The truth can be hidden . . . but secrets always surface

Book blurb

The peace of Kielder Water is shattered when tourists open a barrel they found floating in the reservoir at dawn. Detectives Stone and Oliver are called to examine the skeletal remains inside.

The tourists are eliminated from the investigation, but that same day a second body is discovered – this one with skin. Have the police let the killer leave the scene?

While Stone investigates the remains, Oliver travels to Iceland to gather evidence and track down the tourists who have fled. Someone will do anything to protect the secrets of the past…

My thoughts

Where to begin? With every book I read by Mari Hannah I find myself thinking that they just get better and better and Black Fell is a point in case. This is the fourth in the Stone and Oliver series. It’s been a little while since the third but we readers have been kept busy reading the wonderful DCI Kate Daniels series by the author.

Anyway, back to Oliver and Stone. In Black Fell we have DCI David Stone and DS Frankie Oliver being called out to a body found at the lakes edge in Kielder Water & Forest Park. Tourists from Iceland discovered a barrel in the water pulled it to shore. On opening it they found remains and call the police.

After taking witness statements from the tourists they are allowed to leave. Then another body is discovered by the police during an ongoing search of the area!

Oliver leads on the barrel body, Stone on the recent death. They have only geographical location to link them so they are being treated as separate but worked in parallel in case they become connected.

Whilst the body in the barrel is skeletal and possibly old it’s obviously a suspicious death. Has it risen from the depths of Kielder Water or been dumped there? The second body is very recently deceased is it an accidental death, suicide or another murder victim? Whichever it is there’s a link to Iceland on the body!

The detectives want to re-interview the tourists from Iceland but they have left, disappeared! They had tickets to an event at Kielder Observatory an astronomical observatory located in Kielder Forest, Northumberland, England. It is situated upon Black Fell overlooking Kielder Water near the Scottish border. They don’t attend! Where have they gone? Is there a killer amongst them?

We follow Oliver and Stone’s investigations into both cases it takes them to Iceland where they are assisted by Detective Chief Inspector Anna Jónsdóttir of the Major Crimes Unit.

From Northumberland to Iceland and back Stone and Oliver along with the team follow up on information, re-interview witnesses and make decisions on how to proceed. Two of the witnesses, who are keeping back information, are tracked down. Is one of them the killer? But when Jónsdóttir and backup leave Frankie to attend an emergency she is left in a tricky and dangerous situation. Still from what she discovers whilst in Iceland she has other ideas as to what happened. Oliver is expected to make an arrest in Iceland but it doesn’t sit right with her. Can she persuade Stone she’s right? What if she’s wrong and returns to England without the suspect?

Stone meanwhile has been dealing with the fallout of mainstream Press attention after a video posted of the barrel went viral. Various stories surrounding the flooding of the reservoir over properties have become legendary in the area. Added to which one of the journalists who is covering the barrel death has a personal agenda and is hellbent on discrediting him. Through all of this Stone has missed the support of his 2nd in command but is perplexed when she returns without having made an arrest. However, it is their colleague DS Dick Abbott who seems more annoyed by Frankie not making an arrest. Is he right to be or just frustrated over how his career is going?

When the stories surrounding what has really happened to both bodies are uncovered it’s tragic and heartbreaking for those involved.

This fascinating story is brilliantly plotted. It’s great to be in Stone and Oliver’s world again with an interesting crossover nicely slipped into the final chapters. It’s set in some beautiful places. I loved catching up with David and Frankie’s lives along with their colleagues and family. Terrific characters and secondary plots make this a very well rounded and human story without ever losing the main investigative storyline.

The ending leaves you wondering what is going to happen next and I’m already looking forward to more from Oliver and Stone to see how the changes in the characters circumstances develop.

It’s a terrific series and Black Fell was a great read, one I’d certainly recommend.

Previously read: Stone and Oliver books 1-3. | Without A Trace (Kate Daniels series #7). | Her Last Request (Kate Daniels series #8)

Thanks

When Orion contacted me and offered a copy of the latest Mari Hannah book Black Fell (4th in the Stone & Oliver series) to read and review I was absolutely delighted at such a wonderful offer and snapped it up. So, many thanks to @orionbooks for this great opportunity and also an apology as I had intended to post this review closer to publication day but was unable to do so.

#20Booksofsummer23

Black Fell is book 4 of my #20Booksofsummer23

Information

Published: Orion (23 June 2023)

Buy: Hive | AmazonSmileUK | Bookshop.org (affiliate link) | Your local Independent Bookshop | Your local Library

Author: Mari Hannah is a multi-award-winning author, whose authentic voice is no happy accident. A former probation officer, she lives in rural Northumberland with her partner, an ex-murder detective. Mari turned to script-writing when her career was cut short following an assault on duty. Her debut, The Murder Wall, (adapted from a script she developed with the BBC) won her the Polari First Book Prize. Its follow-up, Settled Blood, picked up a Northern Writers’ Award. Mari’s body of work won her the CWA Dagger in the Library 2017, an incredible honour to receive so early in her career. In 2019, she was voted DIVA Wordsmith of the Year. In 2020, she won Capital Crime International Crime Writing Festival’s Crime Book of the Year for Without a Trace. Her Kate Daniels series is in development with Stephen Fry’s production company, Sprout Pictures.

marihannah.com | @mariwriter

Books

Stone and Oliver series

The Lost | The Insider | The Scandel | Black Fell

DCI Kate Daniels series

The Murder Wall | Settled Blood | Deadly Deceit | Monument to Murder/Fatal Games | Killing for Keeps | Gallows Drop | Without a Trace | Her Last Request

Coming The Longest Goodbye: The brand-new Kate Daniels thriller (25 January 2024)

DS Matthew Ryan books

The Silent Room | The Death Messenger

Standalone

The Deep