What Lies Beneath

Rutland #1

by Adam Croft

A peaceful Sunday morning in Rutland is shattered when a dead body is discovered on the rocks at Normanton Church.

The victim has been laid out in a crucifixion pose, facing the altar. DI Caroline Hills is certain there's a religious connection - one which threatens the tranquility of life in the area.

The killer has gone to extraordinary lengths to make the symbolism clear. And the deaths will continue until Caroline and DS Dexter Antoine uncover the truth behind the dark secret - and what lies beneath.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Thriller, Audiobook, Ebooks, Suspense

312 pages, Paperback

First published July 28, 2020

About the author

With more than half a million books sold to date, Adam Croft is one of the most successful independently published authors in the world, and one of the biggest selling authors of the past year.

Following his 2015 worldwide bestseller Her Last Tomorrow, his psychological thrillers were bought by Thomas & Mercer, an imprint of Amazon Publishing. Prior to the Amazon deal, Her Last Tomorrow sold more than 150,000 copies across all platforms and became one of the bestselling books of the year, reaching the top 10 in the overall Amazon Kindle chart and peaking at number 12 in the combined paperback fiction and non-fiction chart.

His Knight & Culverhouse crime thriller series has sold more than 250,000 copies worldwide, with his Kempston Hardwick mystery books being adapted as audio plays starring some of the biggest names in British TV.

In 2016, the Knight & Culverhouse Box Set reached number 1 in Canada, knocking J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child off the top spot only weeks after Her Last Tomorrow was also number 1 in Canada.

During the summer of 2016, two of Adam’s books hit the USA Today bestseller list only weeks apart, making them two of the most-purchased books in the United States over the summer.

Before writing full time, Adam had previously worked as an internet marketing consultant, delivery driver and professional actor.

Adam has been featured on BBC Radio, The Guardian, The Huffington Post, The Bookseller and a number of other news and media outl

Reviews

[Ant Koplowitz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure where to start with this review.

I wanted to like this book - the blurb on the back sold it to me, plus the numerous positive reviews and a great cover, plus the description of the central mystery - but for some reason it just didn't all hang together. First off, I found the detective Caroline Hills a very unsympathetic character - a big chip on her shoulder which can't just have been due to her health problems. The police investigation seemed unconvincing and shallow - not helped by some overly short chapters where a scene was established, but concluded in the blink of an eye. I'm not really sure how they managed to solve the mystery- possibly divine intervention - but of course, it was all to do with history and the past! After arresting what felt like half the population of Rutland on one of her intuitive hunches, her sergeant finally pulls all the pieces together and we have a frankly daft conclusion that lacks any kind of credibility (even allowing for the necessary dramatic licence). The whole thing reminded me of one of those clunky police dramas that ITV produce with such frequency.

Looking at the other reviews on here, I think I must have been reading a different book - I'm not sure how so many of them were won over with this novel. Or perhaps I'm wrong and it was great, but I just didn't get it.

© Koplowitz 2021

[Maureen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weak, predictable plot and shallow characters, including the main character who was just unlikeable. She's a nasty wife which would be ok if she weren't also a very iffy detective and boss. Not a whole lot of redeeming, interesting qualities. Why on earth would she blame the murderer for the worst two weeks of her life (her words) if she had been a senior detective in London with gobs of experience with violent criminals? Why would a seasoned professional bring her personal issues (ridiculous and unnecessary sidebar -what was the point?) to bear on the murderer's character? Why conflate the two? Finally the writing... ok, ok, her son was bullied in school - I got it the first time. Didn't need to read it over and over again. There were lots of examples of mindless repetition. Bottom line, I didn't buy any of this story line and am a little gobsmacked by all the positive reviews.

[NILTON TEIXEIRA · Rating 3 out of 5]

“What Lies Beneath” (book 1 of Rutland series), by Adam Croft

3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I thought that the concept was very good.
But I found the plot to be very weak.
Also, the development of the storyline wasn’t that thrilling.
The main character may not very likeable to other readers but I didn’t mind. She actually warmed up to me, once she disclosed her afflictions.
But I enjoyed the writing and the interactions between DI Caroline and DS Dexter.
There is more drama than mystery.
The investigation process was also very weak, but not much effort was necessary because it seemed that the answers would just fall into her lap.
Also the chapters were too short. There was a great momentum at the end of a chapter to be destroyed by introducing a new chapter.
Sixty six chapters for such a small book are too many, in my opinion.
But this was entertaining, especially the audiobook, which I listened as I read the e-book.

e-book (Kobo): 204 pages, 55k words

Audiobook narrated by Andy Nyman: 5:19h (normal speed

[Emma Fleet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is set at the church I got married in so I had to read it, I loved it, finished it in one sitting!

