There is a really good story in here, with some interesting characters, but I found it jumped around too much for me; at times I thought I’d missed a page or two. What this book is very good at though, is showing the shades of good and bad in the characters.

This is an enjoyable read based on a police detective partnership between two different characters. This of course is a common relationship dynamic in crime thrillers, with one detective starting out in the narrative as clean-cut and responsible, while the other is adverse to authority within the police hierarchy, and less than fully compliant with the rules, though all in the pursuit of justice. This works well enough, and the characters and dialogue are credible and compelling at times. But the story could perhaps have done with more of a back story, or a greater sense of the non-work lives and backgrounds of the detectives. There is a mystery to be solved of course, but the loose ends get tied up rather too neatly and abruptly towards the conclusion of the book. However, the book is well-written and the characters remain interesting throughout.

Thanks to Quercus Books and NetGalley for an advance copy.

James Henry's latest offering has DS Daniel Kenton survive his previous series, in Colchester CID and joined by a new scruffy DS Brazier with his adidas and bomber jacket, a completely different personality, with the pair working as a team. It is February 1991, freezing cold with snow blizzards, and Kenton, a birdwatcher, happens to see flames, he makes his way to St Nicholas-on-the-Marsh, a case of arson, where the church roof has been targeted and burned, much to the dismay and anger of Father Symonds. After receiving a letter apparently from his 'sick' ex-wife, Chloe Moran, drug smuggler Bruce Hopkins, with his changed appearance and fake passport, returns to Colchester after 10 years in Spain. However, he finds himself abducted, his murdered naked body stuffed in the boot of a stolen blue Ford Sierra.

Kenton and Brazier find themselves in charge of a stressful and complicated multilayered investigation, where ambitious boss, Superintendent Watt, is firmly intent on moving on, climbing the career ladder as soon as possible. They finds themselves facing obstacles and political machinations, but Kenton finds himself getting on with and liking the maverick, working class Brazier. There are twists and turns galore as Chloe, now an accountant, denies ever writing to her ex, but if she didn't, who did? A florist commits suicide, and a photograph leads them to the past and a boarding school, St Bryde's, located outside their jurisdiction. At a time where the government policy of 'care in the community' is being implemented, with huge swathes of mental health patients being released from institutions, it eventually begins to emerge that there may be a connection with the burning of the church roof.

Henry immerses the reader in the nostalgia of the historical period, whilst providing a social and political commentary on issues such as mental health policies and more, with troubling and horrifying instances of abuse and a police force ill equipped to deal with these areas. You get a real sense of the location and landscape of Essex, with rich and detailed descriptions of the marshes and the impact of the time of year and the associated snow and ice. This is an engaging, dark, and intense piece of complex historical crime fiction that deals with upsetting themes and the vulnerabilities of the young. I particularly appreciated being plunged into the remembered turbulent and challenging times of the 1990s! Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Quercus Books for an advance copy of The Winter Visitor, a stand-alone police procedural featuring DS Daniel Kenton of Essex Police set in 1991.

Wanted drug smuggler Bruce Hopkins returns from Spain to Colchester at the behest of his ex-wife, only to end up murdered and stuffed into the boot of a stolen car that ended up in the local reservoir. Kenton is teamed with DS Brazier to investigate the murder while also looking into a sophisticated arson at a local church.

I enjoyed The Winter Visitor, which is an old fashioned police procedural with few forensics and lots of shoe leather. It is told from various points of view and while I’m not always a fan of that approach (it’s often choppy and doesn’t hold the attention) the story is strong enough here to make it work well. I think, perhaps, because there is enough unsaid to arouse the reader’s curiosity and keeps the pages turning.

The plot is quite complicated with Kenton and Brazier having to work out who did what and why. There is an unsavoury undercurrent to it, but that’s is not immediately clear so they follow the clues helpfully provided by both the victim and perhaps the killer. I find this kind of novel absorbing, where the protagonists work towards a stated goal, in this case finding a murderer, and do it doggedly, only hampered by a know-it-all boss and initially not enough to go on. There are several twists that took me by surprise and I found the murder victim, Bruce Hopkins’, motives less than clearcut.

In some ways I felt that I was joining a series part way through in terms of the characters. Kenton has unexplained issues with Superintendent Watt or is it the other way round? There also seems to be tensions in his marriage and, yet, he is a mild mannered man with a conciliatory attitude. It’s strange. Brazier, on the other hand, is more of an open book. He’s brash and has no tact at all, but he’s not nearly as daft as that would suggest.

The Winter Visitor is a good read that I can recommend.

