4.6 stars

A report comes in about a missing woman. The missing woman is Elizabeth Knight, and her husband Martin Knight is on his way home from a meeting. Martin is rude to the PCSO when she calls him and says he knows where his wife has gone.

The police are also undergoing a review of supposed mishandling of the “Girl F” case. At the same time, Professor Martin Knight was the one who wrote the initial report on the Girl F case. He is well known to the police and not at all well liked. And he is a colleague of the Home Secretary and is known to Whitehall. He is also a long-time critic of the police. His wife Liz is a former girlfriend of DCI Craig Gillard, some thirty years earlier.

Martin has not called the police as he promised to do after looking for his wife, and now he seems to have gone missing as well.

DCI Gillard and DS Claire Mulholland are assigned to the cases. As they investigate the disappearances, they speculate as to what might have happened. Did Knight murder his wife and then disappear? Are they both dead? As Gillard goes to Liz’ home, he finds bloodstains and the remains of bleach that was apparently used to try to clean it up. Is it Liz’ blood? He fears the worst. A more serious turn in the case occurs.

Gillard’s former girlfriend is assaulted. She beat up the perpetrator pretty badly. (Good for her!) The man was driving the right kind of car, had the license plates altered and stank of breath mints. Could this be the Girl F assaulter? But the man arrested for the assault and the suspect in Girl F fiasco is very slick and self-assured. He slips out of custody.

All the forensic rests on the evidence found at Liz’ home and in other places come up with her being dead. They hold a memorial service. Then DCI Gillard gets an epiphany. Could it be? The pieces finally come together for Gillard. Not too surprising, since the author dropped plenty of hints along the way, but it was fun getting to the conclusion - and to find out that I was right.

I must say something about DCI Gillard here. He is pining away for a woman he knew as a teenager thirty years earlier. Really? I wanted to say, “Get a life already!” He even ruins his current relationship over it. When he finds the bloodstains in her house, he sobs his heart out. Really? Sheesh!

This book is well written and plotted. I just had a major problem with DCI Gillard’s immaturity. The tension was well-paced and continued throughout the story. I enjoyed the way that the team seemed to get along with one another. DS Mulholland was a very put together lady, and I appreciated that. In fact, I liked her much better than her boss. I’m assuming that this is a debut for this series. It is really well done and I applaud Mr. Louth. And I’m looking very much forward to reading more of his books.

I want to thank NetGalley and Canelo for forwarding this book to me to read and enjoy.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Canelo for an advance copy of The Body in the Marsh, a police procedural set in Surrey and Kent.

DCI Craig Gillard is intrigued by a missing person report on 48 year old Liz Knight because she used to be his girlfriend 30 years ago. Her husband Martin, a long term critic of the police force, doesn't appear too worried about her disappearance but when he too disappears and copious amounts of Liz's blood are found at her home the hunt is on.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Body in the Marsh as it is an excellent procedural which gives the reader real insight into police thinking and methods. It does not get bogged down in the detail but still manages to convey the detailed nature of an investigation. It held my attention throughout, not just with the hunt for Martin Knight but with the subplot about an inquiry into the failings of Surrey Police in the case of Child F who committed suicide when they didn't take her allegations of abuse seriously.

I must admit that I guessed fairly early on where the novel was going and what the twist would be. This is not a criticism of Mr Louth's talents at hiding his intentions because I'm not sure it will be obvious to everyone but I am a seasoned crime fiction reader and there's very little plot wise I haven't read before. I think it is very cleverly done and will amaze many readers.

The reason I have awarded this novel 4 and not the 5 stars the plot and writing style undoubtedly deserve is the character of Craig Gillard. It is a step too far to ask me to believe that a hardened professional like him is still in love with a teenage girlfriend he dated for 6 weeks 30 years ago to the extent that he is unable to sustain another relationship. It's absolute nonsense.

Despite this The Body in the Marsh is an excellent read which I have no hesitation in recommending.