The Killer in the Snow: The new and most chilling British detective crime fiction book you’ll read this year: Book 2 (DI James Walker series)

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I thought there was a lot more police procedure content in this book which I enjoyed. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t like watching a hard hitting BBC drama unfold, but I wasn’t expecting that and I don’t think that I will expect that from future books in this series. The plot felt fast and edgy, plus, the investigation had many leads to it, including a few red herrings. Given that I read a lot of thrillers I tend to have a good idea early on what has happened and by 38% of the way through the book I made my prediction which turned out to be near as damn right. This, however, didn’t take away my enjoyment of the book as I then needed to see if I was right or what I had missed. Just as he reached it, the shouting was drowned out by a high-pitched scream that sent his pulse racing.

The central characters of DI Walker and his wife are also well-rounded and engaging. They are expecting a baby and there is a sub-plot to do with their past in London which adds a bit of depth and interest to their relationship and situation – although I think the sub-plot probably feels more high-stake if you’ve read the first book. I thought it was a shame that more of the police team weren’t given more to do – so much of the focus is on Walker himself that the team don’t really have distinct personalities. Instinct told him that whatever was going on in the house had to be more important than what might be happening in the cellar, so he turned sharply on his heels and rushed towards the front door. DI James Walker is investigating what looks like a murder/suicide of a farmer. his wife and daughter. But the more James Walker and his team investigate into the family, the more intriguing the case becomes. Over twenty years ago, the previous owners met a similar fate. There's also a dangerous London gangster who's went that's vowed vengeance on James Walker. This is the second instalment in the James Walker series. James Walker is a detective, and lives with his wife, Annie, in Kirkby Abbey after moving from The Met in London when his life was threatened from a previous case he had worked on. The first book focused on their arrivals to Cumbria and a serial killer that was on the loose. In this book, Walker is sent to investigate the deaths of a husband, wife, and daughter on their farm over Christmas. We go through the highs and lows with the team to catch the perpetrators. And to top it off, the threat from London on Walker’s life has caught up with him in Cumbria. A family murder on Oaktree Farm seems to be a simple case of murder suicide but DI James Walker of the Cumbria Constabulary isn't too sure especially when he learns about the sad history of the farm. Will the team be able to find out the truth about the farm and it's secrets? Things can't get any worse for DI Walker as there is a gang boss out there that wants revenge for sending him to prison.Oaktree Farm is remote, run down, and for sale, but it isn’t empty. Death has called over the festive season and it isn't its first visit. When he finds out the farm's terrible history James can't understand why anyone would still want to live there. As his case gathers pace, and various suspects come to light, discoveries are made which begin to link the present crime to one which happened over two decades earlier. I haven’t read the first book, The Christmas Killer, but as this book worked as a standalone and I was intrigued enough by the plot that I decided to give it a read, though I never felt like I got to know DI James Walker fully or appreciated his character in the way I would have had I read the first book.

What a puzzle! On Christmas Eve, at Oaktree Farm, the owner, his wife and daughter are found murdered. Twenty four years earlier, at Oaktree Farm, the owner and his wife were found murdered. Their infant daughter was never found. I enjoyed the fact that the lead detective, DI James Walker, seems so well adjusted with a pleasant, comfortable home life, unlike many lead detectives in fiction who have emotional issues in their personal lives that they soothe with alcohol. He also has a cooperative team working together without dissension, and delegates tasks wisely. He is calm, persistent, and patient in his skilled interrogation of suspects. I learned that this is the second book in the DI Walker series, both cases occurring in a quiet village during the Christmas season. This works as a standalone but refers to previous events which raised my interest in reading the first book. Although the case is complex with two stories coming together, it’s easy to follow and constantly intriguing. I did guess the twist early on after making a wild prediction, but I was still excited to see if I was right and how the answers would be revealed. The pace is steady and whilst I anticipated the twist, it didn't take away from the journey to get there.More than two decades earlier, the previous owners of the farm were murdered in the basement and their baby daughter vanished. This murder was never solved. The investigators feel there must be a connection between this cold case and the present family murder. With so many possible perpetrators, they must find a motive linking both killings within the same house during the elapsed time period. Can they succeed? In an unrelated thread, there is a gangster that Walker helped imprison while working in London who is bound on revenge. Lovers of police procedural are thoroughly going to enjoy trying to keep one step ahead of James in solving the crimes. I suspected just about every character at some point. Book 2 in the DI James Walker series and a well written and enjoyable read which can easily be read as a stand-alone. Walker is a well written and well adjusted character with a happy family life, unusually so for a fictional detective.

As the case is investigated James Walker finds out that the farmer was in a lot of debt. Was this one of the reasons that he and his family are dead? We also learned that 24 years previous that the owners of the farm also ended up the same way and their daughter was missing. Are these deaths connected somehow? This marks yet another series that I’ve jumped into at a mid-point! This is the second book in this series, following on from ‘The Christmas Killer’– although I think this works fine as a stand alone novel. Pine starts off by summarising the events of the first book without giving any spoilers, so this can easily be read as a standalone. I also love that he provides a set of character profiles at the start for any new readers, making sure that everybody starts off in a knowledgeable place. Perfect for fans of smash-hit TV series Whitehouse Farm, Simon McCleave’s The Snowdonia Killings and Catherine Cooper’s The Chalet.It has been a year since DI James Walker’s last big case and this festive period, he is hoping for a much quieter time. The shoeprints went down the steps and stopped in front of the door, which suggested that whoever had gone in there hadn't yet come out. Walker also receives a report from his former colleagues in the Met that his nemesis, gang land boss Andrew Sullivan, is wanted for murder and has Walker in his sights. The investigation is just getting underway when DI Walker is made aware of a similar murder/suicide at the farm twenty years ago, one in which the couples baby daughter went missing, presumed dead. Could the cases be linked? I read this book in a small cabin in the woods in the dark of night, deliberately setting the scene for maximum enjoyment of this thriller. The introduction to DI Walker and his colleagues is helpful and I really like the plot building. So well done. Walker's relationship with his wife is refreshingly a loving and caring one.

Without a neighbour for miles, there are no witnesses and little eviden ce. And the crime scene h as strange echoe s of another terrible murder committ ed at the farmhouse, twenty years earlier... Wondering how these cases could be related, DI James Walker and his team begin to investigate. Robert Bateman, killed on Christmas Eve, had a gambling problem and was about to lose the farm. Threats are found on his phone. His daughter Charlotte is dating a possible drug dealer. And, behind the boarded over cellar door, there’s a peephole where someone has been watching the Batemans. Someone who left bloody shoe prints from the outer cellar door. Prints that don’t match any found near the bodies. As Walker tries to unravel the mystery behind the killings, he faces another threat. Andrew Sullivan, a gang leader, is out of jail and looking for revenge. Walker and his wife are on his list.

Diaries & Calendars

A triple murder has occurred in an isolated farm on the outskirts of the fictional village of Kirkby Abbey in Cumbria. Initially, it looks like a clear case of murder-suicide however, on further inspection, things just don't add up. In addition, there are similarities to a murder-suicide at the same house some 20 years earlier. Without a neighbour for miles, there are no witnesses and little evidence. And the crime scene has strange echoes of another terrible murder committed at the farmhouse, twenty years earlier…