A very enjoyable book. The plot is quite convoluted with a lot of characters introduced at the beginning. I decided it was better read in big chinks otherwise I did get muddled. Living fairly close to Colchester, I enjoyed the fact that local places I knew were included in the plot.
I haven't read any other of Henry's book and will certainly look out for them. I hope there will be a sequel to The Winter Visitor as I enjoyed the characters of Wilde, Kenton and Brazier.

Bruce Hopkins is a small time crook who has absconded to Spain to avoid justice. However, a letter from his estranged ex-wife brings him back home to Colchester and results in his death. DS Daniel Kenton, with DS Brazier, is charged with finding his killer. However, another bizarre case is in their laps - the arson of a Medieval church roof.

Kenton and Brazier have to walk carefully, keeping their ambitious boss Watt on side if they are to solve both crimes. And the truth may lie deeper in the past than either realise.

The book was quite hard to get into - it felt like a new character was being introduced every few pages with little explanation, and none of them became really rounded and clear for the reader to identify with. However, the plot itself was clever and made for an interesting read. The historical setting, in the 1990s, didn't really add much to the flavour of events.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It's February 1991 and Essex is bitingly cold, which made Bruce Hopkins' return all the more surprising. He'd been exiled on the Costa del Sol as a wanted drug smuggler for a decade. The return has come about because he's had a letter from his ex-wife, saying that she's ill and hasn't long to live. It's hard to feel any sympathy when Hopkins is abducted, stripped to his underwear and sent to a watery grave in the boot of a stolen Ford Sierra. Is it a warning from a Spanish gang or a problem closer to home?

DS Daniel Kenton and DS Julian Brazier are case-sharing on this one - along with the arson at a remote Norman church and the surprising death of an ageing florist. Is there a thread which connects them? Of course there is - but it's deeply entangled and will take some sorting out. To add to the difficulty, it will have to be done without the support of Superintendent Watt, whose interest in justice seems to revolve around whether or not there's a benefit to himself. Kenton and Brazier are chalk and cheese but the unlikely pairing produces benefits.

It's more than a decade since I first encountered James Henry when I was tempted into reading his continuation of R D Wingfield's Frost novels. I was convinced that he had a real ability to produce a great plot and an ear for character. The Winter Visitor is the first of his writing that I've encountered which isn't related to Frost.

If you're looking for fast action, then this might not be the book for you. It takes a little while to establish the characters and the Essex countryside but pay attention as this is one of the most complex plots I've met in a long time. I'd a lot of sympathy with - and admiration of - Kenton and Brazier as there wasn't a lot to go on. A dead drug smuggler who's not been around Colchester for a decade wasn't going to cause a lot of excitement. Only the vicar seemed to be worried about the fire damage to the church and the florist's suicide seemed to be just that - the suicide of a man past his prime.

It was fascinating to look back at the nineties. Women barely figured in the police force and Care in the Community was just emerging - and the flaws were already visible. Only just becoming visible were the effects of child abuse which had been hidden for years. It's a good, thought-provoking read if you're willing to invest the time to get into the story.

I'd like to thank the publishers for letting Bookbag have a review copy.

A slow burning yet well crafted solid police procedural. I liked much about this new read from James Henry that I imagine is the start of a new series.

Set in the 90s, the story showcases how the police force was just 30 something years ago, with women just beginning to be accepted. The story itself though focuses on institutions from police, to schools and to the mental health system at the time.

As stated above it’s a solid thriller, that whilst not treading any new ground, it does deliver what it sets out to do.

It’s a strong read with some powerful
Notes and characters that I feel have room to grow.

Would recommend.

I found the story confusing with too much going on but too little explanation about how it all fitted together.

Not the book for me and I won’t be looking out for anything else by this author.

I'm a bit conflicted with this book. I like police procedure stories and this is set in the good old days before woke stupidity was allowed to spoil everything. The story is entertaining with a few twists and the two main characters, each with hang-ups, work well together. However, overall, it didn't quite work for me. I suspect though, that if you're a James Henry fan, you'll love it.

The Winter Visitor is the first book that I've read by James Henry and while I didn't love our protoganists, I found the storyline intriguing and would read another in this line.
Our story contains numerous strands, which are very neatly tied together throughout the case. Set in the Winter of 1991, the two detectives, DS Kenton and Brazier are assigned to investigate the murder - interestingly the victim is "known to the police" as Bruce Hopkins is a former drug smuggler, whose body was discovered in the boot of a car, dumped in a reservoir. Meanwhile, there is a bizarre case of arson at a local.church and the take moves between the various investigations. As Kenton and Brazier learn to work together, they find both investigations leading to the same people and are soon struggling to prove a historic abuse case again political pressure.
The story of abuse does not make for easy reading, but there is a vein of wry humour, running throughout the novel that helps to alleviate the darker scenes.

