CWA Judges’ comments: ‘A very strong debut with a highly original female protagonist.’
This is a fantastic book that was deservedly shortlisted for a CWA Gold Dagger. It introduces a highly original female protagonist, Jenny Cooper, the troubled new coroner to the Severn Vale District in one of the most exciting new crime series in years. Jenny takes on the establishment in search of truth and justice whilst dealing with a broken personal life you can really relate to. We could not put the book down and can’t wait for the next in the series.
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Reviewed by Sarah Broadhurst Sarah Broadhurst spent her early working life in the book trade in both retail and wholesale until the arrival of children forced her to look for freelance work she could do from… More reviews by Sarah Broadhurst
When lawyer, Jenny Cooper, is appointed Severn Vale District Coroner, she's hoping for a quiet life and space to recover from a traumatic divorce, but the office she inherits from the recently deceased Harry Marshall contains neglected files hiding dark secrets and a trail of buried evidence. Could the tragic death in custody of a young boy be linked to the apparent suicide of a teenage prostitute and the fate of Marshall himself?
Jenny's curiosity is aroused. Why was Marshall behaving so strangely before he died? What injustice was he planning to uncover?
And what caused his abrupt change of heart? In the face of powerful and sinister forces determined to keep both the truth hidden and the troublesome coroner in check, Jenny embarks on a lonely and dangerous one-woman crusade for justice which threatens not only her career but also her sanity.
M. R. Hall lives and works in the Wye valley in South Wales. Born in London in 1967, he was educated at Hereford Cathedral School and Worcester College, Oxford, where he graduated in law.
During a career at the Bar, working mostly in the field of criminal law, he tried to learn the craft of screen writing, eventually getting his first commission in television writing an episode of the ITV hit series, Kavanagh QC starring John Thaw. He went on to write further episodes and shortly afterwards was commissioned to create a series for the new Channel Five, Wing And A Prayer. The first season earned him a BAFTA nomination in the best series category.
For over ten years Matthew has been a screen writer and producer, and has written over forty hours of prime time drama for BBC1 and ITV.
His debut novel, The Coroner, was published by Pan Macmillan in the UK in 2009 and has been nominated for the Crime Writer’s Association Gold Dagger in the best novel category.
The second novel in the series, The Disappeared, was published in the USA by Simon and Schuster on December 1st 2009 and in the UK by Pan Macmillan in January 2010. The third novel in the series, The Redeemed, is out in April 2011.
Translation rights to both The Coroner and The Disappeared have been sold across the world.
Matthew spends much of his spare time looking after his sixteen acres of woodland and working for the conservation of the countryside.
When lawyer, Jenny Cooper, is appointed Severn Vale District Coroner, she's hoping for a quiet life and space to recover from a traumatic divorce, but the office she inherits from the recently deceased Harry Marshall contains neglected files hiding dark secrets and a trail of buried evidence. Could the tragic death in custody of a young boy be linked to the apparent suicide of a teenage prostitute and the fate of Marshall himself?
The Coroner features in the following genres: Crime and Mystery, Debut Books of the Month, eBooks of the Month, Fiction, Recommendations
Paperback. £8.99, down from the £9.99 cover price. Temporarily Out Of Stock.
The Coroner was written by M. R. Hall and published by Pan Books an imprint of Pan Macmillan
£8.99, reduced from £9.99. Temporarily Out Of Stock.
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