The Somerset Slayings

DI Haig Crime Thrillers, Book 1

By: David J. Gatward

Narrated by: Ruth Urquhart

Book 1 in the thrilling new crime series, by David J. Gatward, author of the DCI Harry Grimm crime series, and set in the hauntingly beautiful Somerset countryside.

©2024 David Gatward (P)2024 David Gatward

Character

I loved Gordie in Harry Grimm and I miss her. I’m so glad I decided to give her story a chance. It is fantastic!

Grieving Gordy Gets Going

Gordy Haig has left the Dales. She's left her team and boss/mentor/friend DCI Harry Grimm to embark on a new path. However she was supposed to make this move with her partner but unfortunately, life and the universe had other plans and Gordy lost her partner, but still chose to make the move to Somerset.

For anyone just starting out in the Grimm-universe, this first novel in a new series might not have the same effect for those of us who have been along on the full journey. The level of emotion, the heartbreak, it was all there on the page.

I'm looking forward to getting to know Gordy's team and see her become the leader we've had glimpses of in the Grimm novels.

As far as the crime went, I figured out who did it about halfway or 2/3's through, but that's ok. The crime aspect felt second string this time, and Gordy's personal struggles were the larger storyline. Or at least that's how it felt to me. Loved seeing a character we met a few times in the original series pop in. Think he might be a reoccurring guest star.

I'm an Audible user and I love and adore Aubrey Parsons reading but with Gordy being a woman, a new reader was more appropriate. Ruth Urquhart has done a great job.

Occasionally, lines were delivered in a less Gordy-like way, but I think it’s ok because she’s not actually herself right now. I’d say it’s kind of brilliant on David J Gatward’s part that he created this spin off right at a turbulent time in her life, where one would definitely not be acting their true self, to actually help the audio listener adjust to a new Gordy via Ms. Urquhart.

Not sure about this series yet...

The Harry Grimm series is hands down one of my favorite British crime series and I loved Gordy in all of those books. This was not the best start to a new series ever but I am hoping the next one will be better. Ruth Urquhart did a great job of narration for the most part but I felt like she made Gordy sound a bit too whiney. Will definitely give the next book in the series a listen to see if it gets any better.

The excessive emotional drama

I'm just used to a different type of English police procedural. While a mix of personal life and professional is expected the main character took it to the enth degree. One minute she is absolutely "losing it" over her grief and the next minute she is a dragon...desperate to prove herself at her new assignment. The accents or the attempt at accents falls very short of being believable. I thought I would like this book based on the" over the top" reviews. Sadly this was not so. I will stick with the tried and true authors of crime, mystery, and police doings. Not my cup of tea.

Fantastic gripping story narrated by SCOTTISH narrator!

This new series by David J Gatward kicks off with Gordy from the brilliant Harry Grimm series starting a new life in Somerset. I loved it! It’s got everything, suspenseful story, witty writing and great characters. I had to laugh at another review that complained as to why Mr Gatward hadn’t got a Scottish narrator…er Ruth Urquhart is very Scottish as that’s where she’s from! ( clue’s in the name) She narrates in her natural soft Scottish accent and gives Gordy a bit of a Highland inflection. I suppose if you’re from the States you might not know the subtleties of UK accents. Anyhow I think Urquhart is a brilliant fit for this series and can’t wait for the next one! Highly recommend.

Great Story

Mr. Gatward, the author of the Harry Grimm series, leaves the Dales with DC Gordie Haig from Harry’s team. Taking a position in a new place without the love of her life proves challenging, and her first case causes her to hit the ground running. As she becomes familiar with her new team, and community, she copes with loss, and more. Another great story from Dave, but the narration made the tale a challenging listening. I felt like there were moments when I could not hear clearly because of the narrator’s voice.

Great New Series

If I could give it more stars I would. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ there! I feel better! Lol
Gordy has always been a favorite character for me in the Grimm series and now the amazing David Gatward has given her a series of her own!! I like the new team and can’t wait to get to know them better in future novels! Ruth Urquhart is a great addition to the Gatward Group, she did not disappoint and I love her portrayal of Gordy!

Not as good as Grimm

I am a fan of the Harry Grimm series, so thought I‘d give this spin-off a go. However, there was too much grieving here, which made it a bit dreary to listen to. Otherwise, the story was fine— but not really for me. Ruth Urquhart did a wonderful job narrating the story, so that’s a huge plus.

Good story but...

interesting Branch out for the Grimm series. Not sure at the beginning whether or not I was going to continue listening, mostly because the voices were wrong. What I mean by that is that the narrator did not give enough of a distinction throughout the book between some of the characters voices, especially Gordie's. I found it very difficult without carefully following the plot for the first five or six chapters to distinguish Gordy's voice because the Scottish Lilt was not very evident. In the Grim books, her Scottish lilt is very predominant.
it was a good story and I really enjoyed the ending. For the next book in the series, it would be really great if whoever is doing the narration could be a bit more distinctive between the different characters voices and give Gordie the Highland lilt in her voice that she deserves. That would make the whole experience much more enjoyable and much easier to follow given that this is an audiobook and not a written book. I found that I had to keep going back in some of the chapters to figure out what characters were saying what which made the listening not as seamless as I prefer.

A decent story for a spin off character

The story was good but was hampered at every turn by the reader.
DI Haige is from Scotland, so why would you use someone with an English accent to read the book? Makes zero sense to me because a reader with a Scottish accent would have added an air of authenticity to the character.