Broadland

British Detective Tanner Murder Mystery Series, Book 1

By: David Blake

Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble

Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Broadland is the first in a chilling series of serial killer books which will rapidly convert followers of Faith Martin, Joy Ellis and Damien Boyd into David Blake devotees.

When a girl’s body is found strangled, raped, and horrifically mutilated by a boat’s propeller, deep in the heart of the Norfolk Broads, newly arrived Detective Inspector John Tanner is asked to assist with the investigation.

At first, all the evidence points to a man who had a multi-million-pound reason to kill her. But when an alibi is produced from an unexpected source, and another body appears at the base of a slipway, Tanner finds himself turning to local girl Detective Constable Jenny Evans for help.

As a more romantic relationship develops between them, they find themselves facing a race against time to identify a lethal adversary, one with a lust for blood and a mind set on revenge.

©2019 David Blake (P)2019 W. F. Howes Ltd

Great Crime Plot, the Dated View of Women

Interesting plot, excellent performance. But is Great Brittan really so out of date? (I hope not!) I doubt female DCs get called by their little girl names (Jenny, Vicky), while the men are called by their last names. What a throwback to think a plot is enhanced when a pretty 20 something female DC and the 40ish senior detective start falling for each other by the second day. In the real world she'd think he's old and he'd think she's still a kid, he'd be hauled in by the HR department and then transferred out, and she'd lose all credibility as a cop.

Entertaining

Love the narration and the characters. As this is Book 1, the plot will continue to get better.

Better than expected

I didn’t know quite what to expect from this new-to-me author. I was more than pleasantly surprised.

Tanner is an interesting character, having moved to the north from the Met in London. He had a tragedy in his past and the change of venue was probably necessary for him. But, of course, he’s looked at as the outsider and immediately forms a rivalry with one of his peers. They are forced to work together, sort of.

Now, I did not like the sexual attraction than developed practically at once between Tanner and his Detective Constable. She’s a bit forward (a bit??) and it seems a bit creepy. And, it really shouldn’t be happening in the work environment.

Other than that, the story was decent and I didn’t figure out the final resolution. The narration of the audiobook was very well done.

I loved this book and the performance

I like this quite a lot, look for forward to reading the next installment. Interesting characters, and an interesting place. Jonathan Keeble did his usual magnificent job

Excellent

A great British police procedural with engaging characters and strong plot development. Reminded me of Joy Ellis’s ‘Fens’ series. Wonderful narration.

👍

I thoroughly enjoyed this Audio. A Lot of mystery good sense of humor. And A psycho! What more could you want? He definitely recommendation.

City boy finds new start in the country

Plot twists made the mystery fun. very British narrator set an engaging tone. and scene.

Wonderfully Twisty

Now I crave another David Blake thriller. Best review possible... the next is downloading. Can anyone write a better endorsement?

What a great start to a new series.

What a great start to a new series. I hadn't heard of David Blake before but the reviews sounded interesting so I gave him a try and I'm glad I did. Narrator Jonathan Keeble is just right for this enjoyable police procedural, featuring DI Tanner and Detective Constable Jenny Evans. After the death of his daughter Tanner transfers from London to where he is assigned to missing persons with DC Evans as his new assistant, but he quickly finds his first case becoming linked to a horrific murder. Tanner's somewhat reserved nature and lack of local knowledge are belied as his past experience in the Met Police and his methods of operating often put him ahead of the locals. Mystery, murder and suspense are nicely woven into this book and I'm reluctant to label it a "cosy mystery" because I think it's a bit better than that. Well done Blake and Keeble! I put this book in the top tier of my library and short listed the second in this great new series.

Unsurprising

Great narration. No surprises in the plot, with clues obvious to the reader but not to the detectives. Really tired of the beautiful, young female subordinate becoming romantically involved with her much older boss at work. Ick.