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Cold Hard Murder
The darkness felt tangible. Like it was pressing against my blind eyes … We were going to die here. Slowly, slowly.
Two people struggle on a ledge high above the surge pool at Punakaiki’s Pancake Rocks. One falls to their death, beginning a sequence of violence as Department of Conservation ranger Matt Grey announces plans for a commercial tourism venture bitterly opposed by the local community. More people die, and it seems their murders are motivated by something more personal than a threat to the integrity of the national park. But the trail is as cold and twisted as some of the park’s most labyrinthine caves. Philippa Barnes is asked to do some unofficial sleuthing, which is not welcomed by the police. She delves into the lives of some strong-willed individuals, many of whom have secrets, uncovering a dark story that resonates with events in her own life. But caught in a desperate struggle deep underground, has she run out of time to stop a determined killer?
Two people struggle on a ledge high above the surge pool at Punakaiki’s Pancake Rocks. One falls to their death, beginning a sequence of violence as Department of Conservation ranger Matt Grey announces plans for a commercial tourism venture bitterly opposed by the local community. More people die, and it seems their murders are motivated by something more personal than a threat to the integrity of the national park. But the trail is as cold and twisted as some of the park’s most labyrinthine caves. Philippa Barnes is asked to do some unofficial sleuthing, which is not welcomed by the police. She delves into the lives of some strong-willed individuals, many of whom have secrets, uncovering a dark story that resonates with events in her own life. But caught in a desperate struggle deep underground, has she run out of time to stop a determined killer?
- GenresCrime
256 pages, Paperback
First published November 28, 2015
5 people want to read
About the author
Trish McCormack
10 books9 followersI write crime fiction by night and work as an archivist by day. I grew up at Franz Josef Glacier and worked in various national parks before spending 10 years as a journalist on a small-town newspaper. I set my mysteries in some of New Zealand's most beautiful places. My glacier guide sleuth Philippa Barnes lives the dream, retreating to the icy spaces of the glacier when she needs time alone. She's self-deprecating, tenacious with a kind heart and black sense of humour. I now live in Wellington but Philippa roams free in the wilderness and loves finding mysteries to solve and stories to tell. I have written three mysteries in this series
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 13, 2016
The third book in the Philippa Barnes series, COLD HARD MURDER is set in a spectacular region on the West Coast of the North Island of New Zealand. In the earlier books Philippa worked as a glacier guide, but the fragile state of her home area means that she has to seek work elsewhere. She gets a temporary posting as a tourist track maintainer in the Paparoa National Park, which means a move away from her younger sister and her home, to a new group of colleagues who from day one are tense.
The plot relies very much on that tension generated within a group of workmates - some of whom have been there for a long time - others blow-in's like Barnes. Because Barnes is also an outsider in this new location and cast of characters, new readers to the series should be able to start here, although the level of reiteration of detail does feel a little padded at points for anybody who has read the earlier books.
Because of that sense of a closed off environment, and a small cast of possible suspects, the plotting here is of the old fashioned mystery style, with suspicion scattered throughout, a reliance on coincidence, and plenty of clues and red herrings along the way. Unfortunately there's also a bit of threat by deliberate jeopardy which was considerably less successful and a bit too much padding around the back story, family, connections and some ancillary tracks explored. Without a doubt, the balance of context for new readers, and pace and advancement for those already up to date with the series must be an incredibly difficult undertaking, but here something felt slightly off kilter, pushed further out by the amount of coincidence used and a tendency to explain rather than simply show. Which didn't help with the perennial problems of connection and threat. If as a reader you really identify with Philippa Barnes, find her very human, flawed and well-meaning then there could be some threat in a few of the intentional jeopardy elements. If however she's not 100% convincing, then obviously her missteps are less acceptable.
The setting for this book is almost guaranteed to send you straight to Google to look up the location and there are some stunning images to reward those that do. That natural beauty is conveyed in COLD HARD MURDER, and sense of place is an interesting aspect of this book. Remote enough to create a closed room type of scenario, wild enough to provide some threat and isolation, there is shoreline, mountains and importantly to the story, an extensive underground cave system. The place definitely stands out in COLD HARD MURDER. It's absolutely glorious, which makes the contrast between humans who murder, finagle and misbehave, and the natural beauty that surrounds them a interesting comparison.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...
The plot relies very much on that tension generated within a group of workmates - some of whom have been there for a long time - others blow-in's like Barnes. Because Barnes is also an outsider in this new location and cast of characters, new readers to the series should be able to start here, although the level of reiteration of detail does feel a little padded at points for anybody who has read the earlier books.
Because of that sense of a closed off environment, and a small cast of possible suspects, the plotting here is of the old fashioned mystery style, with suspicion scattered throughout, a reliance on coincidence, and plenty of clues and red herrings along the way. Unfortunately there's also a bit of threat by deliberate jeopardy which was considerably less successful and a bit too much padding around the back story, family, connections and some ancillary tracks explored. Without a doubt, the balance of context for new readers, and pace and advancement for those already up to date with the series must be an incredibly difficult undertaking, but here something felt slightly off kilter, pushed further out by the amount of coincidence used and a tendency to explain rather than simply show. Which didn't help with the perennial problems of connection and threat. If as a reader you really identify with Philippa Barnes, find her very human, flawed and well-meaning then there could be some threat in a few of the intentional jeopardy elements. If however she's not 100% convincing, then obviously her missteps are less acceptable.
The setting for this book is almost guaranteed to send you straight to Google to look up the location and there are some stunning images to reward those that do. That natural beauty is conveyed in COLD HARD MURDER, and sense of place is an interesting aspect of this book. Remote enough to create a closed room type of scenario, wild enough to provide some threat and isolation, there is shoreline, mountains and importantly to the story, an extensive underground cave system. The place definitely stands out in COLD HARD MURDER. It's absolutely glorious, which makes the contrast between humans who murder, finagle and misbehave, and the natural beauty that surrounds them a interesting comparison.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...
