ADVENT BOOK BLOG 15 – Aug-2018 (1) – The Backpacker by Stewart giles #dcharriettaylor #thebackpacker @stewartgiles #crimefiction #detective

I didnt realise until I started my Advent book blog how many brilliant books I have had the pleasure of reading this year. This one is up among the top ones but is very special to me in many ways. The Backpacker is book 3 in the DC Harriet Taylor series by the brilliant Stewart Giles. If you haven’t read it yet then you have a treat in store.

The Backpacker (DC Harriet Taylor #3)

Available from AMAZON

www.stewartgiles.com

From #1 best-selling author: Stewart Giles comes a new detective story set on the Cornish coast. Where the pretty villages and towns hold some very dark secrets.

WHAT IS THE SECRET AT LANDELL’S FARM?

A girl’s body is found hidden in a remote spot of a Cornish Farm. The same farm that a young girl ran towards, to escape her pursuer, many years before. Detective Harriet Taylor has to abandon her day out to investigate.
As Littlemore and the forensics team get to work they uncover another mystery hidden among the rocks.
Who would kill a young backpacker who hurt nobody? Is there a link between this and a mystery from many years ago?
As Harriet and the team get to work they find more questions than answers. What secrets is the sleepy Cornish village hiding?

This is a fast-paced page-turner that has so many twists and turns it keeps the reader guessing right up to the shocking end.

If you like Police Procedurals, then this is a series you won’t want to miss.

What the readers are saying:

Joanna Larum’s Reviews

The action rushes on until we are given all the answers at the end. (I won’t spoil it!)
Stewart Giles books are always a pleasure to read with so many ins and outs and possible perpetrators. The reader is kept on the edge of his/her seat and, I find, ignores everything in order to reach the end of the story. I would highly recommend this book to all lovers of police procedural and also those with a love of the English countryside. It’s definitely 5 stars from me! Read more here

Beth in a Box

I enjoyed The Backpacker; I found it fast-paced, energetic with just enough, um, fluff…. Sorry Stewart, I can’t think of a better word.

I enjoyed the waiting until the very end for the climax, although I had guessed correctly by about 90% who the murderer was. I liked the fact that a step forward seemed to take the team back two steps at some points. Read more here

Turn the Page

The book is funny as well as having a fantastic storyline, that keeps you reading til the end. Although this is third in the series you could quite easily read it alone (and then the others after) Highly recommend this read to everyone. Read more here

Ginger Book Geek

The author clearly cares about the characters in this book and this shines through in his writing. There were certain characters that I couldn’t help but take to and there were certain characters that made me want to punch them on the nose end. When I felt that my ‘friends’, those characters that I had taken to, were under attack I so wanted to jump inside the pages of the book to defend them. Read more here

Linda Strong Book Reviews

There are plenty of suspects to follow in this well written crime fiction. The girl’s boyfriend who doesn’t seem too upset … the brother she hasn’t spoken to in years … members of the farm where she was found … or was this a random killing? Read more here

On the Shelf Reviews

Sometimes I love diving back into a series with familiar characters that I am already know and enjoy. The book isn’t that long but there’s plenty packed into it! With the fast pace I absolutely flew through it, I could not stop turning those pages! Read more here

Donna’s Book Blog

The plot is great, I loved the pace and the characters are spot on – I love a strong female lead and you certainly get on in this book! The interaction between Harriet and her team was completely on point and I loved it. Plenty of twists to keep you hooked right from the start through to the books brilliant ending – excellent! Read more here

Daisy White’s Wicked Words

The pace and tension, plus the great atmospheric descriptions pull the whole thing together. The premise was good one, and I stayed up late to find out what happened. Harriet Taylor is a likeable detective, with a few edges that work well with the whole plot. Read more here

Debbie Hipster

What a book, and strong female lead. I was hooked from the first chapter. Set in rural Cornwall, a place I can easily identify with, and see while I read. Switching from the past and present had me guessing how the stories linked and intertwined with one another. The characters were every one you know and can relate too, we’ve all met these people in our lives, which helps connect the reader to the story, and you forget it’s fiction. Read more here

Black Books Blog

The story flowed really well throughout and I was left guessing and second guessing myself whilst reading to try and figure out the link and who the murderer was before the big reveal. When the big reveal did arrive I was shocked by the answers but really liked the way the story ended. I also really hope this isn’t the last we have seen of Harriet and her team. Read more here

THE SETTING
Trotterdown and the surrounding villages is a fictional village in Cornwall. It is typical of Cornish villages with remote farms and sleepy Cornish stone cottages. However, the area is steeped in history and the residents of the quaint cottages have their share of myths and secrets making it the ideal setting for this series.

THE DETECTIVE
DC Harriet Taylor had only been married for 2 years when her philandering husband was killed in a car crash. It is common knowledge around the station that the woman who died next to him was his latest lover. Harriet transferred to Trotterdown to escape the gossip and sympathetic looks. She is now finding her way around Cornwall and getting to know the other members of the team.

My Review

This is book 3 in the Detective Harriet Taylor series but it works excellently as stand-alone

My first introduction to Stewart Giles was The Beekeeper which is book 1 in this series and will always hold a special place in my heart. Obviously a lot of other people loved it because it has hit #1 in Australia twice. The Perfect Murder was also of the same calibre so I was looking forward to reading this new release.

Harriet moved to Cornwall to escape the gossips when her philandering husband was killed in a crash with his lover. I am pleased to see her getting over that and moving on with her life. Her character is developing well. She is forming a healthy friendship with John Finch and they both have a passion for boats. The first chapter gives us an insight into the boating world but reality returns when a body is found.

This is an intriguing story with 2 strands. 2 bodies a couple of decades apart in the same place in the remote countryside of Landell’s farm. The same farm a girl ran towards escaping a pursuer many years before. What is the connection between the 2 cases? Is there one?

I loved this story I found myself thinking ‘detective’ and trying to work out who the murderer was all the way through along with the team. Every clue leads to a dead end as the team go around in circles trying to find a way through the secrets and lies.

There are a lot of twists and turns as the story moves along keeping the reader totally engrossed in the story. The intrigue builds all the way through to the very end.

There are a mix of characters in this book and all are unique and bring a lot to the story. Some I liked some I didn’t. I am familiar with Derbyshire farmers and although the characters at Landell’s are Cornish I doubt they differ much so in my opinion Stewart has them portrayed perfectly. There are characters that come and go but they are all realistic and well described.

I love Stewart’s books I think he is a very talented author but this book is, in my opinion, the best yet. It has everything you could want from a good detective book. Intrigue, suspense the ins and outs and entanglement of complex detective work all wrapped up in a fast-moving page-turner that keeps the interest all the way through to the shocker of an ending.

Brilliant read. Definitely 5 golden stars from me

DC HARRIET TAYLOR SERIES
Book 1 – The Beekeeper Buy from Amazon
Book 2 – The Perfect Murder Buy from Amazon
Book 3 – The Backpacker

DS JASON SMITH SERIES
Book 0.5 – PhobiaBuy from Amazon
Book 1 – Smith Buy from Amazon
Book 3 – Ladybird  Buy from Amazon
Book 4 – Occam’s Razor  Buy from Amazon
Book 5 – Harlequin  Buy from Amazon
Book 6 – Selene Buy from Amazon
Book 7 – Horsemen  Buy from Amazon
Book 8 – Unworthy Buy from Amazon