Today I’m joining the blog tour for Secrets On The Fells. My review is written with thanks to Zoe O’Farrell for inviting me on the blog tour and to the publisher for my copy of the book.
Blurb:
One bitter winter’s night, Detectives Donovan and Young are called to Fountains Abbey. A crumbling ruin out on the wild and windswept Yorkshire Fells. Where the air hangs heavy with local legend, ancient secrets and now the overpowering tang of freshly spilled blood.
College teacher Patrick Armitage lies sprawled across the stones, in a gory crimson pool. His handsome face is a mask of shock and disbelief.
Because Patrick’s not just been murdered. He’s been slaughtered. Stabbed over and over in the coldest blood.
Patrick was a devoted family man and everyone’s favourite drama teacher. Does that make him a tragic victim — or a consummate actor, who kept his true self hidden behind a spotless façade?
The deeper Donovan and Young dig, the more they realize that no one in this baffling case is quite what they seem.
Least of all Patrick’s grief-stricken widow. She begs the detectives for answers, but meets every question with hostile silence.
Then a vulnerable young witness vanishes from college.
And Young knows, with spine-tingling certainty, that Patrick’s killer is not done yet . . .
Discover a gripping, emotionally charged crime thriller, set against the brooding beauty of the Yorkshire Fells. Perfect for fans of Ann Cleeves, Angela Marsons, J.R. Ellis, Val McDermid and Joy Ellis.
Review:
This is the third instalment in Cath Staincliffe’s series set in North Yorkshire, and Secrets On The Fells is just as enjoyable as the others. As a Yorkshire resident myself, I recognise many of the locations in the novel and this, coupled with Cath Staincliffe’s vivid descriptions, allowed me to picture the crime scenes clearly and see what was happening in my mind’s eye.
The lead detectives in this series are Leo Donovan and Shan Young. They do each have a back story, but I felt this wasn’t developed as much in Secrets On The Fells. The strength of these characters is actually their partnership. I love the way they work together, and the way that each chapter is split between their viewpoints makes it easy to see how well they tick.
The residents of the area surrounding the murder scene are often at pains to point out how everyone knows each other and their business, and this means there is a large number of suspects. I enjoyed reading as the detectives worked through all the possibilities and developed their theories. When the revelations did finally come, I had guessed a few of them, but there were still a few surprises that kept me on tenterhooks until the very end.
Secrets On The Fells is available from Amazon.
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