April 25, 2017
This is Trish McCormack's third thriller with Philippa in the central role and the West coast mountains forming the backdrop. I have read the two previous books and I really like how her character has progressed from bereaved and angry - and confrontational, to a more mature and balanced person. The story is as exciting as the first two but with a new set of second-circle characters, which neatly removes the risk of being too confined in a small community. I am looking forward to the next one; whether with Philippa developing further or with a new central personality, but hopefully set in the landscape Trish McCormack evokes better than anyone else.
January 5, 2022
A crime novel set in Punakaiki - now why haven't I heard of this before? And this is the third book already in this series! It's always cool to discover another NZ crime writer, and Punakaiki with its well known Pancake Rocks - and less well known underground caves - makes a dramatic setting. Having said that, readers unfamiliar with the area would have benefited from some more evocative descriptions of that wild and dramatic coastline and interior.
The main character Philippa (my namesake) is a glacier guide from Franz Josef whose work has dried up because of climate change causing glacier retreat. So she takes on a track maintenance job further up the coast at Punakaiki, and within a short time there is, of course, a murder. Philippa has previously become involved in other murder investigations - simply as a curious amateur detective. This fact is repeatedly mentioned, but we got it the first time.
The novel has momentum and intrigue, as more drama unfolds, and Philippa has conversations with her fellow DOC (Department of Conservation) workers, and others in the Punakaiki village. It seems that almost all of them have some secret or other that potentially could provide a motive for murder. Philippa is threatened and the final climax is suitably tense and original. However there's no way the reader could have guessed who the murderer was or why, until it's revealed at the end. There were plenty of red herrings, but no real herrings that I could see. The writing (and/or editing?) was a bit patchy at times (needs more "show not tell"), but I'll certainly look up the two previous novels in this series and hope the author continues writing.
The main character Philippa (my namesake) is a glacier guide from Franz Josef whose work has dried up because of climate change causing glacier retreat. So she takes on a track maintenance job further up the coast at Punakaiki, and within a short time there is, of course, a murder. Philippa has previously become involved in other murder investigations - simply as a curious amateur detective. This fact is repeatedly mentioned, but we got it the first time.
The novel has momentum and intrigue, as more drama unfolds, and Philippa has conversations with her fellow DOC (Department of Conservation) workers, and others in the Punakaiki village. It seems that almost all of them have some secret or other that potentially could provide a motive for murder. Philippa is threatened and the final climax is suitably tense and original. However there's no way the reader could have guessed who the murderer was or why, until it's revealed at the end. There were plenty of red herrings, but no real herrings that I could see. The writing (and/or editing?) was a bit patchy at times (needs more "show not tell"), but I'll certainly look up the two previous novels in this series and hope the author continues writing.
November 7, 2018
Glad I had all these three books to read. I still think Philippa is a lousy detective. She always gets caught in the worse place. However the books are a delight in showing us New Zealand and the no nonsense people living there. I enjoyed (I almost said every minute of my reading, but that is not true because you know that Philippa is not going to get it right) reading these three books written by someone who really likes the National Parks of NZ and is a bit in conflict with the changes that have to come to maintain the costly parks.
April 28, 2025
Phillipa finds herself involved in a struggle. A new boss wants to change access to caves and jazz it up to appeal to more visitors. This means a lot of changes. Then the death starts. Phillipa is asked to help out. The deaths increase.
January 25, 2021
This was my favourite I loved it . The plot twisted a bit but over all it was worth the read.
August 17, 2022
Better than assigned to murder - the murderer was a bit more believable. I liked the setting, most of the people not vet likeable, though
October 7, 2016
I enjoyed the first two books in McCormack's series starring glacier guide Philippa Barnes, who finds herself investigating troubling deaths that have struck close to her life. Both ASSIGNED TO MURDER and GLACIER MURDER are solid mysteries with some interesting characters and a particularly good touch for their settings among some of New Zealand's most beautiful national parks.
In COLD HARD MURDER, McCormack brings things together into her best tale yet. Barnes is on hiatus from life as a glacier guide, and takes a job working with the Department of Conservation in Paparoa National Park, a protected area of limestone karst landscapes - lush rainforest, cave systems, mountains, beaches, and spectacular rock formations. It is among this ruggedly magnificent beauty that death once again comes calling in Barnes' life.
McCormack's storytelling harkens back to the classic British style village murder mysteries: there's a fascinating cast of eccentric rural characters, suspects, clues, and red herrings. The small community on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island isn't as close-knit as it seems. Secrets swirl beneath the surface. As both the professional and amateur investigators try to find out what really happened, there's a sense of further threat to those left behind.
Read full review on Crime Watch here:
http://kiwicrime.blogspot.co.uk/2016/...
In COLD HARD MURDER, McCormack brings things together into her best tale yet. Barnes is on hiatus from life as a glacier guide, and takes a job working with the Department of Conservation in Paparoa National Park, a protected area of limestone karst landscapes - lush rainforest, cave systems, mountains, beaches, and spectacular rock formations. It is among this ruggedly magnificent beauty that death once again comes calling in Barnes' life.
McCormack's storytelling harkens back to the classic British style village murder mysteries: there's a fascinating cast of eccentric rural characters, suspects, clues, and red herrings. The small community on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island isn't as close-knit as it seems. Secrets swirl beneath the surface. As both the professional and amateur investigators try to find out what really happened, there's a sense of further threat to those left behind.
Read full review on Crime Watch here:
http://kiwicrime.blogspot.co.uk/2016/...
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews