I loved the writing in this novel especially with regards to the setting, so beautifully described it puts you right there. The characters are uniquely engaging and the mystery is compelling and unpredictable.

Quirky and original with clever closure, I really look forward to more from this author.

High recommend.

Stig Abell pays homage to the crime genre with his debut, an off beat mystery read with a charismatic central protagonist in 38 year old Jake Jackson who turns his back on his London life, retiring as a cold case detective in the Met, his marriage to lawyer Faye falling apart after attempts to have children fail. He is propelled towards his move to a more remote, survivalist lifestyle when he inherits his rural country home from his Uncle Max whom he somewhat knew with his sporadic visits throughout his life. Jake settles into his new circumstances of a smaller world with relative ease, with no phone, no mod cons, not missing being cut off from the outside world. He reads books from his well stocked library and listens to music albums, building routines of early morning runs, cold swims in the lake, and building on his idyllic life, with additions such as a outside shower, sauna, orchard and vegetable patch.

The atmospheric, vibrant and evocative descriptions of the idyllic location and the developments in Jake's life drew me in, his growing links with the small community, the small general store that served as a drinking hub, run by Sarah, and his attraction to single mother and local vet, Livia Bennet, with her 7 year old daughter, Diana. It is an invitation by Livia to join the hunt for St Aethelmere's bones that has Jake returning to his role as detective, albeit in a more informal context. Shockingly, the bag of bones turns out to contain actual human bones, DCI Gerald Watson is stretched and it is Jake who cannot help wanting to satisfy his curiosity about the unquiet bones, utilising his cold case experience. However, there are forces and locals who are far from happy with his investigation and go to some alarming lengths to dissuade him and Livia, but the dangers become more transparent with a present day murder.

Abell manages to inject his debut with an unexpected quality of moreishness in what is largely a slow burn mystery which only quickens its pace in the concluding last quarter of the novel. The character development of Jake is done with skill, his rural isolation leaving him vulnerable, his bouts of loneliness, his need of Livia and Diana in some sense to root himself, and his understanding that both for his sake, and the local community, he has no choice but to hunt for a killer hiding in plain sight. This is a terrific crime read, so unusual, so engaging and suspenseful, and I loved the way it was littered with numerous references to a wide array of fictional detectives from the crime genre. I am hoping that the author is planning to write a sequel! Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Wow! I loved this book, it had a little bit of everything and I liked the characters in the story. It really gives a sense of isolation and I was quite fearful for the main characters. The setting was equally idyllic and terrifying and I was happy with the ending as I thought we maybe wouldn’t have a satisfying ending but I was wrong.

Jake Jackson longs for peace and quiet. A burnt out police officer with a failed marriage, he needs to get away from it all. Luckily Uncle Arthur leaves Jake Little Sky in his will, and so Jake’s next adventure begins. As a newcomer to the village, not all the locals appreciate having an ex copper in their midst. What are they hiding, and will super sleuth Jake find out all their secrets?

This is an ok story, with some interesting characters. A bit slow to get going, and with indulgent, overlong descriptive narrative at times (and there’s only so many times I need to read about wild water swimming!). No great denouement, all pretty much as expected.

For a first novel it’s not bad and I enjoyed it. Perhaps more nitty gritty detective work and less Mills and Boon romance (very cringeworthy at times!) would have improved the flow. There’s a lot of competition with crime novels, this one needs more oomph!

Thank you NetGalley.

This wasn’t a book that I would have picked up but I did enjoy my read and I would recommend it. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this title.

Welcome to Little Sky

Some may find this book a bit slow at the start but it is set in a rural location with a main character who wants to escape from the rat race.

There were times when I felt that the author was trying too hard with the language and the set up around his uncle’s bequest. This said it is a debut novel and the more I read the more I cared about the characters and wanted justice for Sabine.

As an introduction it sets up the characters nicely for future potential tales and I look forward to returning to Little Sky.

I was given this book from the author via netgalley only for the pleasure of reading and leaving an honest review should I choose to.

An interesting debut from Stig Abell, beautifully written, descriptive and atmospheric.
The pace was slow which I found a little frustrating at times and the plot was a cross between a romance and murder mystery, which I had not expected. Nevertheless, it is still a very enjoyable story telling how even in the remotest of places, evil can be found.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy in return for an honest review.

Death under a little sky

Jake Jackson receives a letter from a solicitor stating that he has received an inheritance from an uncle that he hardly knew. After his failed marriage and he thinks it is the best time to retire from his job as a London based detective. He glady accepts the inheritance of a countryside house in the small village of Little Sky. Which is deep in the countryside, quite isolated with few inhabitants. But it is where his uncle called home.
It is quite a journey to get to his new home and finds that there is no shower or bathroom but the nearby lake to wash in and the only entertainment he has is the several bookcases of books mainly crime novels and classical music to entertain him. But he grows accustomed to his surroundings and the new way of life.
But when he seems to enjoy his new life, some of his previous life returns when an old tradition digs up a womens bones and with the help of the local police he is asked to help with the investigation. But things don’t go to plan and one of his new friends ends up dead and his life is also on the line. Who ever buried the bones, doesn’t want anything uncovered and they will do anything to stop it.
Thank you, Harper Collins for an ARC of Death is under a little sky. I can’t believe this is a debut novel. At first, I thought is this actually a crime novel? As, the writing is beautiful, quite poetic in fact. This is a very experience writer.
I loved the decriptions of the surroundings and the descriptions of Jakes new life at little sky. Although this is not the most action-packed case. I really enjoyed this story which is unique telling of a cold case. 5 stars from me.

Wonderful writing and storytelling - fantastic to find a new author to be excited about! I was hooked from the start and happy to find my interest continuously renewed throughout. Very readable and highly recommended.