[Steve Black · Rating 2 out of 5]

I seem to be in a minority, but I really didn't think much of this book. I read the second in the series first, and thought it had potential, then went back to the start.
I live not too far from Oakham, so the location was an attraction for me. Apart from that, I found the book very disappointing. I really am totally fed up with detective stories featuring a female lead who keeps secrets from her team and family, doesn't communicate and regularly breaches procedure. The other characters are not really developed at all. The plot is a bit convoluted and there is never much of a case against any of the suspects.
I finished it, only because of the familiarity of the location, and in truth I couldn't wait to get it read so i could move onto something else.
No more of this series for me, the greatest mystery is how this series ever became popular in the first place.

[Barbara Gillan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was really hard to finish. The characters were not developed at all so there was no investment in any of them. The main character was extremely unbelievable as was the plot. The dialogue was overdone and, at times, juvenile. I skipped through many chapters just to get to the end as the author just rehashed scenarios over and over until I thought I would scream. It was a chore to finish.

[Linda Strong · Rating 4 out of 5]

DI Caroline Hills and her team are called to investigate the death of a man discovered on the rocks around the Normanton Church. The victim is laid out in crucifixion pose, facing the altar. He evidently was hit in the head and then strangled.

All evidence points to this having a religious connection... and he's not the only one to die.

Hills and DS Dexter Antoine know the killings will continue until they discover the truth.

The plot is well written, characters are deftly drawn. I enjoyed how history played large part in investigating. Multiple suspects are introduced, all who may have a motive for wanting the victim dead. A second story line running parallel involves a secret that Hills has kept, not only from her husband and children, but also from her team members.

Warning ... there is a cliff hanger. The good news is that Book 2 will be available in a few short months.

Many thanks to the author for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok we get it, it’s set in Rutland.

[C.Edwards · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't be fooled by the good reviews, they have been written by people nostalgic for the area the book is set in as far as I can see. The prose is poor, the devices are weak and obvious. The central plot is laboured, there is a lot of repetition and poor description. Not a spoiler as it's early in the book.
The main protagonist thinks it's surprising that a black man from Leicester has read "literature" - (sorry what century is this?). The great work of literature he read was "Gullivers travels".

There are other moments that say a lot more about the author than the plot, such as the 2 main characters passing a (paraphrasing as I am unsure of the precise phraseology) doddery old Gardener. This is mentioned twice, with not a spot more detail about the gardener, but with a character finding it amusing: I mean, what was funny, someone gardening or an older person gardening?
At another point a local historian is described as "mad as a box of frogs" with no justification shown in his speech or actions. In fact the whole book is tell not show. POSSIBLE SPOILER The culprit is caught because they break into the cp's house and write a note explaining what they did, and why that didn't make them a bad person. Mind you it's a good job they did, because the detective work is as poor as the prose in this book.

[Natalie "Curling up with a Coffee and a Kindle" Laird · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook of this title.
This was my first book by Croft, despite having several of his previous books on my never ending TBR!
I loved this beginning to a new series! Croft manages to capture the atmosphere and community lifestyle of Rutland perfectly, and weaves a murder mystery seamlessly into that setting.
The plot was fast and intriguing and I loved the characters of the detectives! I look forward to the next installment in the series.

[Lavins · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars rounded up

So the killer had to leave them a letter explaining them how he did the murders, cause the overqualified detective couldn't figure it out for the life of her.

But what really annoyed me is that DI Caroline Hills was blaming the killer for her being a complete mean, rude, coward wife. She deliberately lied for months to her husband, she's snappy and acting like a total jerk but hey...it was all the killer's fault cause HE made her life a living hell in the last 2 weeks because she couldn't catch him. I am not even joking. That's literally what she says repeatedly in the end. Especially when she decides to play the hero card goes RUNNING by herself, not even calling back up, to catch the killer. By that time, I was rooting for the killer. That would have made this series better.

