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DCI Greg Geldard #3
Fire on the Norfolk Broads
Originally published as Fires of Hate
Detective Greg Geldard is finally settling into life in the Norfolk Broads, a place he wants to call home. But the silent waterways are deceptive. And among the brooding marshes, a deadly plot is in motion.
Detective Geldard is wolfing down a quick sandwich lunch at his desk when he gets the call. There’s been a devastating explosion at the local Science Park. Multiple casualties.
Geldard races to the scene — it’s carnage. Body parts lie scattered on the ground.
Seven people dead. Sixteen unaccounted for.
Professor Lai, Head of Chemistry, is one of the missing. She’s thought to have been killed in the explosion. But then the Forensics come back. The body that’s been found isn’t hers.
Someone was deliberately left to die in the blaze.
Then Geldard’s estranged wife drops a bombshell of her own. She’s pregnant with another man’s child — and she wants a divorce.
As Geldard tries to cope with his wife’s betrayal, he must race against time to catch a cunning killer before they claim more innocent lives.
Winner of the Firebird Book Award 2022
Detective Greg Geldard is finally settling into life in the Norfolk Broads, a place he wants to call home. But the silent waterways are deceptive. And among the brooding marshes, a deadly plot is in motion.
Detective Geldard is wolfing down a quick sandwich lunch at his desk when he gets the call. There’s been a devastating explosion at the local Science Park. Multiple casualties.
Geldard races to the scene — it’s carnage. Body parts lie scattered on the ground.
Seven people dead. Sixteen unaccounted for.
Professor Lai, Head of Chemistry, is one of the missing. She’s thought to have been killed in the explosion. But then the Forensics come back. The body that’s been found isn’t hers.
Someone was deliberately left to die in the blaze.
Then Geldard’s estranged wife drops a bombshell of her own. She’s pregnant with another man’s child — and she wants a divorce.
As Geldard tries to cope with his wife’s betrayal, he must race against time to catch a cunning killer before they claim more innocent lives.
Winner of the Firebird Book Award 2022
284 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 21, 2022
About the author
Heather Peck
17 books16 followersHeather Peck is the author of the Greg Geldard series of murder mysteries, set in rural North Yorkshire and Norfolk. As she says:
‘I’ve had a life of two halves. In the first I was both farmer and agricultural policy adviser. I bred sheep and alpacas, reared calves, broke ploughs, represented the UK in international negotiations, specialised in emergency response from Chernobyl to bird flu, managed controls over pesticides and GM crops, saw legislation through parliament and got paid to eat KitKats while on secondment to Rowntree. In the second I chaired an NHS Trust, worked on animal welfare, sailed a boat on the Norfolk Broads, volunteered in Citizens Advice and the Witness Service and vaccinate humans against Covid. Two golden threads have run through everything; my love for both reading and writing, and the wise words of my Gran. ‘You can do anything if you try hard enough.
Now I write about the countryside and the animals I love, the industry (farming) I hold in deepest respect, and the various ways in which humans make things bad for each other and the world around them, always being very aware of the sad fact that cruelty to animals usually goes hand in hand with cruelty to other humans. Much of my time in the Witness Service and in Citizens Advice has indeed brought me face to face with some of the more tragic aspects of family life and work.
I write about the rural world because I want to share its wonders, peculiarities and hilarious moments with people who may not have been privileged to see it as I have seen it. But I wrote these specific books, Secret Places and Glass Arrows, because each uncovers problems that are probably hidden to most of us and about which I care passionately.
My main protagonist has grown with each story and his life has changed in ways I couldn’t have predicted at the start. When I started writing Secret Places I didn’t intend Greg Geldard to be the main protagonist. But I find that he, and other characters, take on a life of their own. How they react to circumstance affects what and how they feel, and therefore how they evolve. That too gives me immense satisfaction. Greg Geldard is now a man with a rounded personality; some strengths, some weaknesses, some insights and some blind spots. I’d like to meet him.’
‘I’ve had a life of two halves. In the first I was both farmer and agricultural policy adviser. I bred sheep and alpacas, reared calves, broke ploughs, represented the UK in international negotiations, specialised in emergency response from Chernobyl to bird flu, managed controls over pesticides and GM crops, saw legislation through parliament and got paid to eat KitKats while on secondment to Rowntree. In the second I chaired an NHS Trust, worked on animal welfare, sailed a boat on the Norfolk Broads, volunteered in Citizens Advice and the Witness Service and vaccinate humans against Covid. Two golden threads have run through everything; my love for both reading and writing, and the wise words of my Gran. ‘You can do anything if you try hard enough.
Now I write about the countryside and the animals I love, the industry (farming) I hold in deepest respect, and the various ways in which humans make things bad for each other and the world around them, always being very aware of the sad fact that cruelty to animals usually goes hand in hand with cruelty to other humans. Much of my time in the Witness Service and in Citizens Advice has indeed brought me face to face with some of the more tragic aspects of family life and work.
I write about the rural world because I want to share its wonders, peculiarities and hilarious moments with people who may not have been privileged to see it as I have seen it. But I wrote these specific books, Secret Places and Glass Arrows, because each uncovers problems that are probably hidden to most of us and about which I care passionately.
