Another great entry in the DI Hilary Green series. As well as solving another murder, Hilary must work out why her staff member, ex-soldier Gareth Proctor, is acting so strangely. I do think Hilary's car, Puff the Tragic Wagon, is due for replacement one of these days!

Former Di Hilary Greene is now a civilian consultant of cold cases. With only a team of two, she has taken on a cold case that is 10 years unsolved.

Michael Beck was a young man, found bludgeoned over the head and dead in a nearby river. The case was investigated, but there were no clues, no DNA, no witnesses, and no motive.

As the team begins their own investigation, they start at the beginning talking to Michael's family, friends, ex-girlfriend, professors. They did find at least two people who might have wanted him dead. One was an ex-girlfriend, who didn't take their break up well and began stalking the victim. The other was a professor who was accused of harassment. No evidence was found to link either of these to the murder.

The story bounces back and forth between the present and of events 6 months ago. Two men, criminals, have been viciously murdered.

What could possibly link these cases together? Is it even the same killer?

This police procedural is full of action with a few twists and turns here and there. Hilary seems more subdued in this tale, but I enjoyed seeing Gareth and Claire and how far they have come. I really enjoy seeing at how seamlessly blended are the personal and the professional lives.

Many thanks to the author / Joffe / Books n All Promotions / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Former Detective Hillary Greene and her cold case team are taking a fresh look at the unsolved murder of Michael Beck a twenty two year old graduate, found bludgeoned over the head and dead in a river near his home a decade ago. There were two suspects, his recently-jilted girlfriend Mia de Salle who hadn’t taken the break-up well. Then the second, his former tutor Dr Timothy Durning, who had been accused of sexual harassment by Michael. There was no evidence linking them to the case. 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 linked & if so how?
This is the nineteenth outing for Hillary & another well written entertaining read. It wasn't my favourite of the series but it did keep me engrossed all the way through, there were twists & turns but all the clues were there I just had difficulty putting them all together! I love Hillary who is just Hillary quirks & all but I felt her character was a bit flat in this book but she still solved the case
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I would like to thank NetGalley & Joffe Books for my ARC of Murder Now And Then in exchange for an honest review.

Book 19? In the Hilliary Greene Series, no longer a DI. Now working cold cases as a civilian. It has the usual format we have come to expect and love a simple crime but a detailed investigation. Another quick and easy book to read. That is well written and hooks you in from the start.

Already looking forward to the next installment

Hillary Greene is back in this 18th book in the very popular series. The books do work perfectly as stand alone.

Hillary Greene is a brilliant detective with a reputation for solving cases second to none. She is now a civilian working cold cases using her skills to solve the cases that were unsolved years ago.

The case that is handed to Hillary is the murder of a young man a decade ago. Michael was a likeable young man with no known enemies so the team have their work cut out trying to find a motive and leads to his killer.

As with all these books there are several things going on that keeps the reader interested and the adrenaline pumping.

There is a back story that involves Graham, and ex-soldier who has recently joined the team. This brings a human element to the story.

The characters continue to develop and mature with characters from the past putting in an appearance.

All in all a very interesting book that I would recommend to anyone who likes crime fiction.

Murder Now and Then is the nineteenth instalment in the Detective Inspector Hillary Greene series. DI Greene has now retired from her former position with Thames Valley Police and now works as a civilian cold-case consultant at their HQ in Kidlington as her expertise and solve rate is deemed too exceptional for her to be let go completely. Luckily, this means it's still only a short commute in her trusty Volkswagen, aka Puff the Tragic Wagon, from her narrowboat home, known as the Mollern, close to the village of Thrupp. As the head of the intrepid Crime Review Team (CRT), she works alongside former police sergeant Claire Woolley and ex-soldier Gareth Proctor. They are requested to review the ten-year-old cold case of 22-year-old Ancient History graduate Michael Beck, who went out on his bike one September morning in 2011 and never returned. His body was discovered that evening in the water meadow near Islip not far from where he lived in the village of Woodeaton which was only a few miles down the road. He had been found by a dog walker; upon examination, it was determined he had been hit over the head once with something oddly shaped, vaguely rounded and likely metallic, and the force of the single blow had been enough to crack open his skull. Although the original senior investigating officer on the case, DI Weston, went over the evidence thoroughly, the team could never pinpoint which of two potential suspects carried out the act.

The first suspect they identified was Michael's ex-girlfriend, 25-year-old PhD student Dr Mia de Salle, with whom he split after a year-long relationship, and this is when she began stalking him. The second was Dr Timothy Durning, a tutor at Bristol University, who Michael had made an allegation of sexual harassment against. The CRT head out to interview the two original suspects, Michael's parents and his best friend, Kevin Philpott as a starting point. This culminates in Hillary strongly believing that the killing has nothing to do with any of them which drives her to look for fresh evidence to hopefully help solve the case. When she finds that 6 months ago there were two murders in which the victims were both tasered before being hit over the head with unidentified, bizarrely shaped objects, it's clear the blunt force injuries were caused by the same weapon that struck Michael. Can they get to the bottom of who the perpetrator is before another person is slaughtered? This is a captivating, exciting and compulsively readable procedural that I found incredibly difficult to put down. The complex, multilayered investigation holds your interest from start to finish, and there is ample use of devious twists, about-face turns and dizzying misdirection to keep you steamrolling through the pages. Hillary is a capable, intelligent and quirky character who comes alive on the page. A superbly plotted, fast-paced and engrossing mystery that is thoroughly entertaining. Highly recommended.

