Hello! Today I’m pleased to welcome you to JuliaPalooza for my stop on the Blog Blitzfor The TV Detective by Simon Hall, which is available now (links below).
About the book
Dan Groves is a television reporter newly assigned to the crime beat and not at all happy about it. Dan knows next nothing about police work or how to report on it so when he persuades Detective Chief Inspector Adam Breen to allow him to shadow a high-profile murder inquiry it seems like the perfect solution though it soon becomes clear some members of the police force have no intention of playing nice with the new boy. With his first case Dan is dropped in at the deep-end. A man is killed in a lay-by with a blast through the heart from a shotgun. The victim is a notorious local businessman, Edward Bray, a man with so many enemies there are almost too many suspects for the police to eliminate. As tensions rise between Dan and the police he comes close to being thrown off the case until the detectives realise that far from being a liability, Dan might actually be the key to tempting the murderer into a trap.
Goodreads | Fahrenheit Press | Amazon UK | Amazon US
The TV Detective is a murder mystery and police procedural with a difference. With the addition of TV reporter, Dan Groves into the mix, you get both a layman’s insight into a police investigation and a behind-the-scenes look at the intricacies, pressures and politics of local news broadcasting.
Dan is an engaging and sympathetic lead; you empathise with his situation and cheer for him well he does well. DCI Adam Breen is kind of a grower and I warmed to him as he opened up to Dan. I didn’t feel I got that much of a handle on Breen’s colleague, DS Suzanne Stewart, or on some of the suspects, but I bloody love a good animal sidekick and Rutherford the German Shepherd has now joined my list of fictional-pets-I-want-to-own!
The story is sensibly structured and, although there did feel to be a more than strictly necessary repetition of the facts, the case proceeds at a steady pace and has several humorous moments to boot. It was fun to see Dan try to adjust to his new role with the police. The plot plays out well and there is an additional sting in the tale, just as you think everything is neatly wrapped up.
Thank you to Fahrenheit Press for my copy of The TV Detective and to Emma Welton for my spot on the Blog Blitz.
If you enjoyed my review, please consider liking and/or sharing and, of course, buying the book: Goodreads | Fahrenheit Press | Amazon UK | Amazon US
About the author
Simon Hall is an author and journalist and has been a broadcaster for twenty five years. He began his career as a DJ on the radio and in nightclubs, then moved into radio and TV news. Simon is married to Jess and has an adopted daughter, Niamh. She’s an army officer, which makes her father both very proud and very nervous. Simon lectures on careers in the media at Cambridge University, and in schools and colleges. Amongst his proudest achievements, he includes the number of young people he has helped into jobs in broadcasting, and aspiring writers into publication. As for his likes, Simon lists beer – he judges at real ale festivals – cycling the countryside, solving cryptic crosswords, composing curious Tweets (find him @SimonHallNews) and studying pop lyrics. For more on Simon, see his website www.thetvdetective.com.
About the Blog Blitz
Please check out the rest of the great bloggers on the blitz for The TV Detective:
juliapalooza.com 
Thanks so much for joining the blitz, Julia.
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This sounds awesome!
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