What Lies Beneath
By Adam Croft
Rated: 5 stars *****

I have been very much enjoying reading and reviewing Adam Croft’s books. Regular followers of my blog will know I’ve reviewed a few now. What Lies Beneath is yet another triumph! I had been given an advanced copy, although very kindly could review before or after publication. Today, this is now after publication date and it has been selling fast. I can totally see why. It is an incredibly good start to this new series.
Discover the blurb and my review of the book and then a bit more about this very successful author below…

Blurb

The first in a stunning new crime series from 2m+ international bestseller Adam Croft.

A peaceful Sunday morning in Rutland is shattered when a dead body is discovered on the rocks at Normanton Church.

The victim has been laid out in a crucifixion pose, facing the altar. DI Caroline Hills is certain there’s a religious connection — one which threatens the tranquility of life in the area.

The killer has gone to extraordinary lengths to make the symbolism clear. And the deaths will continue until Caroline and DS Dexter Antoine uncover the truth behind the dark secret — and what lies beneath.

Praise for Adam Croft:        ‘Incredible’ — BBC News          ‘A sensation’ — The Guardian

Review

Set in Rutland, in the East Midlands, England, What Lies Beneath is a marvellous book to settle into and provides wonderful escapism for a while. There are murders, lives put in jeopardy and not always in the ways you might think…

The pace that is taken on means that readers really get to know the characters both at work and domestically as it sets things up well for this to expand into its series.

Even if you’ve not been to Rutland before (which I haven’t, there are maps provided), through Adam Croft’s book, readers will find their way through as they get to know it.

Bob Tranter has a perfect sounding Sunday all planned out at the Rutland Water Fishing with Geoff…
Then a body is discovered!

The book may be between police procedural and almost cosy crime, but it’s as modern as it gets as it reflects what’s happening in the world, such as Caroline Hills and Mark’s 2 sons – Josh, aged 10 and Archie aged 6, who are obsessed with console games such as Fortnite. It’s the age old modern day issue when parents wish their children would get out a bit more. There are also reasons why the family moved from London to Rutland.
They also had a lovely Sunday planned…
Until Dexter Antoine calls Caroline, who is the Detective Inspector of Rutland Police to inform her of a murder over at Normanton.

Operation Forelock commences and they get an identity on the body fairly quickly. As the investigation unfolds and more suspects come to light, the intrigue and tension also grows as to what the motive could be and if more than one person was involved. The locations and the cruifixtion positions of the victims moves Rutland away from the peace and tranquility first described and leaves it shaken up.

There is also the perfect mix of crime and seeing the dynamics between the characters unfold. The main characters have their own challenges and burdens to live through that are far from straight forward. In this series, readers will be treated to seeing lives in and out of work, which also adds a great deal of substance and has some emotional inducing scenes and comes with other twists, adding to those already there at the crime scene.

This is the first book in the series. It is worth looking out for this and for when the second comes. It is already shaping up to be an incredible series that could well have good longevity in it. I am now very much looking forward to the second book to see how this continues…

About the Author

With almost two million books sold to date, Adam Croft is one of the most successful independently published authors in the world, having sold books in over 120 different countries. In February 2017, Amazon’s overall Author Rankings briefly placed Adam as the most widely read author in the world at that moment in time, with J.K. Rowling in second place. Adam is considered to be one of the world’s leading experts on independent publishing and has been featured on BBC television, BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 5 Live, the BBC World Service, The Guardian, The Huffington Post, The Bookseller and a number of other news and media outlets . In March 2018, Adam was conferred as an Honorary Doctor of Arts, the highest academic qualification in the UK, by the University of Bedfordshire in recognition of his services to literature. Adam presents the regular crime fiction podcast Partners in Crime with fellow bestselling author and television actor Robert Daws.