When is number 3 coming out?!

• Book: Settled Blood
• Location: County Durham, Northumberland, The Pennines
• Author: Mari Hannah

Second novels are very telling! They either suggest that the writer has given all he/she could in the debut or,as in this case, rather that the first was simply a taster of much much more to come. I enjoyed The Murder Wall and was sufficiently hooked on the personality of Kate Daer colleagues to want to read the second in this crime investigation series set in my home county of Northumberland. And I feeling of delight and bereavement that comes with the conclusion of a book that you couldn’t put down but didn’t want to end!
The story is gripping – anyone with daughters will be particularly anxious to discover the outcome- and I love the reference to streets, areas and even specific shops/services that I know and can picture immediately. Kate, the central character, is just the right mix of strength and vulnerability and the detail surrounding police procedure is fascinating, never tedious or uneccessary.
I also love that there is a slowly developing personal story – Kate’s relationship with her father and her ex partner in particular – and it is not just Kate who we get to know quite intimately. Mari Hannah is great at giving us just the right amount of detail about the lives and foibles of her cast – we engage with their ups and downs and share them.
Bring on number 3 – I can’t wait!

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