This is the 4th Tara Thorpe book from author Clare Chase. Previously a journalist and now a police officer, Tara and her colleagues are called in to investigate the murder of Cambridge student Julie.
The victim’s personal and political background must be investigated for potential motives for her death. During the investigation, police discover another body but it is not immediately clear if this is another murder, accidental death or suicide.
This book has lots of background to the police officers especially the relationship between Tara and Blake. I think it would work as a standalone novel because the case is contained and resolved within its pages but I feel like I benefitted from understanding the development of the police team through the previous books.
The murder itself is not described graphically at any point and the focus of the book is upon the police investigation and the potential motives of the characters. The author’s choice of setting in Cambridge is reminiscent of Colin Dexter’s Morse series so it feels familiar yet unique.
Murder in the Fens sets up the next book and I can’t wait to read it and find out what happens next between Tara and Blake, plus I’m wondering what will happen with the news uncovered by disgraced former police officer Patrick…
Read my review of the third Clare Chase book featuring Tara Thorpe: Death Comes To Call
When the body of twenty-year-old Julie Cooper is found – her pockets stuffed full of wilting flowers – in an iron-age hill fort on the edge of the fens, Detective Tara Thorpe and her team are called in to investigate. The evidence points to an illicit affair gone wrong… but is there more to the story?
As always at the Cambridge Constabulary, the case turns personal. Detective Blake is exhausted after the arrival of a new baby with wayward wife Babette, and Tara is keen to put as much distance between herself and Blake as she can – both at the station and on the hunt for the killer. Charming rookie officer Jez is the perfect distraction… but is he a little too good to be true?
Then Tara makes a startling breakthrough when she finds an unsettling family heirloom hidden in the late victim’s bedroom – a golden statue of a sinister-looking cat with emerald eyes. As she traces its origins, Tara begins to realise that Julie’s murder is no one-off crime, but a sinister plot with its roots in a terrible secret that was covered up decades earlier.
An unputdownable page-turner, perfect for fans of Faith Martin, Agatha Christie and Joy Ellis. Can be read as a standalone.
The Tara Thorpe Mystery Series:
Book 1 – Murder on the Marshes
Book 2 – Death on the River
Book 3 – Death Comes to Call
Book 4 – Murder in the Fens
Author Bio:
Clare Chase writes women sleuth mysteries and recently signed a three-book deal with Bookouture for a new crime series set in Cambridge. The opening book, Murder on the Marshes, is available for pre-order and will publish in July 2018. The mystery follows investigative journalist Tara Thorpe as she teams up with Detective Garstin Blake to solve the murder of a young female professor at Cambridge University. The case takes them through the dark underbelly of Cambridge and in to the murky fens that surround the centuries-old city. The second and third books in the series are scheduled for publication in late 2018/early 2019.
After graduating from London University with a degree in English Literature, Clare moved to Cambridge and has lived there ever since. She’s fascinated by the city’s contrasts and contradictions, which feed into her writing. She’s worked in diverse settings – from the 800-year-old University to one of the local prisons – and lived everywhere from the house of a Lord to a slug-infested flat. The terrace she now occupies, with her husband and teenage children, presents a good happy medium.
As well as writing, Clare loves family time, art and architecture, cooking, and of course, reading other people’s books.
Clare’s debut novel, You Think You Know Me, was shortlisted for the Novelicious Undiscovered Award 2012, and an EPIC award in 2015. It was also chosen as a debut of the month by Lovereading.
A gentle crime novel with a freelance journalist trying to write an obituary of an acclaimed cellist, only to find herself investigating a murder. This has the classical feel of an Agatha Christie or MC Beaton novel, or Midsomer Murders: a traditional English village murder mystery.
Eve and her dachshund Gus are warm and likeable lead characters. She has a natural inquisitiveness without coming across as nosy. Eve interacts with the villagers and makes friends easily. In the background we have her annoying ex Ian being patronising and a little controlling, whilst she has a loving relationship with her twins.
The plot itself is intricate with plenty of suspects and a second murder. The insular nature of the English village is clearly evoked to keep the action contained. The descriptions of the scenery make the setting very easy to imagine, making me long for summer!
Murder on Hidden Lane is much softer and gentler than Clare Chase’s other books. There is no violence and the focus is very much on Eve’s interviews for her obituary that just happen to form her own investigation into the cellists’s death. I can easily imagine this as a Sunday night drama on TV. I really hope there are more in this series!
Seasoned obituary writer Eve Mallow has a new assignment: to tell the life story of famed musician Bernard Fitzpatrick. A chance to spend a few days in the sweet little village of Saxford St Peter, walking the country lanes with her beloved dachshund Gus and meeting new people sounds like a dream. But it turns out that Bernard’s life was much less interesting than his death. On the day she arrives, news breaks that the charismatic cellist was the victim of a grisly murder. Could this quaint English village be hiding a dark secret?
