Former Detective Hillary Greene and her cold case team are sweltering in their stuffy basement office on the hottest day of the year when they are handed an impossible case.
Fifteen years ago, Imelda Phelps was battered to death in the hallway of her home. The brutal crime shocked the residents of the pretty market town of Chipping Norton. The killer was never
caught.
The motive for the murder remains a mystery. Could the happily married mother-of-two’s stunning good looks have played a part in her death?
Everyone will have to take a hard look in the mirror — and not everyone will like what they see. If Hillary is to crack the case, she must keep an open mind. But one thing is crystal-clear: this crime was personal. It’s up to Hillary and her team to work out which of Imelda’s family
and friends is hiding a deadly secret.
A secret lover. A humiliated husband. A vengeful ex-business partner. A resentful daughter.
The list of suspects grows . . .
Suddenly an unexpected lead throws the case wide open. And then a second body turns up.
This cold case is now red hot . . .
Faith Martin was born in Oxford, and has spent all her life within twenty miles of the university city, even working at Somerville College for six years before turning to writing full-time.
Faith has been writing for nearly 30 years under four different pen names and has had nearly 50 books published so far. She began writing romantic thrillers as Maxine Barry, which Joffe Books are in the process of re-releasing as brand new eBooks. Then she turned to crime, and as Joyce Cato wrote classic-style whodunits, since she’s always admired the golden-age crime
novelists. But it was when she created her fictional DI Hillary Greene, and began writing under the name of Faith Martin, that she finally began to become more widely known. Her latest literary characters WPC Trudy Loveday, and city coroner, Dr Clement Ryder, take readers
back to the 1960’s and the city of Oxford.
Having lived within a few miles of the city of dreaming spires for all her life, both the city and the countryside/wildlife often feature in her novels. Although she has never lived on a narrow boat (unlike DI Hillary Greene!) the Oxford canal, the river Cherwell, and the flora and fauna of a farming landscape have always played a
big part in her life – and often sneak their way onto the pages of her books.
Her hobbies include walking her now ageing dog, wildlife-watching, reading and (reluctantly) gardening.
My thoughts: I am a bit of a fan of Faith Martin’s Loveday and Ryder books and I’ve read a few of her others too, but somehow not this series. Time to rectify that as this was really good.
Retired detective Hillary Greene heads up the cold case unit, a team of three, that scour the case files looking for new clues and evidence that might finally allow the police to close the case. Looking into the fifteen year old murder case of a local model killed in her home.
Her husband has remarried, her children are now grown up. But everyone remembers where they were when it happened. Hidden somewhere in their memories might be the answer to the question – who killed her?
Hillary and her tiny team must pit their wits against a killer that may be closer to home than they think.
Clever, highly enjoyable and with lots of twists and turns, this is excellent crime writing.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 