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Detective Inspector Ruth Hunter lives with the pain of her partner’s mysterious and unsolved disappearance. About to hit fifty, the veteran police officer trades in the crime-ridden streets of London for a more peaceful life in rural North Wales. But Ruth has barely settled into her new position in North Wales Police, when the body of a brutally murdered woman is discovered…with strange symbols carved into her skin. Teaming up with an obstinate deputy, Ruth struggles to eliminate anyone from a long line of suspects. When another slain victim is discovered with the same cryptic markings, she’s forced to re-think the investigation.
The first two books in the Anglesey crime series written by Wrexham author Simon McCleave and featuring hostage negotiator Laura Hart The sheer amount of ground McCleave attempts to cover is astonishing, and we haven’t even mentioned the setting. Throughout The Snowdonia Killings, the Welsh countryside, culture and heritage are brought out through a peppering of references. Legends of drowned princes, Owain Glyndwr’s war of independence, jokes about English incomers drinking sheep urine – plenty of Welsh flavour here. However, the book’s cover is a little deceiving – there’s no snow whatsoever. I was flattered when Harper Collins called my agent. It turned my head! There’s a lot of snobbery in the publishing world – the big book festivals won’t have independents. I’m now getting plenty of bookings, which is very welcome.” It’s remarkable how many plot twists and new directions crop up in this novel. The police procedural aspect is strong, but using a huge variety of characters the author manages to drive the story in various directions. It’s complex but very believable. There are secrets galore, and often the characters have attitudes and issues that complicate matters for Ruth. As well as hate crimes, mental health problems, suicide and autism play a role – affecting the characters, the investigation and how it’s handled. Happy for your part of the world to be associated with violent fictional crime? Have your say in the comments below?Detective Inspector Ruth Hunter lives with the pain of her partner’s unsolved disappearance. Now pushing fifty, the veteran police officer trades in the crime-ridden streets of London for a more peaceful post in rural North Wales. But Ruth has barely settled in when the body of a teacher is discovered… with strange symbols carved into her skin. Love North Wales as much as we do? Sign up to our newsletter for all the best stories from the region. Book three in the Laura Hart series is already written, and will be published in June 2023. Simon’s deal is for six Laura Hart outings: her Anglesey sleuthing is set to throw a national spotlight on the island in ways it could never have imagined. With such a complex case, and all the red herrings the author sends your way, guessing who the killer is turns out to be very difficult. The ending is surprising, moving and hard hitting. However, after the reveal there’s a long section of exposition which didn’t quite fit the rest of the storytelling. Perhaps Simon McCleave wanted to tie up as many loose ends as possible, but he could easily have left some of them hanging.
From the latest Scandinavian serial killer to Golden Age detective stories, we love our crime novels! With film projects, everything always remains in development until the last minute," he said. "When it comes together, things suddenly go a bit crazy."Teaming up with an obstinate deputy, Ruth struggles to eliminate suspects from a long line of . But she’s forced to tear up her shortlist when they discover another slain victim with the same cryptic markings… A small-town murder. A big city detective. Can she unravel the grisly trail of clues before the killer strikes again? One inspiration was Lynda La Plante’s DCI Jane Tennison from the Prime Suspect series. “But she was depicted as having to adopt masculine traits to survive in a male-dominated police force,” said Simon. “I wanted my characters to use female intuition to become excellent police officers.”
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