Starting a new life in Snowdonia was always DI Ruth Hunter’s dream. Until a twisted killer turned it into her worst nightmare.
Detective Inspector Ruth Hunter lives with the pain of her partner’s mysterious and unsolved disappearance. About to hit fifty, the veteran police officer trades in the crime-ridden streets of London for a more peaceful life in rural North Wales. But Ruth has barely … But Ruth has barely settled into her new position in North Wales Police, when the body of a brutally murdered woman is discovered…with strange symbols carved into her skin. Teaming up with an obstinate deputy, Ruth struggles to eliminate anyone from a long line of suspects. When another slain victim is discovered with the same cryptic markings, she’s forced to re-think the investigation.
Has Ruth got what it takes to solve the case before the murderer attacks again?
The Snowdonia Killings is the first book in the DI Ruth Hunter Crime Thriller series and set against the majestic backdrop of Snowdonia, a timeless land of Arthurian legend, folklore and myth. If you like dark police procedurals, psychologically complex characters, and shocking twists, then you’ll love Simon McCleave’s pulse-pounding debut novel.
more
Good plot, lovely pacing and a page turner. Liked Ruth, the DI, and Nick, her sidekick, was a solid character as well.
Just one thing: while the central mystery is complete, the thread of Ruth’s missing partner, Sarah, is left dangling. While I appreciate it’s done to keep people reading, I find it immensely irritating.
This book is currently available on KU.
The characters in this book are the perfect blend of flawed and relatable. I found, even though I didn’t “like” some of the characters, I could still root for them as they solved crime. It also helped that the flaws of the characters (Nick, I’m talking about you) go some way towards being resolved by the end of the book, because if they hadn’t I would probably skip reading anymore of this series. But given the resolution of the crime and the internal conflicts, I have already downloaded book two.
Love the character development. Love mysteries so, I’m a cheap date there.
Boring. Predictable. Nothing notable about any of the characters.
An excellent, engaging police procedural
What a great read! Lots of twists and turns in the plot with numerous false leads! The choice of possible murder seemed overwhelming. I had got it whittled down to my final suspect when the author finally revealed the our murderer! A real page turner so much so I have ordered the next book! If you like crime fiction I recommend this for you!
A wonderful and atmospheric crime thriller, definitely recommend.
Detective Inspector Ruth Hunter leaves the Metropolitan Police in London for a quieter life in beautiful North Wales, only to find herself thrown into a murder investigation on her first day. The novel focuses on her and her detective sergeant, Nick, who’s an alcoholic, as they struggle to identify a killer who kills the deputy head of a local school.
The story moves along at a steady pace, with the plot swinging one way then another as they identify and dismiss one suspect after another. With secret relationships, racism and jealousy in the mix, there are plenty of motives and suspects. The detectives still struggle to find the evidence that will give them a break after the headmaster of the school is murdered.
While the story had all the right elements, it never felt tense or exciting as the detectives seemed to work their way through one suspect after another without any real direction to the investigation.
Hard to put down once you’ve started this.
Enjoyed the characters. I took away a bit of wisdom about alcoholism. I liked the concept of ISM. Good story. I have already downloaded and read the free book.
I love British procedural mysteries. The ending of this one blew me away as it built tension and a race against time to a final dramatic conclusion. The denouement was equally excellent! This was my first novel in the series, but I will definitely read them all.
A London police inspector moves to a small town and is immediately put in charge of a murder case. The case grows more and more complicated with many twists and turns.
A great Welch mystery read
The series is so good that I read all of them. Character of Ruth is complex and magnetic. I highly recommend!
British police procedural with an interesting main character. However, the story got bogged down in the middle for a while. Overall a good book.
It was hard to guess what would happen next. Good character building that made you care what happened to protagonist.
Took a while to get started but after that it kept me going – interesting twists
Good plot and likeable characters.
Would have given this book a 5 star but i found the ending a little drawn out.
It was a solid read. The pace was good and there was enough uncertainty to keep me riveted to my kindle. It was pretty intense, so I believe I will take some time off before I go after the next one.