#BlogTour A Fatal Truth by Faith Martin

Today it's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour A Fatal Truth by Faith Martin - it's the fifth book in the popular Ryder and Loveday series.

About the Author
Faith Martin is an English author who was born in Oxford. She lives in an Oxfordshire village. She is best known for her popular detective series, starring Detective Inspector (DI) Hillary Greene. She began her writing career as Maxine Barry. She also writes under the pen names, Joyce Cato and Jessie Daniels

Faith Martin has been writing for 30 years. She signed a massive book deal with the publishers Harper Collins/HQ, who have published her Ryder & Loveday novels. All four novels, A Fatal Obsession, A Fatal Mistake, A Fatal Flaw, A Fatal Secret and A Fatal Truth are available now.

Follow @FaithMartin_Nov @HQDigitalUK on Twitter, Follow Faith on Goodreads, on Amazon,  , Buy A Fatal Truth

About the book
As the Hughes family celebrate bonfire night, a terrible accident leaves the garden shed in flames - and father and grandfather Thomas trapped inside.

Tragic though it is, Thomas's death passes without suspicion - until a local journalist makes accusations of a police cover-up in the press. WPC Trudy Loveday is sent to investigate, and asks coroner Clement Ryder to help.

But the more questions the two ask the less clear the case seems. There's no evidence of foul play, and yet the dead man's family are obviously hiding something. Then there are Thomas's dubious business practices - was someone out for revenge?

All Trudy and Clement know for sure is that everyone is lying - and that they must find the truth...

Review
This is the fifth book in the Loveday and Ryder series. All of the books can be read as standalone novels, but I would recommend reading the others just because they are a good read.

The death of grandfather Thomas at a family gathering is a tragedy. Not only did the patriarch die in a terrible way, his entire family was there to see it happen. Traumatic and devastating, or is it? A journalist seems to think there might be more to the story than just unfortunate circumstances, which then leads to Loveday being drawn in to investigate the accident.

It's a crime series with a cosy feel, which often deals with difficult relevant topics, but the charm of the sleuthing duo balances the more severe moments.

This series has grown on me. It has a young Prime Suspect 1973 Tennison feel to it. The combination of Loveday the policewoman still cutting her teeth and facing the barriers of gender inequality and sexism in her job, and the long years of expertise of Ryder and the way he becomes a kind of father figure to her, is what makes this duo one to watch.

Martin really knows how to make her main characters gel with the readers and the plot. The insecurity of both shows itself in different ways and yet in a way that gives the two the ability to support and help the other. It's a charming series with plenty of potential.

Buy A Fatal Truth at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: HQ Digital; pub date 11 Jun. 2020. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Waterstones.

#BlogTour A Fatal Secret by Faith Martin

It's my pleasure to take part in the BlogTour A Fatal Secret by Faith Martin. A police procedural with a mystery, and yet at the same time the author melds important topics like sexism and discrimination into the story.

About the Author
Faith Martin is an English author who was born in Oxford. She lives in an Oxfordshire village. She is best known for her popular detective series, starring Detective Inspector (DI) Hillary Greene. She began her writing career as Maxine Barry. She also writes under the pen names, Joyce Cato and Jessie Daniels

Faith Martin has been writing for 30 years. She signed a massive book deal with the publishers Harper Collins/HQ, who have published her Ryder & Loveday novels. All four novels, A Fatal Obsession, A Fatal Mistake, A Fatal Flaw  and A Fatal Secret are available now.

Follow @FaithMartin_Nov @HQDigitalUK @HQStories on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Buy A Fatal Secret

About the book
Oxford, 1961

A family day out at Briar’s Hall ends in tragedy when a young boy goes missing – and his body is found at the bottom of a disused well in the orchard.

It looks like a simple case of an eleven-year-old exploring where he shouldn’t: a tragic accident. But Coroner Clement Ryder and Probationary WPC Trudy Loveday aren’t convinced. If Eddie had been climbing and fallen, why were there no cuts or dirt on his hands? Why would a boy terrified of heights be around a well at all?

