The Snowdonia Killings cover art

The Snowdonia Killings

A DI Ruth Hunter Crime Thriller, Book 1

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

The Snowdonia Killings

By: Simon McCleave
Narrated by: Deryn Edwards
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £13.84

Buy Now for £13.84

Starting a new life in Snowdonia was always DI Ruth Hunter's dream. Until a twisted killer turned it into her worst nightmare.

Detective Inspector Ruth Hunter lives with the pain of her partner’s mysterious and unsolved disappearance. About to hit 50, 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. Teaming up with an obstinate deputy, Ruth struggles to eliminate anyone from a long line of suspects. When another slain victim is discovered with the same cryptic markings, she’s forced to re-think the investigation.

Has Ruth got what it takes to solve the case before the murderer attacks again?

The Snowdonia Killings is the first book in the DI Ruth Hunter Crime Thriller series and set against the majestic backdrop of Snowdonia, a timeless land of Arthurian legend, folklore, and myth. If you like dark police procedurals, psychologically complex characters, and shocking twists, then you’ll love Simon McCleave’s pulse-pounding debut novel.

©2020 Simon McCleave (P)2021 Simon McCleave Crime Crime Fiction Modern Detectives Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Exciting
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_c
All stars
Most relevant
I really enjoyed the twists and turns in the story. I am Welsh speaking and living in the area the book was situated I was put off by the very bad Welsh pronunciations of the places, it jarred with me and took away from the enjoyment somewhat. Having a narrator who could pronounce the words better would have added to my enjoyment, although she did a good job of using a variety of voices in her narrative.

Twisting tale

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Within a very short time I wanted to switch this off. There’s nothing wrong with the story, but surely someone could have listened to the book and amended the pronunciation of everything Welsh. It’s insulting.

If you are going to do a Welsh-set book then get someone who can pronounce Welsh names

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
story and characters. However, the narrator really needs to work on their accents, particularly their Welsh pronunciation. Maybe this will improve as the series moves forward.

Interesting

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
My first audible book and nearly didn’t get passed the first few chapters. The narrator when voicing one of the police reminded me of one of the kids in Fireman Sam. I will probably purchase another book by this author as I did become engaged with what happens with the main characters but hopefully there will be a different narrator.

Accents sometimes off-putting

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
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.
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.
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.
Not kean on her attempt at Scouse accents though, but very few can get that spot on to a proper Scouser 😆
I loved the way Simon built the personalities of his characters, making them multi dimensional and often flawed, but all the more human and relatable for it!
I also noted on reading Simon's own bio that he imagines his Kindle audience is a more mature lady who seems to describe myself! And with that in mind was happily amused that his star DI Hunter, and the first victim both enjoyed a healthy libido! So many authors seem to think that anyone 50+ is a coffin dodger and housebound or somewhat eccentric and quirky!
I love that Simon has made this book very adaptable for tv, with his brilliant potential soundtrack already in place, giving the characters their ages without actually saying it!
Next book is in my library already! xXx

Nostalgic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews