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Death On The Coast
Death On The Coast
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I thoroughly enjoyed this “West Country Crime Mystery” Death on the Coast by Bernie Steadman, even though it was book 3 and I’d not read the previous two books in this series.

Set in Devon, DCI Dan Hellier and DS Sally Ellis’ crew make a gruesome discovery; someone is burning body parts in a very ritualistic way. Could a cult be responsible for this? What are their motivations? Can his team work out what is happening before another death hits their shores?

I whizzed through this well written story and although the title suggests cosy mystery to me, this is a much darker and more realistic police procedural. It’s got everything I love in a good murder mystery; a great cast of people with their own issues to contend with, interesting plot twists (despite knowing who is responsible all the way through the book) and enough intriguing goings on to keep me reading long well into the night until I finished it. Bernie Steadman is on fire with this book! I must keep up with this series from now on!

Thank you to Bloodhound Books, and #NetGalley for my ARC copy. This is my own opinion and not biased in any way.
  
This is the 23rd Lucy Stone mystery, but it works fine as a standalone story. You don't need to have read any of the previous books to enjoy this one.

For the first 2/3 of this novel, I thought the whole mystery was the identity of the individual who was sabotaging the pumpkin festival. This didn't seem like much of a crime for a mystery novel, but the real thing comes along later in the story. Most of the action happens in the last quarter of the book, but I never felt like the story was dragging. The beginning has enough conflict and backstory to keep it moving along.

Lucy is a very down-to-earth sort of character, and she is easy to like and commiserate with. She has her hands full with her catapult-building husband, two daughters, and a grandson who is temporarily living in her home while his parents are out of the country, as well as her full time job as a reporter with the local paper. It's that job that gives her an excuse to get close to people who may have something to hide, and helps her track down a killer in the end.

***I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review***