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A Wake of Crows

The first in a completely thrilling new police procedural series set in Scarborough

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A Wake of Crows

By: Kate Evans
Narrated by: Rebekah Hinds
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About this listen

 'Effective and moving' Literary Review

'Tightly plotted, really well written and a very engaging, unusual detective in the form of DC Donna Morris. An original and refreshing take on police procedurals' Harriet Tyce, bestselling author of Blood Orange

'A gripping crime debut with a truly original policewoman as the central character. Highly recommended.' Irish Independent


The first in a thrilling new police procedural series set in Scarborough and introducing DC Donna Morris - middle-aged, seemingly ordinary - but hiding many secrets...

Donna Morris has chosen to do her probationary year as detective constable in the small seaside town of Scarborough. But on her first day, a body is found in the woods: the corpse of Henrik Grünttor presents itself as that of a homeless man, dead from his own drug use. However, until recently, Grünttor had been working at the local GCHQ centre on the Russian section and the postmortem reveals the cause of his death to be uncertain.

Now in her early fifties, Donna has her own reasons for wanting to be in Scarborough, ones she would prefer to keep from her colleagues. For she's not been drawn there by the landscape or the light, or even the beach, but to be closer to her wayward daughter - a daughter serving time in the nearby prison for GBH. Yet beyond even this, Donna hides another secret: she grew up in East Berlin, escaping across the wall in the early 1980s.

Due to the circumstances of her past Donna is drawn to the dead man whose background is not dissimilar to hers... and her persistence reveals there are several people who wanted Grünttor dead -- and gathered around him in his final days like a wake of crows...

Praise for Kate Evans
'Kate Evans delivers a gripping crime debut with a truly original policewoman as the central character. Highly recommended' Irish Independent

'Well written and without any flashiness, this believable police procedural deals with guilt, vengeance, love, a serial killer with a God complex and redemption. . . effective and moving' Literary Review

'Read this book' 5 Stars, Reader Review

'A rich and rewarding police procedural with a candidly portrayed and memorable central character' 5 Stars, Reader Review

'A brilliant read' 5 Stars, Reader Review©2021 Kate Evans Crime Fiction Detective Fiction Mystery Police Procedural Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Crime Exciting
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50-year old Donna Morris has come to Scarborough to work out her probationary year as a Detective Constable. She has reasons for this seemingly odd career move which leaves her husband behind in the marital home: she wants to be close to her wayward, belligerent daughter who is serving time for GBH nearby.

Donna is hiding other secrets too (but not unfortunately the sanguinary effects of her menopause): her first life was in East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall from where she had escaped 36 years previously. The narrative shifts from Then and Now as Donna's previous and present lives unfurl. On her first day the body of Henrik Gruntner, an alcoholic rough sleeper, is discovered in a wood apparently having died from drug abuse. He too is an East European...

The unfolding complex story is classy, taut and thoughtful. The entwining of the life in East Germany with Scarborough now
adds a real depth and makes it not merely a police procedural murder story. It enables the themes of dislocation, guilt, parental strains, religious obsession, revenge and psychological damage to be explored.

The sense of place (East Germany and Scarborough) is powerful and well written. The writing is good but I felt the author let herself down with the use of jarring colloquialisms ('smidgeon' and 'and then some' are repeated) which was a shame.

The narration is mainly good. The narrator's East European accent (crucial to the plot) is subtle and delicate. It's always hard for female narrators to read as men and here the men's accents are too exaggerated, loud and strong.

A crisp, unusual and thoughtful crime novel

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A compelling and very different main character. I want to know more and cant wait for the second

Inventive

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