4 stars

Trudy Loveday is a young (almost twenty), probationary PC. Her immediate boss is DI Jennings. She is chasing a bag snatcher down the street as the book opens in 1960’s London.

A murder has occurred and DI Jennings is very busy. He doesn’t want to be distracted by pathologist Doctor Ryder’s request to review the evidence in a cold case. The death was of Gisela Fleet-Wright and it happened five years earlier. He solves his problem by assigning his newest recruit WPC Trudy Loveday to assist Dr. Ryder in his investigation.

At first put off by Dr. Ryder’s curmudgeonly manner, the two quickly begin to get along. Trudy is very excited to actually work on her first real murder case.

This book was good and so completely different from Ms. Martin’s Hillary Green series. To begin with, it was set in the 1960’s when forensic techniques were unheard of and cops had to rely on witness statements and their own ability to tell who was lying and who was not. This reader had to keep reminding herself that there were no cell phones and the like to rely on. I didn’t like this book as much as I like Ms. Martin’s DI Hillary Greene series. Perhaps in time they will improve as WPC Trudy Loveday finds her feet. It had Ms. Martin’s trademark twists in it and there were surprises. A good entry, and I will be anticipating the next in the series to see if WPC Trudy attains her feet.

I want to thank NetGalley and HQ Digital for forwarding to me a copy of this good book to read, enjoy and review.

Thank you net Galley. I have enjoyed Faith Martin's Hilary Greene series very much and looked forward to reading a new series from the author. I was disappointed. The book lacked the zing of the DI Greene series and was generally flat. I am willing to give the series another chance hoping that Ms Martin will be able to develop the series suitably. This one so-so.

I would like to thank Netgalley and HQ Digital for an advance copy of A Fatal Obsession, the first novel to feature trainee WPC Trudy Loveday and Coroner Dr Clement Ryder, set in Oxford 1960.

When local industrialist Sir Marcus Deering receives an anonymous letter threatening his son he calls in the police. With the station's attention on this threat DI Jennings doesn't have much time to spare for the coroner who wants to re-examine the verdict in the death of Gisela Fleet-Wright five years previously and needs a police liaison officer to facilitate his enquiries. Killing two birds with one stone, appeasing the overbearing Dr Ryder and getting an officer he doesn't know what to do with out of the way he appoints probationary WPC Loveday as liaison. Surprisingly the two of them hit it off and are soon involved in a twisty investigation where nothing is as it seems.

I enjoyed A Fatal Obsession which has a clever plot and a most unexpected resolution, although the clues are all there (I just failed to pick up on them!). Given the era there are no forensics so investigators rely mostly on interviews, smart thinking and an ability to read people and know when they are lying. This latter trait is at the heart of the novel as it is full of lies and attempted misdirection. The plot is well developed as it moves from knowing nothing through several developments and twists to a conclusion.

It would be impossible to pick up and read this novel without making comparisons to Ms Martin's very successful DI Hillary Greene series. It is completely different, not just in the setting but in tone. It lacks the warmth and humour between the characters of that series but I suspect that will come as both readers and characters acclimatise themselves to each other. It is a very promising start to a new series and I'm looking forward to reading more.

The characters are well thought out and interesting. Trudy is young and naïve but makes up for it in intelligence and enthusiasm whereas "the old vulture" as he is known is crusty, world weary and not in perfect health but he still has an incisive, logical mind a burning desire for the truth. They work well together, in a teacher/ pupil way although Trudy sometimes surprises her mentor and I'm anticipating great things from this unlikely duo.

The historical setting is interesting. Women had a hard time in the workplace, not just the police, in those days so Trudy doesn't have it easy and doesn't get the credit she deserves. It's the little details like her mum ignoring her desire for promotion and a career and trying to pressure her into marriage and kids which would mean giving up the job that give the novel authenticity.

A Fatal Obsession is a fine start to a new series so I have no hesitation in recommending it as a good read.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

This is the first in a series set in the '60s, featuring WPC Trudy Loveday, who is seconded to assist Coroner Clement Ryder, who wishes to revisit an old coroner's verdict he observed while training and was never happy with. This is partly because the police are afraid of Ryder and partly because they are not sure what to do with Trudy as she is a woman and therefore seen as unsuitable for various roles open to the male officers.

I thought this was very good - Trudy faces a certain amount of prejudice from her colleagues and disapproval from her family as a result of her choice of career, but not to a cruel extent, and her dealings with Ryder are well done. The plot was easy to follow and the characters sympathetic. I look forward to further instalments.

Loved the DI Hilary Greene books, couldn’t wait to read this new one, but felt it wasn’t as good as her other books. Still enjoyed it, but felt it was a bit of a let down. Waiting for the next couple of books in this series to fully compare. Maybe it was just that D I Hilary Greene was so very good and easy to read! Still a good book though