The Body in the Snow is the fourth book in a series by Nick Louth. It features DCI Craig Gillard. He and his team are investigating the death of a wealthy and well-known woman who runs an Asian food empire.

This book is an excellent police procedural and it is very well-plotted, with several dead ends and red herrings to make it interesting. But I wouldn’t necessarily classify it as a true thriller. As I read this book, it became quite obvious to me that this is a series that should probably be read in order. Since this is the fourth book I found some things to be a little perplexing. Aunt Trish? Definitely some unknow history there.

I found the characters to be quite interesting, although there are some who are a bit absurd. There are lots of personalities in play. However, there was one character that truly grated on my nerves and that’s Sam, DCI Gillard’s wife. Even though she is pregnant and deserves some tolerance, she takes whiny to a new level. She hit the peak of my annoyance meter when she appeared to be over-the-top jealous of a suspect because “she’s pretty” and she made her husband promise not to interrogate her alone. Head shaking moment for sure.

I vacillated between 3 and 4 stars for this book’s rating. In the end, I’ve given it 4 stars and I would gladly give this series another try. NetGalley provided an advance copy.

Another great addition to this series. A number of interconnecting threads kept my interest throughout. Fantastic character development

A well done procedural. DCI Craig Gillard has a tough one on his plate - a wealthy and influential woman has been killed in a public place. There are lot of secrets and lies and there's corruption as well. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Another excellent book in the thriller series featuring DCI Craig Gillard investigating with his team the discovery of a woman's body in the snow and a young detective jogging in the park finds her and sees a passing cyclist riding by. This novel keeps the reader enthralled until the final pages.

An enjoyable read with interesting characters. Not particularly memorable but a solid mystery. I likely would read another by the same author but would not seek it out.

I do love Nick Louth's work and this is no exception.

DCI Gillard is tasked with unearthing what really happened during a violent attack carried out in a very public place. If you enjoy police procedurals, you'll love this, as plenty of red herrings and dead ends are thrown at Gillard who nevertheless manages to make his way through to the ultimate conclusion - which isn't what you might think.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

This is the fourth book of a thriller series set in Surrey
This is filled with excellent characters along with a great storyline.
A great book and series

DCI Gillard is a likeable detective. A violent attack in a public place puts pressure on Gillard to solve the crime. A believable investigation team overlay the methodical police investigation, which reveals problems in the victim's personal life.

There are numerous suspects and credible leads, as the story progresses. Steady suspense building and detailed research add to the story's authenticity. Characters and incidents in DCI Gillard's personal life provide additional conflict, adding realism.

This is a well-written police procedural with an engaging detective.

I received a copy of this book from Canelo via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

A fantastic read, with lots of twists and turns. I was riveted from the beginning and couldn't put it down. The author is fast becoming one of my favourites!

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher's Canelo, Mystery & Thrillers for this review copy. This is my unbiased review of the author's work and style. If you want spoilers, please see the publisher's blurb and other reviewers' reports.
I must apologise to the publishers for not having published this review before.
I had not read any of Nick Louth’s work before but now I have all the DCI Gillard books. The author’s writing is detailed but clear and his police procedural knowledge appears deep and accurate. There is none of tedious family background that so many modern writes think necessary and his style carries us easily through the complexities of the tale.
A good writer which in many ways reminds me of Ruth Rendell’s Inspector Wexford novels – albeit up to date and somewhat grislier
To my mind a good 5 stars

Nick Louth can do no wrong!

I've read that author several times and am never disappointed! Every book is well written, different, well developed storyline and interesting characters.

I can't wait for the next one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the access to this book. This is my honest review. All opinions are my own.

A very captivating book. Would definitely recommend, story is mysterious and keeps you on your toes, it would definitely keep people entertained.

I do enjoy a good police procedure/crime thriller & this wasn’t an exception. An interesting and unusual story line which send the reader on several ‘red herring’ journeys before coming up with the murderer. I’m looking forward to Nick Louth’s next book.

3.5-4*
The fourth in this series and another good read from Nick Louth. This book has DCI Craig Gillard investigating the brutal murder of Tanvi Roy.

After hearing screams a young soon-to-be-CSI, who is out running on the day before she starts her new career, finds Mrs Roy’s body. Putting all her new knowledge to use she secures the scene as best as is possible given the circumstances – weather, dogs, people!

It seems like a robbery but DCI Gillard soon understands that there is much more happening and it must be murder. There aren’t many leads but Gillard is persistent and is soon on the trail of a possible suspect.

We are lead up a few dead ends, mistakes happen and Gillard is up against the pressure of a deadline from his boss which if he doesn’t meet may ruin his career.