Hilary Greene is still running her cold case Crime Review Team but with two people apart from herself when she is asked to look into a former student whose body was found over ten years ago. At the same time two murders have been committed over the last six months which are being looked into by CID. Are these murders anything to do with Hilary's case or are the similarities a coincidence.
I have read all the books in this series and still enjoy reading about the life of former DI Hilary Greene hopefully there will still be more to come.

Another great book in the DI Hillary Green series, Faith Martin never disappoints. Hillary and her cold case team are investigating the unsolved murder of Michael Beck, an academic history student. There are only two possible leads to follow from the original investigation but neither look promising. When two underworld figures are murdered Hillary has a suspicion that that the two cases could be related. An excellent read full of twists.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy of Murder Now and Then, the nineteenth novel to feature former DI turned cold case civilian investigator Hillary Greene of the Thames Valley police.

Hillary and her team are asked to revisit the 2011 murder of Michael Beck, a young graduate found murdered by a blow to the head with an unidentified blunt object. The original team had two prime suspects, a college tutor he accused of sexual assault and an ex-girlfriend, but Hillary isn’t so sure and starts looking for fresh evidence, which may come in the shape of two recent murders that seem to have been committed by the same weapon.

I enjoyed Murder Now and Then, which has the usual format of a relatively simple crime and a complicated investigation to get at the truth. I didn’t find it as compulsive as some of the previous novels, perhaps because the narrative switches between the present crimes and the killer’s perspective and Hillary’s investigation into the past. Then there is her personnel problem that I’m not going to elaborate on. I find it less than immersive when the point of view keeps changing as it gives me nothing to sink my teeth into and run with.

Still, the plotting is clever. It hinges on a late development and Hillary’s smarts on putting it together. Is there a hint of serendipity or is it intelligent questioning? I don’t know, but it’s a game changer. What I like about this novel, and the series in general, is that the solution isn’t particularly difficult, is credible and the hints are all there, the difficulty lies in interpreting them. It gives the reader plenty of room to speculate.

Hillary is Hillary, smart, competent and a “safe pair of hands”. She cuts a rather solitary figure in this novel and some of her trademark wit is missing, but she can still get the job done.

Murder Now and Then is a good read that I can recommend.

A one sitting read, Hillary Greene working in the cold case team as a consultant uses all her former police training to solve the murder of a 22 year old who was found bludgeoned to death next to the river near his home

Looking into his background they discover at least 2 people who wanted him to get out of their lives and are they the ones who ended his life or are there others still to be discovered

This is another great Hillary Greene mystery. Hillary is now working on cold cases as a civilian with Clair Woolley and Gareth Proctor. The case they have is the murder of 22 year old Michael Beck about 10 years before. There are two main suspects, his former girlfriend with whom he broke up and was stalking him, and Dr. Durning, from his university, who Michael had reported for sexual harrassment. Hillary and one of her team interview Michael's parents, the girlfriend, the professor, and Michael's best friend, Kevin Philpott. Although the girl friend is very strange, Hillary doesn't see her as the killer, and the professor appears to be happy in his new job. Hillary soon realizes that although Michael had been interested in nature photography, he had changed to having a metal detector and looking for historical artifacts. If Michael had made a find of valuable artifacts, that might have been a reason to kill him.

Meanwhile, about six months before, there were two killings in which the dead man had been hit with a taser, and then hit over the head with a blunt object which seemed to leave a similar wound to that on Michael's head. Hillary suddenly realizes there may be a link tying the old murder with two newer ones. And, the link is both the method of killing, and valuable artifacts. There is also a side story about Hillary's helper, Gareth, who has a close friend with PSTD. Can Hillary discover the killer before he or she can kill again? Will she keep her record of the best solve record in the department?

These books are easy to read out of order, and so far I've loved all the ones I've read.

Excellent book. I’m a huge fan of Faith Martin’s writing and am really enjoying her series with retired DI Hillary Greene. Hillary’s closure record was second to none even though her method of obtaining results might have been slightly unorthodox. Through no fault of her own, she was forced to resign, but her clearance rates meant she was rehired under a civilian contract to run the cold case review team. In this outing the team are reviewing the murder of a young university student, Martin Beck. As the team delves deeper into the murder questions arise if two recent murders of shady underworld figures are somehow connected. An excellent read, can’t wait for the next one.

I read this book as stand alone and have quite enjoyed it. The plot is intriguing, the dialogues are quite witty, and DI Hillary Greene is very likeable. I could easily see myself reading more from the series and getting addicted to it.

