This is the first book in a new detective series set in Norfolk in England. Detective Inspector Tom Janssen has only a small team, as there isn’t much crime, so when a young girl is found murdered, an SIO (Senior Investigating Officer) from Norwich is called in to lead the investigation. The usual SIO brought in, Marcus Galbraith, was ill, and so Tamara Greave was sent.

The town is small, with everyone knowing everyone else. In particular, Eric Collet, Janssen’s 24-year-old CID, seems not only to know everyone, but their family connections. It doesn’t take long to identify the girl - she was Holly Bettany, age 17, and she died by strangulation. In addition, the autopsy found she had been pregnant.

Janssen and Greave are both impressed with one another. Tamara had a no-nonsense approach, and Tom, courteous and focussed, didn’t seem bothered in the least by deferring authority to her. And although Tom approached cases differently than Tamara, at no time did he undermine her. They thought they made a good team.

Nevertheless, both of them were reluctant to draw the necessary conclusions to find the killer.

Evaluation: The nature of the crime when finally exposed wasn’t terribly surprising, but the characters of Eric, Tom, and Tamara were nuanced and interesting. ( )

Entertaining crime novel set in a familiar (to me) North Norfolk, with some interesting and unusual characters and a clever plot. I thought the author captured the atmosphere and characters of Norfolk well, based on my teenage recollections. The chief character has an interesting personality and it will be interesting to see how the author develops him in future books. ( )