My main protagonist has grown with each story and his life has changed in ways I couldn’t have predicted at the start. When I started writing Secret Places I didn’t intend Greg Geldard to be the main protagonist. But I find that he, and other characters, take on a life of their own. How they react to circumstance affects what and how they feel, and therefore how they evolve. That too gives me immense satisfaction. Greg Geldard is now a man with a rounded personality; some strengths, some weaknesses, some insights and some blind spots. I’d like to meet him.’
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 27, 2026
Absolutely loved this
Absolutely loved this book, from beginning to end. Loved Tallulah as well.
The depth of research must be tremendous and every little detail given to unearthing their case.
Absolutely loved this book, from beginning to end. Loved Tallulah as well.
The depth of research must be tremendous and every little detail given to unearthing their case.
September 6, 2025
another great story set in Norfolk. dci geldard comes good again
April 28, 2026
Engaging mystery novel, characters are well defined and add to the plot. The plot seems to go along a straight path, but interesting enough to keep you engaged.
July 14, 2026
Too much detail
Needs better editing. Some of the technical issues were unnecessary and complicated the story. Made it difficult to follow sometimes.
Needs better editing. Some of the technical issues were unnecessary and complicated the story. Made it difficult to follow sometimes.
April 30, 2026
Finished this book in one day and was disappointed there wasn’t a fourth book in the series. Read all three books in three days they were so good!
All three books were an excellent read and am hoping Helen Peck is writing the next one in the series. 🤞🏻
All three books were an excellent read and am hoping Helen Peck is writing the next one in the series. 🤞🏻
April 29, 2022
Today is my blog tour stop for #firesofhate by the lovely Heather Peck.
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I’ve given it 5 stars as it has everything I need in a book. Fantastic characters, a great storyline, and that feeling on sadness when it’s finished. Well deserved!
This book is the third instalment in the DCI Geldard series but works fine as a standalone, although I now definitely want to read the previous 2 to get to know the characters a little better.
The author has an easy style of writing that entices you to continue turning the pages to find out what’s going to happen next. The story is well rounded and exciting, set at a great pace, allowing you to take in every detail and get to know who’s who and their different relationships.
I would definitely recommend this for lovers of crime/ suspense books. I’m now off the the bookshop to grab the other two for my collection.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Heather Peck is the author of the Greg Geldard series of murder mysteries, set in rural North Yorkshire and Norfolk. Her long career in both the policy and muddy-boots practice of agriculture is immediately apparent in the books, which are firmly and colourfully set in the world of farming and farmers. Although it has to be admitted that the Norfolk Broads and coast also feature.
Born in Stoke-on-Trent, she blames their many family holidays on farms for the interests that led her to work in the Ministry of Agriculture / Defra (her farmer husband was regularly described as sleeping with the enemy) and also to the commercial breeding of both sheep and alpacas.
Alongside her writing, in which she is ably supported by two canine assistants, she is Chair of Lantra UK, a Trustee of Norfolk Citizens Advice.
#amazon #linkinbio #ad #bookblog #bookreadersofinstagram #bookcommunity #bookaddict #bookworm #nursesthatread #scottishreader #bookmail #bookreviewer #bookreviewersofinstagram #bookobsessed #scottishbookstagrammer #bookaholic #whatiread #readerssupportingauthors #pageturners #booklife #bloggergirl #themagicofbooks #bookwormsunited #readinggoals #newreleasebooks #bookobsessed #bookishcommunity #bookaddicted #freebookreviews #fortheloveofliterature
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I’ve given it 5 stars as it has everything I need in a book. Fantastic characters, a great storyline, and that feeling on sadness when it’s finished. Well deserved!
This book is the third instalment in the DCI Geldard series but works fine as a standalone, although I now definitely want to read the previous 2 to get to know the characters a little better.
The author has an easy style of writing that entices you to continue turning the pages to find out what’s going to happen next. The story is well rounded and exciting, set at a great pace, allowing you to take in every detail and get to know who’s who and their different relationships.
I would definitely recommend this for lovers of crime/ suspense books. I’m now off the the bookshop to grab the other two for my collection.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Heather Peck is the author of the Greg Geldard series of murder mysteries, set in rural North Yorkshire and Norfolk. Her long career in both the policy and muddy-boots practice of agriculture is immediately apparent in the books, which are firmly and colourfully set in the world of farming and farmers. Although it has to be admitted that the Norfolk Broads and coast also feature.
Born in Stoke-on-Trent, she blames their many family holidays on farms for the interests that led her to work in the Ministry of Agriculture / Defra (her farmer husband was regularly described as sleeping with the enemy) and also to the commercial breeding of both sheep and alpacas.
Alongside her writing, in which she is ably supported by two canine assistants, she is Chair of Lantra UK, a Trustee of Norfolk Citizens Advice.
#amazon #linkinbio #ad #bookblog #bookreadersofinstagram #bookcommunity #bookaddict #bookworm #nursesthatread #scottishreader #bookmail #bookreviewer #bookreviewersofinstagram #bookobsessed #scottishbookstagrammer #bookaholic #whatiread #readerssupportingauthors #pageturners #booklife #bloggergirl #themagicofbooks #bookwormsunited #readinggoals #newreleasebooks #bookobsessed #bookishcommunity #bookaddicted #freebookreviews #fortheloveofliterature
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews