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

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

Disappointed

I truly hope the next book is better, I will definitely purchase it. The problem with this book is Gordy is not likeable. The grief she feels for Anna was so extreme at times, you wanted to tell her to stop whining or get more professional help. The new team of characters could make for a delightful series but Gordy needs to chill out. We have too many series with dysfunctional detectives, I hope we are not getting another one from David Gatward, I love the Grimm stories.

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.

Stop the whining!

Much of the book revolved around the detective Gordy Haig, whining about the loss of her partner. There was more whining than there was story. Let’s hope that if there is a next book in this series that David Gatward stops all the crying and returns to books with a plot and some sense of humor. I really hated this book.