I'll give this series one more chance. One more book.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. I live in Rutland, the smallest county in England , so this was fascinating for me. Did make all of us residents seem a little odd at times! 😂

I liked all of the characters and look forward to reading book number two.

If you're a lover of short chapters.... read on🙂🤥

[Simon Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a little conflicted on this, hence the three stars. In some respects, it can’t have been a bad book as I think I enjoyed it and read it (for me) relatively quickly. However, I have lingering doubts about what actually happened, why, and by whom they were perpetrated (motive). In fact, at the final reveal, I couldn’t even recall what impact the main protagonist had had on the story. I’ll reserve final judgement on the author and the series until I’ve read the second book but it needs to be a little deeper than this, I think. If you want some ‘beach-type-not-really-concentrating’ novel then it may well fit perfectly. If you want something deep and thought-provoking with characters you can root for, and feel a connection with, then, like me, you may feel disappointed. For example, I couldn’t care less if DI Caroline Hills is in book 2 or not. Dexter is ok as her sidekick but I get nothing for Hills or her family. Personal strifes all seemed inconsequential.
This review is a little rambling but reflects my conflictions at this point.

[Agnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not the first book I have read by Croft so when it was available I just went ahead and bought it. And now I am hooked on Rutland crimes.

Having read it completely from start to finish (I didn’t go to the end to find out who did It) and loved Caroline Hill, her family and her co-workers I am totally hooked.

The story of her insistence in finding out who the killer is, and why he killed despite her own family problems was a dedication beyond words. I loved and hated this book...loved the characters and story, hated that it ended with me wanting more. #fivestars #adamcroft #whatliesbeneath

And so the only remedy to that is to pre-order book #2...which I did. Bravo Adam...you never disappoint. #fivestars

[Jo Doyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yes the author did his research into the history of Rutland water but that was about it. Certainly won’t be reading the next book in the series.

[Anthony Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

This has the raw material for a good detective novel: driven female DI, Caroline Hills, who’s recently taken over the running of a small team in Rutland; unusual location; a sensible Afro-Caribbean Leicester lad, Dexter Antoine, as her DS; two bodies; any number of obvious suspects… etc etc

However, I didn’t think Adam Croft had the skills to pull it together. In terms of the story, it’s not long before the reader realises Hills is barking up the wrong tree and that Dexter, brought up in the area, has a sharper sense of what may lie behind the murders. It’s clear the obvious suspects aren’t the ones, which means that we’ve virtually guessed who the murderer will be some time before the end. But in terms of the depth of characterization and elegance of style – I’m afraid I found them both wispy and workaday. I certainly felt Croft was too earnest in his portrayal of his female lead: I felt he was trying too hard to show himself as a man who understood women. He spent a lot of time making me feel he was being sympathetic to a woman police officer, keen to make a good first impression, and therefore under great pressure, rather than making me feel sympathetic to the character. But I leave a proper assessment of that to women readers. I felt much more comfortable with his portrayal of Caroline’s husband, Mark, whose patient, new-man support for his driven wife was impressive, even if a bit too good to be true.

I’m afraid I found Croft’s self-penned puff for his success as someone who publishes independently and has sold 2 million books a bit offputting. Certainly he’s readable enough and knows how to put a story together, but I wanted a bit more literary substance.

[Andrew Jenkinson · Rating 1 out of 5]

A Midsommer Murders style mystery set near where I live in the county of Rutland. And a huge hit with the locals. But it's rubbish - here's why. 1. the plotting actually means the investigator doesn't really solve the case, and somewhat breaks the rules of this kind of novel 2. the novel gleefully repeats information at the reader (for instance the history of Rutland water) as the investigating officer 'thinks about what she's learnt'. 3. there is an awful amount of mentioning local detail - local shops, local landmarks. At best this comes across as panto style "I'm sorry I'm late, I was caught in the [notorious local traffic blackspot]" ... cue audience laugh in recognition. At worst is comes across as "I, Robot" style product placement. (This book is available to buy in LOTS of local shops). 4. Did I mention the repetition. 5. The author's voice comes across in very strange places. (For instance what police officer, whilst having her life threatened, muses upon the merits of whether her son was given a mobile phone to early or spends too much time on Minecraft). 6. There is repetition of points. 7. I think an editor/publisher would have asked Croft to rewrite/remove sections. (Though it's short as it is). That's the danger of self publishing I assume.
On the plus side the writing of individual sentences is good, the chapters are very very short, and it's easy to read. I think that is what all the positive reviews on amazon (presumably by Rutland locals) are enjoying.
This definitely isn't a novel for people who already read books.

