MEET YOUR NEW FAVOURITE DETECTIVE.

Detective Norman is out of retirement and back on the beat in a rainy Welsh seaside town. Llangwelli might be short on sunshine, but it’s certainly not short on murders . . .

Norman may seem a bit old-fashioned, but he’s always willing to learn from his band of misfit recruits.

A body in the forest. An ancient pagan ritual. A baffling mystery.

On Halloween night, the body of a young woman is discovered buried in a shallow grave in the Dragon Forest, a popular local beauty spot. The only clue to her identity is the number 37 tattooed on the sole of her foot.

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Detective Norman’s new boss, Acting Superintendent Evans, is convinced the murder is connected to a group of pagans who were performing a secret ritual in the forest that night. Norman’s not so sure. The one thing he does know is that he’d make much faster progress without the insufferable Evans breathing down his neck.

Something is off about this case. Norman knows he’s missing something important — but he can’t seem to see the wood for the trees.

Then the discovery of a second body in the woods turns everything on its head.

My Review

If I said this was great fun and an entertaining read, that would probably sound inappropriate for a book that involves murder, people trafficking and pagan worship. But what makes it so entertaining is the banter between DS Norman Norman, his boss DI Sarah Southall and the other members of the team, plus their total dismay at the attitude of Acting Superintendent DCI Evans who is the temporary stand-in for DCI Bain, who is recovering from an operation. It seems like Evans wants to get rid of both Bain and Norman in case they affect his ambitions.

A Body In The Forest is the seventh book in the West Wales Murder Mysteries series and the first one for me, though it can be read as a standalone. I was attracted to the book because of the number 37 tattooed on the first victim’s ankle. I like anything that may involve witchcraft, symbols and strange carvings (often into the body itself) but this turned out to be something quite different. Evans, however, is convinced that it’s connected to the pagan rituals carried out a few times a year, especially because of the location of the body – Dragon Forest is a place of myth and mystery – and the fact that it’s Halloween. Evidence be damned!

DNA shows that the victim was probably from the Middle East, which makes identifying her almost impossible if she was here illegally. However, when a second body is discovered, that proves to be easier, but the MO is totally different, so are they even connected? Norman and his band of merry men (and women) have their own ideas, which don’t sit well with Evans.

At the time of the first murder, six teenage friends were celebrating Halloween, but there was also a seventh, who could be key to the whole mystery. It’s all very complicated or so it seems.

It’s a great read and the characters of Norman and Southall are as endearing as Evans isn’t. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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

About the Author

Peter Ford always dreamed of becoming a writer, but a dream is easily stifled without support from those around you. It was only when his old, unhappy life fell apart and he met his new partner (now wife) Mary, who believed dreamers should be encouraged, that he finally got the chance to live that dream. Fast forward a few years and you find a man transformed.

Now, blissfully happy, settled in a quiet corner of Wales with wife Mary and their rescue dogs, P.F. Ford is living proof that it’s never too late to achieve your dreams.

Where can you find them?
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PFFordAuthor
Website: https://pfford.com/

Book Links
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/240349998-a-body-in-the-forest
Purchase Link: https://mybook.to/bodyinforest-zbt