Today I am kicking off the Blog Tour for AN ARTFUL MURDER. This is book 4 in the brilliant Detective Sara Hirst series but the books work perfectly as stand alone.
AN ARTFUL MURDER
Format – Kindle
Publisher – Joffe Books
Publication Date – 13th July 2022
Genre – Crime thriller, mystery and suspense
Author – Judi Daykin
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DISCOVER ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING CRIME MYSTERIES YOU’LL READ THIS YEAR.
Detective Sara Hirst has moved from London to the Serious Crimes Unit in beautiful Norfolk.
SARA FACES HER TOUGHEST AND MOST BIZARRE CASE YET.
The first body is found forced inside a huge terracotta urn on the lawn of a country manor in a remote corner of North Norfolk.
A few days later, a young woman is found, tied to a golden chair with her throat slashed.
At both crime scenes, the killer leaves a bizarre calling card.
The victims were part of a group of friends at university back in the day. Two of them are dead. Two are still alive — but for how much longer?
The team’s new DCI, Helen Hudson, is convinced the prime suspect is Dom Wilkins, one of the victims’ old flames.
But Detective Sara thinks she’s missing something obvious. Can she stop a serial killer before they strike again?
This gripping, character-driven crime thriller is perfect for fans of Joy Ellis, J.M. Dalgliesh, Matt Brolly, Biba Pearce, Rachel McLean, Rachel Lynch and Angela Marsons.
JUDI DAYKIN WAS LONGLISTED FOR THE CWA JOHN CREASEY NEW BLOOD DAGGER 2021!
READERS CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF AN ARTFUL MURDER:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “The very best of this series thus far.” Ruth
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “A great way of presenting a mystery story. Surprisingly good, extremely entertaining and with a great slant.” Leyla
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Another really good book, so enjoyable! Highly recommended!” Hannelore
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “An excellent example of a police procedural. I read it in one sitting, the narrative flows smoothly and keeps you hooked to the end.” Carol
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “A mind-blowing fantastic gripping book right till the end. Loved it.” Booklover Bev
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Daykin created an incredible intriguing page-turner with this book.” Allie
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “The tension builds right to the end . . . The final scenes were gripping.” Janette
THE DETECTIVE
In her mid-thirties, DS Sara Hirst has left a successful career in London’s Metropolitan Police Force and taken a new post in Norfolk Police’s Serious Crimes Unit. Unfortunately, her welcome on the team is far from warm, and Sara will have to work hard to prove herself when the discovery of a body on her first morning leads to all kinds of difficulties.
THE SETTING
A patchwork of tiny rural villages, with quaint coastal seaside resorts and peppered by farms, on a bewildering network of small back lanes. There are no motorways here, and sometimes it feels like your nearest neighbour lives in Holland.
Bounded on one side by the Norfolk Broads and the Wash on the other, its greatest feature is the boundless skies. The weather changes before your eyes. To many, it seems like a fairy tale, a cherished memory of childhood holidays. In reality, these are small hard-working communities, where people tend to mind their own business, and it’s easy to keep a dark secret.
ALSO BY JUDI DAYKIN
DS SARA HIRST SERIES
Book 1: UNDER VIOLENT SKIES
Book 2: INTO DEADLY STORMS
Book 3: A BRUTAL SEASON
Book 4: AN ARTFUL MURDER
Review
This is book 4 in the Detective Sara Hirst series and they do work well stand-alone but you miss some of the history and background. The author does make a good job of making sure that doesn’t affect your enjoyment of the book or bore the readers who have read the earlier books with boring catch up so whether you have read any or none of the earlier books you are guaranteed to enjoy this one so go ahead and get reading.
A young man is found in a funerary urn but this urn was a historical artifact not something that was intended to be used so how did he get in there and why was he then murdered? And why was a stuffed llama with him?
As Sara and the team begin investigating they are knocked for six when they are told they have a new DCI and Edwards has been sidelined for someone new. Hudson storms in with her new broom making changes and alienating the team. Can they pull together to solve this very difficult case while dealing with the massive changes being made to the way they work?
This is a very intriguing book made all the more so by the background stories that make the characters more human. The familiar characters continue to grow and develop while the new ones bring other qualities to the book.
The story is unique, revenge and hurt join forces with overpowering personalities to create a story that has the reader gripped from the first page to the last.
Thank you to Joffe Books for the advance digital copy of this book. My review is unbiased and my own personal opinion.
JUDI DAYKIN
Yorkshire born, Judi has lived, worked and made theatre in Norfolk for the last forty years. She completed her MA in Creative Writing (Crime Fiction) at the University of East Anglia (UEA), and her debut novel was shortlisted for the Little, Brown UEA writer’s prize in 2019.
‘I love the beautiful, vast skies and watery landscapes of Norfolk. Our home in a village on the north coast can feel wonderfully remote, even though the nearest town is only a few miles away. I can’t imagine living anywhere better than this.’
Judi is also a working actor, and has been known to twiddle the knobs on the sound desk for the variety shows at Cromer Pier. She runs her own theatre company, Broad Horizons, specialising in commissioning new plays recovering and retelling women’s stories.
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