An Easter Killing

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the eARC.
It's April and the town of East Thorne is getting ready for Easter.  DI Zig Batten is suffering from a nasty bout of the flu.  He's forced out of bed, though, when a horrifying scene is discovered at Crown of Thorn's Hill on Good Friday.
Who on earth would dispose of a body like that and who is the victim? Tensions and fear rise during  Easter weekend; will more horror follow? 
Previously I didn't much like Zig, but he grew on me in this book, I guess I got used to his inner musings, which irritated me a bit in the 2nd of the series.
The sense of place is wonderful and the mystery and conclusion very satisfying, definitely recommended!

I would like to thank Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for a review copy of An Easter Killing, the third novel to feature DI Zig Batten of Somerset Police.

When a body is found on the Crown of Thorns hill in the village of East Thorne Zig and the team are stunned at the audacity of the crime scene and struggling not only with the lack of clues but the contradictory nature of the ones they do have.

I thoroughly enjoyed An Easter Killing which is an absorbing police procedural with several suspects and motives. It goes about its business quietly as the team examine all the possibilities and gradually home in on a suspect. There are no stunning twists or major bombshells, just a methodical winnowing out of facts, suspicions and theories unless, of course, you find the conclusion believable. It is unexpected, inconclusive and a bit far fetched which is a shame as it lets down an otherwise good read. 

The novel isn’t afraid to to confront the realities of modern rural living, in this case a housing development welcomed by some and opposed by others. It makes for good reading, examining the case on both sides. I found it interesting but simplistic given that the housing stock in my small town has just increased significantly.

The novel is mostly told from Zig’s point of view and takes a bit of getting used to as his thoughts are often sequential to his speech, making it difficult to differentiate. I soon got used to it and came to like it as it provides context in the investigation and a kind of intimacy and immediacy.

Zig Batten is not an easy man to get to know. A Yorkshire transplant he has the stereotypical taciturnity but more than that there is a sensitivity that leaves thoughts unsaid and a certain awkwardness when dealing with the personal. 

An Easter Killing is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

Murder is reasonably common,  in some places people- well men - volunteer to be crucified on Good Friday,  but not in an English village, and certainly never a woman.  You can imagine the shock and  horror when a woman is found fastened to the Good Friday cross on Thorn Hill. What is more,  although she is known to the villagers, she lives abroad.  Figure that one out!

That is the job of Zig Barret and his team and it seems that the more they learn, the less they know. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

4 stars

Is is Good Friday in the small village of East Thorne. The villagers awake to a shocking sight on the Crown of Thorns Hill. (Those with binoculars that is. ) 

Detective Zig Batten is forced from his sickbed to investigate the murder. He is confounded by a semi-combative priest, obsfucating villagers and his attraction to a lovely pathologist and a host of other obstructions. 

This is well written novel that is at times a little dense. I did enjoy it, however. Zig is not an easy person to get to know. This is my first Zig Batten book and I went to Amazon to look for his other novels. 

I want to thank NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for forwarding to me a copy of this book for me to read, enjoy and review.

For the most part, I thought this was a pretty great procedural. The crime aspects of the book were believable enough as was the investigation. Some of the characters come off a bit rough at the beginning and it took me some time to warm to them, but eventually, I did and found that I quite enjoyed most of this book. 

There are some parts of this novel that can seem a bit thick and heavy to wade through at times, but then it begins to flow nicely again, thus, the reason I went for four stars instead of five. I liked the suspense in this novel and the certain way the author allowed the tension to build along with the mysteries, before giving any definite answers to the audience. I haven't read the other books in this series, but I like this author's style of writing and look forward to going back and reading what else there is in his catalogue. 

The descriptions of the village are excellent and I love that the characters actually seem like real people with human needs and wants rather than one-dimensional paper people as so often happens in mysteries and thrillers. 

I would definitely recommend this book to other lovers of crime stories. 

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

At first I did not like the writing style of this author - it seemed very bitty, with Batten providing both dialogue and a sort of running commentary to himself.  

However, the plot to the story was very good - a village awakes on Good Friday morning to find that someone has been crucified on the wooden cross erected on the hill ready for the Good Friday witness walk.  The peace of Easter has been shattered.  Suspects abound, and Batten and Ball have to unravel the strands to determine who is guilty.

Suspects include the partner of a police colleague, a whole raft of likely villagers including a deaf woman and her overworked father.  Interwoven into the tale is an unscrupulous developer keen to buy their cottages to build a new housing estate.

The story is well handled and enjoyable.  I enjoyed this mystery and would read more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A mystery book with the proper dose of darkness. A crime that borders on sacrilege, a village shaken by the secrets that this crime has brought to light. And an end that is revealed little by little. All this comes together to form an entertaining story and very difficult to stop reading!
Many thanks to BooksGoSocial, Netgalley and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this story.

First time reading this author and these characters. I could never quite warm up to the characters and the story line seemed to drag out through the middle of the book before it got active again and almost predictable. A lot of dialogue and. police procedural detail, A little 'cold' for my taste but it is well thought out and a good storyline and plot. 
Thanks to the author and publishers for the ARC. I received this book as a complimentary copy for an honest review. The opinions expressed are my own.

I really think this series and each book has the perfect mix of murder,  mystery, real life, and suspense."
I absolutely enjoyed reading A Easter Killing.  It has everything I look forward to in a mystery and once started I couldn't put it down.

I liked that this novel was set in Somerset near where I was born in Bristol. It gave a real feel of village life. conservation of the apple orchards versus the need for affordable housing. The mystery is how the body ended up on the cross erected for the Good Friday procession. There is a vicar nearing retirement who shows a protective interest in a woman who is deaf and dumb with a mind of a child. It was an enjoyable read and I would certainly read another with the same main characters.

A real "who did it" mystery.  Inspector Zig Batten was hoping to spend the holiday weekend recovering from the flu, but that was not to be.  Who is the victim and why do so many people care?  What does the future hold for this sleepy little village?

I wish I hadn't put this book off for so long. Really enjoyed it. Loved the setting of a village. You really get a taste of it. 

Loved the plot, the characters, and the writing style. Give me more.