Moorings

Moorings is the third in David Blake's Norfolk Broads crime series. I've really enjoyed these and they seem to me to be getting better.

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Book description

A war veteran murdered in his home, a property developer with links to organised crime, and an old family secret that seems unwilling to stay dead.

When Harry Falcon, a wealthy boatyard owner and highly decorated World War Two veteran, is found drowned in his bath, DI John Tanner and DC Jenny Evans start by questioning his two sons, each with a motive for wanting him dead.

But when the elder son is found with his head smashed in under a toppled yacht, and the younger son has been talking to a local property developer, one who’d spent months trying to buy the yard from his father, the investigation soon leads them towards a dark and dangerous secret, one which nobody can quite believe.

Set within the mysterious beauty of the Norfolk Broads, this fast-paced British detective series is a dark cozy murder mystery with a slice of humour and a touch of romance, one that will have you guessing until the very end, when the last shocking twist is finally revealed.

My review 

Tanner and Jenny have a new boat and a new mooring and someone’s building a block of flats right opposite. They’ve paid up a year’s rent too. Then the body of a 93 year-old turns up in his home nearby, discovered by his son. This is a great suspense story and it involves Tanner personally. There are various possible suspects and I honestly didn’t see the truth coming even though there was a clue earlier on. The climax of the book is particularly exciting. I am sure this series will go from strength to strength.

About the author

David is a full-time author living in North London. To date he has written sixteen books along with a collection of short stories. He's currently working on his seventeenth, Three Rivers, which is the next in his series of crime fiction thrillers, after Broadland, St. Benet's, and Moorings.

When not writing, David likes to spend his time mucking about in boats, often in the Norfolk Broads, where his crime fiction books are based.

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Just a thought - 

Just the knowledge that a good book is awaiting one at the end of a long day makes that day happier ― Kathleen Thompson Norris

St Benet's

Second in a series set in the Norfolk Broads. They are a bit unusual which always draws me in.

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Book description

A girl thrown from a church tower, a man sacrificed to Satan, and a priest murdered at the hands of the Devil.

When the body of an old man is found lying in the ruins of St Benet’s Abbey, his throat cut, a knife resting in his open hand, DI John Tanner and DC Jenny Evans are given no choice but to accept a ruling of death by misadventure. 

But when the body goes missing from its tomb, after a priest is found nailed to a cross, and another impaled on a stake, everything begins to point back to the murder of a teenage girl, thrown from the top of a church tower, some forty-three years before.

Set within the mysterious beauty of the Norfolk Broads, this fast-paced British detective series is a cozy murder mystery with a slice of humour and a touch of romance, one that will have you guessing until the very end, when the last shocking twist is finally revealed.

My review 

When an elderly man, in the garb of a monk, is found dead in a ruined monastery, DI John Tanner investigates. After the funeral, more deaths result – and the body has gone missing. The dead man had a book indicating he believed he could rise from the read. The plot, as they say, thickens. As it does, it seems to hinge upon a death forty years ago.

I really enjoy this series. The two main characters, Tanner and his constable, DC Jenny Evans, have issues of their own, but have to work together regardless. The relationships are well drawn, the atmosphere of the broads brilliantly portrayed with places often difficult to access. I’ve been pulled into this series and I look forward to more.

About the author

David is a full-time author living in North London. To date he has written fifteen books along with a collection of short stories. He's currently working on his sixteenth, Moorings, which is the next in his series of crime fiction thrillers, after Broadland and St. Benet's.

When not writing, David likes to spend his time mucking about in boats, often in the Norfolk Broads, where his crime fiction books are based.

~~~

Just a thought

How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book.
― Henry David Thoreau

Broadland

My first David Blake book, though he has written a fair number of books in the humour category.  This is the first in a series and a fine taste of things to come.

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Book description

When a girl’s body is found strangled, raped, and horrifically mutilated by a boat’s propeller, deep in the heart of the Norfolk Broads, newly arrived Detective Inspector John Tanner is asked to assist with the investigation. 

At first, all the evidence points to a man who had a multi-million pound reason to kill her. But when an alibi is produced from an unexpected source, and another body appears at the base of a slipway, Tanner finds himself turning to local girl, Detective Constable Jenny Evans for help. 

As a more romantic relationship develops between them, they find themselves facing a race against time to identify a lethal adversary, one with a lust for blood and a mind set on revenge.

Set within the mysterious beauty of the Norfolk Broads, this fast-paced British detective series is a murder mystery with a slice of humour and a touch of romance, one that will have you guessing until the very end, when the last shocking twist is finally revealed. 

My review -

First in a new series set in the Norfolk Broads. I enjoyed the characters, and DI Tanner’s growing relationship with his new colleagues after his transfer from London. It’s a good puzzle and several times I thought I’d sorted who was guilty – but things aren’t as simple as I believed them to be. This has all the signs of being a very enjoyable new series. Certainly this first volume is.

About the author

David Blake is a full-time author living in North London. To date he has written fourteen books along with a collection of short stories. He’s currently working on his fifteenth, St. Benet’s, which is the follow-up to his debut crime fiction thriller, Broadland.

When not writing, David likes to spend his time mucking about in boats, often in the Norfolk Broads, where his crime fiction books are based.

~~~

Just a thought - 

Most of what makes a book 'good' is that we are reading it at the right moment for us.

― Alain de Botton