I really liked this detective novel set in 1991 and going way further back in time looking for justice for historial sexual abuse victims. It was weird reading something set then! I would read something else by this author

DS Kenton and Brazier are assigned to investigate the murder of a drug smuggler discovered in a car that was dumped in a reservoir. A twisty tale with plenty of dubious characters to muddle the plot. A church tower on fire, the suicide of a florist, a Christmas party in a dreary hotel all contribute to the storyline set in 90’s Essex. A good level of humour throughout as the tension builds. Good fun!

DS Kenton & Brazier have to learn to work together but can they get along? A local church has been damaged by arson & the vicar has made a bid deal of getting the person caught but they have been given a new murder case. Bruce Hopkins has been found murdered in a boot of a car and the the team knows that they need to solve this one quickly. Why after all this time did Bruce come back into the country? But the more they dig the stranger the case becomes. It seems that many people were just carrying on with their lives like nothing happened all those years ago. Can Kenton & Brazier find all the clues to solve both cases? But will justice be served in the end?
A great read. Kept those pages turning. The two DS are very different they both have their own ways are going about things but they do work well together.
Thank you Netgalley & the publisher for the copy. This is my voluntary review.

This is a well written police procedural set in the 1980's and 90's. It has a slow build up, with good descriptions of the characters but I just failed to like the two Detective Sergeants and I can't quite put my finger on the reason why! I liked the plotting, the Essex setting was described well and overall, it's a good read. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

DS Daniel Kenton and DS Brazier are told to work together to solve the murder of Bruce Hopkins. Hopkins was a wanted man when he fled the UK 10 years previously. So why did he return and how did his naked body come to be found in the boot of a stolen car that was dumped in a reservoir.
Kenton and Brazier have very different approaches to policing but they will need to put their differences aside if they are going to find out who killed Hopkins and why.
Set in Essex in 1991 this is a well written, twisty tale with a thread of humour running through it.
If you like your crime with a bit of nostalgia, without the smartphones and search engines common today you should read this.

Typical James Henry crime novel that deals with the police in the 1990's . A not so long ago age when everything seemed so much simpler .
A cold, snow bound Essex in 1991 is the setting . A fire in the roof of a local church obviously deliberately started. A returning , from Spain after ten years a local man in another name who was wanted by the police in connection of a drug smuggling charge. A stolen car with a body in the boot . All connected?

D.S. Daniel Kenton and D.S. Brazier are charged with the investigation and struggle to fit all the pieces of the puzzle together. With a disturbing history with dark secrets , a picture unfolds of abuse , an old prep school and a mental institution that ties into their investigation. With so much to hide , no one is talking , which is making life difficult for the task set Kenton and Brazier.

A great book, well written that remembers a time no so long ago. Exiting page turner that grips with the characters and atmosphere of a cold winter Essex.

Very,very slow to get going,uninspiring characters and a pretty obvious storyline. Not for me at all.

The Winter Visitor is Bruce Hopkins, a low level drug smuggler who has “retired” to Costa del Sol to avoid prosecution and an angry wife. When he returns to England, in the middle of a cold February winter, it takes only days for him to be found naked in the trunk of a submerged stolen car. Detective Sergeants Kenton and Brazier are assigned to the case. However, this is a busy month for the police. The architecturally significant wooden roof of an historic Norman church has been burned to ashes leaving the stone church beneath untouched. Kenton and Brazil have to find the arsonist and discover how he started the fire at such a height. Then an elderly florist receives a handwritten letter and hangs himself. Kenton and Brazier find a connection between the cases using help from the ex-wife and her unlikeable mother, the desperate confessions of a car thief, an office party and a pheasant feather. Yes, it’s that complicated.

The Winter Visitor, with themes of abuse and murder, is a dark, disturbing police procedural. It’s a puzzle and Kenton and Brazier, with their conflicting personalities, take time unraveling this complex case. Strong characterization and a multi layered plot nmake this a 5 star read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Quercus Books and James Henry for this ARC.

James Henry's new novel is a roller-coaster ride of suspense and fast-paced thrills. Colchester and the hamlets between it and the North Sea are once again the backdrop. A location he has made very much his own in recent novels.
All the little nuances that shaped our lives in the 1980s and 1990s are here, creating an evocative, nostalgic tone to a plot of labyrinthine complexity.
I loved the characterisation and was caught out more than once by someone not being quite whom I thought they were.
The corruption of more than one institution is drawn with an evocative, eerie darkness, raising stark reminders of all the faults that simmered just below the surface in our ability to care for the needy.
This is a story told with flair and assurance and an absolute must-read for every crime fiction fan.