His private life is a theme through the book. Sam is pregnant. His Aunt – what a piece of work! – lives across the road. Weird things are happening and Sam wants to sell up, Craig agrees but is immersed in his investigation which is not going too smoothly. This thread is a little creepy and ultimately very tragic for the couple.

Craig and his team work hard to find out what happens. After twists and turns, another murder the investigation gets on track.

An adroit, fine read in what is a story worth reading from an accomplished author. It’s a good series of which I have read previous books and would recommend.

Previous reviews: Body in the Mist | Body in the Marsh

Thanks

With thanks to Ellie at Canelo for the invite to read and to Canelo via NetGalley for an eCopy of The Body in the Snow by Nick Louth. These are purely my own thoughts, for which I have received no payment.

"The Body in the Snow" is a detective story, where collecting evidence and search for a motive (and subsequently the murderer) is clearly the focus of the story. Throughout this investigation we learn more and more about the family of the victim, and so for me it was only half a 'whodunit' and the other half was 'family drama'.

Either way, the writing was quite good and the main protagonist likable. The rest of his team are only supporting charaters, and I was actually surprised that the CSI trainee who found the body in the snow does not play any role further on in the case. Until the last few chapters...

Since this is my first book in this series, I couldn't relate to the hints to a previous case involving Gillards aunt Trish. This side story remained a bit mysterious to me.
But all in all I enjoyed this thriller, that was more interesting and puzzling than really suspenseful.

Thank you to Canelo and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is another great read by Nick Louth, with DCI Gillard at the helm of a murder investigation. Although part of a series (I believe it's the 4th with DCI Gillard), this can easily be read as a stand-alone, and is a fantastic example of a police procedural, with all the mundane, tedious and sometimes exciting things involved in police work. I particularly enjoyed being privy, as the reader, to Gillard's thought processes - the only false note for me was his relationship with his wife. I felt that his wife, and their relationship, was a bit of an afterthought, and too one-dimensional.

The author did a good job of exploring a foreign culture, Indian Hindus, and explaining some of the unique - and shocking (e.g. the place and role of women/daughters) - aspects of that culture that exist side-by-side with British culture.

When not reading psychological thrillers I usually turn to an English crime procedural for a change of page. And chose this one as it was snowing and I felt it was appropriate. Thank goodness it wasn’t sunny or I might have missed a really good one. The fourth in a series with this detective it seems (but my first) no worries, it works as a stand-alone. The plot revolves around a murdered woman who was well known as a chef and the owner of a national food company. The victims family and patriarchal culture was deftly highlighted and necessary to follow the team to the conclusion. I enjoyed reading about the various team members and their interactions so I’m now planning on reading some of the previous installments to learn more of their back stories.

There are lots of helpful reviews by smarter people out there, so I'll just recommend this to police procedural fans. Recommended.

I really appreciate the review copy!!

The Body in the Snow is the fourth book in the DCI Craig Gillard series, set in Surrey. While these mysteries do stand alone, you do really need to have read the previous book (The Body in the Mist) to understand the background story about what’s going on with his terrible neighbour. This was another well crafted police procedural featuring a flawed but resolute detective.

On a snowy winter morning, a middle aged Asian woman is brutally murdered while walking in a park. Discovering that she is a well known TV chef and beloved matriarch of a successful family owned Indian food company, Craig and his team suspect that the killing was motivated by the greed of her entitled, grasping extended family, but the politics within his department push him to find a suspect as soon as possible, pushing his ethics to the limit.

I’ve enjoyed this series despite not particularly warming to the hero, who’s a bit sleazy around women and inconsiderate of his wife, the increasingly pathetic jealous whiny Sam. While his team are quite involved in this one, they are not well developed as characters, so when something awful happens to one of them, there was no emotional punch, it just felt like a plot device. On the other hand the dynamics of the Indian hereditary system, and their impact on women in particular, were fully explored and lay at the root of the murder. And all the references to delicious Indian food had me craving curry!

I was slightly disappointed by the ending of the last book, and so hoped that the Gillard’s family drama would be resolved in this one, but instead it seems it will be dragged out as a backdrop to the next one at least, from the rather heavy foreshadowing here. A certain character definitely needs to pay for what they’ve done (carefully avoiding spoilers...)

I stayed up well past bedtime finishing this, and didn’t guess whodunnit it until shortly before the reveal. Things were wrapped up satisfactorily although I would’ve liked to know what happened to the dog... The next book is published in July so not too long to wait to find out what happens to poor overworked Craig next!

My thanks to NetGalley and Canelo for the ARC which allowed me to give an honest review, and apologies that it’s a bit late. The Body in the Snow is available now.

A Catalogue Of Events....
Book four in the DCI Craig Gillard series. The murder of a woman in a park by a passing cyclist sets off a catalogue of events for Gillard. Well written procedural with rounded characters and a solid plot. An engrossing read.