The investigation in Secrets on the Fells moves at a fast pace throughout. Patrick Armitage's murder initially appears to offer some fairly obvious lines of enquiry, but as Donovan and Young begin digging into his life, more possibilities emerge. There always seemed to be another piece of information to consider, another person to speak to or another direction for the investigation to take. I became completely involved in trying to work it out alongside them.

I was particularly impressed by how descriptive the writing was. I could actually see the scenes playing out in my mind as I was reading. It wasn't only the locations or what was happening in a scene either. I could almost feel the atmosphere, even down to the particular silence and stillness of waking up on a snowy morning. The writing created such clear images and sensations that at times I felt as though I was watching the story as well as reading it.

The story is told from both Shan and Leo's points of view, and I became far more emotionally invested in these two detectives than I expected. They work so naturally together that moving between their perspectives never made the investigation feel fragmented. At the same time, seeing glimpses of their individual lives allowed me to connect with each of them separately. There is one scene involving Leo in the snow where his frustration affected me so much I could almost have cried for him. I can't say why without straying too close to spoilers, but by then I wasn't simply interested in the investigation. I cared about these characters.

I did form a theory quite early in the book and there is something enormously satisfying about spotting the clues and discovering that you're on the right track. It never made the story feel predictable. I read a lot of crime fiction and part of the enjoyment for me is looking at what I'm being shown, questioning it and trying to put the pieces together. There were still plenty of other possibilities to consider, and watching the investigation gradually catch up with some of my own suspicions made me ridiculously happy. My Kindle notes may even contain a rather triumphant “FINALLY!!!!!!!!!” at one point!

There is also much more to Shan and Leo than this one investigation. Their personal stories run alongside the case without taking it over, and this was the point at which I realised I wanted to know what had come before. Secrets on the Fells had stood perfectly well on its own and I hadn't once felt that I was missing something I needed to understand this story. I simply wanted to know more about these two characters. I may also have developed a theory about something involving Leo that I think could come back in a future book, but I'm saying absolutely nothing more about that. You heard it here first!

By the time I finished, I knew I wasn't ready to leave Shan and Leo behind. So what did I do? I immediately bought all three books in the series. Yes, including this one. I need to go back to the beginning and get to know these two properly.

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. I have no idea how Cath Staincliffe's books have escaped me until now, but I don't intend to let that happen again.