Book #19 in Faith Martin's serie of a youngdetective that works hard to maintain the law and lead her team into solving the cold cases that others could not. I've read several in this series and recommended them to may reading circle.

This one was not for me.
Thank you NetGalley for providing a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

MURDER NOW AND THEN by Faith Martin.
Former Detective Hillary Greene and her cold case team are taking a fresh look at the unsolved murder of Michael Beck, found bludgeoned over the head and dead in a river near his home in 2012
Just twenty-two at the time, he’d recently finished a history degree and had his whole life ahead of him. Everyone said he was a pleasant sort of lad with a passion for the past, quietly living with his parents until he could afford a place of his own. But it quickly turned out that there were at least two people who might have wanted him dead.The first, his recently-jilted girlfriend Mia de Salle, hadn’t taken the break-up well. The second, his former tutor Dr Timothy Durning, had been accused of sexual harassment by Michael. But the original team could find no forensic evidence linking either of their prime suspects to the crime, nor witnesses placing them in the area when Michael was killed.Hillary, however, is determined to find fresh leads. But while she and her team get to work, in the city of Oxford two men from the city’s criminal underbelly have been viciously murdered in the last six months.Are the recent murders and her own cold case linked? More than a decade later, has the same killer struck again? And if so, what’s the connection between the mild-mannered young man and the underworld criminals.It’s up to Hillary to stop a killer getting away with murder — both now and then.
A really enjoyable read with good characters. I love this author. 5*.

This case is about the murder of Michael Beck. Michael was found in a river, thought to have been killed with a blunt force to his head. No lead or weapon was ever found. Hillary and her team start asking the right questions, and soon new information comes to light. Information not presented originally, and soon the pieces of the mystery start falling into place. Especially when this cold case starts intertwining with a recent double murder.

I always enjoy reading about Hillary Greene's cases, and this book is no exception. It not only details the facets of Hillary's latest case, but it also gives us a glimpse into the lives of Hillary and her colleagues. I highly recommend this book to other mystery readers.

I love Hillary Greene and her cold case team. I was really excited to read this and was not disappointed at all.
Easy to read but each shirt novel builds upon everything we have come to love about Faith Martin and her depiction of this weather-beaten ex-detective.
Fast-paced, cleverly written, and thoroughly enjoyable.

Highly recommended

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

First book I read in this series and I liked it. Faith Martin can write compelling and entertaining mystery and this one was no exception.
I appreciated Hilary, the characters and the solid mystery.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This was really entertaining and an enjoyable read. I really got involved. It was also interesting to know the location.

So pleased that I read this book

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own

a great story, great characters, and definitely an action-packed page turner. I haven't read any other Faith Martin books, but it didn't impact on enjoyment.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Hard to believe we're up to No 19 in the Hillary Greene series. This time, she and her cold case team are looking at the case of Michael Beck, murdered 10 years or so ago. A murder never solved but with suspects and little forensic evidence. She stumbles upon two recent cases with quite a few similarities so has to walk a careful line between the cold and current cases. Added to the police story we also have more background to Hillary's relatively new team member Gareth Proctor, ex-military and invalided out. A good read but not quite up to normal sense of achievement. Thanks to NetGalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Hillary Greene has retired but still works for the police but as civilian working cold cases, more of a 9-5 job and no badge, and she works from the basement with a staff of 2. She works these cold cases not with just fresh eyes but as if she was taking on a new case for the first time. She has been given a job looking into the murder of Michael Beck's death approx a decade ago, but just recently 2 more murders have occurred and both with the same hallmarks as the same death of Michael Becks, the medical examiner cannot work out what was the weapon that was used on Michael as it was never found, the only difference with these 2 new deaths is that a taser was used to disarm the culprits, which was not used on Michael. Michael's parents are glad that the murder of their son is being re-opened as they were disappointed the first time round that no one was arrested for the crime.
Hillary still lives on her narrow houseboat and still drives the same old rust bucket of a car, but she still does her job and looks at the info with a fine-tooth comb. The original D I remembers the case well and made a note that Michael's girlfriend was weird and actually stalked him as according to all Michaels circle they parted ways, also there was Michael's best friend very different to Michael as he was not very clever and did not make any effort even his father said he was good for nothing but they got on well but Michael's parents think he was only there to see what he could get, then there was his college lecturer Michael thought a lot of him until he made a pass at him, so a mixed bunch and has any of these people got anything to do with the recent murders which Hillary has nothing to do with them as she is a civilian. She is still methodical dot's the I's and crosses the T's.
This story is a much slower pace than the usual Hillary Greene but don't let that put you off.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for an ARC copy to read.

