Putting her current health worries aside, ex-DI Hillary Greene and her small team of Claire Woolley, an ex-DS with many years’ experience in rape and domestic violence cases and Gareth Proctor, a former soldier invalided out of the army, in the CRT (Crime Review Team) based in Kidlington, receive a new cold case from Supt Roland (Rollo) Sale. Young vicar Reverend Keith Coltrane was brutally murdered with a spade in the doorway of his own church in the village of Lower Barton thirty years ago and the culprit was never found, although there were three suspects at the time, the man’s drug addicted sister, a besotted female parishioner and a neighbour with whom he was feuding over a piece of land. As they start their case review, the press gets hold of news of the investigation and certain people from thirty years ago are becoming very worried. Then the blackmail letters start to arrive. Could the letter writer hold the key to the murder?
This is a great cosy murder mystery story with some nice humour and I for one am happy to see this very enjoyable series being extended. The small team work well together and with less action in this book, the reliance is more on Hillary’s very obvious vast experience to sift through the lies and get to the truth. Finally Hillary is back and it’s been worth the wait!

Another cold case for ex-DI Hillary Greene and her team. Thirty years ago the Reverend Keith Coltrane, 35, of Lower Barton, was murdered. The weapon, suspected to be a spade was never recovered. With many of the possible suspects dead how will the team uncover the guilty party.
An entertaining and well-written modern mystery with its likeable main character. Another good addition to this enjoyable series
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

cold-case, grieving, England, law-enforcement, health-scare, retired-cop, procedural, friendship, due-diligence, small-town, teamwork, consultant, retired-military, extortion, clergy, unputdownable, secrets, lies, envy, suspense, crime-fiction*****

Retired DI Hillary Greene is still grieving the deaths of loved ones but still doesn't know how to be retired. Now she gets to investigate cold cases with her incredible abilities, and this one is thirty years old. Not an easy time distance to investigate, but there is still no lack of suspects alive or dead. Who would have expected the murder of a well-liked vicar in a small town to be so fraught! And with current extortion! Well done!
As usual, the story does stand-alone quite nicely.
Not an unbiased review as I really enjoy the Hilary Greene series!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Joffe Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

This is the twentieth in the DI Hillary Greene series and I have read a few of them.

Now retired, and due to her outstanding solve rate, Hillary has been hired by Thames Valley police as a consultant for cold cases. Her partner has died and she is back living on her longboat, but still driving her beloved “Puff the Tragic Dragon”. Her team consisting of an older investigator and a younger one who is a disabled veteran is charged with looking into the case of the murder of a handsome young vicar thirty years ago. Hillary is also having some medical issues that are of concern.

A solid police procedural, there are no real surprises here (although some will find the ending surprising!), yet it is an engrossing, entertaining read. I particularly enjoy the humor displayed in Martin’s writing. Hillary is a strong, capable, female leader and it is a pleasure following her as she solves this case.

I recommend this book (and series) for anyone enjoying lighter police procedurals with enduring characters. I can’t wait to read the next in the series.

I would like to thank NetGalley & Joffe Books for my ARC of Murder Now And Then in exchange for an honest review.

Book 20 In the Hillary Greene Series, no longer a DI. Now working cold cases as a civilian. It has the usual format we have come to expect. Investigate the murder of a vicar 30 years ago. Might just me me but this one felt a bit half- hearted, with an ending that was a bit rushed. Another quick and easy book to read.

I would like to thank NetGalley & Joffe Books for my ARC of Murder Now And Then in exchange for an honest review.

This time round Hilary and her team Clair and Gareth find themselves looking into a 30 year old murder of Reverend Keith Coltrane, found dead in his church yard in the village of Lower Barton.
The original investigation had thrown up two suspects one a business man who was trying to buy a plot of land for a glamping site, the Reverend however wanted it as an extension to his cemetery.
The Reverend being handsome and well liked by the ladies of the parish had gathered quite a few admirers amongst the females of the parish. one in particular had been chasing him so determinedly that her husband had been flagged as a suspect.
Hilary and the team uncover a host of petty jealousies, feuds and village secrets.
The question is will they be able to sort through all the red herrings and finally discover just who killed Reverend Keith Coltrane. No easy task especially whilst Hilary is waiting the results of a current health scare.

As usual an entertaining read and a good addition to one of my favourite series.
Already looking forward to the next one.

Hillary and her team work on cold case files, and are working on a 30 year old murder of a parish minister. Good story, and lots of red herrings before the solving of the case. Enjoyed this one and would recommend it for a good cozy mystery.

Good to see HilaryGreene back on form in this cold case. A very gentle ‘who done/did it’ 30 years ago. There are all the usual red herrings strewn across the pages, so it is very difficult tho guess who the murderer was. I love the nature descriptions that Faith Martin includes in all her books. You can imagine the sounds and smells from her descriptions so easily.

Hillary Greene is back again as a consultant on cold cases - this time a vicar murdered in his churchyard 30 years ago. Hillary and team Clair and Gareth set out to re-interview the original interviewees plus a few others. Vicar was well-loved, young, amiable, handsome, a credit to his calling. His drugged up sister, a young teenage lad and magic mushrooms, father of same, besotted woman, her husband, rich wannabe new lord of the manor who wants church land for a glamping site - plenty of suspects. I like Hillary and her team - they work well together, have a sense of humour and interview people very effectively. there's the usual personal things going on - cough for Hillary this time. Didn't quite hit the button for once but still a well-written and designed story to keep the reader going. Perhaps a little predictable. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

Former Detective Inspector Hillary Greene and her cold case team are handed an impossible case.
Thirty years ago, two days before Christmas, the much-loved Reverend Keith Coltrane was hit over the head and left to die inside his own church in the pretty Oxfordshire village of Lower Barton. The killer was never caught. Everyone knows everyone else in this peaceful little community. The thirty five year old reverend was handsome and popular, especially with the ladies of the village. Even thirty years later, no one has a bad word to say about him — apart from his younger sister.
The twentieth book in this great series & another well written mystery that I devoured in an afternoon. I really like Hillary who is also concealing something & finding it harder and harder to keep her own secret! Hillary & her team are set quite a task as many people have died in the intervening years but they uncover old secrets, jealousies and long-standing feuds in the village. There are twists & turns as well as, of course, red herrings. A good mix of strong characters & a well paced story had the pages flying by. Now looking forward to book twenty one
My review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

Three and a half stars.