[emsonthebooks_again · Rating 4 out of 5]

The body of a man is found outside a deconsecrated church in the position of a crucifix. The small local police force have few leads and a family where all is not what it seems..

Despite a few past reviews which said that the characters and plot was shallow, I enjoyed this novel. The main character Caroline Hills isn’t as harsh as I thought she would be after reading some of the reviews. Yes, she’s a bit moody but as the reader learns, she is unwell and hasn’t told her family about the illness. I actually found her quite funny, uncompromising and a strong woman trying to find her feet in a new home village. Her partner Dexter, has lots of potential and I think the chemistry between these work colleagues could develop a longevity which will be good to read.

I also enjoyed the short chapters, easy to read at bedtime!

Good first read for me from this author. I give it 3.5⭐️ 🤓

[meghann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the Nook serial read for April. I really enjoyed this fast-paced mystery set in England. Caroline seemed detached from those in her life, and I was curious to find out why. Dexter was good people and helped her start to open up. The twists and turns of the mystery were interesting, as well as the effect they had on all involved. I will definitely read the next book in this series.

On a side note, I had a bit of a panic with this one when I went in my Nook app at 10pm on April 30th to finish the final ten chapters. Apparently the monthly title switches over at 10pm, not midnight. It was gone. My library had access to an online audio book but wouldn't let me check it out or place a hold. After many tries, I was finally able to access it and finish the book. Close call. I was right at the murderer's reveal and was not going to be able to sleep without finding out who it was. 😂

[Richard Sharp · Rating 2 out of 5]

****** CONTAINS SPOILERS ******

Like so many others I love discovering new crime series and select them randomly without knowing much about the author. Reading through this book, I had assumed this was a brand new author finding their way, so was surprised to see how successful Adam was when i reached the end. He is clearly an accomplished writer, so either this is an outlier or his books just aren't for me. In short this is very poor.

The book is very short at 295 pages - with short chapters and blank page inserts between chapters meaning you can probably get through this in a 3 1/2 hour session. On a positive note that means you can race through the story and the pace does keep you involved, and the brevity allows you to plough on through to the end. However the plot is all over the place and my main issue with the book is how incompetent this entire team of detectives are, with the possible exception of Dex. I've tried tie summarise my main issues below:

- You don't know anything about the first victim apart from he ran a construction company and he was anti-religion. That's it. No attempts are made by the police to establish his last known whereabouts, there's no fleshing out of the character, nothing. You can't feel any sympathy for him as he basically exists as an empty corpse.

- The DCI interviews the victims wife in the early stages of the book and finds out in the next chapter she is potentially having an affair with a famous Rugby player. The wife never features again as a suspect, is never interviewed or asked about this. The focus turns entirely to the Rugby player..

- The police don't really seem to conduct any kind of investigation. At one point they gain a vital piece of evidence as a construction worker has to literally run after them and knock on their car window to tell them about an argument (in front of may witnesses) that provides a red herring suspect. Wouldn't it have been wise to actually interview the workers at the construction site?

- One vital clue they have is a threatening E-Mail sent to the victim, which is traced to the local Library. One of the detectives on the team (described earlier as exceptional) is tasked with tracing the CCTV. She does this and reports back that there is nothing to see here. It later transpires the killer in fully visible and identifiable from the CCTV but the detective didn't bother reporting this as he wasn't a suspect at the time. This is almost beyond parody - one man features on the CCTV during the period the threatening E-Mail was sent and this crack detective didn't even deem it worthy of mentioning.

- The entire case is solved as the murderer breaks into the DCI's house and leaves a confession letter (unsigned) his entire plan was to commit 2 murders (done) and then kill himself on that very night. The only reason he is caught is because he leaves this letter. There's no point to this, and the reasoning is that all of a sudden (after 3/4 of the book) he is now "playing a game" with the detective. This is never evident before this moment, but is mentioned about 4 times subsequently.

- At one point the DCI is asked to go home for the day and speak to her boss in the morning. A couple of chapters later she is suspended (never clear what for) and this point is never mentioned, and seems to be introduced entirely so she can go rogue and confront the killer alone.

