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Havard & Lambert Mysteries #1
Murder in the Valleys
Ex-superintendent Fabia Havard is struggling with civilian life when a local girl is found dead.
Out walking near the rain-swelled river running past her small Welsh town, she comes across the body of Amber Morgan. Fabia’s police training tells her instantly that the death is the result of foul play. But no longer in the force, all she can do is call it in.
Yet she has mixed feelings when she discovers it is her former colleague, Matt Lambert, newly promoted to chief inspector, who will head the investigation into the girl’s death.
Despite this, having known the victim, and bored with her new job as an illustrator, Fabia can’t help probing into the murder. However, her inquiries further upset the quiet of the town. Not least her neighbour, busybody Rhona Griffiths, who was seen arguing with the victim the day before her death.
Fabia’s activity bothers Matt Lambert but time and time again Fabia’s instincts are proved right. He can’t help leaning on her in order to progress the investigation but that will also involve confronting why she left the force years ago.
Can they put their differences aside and work together to bring the perpetrator to justice despite Fabia’s painful past being brought up again? Or will Fabia’s moonlighting get her into further danger?
Murder in the Valleys is set in the fictional town of Pontygwyn in the Welsh valleys under the shadow of the Black Mountains.
Out walking near the rain-swelled river running past her small Welsh town, she comes across the body of Amber Morgan. Fabia’s police training tells her instantly that the death is the result of foul play. But no longer in the force, all she can do is call it in.
Yet she has mixed feelings when she discovers it is her former colleague, Matt Lambert, newly promoted to chief inspector, who will head the investigation into the girl’s death.
Despite this, having known the victim, and bored with her new job as an illustrator, Fabia can’t help probing into the murder. However, her inquiries further upset the quiet of the town. Not least her neighbour, busybody Rhona Griffiths, who was seen arguing with the victim the day before her death.
Fabia’s activity bothers Matt Lambert but time and time again Fabia’s instincts are proved right. He can’t help leaning on her in order to progress the investigation but that will also involve confronting why she left the force years ago.
Can they put their differences aside and work together to bring the perpetrator to justice despite Fabia’s painful past being brought up again? Or will Fabia’s moonlighting get her into further danger?
Murder in the Valleys is set in the fictional town of Pontygwyn in the Welsh valleys under the shadow of the Black Mountains.
309 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 28, 2018
2028 people are currently reading
559 people want to read
About the author
Pippa McCathie
18 books65 followersSouth Wales has played a big part in Pippa's life, two of her three sons were born in Swansea and she visits close friends near Newport as often as she can. Brought up in Mauritius, she's spent a lot of her life travelling, to Guernsey, London, South Africa, South Wales, Iran and back to Guernsey. She began writing in school exercise books to entertain her friends, which resulted in dubious exam results but much laughter. She's had many poems and short stories published and, once her boys had been packed off to school, started on the novels. For the last 17 years she's taught a creative writing class, and in her spare time she's worked as a volunteer with a national charity, helped run Guernsey's local Eisteddfod, and looked after a gorgeous husband and a cowardly cat. All these activities have helped her avoid time wasting activities such as housework and gardening. Murder in the Valleys, published by The Book Folks, is the first in a series featuring Fabia Havard and Matt Lambert, who are currently Pippa's best friends.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 148 reviews
April 15, 2019
I don’t remember ever reading a book set in Wales. I know lately there are a number of recent mysteries set in various UK setting. This is a new author and narrator for me.
The book is well written. The plot twists about. The characters are interesting as is the countryside. The protagonist is a police ex-superintendent, Fabia Havard. Fabia becomes involved in a local murder and is in contact with her former colleagues. The narrator uses an accent, but I cannot determine if this is a Welsh accent as I do not recall ever hearing one. This is an enjoyable read.
I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is seven hours and forty-nine minutes. Gwen Watson does a good job narrating the book. Watson is a British voice-over artist.
The book is well written. The plot twists about. The characters are interesting as is the countryside. The protagonist is a police ex-superintendent, Fabia Havard. Fabia becomes involved in a local murder and is in contact with her former colleagues. The narrator uses an accent, but I cannot determine if this is a Welsh accent as I do not recall ever hearing one. This is an enjoyable read.
I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is seven hours and forty-nine minutes. Gwen Watson does a good job narrating the book. Watson is a British voice-over artist.
August 17, 2023
looking for something easy to read in the library late at night, the title of this caught my eye, and I chose it for the Welsh valleys 😉
it fulfilled my expectations wrt being very easy to read...
