Former Detective Hillary Greene and her cold case team are sweltering in their stuffy basement office on the hottest day of the year when they are handed an impossible case.

Fifteen years ago, Imelda Phelps was battered to death in the hallway of her home. The brutal crime shocked the residents of the pretty market town of Chipping Norton. The killer was never caught.

The motive for the murder remains a mystery. Could the happily married mother-of-two’s stunning good looks have played a part in her death?

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Everyone will have to take a hard look in the mirror — and not everyone will like what they see. If Hillary is to crack the case, she must keep an open mind. But one thing is crystal-clear: this crime was personal. It’s up to Hillary and her team to work out which of Imelda’s family and friends is hiding a deadly secret.

A secret lover. A humiliated husband. A vengeful ex-business partner.

A resentful daughter. The list of suspects grows . . .

Suddenly an unexpected lead throws the case wide open. And then a second body turns up.

This cold case is now red hot . . .

My Review

I do love a book that takes place in my area. I decided to read Murder Under The Sun because the murder takes place in Chipping Norton, where my niece lives. But most of it is around other parts of Oxfordshire like Kidlington, and Gloucestershire where I live. When Hillary visits Cheltenham, I tried to recognise Imelda’s mum’s road. It’s described as very posh. I wasn’t too sure though I had a couple of guesses. And I’m not sure Cheltenham is quite as genteel as the author makes out! It was once reputed in the mid-nineties that the derogatory term ‘chav’ stood for ‘Cheltenham Average’.

This is book 22 in the Hillary Greene series (I usually avoid jumping into a series part way through, but I made an exception due to the locations). Hillary was a high ranking police officer for many years, with an exemplary record and a high solve rate. She is now in civvies as a consultant. She lives on a houseboat and drives an old Volkswagen Golf she nicknames Puff the Tragic Wagon.

When her boss Superintendent Rollo Sale asks her to reopen a cold case – the murder of stunning mother-of-two Imelda Phelps, who was battered to death 15 years ago – her killer never caught – she is ready for the challenge. I loved her colleagues Claire and ex-soldier Gareth, together they are a brilliant team.

Little did they know what a can of worms they were opening. A cuckolded husband, a not-so-secret lover, an ex-business partner with a grudge and an eccentric daughter who found the body. Throw into the mix a snooty mother and a son who was away at university at the time of the murder, and you have an entertaining read with a cast of memorable characters.

And there is the heatwave. It’s sweltering and there seems to be no let up. Everyone is fed up with it, and feeling uncomfortable.

It doesn’t matter if you haven’t read any of the other books in the series. I found it easy to get into without knowing the background. It’s hinted at, but not essential.

Many thanks to @ZooloosBT  for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the Author

Faith Martin was born in Oxford, and has spent all her life within twenty miles of the university city, even working at Somerville College for six years before turning to writing full-time. 

Faith has been writing for nearly 30 years under four different pen names and has had nearly 50 books published so far. She began writing romantic thrillers as Maxine Barry, which Joffe Books are in the process of re-releasing as brand new eBooks. Then she turned to crime, and as Joyce Cato wrote classic-style whodunits, since she’s always admired the golden-age crime novelists.  But it was when she created her fictional DI Hillary Greene, and began writing under the name of Faith Martin, that she finally began to become more widely known.  Her latest literary characters WPC Trudy Loveday, and city coroner, Dr Clement Ryder, take readers back to the 1960’s and the city of Oxford. Having lived within a few miles of the city of dreaming spires for all her life, both the city and the countryside/wildlife often feature in her novels. Although she has never lived on a narrow boat (unlike DI Hillary Greene!) the Oxford canal, the river Cherwell, and the flora and fauna of a farming landscape have always played a big part in her life – and often sneak their way onto the pages of her books.

Her hobbies include walking her now ageing dog, wildlife-watching, reading and (reluctantly) gardening.

Faith’s Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FaithMartinAuthor/
Twitter: https://x.com/FaithMartin_Nov

Book Links
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/231286050-murder-under-the-sunPurchase Link: https://mybook.to/murderundersun-zbt