🦌 For my friends who like small-town police procedurals with a strong investigative team.

DEATH AT THE WHITE HART by Chris Chibnall (Jessica Gunning, Narrator)

🎧 Thanks, @pameladormanbooks, for the e-book review copy via #NetGalley, and @PRhaudio, for the #gifted audiobook. #PRHAudioPartner #sponsored 9 hours, 33 minutes

Successful Detective Nicola Bridge returned to her small hometown from “the big city” to work on her marriage. The interesting case she’s been craving shows up as a dead body tied to a chair in the middle of the highway…with antlers attached to its head.

I was invested in this slow-burning, character-driven police procedural, which featured an interesting murder, small-town relationships, and engaging main characters. I especially liked watching Nicola showcase her skills and mentor her younger partner. Hopefully, this will become a series, as I want to watch those two work on more cases.

The audiobook was well-narrated, though I did have to slow down my speed a bit to accommodate a brisk UK accent. The first few chapters introduced several characters quickly, so I recommend jotting down a few names (or following along in the book).

DNF. I just couldn't get into this one. I tried the ebook and audiobook. I may try again later. Thank you to the publisher for providing this ARC.

Death at the White Hart has it all—characters with secrets, a gruesome murder with pagan elements set in a seemingly picture-perfect town, and police procedural twists and turns that will keep readers glued to the page. For readers who like to visualize book settings, the place names and locations are imaginary although it is set in picturesque West Dorset, the home of “Broadchurch” creator Chris Chibnall for more than twenty years.

Detective Sergeant Nicola Bridge carved out a successful police career in Liverpool but for family reasons, she, her fireman husband Mike and their teenage son Ethan make the move to Fleetcombe in West Dorset. It’s a homecoming for Nicola; she’s returning to the place where she grew up. Young Detective Constable Harry Ward is eagerly awaiting DS Bridge’s arrival: her reputation precedes her, and he knows he has much to learn from her.

DS Bridge undergoes a baptism of fire when she arrives at her new job. A motorist, driving a night, almost runs over an object in the middle of the road, a dead man, “tied to a chair in the middle of the road, a stag’s antlers on his head.” The victim, Jim Tiernan, is known to everyone in Fleetcombe: he’s the publican who ran the White Hart pub. DS Bridge’s first assignment is to find the killer. Bridge has nothing like the resources in West Dorset that were available to her in Liverpool, but standards are standards and she makes do. Her first call is to DC Ward.

Nicola Bridge was straight to the point. “Can you meet me in Fleetcombe?”



Harry was approaching the remnants of the fire, looking at them, realizing his mind wasn’t fully on the call. “Um, probably. D’you mean now?”



He instantly regretted every word that came out in response. There was a frosty silence from his new boss.



“Yes. I do mean now. Where are you?”



“At the Deakins farm. It’s about three miles east, just off the coast road.”



“We have a suspicious death.”



“Wow.”



Harry would think about these words for many years to come. When he was told of a murder, he said “wow.” Why did I say “wow?



He knew why he said wow. Since joining the police, the work he had been given had been mundane, low level. There was not a lot of crime in West Dorset. This was a biggie. And, for a split second, Harry was not thinking of the victim, he was thinking of himself.



Finally, something to get my teeth into.

So not an auspicious first conversation with his new boss.

Suspects aren’t always truthful when they’re questioned by the police. This happens repeatedly during Bridge and Ward questioning/interrogation sessions. It’s to no avail, as Nicola makes clear.

“Frankie,” said Nicola, “I would suggest you put a stop to any idea that you should fib or lie to us. Do not tell us things that you know not to be true. Because the consequences are so profoundly serious. This is a murder investigation, and you are actively obstructing our ability to get to the truth. That can result in a serious charge. This is the moment where I suggest you stop and change your approach.”



Frankie felt twelve years old. Their face felt cold. It was pricking with anxiety. This had never happened to Frankie before.

Nicola and Harry develop a deceptively casual and relaxed rhythm when they question suspects, all the while circling closer and closer to the truth.

