Murder in the Meadow is a female led detective story with the lead Hillary Greene. It is a the only one in the series that I have read, and I found it to be a humorous, quick read. Enjoyed it!

Another great read about the DI. I am now rather addicted to this series,

Of note, Murder In The Meadow is book seven in the DI Hillary Greene series. I did not realize that going in and I think that although the book stands on it’s own I suspect that it is far more enjoyable when read as part of the series. I say this because the author leans heavily into describing details unrelated directly to the murder early on in the book. I set the book aside several times because structurally I enjoy learning about the primary story and then being granted permission to view the surrounding world. Faith Martin spends the first few chapters detailing the world surrounding the murder mystery. Once I realized it was part of a series I thought it was far more appropriate but it did create a little dissonance for me early on. Martin’s style is in the Agatha Christie take on mystery, which is to say that the mystery is a vehicle to explore a small town world with gossip and intrigue. It’s a light mystery without gore or significant darkness—a cozy mystery. On that front it is very enjoyable and highly recommendable. Having not read the previous books in the series I can’t say if you should start at the beginning but I’d venture a guess that it will be more satisfying to start with the first book in the series and catch up to this one. It does, however, stand alone and can be enjoyed as such. If you’re looking for a female led detective series this one is entertaining, a fairly quick read and wonderfully atmospheric with a little humor and not too much drama.

It was Tuesday 1st May schools were closed for teacher training day, Jaime Gould and his friend Tris Winters were told by Marjorie to get some fresh air instead of sitting inside, so the boys went fishing they go to the meadow find a small stream and when Tris steps in something he goes to clean it off that’s when he sees someone lying in the grass thinking he’s maybe drunk or sunbathing he checks but realises he’s not breathing.
DI Hillary Greene is tasked to find out firstly who’s body it is and what has happened to cause his death. She finds out the victim is Wayne Sutton now she has to find out why and who.
It seems Wayne has a soft spot of blue rinse ladies he visits with all of the older ladies in the area they pay his way. Has one of them taken things too seriously with Wayne finding out about another lady? Or has his young girlfriend found out about his ladies
I enjoyed this book was a nice light read.

Another good read in the Hillary Greene series. This time, two boys discover the dead body of a young man. Something of a romeo, there are a number of people who might have wished him dead. Hillary has a new member to her team, who has more than a healthy interest in Hillary's life. What is she up to, and what connection does she have to Hillary's late ex husband? Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
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5 stars
The seventh story in the DI Hillary Greene series, this is the first story I have read. You definitely can jump into the middle of the series. The author does a great job of explaining the background of her characters so nothing feels lost if you haven’t read the earlier books.
I thoroughly enjoyed all the characters and what the author does with the story and side-stories of her characters! She does a great job of allowing the story develop the characters and to introduce the backgrounds of her characters. She doesn’t feel she needs to explain everything up front, but just takes the time and uses the telling of the story to slowly flush out the motivations and layers of her characters.
The mystery is well constructed as well. Leads you down a number of different paths with potential suspects – lots of twists and turns. This rates up there with some of the best British village mysteries. Reminds me of Caroline Graham’s series but with a female detective. That is high praise for me.
I can’t wait to go read some of the earlier books in this series!
Thank you NetGalley and publisher, Joffe Books, for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This is the sixth novel in the series. It seemed a little shorter than the first five I read but was no less detailed or interesting a story. A body of a young man is found by two boys sent out to play. The young man is readily identified as an up and coming painter who gives lessons to married middle aged women.
The suspicions are jealousy among the women and between Wayne and another better known artist Colin. The story has an added sideline of the new DS Gemma who appears overly interested in the main character DSI Hillary. This will probably be a running theme through at least the next book.
The stories are charming with lovely visual pictures of the scenic spots through Oxfordshire area. Characters are well drawn and each book stands on its own merits but reading the series in order will give one a better overview of the characters and bring something more to the plot. I encourage anyone looking for a good but light mystery to try this or any in the series You will find yourself ready to inhale them all They are a pleasant change from the dark and psychological books in the murder mystery market.