Murder Now and Then is the 19th book in the Hillary Greene series. This book has a great plot, is fast paced and grabs you from the get-go. Hillary is a tenacious Investigator and you will enjoy following her as she uncovers clues and solves the case.

Hillary is formally retired from the police, but has been working the cold case department as a civilian. Her team's latest case involves the murder of Michael Beck from 2012, just 22 years old. The team investigates the case from the start and comes up with a couple of possible suspects, a former girlfriend, not happy with their break up and a former tutor, accused of sexual harassment.

We are also presented with the the murder of two criminals, killed 6 months ago in the same manner as Michael Beck. How are these two cases connected?

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The review is my own.

Hillary Greene and her team work on cold cases.
Michael was murdered 10 years ago. Was it Mia who hadn't taken the break up of their relationship very well? Was it, his former tutor Dr Timothy Durning, who had been accused of sexual harassment by Michael.

Hillaryis determined to find fresh leads. She and her team get to work, in the city of Oxford. Two men from the criminal world have been violently murdered in the last six months.

Are her cold case and the recent murders linked?
Hillary leads her team with veracity and empathy and the murderer is not who you expect.

Thank you NetGalley and Joffe Books for this arc.

This is the 19th Hillary Greene book. While not strictly necessary to read them all, I do recommend it as this is a more character driven series than some. There's still a plot and some action. As a police procedural, it's a slower pace than most. Hillary is still with the cold case review team and has been assigned a 10 year old unsolved murder to look into. This read starts off at a fairly slow pace and picks up steam as it progresses. There are the usual plodding along and unexpected "twists" that seem to be present in all of the Hillary Greene stories. Hillary seemed a little "flatter" than I was used to, but then she's still recovering and grieving Stephen's death from the 17th book.

4.5 stars

Faith Brown brings back her former Detective Hillary Greene, who has been having a tough and difficult time. This time she, and her Crime Review Team (CRT) tackle a cold case from back in 2012, the murdered man was 22 year old History graduate, Michael Beck, seemingly with no enemies. However, he did have an ex-girlfriend, Mia, who did not take their break up well and Dr Timothy Durning, a tutor Michael had accused of sexual harassment. As the title references, Greene begins to take an interest in some recent murders within the criminal world, are thei connections to her cold case? This is a complicated and interesting investigation that has the CRT working hard and having to deal with police politics as well. I can see many crime and mystery readers enjoying this addition to the series. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

This is book 19 in the DI Hillary Greene series! Hillary is now a civilian, but gets back to work on unsolved, aka cold, cases. With her great solve rate, it only makes sense. But once a copper, always a copper, and soon she is taking her cold case into modern day and stumbling into a current case. She immediately sees no issue with working both cases, but of course the actual assigned DI does. As she works with her new team, she also has to watch the many toes she's stepping on- something she's not know to be patient with. It's an interesting mystery and a great new step in the series, to back it relevant and breathe new life into it!

4.5 Stars

The fabulous Hillary Greene makes a welcome return in Faith Martin’s brilliant new novel, Murder Now and Then.

Hillary and her cold case team are taking a fresh look at the unsolved murder of history graduate, Michael Beck. Having been bludgeoned to death back in 2012, Michael’s murder had been a huge shock for the entire community. Mild-mannered Michael had a passion for the past, was personable and kind-hearted and had no enemies to speak of. Back then, the finger of suspicion had been pointed towards two people: his ex-girlfriend Mia who hadn’t taken their break-up at all well and his tutor Dr Timothy Durning, who had been accused of sexual harassment by Michael. As the police at the time hadn’t managed to link either one of the suspects to Michael’s murder, the case had gone cold leaving his killer still at large. But Hillary and her team are determined to change that and they vow to leave no stone unturned in their quest for justice.

In Oxford, two men with links to the criminal underworld have been viciously murdered and Hillary cannot shake off the feeling that these deaths might have a connection with her own cold case. As Hillary and her team begin looking into the two cases, they begin to wonder whether the murderer has struck again – and whether it’s only a matter of time before another victim is found. Hillary is the only one who can put the murderer behind bars, but with the odds stacked against her, will she manage to solve this case in time? Or will the killer end up getting away with murder again?