As Eve starts to interview Bernard’s friends and colleagues, she finds that he’d ruffled a few feathers. In fact, from the keepers of the Cross Keys Inn to his own staff at High House, there’s barely a person in town who doesn’t have some reason to hate him… is one of the friendly villagers a cold-blooded killer?
Eve hoped Saxford St Peter would be the perfect escape from her busy city life. But there is darkness even in the most sunlit of settings. And when a second body is found, Eve becomes certain that one of the people she’s met must be the murderer. She has never done any detective work before… but is there something in her notes that can crack the case?
An unputdownable page-turner, perfect for fans of Faith Martin, Agatha Christie and Betty Rowlands.
Author Bio:
Clare Chase writes women sleuth mysteries. After graduating from London University with a degree in English Literature, Clare moved to Cambridge and has lived there ever since. She’s fascinated by the city’s contrasts and contradictions, which feed into her writing. She’s worked in diverse settings – from the 800-year-old University to one of the local prisons – and lived everywhere from the house of a Lord to a slug-infested flat. The terrace she now occupies, with her husband and teenage children, presents a good happy medium.
As well as writing, Clare loves family time, art and architecture, cooking, and of course, reading other people’s books.
This is the third book to feature Tara Thorpe (I have read the first where she is a reporter and makes the decision to change career to join the police, but haven’t read the second )
In this book, Tara and her colleagues are called upon to investigate the disappearance of artist Luke Cope. A body is discovered but it isn’t his! It is his alleged lover, married woman Freya Cross. Did Luke kill her or was her husband involved. And where is Luke now?
I loved the first book, need to read the second book and loved this one too. I had no idea who was responsible for the murder of Freya and the motive behind it. There are lots of suspects and suspicious behaviour to keep the reader guessing until the end.
There is not a lot of gory detail in this book and the focus is on the investigation and relationships between the police officers.
There is a lot of tension in the team as one person is suspended follwing his behaviour in the second book where he gave out secret information to a journalist. He continues to stir up trouble, hinting that Blake and Tara have a more intimate relationship than they do.
Meanwhile they are struggling to keep their relationship professional for the sake of the case and also because Blake’s wife is pregnant (did she deliberately get pregnant to keep Blake and make amends for cheating on him in the past…?)
Tara is a great lead character and a positive role model for women. She won’t let her past get in the way of her future although the very end of the book lets us know that her past is coming back to haunt her: can’t wait for the next book!
Frost sparkles on the bare winter branches, as night falls over the quiet country lanes bordering the fens. But nestled beneath an ivy-covered bough, a body lies pale in the bright moonlight…
When a promising local artist disappears, the victim’s brother begs Detective Tara Thorpe to take the case. It seems there’s no evidence of foul play… he simply disappeared without a trace.
Tara agrees to do some digging… never mind that her unorthodox approach to policing has got a few of her colleagues’ backs up. Amongst them is her former supervisor Detective Patrick Wilkins… he’s had enough of Tara calling the shots and will do anything to knock her down. She must be careful.
At least she has an ally in their boss, Detective Garstin Blake. He’ll always back her hunches. If anything, they work together too well… at least, that’s the rumour around the station these days.
When a body of a young woman is found frozen near the fens, Tara’s evidence suddenly becomes key to solving a high-profile murder. Is their missing artist still a victim… or in fact a clever murderer with a deadly plan?
An unputdownable page-turner that will keep you hooked until the very last page!
Author Bio:
Clare Chase writes women sleuth mysteries and recently signed a three-book deal with Bookouture for a new crime series set in Cambridge. The opening book, Murder on the Marshes, published in July 2018. The mystery follows investigative journalist Tara Thorpe as she teams up with Detective Garstin Blake to solve the murder of a young female professor at Cambridge University. The case takes them through the dark underbelly of Cambridge and in to the murky fens that surround the centuries-old city.
After graduating from London University with a degree in English Literature, Clare moved to Cambridge and has lived there ever since. She’s fascinated by the city’s contrasts and contradictions, which feed into her writing. She’s worked in diverse settings – from the 800-year-old University to one of the local prisons – and lived everywhere from the house of a Lord to a slug-infested flat. The terrace she now occupies, with her husband and teenage children, presents a good happy medium.
As well as writing, Clare loves family time, art and architecture, cooking, and of course, reading other people’s books.
Clare’s debut novel, You Think You Know Me, was shortlisted for the Novelicious Undiscovered Award 2012, and an EPIC award in 2015. It was also chosen as a debut of the month by Lovereading.
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