After quitting teaching three years ago, Simon began work on the DI Ruth Hunter series, publishing three at the start of 2020, and four more since. A small-town murder. A big city detective. Can she unravel the gruesome trail of clues before the killer strikes again? It was published in January this year and, incredibly, six more books in the series have since followed, each revelling in their North Wales settings, from the Dee Valley to Harlech. Read More Related Articles A character is smoking Marlborough cigarettes. "Fynydd Snowdon" is used instead of Yr Wyddfa. King Arthur is described as ENGLISH, of all things. This book is so English it hurts. I have mixed feelings about this one. I started out really loving The Snowdonia Killings. But as the end was drawing near, I was feeling disappointed.

The book is not perfect but it is a fine start to an ongoing series. McCleave's unpretentious writing style nicely mirrors the nature of the setting in which the story takes place and is, to my way of thinking, perfect for the book. I can comfortably recommend The Snowdonia Killings to those who enjoy a solid cop investigation and I shall certainly read the next book in the series - although not right now since I never read books by the same author in succession. Why, you ask? It's just one of my many quirks.

Having been born in Liverpool, grown up in the Wirral, and spending many childhood weekends and holidays in North Wales with both my own parents and later my own kids, I found the mention of so many Welsh place names quite nostalgic. Not kean on her attempt at Scouse accents though, but very few can get that spot on to a proper Scouser 😆 I thought the plot was great with tension running all the way through. I enjoyed reading about the police procedures and jargon like “Victim is an IC3 or M1 female”. Ah yes, you spot those codes and the ugly face of racism has it’s part to play too. I liked the advice DI Ruth Hunter shared with the reader about interview techniques. I loved the attitudes within the police force that were explained, for example… I couldn't begin to pronounce some of those place names in an authentic way like the narrator did and I googled her details to see if she is Welsh. Surprisingly she is not.

It is probably just me, but I like to make an early connection with the main character and this didn't help. Some reviewers were rather scathing about Deryn Edwards performance, but I thought she did very well and added a definite flavour of the place to Simon's story. I loved Simon’s writing style and content. There is so much more to this book than basic crime scene investigation and the search to find the bad guy. This novel explores how alcoholics cope with daily life and how married mothers can move on to find love in a same sex relationship. Also the family lives of the police officers are skillfully woven into this story which adds perspective to this tale. Real past events like Operation Trident and the murder of Claire Tiltman in 1993 were mentioned to explain to the reader how certain things can happen. It’s remarkable how many plot twists and new directions crop up in this novel. The police procedural aspect is strong, but using a huge variety of characters the author manages to drive the story in various directions. It’s complex but very believable. There are secrets galore, and often the characters have attitudes and issues that complicate matters for Ruth. As well as hate crimes, mental health problems, suicide and autism play a role – affecting the characters, the investigation and how it’s handled. Any mistakes? Yes, of course, there are some, the main one is that the age of the teacher is first given as 53 by herself and later as 51 by the team. The reverse would be more likely unless she fibbed to the school. It may also be good to point out that acronyms as CPS have a completely different meaning in the UK than in the USA.

Detective Inspector Ruth Hunter lives with the pain of her partner’s mysterious and unsolved disappearance. About to hit fifty, the veteran police officer trades in the crime-ridden streets of London for a more peaceful life in rural North Wales. But Ruth has barely settled into her new position in North Wales Police, when the body of a brutally murdered woman is discovered…with strange symbols carved into her skin. Starting a new life in Snowdonia was always DI Ruth Hunter’s dream. Until a twisted killer turned it into her worst nightmare.

As the team works through the evidence and their investigations uncover new details, and then a second murder occurs, they find their confidence that their focus is on the right suspect shaken time and again. Plenty of lies and misdirection, and a generous helping of red herrings will keep the most astute reader from even suspecting, let alone settling on, the perpetrator until the final chapters. Some of those red herrings, though, are not really satisfactorily explained by the conclusion.Not long afterwards, another teacher is killed and the victim also has a spiral carved on their hand. After moving to Worthenbury, near Wrexham, he worked as a teacher before writing his debut novel, The Snowdonia Killings.

All feature DI Ruth Hunter, whose character transferred to North Wales Police after almost 25 years with the London Metropolitan. A deal has been agreed to film the first of Simon McCleave’s “Killing” series in Snowdonia and north east Wales.Starting a new life in Snowdonia was always DI Ruth Hunter's dream. Until a twisted killer turned it into her worst nightmare. The heroine is about as charismatic as a cardboard box, and almost as interesting too. The hero—perhaps—is a chronically angry alcoholic racist, so is even less likeable. I felt more connection to the CID car. At least I know the make, model, colour, speed capability and light arrangement...much as I don’t care about it. I loved the way Simon put so much more into the story than a great plot, and well, developed characters. It explores the way alcoholics cope with daily life. He includes wonderful descriptions of Snowdonia and surrounding areas. I also loved how Welsh culture and folklore was integral to this story, even with the Welsh/English “racism”. The detail was impressive, it wasn’t just the obvious tourist highlights but obscure little snippets of information about its myths and legends that the author inserted.