I liked this first effort by Stig Abell who amuses me most morning on Times Radio. His sardonic sense of humour works well here and I like the characters and the setting, although it's all a bit weird plot-wise.

Another great holiday read. At first I thought it was a little slow but realised that the plot of the book had to be set and then I really got into the story. Jake is married to Faye and things are going well with their relationship until miscarriages blight their story. Jake is a Detective and is engrossed in cold cases. When things go awry with the marriage an opportunity arrives. Jake’s uncle passes away and leaves him Little Sky, a house and land in the countryside. Jake decides to give his life a different direction from the chaos only to become embroiled in more. A death that happened 10 years ago is suddenly in the forefront of his life and he reluctantly decides to get involved in finding out the truth. He feels at times that he should stay with this calm life and then a local, Dr Peter, is found dead and that makes him carry on with the investigation. Life gets very complicated. He becomes involved with the local vet, Livia, a single mom. As the book continues Jake is “warned off” carrying on with finding the truth of past and present deaths, is told that Livia could be in danger. He cannot let go of the fact that he needs to follow the story to the end which he does. He follows his thoughts and eventually the murderer is found and brought to justice. I must say I did not guess who was the person who “did it” plus other crimes. A sign of a good book which keeps you guessing until the end. A good book and would read Stig Abell again.

This murder mystery definitely started a little slow but picked up its pace. I enjoyed trying to figure out the mystery along with Jake - although I never guess it right! The isolated country vibes in this book definitely appealed to me. Looking forward to starting book 2!

Thanks to Harper Collins UK and Netgalley for ARC.

Detective Jake Jackson has a failing marriage and a bad case of career burnout. When a well loved but little-known uncle dies, the contents of the will allow Jake to retire to a remote bucolic setting and make a new life.
The set up of this is measured, and to be honest I found it dragged a lot. I also am inherently suspicious of mysterious uncles and inherited wealth, and of course all is not as it seemed. It's more complicated.
The local hamlet is keeping some very dark secrets, and Jake's determination to uncover them meets resistance and leads lots of them into danger. There is some beautiful writing about place and the relationships with local people are mostly well drawn as they evolve. The denouement is a bit rushed despite the slow buildup but I was intrigued by the characters enough to move on to the second book immediately. A very assured.

Ex detective Jake Jackson receives a legacy from an uncle and retires to a remote farmhouse in the countryside where he tries to live a life as close to nature as possible, abandoning all 20th century luxuries.
He lives on the outskirts of a village full of interesting characters, a motherly shop keeper, a beautiful vet, a handyman, an eccentric academic, and several farming families.
After becoming involved in village life, he is forced to refresh his detecting skills and investigates the case of a young woman who dies several years previously.
The investigation and resolution of the case was well executed, although I find the whole premise of the back-to-basics living pretty implausible.
An enjoyable read

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

I really enjoyed this book. For me it had the right amount of drama. This was a murder mystery. Jake was a very successful detective but stress in his marriage and in his professional life, got too much for him. When he inherits his uncle's rural retreat, it's the perfect chance for him to get away, start afresh and unwind.
Jake starts to enjoy this new life but all is not right in the community. There is talk of a death ten years before, perhaps being murder, or suicide. Jake is determined to get the answers as his uncle left some details. Investigating in a tight knit community was never gone to be easy and I was surprised at the outcome. I can't believe that this is a debut novel and I look forward to many other books by this author. I was totally absorbed and couldn't wait to get back to reading it.

It's one of those books you are sad to finish.

An enjoyable book and I will watch out for Stig Abell books to follow this, his first fiction. Descriptions of the countryside etc were impressive but over-long, with the storyline rather thin and slow in parts. I wasn’t so taken by the characterisation of the cast – rather stereotypical and pale. You could imagine Jake moving to the story’s setting and indeed some of the happenings but other scenes were too obvious and short. I found the ending rather predictable, unlike some other reviewers, but that didn’t spoil the overall “a good read”. For a first fiction book by Stig, well done and I look forward to the development in the future.

This is such an atmospheric book, I find it difficult to believe that it is a debut novel. A real slow burner but all the better for it.

Jake Jackson’s marriage is over. His career in the Met is finished. What better time to inherit his late uncle’s off-grid home, Little Sky, in the middle of nowhere allowing him to reset his head & life. When some human bones are discovered belonging to a girl who disappeared a decade ago, Jake is sucked In to investigating &, despite being warned off, he diligently pursues the truth.

A solid whodunnit, not cosy crime but certainly not gory either. The characters are well written but it was the setting, particularly Little Sky, that drew me in & wouldn't let go. Looking forward to book two which is ready & waiting on my tbr pile.

Really enjoyed reading this story and thoroughly engaged with the characters which is always a good sign. Not obvious as to who the villain of the piece was but the denouement was sensible and reasoned.