The highest praise a reader can give a debut mystery is to close the book and demand to know when—and if—the next book in the series is forthcoming. Fortunately, Chris Chibnall has answered affirmatively: “This book is designed to be the first in a series featuring the duo. The next book will feature them investigating another case in another place. I love them and have many plans for them!” Even better news—ITV purchased the right to Death at the White Hart before it was even published in the UK. Production starts next year. I am already imagining who will play Nicola Bridge and Harry Ward as well as the fascinating secondary characters. As they say, “It takes a village,” and the village of Fleetcombe has many mysteries still to divulge. Stay tuned.

The characters were solid, I just couldn’t clasp onto the story very well. I kept getting bored for some reason. I didn’t DNF, although I thought about it numerous times. I’d give it 2.5 stars but round it up to 3.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC for exchange for my honest opinion.

I love a good whodunnit and this one takes the cake! I enjoyed the fast writing style and characters throughout the book. I could predict some twists but definitely didn't guess the ending, would definitely recommend!

It’s no surprise this one comes from the creator of Broadchurch—Death at the White Hart is just as dark, atmospheric, and emotionally tangled. Maybe even darker than I usually go for? But I was completely pulled in. The characters are complex and layered, their entanglements unfolding like a slow-burn series you can’t stop watching.

The story follows successful detective Nicola, who returns to her hometown hoping for a quieter life and a chance to focus on her strained marriage. But almost immediately, a local is found brutally murdered—and any hope of peace quickly vanishes. The investigation is anything but straightforward, stirring up old tensions, buried secrets, and a growing unease in the village.

I especially loved Nicola and her second-in-command Harry. I'd happily spend more time with them, solving mysteries and nursing emotional wounds in shadowy corners of this little village. Because let’s be honest: I will always show up for a murder mystery in a small town with secrets. Always.

Moody, character-driven, and utterly compelling. Fans of Broadchurch (obviously), Tana French, and moody British crime dramas should add this to their list.

I think this one is more of a me problem then the book. I very rarely like stories with the detective perspective, and this one is just one of those that didn't work for me. I DNF'd pretty early on so I won't be leaving a rating anywhere. Definitely a readership out there that would love it, just not for me.

3.5 rounded down.
Good mystery, interesting characters but the story felt bogged down my lots of little details. It made reading it feel a bit sluggish. I think I wanted a little more suspense that was in the book. However, I think that is just preference. I’m sure other readers will find themselves immersed into the town and its people. If you liked broadchurch, you will probably enjoy this one as well.

Detective Nicola Bridge has returned to her hometown just in time for a dead man to be found naked, in the middle of the road, deer antlers affixed to his head. Well plotted with just the right amount of red herrings, Death At The White Hart is one of the better entries in sub-genre of small British town police procedurals. My only quibble is when the detective is finally figuring out who the perpetrator has to be, it is all kept from the reader. I prefer noyt figuring out whodunnit ahead of the detective, but I expect to be given a fair shot at it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking for the advanced reader copy of this novel, all opinions are my own.

It's been quite awhile since I've pulled an all-nighter with a book, but that was the case with this exquisitely done mystery. I am really hoping this is the first in a series because I absolutely adored the cast of characters in this small English town: Detective Nicola Bridge (returning home after living in Liverpool for years, hoping for peace and quiet in order to salvage her marriage), DC Harry Ward (green on the force, determined to prove his worth), Reeta Patel (charming SOCO and fellow female on the force), Mel (researcher who embodies the grumpy member of staff), and Shannon, the street-savvy 10 year old that got more than she bargained for while wandering late at night. This book has the hallmarks of a great series beginning. Similar to "BroadChurch", there's a suspicious death, a slew of people with secrets but, which one had the most incentive to kill Jim Tiernan, publican..everyone's friend? Really well done! Highly recommend.

Detective Nicola Bridge finds herself back in her childhood town as lead detective. She moved herself and family for a fresh start with less stress and more down time. Her first case is a gruesome murder that shakes up the entire town. The action is fast paced with a twisty ending.

3.5 rounded up
This book is very atmospheric and that added to the rounding up. The mystery aspect kept my interest. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

This is a very British, modern detective story. Jim, the local pub manager, has been found murdered in a very suspicious manner. Nicola, a detective from Liverpool, who has just relocated to Dorset, is running the case, but without many resources. She has a very young charming detective Harry to help out, as well as colleagues Reena and Mel. There are a number of suspicious characters in town, with various motives and connections to the case.

This is a good book for Tana French fans, I imagine it will be a series. I had to look up a bunch of the terms used in the book, my favorite is sparrow-fart. Quite lovely.