- The main character, as others have said is very unlikeable. There's an odd unconscious bit of racism, which is never mentioned again, she would rather let her husband and kids think she is having an affair than tell them she has cancer, spends most of the time sulking or miserable and being generally dreadful to most people she encounters. The plot even seems to go out of it's way to make her look incompetent. Early on she is shown a picture of the famous Rugby player from a google image search which she takes of photo of. The teenage girl tells her she can just search and download. Nowhere else is she portrayed as a technophobe, this scene just makes her look stupid.

- At one point the DCI spots the rugby player suspect in a pub and walks across to him and has her photo taken. There is no point to this scene other than later down the line her husband finds it and thinks she's having an affair. In the scene in the pub the suspect knows she's a police officer, she already has an internet full of photos she can use, it's just a scene designed to cause problems later down the line.

- You can work out who the killer is after about 100 pages - based on one line.

All in all if the police had done nothing but drink coffee for the entire period of this book, the only difference to the outcome would have been that the killer committed suicide rather than being caught. They prevent no murders, never even interview the suspect themselves, or not the team responsible for his arrest and generally just make a mess of things. We keep being told the team is small, almost as if the author noticed how incompetent they all were and inserted this as a retconned reason for that incompetence.

So not a good book. However I bought this as a boxset of 4 so will try the next one and see if it improves. As I said at the start the author is clearly very accomplished, and maybe this was just an off day.

[Graham Bowden · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ok novel that was a quick easy read, made all the more interesting that I remember seeing Rutland Water being constructed..... even though I was very young at the time!

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Audible listen. Decent first book in this series. Local to me setting which added another dimension to the listen. Took a little while to ‘warm’ to the narrator but I still enjoyed the story. I will listen to more in this series. Recommended.

[Chelsea Hazendonk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very drawn out at times.

[Alyson Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book in what promises to be a fantastic series set in the tiny county of Rutland. A real place, it is the smallest county in England, heavily rural and dominated by Rutland Water. The story begins with the discovery of a body by two elderly fisherman in a boat. A man has been bludgeoned and strangled to death, and then left in a strange crucifixion pose on the rocks outside Normanton Church. The church itself is curious, having been deconsecrated when the houses within the villages that it served were demolished and concreted over, and then the entire valley filled with water to form a huge reservoir. A campaign was fought and the church was saved, although is stands half submerged under water. In fact even 50 years later, there is still some ill feeling about what was done by the water company, although no one can deny that it was the economic saving of the area. DI Caroline Hills has relocated from the Met in London where she was often the senior investigating officer on some major crimes, accompanied by her two sons and husband Mark. They both feel that the whole family will benefit from living in a quieter more rural area. Caroline and her DS Dexter Antoine are called out to investigate the death. Only having a team of four detectives including herself as sole DI for Rutland Police and very little serious crime to investigate, she is desperate to keep the case to herself and not have it passed onto East Midlands major crime unit with all their larger resources. After all, as a seasoned detective, she feels she is more than capable of finally proving what she is worth. The dead man turns out to run a local construction company and has also spent time on the council when it suited him. Enquiries show there is no shortage of people who disliked him, not least the wife he is separated from, but actual serious suspects are proving hard to find. Could the religious symbolism be a clue as to motive for the murder? Caroline's dedicated staff chase down all the leads but as fast as they make any sort of breakthrough, it seems to be immediately squashed by alibis or lack of proof. Fighting to keep the case, she finally finds a likely suspect but have they got enough to solve the murder? I very much appreciated the maps at the start of the book - it always helps to envisage the layout of the area and I wish more authors would do this! I also found it interesting to learn about the history of the area, something I previously knew nothing about and which I would like to visit now. Caroline is not an immediately likeable character. She lies to her husband and gets far more loyalty and friendship from Dexter than she really deserves. She has come from London and has little idea how to treat people who live in a far more friendly and close community, with the result that she can come across as hostile or rude. Fortunately she has Dexter on her side, keen to help her fit in, and by the end of the book it looks like she has really got her act together. I think she is going to be a much nicer person in book 2, "On Borrowed Time" which is out in September, although for me Dexter is the real star so far and it will be nice to see this talented team of detectives grow together. A very enjoyable story and I am eagerly awaiting the next one. 4.5*

[Tony Hisgett · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started the book wanting to like the main character DI Hill, but it didn’t take long for me to realise the author didn’t want this.
For some reason he has made her fairly unlikeable and she isn’t a particularly good detective, also trying to make a mystery out of her health issues really didn’t work for me.
Overall I suppose it wasn’t a bad read, but I won’t be trying the next book in the series.

