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Lambert and Hook #7
Watermarked
The body of the dead woman has been in the Severn for some time, slowly drifting downstream until lodging in the exposed roots of a willow…
What remains is not a pretty sight.
The river has washed away much of the forensic evidence.
There is enough left, however, to suggest to Superintendent Lambert and Detective Sergeant Bert Hook that she did not meet her death by accident — and that she was killed elsewhere before being dumped into the river.
Slowly and patiently, they build up a picture of a woman of contradictions: a woman who harboured secret passions.
Their investigation leads them to each of the key figures in her life — her husband, daughter, estranged son, business manager.
Each have secrets of their own to hide and putative alibis that declare them incapable of committing the act of murder during the time-frame indicated by the coroner.
Yet beneath the surface of each of these individuals bubbles resentment and anger, passion and pride, that could easily have led them to not only wish Laura Pritchard dead, but to act on that desire.
As Lambert and Hook chase down leads and probe into the backgrounds of their suspects, the killer watches and waits, ready to strike again…
Watermarked is an intense thriller with many twists and turns that keep you guessing.
Praise for J.M. Gregson
'Lambert and Hook…gritty realism and hard-to-solve mysteries' — Booklist
'…the series is recommended for its gritty realism and hard-to-solve mysteries' — Booklist
'Well done, suspenseful and engaging' — Library journal
'For Morse fans grieving the recent demise of their hero Gregson makes an agreeable successor…' — Booklist
'…compelling characters who deserve the attention of procedural fans' — Booklist
James Michael Gregson taught for twenty-seven years in schools, colleges and universities before concentrating on full-time writing. He has written books on subjects as diverse as golf and Shakespeare. His other crime novels include Stranglehold and Body Politic and he is much in demand as a lecturer and public speaker. Most of his detective novels are set in his adopted county of Gloucestershire, in the attractive country of the Forest of Dean and the southern Cotswolds.
What remains is not a pretty sight.
The river has washed away much of the forensic evidence.
There is enough left, however, to suggest to Superintendent Lambert and Detective Sergeant Bert Hook that she did not meet her death by accident — and that she was killed elsewhere before being dumped into the river.
Slowly and patiently, they build up a picture of a woman of contradictions: a woman who harboured secret passions.
Their investigation leads them to each of the key figures in her life — her husband, daughter, estranged son, business manager.
Each have secrets of their own to hide and putative alibis that declare them incapable of committing the act of murder during the time-frame indicated by the coroner.
Yet beneath the surface of each of these individuals bubbles resentment and anger, passion and pride, that could easily have led them to not only wish Laura Pritchard dead, but to act on that desire.
As Lambert and Hook chase down leads and probe into the backgrounds of their suspects, the killer watches and waits, ready to strike again…
Watermarked is an intense thriller with many twists and turns that keep you guessing.
Praise for J.M. Gregson
'Lambert and Hook…gritty realism and hard-to-solve mysteries' — Booklist
'…the series is recommended for its gritty realism and hard-to-solve mysteries' — Booklist
'Well done, suspenseful and engaging' — Library journal
'For Morse fans grieving the recent demise of their hero Gregson makes an agreeable successor…' — Booklist
'…compelling characters who deserve the attention of procedural fans' — Booklist
James Michael Gregson taught for twenty-seven years in schools, colleges and universities before concentrating on full-time writing. He has written books on subjects as diverse as golf and Shakespeare. His other crime novels include Stranglehold and Body Politic and he is much in demand as a lecturer and public speaker. Most of his detective novels are set in his adopted county of Gloucestershire, in the attractive country of the Forest of Dean and the southern Cotswolds.
- GenresMystery
217 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 27, 2017
182 people are currently reading
99 people want to read
About the author
J.M. Gregson
64 books48 followersJames Michael Gregson taught for twenty-seven years in schools, colleges and universities before concentrating on full-time writing. He has written books on subjects as diverse as golf and Shakespeare.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 24, 2017
A woman's body is found floating down the River Severn. The body has been on the water for several days so it is not a pretty sight. Lambert and Hook must first identify the body and then interview the woman's nearest and dearest and see who might have wanted her dead. Identifying her is fairly easy as a woman fitting her description has been reported missing. Her daughter doesn't seem too upset and her husband is in Spain on a golfing holiday.
No one seems to have wanted her dead apart from her son-in-law who wants her money to bolster up his business and her down and out son who blames her for his father's breakdown and death. But things are never quite what they seem and some painstaking police work will be needed before Lambert and Hook can identify the murderer.
This is an excellent series - well written with intriguing plots and well drawn characters. The series can be read out of order. This is number seven in the series if you do want to read them in order. If you are looking for a series of crime novels with not too much violence and bad language then you could do worse than try this series or the same author's Peach and Blake series.
No one seems to have wanted her dead apart from her son-in-law who wants her money to bolster up his business and her down and out son who blames her for his father's breakdown and death. But things are never quite what they seem and some painstaking police work will be needed before Lambert and Hook can identify the murderer.
