A brand new DCI Jude Satterthwaite crime mystery from the bestselling Jo Allen. When one-hundred-year-old Violet Ross is found dead at Eden’s End, a luxury care home hidden in a secluded nook of the Lake District’s Eden Valley it’s tragic, of course, but not unexpected. Except for the instantly recognisable look in her lifeless eyes… that of pure terror. DCI Jude Satterthwaite heads up the … Satterthwaite heads up the investigation, but as the deaths start to mount up it’s clear that he, and DS Ashleigh O’Halloran need to uncover a long-buried secret before the killer strikes again…
The second in the unmissable, Lake District-set, DCI Jude Satterthwaite series.
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Favorite Quotes:
The last thing she needed was to display her weakness to a man even more senior and even less sympathetic than Jude, and Detective Superintendent Groves not only ticked those unwelcome boxes, but he also had a habit of running his eyes over her like a farmer deciding how much to bid for a prize heifer. Word in the office was that Groves was counting the days to his retirement, but he wasn’t counting them nearly as enthusiastically as his junior, female colleagues.
Violet Ross was a hundred years old and lived in a nursing home, so Klemmie really shouldn’t have been surprised. That said, the old woman had always given the impression of someone who would, if it were possible, live forever because she couldn’t bear to miss a tiny piece of someone else’s business by dying.
In her experience the dead so often looked peaceful, but Violet managed to look outraged, as if she’d fought death all the way and he’d only defeated her by foul means.
She shook her head, and the string of jet beads around her neck rattled beneath her accumulated chins.
She took a second, as she sometimes did, to think about the might-have-beens. Society needed people like Jude, high-minded seekers after justice. It was a pity they were so hard for ordinary people to live with.
My Review:
I have greatly enjoyed Ms. Allen’s deft writing style, her compelling storytelling unwinds slowly while she shrewdly sucks the reader in with lots of juicy and cunningly observant ancillary details about the various players whether they be primary, secondary, or briefly making an appearance. Being relatively new to the suspense genre, Ms. Allen has proven to be a rather clever minx with this curiously enticing series as the crimes themselves have been confounding and rather difficult to solve, leading me to devise and cast aside several theories while ultimately admitting defeat as I was unable to ferret out the correct combination or sequence of events. Jo Allen has made my list of favorite new talent to watch.
This is the second in the DCI Satterthwaite series that features DCI Jude Satterthwaite and DS Ashleigh O’Halloran set in the Lake District. Worked very well as a stand alone and the author did a great job going over the history so none to be missed here.
The story begins when a not so seemingly alarming death occurs of a nursing care home resident Violet Ross, who at the age of 100 years old passes away. As a nurse, this really intrigued me and piqued my interest. Violet Ross was a well loved resident of this exclusive nursing care home and suspicions did arise on her sudden death.
I love an awesome police procedural story line and plot which uncovers the mystery slowly and keeps the intensity of the suspense just enough to keep those pages turning.
This was a great story line that has a solid plot, great cast of characters, enough tension between Jude and Ashleigh and their attraction for each other. I recommend this book for a good murder mystery that is enjoyable and entertaining.
3 and 1 / 2 stars
One hundred-year old Dr. Violet Ross has died unexpectedly at the Eden’s End care home. At first ruled a natural death, someone calls the police to report it a murder. An autopsy shows that it was indeed murder.
DCI Jude Satterthwaite, along with DS Ashleigh O’Halloran and the rest of his team investigate the death. They interview the employees and residents of the care home and others who knew Dr. Ross, including her niece Monica, who was present just before the elderly woman was killed.
The investigation barely gets underway when more deaths occur. What is going on? The tension in the story ratchets up as the detectives learn more about Dr. Ross and her past. She played a large part in WWII and there was some mystery surrounding her service. It seems she had a married Polish pilot for a lover and that’s not all.
When someone confesses to the murder of Dr. Ross, the team doesn’t quite believe them. The murderer came as a surprise to me, but perhaps upon reflection, not so much.
This is a well written and plotted novel. I must admit that I didn’t care for the odd romance between Jude and Ashleigh. It was just too much. It struck me as too contrived. This is my first J oAllen book and I went to Amazon to look at other books of hers.
I want to thank NetGalley and Aria for forwarding to me a copy of this book for me to read, enjoy and review.