Hopefully there'll be further stories coming from this author and I'll be looking for them.

Jake, a retired detective goes to live in a remote farm house left to him by his uncle. Hoping for a peaceful life it seems that once a detective always a detective. Having divorced he soon finds new love with the local vet, seems that not a lot changes for Jake especially as he is drawn into help solving an old murder. Watson the local detective seems to be usual country policeman, gets there in the end. They make a good team, one to watch

This is a beautiful read - it’s almost like poetry with the extent of the descriptive language. Beautiful.

This was a new author for me and I loved this book. Ex-city cop Jake has left his job and his wife behind and retired to Little Sky, a cottage inherited from his Uncle Arthur. The cottage is literally iin the middle of nowhere and lacks many basic facilities. Jake has no phone, no car and has to walk to the nearest tiny village. He revels in the isolation, the silence and nature. He meets the local vet Livia, single Mum to daughter Diana. Villagers know he is an ex-cop so when female bones are found, Jake does some digging. I really enjoyed this book, both as a mystery and also the fabulous descriptions of the isolation of rural life. I loved how the relationship between Jake and Livia developed and we also meet a variety of characters not all likeable. Everyone is hiding something and the end is quite a surprise. I really hope Stig Abel follows this up with a second book. Many thanks Netgalley for the chance read and review this great book.

"Death Under a Little Sky" is the first novel by Stig Abell about ex police detective Jake. When Jake inherits a farmhouse and some land from his eccentric uncle he is at a turning point in his life. He decides to try living in the remote (unspecified) location as a complete contrast to city life and see if he likes it.

The writing is very descriptive and brings to life the remote, sparsely inhabited area. Although the book is contemporary, with mobile phones, internet, drugs and forensics, many of the locals seem like characters from the middle of the last century. They are also a law unto themselves as there are no police nearer than the local town.

Soon enough there is a mystery for Jake to help solve, although there are people who don't want the past investigated. This is a very different sort of detective novel and I will be interested to find out how Jake's story unfolds.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

What a fabulous debut novel by this previously unknown author (to me). I soon found myself being fully absorbed into a plot that takes you along dark and lonely places. There is also great joy in the hero of our story discovering a new way of life after being a policeman in a busy city as well as a new relationship after his marriage ended. Nice little touches of humour as well as some more thrilling bits, I hadn’t guessed who the murderer was so that added to the enjoyment of the whole book.

Thank you to Netgalley the author and publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review

This is a crime novel which is self-aware enough to know it's standing on the shoulders of giants. Faithful to the tropes of the genre - nice male lead who's just rugged enough and empathetic but not too successful with women, female love interest, background of small town murder, cast of shady characters, side dose of drug dealing, tragic back stories all round. It's pacy enough to keep you interested and modern enough not to be entirely straight white men, so if you're looking for something which ticks all the usual crime novel boxes, this will work exceptionally well for you.

Atmospheric detective novel set in the English countryside - very good.

Jake Jackson, ex-policeman and in the throes of a marital breakdown, inherits a very isolated house in the countryside. He gets involved in the investigation of the death of a young lady several years earlier. There are only a few characters, the locals, some helpful and some particularly unpleasant.. Therefore there are few suspects into the death. There's a lot of traipsing across fields and along rivers and the writer is certainly creating atmosphere in this rural setting. Generally I enjoyed this novel, especially Jake's projects for his new abode, but could have done with a bit less description. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A well written debut novel, it was an atmospheric slow burner so it took me a while to get into the story. It has interesting, likeable characters. and is different to most mystery thrillers but still enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

Death Under a Little Sky by Stig Abell


A death that disrupts everything
But then the local annual treasure hunt spirals into terror when a young woman’s bones are discovered. Suddenly, Jake is back to being a detective, as he tries to unearth a dangerous killer in this most unlikely of settings

I quite liked the plot this story , but sadly the protagonist Jake I couldn't quite warm to him .

This was a book that I wasn't sure if I was going to like or not but I actually ended up enjoying it. The mystery surrounding the plot is one that keeps you guessing till near the end.

A wonderful debut book from Stig Abell - his writing and radio broadcasting for The Times (London) has always been enjoyable and professional and this foray into detective fiction continues in that vein. Yes, parts of the story are a little implausible but there is a place in fiction for suspending belief and just going with the flow of the story.

Detective (retired) Jake has moved to an isolated property somewhere in England - he has been left the house, many acres of land and a large lake by an eccentric uncle. The property is cut off from modern methods of communication and Jake revels in the isolation. Of course his previous career leads him to become involved in things which might have been better left alone, and of course there is some love interest too. This is not a demanding read, but it certainly kept this reviewer hooked until the final page.