I dozed thru abit or two, but it didn't seem to matter wrt being able to follow the story 😉
I don't read much in the way of popular murder mystery/crime fiction, but I think the novel probably did all the things it was supposed to do - well dealt out clues, obvious suspects and some less obvious ones, family and community secrets being unearthed, very human/flawed/real people investigators, back stories including issues at work and angsty romance... and it was read within a day!
the writing was OK, I think, not amazing but also well enough written. there wasn't anything too painfully uncomfortable. there was some pretty cis-heteronormative stereotyping in places, esp around abit of gendered stuff and gender relations. I think I'd need to read subsequent books in the series to see how a certain dynamic plays out... or if this was kinda a one off.
there was definitely a 'message' here and there, and none too subtle... but I liked that the author was trying to proactively address some social issues within the novel.
3/3.5 stars I think 🌟🙂🌟
accessed as a local library audiobook, well read by Gwen Watson.
it fulfilled my expectations wrt being very easy to read...
I dozed thru abit or two, but it didn't seem to matter wrt being able to follow the story 😉
I don't read much in the way of popular murder mystery/crime fiction, but I think the novel probably did all the things it was supposed to do - well dealt out clues, obvious suspects and some less obvious ones, family and community secrets being unearthed, very human/flawed/real people investigators, back stories including issues at work and angsty romance... and it was read within a day!
the writing was OK, I think, not amazing but also well enough written. there wasn't anything too painfully uncomfortable. there was some pretty cis-heteronormative stereotyping in places, esp around abit of gendered stuff and gender relations. I think I'd need to read subsequent books in the series to see how a certain dynamic plays out... or if this was kinda a one off.
there was definitely a 'message' here and there, and none too subtle... but I liked that the author was trying to proactively address some social issues within the novel.
3/3.5 stars I think 🌟🙂🌟
accessed as a local library audiobook, well read by Gwen Watson.
September 27, 2024
I saw that this book was set in the area of South Wales where my father grew up, and immediately downloaded the audiobook. It was lovely to listen to the familiar Welsh accent of the valleys.
It turned out to be a good story too!
A local young woman is found dead, and the ensuing investigation uncovers secrets, lies, and corruption which goes all the way to the top.
I loved the characters, and was pleased to learn that several can be enjoyed further in the rest of the series 😊
It turned out to be a good story too!
A local young woman is found dead, and the ensuing investigation uncovers secrets, lies, and corruption which goes all the way to the top.
I loved the characters, and was pleased to learn that several can be enjoyed further in the rest of the series 😊
June 28, 2025
This was a semi-interesting story, but the pace of the narrator was all wrong. There were no pauses between character switches, or paragraphs. She spoke so quickly that I had to keep checking to see if the speed had increased.
She also was terrible at male voices. They all sounded very similar and at some points there was no difference between the male and the female voices in conversations.
With regard to the story: I knew instantly who the killer was. It was far too obvious, despite the too obvious attempts to make the reader think otherwise.
She also was terrible at male voices. They all sounded very similar and at some points there was no difference between the male and the female voices in conversations.
With regard to the story: I knew instantly who the killer was. It was far too obvious, despite the too obvious attempts to make the reader think otherwise.
Read
September 22, 2023I listened to this story and am now making my way through the series since it’s available through the local library network (love the SA one card system). It has many of the classic detective/crime elements. Retired ex-police officer who left the force under a cloud, small town murder mystery, eccentric small town characters, reconnection/reconciliation with the ex-partner come love interest. The narrator was easy enough to listen to as well, important in an audiobook. I enjoy having a series where the characters and plots are interesting enough to follow through several stories.
September 27, 2024
3.5 stars. Not a bad mystery.. guessed the killer because he was way to good to be true. The plot was good, the writing left something to be desired at point. Overall it was a pleasant read
October 28, 2019
Despite the references in the title, I didn't think this was a particularly cosy mystery, nor was the Welsh setting very vividly conveyed, however it was an enjoyable read. To me, the book fell more into the category of a standard police procedural, of which there are a lot about at the moment in book form or on the TV. Aside from a decent plot, it's the kind of book that stands or falls on how interesting the characters and their interactions are, and I thought the author did a competent job of making Fabia and Matt likable and interesting. The "will they won't they" relationship set up could last for several books! There were other good characters like the horrible Rhona to help the story along.
It's a pity that there were a few grammatical errors and clichés - rather a lot of clenched jaws and chewed bottom lips as well as my personal bugbear, the smile that doesn't reach the character's eyes - but I'd definitely read another book by this author sometime. If I could, I would have given 3.5 stars.
It's a pity that there were a few grammatical errors and clichés - rather a lot of clenched jaws and chewed bottom lips as well as my personal bugbear, the smile that doesn't reach the character's eyes - but I'd definitely read another book by this author sometime. If I could, I would have given 3.5 stars.
December 15, 2018
There has been a pletora of this type of book recently – some set in Ireland, some in the Outer Hebrides, most of them following the same storyline with a male detective and his female colleague or, in this case, ex-colleague. This, in my opinion, is one of the better ones.
