Book Blurb
Suffolk, 1907.
Wickham Market’s local constable William Palmer spends his days yearning to solve a significant case so he can earn his detective's badge.
But Palmer is torn, because he is also in love with the school mistress Alice Kemp who doesn’t want to leave the village.
One night, the night of a dramatic storm, there is a murder. A housemaid – Evelyn Maud Roberts - is found stabbed to death at the local vicarage.
Palmer has his chance to make a name for himself.
The local doctor declares that Evelyn was six months pregnant.
And the vicar’s daughter, Charlotte Mellor, names three men who may have reason to commit murder; Walter Fisk, soon-to-be-master at the workhouse; Albert Nunn, the postman; Frederick Hawes, the slow-witted village boy in love with Evelyn.
Palmer investigates. But he only has so much time before Inspector Bloomfield – the veteran detective from Suffolk Police - arrives from Ipswich to take over the case.
And before the killer strikes again.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'The Wickham Market Murder' by Iain Maitland.
Read and reviewed for ZooLoos Book Tours, Iain Maitland and Sharpe Books.
Publication date 15th February 2022.
This is the first book I have read by this author. It is also the first book in the Bloomfield & Palmer series.
I was originally drawn to this book by its eye catching gothic cover and intriguing sounding synopsis and title. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Sharpe Books. I have yet to read a book published by Sharpe Books that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of a prologue, 12 chapters and an epilogue set over three parts. The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is based in Wickham, England 🏴, UK 🇬🇧. I always enjoy when books are set in the UK as I'm from Wales and have sometimes visited areas mentioned in the book. This makes it easier to picture where the scenes are set at times.
This book is written in third person perspective and the main protagonists are William Palmer and John Bloomfield. The benefits of third person perspective with multiple protagonists are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.
WOW!!! I WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT TWIST!!!
This book is extremely well written with vivid descriptions that really set the scene and put you in the storyline. The cover and synopsis suit the book perfectly.
The storyline was captivating from the first page until the last and I was completely invested in it. It was absolutely rammed full of romance, history, deceit, heartbreak, tension, twists, suspense and everything you could ask for in a historical crime thriller. I just could not put this book down and finished it in one sitting. It was very easy to read and being a novella was a very quick read too. I loved the historical aspect and it is clear that Iain has done his research on both history and Wickham which shines through. I won't say too much as I don't want to spoil the storyline but I found a certain event absolutely heartbreaking and the last one absolutely shocking!!! Definitely a twist I was not expecting!!! It is getting harder and harder to shock me but you definitely managed that Iain so congratulations!!
Do not start this book until you have cleared your schedules as you will not be able to put it down!!
It is always worrying when starting a new series as you have no idea who the characters are. It is very important for me to bond with not only the lead protagonists but I find it important that I like the rest of the characters too and I'm pleased to say I had nothing to worry about.
The characters were all realistic and strong with a mix of personalities. I had mixed feelings towards both William and John. William's policing leaves a lot to be desired, and as he admits, if he had dealt with events better then other things may not have happened how they did. However, I am intrigued to see how his character develops in the next book in this series. I found Bloomfield to be harsh in what he did during a certain event, I can't say anymore as I don't want to spoil it for further readers but I will say that I definitely agree with what Alice said afterwards. I really liked Alice and I'm looking forward to meet her again in the next book. A group of very different characters who worked perfectly well together to make an intriguing start to what promises to be an exciting series.
Overall an action packed crime thriller with an explosive twist that you will not see coming!!!
Genres covered in this book include Historical Mystery, Thriller, British Detective Stories, Mystery and Historical Thriller amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Michael Fowler, Verity Bright and anyone looking for a historical crime thriller.
140 pages.
This book is just £2.99 to purchase on kindle or free on kindle unlimited (at time of review) via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 4/5 (I enjoyed it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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Author Bio
Iain Maitland is the author of three previous psych thrillers, The Scribbler (2020), Mr Todd’s Reckoning (2019) and Sweet William (2017), all published by Contraband, an imprint of Saraband. Mr Todd’s Reckoning is coming to the big screen in 2023.
Iain is also the author of two memoirs, Dear Michael, Love Dad (Hodder, 2016), a book of letters written to his eldest son who experienced depression and anorexia, and (co-authored with Michael) Out Of The Madhouse (Jessica Kingsley, 2018).
He is also an Ambassador for Stem4, the teenage mental health charity. He talks regularly about mental health issues in schools and colleges and workplaces.
Find out more about Iain at www.iainmaitland.net and twitter.com/iainmaitland
Follow him at:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/iainmaitland
Website: www.iainmaitland.net
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