When the Dead Come Calling is an intriguing read, like no crime novel I’ve read before, and I’m grateful to NetGalley for allowing me to read this prior to publication in March 2020.
Set in the northern coastal town of Burrowhead, we get to see a dark underbelly to a seemingly rural idyll. Secrets abound, and there’s a small-town mentality to the characters in this that is both understandable but also scary.
The style is unusual for a crime novel, and may not be to everyone’s tastes.
At the start of the novel we learn of the discovery of a body in the local playground. It is that of a local doctor. His body is discovered by a local police officer, who also happens to be his boyfriend. A note is discovered near his body suggesting that racism could be a factor in this crime.
As I imagine to be common in a police case, details are not immediately forthcoming. We spend what seems like a lot of time trying to work out what is going on, and when another body is discovered to try and establish the links.
What struck me most while reading was that everyone seemed to be harbouring some kind of secret. I don’t want to give away details that affect the reading, but this is definitely a read that becomes more engaging as we learn more about those involved.
Throughout the story I was struck by the references to the past of the village, and the beliefs that seemed to shape the attitudes of those currently living there. I am still unclear as to how some of the references to the Others are linked, but I understand this is the first in a series so we may get answers further in the future.
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Sorry I could not get into this book at all. I kept reading hoping that it would get better but unfortunately that did not happen. The writing style was too rambling for me and the story was different to what I had imagined it would be.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This was just an ok read for me. I couldn't immerse myself into it and felt it lacked a bit of cohesiveness.

I really hate it when I have got a book to read and I am not enjoying it. It is one of life's small pleasures to look forward to - a book at bedtime. This book I am afraid was a horror to me. It lacked cohesion to the point of total confusion. I had no idea who or what the main characters were, there was no introduction to them, random people popped up, with just a first name, but who were they?
What was going on with the who or what? in the cave, why was her husband hugging ancient monuments and apparently wasting his time starting a website for a village that did not seem very big. There was also the random case of possibly politically correct racism appearing at the village shop.
I am so sorry to say that I did not find this book at all pleasant.

Helen Sedgwick's first in The Burrowhead Mysteries series is an off kilter crime read where little becomes clear for quite some time, this makes it an unusual read and one that might put off some readers, although this approach feels fresh, and perhaps more authentic and realistic of true life police investigations. Set in a northern coastal village, Burrowhead, its local police station has managed to survive the sweeping budget cuts and station closures, although the police station is in a poor and dilapidated state. This echoes the rundown state of the area, a downturn and depression experienced by the villagers, there are few opportunities, breeding bitterness and resentment amongst the inhabitants, particularly the young. More worrying is the ominous, brooding atmosphere of the place, a village deeply embedded in fear, ghosts, layers of guilt, violence, racism and hate. Where the bodies are pushing their way out of the earth, just like the emergent secret historical horrors and evil buried in the ground.

DI Georgie Strachan makes her way early in the morning to the playground where the gruesomely murdered body of Dr Alexis Cosse, a psychotherapist, has been found. His gay partner, PC Simon Hunter, is griefstricken, plagued by thoughts that Alexis was seeing someone else, Simon's personal connection disqualifies him from the police investigation. People are being sent threatening racist notes, and the owner of the local Spar, Pamali, is under attack and experiencing vandalism, and homophobia is common. Georgie finds herself with few leads, relying on the local knowledge of PC Trish Mackie, who is supporting a local lad being bullied, Andy, now doing work experience at the station. With her marriage to Fergus under pressure, Georgie has to deal with a second murder, that of a cabbie, and just who is harbouring hidden in the cave?

This is not your usual crime read, but it is one that I become completely engrossed in. I would not wish to read many books like this one, but on a occasional basis, it is an excellent crime read with its strong hints of the supernatural, its Menhir that so obsesses Fergus, intent on setting up a local archaeological group. Burrowhead has an unpalatable historical past, and in the present, few of the villagers are likeable. Sedgewick adroitly portrays a village infected by the political poison that infects Britain with its divisive issue of Brexit, and the picture is despairingly ugly. This is a compulsive read, dark, bleak but so gripping. I am interested to see where Sedgewick moves the series next. Many thanks to Oneworld Publications for an ARC.

Oh My Days! This was a bit of a slog initially! But, and it's a big but, once I got used to the author's really rather unique writing style, which didn't take too long - thankfully - I started to get fully immersed in what I was reading, all the way to its satisfying conclusion. If you are like me and struggling initially, it's worth sticking with if you can as it is worth it in the end. It's the first in series and I am definitely interesting in pursuing this series further now I know what I'll probably be getting.
Set in sleepy Burrowhead, a town that's so integral to the plot as to warrant being a character in its own right, we follow Georgie, the DI tasked with investigating the death of a local psychiatrist whose body is found in the town's playground. With a man down as one of her officers has a personal connection with the deceased and with a spate of other crimes which may or may not be connected, she really does have her work cut out for her as she tries to piece together what in the heck is going on in her adopted town.
In amongst all this, we also have Georgie's rather strange husband Fergus and his antics as he delves into the ancient history of Burrowhead, their paths crossing with some rather interesting domestic scenes throughout the book.
And through it all, an underlying feeling of dread and despair served up by the atmosphere surrounding the town in general. We also hear from another character whose part is unsure for the majority of the book. All very confusing as already mentioned.
I've already said that I struggled to make sense of all that was going on in this book initially. But I've been down that road before and it never got too confusing to give up. I'm nothing but determined! But, as I have also said, it did come together nicely at the end but I do admit that maybe others who aren't as determined may be tempted to sack it off way before that point. I didn't and am very glad I persisted.
Georgie is quite different to most of the MCs I have met in crime fiction books. I can't quite put my finger on why but, by the end of the book, I was quite warming to her and I am looking forward to what the author has in store for her next time.
There's definitely a lot going on both within and without the crime being investigated. Mostly due to the nature of the setting and the characters that inhabit the town of Burrowhead. But that's series books for you. They tend to be less one-dimensional than stand alones in this regard and, as with most series openers, there is a lot of introductions and back stories to be established. And in this regard the author has set the balance just on the right side.
If you want a quick and easy read, this may not be the book for you but, if you are prepared to invest in a book and be rewarded for your trouble, then I would definitely recommend this book. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Oneworld Publications for an advance copy of When the Dead Come Calling, a crime novel set in a small seaside village somewhere in England, featuring DI Georgie Strachan.

