Today I am sharing my review of THE WILD THYME FARM MURDER as part of the Book Tour. This is book 6 in the Detective Sara Hirst series and is an edge-of-your-seat read that is perfect for anyone who loves crime fiction.
THE WILD THYME FARM MURDERS
Format – Kindle
Publisher – Joffe Books Mystery, Crime Thriller, Suspense
Publication Date – 4th April 2024
Genre – Crime thriller, mystery and suspense
Author – Judi Daykin
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A GRIPPING NEW CRIME MYSTERY BY CWA NEW BLOOD DAGGER NOMINEE JUDI DAYKIN!
Detective Sara Hirst is at a crossroads. Can she take the heat or is she about to burn out?
It’s the hottest summer on record. Norfolk is parched.
One steaming night an old thatched barn at Wild Thyme Farm is torched. The battle to put out the blaze rages.
Detective Sara is on the scene when there’s a horrifying discovery: there’s a body in the embers.
Sara and her team have been investigating a series of fires breaking out all over the county — but this is the first body.
Accident or murder?
Suspicion soon falls on struggling farm owner Jean Simpson and her daughter, Faye. Mother and daughter had a searing row the day before the barn went up – and now Faye’s husband is missing.
At the same time Sara’s personal and professional life are reaching boiling point. Her boss wants her to go for promotion. Her boyfriend wants to settle down.
Can Sara solve this case and keep everyone happy — or will it all go up in smoke?
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.
READERS CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF JUDI DAYKIN:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘It’s a mindblower, every chapter has a slap bang feeling to make your heart skip.’ Booklover Bev
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘An interesting and enjoyable murder mystery set in Norfolk. I liked the vivid descriptions of the hot weather which leads to suspicious wild fires. Lots of twists, turns and family dynamics.’ Carol S.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Set in Norfolk, this is a gripping thriller that gets readers turning each page until the end. The Sara Hirst character is well drawn as well. Amazing.’ Mary H.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘So many twists. Would recommend this book to others.’ Hannah H.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘This book was a great read! It had suspense, intrigue, action packed, murder, mystery, arson, even a little romance going on! The storyline was interesting and kept me glued to my kindle!’ Debbie B.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘What a great read, I loved it! Not only is it an excellent mystery, the characters are all likeable, except of course the bad guys! Lovely setting of Norfolk too.’ Hannelore C.
THE DETECTIVE
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.
My Review
Another addition to the Detective Sara Hirst series by Judi Daykin. The books do work as stand alone but I am sure you will want to read the whole series to learn about the characters. I love this series and this book is a brilliant read.
Sara and her team are investigating a series of fires in the area. It is the hottest summer on record and wildfires are a big risk but these fires are arson and risk spreading out of control. So Sara and her team are working hard to find the culprit. Then everything changes. A big fire at Wild Thyme Farm takes all the local resources to put out and when the fire investigators can get inside the building they find a body. So badly burned identification is going to be difficult. Now they are investigating murder as well as arson.
The characters continue to develop and I like how their personal lives are seamlessly made part of the story. I love how the team is built of totally different personalities that all bring something to the story.
A very enjoyable read that has a lot going on all the way through. Dysfunctional families play a large part in this book for different reasons and makes the whole story interesting. Loads of suspense and intrigue as the investigation progresses and Sara realises that there is a tangled web of lies and revenge that needs to be untangled to access the truth.
A brilliant read that I recommend to anyone who likes crime fiction.
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.
BOOKS BY JUDI DAYKIN
DETECTIVE SARA HIRST SERIES:
-
DS SARA HIRST SERIES
Book 1: UNDER VIOLENT SKIES
Book 2: INTO DEADLY STORMS
Book 3: A BRUTAL SEASON
Book 4: AN ARTFUL MURDER
Book 5: THE NORFOLK BEACH MURDERS
Book 6: THE WILD THYME FARM MURDERNORTH NORFOLK MURDER MYSTERIES BOOKS 1–3 BOX SET
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