A Fatal Obsession (Ryder and Loveday, Book 1)
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By Faith Martin
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1 review
Don’t miss Faith Martin’s fiendishly clever new novel, Murder by Candlelight, set in the 1920s and described as ‘the perfect village mystery’ by J.M. Hall
‘A brilliant book! The pairing of Ryder and Loveday is a stroke of genius.’ Clare Chase, author of the Eve Mallow and Tara Thorpe mysteries Oxford, 1960. There’s a murderer on the loose and two unlikely heroes are poised to solve the case. Meet Probationary WPC Trudy Loveday – smart, enthusiastic and always underestimated. In the hope of getting her out of the way, Trudy’s senior officer assigns her to help coroner Clement Ryder as he re-opens the case of a young woman’s death. She can’t believe her luck – she is actually going to be working on a real murder case. Meanwhile, the rest of the police force are busy investigating a series of threats and murders in the local community, and Clement can’t help but feel it’s all linked. As Trudy and Clement form an unlikely partnership, are they going to be the ones to solve these crimes before the murderer strikes again? A gripping, twisty cozy crime novel that you won’t be able to put down. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Richard Osman and M.C. Beaton. ‘Absolutely loved it… The characters were some of the best I’ve read in a long time.’ Angela Marsons, no. 1 bestselling author of the Kim Stone series The Ryder and Loveday Series Book 1: A FATAL OBSESSION Book 2: A FATAL MISTAKE Book 3: A FATAL FLAW Book 4: A FATAL SECRET Book 5: A FATAL TRUTH Book 6: A FATAL AFFAIR Book 7: A FATAL NIGHT Book 8: A FATAL END Readers love Faith Martin: ‘Absolutely perfect! This is the book I have been craving since I last read the Thursday Murder Club series!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Very entertaining… Full of red herrings, plot twists and turns. I thought I knew who was the killer but I was wrong.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Have become an addict of Faith Martin – love her novels.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘This author’s books are soothing to the soul. Her characters are likable, and the plots always keep me guessing. Excellent fun.’⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ TweetReviews
This is the first book in the Ryder and Loveday series. It’s set in Oxford in July 1955. Probationary WPC Trudy Loveday is 19, smart and enthusiastic. She’s the only woman in the station and underestimated by her boss and fellow officers, most of whom do not think women should be in the police, (a feeling shared by her parents!) except perhaps to deal with matters relating to women and children. So Trudy gets all the worse jobs, mostly updating records and filing, even though she does her share of beat duty and isn’t afraid to tackle offenders.
The story
When the local coroner, Clement Ryder, needs some police help when he re-opens a case, Trudy’s boss thinks it’s an ideal way to get her out of his station, so he assigns Trudy to the case. It's been five years since twenty-one year old Gisela Fleet-Wright died. Her former boyfriend was then found brutally beaten to death the day after a mysterious note threatened his life. Clement thinks the young woman was in fact murdered. Other officers in the force are investigating a series of threats and murders in the local community and he also believes these are linked to what happened to Gisela. There are many twists and turns in this investigation and as the pair dig deeper, past facts and deeds are revealed. It’s a race to solve these crimes before the murderer strikes again.
Clement Ryder is in his fifties and retrained as a coroner after a career as a surgeon. He and Trudy form an unlikely partnership, but after some initial wariness they begin to work well together and appreciate each other's strengths. However, Clement has a personal problem and although Trudy picks up on this, she doesn't know what it is or how to help him.
My verdict
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have since read the others in the series. The setting of the late fifties/early sixties highlights a different police force to the one we have today, not least in its procedures and attitude to woman officers. Except when she travels with Clement in his Rover, Trudy goes around on her bicycle, or on the bus and has to use public phone boxes!
I found both the main characters interesting and likeable. As they work on other cases together Trudy comes to regard Clement as her friend and mentor, a role Clement finds equally rewarding. Through her work with him she matures, learns a lot and also gains some respect from her colleagues and her boss. I give this book (and the series) 4.5 stars.
Review by: Eve