The characters really come to life, from the spiteful spinster Rhona who I instantly disliked, to the publican's son who was torn between his hate of the police and his desire for the murderer to be brought to justice. I really felt for him.
I very quickly became engrossed in this story and enjoyed all the twists and turns and red herrings and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
The characters really come to life, from the spiteful spinster Rhona who I instantly disliked, to the publican's son who was torn between his hate of the police and his desire for the murderer to be brought to justice. I really felt for him.
I very quickly became engrossed in this story and enjoyed all the twists and turns and red herrings and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
May 21, 2020
"First-class thriller"
Strong characters with an absorbing story line. Setting and dialogue perfectly pitched to the Welsh countryside. A little gem. Highly recommended.
Strong characters with an absorbing story line. Setting and dialogue perfectly pitched to the Welsh countryside. A little gem. Highly recommended.
March 19, 2024
I enjoyed the rather brief descriptions of the Welsh scenery, would have liked a bit more. Liked the characters and the mystery. I’ll keep her on my list.
October 7, 2024
I can’t give it one star because I reserve that to books I cannot finish (though I only finished to see if I was correct in guessing the murderer) and also because the actual storyline is good, actually perfect for a cosy mystery. The other saving grace was that I listened to the audio book and the narrator had a lovely Welsh voice. Still, it scraped into two stars and not because I guessed the murderer and the reason from the start. Two stars because the writing was so poor, and for this I blame the editor.
The author clearly hasn’t learnt that you show, don’t tell what people are like or are thinking. So many times, characters were guessing what others were thinking. And the adverbs for how people speak or enter a room. Maybe the author knows and she is writing for a less well-read audience who has to have everything spelt out?
Then we have the phone issues. The ex-detective calls the detective several times to his police station where a junior answers. Umm, we are in the era of mobiles. It seems that by the third call, the author or editor realises this and all of a sudden throws in the solution - his mobile phone doesn’t work! But why did she call the station earlier? Even after establishing that she still had his number!
Then there’s contrived “cliffhangers”. She finds a new clue. End of chapter! She suddenly remembers something. End of chapter! And so on. And then you have to wait ages until the clue or memory is revealed.
And then there’s the “oh someone has critical info” but I have to do something else and can’t send a different copper? Why are crucial clues not explained on the phone? Why must everything be said in person? Not even a brief outline?
As to the senior detectives - they are so dumb. Just not believable. See above for some reasons.
Lastly, can we not have someone enter the house of the person they know is the murderer of two people alone. Of course, she didn’t hear the door open! FFS.
The author clearly hasn’t learnt that you show, don’t tell what people are like or are thinking. So many times, characters were guessing what others were thinking. And the adverbs for how people speak or enter a room. Maybe the author knows and she is writing for a less well-read audience who has to have everything spelt out?
Then we have the phone issues. The ex-detective calls the detective several times to his police station where a junior answers. Umm, we are in the era of mobiles. It seems that by the third call, the author or editor realises this and all of a sudden throws in the solution - his mobile phone doesn’t work! But why did she call the station earlier? Even after establishing that she still had his number!
Then there’s contrived “cliffhangers”. She finds a new clue. End of chapter! She suddenly remembers something. End of chapter! And so on. And then you have to wait ages until the clue or memory is revealed.
And then there’s the “oh someone has critical info” but I have to do something else and can’t send a different copper? Why are crucial clues not explained on the phone? Why must everything be said in person? Not even a brief outline?
As to the senior detectives - they are so dumb. Just not believable. See above for some reasons.
Lastly, can we not have someone enter the house of the person they know is the murderer of two people alone. Of course, she didn’t hear the door open! FFS.
February 7, 2019
Very enjoyable, held ones attention from the beginning and the murderer remained hidden until the end which added to the enjoyment. Hopefully will find more books by this author. All her characters were very believable. Definitely a book to be recommended to friends. Having the various landmarks described added to the enjoyment.
January 6, 2019
Picked Up Nicely
I almost quit reading after the first chapter or two. They felt awkward and stilted as the author tried to set up the situation and characters. Much better to show than tell. However, things did pick up and the resolution was both surprising and satisfying.
I almost quit reading after the first chapter or two. They felt awkward and stilted as the author tried to set up the situation and characters. Much better to show than tell. However, things did pick up and the resolution was both surprising and satisfying.
March 23, 2021
A very gentle murder mystery
December 1, 2024
2.5 rounded up. This one couldn’t jerk my attention and I’m not sure why. I listened on audio but it felt like I was skimming the book. Rounded up because it’s probably me.
December 10, 2024
#1 KINDLE
August 12, 2020
Light English murder mystery.
March 31, 2024
Acquired Kindle edition when offered free on Amazon.
This was one of those books I really, really wanted to like. Maybe because of that desire, I pushed through to finish it, but it was not an enjoyable exercise.
