A Body on the Beach

West Wales Murder Mysteries #1

by P.F. Ford

An alternative cover edition for this ASIN can be found here

These were supposed to be his golden years. But he’s much happier with something to do… like solve a murder.

Former Detective Sergeant Norman Norman’s retirement is boring him to tears. So when he’s asked to assist an upcoming female DI and mentor a new team of misfits in a sleepy Welsh coastal town, he jumps at the opportunity to lend his expertise. But the training has barely begun when a woman’s corpse washes up on the sand.

With no reports of missing persons, DS Norman is stumped… until the post-mortem reveals a shocking hint to the culprit being local. But with a growing list of suspects who all have iron-clad alibis, the experienced cop and his fledgling team’s first case could be their last.

Will DS Norman’s reinvigorated career end in a fizzer, or can he help his young charges nab a devious killer?

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Audiobook, Fiction, Procedural, Mystery Thriller, Thriller

268 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 12, 2020

About the author

Having spent most of his life trying to be what everyone else wanted him to be, P.F. (Peter) Ford was a late starter when it came to writing. He had tried writing a novel many years ago (before the advent of self-publishing), only to be turned down by every publisher he approached. It was very much a case of being told by those around him, ‘now you know you can’t write, so get back to work!’

Even at an early age, Peter felt very much like the proverbial square peg being forced into a round hole. This resulted in the creation of a Grammar School drop-out who then drifted through a succession of unfulfilling jobs, finally ending up in a totally unsuitable role which eventually sapped his energy and self-confidence. There followed a brief foray into self-employment (not a good idea for someone lacking in self-confidence!) which ended in total financial melt-down, a mountain of debt, and a lapse into depression.

Faced with the fact that he’d never be happy as he was, Peter finally decided he had no intention of continuing that way, and things just had to change. This was achieved by closing the door on his old life and starting over. Fast forward a few years and you find a man transformed, his newly found positive attitude enabling him to find new partner (now wife), Mary, who shares his belief that dreamers should be encouraged and not denied.

He first wrote, (under the name Peter Ford), and self-published , several short books about the life changing benefits of positive thinking. Now, completely free of the hindrance of worrying about what other people think, he’s blissfully happy writing the D.S. Dave Slater mystery novels and what he calls the ‘digital fiction marmite’ (people tend to love it or hate it!) that is the Alfie Bowman Novella series.

Peter and Mary recently completed a shared dream when they married and moved to a beautiful region of Wales where they spend much of their spare time walking their three dogs, and relaxing and having fun with friends. They believe they are living proof that you should never give up on your dreams, because it’s never too late!

Reviews

[Claude's Bookzone · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice twisty thriller with plenty of suspects that all seem to alibi out. Being the holidays I had the luxury of listening to this in one sitting. I have to say the audiobook was hugely entertaining because my mind was constantly darting back to sitting with my then 4 year old son and 3 year old daughter as they sat watching the exploits of naughty Norman as he got himself into one pickle after another in Pontypandy. The narrator sounds exactly like any number of the characters from Fireman Sam (UK version). So I was constantly grinning even though the detectives were seriously examining bodies and crime scenes. I loved the mix of old and new guard in this police station rumoured to be where all the 'useless' cops are shipped off to. Detective Sergeant Norman Norman (not a typo) and Detective Inspector Sarah Southwell were engaging main characters and I can see some of the side characters have potential to have really interesting storylines in the future. I will definitely be following through this series as I love a good redemption story.

[Jayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A Body On The Beach" is the first book in P.F. Ford's "The Rejoiner" Series.

It's a smart British police procedural with more red herrings than a fish market.

When constables and detectives are labeled "misfits" or "losers", they get assigned to a station in northern Wales.   (Think "Beverly Hills Cops" in Wales!)

Enter Detective Sargeant Norman Norman and Detective Inspector Sarah Southwell.   