Clement and Trudy are determined to get to the truth, but the more they dig into Briar’s Hall and the mysterious de Lacey family who live there, the murkier things become.

Could it be that poor Eddie’s death was murder? There are rumours of blackmail in the village, and Clement and Trudy have a horrible feeling that Eddie stumbled on a secret that someone was willing to kill for…

Review
This is the fourth book in the Loveday and Ryder series. If you're a fan of slightly eccentric mismatched detective duos then this will probably be right up your street. This story is like an old-fashioned whodunnit, but with a more modern feel to it.

The book starts with the tragic disappearance of a young boy called Eddie. The search comes to an awful conclusion, but fortunately not one that suggests there is a third party involved. Well not until Ryder and Loveday get involved that is, then the accident starts looking a little less accidental and a little more like a crime.

The two of them investigate with their usual intense passion for the truth and for justice. In doing so they turn up more secrets than they were expecting, and not necessarily the truth about Eddie and what led to his death.

WPC Loveday has to battle wars at work, where she is treated like a joke, and at home, where she is expected to conform to expectations. Her parents think she should be getting married and having babies instead of running around solving crimes and putting herself in danger. The only person she feels at ease with, perhaps because he understands and doesn't judge her, is Ryder.

This series gets better with each book. I get the feeling Martin is just getting started, and to be fair the premise and the characters have plenty of room for development. This sleuthing duo is the kind that has you casting the actors in the television roles. It's a young Tennison meets a less agitated and more laid back Quincy with a Midsomer Mystery vibe. A police procedural with a mystery, and yet at the same time the author melds important topics like sexism and discrimination into the story. With each book Martin gives more depth to her characters and more complex problems to navigate. It's an enjoyable read.

Buy A Fatal Secret at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: HQ Digital; pub date 6 Sept. 2019. Buy at Amazon com.

Read my reviews of A Fatal Obsession and A Fatal Flaw by Faith Martin.

#BlogTour A Fatal Flaw by Faith Martin

Today it is my turn on the BlogTour A Fatal Flaw by Faith Martin.This is the third book in the Ryder and Loveday series, a cosy crime series with an unusual crime fighting duo.

About the Author
Faith Martin has been writing for 30 years. She signed a massive 3-book deal with the publishers Harper Collins/HQ, who have published her Ryder & Loveday novels. All three novels, A Fatal Obsession, A Fatal Mistake and A Fatal Flaw are available now.

Follow @FaithMartin_Nov @HQDigitalUK @HQStories
Buy A Fatal Flaw

About the book
1960, Oxford

As the city of Oxford prepares itself for the inaugural Miss Oxford Honey Beauty Pageant at The Old Swan Theatre, excitement is in the air. But when one of the leading contestants is found dead, suspicion hangs over the competition.

Poisoned, the authorities assume her death was suicide. But after a malicious series of pranks and blackmail attempts are reported, WPC Loveday and Coroner Clement Ryder are called upon to solve the case.

In an atmosphere of fierce competition, the list of suspects is endless. Could what have started as harmless fun become a deadly race to win the prize?

With time running out, the duo need to spot the killer before tragedy strikes again…

Review
This is the third book in the Ryder and Loveday series, a cosy crime series with an unusual crime fighting duo. Loveday is a probationary WPC and Ryder is a coroner, many years her senior.

Loveday has to suffer the misogynistic and sexist attitudes of her male colleagues. She is relegated to making tea, searching female suspects and family liaison. She would rather be at the forefront of crime like her colleagues, which is why she doesn't say no when a potential crime falls into her lap.

Ryder has become Loveday's inadvertent sidekick, but does so with great pleasure. He is busy trying to hide the fact he has a medical condition, which could end his career. Hiding the physical impairments of his Parkinson's disease is becoming increasingly difficult, and are being mistaken for alcohol related incidents.

