Cover Image: Broadland

Broadland

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Member Reviews

Looking forward to reading more, maybe more character development is in the offing and that's intriguing.

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I can see how David Blake is an international best seller.

Broadband is magnificent. Truly a fantastic read and one that had me on the edge of my seat. It has all of the ingredients needed to make this a fabulous top rated novel.

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First novel I’ve read by this author. Great introduction to all the characters and an enthralling plot line. Will look out for the next in this series

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Police procedurals are one of my favourite genres, so I obviously read a lot of them. It is always good to get into a brand new series. Unfortunately for me, this is not a series I could get into.
I have enjoyed this authors comedy books, but I found this one a bit boring.

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This Is the first in a new Detective series introducing Detective Inspector John Tanner newly transferred from London after the death of his daughter, to the hopefully quieter Norfolk Broads. Not everyone is happy to see this Detective take up the position though. He is partnered with Detective Constable Jenny Evans who was born and bred the area.

The story at times is a little slow, talking about boats and the Norfolk broads but as with any new series you have to set the scene up and as the first case Is set there then it makes sense.

Jane Richardson is the daughter of a prominent millionaire, she has gone missing, the initial thoughts are kidnap, for money. But when the body turns up, the focus turns to her husband but it turns out he has an alibi, but does he? When another body turns up the team knows that this case isn’t going to be straightforward.

I love the banter between Tanner and Evans, I like the characters they all work well together. The story is well plotted and flows well, with the usual twists and turns expected in the story, trying to throw you off who the guilty party is, there were a couple of little bits that were a bit obvious when reading, but took the detectives longer to see, but they got there, and it didn’t distract from the storyline.

The characters are all well rounded and relatable, likeable which can be a big hurdle, if readers don’t like the characters or should I say the main characters then it’s difficult to read, they have to be believeable.

The book ended with a brilliant twist, so a good read.

Thank you to #netgalley and #Blackoakpublishing for an ebook in exchange for an honest,fair and unbiased review.

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A good story set in the Norfolk Broads. Imagine needing the police on a broad not reachable by car and discovering that they have to stick to the speedlimit of 4 - 6 miles per hour. Some police chase that would be. The characters are believable and likeable, with my type of sense of humour.

All in all I'm looking forward to the next book about DI John Tanner and DC Jenny Evans.

I read a free advance review copy provided by Netgalley. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

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A good quick read for those who enjoy detective novels. I only read this genre now and then but was drawn to this novel as it is set in an area I know well near to where I live. It was fun imagining the events happening in the real places mentioned (alongside the others of fiction, I might add). The characters were believable and likeable so I would look out for follow on books in the series. The crimes 'committed' were pretty horrific and graphic, perhaps rather unbelievable if I'm honest but I think that come from a writer who is used to penning comedy. Well worth a holiday read. Thanks.

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Absolutely fabulous, brilliant 5 star book. Great characters, thrilling plot... can't wait to read more by David Blake.

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This is one of those rare books that deserves the hype. A whodunnit detective story with wit, romance, and growing unease. I really enjoyed this and look forward to reading more by the author.

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Thank you Netgalley and publisher for this book.
This was the first book I have read by this author and although an enjoyable read I did find it a bit "scooby-doo" - a bit like Midsome Murders. It was well written and I may buy future books in the series we will see.
I would recommend for a light-hearted read.

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I've never read any of David Blake's books before but am a great fan of crime fiction. This didn't disappoint and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would have liked to have learnt more about DI Tanner's character and background but am sure this will come out in future books. It didn't take me too long to read and now I'm looking forward to the next one! Thanks NetGalley for the chance to read and review!

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I asked for this novel based on an upcoming visit to Norfolk, thinking it would add something to my holiday and I do like this genre both in novels and television. This did not work out as planned because I started it the week before, for some unknown reason, and then didn’t stop reading....in fact I was then driven to buying the next in the series....I rarely buy so congrats David!
The writing style is easy flowing, fluent, and I was able to absorb the storyline without either wincing at something that didn’t read nicely or make sense, a truly comfortable read. The characters are well described and I was hooked from the first sentence, no character felt as if it was acting out of character which leads to being able to absorb the action without pause. I now think I may well have to buy number three in the series, I do want to find out how the relationship develops.

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Broadland introduces us to John Tanner, an experienced DI from the Met Police, who is escaping from a recent tragedy. He is pitted against the much less experienced DI Burgess, who intends that his local knowledge will trump Tanner's experience. When the pair are involved in a complex case on Tanner's first day, their individual strengths and weaknesses do not always complement one another. Throw in a Chief who is trying to manage this warring pair and keep his superiors happy, with a young female detective with a sassy personality, and the plot interweaves the personalities with the investigation. The ending leaves the door open for some interesting future teamwork between two of these characters in particular.

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A well written and interesting story located in the Norfolk Broads. A newly transfered DI from the Met is assigned to a station on the Broads where he has to learn to live on a boat on the river. Being a new comer his presence causes an upset in the police unit’s balance of seniority and so he is not overly welcome and needs to tread softly and find a way to integrate himself into the team. The station’s DCI assigns him on missing persons with a young attractive DC as his assistance to fill him in with local knowledge. How romance slowly develops with the DC and how things get more serious and fraught with conflicts and danger when a missing persons case develops into murder turns into a most exciting story.

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Brilliant story!! I was completely drawn in. The characters were extremely believable, and I was constantly trying to work out who the perpetrator was, and was wrong every time!! So this book by David Blake is extremely well written, and keeps you in suspense the whole time!!

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DI John Tanner has moved to Norfolk to start a new chapter in his career. Living on a boat on the Norfolk Broads is definitely a new experience for him, but he doesn’t have long to get used to it as he’s caught up in a missing person case after Jane Richardson disappears. Soon Tanner and DC Jenny Evans find themselves investigating a case of murder.

The setting for the story is an area of the Norfolk Broads around Wroxham. The description brings the area to life and makes for a good background to the plot. The characters of John Tanner and Jenny Evans, along with antagonistic DI Burgess, who resents Tanner encroaching on his cases, are well thought out and given time to develop through the story.

I was slightly disappointed with the plot. The build up was okay but I felt the conclusion was a little abrupt and forced. In its favour, the ending was unexpected and not a predictable read like some I’ve read.

Overall, an okay story which whiled away a few hours..

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This was an interesting read and I had no idea who was the culprit. The main characters were D.I. John Tanner and D.C. Jenny Evans. Tanner was new to the area and there were the usual rivalry between newcomer and old. I was surprised by the inappropriate comments Jenny made to a superior officer, particularly when first meeting. However, I did enjoy this book and will look out for the next one in the series. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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This is the first book written by David Blake that I've read .DI john tanner and DC Jenny Evans are the main two characters.As usual I won't bore you with the blurb you can read that on places like Amazon all I'll say is I thought the first few chapters were a bit slow but as I carried on it soon became very a fast paced and interesting read it reminded me of an old saying about march in like a lamb out like a lion a brilliant book I recommend you read it you won't be sorry

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A young woman is found murdered, caught in a boat propeller on the Norfolk broads. A second woman is found murdered on a slipway. What connects them?
Detective Inspector John Tanner is newly arrived in Norfolk and is assigned onto the case along with local girl Detective Constable Jenny Evans .
Can they solve this before more murders occur?
this is full of twists and turns and look forward to the next one!

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The best review I can give is that I've already pre-ordered Book #2 in this excellent series. The main character Tanner and even the supporting cast are all interesting. The story was very interesting and the back story leaves much for future books in the series. June 26th can't come soon enough.

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