DS Norman was recently recruited to "rejoin" the force, while DI Sarah Southall was just transferred to Wales due to circumstances beyond her control.

When the body of a young woman washes up on a beach in Wales, these two astute and talented supervisors are faced with mobilizing a misfit force to solve the force's first murder.

The book's characterizations were strong and the dialogue was witty and fast-paced.

I listened to the audiobook and narrator Andy Cresswell did a superb job with the narration.

This was my first book by author P.F. Ford book it will not be the last. 

Hopefully, this book will be the start of a long series.   If so, i'm IN!

[Rich · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book by this author that I have read. The funny thing about this book is that I usually do not read British writers and try to stay away from them because I just do not click with them. I find that their writing style does not click with me. This book was an exception it sounded interesting and I decided to take a chance lol. I thought the story was not a copy cat run of the mill killer or serial killer book. I will say this only a British writer could have the main character named Norman Norman lol. I liked the main character and almost all of the secondary characters. I thought it flowed at a good pace and there were a couple of small but good twist not over the top. The ending was passing no complainst there. I have to write this book reminded me of a Colombo tv epsiode in a small way. I am not sure why but that feeling hit me. I am glad this guy took another chance to stay the course and continue writing after all his rejections he has talent. I give it 4.0 stars on the dot. I will read the next one in the series. I say go ahead and give this one a spin.

[Jenna Leone]

DNF. There were way too many POVs in this one. So many POV characters were introduced one after the other that I had trouble keeping the story straight.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting story and I think a good start to a series. The characters are good and will no doubt grow as the series progresses.

[Caz Malpas · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 STORMIN NORMAN NORMAN STARS!

This was the first book I’ve read from this author and it was a real treat! Set in West Wales a group of misfitted police officers join together to solve a murder! I don’t know why I loved this so much, the plot was good and kept you guessing till the end, but I think it was the actual characters that made the book such a winner for me.

I normally only read romantic suspense, but I didn’t miss the romance aspect one little bit.

Next please…….!

[Lavins · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars

A good start to this series. Not the best, not the most amazing, but I truly enjoyed the real investigating side and the unfolding in real time of the clues.
The characters were nice, likeable. I am looking forward to read the next one.

[Susann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't get into it.

Too much inane dialogue. Trite and boring. Needs a good editor to tighten it up. Didn't get past two chapters.

[Grace DiChristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5! Cute easy Welsh detective novel! I can’t bring myself to read any real books atm so this was perfect

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having never read a Welsh mystery novel, I must say that I'm quite impressed. The whole book was filled with twists and sideways turns and backward twists and upwards turns. Held me until the end! I think I read this book in about 8hrs (pee breaks included!).

I loved it so much that I went onto Amazon and bought the next two in line. Not sure I'll be able to put this series down anytime soon.

4.6 🌟

[Natalie M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm…

Looking for a new series and this one was recommended (and has great GR reviews). I found the characters a little annoying and the procedural aspect overdone.

I’ll give the next one a go before deciding how I feel about it.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think a script from dumb and dumber got loose.

Kindle Unlimited

[Jennifer Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book. Will certainly read more of this author.

[Chad James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bookish Books Reading Challenge

[Nicky Mottram · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audio version of this book 📕- An ok start to a series. An easy listen and an easy plot to solve but will be interesting to see how the main characters develop

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read murder/police procedural set in Wales.

[Cindy B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read. Clean. Humorous at appropriate times. Entertaining and well narrated by a terrific performer. Hopefully it will be a series.

[Sandra Leivesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

P F Ford is a new author to me, but after listening to this book I believe he could become a favourite! I loved the West Wales setting, and I liked DI Sarah Southall right from the start, and I absolutely love DS Norman Norman! Both officers have recently joined the West Wales force and take on the task of training a group of misfit no-hopers to be good detectives, much to the annoyance of the officers from Region. the realistic plot had enough twists to hold my attention right till the end. This is a great start to a series, so it's straight on to book 2 😀

unlike some other reviewers, I enjoyed the narration by Andy Cresswell.

