James Garfield, a mountaineer and runner, is an influencer on the cusp of major success. When his dead body is found in a ravine, DI Jess Chambers has her first case in Cumbria as an autopsy shows that Garfield was pushed to his death. Jess is nervous about her position as SIO on the investigation and unfamiliar with the Lake District. She relies on Margot Voyce, the young walking guide who discovered the body, for advice on everything from proper clothing for this cold, damp region to descriptions of village life and directions. As James Garfield’s followers and fans flood Cumbria for a memorial service, Jess knows there is a killer among them. Can she find him before there is another murder?

The Body on Scafell Pike is the first in a new series featuring Jess Chambers and Margot Voyce and I can’t wait for the next mystery. All characters are well described, especially Tony Peters and Tom Drake, and the Lake District provides an atmospheric location. Kudos to S J Brooke! 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Headline and S J Brooke for this ARC.

The setting and premise of this novel, the first in a series, is a good one. The location of the Lake District gives the reader a sweeping and dramatic backdrop as the protagonist tackles a suspicious death of a famous climber and fell runner. I hope her background as a cop in Belfast will be important in future stories in the series.
Despite the setting, I really couldn't warm to this as a thriller/mystery novel. The suspense, for me, was never there, and I felt the ending was anti climatic and relied too much on telling rather than showing, so it never felt natural.
Sorry, this wasn't for me.

The Body on Scafell Pike by S J Brooke is the first book in the DI Jess Chambers and Margot Voyce murder mystery series. It is set in the Lake District national park in northwest England. I liked the setting descriptions and felt right there alongside the detectives.

The synopsis of the story is that a renowned mountaineer and self-described 'fell runner' is found dead in a deep gully on one side of Scafell Pike within hours of announcing his intention of breaking the world record for the quickest continuous summit of every peak in the Lake District.

Only a month into the job, DI Jess Chambers had been hoping that Cumbria would offer a slower pace of policing than her native Belfast, but this first case already sees her out of her depth. A local mountain guide, Margot Voyce, proves to be her biggest asset as she begins her investigation into the mysterious death of this world-famous athlete in unfamiliar terrain.

The ending was anticlimactic, and some scenes felt implausible. I don't want to say too much, as it would give away the culprit.

I may be in the minority, but this was just an okay read for me. I had a hard time getting into the story, and the writing and action seemed slow.

I rate this 3 out of 5 stars due to it feeling slow and some implausible scenes and character actions.

#TheBodyonScafellPike #NetGalley @headlinepg

Sometimes, declaring your intentions to the world on social media isn't a good idea.

Within hours of declaring his attempt on a world record, renowned mountaineer James disappears from Scafell Pike...

DI Jess Chambers is seriously out of her depth in an unfamiliar landscape. It's her first case after moving from Belfast.

And with hordes of online fans descending on the area, it makes solving this much more difficult.

Am really looking forward to the next adventure in this series

I loved everything about this book! The atmosphere, the suspense, the storyline, the characters. There was plenty to keep you guessing and plenty to keep you returning back to the story, eager to uncover the truth and find out what was happening.

This has great promise as a series and has set itself up really well. The DI, Jess Chambers at the forefront was a great character to follow, and we see her slip into Cumbrian life and a new police force, with a murder to solve. The Lake District is also one of my favourite places, so a book set in this beautiful place was also a deciding factor for my reading!

The writing was great and managed to capture everything you want from a crime, murder and suspense kind of story. I certainly can’t wait to read follow ups and to see what else is flung Jess’s way! Margot was a great character edition too. Interesting to see how their dynamic develops.

It was super easy to read and entertaining, will eagerly await book two!

Good book! This book had a bit of everything! It had suspense, intrigue, murder, mystery, revenge, A great who done it, and a few crazy twists and turns! The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my Kindle! I definitely recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!