Review ~ Death by Dark Waters by Jo Allen

Aria
9 May 2019

My thanks to the author for the opportunity to read her book

The first in the gripping, Lake District set, DCI Jude Satterthwaite series.

When a grass fire flares on a lakeside fell during a hot, dry summer, what looks like an accident turns out to be arson — and, when the body of a child is discovered in a burned out building, Jude and his team are faced with a murder inquiry. The child’s father is a businessman with many enemies and a deep-rooted mistrust of the police — but is the death of his son enough, or are must more innocents die to satisfy a killer’s thirst for revenge? And will Jude’s analytical mind and Ashleigh’s intuition combine to catch the killer before it’s too late?

What did I think about it..

The story starts with one of those menacing grass fires which can so easily get out of control except this one culminates in a suspected murder. The detectives, led by DCI Jude Satterthwaite, have few clues to go on in their quest to find out more about the tragically young victim, and that’s where the strength of the story lies as we get to watch the investigative team put together the pieces of the puzzle.

As this is the first book in a proposed series, the author uses the novel to flesh out the main characters, especially Satterthwaite, and as we start to get to know something of his rather troubled past, so we begin to understand a little more about this enigmatic, and rather, taciturn detective. The other characters who play their own individual roles, especially DS Ashleigh O’Halloran, a new recruit to the investigative team, add their own brand of light and shade.

I think that Death by Dark Waters is a good start to this new series, especially as the potential for further police procedural investigations is high.. The author writes well and keeps the momentum of the story alive, with good attention to detail, interesting characterisation, and a complex mystery to keep you guessing.

With its setting against the dramatic backdrop of the English Lake District Death by Dark Waters certainly gets the series off to a good start and I look forward to seeing where this series takes us to next.

About the author

Jo Allen is the author of six contemporary romance/romantic suspense novels published by a small independent publisher (Tirgearr) and a further three self-published romantic suspense novels. She is a member of the Crime Writers Association. I’m also a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, for whom I am a reader for their New Writers’ Scheme.

Death by Dark Waters is out now in e-book or paperback and is published by Aria Fiction.

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