When psychotherapist Alexis Cosse is found murdered in the local playground Georgie and her team swing into action but nothing is quite as it seems in Burrowhead.

I found When the Dead Come Calling strangely compelling despite it not being what I expected, a fact based police procedural, or that it contains many elements I normally don’t like. I should say upfront that I suspect that it will hold a fascination for some readers like me, but will repel an equal number with its ambiguity and nebulousness. I will also say that the novel bears close reading as these traits can easily lead to something being missed.

The novel opens with a character hiding in a cave and it sets the scene. There is no hint of why this person is there, except they are afraid, and no hint of their identity. Instead it concentrates on their reactions to and impressions of their surroundings. It then turns to Georgie and her reaction to the murder, a mad scramble out of bed and references to the unknown Simon. The reader is already lost trying to figure out what is going on. Personally I found my curiosity aroused and the way the novel is told almost hypnotic. It is difficult to describe because all the salient points are covered, investigation, suspects, diversions and solution but it is like no other crime novel I have read. It is more like a stream of consciousness narrative where the characters’ reactions are foremost, but like real life much of it is amorphous and difficult to pin down. The constantly changing point of view gives the reader a broader perspective and different reactions to events. Normally I find this distracting and annoying but it held me spellbound.

The novel is extremely atmospheric with constant mentions of the weather, surrounding and especially the clouds. I’m not particularly hot on metaphors but even I can see that the weather reflects a wider take on events. The bit of the novel I wasn’t so keen on was Georgie’s sense of unease about a deeper evil seeping out of the soil. It adds to the brooding atmosphere but don’t ask me to believe in ancient evil - the villagers are nasty enough without blaming otherworldly forces.

The village of Burrowhead doesn’t come out of the novel well, being portrayed as an isolated, prejudiced community with their own ways, straight out of an old horror movie. Are there places like that?

I was glad to have read this novel as I always like to try something a bit different and, as I said, I found it fascinating. It has novelty value for me and I would probably read a follow up but I wouldn’t want to read this kind of novel every day of the week as it’s quite taxing and I don’t quite know what to make of it.

I tried to get into this book several times, wondering if the problem was that I just wasn’t in the mindset to appreciate the style. Unfortunately, I had to admit defeat as it was far too rambling, seemed like two completely different books cut and pasted together and failed to hold my attention in any way.
Some quite beautiful descriptions in places so it’s a shame the construction and editing doesn’t complement that. I do like a thoughtful thriller but this never quite took off for me.

Bizarre as it took me reading to almost 80%, a challenge itself, to be absolutely convinced that this was one book and not two with chapters being mixed and matched as the author saw fit. The murder part is fine in places, although with the rather to be expected these days historic abuse, racial hatred and the like. We started with a husband bringing his wife tea in bed and the possibility of breakfast, her phone went and she leapt into action - we assume she is a detective. At least right there but nothing to suggest rank or anything such that I wondered if this was a second or third in a series. Her team was a mixed bunch as usual not helped by the murdered man being the partner of one of her colleagues. Took him out of the way of the case but he still appeared an awful lot. Enter Uncle Walt, related to another colleague, but who has mental issues of some sort and believes "they" are coming to get him most of the time as well as going off on walkabout. There are chapters on the beach with someone talking to themselves or maybe someone else really is there and so on. The whole thing is set somewhere near the coast, in a police station apparently forgotten in time and a village of non-pc characters all agin incomers; the whole lot in the back end of nowhere. This is definitely not my kind of story - too disjointed and flits around too much. There's no cohesion until the last couple of chapters where things are drawn together. I didn't find the flow in the writing either because of flitting between the two stories. Thanks to NetGalley and Oneworld Publications, Point Blank for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I adored The Comet Seekers but whilst I enjoyed this atmospheric, haunting novel it didn't really have the same impact for me. The writing is beautiful, the plotting is clever and relevant and it is at times very spooky so it will be spot on for many readers.

This is definitely a reader issue not a writer issue, sometimes you just don't engage fully with a narrative because of other things, in this case I genuinely believe it's because I'm world weary of the way we are treating each other in this Brexit Trump era. Helen Sedgwick has an insightful and realistic outlook on that in this story but I think I didn't want to hear it anymore. Even if it is important. 

So right writer wrong novel for me just now. Although I LOVED the descriptive sense of place very much indeed. Looking forward to more in the future.

I couldn’t finish When The Dead Came Calling, I struggled to get even 25% of the way through. I was expecting something a little different

This book was fast paced. Hard to put down. It flowed well and it was very well written. It caught hold of me and had me hooked from the start . I was literally on the edge of my seat reading this book.

Sorry I could not finish this. Not only did the typesetting drive me crazy but the storyline did not meet expectation. The story was not cohesive and needed serious editing. Thank you NetGalley