‘Marshal of Snowdonia’ by Simon McCleave

Published by Stamford Publishing,
20 February 2025.
ISBN: 979-830393192-6 (PB)

A good detective never quite retires, even when he’s served his time, taken his pension and found another part-time job. And Frank Marshal was always a good detective; so, when his close friend Annie, also retired but in her case from the judiciary, asks for his help, he can’t say no.

Annie’s sister Meg has gone missing from the static caravan she lives in with Callum, her supposedly recovering addict son. Callum seems to be missing too, but he turns up quite soon, albeit with a bad attack of amnesia. Evidence emerges to suggest that Meg has come to harm, but she’s an adult, and the police aren’t really interested, especially DCI Dewi Humphries, an old adversary of Frank’s.

Then Frank and Annie make a gruesome discovery at the caravan. And shortly afterwards a body is found. Now the police are interested, but this is rural north Wales; there’s no murder investigation team, and scant experience of crime of this magnitude.

Annie and Frank set off on their own investigation and unearth a trail of clues and red herrings which lead variously to a drugs baron, police corruption, a convicted murderer, and much closer to home. Meanwhile, they are both juggling tricky situations at home. Frank’s wife Rachel is in the early stages of dementia, and his daughter has moved in with her young son in order to escape from an abusive relationship. Annie’s husband Stephen is a serial adulterer, and she can hardly bear to be in the same house as him. 

The plot twists and turns around most of north Wales, with occasional forays further afield. Suspects abound before the culprit is finally revealed, and both Frank and Annie look danger in the face more than once. There are interesting characters on both sides, but mainly it’s very plain who we’re meant to love and who to hate.

This is only the first case for Frank and Annie, and the stakes are already pretty high. Marshal of Snowdonia is the first in a new series by this already prolific author; it introduces an unusual crime-fighting team, and lays threads for a developing backstory for them both. Frank’s new career is as a park ranger in Snowdonia National Park: cue stunning backdrops to future stories. Annie’s background as a judge speaks of a keen intelligence and an ability to weigh evidence meticulously. It will be interesting to see where they go next.
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Reviewer: Lynne Patrick

Simon McCleave is a million selling crime novelist who lives in North Wales with his wife and two children. His first book, The Snowdonia Killings, was released in January 2020 reached #1 in the UK Chart, selling 250,000 copies. His nine subsequent novels in the DI Ruth Hunter Snowdonia series have all been top 20 bestsellers. Simon is about to launch a new crime series based in Anglesey in May 2022 for Harper Collins. The Dark Tide is Published 12 may 2022.  

www.simonmccleave.com

Lynne Patrick has been a writer ever since she could pick up a pen, and has enjoyed success with short stories, reviews and feature journalism, but never, alas, with a novel. She crossed to the dark side to become a publisher for a few years and is proud to have launched several careers which are now burgeoning. She lives in Oxfordshire in a house groaning with books, about half of them crime fiction.