Review: MURDER ON THE OXFORD CANAL, Faith Martin

• 
  This edition available as an e-book from Amazon on Kindle
  
• first published 2004
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0763RXLRV
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Joffe Books crime, thriller and mystery (1 October 2017)
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 249 pages
• DI Hillary Greene #1 

Synopsis (Amazon)

 Looking for a brilliant murder mystery with a feisty female detective?

DISCOVER THE MILLION-SELLING SERIES NOW. MEET DI HILLARY GREENE, A POLICE WOMAN FIGHTING TO SAVE HER CAREER.

Not only has she lost her husband, but his actions have put her under investigation for corruption.

Then a bashed and broken body is found floating in the Oxford Canal. It looks like the victim fell off a boat, but Hillary is not so sure. Her investigation exposes a dark background to the death.

Can Hillary clear her name and get to the bottom of a fiendish conspiracy on the water?

This is a crime mystery full of well-observed characters, which will have you gripped from beginning to end.

MURDER ON THE OXFORD CANAL is the first in a series of page-turning crime thrillers set in Oxfordshire.

My Take

I'm really looking forward to reading this series (in order of course) - interesting scenarios, topical plots, well drawn characters, relatively short books.

In this first in the series, we've already been introduced to a range of characters whom I expect will reappear in ensuing books. The central character, Hillary Greene, recently bereaved, is middle aged, feisty, and an intuitive detective. She is third in the chain of command, and it seems relatively easy for her superiors to claim credit for her accomplishments. Which prompts Hillary to think outside the box and also to take action without authority.

My rating: 4.5

The series

   1. Murder on the Oxford Canal (2004)
     aka A Narrow Escape
   2. Murder at the University (2005)
     aka On the Straight and Narrow
   3. Murder of the Bride (2006)
     aka Narrow Is the Way
   4. Murder in the Village (2006)
     aka By a Narrow Majority
   5. Murder in the Family (2007)
     aka Through a Narrow Door
   6. Murder at Home (2007)
     aka With a Narrow Blade
   7. Murder in the Meadow (2008)
     aka Beside a Narrow Stream
   8. Murder in the Mansion (2008)
     aka Down a Narrow Path
   9. Murder in the Garden (2009)
     aka Across the Narrow Blue Line
   10. Murder by Fire (2010)
     aka A Narrow Point of View
   11. Murder at Work (2011)
     aka A Narrow Exit
   12. Murder Never Retires (2012)
     aka A Narrow Return
   13. Murder of a Lover (2013)
     aka A Narrow Margin of Error
   14. Murder Never Misses (2013)
     aka Walk a Narrow Mile
   15. Murder at Midnight (2015)
     aka A Narrow Victory
   16. Murder in Mind (2015)
     aka The Work of a Narrow Mind
   17. Hillary's Final Case (2016)
     aka A Narrow Trajectory
   18. Hillary's Back! (2020)
   19. Murder Now and Then (2021)
   20. Murder in the Parish (2023)
   21. Murder On the Train (2024)