Set during the bad winter of 1962, WPC Trudy Loveday has been tasked to deal with a fatal road accident, mainly due to other more qualified officers not being available but also because it’s New Years Day. She decides to enlist the help of her mentor, Clement Ryder, who’s also the coroner, who she has worked before. Not only is she fairly new to the station, she is also a woman, which was a big deal in the 60’s, with a lot of the male officers not believing Policing was a suitable job for a woman.

I hadn’t read any of the previous books in this series, an error I’ll soon correct, but it is very much a stand alone book. I really like Trudys’ character - determined, honest, intelligent and really likeable, except if you’re the murderer or have something to hide. She reminds me a bit of a young Jane Tennyson, or Agatha Christie’s Tuppence, but is definitely not just a copy of either of them. The coroner is a nice sidekick for her, not afraid of working with a woman, and not just doing it because she is a woman. It could have come across as a bit patronising, but is nicely handled. The baddies are well written too. Enough leads to make you think you know the identity of the killer, until the end, when you realise you were totally wrong. A satisfying read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I just love this series, it perfectly captures the early 60’s and the characters are so well drawn. Faith Martin is the modern day Agatha Christie, deftly drawing her characters with a couple of lines. You really believe you can picture them and understand their attitudes and motives. This prolific author writes a few different series, all different and all brilliant. I think this series though, with the young pc and the ageing coroner is my favourite. In this book, the author has cleverly depicted some really unpleasant people. Not always the easiest characters to write, but handled well here. A delight as always.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher HQ, HQ Digital, for the electronic copy.

This is Book #7 in the "Fatal" series by Faith Martin, and very enjoyable it was too!. It's well-written, has good characters and believable dialogue. Very "Agatha Christie" - type sleuthing.

Set in the suburbs of Oxford during the time of the "big freeze" in 1962. It's New Year's Eve and wealthy widow Millie Vander is on the brink of holding her exclusive party, looking forward to one guest in particular - Terry Parker: he's 10 years younger than her but good looking and has part ownership in a used car business. Millie is determined to make him aware that she would accept an engagement proposal that night - even if just to spite her society friends and their gossip. However, her 19yr-old twins, Juliet and Jasper, resent the idea of Terry getting his hands on their inheritance - and plan to do something about it.

WPC Trudy Loveday is called out early the next morning to take charge of a scene where a car was embedded in a snowdrift - the driver looks to have frozen to death. She involves her friend Dr Clement Ryder, also the Coroner. When Dr Ryder casts doubt on the manner of death they're looking at a murder enquiry but Trudy really doesn't want this chance to escape her. Thanks to staff shortages her boss DI Jennings (always bad-tempered) has little choice but to allow Trudy and Dr Ryder to continue with the investigation - which thrills Trudy.

Dr Ryder's son Vincent - unable to return to his business because of the weather - is staying with him and initially is very suspicious of his father's relationship with Trudy. However, he changes his mind once they involve him in their investigation.

It seems that more than one person had reason to want Terry dead and to get to the bottom of it Trudy and Dr Ryder must employ all their skills and intuition to solve it before, inevitably, Trudy has the case taken away from her.

There's some twists here, and I enjoyed the relationship between Trudy and Dr Ryder.
YEAH! Trudy! you can take care of a murder investigation!

I've enjoyed most of Faith Martin's books but this Fatal series is my clear favourite. WPC Trudy Loveday and Dr Clement Ryder are superbly opposite characters but, as the series progresses, each is shaping the other in interesting ways. A Fatal Night is set in the chilly winter of 1962 and Trudy is at last given a role in a murder enquiry. Only because an acute shortage of personnel but Trudy is delighted nonetheless.

Together, she and Dr Ryder investigate from the very start and it is the coroner who notices signs that indicate that the death of a motorist might not be as straightforward as it appears. As they interview contacts of the deceased it becomes apparent that any number of people wished him ill. To dig into their backgrounds, they adopt the help of Dr Ryder's son Vincent who is stranded at his father's home unable to get back to his architecture practise in Cheltenham.

And, as the crime is resolved, we are left on the edge of a more personal precipice...

#AFatalNight #NetGalley
This book is so much suspenseful.
WPC Trudy Loveday and coroner Clement Ryder are called in to investigate, they discover a tangled web of secrets that plainly points to murder.
With everyone telling different stories about that fateful night, only one thing is clear: several people had reason to want the victim dead.
And if Trudy and Clement don’t find the cracks in each lie, the killer will get away with the perfect crime…
I have always loved Ryder. The investigation is always awesome. That's why I love her books.
Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for giving me an advance copy of this book.