This is the fifth book by Faith Martin that I have had the pleasure of reading and reviewing. I have loved each and every one and ‘Murder In The Meadow’ is no exception but more about that in a bit.
I absolutely love the character of Detective Inspector Hillary Greene. She is a female police officer and is fast approaching middle age. She has been through some tough times, which in part is due to her criminal late husband, Ronnie Greene. He sounds as though he was a real nasty piece of work. Hilary didn’t realise quite how criminal her husband was until after he died. Not only that but Hilary was investigated after his death too as it was felt that she must have known some, if not all, of what he was up to. This must have been particularly humiliating for her. She has had to work hard to make people respect her again and she finally seems to have won their respect. Hilary didn’t know about what her husband was getting up to but she feels a sense of shame given that she didn’t know the extent of his criminality. DI Greene finally seems to be making a positive life for herself again although there has been & is the odd hiccup along the way. She is still seeing the bloke she was with, who works in the Vice Squad, although there are a few issues within the relationship. DI Greene also has an admirer/ stalker within the police force too. She has let him down gently but it appears that he is not going to take no for an answer. I was so hoping that Hilary would knee him or kick him in the balls. DI Greene gets on with most of her team. There is a new Detective Sergeant on the team, who seems unduly interested in DI Greene and her caseload. Hilary is not sure how far to trust this new DS and she is intrigued as to why the DS is so interested in her and her cases. The reasoning as to why is gradually explained through the book. The bane of DI Greene’s life is another person on her team- Detective Sergeant Frank Ross. He was her late husband’s best friend and he was in it up to his neck with him, although I don’t think that they managed to find any hard evidence to confront him with. I am not sure if Hilary Greene has elected to keep Ross on her team where she can keep an eye on him or whether or not her superiors have told her she is stuck with him. DS Frank Ross is a sexist, racist, homophobic, lazy, borderline alcoholic pig, who only turns up when he feels like it, he ‘conducts’ meetings in the local pub and he does the least amount of work necessary. He also has no respect for his superiors which grates on Hilary. I began to wonder which charm school Frank Ross had been to because it clearly hasn’t worked and he needs to claim a refund. I so wished I could have jumped into the pages of the book to knee him in the balls and slap him around the head with a wet flip flop for being such a creepy, old lech.
As with every other book by Faith Martin that I have read, I absolutely loved ‘Murder In The Meadow’. The story hit the ground running and maintained pace throughout. The writing style is such that you can’t fail to be drawn in from the first word on the first page and because you need to find out who did it and why, you just keep reading on and on. I became just as addicted to reading ‘Murder In the Meadow’ as I have done with each and every one of Faith’s books. I was so into the story that I didn’t realise just how quickly the pages were turning and before I knew what was happening I had finished the book, which I was so disappointed about. I was so gripped by the story that I just wanted the book to continue. Reading ‘Murder In The Meadow’ was similar to riding on a rollercoaster ride with the occasional twist, turn and stomach churning moment. There were times where I dreaded having to turn the page because I genuinely feared what was going to happen next. There were also occasions where I began arguing with the various characters, as if they could hear me or see me. Before anybody jumps in, I know that the book is a work of fiction but if a book is really good, I find myself ‘living’ the story and I feel as if I am a silent bystander to all the action playing out around me.
In short, I absolutely, totally and utterly LOVED reading ‘Murder In The Meadow’ and I would recommend this book and the Hilary Greene series to anybody. When you pick up a book by Faith Martin, you are guaranteed a page turning and thrilling tale. I can’t wait to read what comes next from this hugely successful author, but in the meantime I intend to read the series in order so far and one after the other. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is an easy and well deserved 5* out of 5*. (

Another good story from Faith Martin, that rotten husband of Hilary’s is till throwing a curve ball in her life!

This is the 7th in the DI Hillary Greene series.

The book was originally published in 2008 under the title 'Beside a Narrow Stream'.

Once again, Hillary Greene and her team are investigating a murder. This time it is Wayne Sutton.
Was he an artist? Yes.
Was he a ladies man? Yes.

The settings around the villages of Oxfordshire provide a real geographical setting for this 'Murder in the Village' style novel.

I like the way that during books 6 and now 7 in the series, the author has moved some detectives from th original team on. However the two new detectives clearly have interesting back-stories of their own.

My thanks to Netgalley and Joffe Books for a copy of this novel in return for this review.

Thank you Net galley. I am really enjoying Faith Martin's DI Greene series. It is nice that they are now being issued in e format. that makes them accessible. I have read 5-6 of them now and look forward to the reading the rest as they become available in e format.

DI Hillary Greene has another case to solve with a new DS Gemma Fordham. Good looking artist Wayne Sutton is found dead. Who did it is the first question and then why?He is a ladies man so must be a woman who did it, or is it? Which of the women is able as well as motivated to kill him? Lots of questions but no answers coming along. Then Gemma seems to have an agenda. Can our Hillary figure it all out? I think so with just a little time to get the one little clue she needs to unravel it all.

This is the 7th book in the series, all being re-published by Joffe Books with the next 5 coming out over the next couple of months.
I have read all the previous 6 books and loved them all. Due to this being the 7th in the series it really does help if you read them in order as there is so much back story you would have missed.
This story follows DI Greene and her team as they investigate a murder at the edge of the Oxford Canal.
As with real life there are people who have left since the first book and also newcomers, the most recent one being Sergeant Gemma Fordham, who has secrets of her own and requested to work with DI Greene to further her own personal agenda.
The story follows both the murder investigation and also Gemma's personal vendetta in equal measure, and brilliantly switches between characters so you know what both are doing and thinking throughout the story.
With the main plot being the murder investigation I thought it was really well written and kept me guessing all the way through to the end as there are so many potential suspects, and very little to go on. Through the story there are lots of little twists and red herrings to keep the reader on Hilary guessing and double guessing themselves with who the murderer is.
The sub-plot about who Gemma Fordham really is was well written and added that extra bit of realism to the story as we find out more about Hilary's ex-husband and it also reminds us that the past is not forgotten and that Hilary has to be careful and alert even now.

