Murder In the Garden by Faith Martin
Publisher: Joffe Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

Edward Philpott is found bludgeoned to death with his own spade in his beautiful garden. He lived with his daughter Rachel and his two grandchildren.

Hillary’s only lead is a rival from the village flower show who used to argue with the victim about the size of their vegetables. But what dark secrets from the past and present does this village hold?

Hillary has returned to work after the slaying of her boss and is desperate to track down his murderer. His pregnant widow is even more determined to get revenge, but will she go too far?

Can Hillary cope with two complex investigations full of extreme emotions, one of which is very close to home?

DI Hillary Greene has been off on two months compassion leave after the explosive ending of her last case. She returns to work slightly changed from the person and officer she was on that last fateful day. When her team is called onto a new investigation before she’s even sat down at her desk, Hillary knows she’ll need to be in top form if she really wants to return to her job – and life – after this enormous change.

I was pleased that the ramifications of the previous book are still solidly sounding through this story. While I don’t feel readers need to have read the previous book to understand the importance of what happened in it – I do think a deeper emotional connection and better understanding will be had if readers have at least a few of the previous books under their belt and they know the connections and deep friendships between Hillary and some of the secondary characters.

I was also pleased that while the resolution of this previous case is very strongly represented, it didn’t really detract from the new murder case. I thought the author handled the two powerful plotlines quite well. I was also intrigued by how Hillary’s character is still very much the same – but she’s clearly grieving and not at her best. I’ve never felt Hillary had been written as some omnipotent or untouchable heroine – but seeing her somewhat disjointed and not in top form was very realistic and quite interesting to read. Particularly since she continued to play to her strengths and remained the appealing and gripping character she’s always been.

This book was layered and very interesting. I’m eager to continue the series.

Murder In The Meadow by Faith Martin
Publisher: Joffe Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Wayne Sutton is found dead by a stream in a beautiful meadow. His head has been bashed in and a red paper heart left on his body. The handsome young artist had a reputation as a ladies’ man.

DI Hillary Greene discovers that many wealthy married women were buying his paintings and taking ‘private’ art lesson from him. It appears that several of them might have wanted him dead.

Hillary also has a new detective sergeant, Gemma Fordham. Seemingly efficient and pleasant, she harbours a secret agenda.

Can Hillary get to the bottom of a complex case involving jealousy, love, and cold-blooded murder?

When two schoolboys find a dead artist in a nearby meadow DI Hillary Greene and her team are called in to investigate. All too soon they have more suspects than they can handle – cal DI Greene work out what’s really going on?

I’ve been really enjoying this British police procedural series based around Oxford. Greene is a wonderfully different character, a middle-aged woman, secure in her career and with plenty of brains and intuition. I love how she’s smart and competent without being omniscient or unrepeatable. I also enjoy how the author has managed to switch things up a bit by over the last few books having two of Greenes team move on – one through a transfer due to marriage and one through promotion. This realistically and easily opened the doors for two new team members to arrive and become strong secondary characters.

With enough interpersonal intrigue to keep me turning pages, the fact the murder mystery was also well plotted and set at a good pace was just icing on the cake.

Murder In The Mansion by Faith Martin
Publisher: Joffe Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

Mattie Jones is found brutally stabbed to death in her palatial home. Hillary Greene is called in to investigate the murder of this wealthy woman. Who wanted her dead and why?

Hillary discovers that Mattie’s snobby attitude had made her many enemies. Mattie was also going through a messy divorce and had a secret lover.

Meanwhile, in a terrifying turn of events, police officers are being gunned down outside their stations. A sniper is on the loose. Who will come under attack next?

Can Hillary cope with the enemies within, a complex case, and the whole force under attack?

This is the next book in the DI Hillary Greene series. I’ve been really enjoying these books – Oxford based British police procedural mysteries. There are two main plot lines through this book – both that of a sniper shooting police officers in their HQ car parks seemingly at random, and Hillary is leading her team investigating the brutal stabbing murder of a woman in her mansion.

I found both plots moved along at a good pace, keeping me interested and eagerly turning the pages. A few of the longer-term story arcs also moved forward which I enjoyed – both with Hillary’s personal life, and the ongoing drama with Gemma, Hillary’s new DS and Barrington, her DC. I enjoyed the movement with her colleagues and am finding this a really enjoyable series.

