EXCERPT: His mind kept returning to the churchyard.
They'd been on the national news after the discovery of a shallow grave inside the stone wall of the village church, three days after Jimmy Spratley was reported missing on the local marshes. The boy was only eight years old, and the little body had been mutilated, his heart torn out.

ABOUT 'MURDER ON THE MARSH': A BOY’S BODY IS FOUND IN A CHURCHYARD. HIS HEART HAS BEEN CUT OUT . . .

DI Sam Clayton has never dealt with such an extreme crime in the quiet Norfolk villages that are part of his patch. When a waitress, Emma Dawson, disappears, it looks like the police might have a serial killer on their hands. Emma seems to have been part of cultish group obsessed with contacting the dead via a medieval mystic. But a mysterious Frenchman and one of the local nature wardens are also suspects. The mystery is further complicated by the locals’ reluctance to share their secrets with the police. DI Clayton’s team also harbour some tragic secrets and it looks like only one of his detectives will be kept on, even if they do catch the vicious killer.

When another child disappears, DI Clayton faces a race against time to prevent any further crimes. Not only that, but he must confront local superstitions and keep his team under control as violence threatens to spiral out of control.

MY THOUGHTS: MURDER ON THE MARSH is the first in a new series of crime thrillers set in an Norfolk. Blindingly thick mists often sweep across the Glaveny marsh and its muddy channels on the North Norfolk coast. It is a place frequented by dog walkers and birdwatchers, a place rife with myths and legends. Locals talk about a hell hound that roams the marsh in the mist, bringing death in its wake. A medieval mystic who wrote about sin, Mother Julian of Norwich, may have had a connection to the villages dotted with fishermen’s flint cottages. Standing beside the majestic white sails of the windmill in the neighboring village of Pelham on a clear day you can look over the marsh towards the seal colony on Glaveny Point.

Detective Inspector Sam Clayton leads the investigation into the North Norfolk murders, joined the police straight from school as a beat bobby in Manchester before rising through the ranks of the CID. He was transferred to Norwich after being promoted to DI following a high-profile case investigated by Lancashire Constabulary. He struggles with anger issues and finds solace in playing classical guitar. He lives in hope of a reconciliation with his ex-wife, Claire.

Detective Sergeant Neil Pringle lives with his third wife in Norwich, where he was born. But taking care of his two sons with his wife Megan, and two other children with previous wives, has put his finances under strain. He never misses a chance to shine in hopes of securing promotion and can’t help showing off his local knowledge to colleagues.

Detective Sergeant Julie Everett is an intuitive officer who was promoted to detective sergeant from her hometown of Ipswich where she had a background in child protection. She is discreet about her personal life among colleagues, particularly about the tragedy which haunts her, but is stressed out because of her work-life balance. She has to deal with a high-pressure job while raising a six-year-old child who moved with her to Norwich.

Despite the very basic and at times disjointed writing style I mostly enjoyed this first book in a new crime series. The characters are well fleshed out, but rather stereotyped. We are often told things about the characters, but there is no actual evidence of these things in their behavior. There is no real plan to the investigation and the police seem to just stumble around relying on Julie's intuitive guesses to lead them to a conclusion. I did enjoy the way Julie stood up for herself at the end when her job was threatened. Most of the twists/red herrings felt rather contrived.

I don't know that I would be tempted to continue with this series, but stranger things have happened.

⭐⭐.5

#MurderontheMarsh #NetGalley

THE AUTHOR: Lancashire lass who spent years abroad as a journalist and now based in London and Paris. ABBA fan and tap dancer.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Joffe Books via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of Murder on the Marsh by Anne Penketh for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

introduced to DI Sam Clayton in this book. Based around the North Norfolk coast.
A quite village where locals are not familiar with the level of crime that has just been committed
This read felt a little slow to start with, it soon sped up its pace and became an interesting read.
A decent storyline with good twist.

There's nothing necessarily wrong with this, but it's not grabbing me at all. I'm finding the whole vibe really stereotypically of most UK crime fiction - tame and formulaic with cookie-cutter characters that don't really have a life outside of the cases they are working.

Always a good time reading crime fiction if a bit gruesome at times. Sometimes they all blend together but this was a good one. Thank you to the publisher for accepting my request

A great crime thriller, well worth reading
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. It is set in North Norfolk and I have visited the area several times and the author did an excellent job of describing the local villages and community life. The overall story was good and I enjoyed the main characters. Looking forward to the next book in the series.

Although a little slow, I did enjoy the story on the whole. I would read more by this author.

Very atmospheric procedural with a lot of characters. This is the first in a series and I'm curious how much of this is a set up for future books. THanks to Netgalley for introducing me to Penketh, who has written a fairly twisty mystery, I'm looking forward to more from her. You'll like this if you enjoy British procedurals set somewhere other than London.

Murder on the Marsh by Anne Penketh is a mystery and thriller read.
A BOY’S BODY IS FOUND IN A CHURCHYARD. HIS HEART HAS BEEN CUT OUT . . .
DI Sam Clayton has never dealt with such an extreme crime in the quiet Norfolk villages that are part of his patch. When a waitress, Emma Dawson, disappears, it looks like the police might have a serial killer on their hands. Emma seems to have been part of cultish group obsessed with contacting the dead via a medieval mystic. But a mysterious Frenchman and one of the local nature wardens are also suspects. The mystery is further complicated by the locals’ reluctance to share their secrets with the police. DI Clayton’s team also harbour some tragic secrets and it looks like only one of his detectives will be kept on, even if they do catch the vicious killer.
When another child disappears, DI Clayton faces a race against time to prevent any further crimes. Not only that, but he must confront local superstitions and keep his team under control as violence threatens to spiral out of control.
This was a really enjoyable read with great characters. Full of twists and plots. Sam and juliette were my favourite characters. It definitely was not who I thought it was. 5*. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book from netgalley.