This is an excellent series - well written with intriguing plots and well drawn characters. The series can be read out of order. This is number seven in the series if you do want to read them in order. If you are looking for a series of crime novels with not too much violence and bad language then you could do worse than try this series or the same author's Peach and Blake series.
July 9, 2024
I think this makes 6 for me of this particular series, police procedurals that are just ok.
I see there are plenty of books and other series produced by this author. This one featured investigation of the suspicious death of a woman found drowned. I think I will return the others I borrowed through Kindle Unlimited and move on to something different.
Kindle Unlimited
I see there are plenty of books and other series produced by this author. This one featured investigation of the suspicious death of a woman found drowned. I think I will return the others I borrowed through Kindle Unlimited and move on to something different.
Kindle Unlimited
June 11, 2025
The body of a female is discovered in the river Severn, dead some days, strangled. Business woman , wife and mother Mrs Laura Pritchard is identified as the body. But why was she killed. Superintendent Lambert and DS Hook investigate.
An enjoyable mystery
Originally published in 1994
An enjoyable mystery
Originally published in 1994
March 12, 2017
4 and 1 / 2 stars
The Severn is the longest river in England, flowing for 210 miles. In this river, a body is found. The body is that of a woman. The cause is murder.
The pathologist believes that the woman has been in the river for about a week. Of course, the forensic evidence is badly compromised by predators and the water by the time the body is found.
Superintendent John Lambert and Detective Sergeant Bert Hook are assigned the case. The woman is identified as Laura Pritchard.
Lambert and Hook set about interviewing those who knew Mrs. Pritchard: relatives, acquaintances and employees. They discover some interesting facts. They learn she had quit her choir a year earlier without telling anyone. They learn that she has an estranged son who apparently is very difficult to locate. They learn about many alibis. They learn that not all is what it seems.
The denouement is a little anticlimactic, for I had suspected the killer from the beginning. But that doesn’t take away from the adventure of getting there. J.M. Gregson is a very good writer. The books a plotted well and move along quickly. I truly enjoyed this one. I am anxiously awaiting the next in the series.
I want to thank Netgalley and Endeavour Press for forwarding to me a copy of this delightful novel to read.
The Severn is the longest river in England, flowing for 210 miles. In this river, a body is found. The body is that of a woman. The cause is murder.
The pathologist believes that the woman has been in the river for about a week. Of course, the forensic evidence is badly compromised by predators and the water by the time the body is found.
Superintendent John Lambert and Detective Sergeant Bert Hook are assigned the case. The woman is identified as Laura Pritchard.
Lambert and Hook set about interviewing those who knew Mrs. Pritchard: relatives, acquaintances and employees. They discover some interesting facts. They learn she had quit her choir a year earlier without telling anyone. They learn that she has an estranged son who apparently is very difficult to locate. They learn about many alibis. They learn that not all is what it seems.
The denouement is a little anticlimactic, for I had suspected the killer from the beginning. But that doesn’t take away from the adventure of getting there. J.M. Gregson is a very good writer. The books a plotted well and move along quickly. I truly enjoyed this one. I am anxiously awaiting the next in the series.
I want to thank Netgalley and Endeavour Press for forwarding to me a copy of this delightful novel to read.
December 27, 2018
The body of a woman is found in the Severn river. The coroner determines she didn't die by accident. Lambert and Hook and their team start to learn about the woman in question. The more they learn, the more they discover many who hate her. Can they figure out which one did it?
Well-written story. Enjoyable.
Well-written story. Enjoyable.
May 10, 2017
I received this arc from Netgalley.
This was a pretty good read. It kept me guessing whodunit. Moves along at a fairly, steady pace. I will be reading more books by this author.
This was a pretty good read. It kept me guessing whodunit. Moves along at a fairly, steady pace. I will be reading more books by this author.
July 22, 2020
watermarked by J.M.Gregson.
A very good read. Great story. Some good characters. i did enjoy this book.4*.
A very good read. Great story. Some good characters. i did enjoy this book.4*.
October 31, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book although I worked out the villain quite early. A nice lighthearted read nevertheless. I will definitely read more of J M Gregson’s books.
April 22, 2017
This is a Lambert and Hook book, and whilst I really enjoy all the books by JM Gregson, I found this one less readable as the others. There was less of the two detectives in this one as in the others and more character development in the storyline.
Don't get me wrong, the story was excellent, with many twists and turns - I just found it a little different to what I expected.
Don't get me wrong, the story was excellent, with many twists and turns - I just found it a little different to what I expected.
May 1, 2017
Not a real thrilling mystery for me. The cops had a few suspects of who killed this women by strangulation and also her gardener later on. Of course most of the family were suspects because they all had reason to do it - for her money. But when they finally find out who killed these two people , it actually wasn't for the money if was for other reasons. , which come out at the ending of the story
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews