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DS Sara Hirst #1-5

The Complete North Norfolk Murder Mysteries Books 1–5

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In this five-book box set:

BOOK 1: UNDER VIOLENT SKIES
Detective Sara Hirst has moved from London to the Serious Crimes Unit in beautiful Norfolk. Her first call-out is to a decomposing body discovered in a ditch on a local farm. How does the murder relate to a recent spate of thefts? Who wanted the victim dead? The case is about to become very personal.

BOOK 2: INTO DEADLY STORMS
Dawn breaks as a dog-walker finds a dead body, half-naked and wrapped tightly in an old groundsheet. Detective Hirst is first on the scene. Who is the victim? And who will be next? Sara must take on some of Britain’s most wanted criminals if she’s to find out the truth.

BOOK 3: A BRUTAL SEASON
Carnival week in Cromer. The morning after the celebrations, the body of Daisy Shaw, the Carnival Queen, is discovered in a back alley. Her long blonde hair lies matted and dishevelled, her fingers clutch a sparkly plastic tiara. The close-knit carnival community is all too used to prejudice and none too keen on helping the police. Meanwhile, both Sara’s mother and boyfriend have bombshells to drop.

Book 4: AN ARTFUL MURDER
The first body is found forced inside a huge terracotta urn on the lawn of a country manor in a remote corner of North Norfolk. Days later, a young woman is found, tied to a golden chair, her throat slashed. At both crime scenes, the killer leaves a bizarre calling card.

BOOK 5: THE NORFOLK BEACH MURDERS
It’s a stormy December morning when seal-watchers find the body on the beach at Winterton-on-Sea. It looks like a tragic accident. Until another body is found on a pleasure boat drifting out at sea. There are bullet holes in the boat’s hull. This was definitely murder. But Detective Hirst will soon have more to worry about than two dead bodies. Someone from her past is back.

1584 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 22, 2023

518 people are currently reading
51 people want to read

About the author

Judi Daykin

13 books60 followers
Yorkshire born, Judi has lived, worked and made theatre in Norfolk for the last forty years. She completed her MA in Creative Writing (Crime Fiction) at the University of East Anglia (UEA), and her debut novel was shortlisted for the Little, Brown UEA writer's prize in 2019.

'I love the beautiful, vast skies and watery landscapes of Norfolk. Our home in a village on the north coast can feel wonderfully remote, even though the nearest town is only a few miles away. I can't imagine living anywhere better than this.'

Judi is also a working actor, and has been known to twiddle the knobs on the sound desk for the variety shows at Cromer Pier. She runs her own theatre company, Broad Horizons, specialising in commissioning new plays recovering and retelling women's stories.

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5 stars
401 (65%)
4 stars
170 (27%)
3 stars
29 (4%)
2 stars
8 (1%)
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4 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
Profile Image for Jen.
2,029 reviews67 followers
January 22, 2024
Receiving 5 novels in a series all at once is a gamble, but this one paid off. The first was the one I liked least, but I liked the characters and the setting. Actually, it was often the minor characters who were more developed, which proved beneficial to the plots because you develop genuine concern for them.
I like Sara's team as well even if they didn't come across as well as some of the victims and villains,
830 reviews5 followers
February 15, 2024
The just got better and better!

I am glad I stayed with this series after the first one. Great characters and some interesting plot through lines to volume five. Sara, Lisa London and Danni were fascinating creations as well as Mu and that adorable dog, Roger. The last book was a corker!!! Hope to find more of this author's writings.
Profile Image for Horribilis.
6 reviews4 followers
February 17, 2024
Pretty good, but slow

I liked the characters. The plots were fairly interesting. But I found the writing a little slow, especially toward the endings, as they seemed to go on and on, for no good reason. The settings were nicely described and seemed authentic to this American reviewer.
3 reviews
February 5, 2024
Fun Series

Enjoyed reading this series of stories set in the Norfolk region. It helps to have a BritBox subscription which provides a background in some of the British colloquialisms. Entertaining and sounds like more stories might be coming.
9 reviews
February 28, 2024
Great reads, true to life.

I have just read all 5 of these books and I loved them all. The characters were good and the stories believable. I thoroughly enjoyed them and would recommend to anyone who likes this genre of book.
18 reviews
April 5, 2024
Cracking stories, each one very engaging. Loved each one. Nice to have storylines based in the UK, don't know the area that well so learnt a lot as well as being entertained. Hoping there are more to come.
44 reviews
May 30, 2024
Fantastic books

I again could hardly put this series of books down.

The stories were great, fantastic characters, and quite a mysterious storylines.

Lots of twists and turns and I’m grateful to find a new author to follow.
115 reviews1 follower
September 19, 2023
Activity Galore..

There were so many encounters it took concentration to keep it all sorted out as to who fit in to what part of the stories,
1 review
January 20, 2024
Brilliant series

Set locally was a bonus for me. Really enjoyed this author's style. Couldn't put any of the stories down. Will be looking for more of her work.
31 reviews
August 7, 2024
Good Reading

Best boxed set I've read in a long time. Good from the beginning to the end. The third book was excellent and others really good.
Profile Image for Jeanne Snyder.
11 reviews
February 6, 2025
nice British mystery

I love British detective fiction. The main characters are flushed out nicely. Good read for a lazy afternoon on the sofa
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews

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