“We’re all aware of where cases like this go if those responsible don’t think we’re close to catching them.”
Every cop in that room knew what he meant – the killer might strike again.
”Death at Paradise Park”, by Ross Greenwood
The story:
When a murder takes place in the popular seaside town of Hunstanton – in the car park of a fish and chip shop no less – the Norfolk Major Investigations Team, including DS Ashley Knight, begin the search for a motive.
The trail leads to a nearby holiday park, where another body is discovered – but there doesn’t seem to be a connection between the victims. Could the proximity of the murders simply be a coincidence, or does the story run deeper than the team realise? With motives and crimes spanning decades, and even reaching as far as the USA, will Ashley and the team be able to stop the bodies from mounting up?
My thoughts:
After the events in the first book in the Norfolk Murders series (“Death on Cromer Beach”) by Ross Greenwood, the Norfolk MIT is without a Detective Inspector, and Ashley shoulders a lot of the responsibility in the search for the killer.
When the first crime is discovered, the victim is found to be Alfie Hook – the husband of a woman well known to the police and just released from prison, which leads the team to suspect some disagreement between local criminals might be the cause. But when a seemingly unconnected murder is discovered in the local Paradise holiday park, they’re forced to think again, and the plot becomes more complex as further deaths occur. The murders seem to centre around Paradise Park, but are seemingly motiveless; and the team struggle to uncover anything to connect them with Alfie’s murder.
I was quite surprised when, early in the narrative, the story jumped back 40 years and across the pond to Texas, where a killing takes place. The rest of the story with Ashley and the team gradually leads towards the explanation for this, with long-standing enmity and bitter jealousies playing out in the present day.
Once again, Ashley is a very likeable protagonist, and gets to the bottom of the case using a combination of hard work, instinct and great teamwork. This is a complex and engrossing case, building towards an exciting finale that kept me turning the pages. There are a few plot points I think will play out in future stories (a potential leak in the department among them!), and I look forward to reading more about the team soon!
Pages: 468
Published: 6th November 2023
Rating: 🐈🐈🐈🐈/5
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