DI Hillary Greene is retired but has returned to the police to help solve cold cases. She has a remarkable solve rate. Her latest case is the thirty-year old murder of the Reverend Keith Coltrane in his own church in the Oxfordshire village of Lower Barton.

There were two suspects at the time, a businessman who was in dispute with the Reverend over a plot of land which the Reverend wanted to use as a cemetery and the businessman wanted to use as a glamping site, and the husband of a woman who was known to be chasing after the good-looking Reverend. Someone seems to think these two know more than they are letting on.

Was he a ladies man? Was he too friendly with the village youths? Was he hiding a secret?

This is the twentieth book in the series but the first one I have read. I found it easy enough to get into, Hillary's past was alluded to but you don't need to have read the other books to enjoy this police procedural. Having said that, the plot seemed quite familiar, but then there are only a few real motives for murder.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This is the 20th book I've read in this series. You would think that after 20 books, the main character would get repetitive, tired, and worn out. Buy you haven't read about DI Hillary Green!

Every book has something new: sub-plot, crime, characters. And I've yet to figure out the criminal before DI Green reveals it.

Claire, Gareth, and Supt. Sales are more than just extra characters. They have vital roles to play in each plot. And DI Green uses their strengths to solve their cases.

This is my first DI Hillary Greene book, but it will not be my last. She has a sharp mind, and is brilliant in getting to the solution, with plot twists until the end. Thanks for making a strong female lead, with great supporting cast Faith Martin!

This is the #20 in the Detective Hillary Greene series, but can easily be read as a standalone.

Former DI Hillary Greene now heads up a police cold case team as a civilian consultant, along with two other civilians, Claire and Gareth. The team gets to work on a murder case from 30 years ago, when the Reverend Keith Coltrane was killed and left to die in his own church.

Everyone speaks highly of the very popular vicar, except for his sister, but would she go so far as to kill him in cold blood?

I really enjoyed this book and struggled to put it down. Well-written with a strong storyline.

Thank you to NetGalley and Joffe Books for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

No! What a place to end a book! The usual well written, interesting and action packed - though not all of it action that Hillary Greene want - storyline from. Faith Martin. The story follows a thirty year old cold case Hillary and her team are given to look into. Will they solve it where the original team couldn't - as Hillary knows a fresh case can only be looked into for a short length of time due to other jobs coming in, whereas the cold case team have the time to spend on them that many serving officers would like.

Loved it. One of my favourite contemporary authors - why haven't these books been picked up for a TV series?

Thanks to NetGalley and Joffe Books, the publisher, I read a free advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

My first time reading a Faith Martin mystery. It kept my attention and went down many different paths before landing on what would have presumed to be the likely suspect based upon the series of events in this reopened cold case.

I’m giving it a 3-star read review. While I finished the book and appreciated the overall ending, the (SPOILER ALERT) love from afar with the vicar and his male parishioner uncovered towards the end of the novel (homosexuality) isn’t something I would typically choose to read.

Thank you to Net Galley and Joffey books for allowing me to provide my honest feedback for Murder in the Parish.

#goodreads #murderintheparish

This was not my typical book, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. This book is the third in a series following Detective Inspector Hillary Green, but can be read as a standalone novel- which I did.

"Murder in the Parish" by Faith Martin is a gripping murder mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end. The story takes place in a quaint English village, where a local priest is found dead under suspicious circumstances. The investigation is led by Detective Inspector Hillary Greene, who must navigate the complex web of relationships and secrets in the small community to uncover the truth. The plot is well-crafted and the characters are well-developed, making for a satisfying read. While the pacing can be slow at times, the tension builds steadily throughout the book, culminating in a satisfying conclusion. Overall, "Murder in the Parish" is a solid addition to the genre and is sure to please fans of classic murder mysteries.

She was given an old case file to work on, didn’t matter that it was thirty years ago. It gave her and her team something to sink their teeth in.
A young priest was murdered and the village people were willing to talk about him, all of them saying he was nice. Probably would have been happier in a bigger church than this one in the village.
Secrets between two men that destroyed a family, not wanting to lose that, a murder happened. Readers will find the plot with this case interesting to the end
Given ARC by. Net Galley and Joffe for my voluntary review

I loved this book! This was my first time reading a book by this author and I was captivated. Not only does the author take us on a hunt to find out who killed the vicar but we are also following Hillary's health scare. What's great about this book is you can read it as a stand alone if you have not read any or all of the books in the series. I never felt lost not having read the other books. If you like a good crime detective novel, you will love Murder in the Parish.

Hillary is back for another unsolved case, this time of a Reverend who was murdered 30 years ago that went cold. I read this as a stand alone without reading any prior in the series. Hillary starts by gathering all the possible information she can by interviewing family, past suspects, neighbors in the village, and even the prior lead detective on the case. The ending does have a twist, however, I found myself having a hard time getting interested in this book. My review may have been different if I read prior books in the series and had a better understanding of the main character. Thank you Net Gallery for allowing me to read this for the honest review!