Faith Martin strikes gold yet again with Murder Now and Then. A compelling, captivating and immensely enjoyable crime novel, in Murder Now and Then, the fantastic Hillary Greene is on superb form and she once again uses all her skills, talents and humanity to find her killer. As always, Faith Martin’s gift for plotting and characterization is absolutely superb and no sooner had I had started reading Murder Now and Then that I found myself so transfixed that I was still turning the pages of this book in the early hours of the morning.

A first class crime novel from one of the queens of the genres, Faith Martin’s Murder Now and Then delivers on all counts.

I have been a fan of Faith’s work for a few years now. I have read and enjoyed reading every book that she has written today. I have to say that my favourite series has to be the series that features Hilary Greene. ‘Murder Now & Then’ is the nineteenth book in the Hilary Greene series and what a fabulous addition to the series it is. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Murder Now & Then’ but more about that in a bit.
What can I say about Hilary Greene? She is a middle aged lady, who recently retired from the police force. She hasn’t stayed idle though because she works for the same police force but as a civilian investigator on the cold case team. Hilary hasn’t exactly had it easy of late and she is still grieving the loss of her partner. Hilary is in charge of a small team and by small, I mean small. Hilary oversees two other members of the team. One is a former police officer and the other is an army veteran. Each individual brings their own particular strength to the table and together they make a formidable team. Hilary wouldn’t ask anybody to do anything that she wouldn’t be willing to do herself. If anything, Hilary takes on the more difficult tasks herself.
It didn’t take me long at all to get into this story. In fact, the title of the book was enough to grab my attention and the fact that it was the next instalment of the Hilary Greene series was the icing on the cake. When I started reading ‘Murder Now & Then’, I knew that I wouldn’t be doing anything else other than reading for the rest of the afternoon and that I wouldn’t be able to put the book down. I was spot on too on both counts. The story isn’t particularly long and so I was able to read it in one long reading binge. I found ‘Murder Now & Then’ to be the true definition of an unputdownable, page turner of a read. I found it to be a gripping read, which kept me guessing and which kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.
‘Murder Now & Then’ is extremely well written but to be fair I think that to be true of all of Faith’s books. She certainly knows how to grab the reader’s attention and then reels the reader in. For me, the story hit the ground running and maintained a fairly fast pace throughout. Reading ‘Murder Now & Then’ felt like being on a scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several twists and turns along the way. I felt as though I was part of the story and that’s thanks to Faith’s very vivid and realistic storytelling.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Murder Now & Then’ and I would recommend this book to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Faith’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

This story is told in two separate timelines, that of the CRT (Crime Review Team) case and that of an investigation six months previously into two very similar murders carried out on the same day. DI Robin Farrell is in charge of the murders, that of a very small time fence and unofficial pawnbroker and also the loan shark who had recently supplied him with funds. Farrell thinks the new crime boss in the area is responsible but has no way of proving it, and eventually the case is put to bed. It still niggles with him though, especially the use of an unusual and unidentified weapon. Hillary's cold case is just as baffling, the murder, also with a strange weapon, of Michael Beck, a young man who had just finished his history degree in Bristol and returned to Oxford to live with his parents while he looked for work. A man seemingly without enemies, except for the ex-girlfriend who won’t accept their relationship is over and the university professor who sexually harassed him and lost his job as a result. There was no evidence against either suspect and the case has been cold for ten years. With boss Supt Rolland Sale still in charge, Hillary and her small team of mother hen Claire Woolley, an ex copper with many years experience in rape and domestic violence cases, and Gareth Proctor, a former soldier invalided out of the army and taking to the job very well, revisit the witnesses and suspects from the time to see if they can find a little thread to pull that will reveal the truth about what happened to Michael all those years ago. There is also one little thing still bothering Hillary about Gareth and the murder of a soldier in Reading. Is she right to be worried about her new member of staff? And what is Jason, Gareth’s former army buddy, up to?
This story sees plenty of action for Hillary and her team, and also a possible crisis of conscience that makes her even more likeable in another great addition to this highly enjoyable series. Recommended for everyone who wants an engrossing story with a good solid plot and great characters. 5*

Another wonderful book by Faith starring Hilary Greene who was a former detective and now employed to look in to unsolved cold cases. The case she is looking into now with co-workers is the death of Michael Beck found hit on the head and dumped in the river. I would suggest that any reader who hasn't read Faith Martin's books start at the first one Murder on the Oxford Canal which begins Hilary's career as a D.I. As I read the latest book, after reading all her others, I found that even if I had not known beforehand that she wrote it, one can guess the author as she has a recognizable talent all of her own.