Other than the Welsh place names, I never got any real sense of this being in Wales. Nor did I really consider it a "cozy" mystery. But those are minor points, not worth more than a total of a half star deduction. The rest of it? Well, that's the point of this review.
The story is good. The background to the story is good. The mystery is solid, with the killer not too terribly obvious. The main characters, however, are weak and unlikable; and the writing is dreadful.
Let's start with those characters. Fabia Havard is a recently "retired" police superintendent now earning a living as a book illustrator and living in the small Welsh town of Pontygwyn. Fabia is forty-ish, so her retirement is not due to age. She's been on extended "sick leave" for approximately two years, with no real explanation for how she's managed to qualify for this extended time off, only that she did it to protect her pension (apparently). There's no mention of any kind of physical injury in the line of duty, nor psychological trauma, though apparently there were some unpleasant accusations involving fraud . . . or something . . . and she was "allowed" to take this extended leave.
Eventually, toward the end of the book, we learn that . Even before the revelation of why she didn't persist, she came across as weak and unwilling to defend herself against the charges, and then the explanation didn't make her seem any stronger. Instead, it made her appear to lack scruples, willing to let law enforcement officials get away with crimes. In a word, ick.
Then there's Chief Inspector Matt Lambert, who is even more wishy-washy than Fabia. She was his supervisor at the time the whole fraud investigation went down, and he had visions of their becoming more than professional colleagues, even though she was five years older than he. Nothing came of it, and when she left the force he was on another assignment so never got the details of what happened. And he never questioned it.
Through the whole book, this background split is a constant theme. with Fabia pissed off at Matt for not contacting her all this time or asking what happened, and Matt moaning to himself over why he didn't do more to find out what happened and wanting to get back together with her. It got very tedious, as though they were adolescents not able to get over a tiff in spite of their crush. The fact that both of them were police officers who should have been a little more emotionally mature made it all the more annoying.
When they did finally get around to having a serious conversation about it, all the revelations seemed anti-climactic. Neither of them acted very mature at the time, but they don't seem to have grown up very much since then either.
One thing about the characterization of these two that I did like was the emphasis on their different technique for crime solving: Fabia is the intuitive one, Matt the by-the-book "just the facts" one. It would have been nice, however, if author McCathie had developed this a little more rather than just constantly stating it. "Show, don't tell." Even when Matt listened to his gut instincts, the contrast didn't have any dramatic impact. And when Fabia listened to her own, she ended up acting TSTL.
Most of the other characters had about as much depth as cardboard, with the exceptions of the local vicar Catherine "Cath" Temple and Matt's Detective Sergeant Dilys Bevan.
Then there was the writing, the technical aspect of the prose. This more than anything had me all too frequently setting the book aside because my eyeballs were exhausted from rolling.
In the first part of the book, the one word that jumped out at me for over-use was "snapped," and it was so glaring that it made me unable to get lost in the narrative. He snapped, she snapped, Rhona snapped, Pat Curtis snapped. You don't need to know who these people are, just that the most common speech verb is "snapped." Lots of ordinary "said"s, with lots of ordinary adverbs, but it was those "snapped" verbs that stood out like sore thumbs.
Maybe if it hadn't been for so many lines of dialogue being snapped, I might not have noticed all the comma splices. They were so common that I even took the time to research whether that was an acceptable construction in British English. Guess what? It's not. And they were everywhere in Murder in the Valleys. Sometimes not just two independent clauses were spliced with a comma; sometimes there were three! Is there an emoji for tearing out one's hair?
I've already mentioned the said-plus-adverb speech tags; there were also a lot of unnecessary naked "said"s. Maybe this doesn't bother anyone else, but it bothers me! I want to hear the voices, the emotions in the words, without being told how the speaker is speaking. And if it's already clear who is speaking, why throw in "he said"?
Probably the worst aspect of the shoddy writing was the constant info-dumping via interminable paragraphs, often more than a Kindle page long. Sometimes they were done via stilted dialogue, as in the conversation between Fabia and Matt regarding the reason for her departure from the police force, but there were several others. While backstory is important, there are better ways to do it than massive blocks of text, even if wrapped in quotation marks.
Does this review read like a teacher's blue-penciling of a student's paper? Or an editor's editing? I feel like a teacher or an editor when I read books like this, especially those that have a foundation of a decent plot but then are poorly executed. And of course this review is only my opinion. However . . . .
There was one other aspect to the writing of this book that had me almost ready to give it a one-star rating. This could be the fault of the editors -- The Book Folks is a small, London-based publisher of mysteries and thrillers -- and certainly they do have some responsibility. (Those comma splices, after all.) I'm going to put this part of the review behind a spoiler tag because . . . well, because.
I have another book from later in the series, but I'm not likely to waste my time with it. The writing isn't compelling, the recurring main characters are meh (and their relationship is juvenile), and I don't want to go through that malarkey of being cheated out of crucial information.
