LoveReading Says
December 2013 Book of the Month.
Creator of the Portsmouth-based Joe Faraday police procedural novels takes a bit character from that long series, one Jimmy Suttle, and moves him, his wife and two-year old daughter to Dartmoor. Fans need to be patient to let this series build and to warm to the new characters, certainly Jimmy’s wife doesn’t take to the move.
So we have half the book setting place and being fascinated by rowing and then we switch into what we’re used to, an intricate plot with several strands. It will be interesting to see how the series develops.
In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for Western Approaches a small number of Lovereading members were lucky enough to be invited to review this title. Scroll down to read their reviews.
Reviewed by Sarah BroadhurstSarah 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 About Western Approaches
D/S Jimmy Suttle has finally tired of the relentless struggle against the rising tide of urban crime in Portsmouth. Surely a job in Major Crimes in the West Country will offer some respite? He finds a remote cottage nestled in a fold of Dartmoor and, with his wife and two-year-old daughter, heads West for what he is sure will be a saner existence.
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Western Approaches Synopsis
D/S Jimmy Suttle has finally tired of the relentless struggle against the rising tide of urban crime in Portsmouth. Surely a job in Major Crimes in the West Country will offer some respite? He finds a remote cottage nestled in a fold of Dartmoor and, with his wife and two-year-old daughter, heads West for what he is sure will be a saner existence.
How wrong could he be? Soon he is investigating the murder of a long-distance rower in the small town of Exmouth. The man rowed in the same 5-man boat as a man who, two years before, dodged a murder charge when his wife went missing during a cross atlantic rowing challange.
There had been tensions between the two. Has a killer killed again? As the job takes over, Lizzie, Suttle's wife, is increasingly unhappy about the move.
Trying to juggle family life with her own new job on a local paper, isolated in a lonely cottage with a demanding toddler and struggling to make new friends, Lizzie thought the whole point of the move was that she and Suttle could at least see more of each other. As his marriage frays at the edges and his first investigation becomes mired Suttle begins to feel the hills around their cottage crowding in, the wind over the moors above ever chillier, the waters ever greyer.
He really has reached land's end...
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781409135548 |
| Publication date: |
21st November 2013 |
| Author: |
Graham Hurley |
| Publisher: |
Orion (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd ) an imprint of Orion Publishing Co |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
358 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Crime and Mystery
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| Other Genres: |
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| Recommendations: |
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Graham Hurley Press Reviews
We have asked a select number of members and browsers to review Western Approaches. You can read their reviews below.
Lindsey Whittle - I enjoyed this book tremendously; murder mystery, police procedural, West Country travelogue...The investigation into the murder unfolds believably, and the drawing together of all the different strands of the story happens satisfyingly as the pace increases. Click here to read the full review.
Ray Orgill - this truly intriguing and fast moving story of a policeman recently moved to the west country for a quiet life...This is a genuine "I-couldn't-put-it-down book". Click here to read the full review.
Barry Griffiths - Hurley's new novel does not disappoint, it's well written and absorbing, all the way through...The stories are beautifully woven together, with fascinating characters and plenty of dead ends to keep the grey matter busy. Click here to read the full review.
Gill Wilmott - The main storyline of the possible murder was interesting and I’m sure was accurate in terms of police procedure, offshore rowing, the geography etc. It was well written and easy to read. Click here to read the full review.
Anne Vaughan - The pace was lively and the ending was quite unexpected. Click here to read the full review.
Nicola Cooper - An enjoyable read! it kept me guessing throughout and interested Recommended! Click here to read the full review.
About Graham Hurley
Graham Hurley is a documentary maker and a novelist. For the last two decades he's written full-time, penning nearly fifty books. Two made the short list for the Theakston's Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year, while Finisterre – the first in the Spoils of War collection – was shortlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Award. Graham lives in East Devon with his lovely wife, Lin.
Author Photo Credit: Laura Muños
Maxim Jakubowski's view on JOE FARADAY...
The investigations of a Portsmouth cop and a fascinating look into crime on the British coast. If you like Ian Rankin’s Rebus, this should be your next step. NO LOVELIER DEATH is the 9th book in the Faraday series.
A Q & A with Graham Hurley
Who’s your favourite author?
The Alan Furst of The Polish Officer and The World at Night.
Where do you live? And why?
Portsmouth. Because so many people ask me why.
What’s the greatest influence on your writing?
Lin Rowden.
What is your philosophy for life?
Check the tide tables and watch for eddies.
Have you had any formal tuition in creative writing? If so, where and what? Did you find it useful?
BA/MA Cambridge University (English – no help at all). No formal tuition in creative writing except a pathological nosiness and a fascination with story. Profound doubts about collective literary endeavour. Why? Because, in the end, writing is a solitary business.
Did you always want to be an author? If not, what did you originally want to be and when and why did you change your mind?
Yes. And like most authors, I’m not sure why. But – emphatically – yes.
Who do you most admire and why?
My mum (seriously). Because she’s never failed to make the very best of an occasionally dodgy hand. Huge fortitude.
What jobs did you have before you started writing?
Ice cream salesman, deckchair attendant, lifeguard, prep school teacher (scripture and cricket), Radio Victory reporter, TV promotion scriptwriter, TV researcher, TV documentary director/producer, Oz TV cop series writer.
If your house was burning down what would you save?
Lin Rowden, the cats, a framed photo of the Otter estuary, me.
What do you do when you are not writing? How do you relax? What are your hobbies?
Sailing, cycling, nosing around, tussling with French, dreaming of the day Tony Blair resigns.
More About Graham Hurley