The combination of the two of them gives the story a light-hearted and comfortable feel, despite the crime element. Ryder gives Loveday the platform to evolve professionally and Loveday connects with Ryder in an almost familial way.

There are plenty of cosy crime books, but what Martin does is slide an element of modern crime in with the easy flow. You get an early Jane Tennison feel, which addresses the difficult aspect of being a woman in the police force, and the discriminatory treatment of people with medical issues and gender inequality.

It might seem a strange thing to say about a crime story, but the relationship between Ryder and Loveday gives it a feel-good element, despite the murders. Martin mixes the more nefarious aspects of human nature with an entertaining crime-solving duo. This is what happens when conscience and empathy meets murderous intention.

Buy A Fatal Flaw at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: HQ Digital; pub date 1 Feb. 2019, Paperback pub date 18 April 2019

Read my review of A Fatal Obsession (Ryder and Loveday Mystery #1)

#BlogTour A Fatal Obsession by Faith Martin

Today it is my turn on the BlogTour A Fatal Obsession by Faith Martin. It has the charm of a popular television police procedural combined with the plotting of an old master of crime.

About the Author
Faith Martin is an English author who was born in Oxford. She lives in an Oxfordshire village. She is best known for her popular detective series, starring Detective Inspector (DI) Hillary Greene. She began her writing career as Maxine Barry. She also writes under the pen names, Joyce Cato and Jessie Daniels.

Follow @FaithMartin_Nov @HQDigitalUk @HQStories
Buy A Fatal Obsession

About the book
The start of a brand new series from the global bestselling author of the DI Hillary Greene series.
Oxford, 1960. There's a murderer on the loose and two unlikely heroes are poised to solve the case.

Meet Probationary WPC Trudy Loveday – smart, enthusiastic and always underestimated. In the hope of getting her out of the way, Trudy’s senior officer assigns her to help coroner Clement Ryder as he re-opens the case of a young woman's death. She can't believe her luck – she is actually going to be working on a real murder case.

Meanwhile, the rest of the police force are busy investigating a series of threats and murders in the local community, and Clement can't help but feel it's all linked. As Trudy and Clement form an unlikely partnership, are they going to be the ones to solve these crimes before the murderer strikes again?

Review
If you took a young Jane Tennison and a grumpy Judge John Deed and threw them in a police procedural together, then you would get the equivalent of Ryder and Loveday. Trudy is one of the first WPC in the force, which means having to endure constant put-downs, sexism and just an overall attitude of not being wanted.

The majority of her male colleagues think women are too weak and stupid to be able to work as a police officer. More often than not she finds herself delegated to the role of tea and coffee lady, and never receives any recognition for the actual police work she does.

Trudy jumps at the chance to work with Clement Ryder, a coroner with a keen nose for liars and hidden crimes. When a man, with a reputation to lose, receives threats that turn into actual crimes it reawakens the interest Clement had in an old case. He uses Trudy to do his digging, and she ends up creating a rockslide.

Martin writes a pithy plot with characters readers will want to revisit. I particularly enjoyed the way Martin highlights the daily chauvinism and major obstacles Trudy has to overcome to be taken seriously, and to be seen as equal member of the police force.

In the 21st century it's hard for women who are lucky enough not to have the same obstacles, to be able to fathom how difficult it must have been over half a century ago for women entering male dominated careers. Not that there isn't still a level of inequality or sexism in our day and age, but it's nothing compared to then. Women like Trudy paved the path for others to walk upon.

The author keeps it simple, and yet simultaneously intriguing with a flair of a popular television police procedural. It's about good old footwork, questioning and overlooked evidence. Where Ryder and Loveday are concerned it's all about the niggle of doubt, the flicker of suspicion, and of course the ability to prove your theory. No matter how outlandish it may seem.

Buy A Fatal Obsession at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
Kindle pub date 11 June 2018 Paperback pub date 4 July 2018
Publisher: HQ Digital, Harper Collins UK