I have read all of the books released in this series so far and this one has been my favourite to date! It is well written, I loved the characters and the plot and haven't hesitated to give the book 5 stars!

The book is written at a steady pace and that was ideal for this story - I liked the introduction of the new DS to the series and look forward to seeing more interactions between her and Hillary in future books.

Really looking forward to reading the next book from Faith which is due out soon!

This was a very good book. I had never read any books in this series or by this author prior to reading Murder In The Meadow, but I am going to make a point of continuing on with the series and catching p with the books I missed. This was well written and kept my interest. I wanted to know who the murderer was and was quite satisfied with how the crime was solved. I classify this as a cozy crime novel, as there is no violence or swearing. It was also easy to pick up in the middle of the series and not be totally lost and feel like I was missing out on some of the story line. I just want to go back and read the rest of the other books because I liked the characters, and the writing.

This series featuring DI Hilary Greene is quickly becoming one of my all-time favourites. The characters, both new and recurring, are well-done and the current murder investigation is always interesting. Mostly, I like the ongoing and underlying story lines of Hilary's love life, the ramifications of the actions of her ex-husband, and the lives of her staff. Great story-telling! Can't wait for the next one.

5 stars

Two young boys find a body in a meadow. DI Hillary Greene’s team catches the case. Hillary just met her new DS Gemma Fordham a few minutes before they received the call. Gemma seems a real go-getter. She also has an ulterior motive.

The dead man is young and appears to have been hit in the head before he was drowned in a nearby stream. A large red heart was pinned to his chest. The investigation begins. Almost immediately, Gemma has an elderly lady identify the young man. His name is Wayne Sutton.

DC Keith Barrington has been with the team for six months now and has proved to be observant and dedicated to his work.

When notifying the parent of their son’s demise, Hillary is told that he was an artist. Wayne’s girlfriend was notified and her parents knew he liked to play the field. Her father disliked him intensely. The suspects are lining up quickly as a wealthy woman comes into the police station and talks to Hillary. Apparently Wayne was a womanizer. The rest of the team is out interviewing people and tracking down leads. They meet several wealthy middle-aged women and disgruntled husbands. With a plethora of suspects, Hillary’s team has their work cut out for them.

Meanwhile, Gemma carries on with her own personal covert investigation. She is very bold. One of the uniform officers at the nick recognizes her.

Suddenly, Hillary has one of her famous epiphanies. The identity of the killer comes as somewhat of a surprise, but it’s more than half the fun just getting there.

Faith Martin just keeps getting better and better. I really like DI Hillary and she treats her team so even-handed and fairly that she would be a delight to have as a boss. This book is very well written and plotted. It reads linearly as the reader follows the police investigation. We get to meet all kinds of truly weird and somewhat eccentric people. Keep writing, Ms. Martin!

I want to thank NetGalley and Joffe Books for forwarding to me a copy of this most excellent read for me to enjoy.

Another brilliant read from Faith Martin. This series is wonderful each book gets better than the last. The stories are so well written, I love the characters, Hillary's team are a quirky lot that just seen to fit together. There are so many different elements to the book that keep it interesting and the reader turning pages. Thoroughly enjoyed this one it definitely deserves 5 stars.

Even in the DI Hillary Greene's Police team, the subtle in-house criminals weave their own patterns of deceit, by projecting a facade that shines a bit too much. Another intriguing and mind-boggling Hillary Greene Mystery, with her usual nonchalant way of doing things, yep this one was very compelling and interesting. A murder mystery with lots of false leads that sometimes baffled the cops, but they didn’t let up, as usual. A captivating and thrilling read, I enjoyed it.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for a review copy of Murder in the Meadow, the seventh novel in the DI Hillary Greene series.

Hillary is hardly introduced to her new sergeant, DS Gemma Fordham, when they get called out to a body discovered by two 10 years boys. Wayne Sutton, local artist and gigolo, has been hit over the head and drowned in a stream. With Wayne's proclivities there is no lack of suspects but Hillary has more to worry her, mostly what her team are getting up to and her own love life.

I thoroughly enjoyed Murder in the Meadow. It is always pleasant to enter Hillary's world and while many of the characters change over the series there is always a nice sense of familiarity. The novel also has an interesting plot with plenty of twists and turns and blind alleys as the team try to untangle Wayne's complicated life. I admit to guessing the motive straightaway as Ms Martin has the habit of dropping hints early in the novels but the killer took a while longer. Somehow it doesn't seem important as much of the reading pleasure comes from watching Hillary trying to unravel the clues.

The characters are mostly pleasant, apart from the obnoxious Frank Ross who doesn't get much of a starring role in this novel, but they all have secrets. Hillary is still mulling over her relationship with DI Mike Regis of the Vice Squad (surely it can't still be called that!), Keith is having relationship problems and Gemma has transferred to Hillary's team with the express intention of secretly hunting down Hillary's ex-husband Ronnie's millions (little does she know...). Throughout it all Hillary sails on serenely, not letting her feelings show but making it her business to find out what her team is up to. The edge to her thoughts and thought processes is what makes the novels special.

Murder in the Meadow is another welcome addition to the series and I have no hesitation in recommending it.