If you don't mind the unprofessional writing, the info dumps, and the possibility that you won't be given sufficient information to match wits with Fabia and Matt, if you're only interested in the plot, well, you might like this.
Rounded up to two stars from 1.5 solely on the basis of the plot. The writing was a huge thumbs down.
This was one of those books I really, really wanted to like. Maybe because of that desire, I pushed through to finish it, but it was not an enjoyable exercise.
Other than the Welsh place names, I never got any real sense of this being in Wales. Nor did I really consider it a "cozy" mystery. But those are minor points, not worth more than a total of a half star deduction. The rest of it? Well, that's the point of this review.
The story is good. The background to the story is good. The mystery is solid, with the killer not too terribly obvious. The main characters, however, are weak and unlikable; and the writing is dreadful.
Let's start with those characters. Fabia Havard is a recently "retired" police superintendent now earning a living as a book illustrator and living in the small Welsh town of Pontygwyn. Fabia is forty-ish, so her retirement is not due to age. She's been on extended "sick leave" for approximately two years, with no real explanation for how she's managed to qualify for this extended time off, only that she did it to protect her pension (apparently). There's no mention of any kind of physical injury in the line of duty, nor psychological trauma, though apparently there were some unpleasant accusations involving fraud . . . or something . . . and she was "allowed" to take this extended leave.
Eventually, toward the end of the book, we learn that . Even before the revelation of why she didn't persist, she came across as weak and unwilling to defend herself against the charges, and then the explanation didn't make her seem any stronger. Instead, it made her appear to lack scruples, willing to let law enforcement officials get away with crimes. In a word, ick.
Then there's Chief Inspector Matt Lambert, who is even more wishy-washy than Fabia. She was his supervisor at the time the whole fraud investigation went down, and he had visions of their becoming more than professional colleagues, even though she was five years older than he. Nothing came of it, and when she left the force he was on another assignment so never got the details of what happened. And he never questioned it.
Through the whole book, this background split is a constant theme. with Fabia pissed off at Matt for not contacting her all this time or asking what happened, and Matt moaning to himself over why he didn't do more to find out what happened and wanting to get back together with her. It got very tedious, as though they were adolescents not able to get over a tiff in spite of their crush. The fact that both of them were police officers who should have been a little more emotionally mature made it all the more annoying.
When they did finally get around to having a serious conversation about it, all the revelations seemed anti-climactic. Neither of them acted very mature at the time, but they don't seem to have grown up very much since then either.
One thing about the characterization of these two that I did like was the emphasis on their different technique for crime solving: Fabia is the intuitive one, Matt the by-the-book "just the facts" one. It would have been nice, however, if author McCathie had developed this a little more rather than just constantly stating it. "Show, don't tell." Even when Matt listened to his gut instincts, the contrast didn't have any dramatic impact. And when Fabia listened to her own, she ended up acting TSTL.
Most of the other characters had about as much depth as cardboard, with the exceptions of the local vicar Catherine "Cath" Temple and Matt's Detective Sergeant Dilys Bevan.
Then there was the writing, the technical aspect of the prose. This more than anything had me all too frequently setting the book aside because my eyeballs were exhausted from rolling.
In the first part of the book, the one word that jumped out at me for over-use was "snapped," and it was so glaring that it made me unable to get lost in the narrative. He snapped, she snapped, Rhona snapped, Pat Curtis snapped. You don't need to know who these people are, just that the most common speech verb is "snapped." Lots of ordinary "said"s, with lots of ordinary adverbs, but it was those "snapped" verbs that stood out like sore thumbs.
Maybe if it hadn't been for so many lines of dialogue being snapped, I might not have noticed all the comma splices. They were so common that I even took the time to research whether that was an acceptable construction in British English. Guess what? It's not. And they were everywhere in Murder in the Valleys. Sometimes not just two independent clauses were spliced with a comma; sometimes there were three! Is there an emoji for tearing out one's hair?
I've already mentioned the said-plus-adverb speech tags; there were also a lot of unnecessary naked "said"s. Maybe this doesn't bother anyone else, but it bothers me! I want to hear the voices, the emotions in the words, without being told how the speaker is speaking. And if it's already clear who is speaking, why throw in "he said"?
Probably the worst aspect of the shoddy writing was the constant info-dumping via interminable paragraphs, often more than a Kindle page long. Sometimes they were done via stilted dialogue, as in the conversation between Fabia and Matt regarding the reason for her departure from the police force, but there were several others. While backstory is important, there are better ways to do it than massive blocks of text, even if wrapped in quotation marks.
Does this review read like a teacher's blue-penciling of a student's paper? Or an editor's editing? I feel like a teacher or an editor when I read books like this, especially those that have a foundation of a decent plot but then are poorly executed. And of course this review is only my opinion. However . . . .