The writing style was a bit unusual and it took me some time to get used to. I have noticed a similar experience with another British author but maybe it is a good thing to be unique. I have also enjoyed the detail. For example, in the scene where Hillary hears a gunshot and is told by the superior to leave the building. Such an extreme detail might be annoying to some but it has really put me in Hillary's shoes and made me experience the same emotions. I wonder if the author was drawing from some personal experiences (hopefully not!).

My other note is that Mia gives away the murderer too soon. It was not necessary and a few details could have been omitted in order to keep readers guessing a bit longer. It is just a minor detail and didn't spoil the book for me, although I am very glad that I have not met such people in my life...

Thanks to NetGalley for introducing me to this author and this series.

This is the nineteenth DI Hillary Martin novel; I have read and enjoyed two others. Hillary lives on a narrowboat and drives a car she has tagged “Puff the Tragic Wagon”; that gives you a little insight into her character. I like Hillary although her presence didn’t seem as strong in this novel as in the others I read.

Still, it was a decent, absorbing police procedural, albeit Martin’s team, charged with investigating cold cases, is a little unconventional.

MURDER NOW AND THEN by Faith Martin Hillary and her personable team are attempting to solve recent murders and a cold case that could be linked in the 19th book of the series. As always, the book is well-written, entertaining and engaging.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Joffe Books was one of the first publishers to approve me on NetGalley, and also introduced me to Faith Martin. The DI Hillary Greene series quickly became one of my favorites, and I honestly thought that the seventeenth book would be the end. Not so fast, as the author apparently felt Hillary has more to say, and I for one, am glad. This is the first book I finished in September and it was good to spend some time with Hillary.
If you haven't read the other books and plan to, stop now because there is no way that I can avoid things that would ruin the earlier books.
Hillary has left her job with the police department and now works as a civilian consultant reviewing and hopefully solving cold cases. This time, the case is the ten-year-old unsolved murder of Michael Beck, a twenty-two-year-old college student with no known enemies. Hillary and her team set out to review the old case and perhaps uncover something that was missed during the initial investigation.
As always, I enjoyed trying to figure out the whodunnit and why. The ending seemed a little abrupt, but this is an ARC and that could change. In the earlier books, there were quite a few supporting characters that I was quite fond of, who for various reasons no longer appear. I am hoping that if the author decided to continue this series, maybe some new people will join Hillary as she seemed a little lonely this time around.

DI Hillary Greene #19

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 the river near his home in 2012. Just twenty two at the time, he recently finished a history degree and had his whole life in ahead of him. Still living with his parents until he could afford a place of his own. But there were at least two people who wanted him dead: his recently-jilted girlfriend Mia de Salle and his former tutor Dr Timothy Durning, had been accused of sexual harassment by Michael.

This is a quick and easy book to read. Former police detective Hillary Greene is now working on cold cases as a civilian consultant. Hillary is like a dog with a bone, once she gets her teeth into a case, she doesn't let go again until it's resolved. This is a well written story that had me hooked from the first few pages. It was good to see Hillary back and I hope we get another cold case for her to resolve soon.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #JoffeBooks and the author #FaithMartin for my ARC of #MurderNowAndThen in exchange for an honest review.

A Colder Case….
The nineteenth in the DI Hillary Greene series finds our former Detective and her team investigating a cold case - the unsolved murder of Michael Beck, found bludgeoned to death and in a river near his home. Greene is determined to find new leads but could recent murders amongst the criminal underworld in the locale prove to be linked? Well plotted with a convincing cast and an intriguing storyline. A worthy addition to this long running series although could happily be read as a standalone.

188 pages

3 stars

I agree with the reviewer who stated that Hilary seems to have gone a little flat. I, too, agree that killing the Steven character may not have been a good idea.

The book seems to limp along and is not up to Ms. Martin’s usual style. Hilary is not as bright and snappy as usual.

The book is about the cold case regarding the death of Michael Beck. He was apparently murdered while out riding his bike. He loved ancient history and archeology. (A man after my own heart.) He had a couple of possible enemies. One was a professor who mistook Michael’s excitement over his love of history for an attraction to the professor. The professor was eventually fired. The other was a former girlfriend who became a stalker when Michael no longer wanted to see her. (And boy is she a piece of work.)

I really like the Hilary Green series and will continue to read the books. I hope that she recovers her “spark” in the next novel.

I want to thank NetGalley and Joffe Books for forwarding to me a copy of this good book for me to read, enjoy and review. The opinions expressed here are solely my own.

This is the 19th in the Detective Hillary Greene series, but I read it as a standalone without any confusion!

Former DI Hillary Greene now heads up a police cold case team as a civilian consultant, along with two other civilians, Claire and Gareth. The team is working on an unsolved murder from ten years ago; the body of Michael Beck, a 22-year-old graduate, was found in the river.

Two shady characters have been murdered in the last six months, and it’s starting to look as though there could be a connection to the cold case.

I became hooked in the first few pages and had difficulty putting it down. I really enjoyed the book and will definitely be reading more from the Hillary Greene series, as well as other books by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Joffe Books for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.