You can buy The Dead Beneath Us...Here You can find out more about Matthew J Evans...Here
Our darkest places are never far away, and in a Tudor manor house, there's a dark place that holds the cruellest secret of all.
When a brutal murder strikes a prestigious private school in Sussex, Detective Chief Inspector Beniamin Dinescu finds himself entangled in a complex investigation, including the mysterious disappearance of a schoolgirl in the 1980s. How are these two cases connected?
Dinescu is joined by a new sergeant, DS Emily Summers, in the Chichester Major Crimes team. Tension rises as Summers tries too hard to prove herself and win the respect of her colleagues.Can Dinescu confront his deepest fears to uncover the dark secrets of the past? Can his team bring justice and closure for the dead? And with all of this, can Dinescu rein in DS Summers?
This is the first police procedural crime novel in the Chichester Crime Mysteries series.
The Dead Beneath Us is a tightly plotted whodunnit in the style of Agatha Christie. And it is a very good whodunnit.
It tells the tale of the search for the murderer of Charles Brady, a reserved teacher at a prestigious public school. The top cop is Benjamin Dinescu and he leads a diverse team of investigators, each with their own issues and foibles.
There is a focus on the relationship between Dinescu and his newly arrived, keen to impress, Detective Sergeant. DS Emily Summers is the new broom that rubs up his settled crew, the wrong way. They need to sort themselves out before they can perform as a team.
There are a lot of partly broken people in this book. There are acknowledgements to PTSD, domestic abuse, disability, blindness and gambling addiction among others. They are not discussed in depth or at length but are used to point out that everyone has history, there are no "perfect" people and to a greater or lesser extent we are all vulnerable to something, but the important thing is not our weakness but our strength of character in overcoming the afflictions that life has dealt. This is a recurring but subtle theme throughout this novel.
The motley crew of investigators uncover a myriad of potential killers and indeed another historic murder. Two whodunnits for the price of one! The headmaster wants to keep media fallout to a minimum, One of the older students is infatuated with a young teacher who responds. The caretaker is also involved in dirty dealings. It's a web of lies and intrigue that goes back for decades.
The beauty of this novel is that it is authentic in that the author is an ex copper with 18years experience. This really tells in the latter stages of the book where the cumulative interrogations escalate to a crescendo. As well as being intense they are also educational. Did you know that, in UK law, an arrested person is not entitled to one phonecall or a solicitor cannot demand a break in questioning?
The spotlight falls on several red herrings and false trails before the final reveal. I'll be honest I didn't spot the killer and I'm normally pretty good at that. In hindsight the clues were all there. And at the end there's a little twist on top of the twist.
The writing style is spare and workmanlike, no verbosity or purple process. The plot is all.
This is such a cleverly plotted murder, police procedural. Well worth a read. This novel is the first in a series. I for one will be buying the rest in the series.
The next flight of steps was darker and more enclosed. That sour, rotting odour was coming from above him, and he recognised it now. His heart sank.
in front of it was a large pond encircled by a wire fence. Several off- road police vehicles and SOCO vans were gathered there like thirsty savannah beasts surrounding a watering hole.
He had never filled that love- shaped hole left by her father.
“I need to make a call first.” Burgess snatched the phone out of her hand before she could hit the call button. “Hey! What are you doing? I get the right to make a bloody phone call!” “You’re mistaken, Mrs Grainger,” said Summers. “This isn’t a US cop show.
- If You Liked This Then You May Like...
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Alan Poe
I'm married, have three children (all now adults), and two grandchildren. My background is in electronics and software engineering, which I did for about twenty years. However, soon after my son was born with Down syndrome, I made a radical career move and halved my salary—I joined the police in Hampshire, wanting to give something back to society. I have served both in Hampshire and Sussex as a regular police constable and special constableIn addition to being a Chichester crime author, I’m also a folk musician, playing a mix of Irish, Scottish, and English traditional tunes. I also compose music. I play Irish whistles, the melodeon, the recorder, the ukulele, and the EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument). Therefore, I’m a big fan of folk musicians like Cara Dillon and Sam Lakeman, Capercaillie, Kate Rusby, and Solas. Also, I love the American gospel group Casting Crowns
I’ve done some session work on several albums, including most recently on Prayerscapes albums, playing whistles.
My favourite thriller and crime authors include Cara Hunter, Lee Child, Ian Rankin, C. L. Taylor, Ann Cleeves, and Elly Griffiths. Fantasy writers C. S. Lewis, Frank Peretti, and Stephen Lawhead have strongly influenced my writing.
Every day has been a school day. I was never trained formally in writing. In fact, it took me five attempts to pass my English ‘O’ Level back in the day. My background was purely technical, not fiction.
As I took up writing, I learned from my mistakes and lots of study. As an independant author, my journey has also been about learning how to publish and market my books.
I have completed the Crime Fiction Certificate course at West Dean College led by Elly Griffiths and Lesley Thomson and various other writing courses, including one led by Greg Mosse.
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