Murder on the Marshes #BookReview #Bookouture #4.5*

 

 

The sun rises on a lush stone courtyard, where birds sing and ferns shade an ancient, burbling fountain. But in the fountain’s murky depths, a young woman’s body grows cold…

Samantha Seabrook – an ambitious young woman with a chequered past – is found drowned in the ornamental fountain of a locked Cambridge courtyard. The only clue is an antique silver chain wound tightly around her throat.

It’s local reporter Tara Thorpe’s job to discover what happened to Miss Seabrook – but the case becomes personal when she learns that Samantha had been receiving threatening messages… rather like the one that landed on the doorstep of Tara’s cottage the night the woman died.

Together with Detective Inspector Garstin Blake, Tara follows a lead that takes her to the deep and watery fens on the outskirts of the city.

But there’s something Tara can’t quite admit to Blake about her past – and it could make all the difference to whether they crack the case before the killer strikes again.

The Tara Thorpe Mystery Series
Book 1 – Murder on the Marshes
Book 2 – Death on the River
Book 3 – Death Comes to Call
Book 4 – Murder in the Fens

 

 

 

 

Beautifully Created – With a Dark Side!    

 

What a great start to a series! I must read book two – and soon!

When the body of a young female professor is found, the police aren’t the only ones investigating. Local reporter Tara Thorpe is doing a piece for her paper on Samantha Seabrook’s life – but, more than that, she wants to find the person responsible as she has been experiencing the same grim warnings that the professor received prior to her death. Who has her in their sights?

This is a book I’ve had for quite some time; when I saw the author posting about it on twitter I was reminded and managed to slot it in to my list – and I’m glad I did. Tara Thorpe is a rare thing – a journalist with scruples and, for many reasons, she is invested in this story. As she delves further into the life of Professor Seabrook and those around her, she comes into contact with DI Blake and they form a close working relationship. I suspect we may see more of Blake in the rest of this series – at least I hope so! There is no way I could have predicted the outcome of this one; I just didn’t see it until it was staring me in the face. An excellent, well-written and beautifully created novel with a bit of a dark side, and one which has added Clare Chase to my list of must-read authors. A thoroughly good read, and well worth 4.5 stars.

I purchased this novel; this is my honest, original and unbiased review.

 

Tags: crime mystery

• Format: ebook, paperback, audiobook
• Size: 346 pages
• Publisher: Bookouture
• Publication Date: 31 July 2018
• Links: Goodreads
•              W. H. Smith
•              Waterstones
•              amazon

 

 

Author Bio

 

Clare Chase finds the current state of the world a bit stressful and has resorted to writing classic mysteries as a form of escapism. Her aim is to take readers away from it all via some armchair sleuthing in atmospheric locations.

Like her heroines, Clare is fascinated by people and what makes them tick. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked in settings as diverse as Littlehey Prison and the University of Cambridge, in her home city. She’s lived everywhere from the house of a lord to a slug-infested flat but the mid-terrace she currently occupies represents a good happy medium.

As well as writing, Clare loves family time, art and architecture, cooking, and of course, reading other people’s novels.

If you would like to get in touch, Clare would love to hear from you.

 

Social Media

Website: clarechase.com

Twitter: @clarechase_

Facebook: @ClareChaseAuthor

 

 

 

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