There was one other aspect to the writing of this book that had me almost ready to give it a one-star rating. This could be the fault of the editors -- The Book Folks is a small, London-based publisher of mysteries and thrillers -- and certainly they do have some responsibility. (Those comma splices, after all.) I'm going to put this part of the review behind a spoiler tag because . . . well, because.
I have another book from later in the series, but I'm not likely to waste my time with it. The writing isn't compelling, the recurring main characters are meh (and their relationship is juvenile), and I don't want to go through that malarkey of being cheated out of crucial information.
If you don't mind the unprofessional writing, the info dumps, and the possibility that you won't be given sufficient information to match wits with Fabia and Matt, if you're only interested in the plot, well, you might like this.
Rounded up to two stars from 1.5 solely on the basis of the plot. The writing was a huge thumbs down.
July 5, 2019
Early derivative
Characters rather pedestrian and narrowly drawn with the exception of vicar. Setting of South Wales ignored. Story very ordinary. Sadly not new.
Characters rather pedestrian and narrowly drawn with the exception of vicar. Setting of South Wales ignored. Story very ordinary. Sadly not new.
January 7, 2023
Having loved the second book in the series, I had to read the first, which introduces Fabia Havard, a former superintendent, and DCI Matt Lambert.
When a young woman is brutally murdered and dumped in the river, Fabia’s the first to discover the body. Lambert and his team are soon on the way. It’s clear from the start that these two have unresolved issues. While Fabia may no longer be in the police, none of her instincts and experience has deserted her. She also knows many of the locals and potential suspects for the murder.
As both characters make their own enquiries to investigate the murder, they uncover poison pen letters, a secret diary and all manner of dodgy dealings among some of the richer elements of the village. It all makes for a complicated investigation that threatens to get out of control when a second death occurs in the local church.
I particularly enjoyed Fabia’s frustration, which results from her not being in the police and having the powers and authority to investigate. She has to use all her skills and local knowledge to uncover evidence and follow her hunches. Lambert is more considered and bound by procedure, but frustrated and often annoyed by Fabia’s interest and action. The conflict adds another layer to the story, as does the mystery of why she retired early from the police.
While it’s a fairly standard murder mystery story, the characters, conflicts, village setting and the author’s skill and writing lift it above the average crime novel and keep you turning the pages to the exciting climax and satisfying wrap up.
If you enjoy a good cosy mystery with an intriguing story and great characters, this is highly recommended. Having read the first two novels, I’m now looking forward to reading the rest.
When a young woman is brutally murdered and dumped in the river, Fabia’s the first to discover the body. Lambert and his team are soon on the way. It’s clear from the start that these two have unresolved issues. While Fabia may no longer be in the police, none of her instincts and experience has deserted her. She also knows many of the locals and potential suspects for the murder.
As both characters make their own enquiries to investigate the murder, they uncover poison pen letters, a secret diary and all manner of dodgy dealings among some of the richer elements of the village. It all makes for a complicated investigation that threatens to get out of control when a second death occurs in the local church.
I particularly enjoyed Fabia’s frustration, which results from her not being in the police and having the powers and authority to investigate. She has to use all her skills and local knowledge to uncover evidence and follow her hunches. Lambert is more considered and bound by procedure, but frustrated and often annoyed by Fabia’s interest and action. The conflict adds another layer to the story, as does the mystery of why she retired early from the police.
While it’s a fairly standard murder mystery story, the characters, conflicts, village setting and the author’s skill and writing lift it above the average crime novel and keep you turning the pages to the exciting climax and satisfying wrap up.
If you enjoy a good cosy mystery with an intriguing story and great characters, this is highly recommended. Having read the first two novels, I’m now looking forward to reading the rest.
March 24, 2021
Finally, a Kindle Unlimited book that is a real book, a worth reading Cozy, that is more than an hour in length and on a 6th grade readers level.
I really enjoyed this book, it is more lenghty than a lot of the cozys found in free Kindle options. The South Wales setting is charming, picturesque and intriguing.
The main Characters are realistic, and likeable . Not flawless, as both lead players here have issues going on. But that's part of this book and the ones to follow.
The mystery her is welll plotted out, many twists and turns lead you on a guessing game as to the killer.
What I enjoy in a cozy is present here, the neighborhood, the scenery, the vicar, the hills and dales, and of course, the cuppa .
I really enjoyed this book, it is more lenghty than a lot of the cozys found in free Kindle options. The South Wales setting is charming, picturesque and intriguing.
The main Characters are realistic, and likeable . Not flawless, as both lead players here have issues going on. But that's part of this book and the ones to follow.
The mystery her is welll plotted out, many twists and turns lead you on a guessing game as to the killer.
What I enjoy in a cozy is present here, the neighborhood, the scenery, the vicar, the hills and dales, and of course, the cuppa .
