Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
It's almost Christmas and Walker's thoughts are about decorating, buying presents, and his wife has invited his whole family to spend Christmas with them. Returning home after another long day, he finds an early Christmas on his front porch. I’d like to thank NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for approving me for an ARC of this book. This is the third book in the DI James Walker series but haven’t not read the previous two books, I can confirm it works very well as a standalone. In blizzard like conditions a body is found in the snow – the potential first victim with eleven more to follow if the killer isn’t stopped… A wedding couldn’t be more beautiful in an idyllic winter setting. But unfortunately, the ending is splashed by murder. When Rachel left the wedding breakfast before her speech, newly-wed Libby was furious. But as the night went on with no sign of her maid-of-honour, Libby started to realise something was very, very wrong…*
As DC Abbott is spending a relaxing New Years Eve with her fiancée Sean; attending the wedding of a mutual friend at a posh hotel on the shore of the gorgeous Lake Windermere. When she finds herself at the centre of a murder investigation after the maid of honour disappears during the reception and is later found floating in the lake. In a village as quiet as Kirkby Abbey, the possibility of a serial killer is so outlandish it’s laughable … until the bodies start to pile up, one by one. In the run up to Christmas, James is pushed to find the killer, but must simultaneously deal with personal revelations and the onset of one of the worst snowstorms England has seen in years.
My only critique is the professionalism and procedures of the investigation. It all seemed to be informal, based on visiting peoples homes. I wonder if the reality would be quite the same or would these interviews would have made more of an impact in a police station with lawyers. Overall, I was impressed at the meat of this book and I would recommend it as a “light” murder mystery read. There were some issues on the periphery of the book that needed work, such as some of the language being a bit stilted, and tightening up of the plot in one or two places, but overall, I think Alex Pine has crafted a good whodunnit mystery that is atmospheric and enjoyable. I will definitely be looking out for more of his work in the future! It takes a long time for the story to truly get going. It was only until I was 20% in did the first body appear. Consequently, I found the narrative quite mundane up until this point and this was a feeling that never truly disappeared, even as the tension is supposedly rising in the plot. There’s a lot of detail included in the story that I found was unnecessary and really slowed the pace down. I was left feeling bored and frustrated that there was not enough suspense and grit that the blurb appeared to suggest. Special thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK Audio, Avon, and the editorial team for giving me the opportunity to review the ARC in audiobook format and to you, my reader, for taking the time to read this honest personal book review. Although the third book in the series, the book can easily be read as a standalone and there's even a character list at the start of the book to introduce you to who's who which I always find very useful.
Thank you to Netgalley and Avon books for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. The book wasn’t without fault and downfalls. There were some sections where not a lot happened and it got a bit slow. There was also quite a big gap at the beginning before the first murder actually took place. However these points weren’t negative enough to put me off reading and the positives outweighed the negative in my opinion. This is another great thriller by the author. What should have been the best day of her life, Libby's wedding turns into a murder investigation. All the potential suspects are her wedding guests. This is a fast paced, gripping read with plenty of twist and turns. DI James Walker and his team know they won't be spending the New Year holidays the way they had planned. I was pulled into this story at the beginning, and it held my attention throughout. This series gets better with each new book. This book could be read as a standalone. Here, another interesting aspect has been added to the crime/mystery genre, which is the tedious investigations and meetings police must have to find the best course of action of finding a murderer/serial killer. Which may sound boring to some, bad when a killer claims to be hunting down twelve victims and a winter storm isolates a tiny village from outside help, pressure builds and nobody is safe, the novel becomes fairly chaotic.
Games
Detective Inspector James Walker and his wife Annie move to a quiet village in Cumbria after a notorious criminal is released from prison and may pay them a visit for putting him in there! It’s a perfect combination of a Christmas book and thriller. It’s not a regular murder story set around Christmas time. The atmosphere in Kirkby Abbey is just magical. With each murder James and Annie learn more about each victim's life, and how intertwined with each they were - this reminded me of the Miss Marple books.
Related:
Great Deal 
New Comment