Readers who hate cliffhanger endings should be aware they will definitely need the next book in the series on hand. While the murder plot is very neatly wrapped up there is an important event that happens right at the very end of this book that will absolutely change the scenery of the rest of the series. I, myself, needed to read the first chapter of the next book immediately upon finishing this one and I strongly expect a number of other readers might feel the same as me in this instance.

Readers who like British police procedural books, or those based in smaller towns should definitely give this a go. While it’s not necessary to have read any of the previous books–I feel this could easily be picked up by itself–I did enjoy the progress with the supporting cast and that came from knowing the history between everyone.

Murder At Home by Faith Martin
Publisher: Joffe Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Looking for a brilliant bestselling murder mystery with a feisty female detective?

Meet DI HILLARY GREENE, a policewoman struggling to save her career and catch criminals.

Flo Jenkins is found murdered in her armchair, a paperknife sticking out of her chest. The old woman was well liked and nothing seems to have been stolen from her home. And it was common knowledge that she only had weeks to live.

Why kill a dying woman? This is going to be one of the toughest cases yet for Hillary to solve.

Hillary also has to deal with a new colleague who has a terrible temper and a rocky past.

With no forensics, no leads, and only a drug-addict nephew as a suspect, will this be Hillary’s first failure to solve a murder case?

This is a crime mystery full of well-observed characters, which will have you gripped from start to finish.

DI Hillary Greene has a lot going on right now. With one member of her team about to get married and move to a different stations and already down a team member from a recent promotion Hillary is being kept rather busy. With a new relationship only a few months old and still in the getting-to-know-you phase and avoiding the clear intentions of her boss, DI Greene has a rather full life. So it’s almost a relief when she catches a new murder case – an elderly lady stabbed in her home. But with no clear motive and hardly anyone with a cross word about her, soon the case is yet another difficulty DI Greene has to try and get on top of.

I have been enjoying this series and was cautiously optimistic when there were quite a few changes shown in this book. I was pleased Hillary and Mike had finally moved forward – after circling each other for a number of books now – and while their relationship is still clearly in the early stages I was happy with some progress with this very slow moving sub-plot. Equally I was happy that a new character was introduced to replace Tommy – who moved stations at the end of the previous book and left a slot open on Hillary’s team. I’d be interested to see if another new character is introduced in the next book as another team member got married at the very end of this book (another long-running sub plot finally coming to a close).

I felt Kevin, the new character, was an interesting breath of fresh air in this story and so am interested to learn more about him in the coming few books. There also was a small sub plot revolving around him that was left open at the end of this book so I expect this will likely get followed up soon and that should prove interesting too.

I found this to be a well written and well paced British Police Procedural style of book and I really enjoyed it. I particularly liked how for the vast majority of the book there was no clear motive to the murder. While there were a few really good red herrings and leads followed through much of the mystery came from trying to unravel the old dear’s life and work out why on earth anyone would want her dead. This was certainly a different perspective on the usual who-dun-it style of story and I actually found it quite refreshing. I also feel it left plenty of time and space for all the other sub-plots and character arc to really flourish and get some good mileage.

I definitely feel readers can pick this book up by itself and enjoy it – but must admit there’s a fair amount of progress with a number of longer-running character arcs so it might be felt that some knowledge of the previous books might give the reader a deeper emotional connection and interest in all these sub-plots going on. I feel the actual mystery itself is very well contained and explained in this novel but a deeper appreciation might be had by readers who know a lot of the history between the main characters and team

Murder In The Family by Faith Martin
Publisher: Joffe Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

15–year-old Billy Davies is found dead in his father’s shed. A pair of gardening shears thrust brutally into his chest.

DI Hillary Greene tries to get to the bottom of this baffling crime.

How had Billy come into contact with such a vicious killer? Who wanted him dead and why? The investigation reveals that the teenager was not such an innocent young man.

Meanwhile, Hillary’s having a tough time at work. She’s been passed over for promotion, and her reliable constable Tommy Lynch is to be transferred out. But Hillary won’t let distractions get in the way of solving crimes.

To catch this killer, Hillary will need to dig deep into the dark secrets of a small community.

