An ex-convict. A dead body. A Women’s Institute meeting like no other…
It’s an unusually challenging meeting at the Wasby Women’s Institute, with local resident and former drug-dealer Adam Fleetwood talking about his crimes and subsequent rehabilitation…but
events take a gruesome turn when prospective member Grace Thoresby is discovered murdered in the kitchen.
The case is particularly unwelcome for investigating officer DCI Jude Satterthwaite. Adam was once
his close friend and now holds a bitter grudge, blaming Jude for landing him in jail in the first place.
To complicate things further, the only thing keeping Adam from arrest is the testimony of Jude’s former girlfriend, Becca Reid, for whom he still cares deeply.
As Jude and his colleague and current partner, Ashleigh O’Halloran, try to pick apart the complicated tapestry of Grace’s life, they uncover a web of fantasy, bitterness and deceit. Adam is deeply
implicated, but is he guilty or is someone determined to frame him for Grace’s murder? And as they close in on the truth, Jude falls foul of Adam’s desire for revenge, with near-fatal consequences…
A traditional detective mystery set in Cumbria.
Amazon UK – Amazon US
Jo Allen was born in Wolverhampton and is a graduate of Edinburgh, Strathclyde and the Open University, with undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in geography and Earth science. She’s
been writing for pleasure and publication for as long as she can remember. After a career in economic consultancy she took up writing and was first published under the name Jennifer Young, in genres of short stories, romance and romantic suspense. She wrote online articles on travel and on her favourite academic subject, Earth science. In 2017 she took the plunge and began writing the genre she most likes to read — crime.
Jo lives in the English Lakes, where the DCI Satterthwaite series is set. In common with all her favourite characters, she loves football (she’s a season ticket holder with her beloved Wolverhampton Wanderers) and cats.
Facebook Twitter Instagram
My thoughts: I do enjoy this series, I like Jude and his world weary understanding of human nature. After a body is found at a WI meeting, by Jude’s ex Becca no less, an investigation is launched. Adam – a former drug dealer, and former friend of Jude’s, is in the spotlight but might Grace’s murderer be closer to home?
Digging into a family’s lives and complicated relationships isn’t easy, especially one that’s prickly and dysfunctional. But after another death, there’s not much choice.
Adam has it in for Jude and seems determined to cause him misery and harm. Popping up everywhere and never missing a chance to be nasty. Even though Jude never rises to it. There’s a rather hairy (or should that be “dairy”) moment for Jude, but luckily he’s quick.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 