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Murder in the New Forest

The DI Callum MacLean mysteries, Book 1

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Murder in the New Forest

By: Carol Cole
Narrated by: James Macnaughton
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Summary

The first gripping title in a brand new detective series. A woman’s body lies in the heather, her neck broken. Her horse watches nervously from a few paces away. Despite looking like an accident, it doesn’t take long for DI Callum MacLean, newly arrived in Hampshire from Glasgow, to establish she was murdered. Nor does it take DS Daisy Donaldson, appearing soon after on horseback, long to identify the victim. Mary-Ellen Mitchell was a well-known and seemingly well-liked businesswoman, married to a respected local artist, and part of the close-knit community. The Scottish detective must adapt quickly to his new team, his past experience of policing a tough city jarring with the pace of Fordingbridge and their peculiar ways. But having hoped for respite in the south, and although made welcome by Daisy, Callum soon feels like he’s being used as a pawn in someone else’s game. However, if Callum can evade the pitfalls and marshal his team, they may well catch the wily killer hiding in the shadows of the woods. MURDER IN THE NEW FOREST is the first novel in a series of mysteries by Carol Cole who, with beautiful prose, deftly transports the reader into the rich tapestry of the southern landscape.

©2024 Carol Cole (P)2026 Joffe Audio Crime Fiction Mystery Traditional Detectives Detective
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this story was beautifully read with excellent voice tone and accents. really added greatly to the experience

very well read

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Fantastic narration from James Macnaughton first of all. The pacing of the storytelling was spot on and he kept the character voices subtle to fit nicely with the book.
A lovely addition as a freebie on Audible plus and a great first book in the series from Carol Cole.

A well performed mystery

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I loved the unusual storyline. I also really enjoyed the narrators voice- she did an excellent job of portraying the necessary drama required.

A little unusual story compared to what I’ve listened to before, which was a welcome surprise.

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This was such a fantastic listen. First of all the narrator (James Mcnaughton) was just wonderful. Warm, natural, a voice that’s a pleasure to listen to. There’s some well-written description of the environment, and it flows beautifully with his narration. He does the most perfect voices for each character - the accents and different tones are all natural and believable - whatever age or gender. (Full marks for a male narrator who doesn’t put on a falsetto for female voices, or make them sound like they’re pantomime dame characters!)

The plot line is interesting from the start, both the mystery and the character dynamics. The mystery kept me guessing to the end. It’s not a ‘cosy’ mystery as such, it’s much more well written and is a police procedural. (And it has some swear words, but only in very specific, appropriate places). But it’s not gritty or gory. I’m not a fan of scary or dark mysteries,

As well as the great storyline, my favourite thing is that I actually like these characters (the main DI and his team) and by the end of this first book, i feel like I’ve made friends that i can’t wait to return to.

I’ll keep buying the rest of the series - so long as they are narrated by James Mcnaughton!

Gripping police mystery & my new favourite narrator

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Really enjoyed this book, set in the New Forest (as local to the area, it was described so well). Good characterisation and well narrated - will be downloading the next in the series!

Good modern detective story

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