so good! cosy crime filled mystery with passionate and original characters. loved the plot and twists included in this, makes such a good thriller!!!

I was given the opportunity to read and review both of these book ahead of the publication of the second, they both sounded amazing so I jumped at the chance .

The start of the book was so atmospheric and had so many different branches to the story, I was so intrigued.

The writing style is a little different to what I’m used to but I loved it instantly and it’s so atmospheric it’s bordering on beautiful.

Ex Detective Jake arrives at the house his Uncle Arthur has left him, the taxi has dropped him off at the Oak Tree as the instructions in the letter specified, he soon finds Little Sky which is now his home.

Jake is fully immersed in the quiet village life , he’s met the handful of villagers and feels happy and glad to be away from the busy city life and his old job, that’s until a mysterious bag of bones appears.

This took a little while to build up to the mystery and the ins and outs etc but that was the beauty of this book, the slow pace life and story that fits in perfectly with Jake and what he wants to get out of living in Little Sky.

I enjoyed this so much and the characters cast a spell on me and I became so attached to them.

The mystery/crime element was a little complex and I was swayed by the red herrings and didn’t see the villain being unmasked at all, I can’t wait to read more from this fantastic author and series.

Overall an okay read, more mystery than thriller….. 🤔

Following Jake after his uncle has passed leaving him his home/land, whilst being isolated in his new home, things do not start out as he had imagined.

Not my usual genre of book as I prefer thrillers, not so keen on mystery, as pace generally much slower. If this is your genre, it is a good book.

A top city cop inherits a rundown house in the middle of nowhere to get away from a broken relationship. His detective skills are used to the full when the unexplained death of a young woman ten years earlier is brought to his attention.
This is essentially a murder mystery although it takes a little while to get into its stride. Once it's does, the pace hots up and the story becomes more engaging. Plenty of descriptive writing of a beautiful yet isolated landscape where the locals say 'yonder' and speak in vernacular and seem one dimensional while the incomers are educated and superior. Well written, if rather flowery, by a well-connected debut author. But it was rather a slow burner for me, populated by stereotyped characters and cliches.
Not for me, sorry.
Thank you to NetGalley for a review copy of this book.

Received arc from Harper Collins and Netgalley for honest read and review,this review is my own.
This is the first book in this series and the first book I have read from Stig and I must say I pretty much enjoyed it.
Main character is very relatable and Jake was quite a good lead.He goes to live in the country away from the city and things are hoping to slow down for him, but as things go, nonetheless crops up.
A really good start and look forward to the next one.

As a debut novel I Wasn’t sure what to expect from this one. It’s very different from your usual crime novel but I liked the element of romance that was in there to make it different as some mystery crime novels can be very samey. I like this and would read more from the author.

This is my first Stig Abell book and I really enjoyed it and the ending was not who I suspected so that is always good. I did think the book took a little while to grab me, it was interesting but not enough to make me not want to not put it down but once I got into it I wanted to keep reading and spent most of a sunny Sunday just reading outside.

This was not what I was expecting but a pleasant surprise. I thought this would be a Scandi noir type of book because of the authors name and that was fine but they can be a challenging read at times. This was not a challenge to read, it flowed well and was an engaging read with an original storyline and a relatable main character. A plus was that it was based in England too.
There was tension, intrigue , suspicious locals and the hint of a love interest, not a bad haul for a retired detective all coupled with him coming to grips with his new lifestyle amid beautiful but isolated countryside.
I'm so glad my assumption was incorrect as this was a far better book than I was expecting.

This was a very different murder/mystery story and toally absorbing. Some really good characters and a romance too. The background in the story is very much without modern conveniences and adds to the atmosphere of the story. Great conclusion and I have the next book to hand!

This book is for a crime connoisseurs. There are many literary descriptions, the action regarding the central mystery is good and there is an element of romance. It did hold the attention, it misleads at times but the end is logical and all the loose ends are tied up.

This is a book that defies being put into a genre.
Although ostensibly it is indeed a crime and a mystery it is so much more too.
The characters are so thoughtfully written and so deep in backstory and personality that they step straight off the pages of beautifully described landscape and the solitude of Little Sky is palpable throughout the book.
Yes, there is a body (or two), a mystery to solve and a perpetrator to punish but that does not detract from the fabulously immersive nature of the writing and you will still want to live there despite the criminal undercurrent!
5 stars is not enough!

A thoroughly enjoyable murder mystery that was calm and almost entirely unthreatening. Yes I know that sounds odd, but there we are.

