to the Author publisher's and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.
This is the first book in this series featuring Detective Inspector Louise Blackwell, a surprising heroine by modern standards who as no major vices, no dodgy partner just previous problems with a colleague. An excellent Police procedural well written character driven story clever engaging intriguing and gripping from first to last page. Looking forward to the next instalment.
Completely recommended. ( )

Good use of authentic locations in and around Weston, including Birnbeck Island old ferry terminal, which we saw from Brean Down a couple of years ago. The author captures well life in a rather faded seaside town, especially for a detective moved sideways from Bristol's Major Incident Team and living on their own. Be worth reading more in the series. ( )

There are elements in this first-in-a-series novel that have been common to a number of crime fiction novels recently: female detective, life made more difficult for her by male colleagues than it need be, appears to make a mistake, penalised by her superiors; misses out on promotion, relocated to a position now seen as a demotion, has to step straight up to the plate, with a very puzzling case.

This novel has a well thought out and intriguing plot, with a central character who is at the same time likeable and has potential. ( )

I’ve not read any of the author’s previous books, but this one has inspired me to check them out.

Detective Inspector Louise Blackwell has been transferred from Bristol to the seaside town of Weston-super-Mare. When an older woman is found murdered, Louise is put in charge of the investigation which quickly becomes more complicated when an elderly priest is killed. Both bodies have similar injuries, and there are suspicions that there may be more victims to come. Louise is anxious to prove herself in this, her first, murder case since her transfer.

Louise’s life, both professional and personal, is developed. Her transfer from Bristol is the result of an unfair judgment in a previous case, so she must deal with this demotion. She does not feel at home in Weston and is not fully comfortable with her colleagues. Louise is trying to escape the influence of a previous partner whom she knows will try to insert himself into her current investigation if she does not solve it quickly. And there are concerns about her widowed brother whose struggles are putting his daughter’s welfare in jeopardy.

The narrative alternates between Louise’s perspective and that of the murderer. His identity is revealed early in the book, but the reason for his actions is not. There are clues from the beginning; for example, there are statements like “The warmth and security made him sentimental, made him forget what his mother had done” and “He had to save his father.” Much of my interest in the book lay in trying to put together all the clues to figure out the motivation. This structure made me think of episodes of Criminal Minds.

There were a couple of issues that bothered me. After the discovery at the first victim’s home, wouldn’t a toxicology report be requested? There is an autopsy but never any reference to a toxicology screen. And that discovery is never explained. There is also some awkward diction; in Chapter 11, the word “object” is used three times: “He ran his hand across one part of the object” and “he would have to wait until nearer the time to complete the object” and “he spent another hour working on the object before locking up.” The word is used several times throughout the book. Obviously, the point is not to identify the object because it is central to Geoffrey’s plans, but perhaps just a reference to a wood-working project would have been better.

I read the book in one day; it is a quick but absorbing read. I will certainly read The Descent, the next book in the series which I understand is due for release this summer.

Note: I received a digital galley from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski). ( )