Grave's End

This is another excellent addition to the series featuring DS Alexandra Cupidi of the Kent Serious Crime Squad. This has all the essential ingredients that make for a fascinating and intriguing read. A dead body is found in an empty Kent Oast house that is up for sale. The subsequent investigation leads the team to a site where a large housing development is proposed, threatening the ancient badger setts that have been in situ possibly for hundreds of years. There are protests about the development and it has been fenced off to keep them out. As the investigation deepens, a junior government minister becomes involved which takes the inquiry back to his public school days. It becomes apparent that Alex and her team are straying into deep waters and she finds herself in terrible danger and with a rising death toll.

There is so much to praise here. The Kent setting provides a very atmospheric backdrop especially the Dungerness area where Alex lives. I love the badger perspective and this is a very creative element too but I also learned a lot of very interesting facts about these fascinating nocturnal creatures. This is a very important element in the novel and it’s a very current topic as it highlights the needs of the natural world against the need for more housing stock which obviously encroaches on important habitats - extremely thought provoking. The characters are excellent, I really like Alex and her daughter Zoe who is passionate about the environment as is ex policeman William South who has taught Zoe a lot about the wildlife in their area. Jill, Alex’s partner is another very good character and their dialogue and relationship feels very real. They banter, fall out but ultimately have each other’s backs.

The story is very well written, the plot is excellent and the pace is very good. There are plenty of twists and turns which all have the element of believability. There are moments of fear, threat and danger and there sadness for some of the victims to whom there are links to bullying and blackmail and ultimately it’s a story of revenge.

Overall, a terrific read and one I will remember not least for the fantastic old badger - what a survivor!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books for the arc.

I have to say, I agree with Val McDermid, you have to read these books. I am sure again, I’ve missed the middle book, so shall have to try and catch up. I feel I’ve missed something along the way. They are always different in that a lot of topics are covered and the plethora of information on wildlife is just lovely. Being an animal lover these are right up my street. Reminds me of the author Faith Martins books, she’s well up on wildlife.

This book is also different in that it also told from the badgers perspective, and the way they live their lives. I was fascinated with the setts and the hierarchy aspect of it all, and what they like to eat. I think badgers on the whole get a raw deal from humans anyway, and we could learn a lot from wild creatures.

However, I must not digress. The story centres around a huge development of new homes, the politics involved and of course the wildlife. This again, is a controversial subject. I know we need houses, but in a minute there’ll be no countryside left.

Zoe is in there campaigning for the animals, and so is Bill South. They do make a formidable team. There is a body found in the freezer of a beautiful empty house, but no one knows who he is. Then the remains are found of a young lad who went missing. All this, and really no clues, no one wants to help Alex, her constable Jill, has a dodgy friend, and the powers of corruption are there in the background, wielding their power and corruption, and that’s just the ones running the country!

I did hold my breath in a few places, as I thought Alex was a bit daft venturing off on her own like she did .....

I do hope that William continues with these characters, you can almost feel the countryside air and the animals running around at night.

My thanks to the author, the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC.