Do No Evil by MS Morris
Publisher: Landmark Media
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by FernOld friendships. Dark secrets. Deadly lies.
When Detective Inspector Bridget Hart returns to her old Oxford college for a reunion dinner, she’s hoping for a fun weekend catching up with old friends. But the reunion takes a macabre turn when body parts are served up at the college feast, and one of her friends is found murdered.
With Bridget’s arch rival Inspector Baxter leading the murder enquiry, and herself a potential suspect, Bridget is forbidden from taking part in the investigation. But that doesn’t stop her from carrying out her own private enquiries.
Bridget soon realises that the murderer is someone known to her. And as the weekend continues and more bodies are found, it becomes clear that they will stop at nothing to get what they want. Can Bridget uncover the dark secrets of the past in time to halt the killing, or will she be next on the murderer’s list?
Set amongst the dreaming spires of Oxford University, the Bridget Hart series is perfect for fans of Elly Griffiths, JR Ellis, Faith Martin and classic British murder mysteries.
DI Bridget Hart has returned to her old college for a reunion dinner. Having lost touch with even her closest friends from those much younger and happier days, Bridget is equal parts excited and dreading the reconnection to her past. Before the night can really get under way though – body parts are served in the soup bowl laid before the head of the table at the college feast. Even though she can’t officially investigate, Bridget finds she has more at stake with this case than any previous one she has come across.
This is the third book in this series, and I am quite enjoying it. While it’s a very solidly plotted British police procedural murder mystery set it Oxford, I was pleased that this book really stands quite well on its own. As this book is still quite early in the series there isn’t a huge amount of baggage – or history – between the team members, and I actually quite enjoyed having a very different character leading the investigation and knocking heads with Bridget.
There is a sort-of blossoming romance between two of Bridget’s team which I also found added a bit of interest to the story and these things along with the solid mystery plot really helped the book feel well rounded to me and multi-dimensional.
Readers who are used to faster paced novels – or more action orientated books might not find the pace of this story suits their tastes. And British mysteries often have a bit of a different tone or voice to them – so I can understand if this book isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. With a number of different characters circling around, a well written and layered plot and even a bit of “closed room” mystery aspect to it this book really ticked a lot of good boxes for me and I look forward to the next one in the series.
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