DI Hillary Greene and her team are called onto the murder of a 15 year old teenage boy. Found stabbed in his father’s shed, there doesn’t appear to be an easy explanation as to who – or why – anyone would want his young man dead. As Hillary and her team investigate, they only really turn up more questions and no real motive for such a vicious killing. Can they work out what happened before anything else happens?

I’ve been really enjoying this series with a strong, single and forty-something female lead character. While in many ways a standard British Police Procedural story I find the characters – and Hillary’s in particular – refreshing and different enough to really capture and retain my attention. I also enjoyed the fact that this wasn’t an easy plotline and while the victim had been up to a number of shenanigans nothing initially seemed to warrant murder and in particular it took a bit of digging for the characters to really get a feel for what might have been going on in the background.

With a number of solid secondary characters – and the definite wind of change appearing to come through the series on a personal note for a number of these supporting team members – this story felt fresh, and the overall arc of the series seemed like there was no chance of things getting stale. Finally, I did enjoy that it appears Hillary might also be getting a bit of a personal sub-plot in the coming few books with a few interesting character twists as well.

I found this to be a well-rounded series with interesting characters, a well written and paced plotline and a good dollop of British police procedural murder-mystery. Readers who enjoy this genre should give this book a try – or even go back to the start of the series and enjoy them all. It’s worth the trip.

Murder In The Village by Faith Martin
Publisher: Joffe Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

A would-be politician is found battered to death in the kitchen of his expensive home in a lovely Oxfordshire village. His wife’s alibi is full of holes and there’s another woman in the background. And what about his seemingly mild-mannered political rival?

DI Hillary Greene tries to get to the bottom of this perplexing murder. She certainly doesn’t think the prime suspect is as guilty as everyone thinks.

Just as she’s about to make a breakthrough, everything is turned upside down by a fatal development in another case she is working on . . .

Can Hillary find the murderer and will she survive a brush with one of Oxford’s most dangerous criminals?

DI Hillary Greene and her team is called in to investigate when a would-be politician is found battered to death in his own home. The complications arise almost immediately and Hillary is determined to get to the bottom of everything. But just as she gets traction in this case her world is upturned when events surrounding a different case take a deadly turn and soon Hillary has far more than one murder on her plate.

I have been really enjoying this series, and I felt this book was an excellent addition. Hillary is a character I really love – forty-something, logical and tenacious – I feel there’s plenty for many readers to enjoy. With a strong cast of interesting secondary characters lending Hillary support and a few intriguing across-the-series plotlines slowly gathering steam I am beginning to buy the subsequent books in this series more quickly as I eagerly read my way through.

I was particularly pleased that a few of the longer-running story arcs not only made headway, but a few even got some resolution which was very satisfying to read. I do admit there seemed to be two main plotlines to this story – Hillary’s murdered politician, but also a secondary investigation Hillary is drawn into. Between these two plots the book has a decent pace and a bit more action than I’m used to reading in a British police procedural style of book, but I found it exciting and well written so am eager to jump into the next book in the series.

Readers looking for an interesting and well plotted murder mystery series should enjoy this book, though I do recommend readers going back to book 1 and starting this series fresh.

Murder Of The Bride by Faith Martin
Publisher: Joffe Books, London
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

DI Hillary Greene is called out to attend a suspicious death at Three Oaks Farm in the picturesque village of Steeple Barton.

The large farmhouse is filled with music and revellers, but when she steps into the farm’s cowshed, Hillary finds a dead bride. Dressed in a sumptuous white wedding gown, the young, beautiful redhead had clearly been strangled.

But not everything is what it seems, and the victim turns out to be at the centre of a web of jealousy and intrigue in the close-knit village. Many of the villagers have a motive for murdering her but they’re not giving up their secrets easily.

Can Hillary discover the real reason for this brutal crime and cope with the spiralling revelations about her dead ex-husband?

When a young lady at a fancy dress party is found murdered in a cow shed DI Hillary Greene and her team are called in to investigate. The beautiful woman – dressed as the bride she would never become – doesn’t appear to really have any enemies. But the more Hillary digs into her life, the more she realizes just how complicated people really are.