[Janice Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Likeable characters with flaws the reader can relate to. Twists and turns in the mystery keep the reader going.

[Er · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

[Gail Radka · Rating 4 out of 5]

First in the series i loved getting to know the characters and the new location. I thought the set up of the new team was excellent, how they all got together snd how they will work going forward. Good storyline looking forward to more in the series

[Renita D'Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful

[Mark Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, with a few twists and turns that keep you reading - I love the location, and it’s clear the author was confident about the next books in the series, because the scene-setting and character-building makes me keen to read book #2!

[Maryann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good police procedural. A group of police no one wants to keep around rapidly come together under a couple of good leaders. This is a really optimistic take on the world. If you give some one a fair chance and encouragement, they can unravel an incredibly twisty mystery separating out the red herrings.

[Penni · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Body on the Beach is the first in P. F. Ford’s West Wales Murder Mysteries. Detective Norman Norman is brought out of retirement to join the Llangwelli Police Department in West Wales as the new DS to work Di Sarah Southall and a new team of inexperienced recruits. The department is used to having the big cases taken away from them, so they must quickly solve the mystery and prove their department has what it takes to solve crimes. The body found on the beach is a local woman, Kimberly Lawrence, and her husband hadn’t even reported that she was missing. Not only is Norman getting used to working with this new team to solve the murder, but he is also adjusting to the rainy climate and slower lifestyle in this region, which makes it a perfect setting for this story.
There was a lot of dialogue, but it works for the police procedural mystery with likable and relatable characters and their flaws. The setting is intriguing, and the mystery has several twists and turns to keep the reader guessing until the very end.

I enjoyed this book so much that I quickly finished all the available books in this series and wanted to learn more about the author, P. F. Ford, who started writing later in life than most authors. I discovered that Norman Norman is a character in the author’s previous series, Slater & Norman Mysteries. I’m already at book 10 of 14 of that one because they are fast and entertaining reads. Norman is my favorite character in the Slater & Norman series, so it’s no surprise that P.F. Ford chose to use him in the new West Wale Murder Mysteries.

If you are a fan of Ann Cleeves, J.D. Kirk, Matt Brolly, and British television mysteries like Vera and Shetland, you will most likely enjoy P.F. Ford’s mysteries.

[Miss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good start to a series

Good start to a series. I have not read any previous DS Norman books but I will be reading more now.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good reading

I had read a Norman and Slater a long time ago, so I was happy to find Norman ready to get back to work. I love the concept of this book. People tend to believe that their failures define them, and when those in authority categorize them as losers, that’s what they believe. Here we have detectives who need to be convinced that the opposite is true, that they can succeed given a chance. So with a body found washed up on a beach and a supervisor refusing to hand the case off, they get to work. Here we have well-developed characters and plot. There are a couple corrections needing to be made, but they’re not enough to distract. All in all, this is well worth the time to read.

[Kate O'Brien · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the character building and the plot very much; the dialogue propelled events forward and was certainly a real strong point. Some of the descriptions and scene setting could be a little clunky but this doesn’t detract from a great detective story. I look forward to meeting the characters again in future books of this series.

[Ted Tayler · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Good story, well-written"

That's all you need really, and this writer gets the job done in one book. No cliffhanger, or insistence that you buy the next in the series to find out what happened. A strong cast of characters and a well-constructed murder investigation. A great idea to throw the flawed male and female detectives in with the misfits in a local police station. The spectre of Region looms large, but in this first outing Norman and Southall have shown they're a match for anyone. I'm starting the second book tonight. Why deny myself any longer? Highly recommended.

[Lucy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good idea, characters needed more development I felt, quite boring as murder mysteries tend to be, found I had little to no interest in the main characters, much less the story.

Shame because it came recommended but it just didn't gel with me.