Murder on the Marshes by Clare Chase #blogtour

Today is my stop on the blog tour for this fabulous book. Clare Chase is a new name to me, and this was the first book by her that I  had read. But it definitely won't be the last! 

The Blurb:

Do you love twisty murder mysteries? Meet Tara Thorpe – the clue to a puzzling local murder has landed right on her doorstep. Perfect for fans of Faith Martin, LJ Ross and Joy Ellis.

As the sun rises, a wealthy young woman – Samantha Seabrook – is found drowned in the ornamental fountain of a deserted Cambridge courtyard, the only clue – an antique silver chain wound tightly around her throat. 

It’s Tara Thorpe’s job to discover what happened to Miss Seabrook – but the case becomes personal when she learns that Samantha had been receiving death threats… rather like the one that landed on Tara’s doorstep the night the woman died.

Together with Detective Inspector Garstin Blake, Tara tracks the killer to the dank and dangerous fens on the outskirts of the city. But there’s something Tara can’t quite admit to Blake about her past – and it could make all the difference to whether they live... or die.

An absolutely gripping page-turner that will keep you hooked until the very last page. The first in a series of unputdownable Cambridge mysteries featuring Thorpe and Blake.

Published by Bookouture on 31st July 2018. 

My Review:

When I began reading this book, I couldn't help but think of the TV detective programme Morse (and subsequently Lewis) set in Oxford. But Murder on the Marshes is set in the other big, equally beautiful, university city of Cambridge and opens in one of the colleges of Cambridge University. It was lovely to see the city featured, and the author obviously knows it well.

I liked Tara from the outset. Ballsy, feisty and not afraid to go after what she wants. But she has had some troubles in the past, which are touched upon here. It's refreshing to see a main character who is a journalist, rather than a police officer, although to be fair, she does share the billing almost equally with DI Blake. I really enjoyed the development of their relationship throughout the story. They each pursue the case in their own, using their own methods, and it was interesting to see where the differences were. But then they come together to share ideas. And there's maybe a wee bit of a frisson between the two of them.

I really enjoyed meeting all the characters from the university, even though some of them were distinctly unlikable. And Tara's relationship with her mother is interesting. The pacing is perfect - I read it quite quickly because I always wanted to know what happened next. And I didn't work it out, and I love it when that happens.

Would highly recommend, and I'm eagerly awaiting the follow up.

Many thanks to Noelle Holton at Bookouture for inviting me to be a part of this tour. 

You can buy Murder on the Marshes on Amazon UK and US, and Waterstones.

The Author:

Clare Chase writes women sleuth mysteries and recently signed a three-book deal with Bookouture for a new crime series set in Cambridge. The opening book, Murder on the Marshes, was published on 31st July 2018. The mystery follows investigative journalist Tara Thorpe as she teams up with Detective Garstin Blake to solve the murder of a young female professor at Cambridge University. The case takes them through the dark underbelly of Cambridge and in to the murky fens that surround the centuries-old city. The second and third books in the series are scheduled for publication in late 2018/early 2019.

After graduating from London University with a degree in English Literature, Clare moved to Cambridge and has lived there ever since. She's fascinated by the city's contrasts and contradictions, which feed into her writing. She's worked in diverse settings - from the 800-year-old University to one of the local prisons - and lived everywhere from the house of a Lord to a slug-infested flat. The terrace she now occupies, with her husband and teenage children, presents a good happy medium.

As well as writing, Clare loves family time, art and architecture, cooking, and of course, reading other people's books.

Clare’s debut novel, You Think You Know Me, was shortlisted for the Novelicious Undiscovered Award 2012, and an EPIC award in 2015. It was also chosen as a debut of the month by Lovereading.

You can find Clare's website and blog at www.clarechase.com. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.