Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Set in Oxford in 1960, this is the third book on the Ryder and Loveday series of crime novels.

Based around a beauty contest, this is an engaging and easy to read story. The relationship between the coroner and the probationary WPC, is well developed, and over all the story is well plotted.

A nice cosy mystery with a whole host of suspects and a lot of twists and turns. Didn't suspect the culprit before it was revealed. I've enjoyed a few of Faith Martin's books now, and I'll definitely look out for more of them.

A thrilling read which kept me turning the pages, characters you care for and just brilliantly written. Great novel!!

This is a lovely cozy mystery taking you back to a more gentle time of 1960. We have a beauty pageant at the local theatre where you can still find dark murder. Police Constable Trudy Loveday along with Coroner Clement Ryder would go undercover as contestant and judge and overcome a few of their own fears. These two have a good friendship investigating murder but also have secrets of their own.
I was given an ARC of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Faith Martin can be counted on to have a good mystery and well defined characters. Her writing is consistently good. I pick her books to read every time I see them.
A beauty pageant as a murder scene is not a new story line, but it's just a starting point for this killer. As our heroes investigate, they often find themselves one step behind the killer and running to catch up. It's a good thing they are persistent! This is another great book for Faith martin.

Overall a simple but good read, good characterisation, well written and enjoyable. An intriguing mystery that will keep you turning the pages.

Having thoroughly enjoyed Faith Martin's Hillary Greene series, I jumped at the opportunity to try A Fatal Flaw. But, before I could read it, I had to catch up on the earlier books in the series. And I'm so glad I did that. Trudy Loveday and Clement Ryder are an unlikely duo. She's a probationary WPC and he's an eminent coroner. They come from very different backgrounds but both are strong and determined - and both are battling circumstances beyond their control.

A Fatal Flaw is an undemanding read but it's interesting and the characters are well drawn. The setting in 1960 Oxford is fascinating and, I think, well evoked. I'm looking forward to reading more about this odd couple!

I really enjoyed the third in the series of the PC Trudy Loveday and would recommend you read them in order. This story I felt personally was better than the first and I was intrigued to see where it would go. The plot was great and the general feel for the period is written really well. It is really interesting to see Trufy’s point of view as one of the early and few police ‘women’ and people’s attitudes to her.

I really like the characters in the book and the relationships they have and would like to read more in the series.

Overall, an easy, enjoyable read and I would recommend.

Couldn’t quite get into this one but I think probably storyline was’t really broad enough for my taste so just didn’t appeal to me. A 50’s beauty contest marred by murder and revenge however some of the emphasis was a bit repetitive. I like the partnership that this series has generated and is reasonably atmospheric for the period but certainly preferred and enjoyed the previous two books more. Live in hopes that next the book is more in keeping with standard previously set.

I first discovered the author, Faith Martin a few months ago, when I read two of her books from the ‘Jenny Starling’ series, both of which I totally adored. I have not read any books from the series featuring Hillary Greene. “A Fatal Flaw” is the first book I’ve read from this series featuring WPC Trudy Loveday and Coroner Clement Ryder, though it is actually the third in the series and is published by HQ. So far, I have taken great delight in each book that Faith Martin has released. “A Fatal Flaw” has proven to be no exception.

I loved Faith Martin’s characterisation of WPC Trudy Loveday who was enthusiastic, feisty, considerate and, at times stubborn.

Also quite special was the author’s portrayal of Clement Ryder, who was the area coroner. Ryder was a man who has experienced his fair share of life - someone of a certain age who has lived a little.

The duo, Trudy, always eager to learn and Ryder, worked really well together and being a probationary WPC, Trudy was determined to draw on Ryder’s wealth of experience. For his part, Ryder knew the potential in Trudy and their great partnership complemented the story beautifully.

“A Fatal Flaw” is so wonderfully well-written and the writing style was really comfortable for me, helping to tempt me into the story. There was plenty going on which kept my attention throughout and I never once felt bored.

I found this mystery to be totally addictive once I had started to read it, so much so that I was hooked before I even had the chance to scroll to the second page! Faith Martin’s writing was so convincing that I could have been another in their team.

I thought “A Fatal Flaw” was a superb read and a real winner. I would recommend it to other mystery readers. I am looking forward to my next book by Faith Martin, whether that will be something new or a book I’ve never yet read from an existing series.

My thanks to #NetGalley, HQ Digital and the author for providing me with a free advanced copy of #AFatalFlaw.

This was my first experience of Faith Martin's work, and I didn't realize until I had gotten some way into it that this was not the first in the series. So, I have nothing to compare it to, but I found it an enjoyable read. I was surprised that one of the character's was diagnosed with Parkinson's (I have someone in my family with the disease) and will be interested to see how that plays into the next in the series.

I like the period and the setting and think Ms Martin does a good job with that. This is not a book with corpses and gore, more of a traditional police procedural,. Overall, I like her style except for her overuse (to my way of thinking) of exclamation points!!