I have been greatly enjoying this series and found this to be a strong addition. The murder mystery is interesting and while the pace is a little slower – more that of a Police procedural rather than an action/adventure – I really did find that the plot unknotted quite well. I also really enjoy that there are a few longer running story arcs through this series, like that of Hillary trying to get her house back and the leftover dregs of her ex-husbands schemes. The possibly blossoming romance also is a very slow-burn and seems to be starting to get somewhere. I also appreciated that there is a new boss for Hillary and her team and the author made it clear this character was going to have quite the mysterious background and motivations for his transfer.

Overall I found this a really interesting book and I’m eager to keep reading. While the mystery plot can absolutely be read alone readers who dislike reading longer story plot arcs out of order might want to consider reading this series in the correct order. I do feel that everything is explained well enough people can pick this up by itself and still thoroughly enjoy it, but for me personally a lot of the fun is in the fact there are a few longer-running character storylines, and I could understand if readers wanted the full story in order and not get muddled or spoilers. I’m enjoying this British police mystery.

Murder At The University by Faith Martin
Publisher: Joffe Books, London
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

A pretty French student is found dead in her room at an exclusive Oxford college. Everyone thinks it is another tragic case of accidental drug overdose.

But Detective Hillary Greene has a nose for the truth. She quickly discovers that the student was involved in some very unusual activities.

With a shocking cause of death found, the case becomes a high-profile murder investigation.

Adding to the pressure, Hillary’s nemesis is transferred to work with her at the station.

Can Hillary keep her cool and get justice for the unfortunate student?

This is the second book in the series featuring DI Hillary Greene and I really enjoyed it. With a layered and interesting murder mystery plot and a number of realistic and complicated characters in the police team I found there was plenty in this British police procedural book to keep my interest keen.

While at a first glance the murder appeared straightforward, I was pleased when a number of twists were uncovered and the mystery quickly deepened to be far more than first expected. I also like how the author kept a good balance with the plot and characters remaining realistic and believable but never simple – there were enough twists to keep me guessing and hold my attention firm.

I also really appreciated how Hillary is not a young woman (somewhere in her forties) and not a novice when it comes to her police work and investigations. That is still quite a refreshing change to me, and I love the series for that difference alone.

Readers looking for a well-paced British police procedural story with an intricate plot and solid characters should check this series out.

Murder On The Oxford Canal by Faith Martin
Publisher: Joffe Books, London
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

MEET DI HILLARY GREENE, A POLICE WOMAN FIGHTING TO SAVE HER CAREER.

Not only has she lost her husband, but his actions have put her under investigation for corruption.

Then a bashed and broken body is found floating in the Oxford Canal. It looks like the victim fell off a boat, but Hillary is not so sure. Her investigation exposes a dark background to the death.

Can Hillary clear her name and get to the bottom of a fiendish conspiracy on the water?

DI Hillary Greene has lost her husband and her home, but she’s determined to cling to her police career. Under internal investigation to see if she was linked to her husband’s corruption, Hillary knows she has an uphill battle ahead of her. So she’s determined to give her best when she’s put in charge of a murder investigation into a dead body found floating in the Oxford Canal. Can Hillary clear her name and the case without any further damage?

This was a new to me author and series and I was delighted with how much I enjoyed it. Hillary is not a young woman – past forty – and having separated from her now-dead husband months ago having to reshuffle her entire life around what was proving to be a very acrimonious divorce as well as maintain her position as a DI as a woman in the local police force this main character had a number of differences to the usual British murder mystery books I enjoy but still was thoroughly relatable. I found myself quite invested in Hillary within the first few chapters and with a number of interesting – both good and bad – characters in the main cast I was pleasantly hooked quite early on in the story.

I also greatly enjoyed how the two main plotlines were written with equal weighting. The internal investigation into Hillary to find out if she knew of any corruption, but also the murder investigation. These two plots were separate but I thought the author did an admirable job of weaving them together in the storyline so neither one really overshadowed the other. I feel this also helped keep the pace of the story moving along at a good pace.

Like many British police procedural stories this isn’t an action-orientated story. Readers looking for thrills and a fast pace might not be satisfied here, but equally at no point did I feel this story was slow or dragged. I didn’t need to skip ahead to hurry things along so that was a pleasure too. For a first book in a series I enjoyed this and before the half way mark I had ordered the next two books to have ready.

With interesting characters, a relatable and enjoyably different main character and a solidly written murder mystery plot I found this a lovely book and am eager to continue in the series.