Blue Murder [Hardcover]

Cath Staincliffe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2004

Janine Lewis is a pregnant, single mother whose life has become rather hectic. As well as juggling three lively children single-handed, she has ruffled a few feathers by becoming Greater Manchester’s first female Detective Chief Inspector. At last, Janine has been given her first murder enquiry to head. The body of a local deputy head teacher is found with a slashed stomach and left to die. With a suspect on the run, an elderly dying man and a seven-year-old child as the only available witnesses, Janine knows this won’t be an easy case to crack.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Uncommonly engaging; zestful and involving; a writer with wit, eregy and a point of view! -- Literary Review

About the Author

Raised in Bradford, CATH STAINCLIFFE graduated with a degree in Drama and Theatre Arts from Birmingham University. She moved to Manchester where she lives today, which provides a background for her stories. Her debut novel, "Looking For Trouble", was short-listed for the Crime Writers’ Association’s John Creasey Award for best first crime novel and her work has also been serialised on Woman’s Hour. She lives with her partner and their three children.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Allison & Busby (November 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0749083409
• ISBN-13: 978-0749083403
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,452,462 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book --, June 15, 2010

By 

karen s russo - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blue Murder (Hardcover)

This is one of those amazing "sleeper" books, something you buy, not knowing for sure how it will be.

Read it, and then you wonder again: How is it that a book like this has escaped 'best seller' ratings the world over?

This is an amazing book -- a tale of a police-woman mother, three children, a fourth on the way -- who's deserted by her husband. At the same time, she's struggling professionally -- a cantankerous boss nicknamed "the lemon" and a host of interesting counterparts don't really want her to succeed. Finally she gets her big chance at work -- a counterpart is absent, and a major murder case is assigned to her. But at the same time, her home life begins to unravel. One son is hospitalized with an asthma attack, another is in trouble for bullying. Her former husband -- now concentrating on his lovely "Tina" -- is mostly unavailable. And it's no simple murder case -- there are three perfectly viable suspects, each with their own story.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I -- as a single working mother myself -- enjoyed this book. Hey -- been there, done that. Keeping all the balls in the air is darn near impossible -- and I didn't have a murder case to solve. Janine Lewis of Manchester, England, acquits herself brilliantly, against all odds.

This is a marvelous book -- it has everything: human stories, of all the protagonists, not just Janine, the police officer, but of some of the suspects, too. The plot is believable, the writing excellent.

I'm now hunting for more Cath Staincliff books -- read this one, and you will be, too.