I did feel a bit let down at the end of the book - it felt like a teaser for the next one. There are some authors that do this consistently and it annoys me no end. As I said, I haven't read any other of her books, so I'm hoping this isn't typical of her. I plan to read the others in this series, and possibly other series from her, assuming I don't find teaser endings in them.

Thanks to NetGallery, the publisher and author for providing me a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.

Thankyou to NetGalley, HQ Digital and the author, Faith Martin, for the opportunity to read a digital cpy of A Fatal Flaw in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
Ms Martin never fails with her novels. This book was no exception.. The storyline was well thought out and written with engaging characters. I was hooked from the start.
Well worth a read.

Thank You Net Galley, HQ Digital and Faith Martin for A Fatal Flaw.

I am undoubtedly becoming a huge fan of Faith Martin. This is my 2nd book of hers and her writing is really flawless. The mystery is set in 1960's which itself made me so happy. It is fascinating to read about the painstaking police work required to catch a killer at an age when the forensics is not as advanced as today and of course with no CCTV. Trudy Loveday is a young WPC so when her friend asks her help to look into the apparent suicide of a beauty pageant contestant, it seems simple and easy. But when Trudy herself becomes a contestant to learn the truths of the mysterious prankster or murderer among them, things start taking a sinister turn with the death of another contestant. With the aid of the coroner Clement Ryder, the mystery of the very devious and cunning killer is untangled.
This is book #3 in the series of Trudy and Ryder but can be easily read as standalone.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC, I have enjoyed reading this book.
Any book by Faith Martin is always a pleasure to read. Fatal Flaw was a murder mystery set in Oxford and based in the 1060’s
It was a nice, comfortable easy read and I highly recommend reading books by this author.

Another great book in the Ryder and Loveday series. Faith Martin is (thankfully) a prolific writer of great skill. I eagerly anticipate the release of her books. She brings a different style to each of her series. The Ryder and Loveday series is set in Oxford during the 60s and are compellingly evocative of that era with its ideas around what is 'seemly' and the casual sexism. These books could be classed as cozy mysteries, but they are much more than that. This one has an unlikely killer and is peopled with believable characters as well as being cleverly plotted. Another winner.

I thought the premise had promise, but the story was not very engaging. Though I loved the setting and time period, I had trouble connecting with the characters and felt the mystery was slow moving. I would give Faith Martin another chance though and try one of her other mysteries.

I have read a lot of Faith Martin's books and really enjoyed her stories about DI Hilary. However, I wasn't quite as convinced by this one. It is gentle and unassuming and I do like the authors writing style, but I just found the plot pretty unconvincing and felt the ending was a disappointment.

Enjoyable murder mystery which keeps the reader guessing with just enough clues to hint the right direction. Enjoyable easy read. I’ve discovered a new fave author thanks to netgalley and will be reading more of her books!

I have been a fan of Faith Martin’s books for quite a while now. I absolutely loved the series featuring Hilary Greene, which is published by Joffe Books and I absolutely love the Jenny Starling series, which is also published by Joffe Books. ‘A Fatal Flaw’ is the third book in the series featuring WPC Trudy Loveday and Coroner Clement Ryder and is published by HQ. I eagerly devour and love each book that Faith releases. ‘ A Fatal Flaw’ is no exception to that. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘A Fatal Flaw’ but more about that in a bit.
I love the pairing of probationary WPC Trudy Loveday and Clement Ryder, who is the coroner for the area. Trudy is determined to become a police officer and nothing will put her off the idea. Even the fact that she is given all the crappy jobs to do doesn’t change her mind. Trudy is feisty, determined, brave, kind, compassionate and at times stubborn. Trudy is also eager to learn and when she works with Ryder, she is determined to draw on his experience. Ryder is slightly different. He is a man of a particular age who has seen it all and done it all. Ryder sees the potential in Loveday and takes her under his wing, which doesn’t exactly go down very well. Loveday and Ryder work well together and what one of them lacks, the other one provides if that makes sense? The partnership between them is very strong and formidable.
I have to say that it didn’t take me very long at all to get into this book. By the time I got to the end of the first page, I was hooked. This book proved to be addictive reading. I just couldn’t put the book down as I was enjoying the story and the characters so much. The further I got into the book, the more addicted to the story I became. I tried to ration how much I read at any one time because I wanted to prolong my enjoyment of the book but those attempts were soon thrown out of the window because I couldn’t stop reading. In fact reading this book felt as though I was reuniting with old friends in the shape of Loveday and Ryder. The author writes so realistically and convincingly that I did feel as though I was the third person in their team. I even began to interact with the book as if the characters could hear me. I know, I know I get far too involved in books that I enjoy.
I would definitely say that ‘A Fatal Flaw’ is well written. The author has a writing style that is easy to get used to and tempts you in to the story. There’s enough going on to keep your attention all the way through. She has created characters that are likeable and storylines that are realistic and plausible. I also like the fact that the story is set during the 1960s which is an era that fascinates me.
In short I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘A Fatal Flaw’ and I would recommend it to other readers. For me, this is the best book of the series so far. I can’t wait to read what comes next from the pen of Faith Martin. Here’s hoping that we don’t have too long to wait. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.