The bodies of Jack and Denise Trainor are discovered in the mountains of Snowdonia. It looks like a murder/suicide but DI Drake is determined to follow all clues before he closes the case.
An enjoyable novella mystery ( )

Murder in the mountains.
I listened to the audiobook of this novella and I have to say, the narration by Richard Elfyn, was excellent. So I was already in a receptive mood as I prepared to set out for a long drive.

I'm actually not quite sure what the purpose is of prequels. I've asked a few authors at Lit Fests and got varied responses, though it seems it's often the publisher's idea.
In this case, we are introduced to detective inspector Ian Drake, just after he has been promoted, and his side-kick, Ceren Waits. They are an interesting pair, as he's meticulously tidy and she's, well, a bit of a slob really. As I'd never read any of Stephen Puleston's books, I had no prior image of either character, which was possibly a good thing.

Two bodies are found on a Welsh mountain, husband and wife. The wife appears to have been murdered but it's not immediately apparent how the husband came to be sprawled close by.
It would have been easy to have gone with the obvious conclusion - that the husband murdered his wife and then committed suicide, but Drake's intuition suggests there's more to it. Being his first murder enquiry, he needs to be sure he gets it right and he persuades his superior to allow him a little more time to turn all the stones.

It did make me think about how easy it would have been for the incorrect conclusion to have been drawn and the case closed. How often must this happen??

This was an enjoyable listen, not too drawn out and fairly straight forward. I wasn't confused at the end as I have been by some books I've read recently. I'd probably give the first book in the series a try if it were to become available in audio - and especially if it's read by Richard Elfyn. ( )

This short novella takes the reader back to Inspector Drakes's very first investigation. DI Ian Drake is called when two bodies are found at the bottom of a mountain.

At first glance, it looks like a man stabbed his wife and then jumped to his own death. But Drake has a feeling there is more to the story. Possibly someone else stabbed the wife and threw the husband over the cliff.

Drake wants this investigation to go well, to show that he can do the job and do it well. He and his partner, DS Caren Waits go to great lengths in interviewing possible witnesses, friends and family.

The couple, from all accounts, seemed like any normal married couple. So who would want them dead?

Drake seems to suffer from Obsessive–compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) ..he displays a pattern of concern with orderliness, perfectionism. excessive attention to details. And when his partner talks with her mouth full, it's almost more than he can bear. He and his wife are having problems ... mainly because he can't turn his mind off this case... and he's gone a lot.

I actually didn't learn much about Waits. She is somewhat at odds with Drake, but she does understand that he is the boss and what he says, goes.

Although a 70-page novella, there's plenty of action, plenty of suspense packed into these pages. I'm sure I'll be following this series.

Many thanks to the author who provided a digital ARC for my reading pleasure. ( )