Entertaining read about about a bizarre murder in a quaint village filled with eccentric characters and secrets. While the actual story was a bit slow, I really enjoyed the characters and am looking forward to it spawning into a series. Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read and review this one!

This reads as the first book in a series. Readers are introduced to the central characters and given their back stories, then the community setting is sketched in. Detective Nicola Bridge has moved her family back to her hometown, hoping to give them a chance to heal. There is tension in her marriage that she is constantly aware of. She is the head of a small unit in Dorset, small being the operative word. We meet her partner, DC Harry Ward. They work well together and make a formidable investigative team. This is the setting for DEATH AT THE WHITE HART.

When the owner of the most popular pub in town is found murdered in an unusual manner, Nicole and Harry feel confident they can solve the crime quickly. After all, they both know everyone in the town and will have no problems finding the murderer. Yet from the first crime scene forward, they will learn that the city has many secrets.

The story unfolds at a deliberate pace, keeping the tension building as the clues shift the mystery from one suspect to the next. It was easy to get lost in the story as the surprises kept the investigators digging deeply into secrets that someone is determined to hide.

I feel a bit duped by this one. Given it’s written by the same author who published Broadchurch, I went in expecting to love this one as well. However, I unfortunately never really connected with the characters or their storylines. By the end, I was just ready for it to be over.

Police procedural in an English town that isn’t a cozy. If I could figure out how to describe this type of crime novel, Id be set for reading for a long time. Good characters in the DS and DI (Nicola and Harry), varied secondary characters well drawn and a good set of suspects. And throw in a cocky street kid for good measure. Chris Chibnall brings the brilliant skills he displayed as the “Broadchurch” showrunner to a novel: intricacy of plot, depth of character, intertwined lives.
Hope this is first in a series!

If you are familiar with British TV, the name Chris Chibnall should ring a bell. Shows like Torchwood, Broadchurch, Law & Order: UK. Back in the day, he wrote a couple romances but the majority of his writing is for TV. Death at the White Hart might just change that, and the book has already been turned into a mini-series on British TV.

The book dives right into it. There's a body with antlers tied to its head, tied into a chair, sitting in the middle of the road in the dead of night. There's a usual cast of characters whose motives are revealed slowly, teasingly, and each time you think you know who did it, you'll find you're wrong. The book is very descriptive, the author paints quite the story. He introduces us to the lead detective, who grew up in the area but left years ago for Manchester and now Nicola Bridge is back, with a chip on her shoulder and a case to solve. I hope we see more of her and her partner, Harry down the line. I think the author will let us visit with them again down the line.

Needless to say, I didn't see the end coming. I do love those kinds of books!

Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions are mine and freely given.

This was a fun traditional police procedural set in a small community where someone has staged an elaborate murder. A corpse has been posed on a chair on a country road with a set of deer's antler's affixed to his head. He ran a pub that named for a deer - but who killed him, and why? The investigating detective has just moved there hoping for a quiet gig to save her marriage but that's not going to happen.

This is a fun if somewhat formulaic entertainment that feels a lot like binging Britbox shows - the author created one of them.

Detective Sergeant Nicola Bridge has relocated, returned actually, to Dorset for the sake of her family after living and working for years in Liverpool. She’s hoping this change will help heal her family of three after she discovered her husband’s affair which he attributes to her overwork and inattention. Nicola, her husband Mike and their teenage son, Ethan, are working to rebuild their family. Meanwhile Nicola is beginning a new position where everything is not as it was presented. There’s no real headquarters and she has minimal staff. And before she has the time to even meet those who will be working with her, she’s called out in the middle of the night to the scene of a strange, and unusual, murder. A man is discovered on an empty road dead on a chair with antlers fixed to his head.

The beginning of this novel is quite interesting and different. After the discovery of the crime and as Nicola begins to meet and work with her team, several early chapters are presented from the point of view of various as yet unmet residents of the small village of Fleetcombe, the center of the novel. While this can feel occasionally disconcerting, this device gives the reader early insights into the people of the village and works well in bringing details together as the novel proceeds. I really enjoyed this novel and following the detective’s process and would read more from Chibnall. A very interesting side note: Chris Chibnall is the author of Broadchurch.

Thanks to Pamela Dorman Book/Viking and NetGalley for an eARC of this book. This review is my own.