July 30, 2019
This was much better than I expected. I have read a lot of the UK police genre. This story takes place in Wales but it could be anywhere. The country didn’t play much of a part in the story.
A former Superintendent was forced to leave the police under possibly trumped up circumstances. There’s a murder in her small town and her former colleague and lover(?) is sent to investigate.
I liked the characters in this book: the police officers, the townspeople alike. The narrator of the audiobook had a good voice but there were several mispronunciations.
I look forward to the next book. I await its release as an audiobook.
A former Superintendent was forced to leave the police under possibly trumped up circumstances. There’s a murder in her small town and her former colleague and lover(?) is sent to investigate.
I liked the characters in this book: the police officers, the townspeople alike. The narrator of the audiobook had a good voice but there were several mispronunciations.
I look forward to the next book. I await its release as an audiobook.
August 11, 2020
Here is for hoping the series gets better!!!
Have to say this book had a shaky beginning. the first 15% of the book was really hard to get through. I thought the writing poor aned unpolished and nealy gave up on it. Glad I stuck with it... the characters became more rounded, although, I do feel the main male charachter was not quite formed enough. I could never quite connect with him until much later in the book. He was just not very likeable.
Nonetheless... I am hoping to become better acquainted with him and Harvard durig the next two books sitting here!!
Should maybe be giving this a 3 to 3.5 star rating, but I am a fan of this genre!!!
Have to say this book had a shaky beginning. the first 15% of the book was really hard to get through. I thought the writing poor aned unpolished and nealy gave up on it. Glad I stuck with it... the characters became more rounded, although, I do feel the main male charachter was not quite formed enough. I could never quite connect with him until much later in the book. He was just not very likeable.
Nonetheless... I am hoping to become better acquainted with him and Harvard durig the next two books sitting here!!
Should maybe be giving this a 3 to 3.5 star rating, but I am a fan of this genre!!!
April 5, 2021
I cannot get back to Wales for another 18 months and for solace I'm reading a number of books that happen in Wales or are written by Welsh writers. I came across this title when looking at The Book Folks.
Murder in the Valleys is set in Southern Wales. Former superintendent Fabia Harvard is the central character in this cozy mystery some change of viewpoint to her former colleague Matt Lambert who is still on the police force. After years of silence, they are thrown together again when a young local woman is found dead in a river. Corruption, arrogance, another murder also unfold.
It is a good story and I will be reading the rest in the series.
Murder in the Valleys is set in Southern Wales. Former superintendent Fabia Harvard is the central character in this cozy mystery some change of viewpoint to her former colleague Matt Lambert who is still on the police force. After years of silence, they are thrown together again when a young local woman is found dead in a river. Corruption, arrogance, another murder also unfold.
It is a good story and I will be reading the rest in the series.
September 24, 2019
This book is DNF. I tried to read it more than once and just did not like the writing nor the characters.
Read
August 19, 2019Ex-superintendent Fabia Havard is struggling with civilian life when a local girl is found dead.
Out walking near the rain-swelled river running past her small Welsh town, she comes across the body of Amber Morgan. Fabia’s police training tells her instantly that the death is the result of foul play. But no longer in the force, all she can do is call it in.
Yet she has mixed feelings when she discovers it is her former colleague, Matt Lambert, newly promoted to chief inspector, who will head the investigation into the girl’s death.
Despite this, having known the victim, and bored with her new job as an illustrator, Fabia can’t help probing into the murder. However, her inquiries further upset the quiet of the town. Not least her neighbour, busybody Rhona Griffiths, who was seen arguing with the victim the day before her death.
Fabia’s activity bothers Matt Lambert but time and time again Fabia’s instincts are proved right. He can’t help leaning on her in order to progress the investigation but that will also involve confronting why she left the force years ago.
Can they put their differences aside and work together to bring the perpetrator to justice despite Fabia’s painful past being brought up again? Or will Fabia’s moonlighting get her into further danger?
MURDER IN THE VALLEYS is set in the fictional town of Pontygwyn in the Welsh valleys under the shadow of the Black Mountains. It will appeal to readers who like traditional whodunnits, those who like the landscape, atmosphere and people of South Wales, and everyone who likes a good read that keeps you turning the page.
MURDER IN THE VALLEYS is FREE with Kindle Unlimited and coming soon to paperback.
Good
Out walking near the rain-swelled river running past her small Welsh town, she comes across the body of Amber Morgan. Fabia’s police training tells her instantly that the death is the result of foul play. But no longer in the force, all she can do is call it in.
Yet she has mixed feelings when she discovers it is her former colleague, Matt Lambert, newly promoted to chief inspector, who will head the investigation into the girl’s death.
Despite this, having known the victim, and bored with her new job as an illustrator, Fabia can’t help probing into the murder. However, her inquiries further upset the quiet of the town. Not least her neighbour, busybody Rhona Griffiths, who was seen arguing with the victim the day before her death.