I loved the map at the start of the book. I'm a sucker for a map. That combined with the rich descriptions in the book meant I could visualise everything. Stig is certainly skilled at making his scenes seem real.

The story was gripping, even in its calmness. A decade old cold case, an ex detective, a new romance. What more do you need for a cosy weekend read.

It was delightful to savour the descriptions of the natural world that Jake removed himself to on the death of his Uncle ‘King’ Arthur. The simple pleasures of country living, off grid in near isolation were appealing. The story flowed & was somehow refreshing in it’s difference. There were many suspects, but it was the unexpected. A murder mystery from past & present.

Stig is a debut author who introduces us to what I presume he hopes will become a new lasting detective partnership of ex-copper Jake Jackson and country vet Livia. The two meet at Little Sky a remote country estate left to Jake by his recently deceased uncle and soon find themselves embroiled in a cold case when they uncover a sack full of human bones on a treasure hunt.
The style is reminiscent of ‘Midsommer Murders’ and at times it was hard to tell if the story was a murder mystery or a romance. However, I was kept interested throughout the story and found it a very enjoyable read.

A first detective novel written by journalist and broadcaster Stig Abell. A slow start leading to an exciting finish. A beautifully written book that had this reader gripped and not wanting to put the book down. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for enabling me to have access to this book prior to reading book two by the author.

"'Nobody likes a know-it-all. All right I'm mostly joking. But I would like you to keep your ear to the ground. And I would welcome any and all theories from you, Jake. Jackson and Bennett, the crime-fighters of Little Sky.' He chuckles to himself. 'I like the sound of that...'"

A promising debut novel - rural detective, crime fiction and the first in a series, all of which appealed to me. Firmly set in rural South England, split from his wife, former Metropolitan Police detective Jake Jackson inherits his eccentric uncle's sprawling house. As he gets to know the, mainly odd, locals, he gets dragged into a cold case featuring discovered bones.

Character- and Location-driven (reminding me of Elly Griffiths and Ann Cleeves), I enjoyed getting to know introspective and intelligent Jake, his new home and his new neighbours, living on the outskirts of a small (Cambridgeshire?) village. Evocative and atmospheric wildlife and landscape becomes Jake's life as he finds himself without many of life's modern conveniences. There's the potential for romance with the local vet, Livia, who has a daughter, Diana and the potential for trouble from local farmers, when Jake begins digging into the cold case that local police seek his input on. There is another death and I had an inkling who may be responsible, but was not disappointed to be proven right, having enjoyed this solid and moody murder mystery. I look forward to book two, Death In A Lonely Place, which also publishes soon.

A wonderful, enjoyable, gripping detective story - especially as it’s the first Stig has written. Jake an ex police officer moves into the remote house left to him by his uncle, hoping for peace and quiet, but life turns out very differently for him. Who has been involved with Sabine’s death and who should Jake trust?

Absolutely mothing wrong with this murder mystery book set in a very small village in middle England.

I am not sure how Mr Abell was able to describe the weather and the countryside in so many different ways - but he does it really well!

Jake, a burned out detective inherits an old house, and starts living without a lot of modern day trappings. I wasn't too concerned as to who the murderer was as the book stood up well in every other aspect. I loved it.

If there is a follow up, I will look forward to it.

Thanks to Net Galley and Harper Collins UK for the chance to read and review.

Jake Jackson, an ex police detective moves to his late Uncle's farm in the middle of the English countryside, that he was left in his Uncle Arthur's will. It comes at a time when his marriage to Faye is over. Soon after he arrives, he meets Livia, a vet and her daughter Diana. The characters within village were very descriptive as well as the village and the sourrounding area around Jake's new home. It's very atmoshperic and evocative. Every year, there is a tradition to find a bag of bones. Livia invites Jake to partner with her and her daughter, Jake finds the mysterious bag of bones. However, within the bag are some human bones. How, why, what, when and where did they come from? So now, there is a mystery to solve! I found this book to be enteraining with a few twists and turns. The ending was a complete surprise for me. I will be recommending this book.

Not sure this book was for me. I enjoy a good mystery as much as the next person but the main protagonist, Jake came across as very adolescent to me. From the start it's clear that there's going to be a budding romance with the vet and I just never felt like there was any depth to the characters. The solution to the mystery itself wasn't obvious which is a plus but I just didn't like the lack of depth to any of the characters.
Thanks to Netgalley and Harper for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.