A Fatal Affair by Faith Martin

Ryder & Loveday Mystery, Book 6

Synopsis: She was dressed in a long white gown, embroidered with tiny flowers. Her body was wrapped in colourful ribbons that floated in the breeze. But underneath the swathe of golden hair, a string of darkly smudged bruises ringed her neck.

As May Day dawns in the peaceful village of Middle Fenton, a young woman’s body is found brutally strangled, her body tied up with ribbons in the middle of the green. A week later, her boyfriend is found hanged in a local barn, and the police assume guilt over murdering his beloved has driven him to suicide – but not everyone is convinced.

WPC Trudy Loveday and coroner Clement Ryder are sent to investigate, and quickly realise that there’s a double murderer on the loose.

But the killer has already shown willingness to remove anyone who threatens to discover their identity… As Trudy and Clement circle in on the culprit, can they crack the case before they too come to a nasty end?

Review: I was thrilled to find Loveday & Ryder in a new adventure.

This time, our two heroes are confronted with two cases, but are only allowed to investigate one. Indeed, a young girl that everybody hates in a village was found dead and her boyfriend, the son of a member of the police force, was found afterwards hanged. Our heroes have to solve this last case. Yet the two are closely linked and they’ll have to be careful not to step on each other’s toes. Or at least, to do it discreetly.

I had a good time with this novel. I kept wondering throughout my reading who the killer was and why. Everyone hides secrets in the villages and no one wants to see the police sticking their noses into everything. And I must say that I was not expecting this ending and this killer.

It was a very good read and I can’t wait, as always, to see all the characters in the next volume which I’m sure I’ll enjoy!