Stig Abell has an exceptional ability as a writer and this debut crime thriller is a very good start. Jake has recently inherited a huge house in extremely remote countryside and after splitting with his wife and leaving his stressful job with the police he embraces a new way of life. Leaving behind everything he has known, including technology he immerses himself into a more self sufficient life. Wanting structure, he develops a punishing exercise regime and ensures each day is filled with purposeful tasks. A meeting with the local vet, Livia, leads to joining in a local tradition of finding a sack of bones hidden in the area. Upon finding them, it is discovered they are actually human and not those originally hidden. As Jake’s police curiosity gets the better of him, he embarks on a dangerous journey to discover their source. This book can be quite slow at times and maybe a bit more drama early in the book would help. However, I enjoyed the introduction to Jake and his discovery of all things rural as he began to integrate into the community. In the smallest of places, locals are deeply suspicious of newcomers, even police or maybe especially police. I warmed to many of the other characters with their individual personalities and peculiarities. I can see this being the start of a series and I would definitely read a follow up. I’m

Remoteness, Isolation..
From a high ranking and accomplished detective to a rural fresh start, Jake Jackson has the opportunity to relocate to a countryside haven. What at first seems idyllic is about to turn sour when death visits that perfect setting. A slow burn mystery with an overwhelming and atmospheric sense of remoteness and isolation done well and some beautiful descriptive language which does, at times, become unnecessarily and indulgently over extravagant which can unfortunately serve to detract from the plot. Nonetheless, a thoughtful piece of writing.

I always like to give a new author ago but sadly I just couldn't get into this one it was to slow for me,saying that it wouldn't stop me from giving anything written by this author another chance.
Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC.

Death Under A Little Sky is not a book I would have chosen to read, however when NetGalley offered me a chance to read it, I am so glad they did. I really enjoyed this story, which had lots of twists..
Jake, a retired policeman, inherits a large house in the middle of nowhere. . It is idyllic, beautiful scenery, isolation, just the thing to help him get over his divorce. All is not as it seems. At the village fair a girl’s bones were found, death being ten years earlier. The question was whether it was murder rather than an accident. Jake decided to investigate. The story continues with plenty of suspects, illegal drugs and of course a bit of romance.
I would strongly recommend this story. My thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the arc of this exciting book.

A solid attempt for a debut detective novel, but unfortunately it fell a little short as there were just too few suspects. Death Under a Little Sky lacked the complexity of many books in the genre and so the suspect was obvious by omission, really quite early on.
The isolated setting worked well, although it was fairly unbelievable that you could have a whole house and modern extension, with some modern fittings, without any kind of access road or lane. There seemed to be no issue with vehicles travelling across anybody’s land (and the locals are hardly amenable.)
As others have stated, the novel is written in an overly elaborate style. For example: ‘Loud sounds always appear perverse in the depths of the countryside, especially on a balmy, gentle evening, and this one jolts him utterly. He looks around. The noise returns, and he recognises the articulation of his own name.’
There is also some odd dialogue, very stilted ways of talking even from the policeman Watson (!) And some of the exchanges between the couple made me cringe at times.
Also, I agree with another reader who wonders how a vet could carry out her profession cycling around the countryside on a bicycle. Whenever I’ve seen vets at work they have cases and cases of medicines and all kinds of equipment in their vehicles. Another thing that struck me was the implausibility of putting a shotgun into its box and a backpack, without any suspicion on the part of the other person. It must have been an extremely long backpack!
However I would be interested to read another novel by the author, to see how his writing develops in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this novel.

In Death Under a Little Sky, ex-policeman Jake escapes his faltering life in the city for rural isolation in a property left to him by his late uncle and becomes embroiled in the fall out from what might or might not have been a mysterious death ten years earlier, which some locals would like investigated and some want left alone. It's a tale that has potential and there's some beautiful writing in parts of the novel, but I was ultimately left unconvinced by some of the plot devices and never felt fully engaged by the main characters.

I’m afraid I got so bored waiting for something to happen I started flicking through pages but in the end simply abandoned it - very rare for me. The story is nice - retired cop moves to the country and gets caught up in a murde mystery, meets girl and falls in love. It was the pace of the action that lost me.

Once I got Stig’s Times Radio voice out of my head reading this, I really enjoyed it (although couldn’t avoid thinking that an isolated farmhouse with no phone signal or Wi-Fi was wish fulfilment on his part). As in every first book of a detective series (and I assume it will be a series) there is quite a bit of establishing the main protagonist’s back story, but that fits with the genre and succeeds in ensuring the reader is invested in the outcome. It does everything a good detective novel should: an intriguing crime, an idiosyncratic detective, clever perpetrator, lots of clues and twists and a satisfying conclusion. I finished wanting to read the next one - here’s hoping that Stig can match Lee Child’s annual output.

An accidental whodunnit - jaded from years in the Met and a broken marriage, Jake takes up an inheritance from his late Uncle. The very remote house with accompanying sizeable bank account is the perfect retreat and with no bathing or laundry facilities keeps him on his toes trying not to look like a hobo. The locals at the nearest village are reticent but friendly, with some exceptions and gradually Jake feels more at home. Until a local custom one summer evening appears to display a crime - that nobody knew about. Engaging main characters and a plot that takes you right up the garden path.

The plot is as deep and dark as it gets, multi-layered with 'who knew what when?' as the strands come together and the finer details get filled in. This is an absolutely compelling, gripping book full of mystery and suspense. Only a few authors can write deeply involving psychological drama of the very highest quality.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words some text written has been typed in red and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

I tried so hard to get in to this book, but I really struggled I'm afraid
I found the pace too slow for me and too much description about everything