Fabia’s activity bothers Matt Lambert but time and time again Fabia’s instincts are proved right. He can’t help leaning on her in order to progress the investigation but that will also involve confronting why she left the force years ago.
Can they put their differences aside and work together to bring the perpetrator to justice despite Fabia’s painful past being brought up again? Or will Fabia’s moonlighting get her into further danger?
MURDER IN THE VALLEYS is set in the fictional town of Pontygwyn in the Welsh valleys under the shadow of the Black Mountains. It will appeal to readers who like traditional whodunnits, those who like the landscape, atmosphere and people of South Wales, and everyone who likes a good read that keeps you turning the page.
MURDER IN THE VALLEYS is FREE with Kindle Unlimited and coming soon to paperback.
Good
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 18, 2024
Murder in the Valleys is the first book in the series about a police detective in Wales and a former police detective who left the service under a cloud of suspicion. Fabia is now an artist and she discovers the body of a young teenager, a young woman she liked quite a bit. Matt is assigned to the case and he sees fabia for the first time in a couple years since she left the force. He loved her then and she loved him but the estrangement is complete.
Matt relies on fabia to fill in some of the community background the details of the people people he doesn't know. Who murdered young Amber? A suspected drug dealer, a politician she was having an affair with ,or one of her friends, there are plenty of suspects.
The mystery is fair and complex enough to keep my interest. I like the characters. I think this could be an interesting series with you know the mysteries plus the entanglement of Matt and fabia and how their relationship May eventually work out. But I find the writing very annoying.
I prefer writers who show instead of telling. I don't want to be in somebody's head all the time. I don't want to know the thought processes of minor characters. The writer should narrate their actions, not their thoughts. It drives me nuts.
When a writer insists on explaining why people think the way they do what they're thinking while they're doing something to me, it feels like the author doesn't think much of my ability to think for myself. She doesn't trust me to figure it out. She has to tell me exactly how people feel so that I know exactly what she wants me to know with no element of my own involvement. My own deducting or induction no. It's just all her laying it out but she takes the mystery out of the mystery.
Matt relies on fabia to fill in some of the community background the details of the people people he doesn't know. Who murdered young Amber? A suspected drug dealer, a politician she was having an affair with ,or one of her friends, there are plenty of suspects.
The mystery is fair and complex enough to keep my interest. I like the characters. I think this could be an interesting series with you know the mysteries plus the entanglement of Matt and fabia and how their relationship May eventually work out. But I find the writing very annoying.
I prefer writers who show instead of telling. I don't want to be in somebody's head all the time. I don't want to know the thought processes of minor characters. The writer should narrate their actions, not their thoughts. It drives me nuts.
When a writer insists on explaining why people think the way they do what they're thinking while they're doing something to me, it feels like the author doesn't think much of my ability to think for myself. She doesn't trust me to figure it out. She has to tell me exactly how people feel so that I know exactly what she wants me to know with no element of my own involvement. My own deducting or induction no. It's just all her laying it out but she takes the mystery out of the mystery.
February 1, 2024
3.5 rounded up because I'm feeling generous and I guess I will read #2. The audio narration was good. The writing was fine. The case was interesting. The setting in Wales was a bonus. On the negative side, it was another of those detective stories in which good detectives were ridiculously immature emotionally. I believe that is because some authors think that readers want some totally unreasonable and unnecessary personal drama. Also, lots of problems and significant danger was caused because a Superintendent's (!?) cell phone wasn't working properly and for several days!? This was written in 2018 and I am sure any officer in the UK of that rank would make sure his phone was working while on a murder case. Also, he could have borrowed someone's phone. The author certainly must have done that so there could be that danger and suspense. If #2 isn't better in those 2 areas, I will not continue.
July 23, 2020
A promising debut mystery. Fabia Havard is a former police superintendent who retired/resigned under somewhat dodgy circumstances. She lives in South Wales and has become an illustrator, although is unable to keep from being resentful about how she was forced out of the police force. Two years after her resignation she has become reinvolved with Superintendent Matt Lambert, whom she had been attracted to, but their last meeting devolved into a terrible fight. There’s now been the murder of an artistic but petulant teen in her town and because Fabia has been friendly with her, she wants to see justice done. The tension between Fabia and Matt is a little melodramatic, but it does tie in very well with the both deaths, and an attack on Fabia at the end. I’m looking forward to next two.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 13, 2025
3.5 stars. This book wasn't badly written, but it did have a few tropes that kind of set me off personally: . So due to those I'm unfortunately rounding down, but that's just me. I also just finished a series set in Wales and I got none of the sense of place in this book that I did there. I was actually surprised to find out at some point partway through that that's where they were. It seemed like it could have been just about any small town in the UK. I may try another one sometime.
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