Broadland by David Blake @DavidDBlake

Book Description:

A girl’s body found mutilated by a boat’s propeller, another dumped at the bottom of a slipway, and a disused Norfolk mill, hiding the secret to both.

A COLD DENSE shadow fell over Jane Richardson as she hurried along the concrete towpath. To her left, moonlight danced over the River Bure’s untroubled surface as it slipped silently past, heading back the way she’d come. A low-hanging branch scratched at her face as she ducked underneath. From somewhere far behind her came the shriek of laughter, slicing through the air, only to fall silent a moment later to leave nothing but the sound of her high heels, click-clacking out a stark but steady beat.

When a girl’s body is found strangled, raped, and horrifically mutilated by a boat’s propeller, deep in the heart of the Norfolk Broads, newly arrived Detective Inspector John Tanner is asked to assist with the investigation. 

At first, all the evidence points to a man who had a multi-million pound reason to kill her. But when an alibi is produced from an unexpected source, and another body appears at the base of a slipway, Tanner finds himself turning to local girl, Detective Constable Jenny Evans for help. 

As a more romantic relationship develops between them, they find themselves facing a race against time to identify a lethal adversary, one with a lust for blood and a mind set on revenge.

Set within the mysterious beauty of the Norfolk Broads, this fast-paced British detective series is a murder mystery with a slice of humour and a touch of romance, one that will have you guessing until the very end, when the last shocking twist is finally revealed. 

Broadland is a totally addictive gripping crime thriller, the first in a chilling series of serial killer books, ones which will rapidly convert followers of L J Ross, Faith Martin, Joy Ellis, Damien Boyd and Helen H. Durrant into David Blake devotees.

My Thoughts:

Having been lucky enough to have had a couple of holidays on the Norfolk Broads, one of which was spent on a boat, I knew a lot of the places that were mentioned throughout the novel which really made it come alive. Whilst you get a feel for how picturesque the area is, you also get to see a lot of a darker side through the crimes committed in the story.

Tanner I really liked. He is a man with a past, of which the author doesn’t reveal to much, leaving, I hope more to come. The glimpses we do get, left me wanting to know more. Whilst the new boy in town, he finds himself not quite getting the easy work life he has envisioned after his move from London. I enjoyed the bit of camaraderie between him and work colleague Jenny. There seems to be a bit of an attraction between the both and will certainly be interested to see where the author goes with that particular thread.

The start of the story grabbed me straight away and the short chapters kept me going. As I would expect from this genre of book, the pace picks up the further towards the end we get and have to say I wasn’t quite expecting how much of an edge of a seat read it would get!

Broadland is a great start to a brand new crime series. The setting and pace of the story was good with some very unexpected surprises which always gets the thumbs up from me. Could easily see this being made into a crime series for television. First book by a new author to me and definitely looking forward to reading more.

Broadland is available to purchase from Amazon. (Please note that link used is an affiliate link)