A woman’s body lies in the heather, her neck broken. Her horse watches nervously from a few paces away.

Despite looking like an accident, it doesn’t take long for DI Callum MacLean, newly arrived in Hampshire from Glasgow, to establish she was murdered.

Nor does it take DS Daisy Donaldson, appearing soon after on horseback, long to identify the victim.

Mary-Ellen Mitchell was a well-known and seemingly well-liked businesswoman, married to a respected local artist, and part of the close-knit community.

The Scottish detective must adapt quickly to his new team, his past experience of policing a tough city jarring with the pace of Fordingbridge and their peculiar ways.

But having hoped for respite in the south, and although made welcome by Daisy, Callum soon feels like he’s being used as a pawn in someone else’s game.

However, if Callum can evade the pitfalls and marshal his team, they may well catch the wily killer hiding in the shadows of the woods.

My Thoughts:

This is the first book in the DI Callum Maclean mysteries and can be read as a standalone. I loved the setting for this book as I know The New Forest very well and could picture it as I was reading the story. When DI Callum Maclean arrives in Hampshire, he knows it will be very different to what he is use to in his home town. But he is straight on a case where his expertise come in handy. It is a lot to take on and also making acquaintances with his new work colleagues is harder than he thought. Can him and his team work together to solve the crime or will he end up thinking he wants to move back home. I thought it was a good read, strong characters and artfully keeps the reader on the edge of their seat.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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