[Kimberly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the April serial reads for Nook. While it is not quite finished yet (the last few chapters are still locked), I know that this is not a series I will continue. The chapters are short and easy to read. I love the small town English Village setting, although I find the references to so many different villages a little confusing. The main character, Caroline, is completely unlikable, and I was nearly finished with the book before I realized it is a male author. Perhaps that is why and maybe he should try his hand at male protagonists. The storyline itself is not bad, but it needs to be more developed. This reads like a condensed book or an intended screenplay for a TV series. It was just lacking depth for me that could’ve possibly made some of these characters more likable and made it interesting enough to continue on.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing

This story started out with a bang – a murder in a small village in Rutland, the body found in a strange location outside an old church, posed in a symbolically religious fashion. The small police team in Oakham fight to keep the case, as procedure normally dictates that it should be handed over to the team at the EMSOU, DI Caroline Hills is determined that is not going to happen. As they struggle to find evidence to back up their theories on who the killer could be and what the motive was, we are introduced to many suspects and Caroline finds herself making enemies along the way with her abrupt manner of dealing with both her colleagues and the locals in the village. At the same time, she is struggling with something personal – something which appears to be causing a breaking apart of her family, not helped by her refusal to tell her husband what is wrong. Despite the best efforts of Caroline and her sidekick, DS Dexter Antoine, the case is grinding to a halt and falling apart, with all suspects providing alibis and no evidence to back up their theories. In the meantime, Caroline is really struggling with both her personal and professional life, and eventually we find out what is wrong with her. This is the sort of book with those short chapters which make you keep turning the pages without realising as you are so engrossed in the action.

One of the joys of reading this novel for me was the information about Rutland and Oakham. I remember the time when the talk of creating Rutland Water was totally devastating to the people who lived there and was quite interested to find out how most people have adjusted to it – or maybe not in some cases. Adam is a master at delivering – what seemed to be a gentle mystery, turned into a shocking and astonishing crime with a big twist towards the end that neither the reader nor the characters saw coming. The ending of this book was a fast paced and exciting discovery with perfect closure to the case. When I had finished, I was delighted to read a taster of what is coming in the next book – which I already have on order – and I am really excited that it’s not going to be long before I can return to Rutland and DI Caroline Hills.

[Kim Padan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started with 3 stars, but as I typed my review, I decided to drop to 2.

I listened to this on my Chirp app; grateful for the low price. The narrator's voice was good, but some of the timing and inflection was awkward.

Not a bad book, but I am not sure if I will read subsequent books in the series. I did not like the lead character, Caroline, much at all. She often thought her team was filled with diligent and smart detectives, yet she often passed over their ideas to focus on her own. The way she kept secrets from her husband drove me crazy (how many times did she whine "I'm fine,") especially towards the end when she blamed the murderer for the worst 2 weeks of her life.

I suspected who the killer was early on, but wasn't sure. Definitely didn't figure out all the "why."

I liked her assistant, Dexter, the most of all the characters.

This book went by quickly, which is what I was looking for. Easy to listen to as I kept busy with various household tasks.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a Rutlander, born and bred, I wasn't sure what to expect from a story set in the county. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with an enjoyable story set against the backdrop of England's smallest county.

The creation of Rutland Reservoir in the nineteen seventies was a big thing in the county at the time, and I remember the controversy and how divisive it was. I can't say I noticed the difference being teenager at the time. We were told to expect more of a seaside climate with more fogs, warmer winters and cooler summers. Coming from the farming community, my family were against it, as some of our friends and family would lose their livelihoods and homes. Although, despite the emotional heartbreak and hardship for some, I think, in the long term, it has proved a good thing for the county and brought a different type of prosperity to many through tourism despite the loss of land.

Overall I enjoyed the story, the setting and the characters and look forward to the next installment in the Rutland crime series.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

What Lies Beneath by Adam Croft Narrated by: Andy Nyman and this is the first book of the new Rutland Crime Series, series and what a brilliant start to this promising series this was. Andy Nyman the narrator was excellent and he gave you a good feel for this book, especially as it had lots of twists and turns and I found it hard to work out who it was. Which made it excellent for me as I usually guess very quickly!