The page-turning debut from the pen of UK crime fiction writer SP Edwards.
Today is Anna Markham’s wedding day. But her body has just been found, dumped in the grounds of the very house in which she was supposed to tie the knot.
It’s down to DI Steven Marr – a man playing fast and loose with his own marriage – to find out who murdered her.
And there’s no telling how far the killer will go to protect themselves…
About the Author
Shaun Edwards has always had an interest in the darker side of human nature. As a result, he spent most of his late teens nicking UK crime thriller books from his mum's bookcase. Have devoured pretty much everything by Peter Robinson, Ian Rankin, John Harvey and John Connolly, he decided to start writing his own stuff.
Ten years later, he pulled his finger out and actually did it. 'Til Death is the combination of coffee, and a deep love for Banks, Rebus, Resnick, Thorne and Charlie Parker.
Besides writing and reading whodunnit mysteries, crime fiction and thrillers, Shaun’s other loves include noodling around on the guitar, going for long walks, eating too much pizza and laughing at pictures of pugs.
He lives with his partner and a really sneaky gerbil in deepest, darkest Suffolk, UK.
A decent first police procedural mystery, which was spoilt by two elements for me. Too many typos; as many others have remarked upon and too much emphasis on the relationships of the police officers. Either go for the family drama genre or the crime thriller; otherwise you end up in no-man's land.
2015. On the morning of her wedding day the body of Anna Markham is discovered, murdered. DI Steven Marr and his team investigate. An entertaining modern mystery. A good start to this new series.
Good start to the book, was quite a page turner. Later I found the middle to have a bit of unnecessary filler in it whilst waiting to discover who the killer was. Had an underwhelming ending.
A young woman is murdered on the eve of her wedding? Who dunnit? The prospective groom? The jealous best friend? The fat friend who always loved her? Or someone else? DI Stephen Marr must find out. Unfortunately, he is also juggling an affair with a colleague, something that might destroy his marriage if not his career.
This predictable procedure is as dull as dishwater. I didn't care for any of the characters. They were one dimensional and not believable. The finale was just silly. The affair was just dumb. And it made no sense that Marr would name his child after a crazy adulteress.Not the best.
Sex, sex, and more sex. These people are so busy with their personal lives that it's a wonder this mystery got solved. It's not as bad as detailed porn, but just unpleasant for this reader. If you like clean suspense, don't bother with this book.
Why oh why oh why does somebody go to the trouble and take the time to write what seems to be a terrific story and then NOT have it edited or proofread ?? Why would you do that ? I fail to understand this phenomenon at all and yet see it again and again and again. It seems as if e-books (and their readers) are afforded no courtesy in the least and any old tripe will be put out there for us. It makes me so mad. This author has true promise as well. I was enjoying the characters and the story but the mistakes are just way too distracting and all enjoyment was lost. Here we go with a litany of disaster-it commences with "Caroline's is Anna's best friend", he persistently writes about Greg calling him the fiancee as opposed to fiance-got it wrong every time up to where I gave up at 15%, he randomly used capital letters for Death and He, lost a in "....been pretty comfortable achievement", writes just could instead of could just and finally, on the last page I chose to read we had THREE mistakes.....ex-girlfriend's in place of ex-girlfriends' and two fullstops missing at the end of sentences !! I was totally baffled by Steven talking about Lizzie and his smoking. That passage made no sense and I read it back a few times and even out loud.....still made no sense. Such a waste of his own time and mine. I really wanted to read it, too. If ever he bothers getting it properly edited I'll try it again. So why 2 stars and not 1 ? Because it really does hold promise, I reckon there's a gem hiding behind all these bloody errors....
So enjoyed this Detective Marr encounter solving murders. I found this character created by Mr Edwards down to earth and exciting at the same time. He got my emotions going with his family saga in the mix. Looking forward to reading other books by SJ Stevens. Great cc to add another good author to my bookshelf
The Kindle download I have read must be an updated one - it certainly has a chilling new cover. I have read other reviews saying that there were many typos, bad typesetting and the need of a good edit. I found none of those things needed in this edition and my review reflects as much.
This was a new author for me and the novel was such a captivating read that I put other books down to read it. A psychological crime mystery, it featured the initial investigation along with added back story concerning the personal relationships of the lead investigator, DI Marr. A stunning little half twist at the end ensured that I want to go on to read more of this author's series and I have added myself to his reader's list. An enjoyable, highly recommended read.
I love crime fiction but usually read them out of order. As the first book of a series i had no preconceptions about the author or the main character as i would have with book series read out of order. For me personally though i didnt enjoy the book. Its an ok read but not interesting enough to make me want to search out other books in the series or by the author. Unfair you might think but book 1 in a series should grab your attention and make you excited to find out more about the main character and want to see how he handles the next big case. This didnt do that for me.
This was an engaging mystery. It had a good plot , and well developed characters. The one complaint I have to make though, is the overabundance of the f word in the story. I of course have heard the word before as I am sure most people have. But that doesn't mean that I agree with it being a big part of the characters' vocabularies in the book. I think other words would work as well to get the characters' thoughts across. I still recommend this book to other mystery readers.
I was engaged with this story, mostly, but I found a couple of things most odd. Becky blabs to the wife about Marr’s affair but it’s ok with him and they happily work together the following day! I don’t think so! All the talk about how Greg really loved Anna while shagging her best friend for years. Seriously? With a little more sophistication and a good editor we may have the makings of a good series.
British detective at its best. A DI is having an affair with his colleague and is dealing of a case of a bride to be, murdered at her reception place. The fiance life parallels the DI with regards to his personal life. At the end of this book you can claim part 2 for free. Well written and gripping x
This is a new author and a new DI. Glad to see there are more to read. I've got the second book already in my library. This had quite an unexpected ending. DI Marr was a very interesting and human character. The plot was tight and the pace was fast. Couldn't put it down.
Light reading with predictable ending. Characters have their flaws and are like many you find in a daytime soap but with added sex, violence and occasional expletive.
I enjoyed the mystery of this thriller, with aspects of the characters personalities being revealed slowly throughout the book and several twists & turns.
The twists and turns were really good. Not too many characters so as too get confused as to who was who. But please, please don't use the "f" word so much. It was in every other sentence. I was really sick of it. Would have given 5 stars otherwise
For as much as this was an easy read it took forever to finish I felt author spent more time focussing on police characters than the actual murder. I wouldn't be in a rush to read anymore
Generic police story, standard characters. Reasonable well written. Always disappointed when cups of coffee are described as "steaming". But worth reading.
I liked this book and most of the characters in spite of their flaws. There is heartbreak, murder, betrayal. This is the first book I have read by this author, but it won't be the last.