View source for Swanton Morley (John Tanner) by David Blake

{{infobox1
|title=Swanton Morley (John Tanner)
|author=David Blake
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Crime
|summary=Book eleven of the series.  The plotting is good. The writing less so.
|rating=3.5
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|pages=312
|publisher=Balck Oak Publishing
|date=May 2024
|isbn=978-1738541805
|website=https://www.david-blake.com/
|cover=B0CYV674G2
|aznuk=B0CYV674G2
|aznus=B0CYV674G2
}}
It seemed like an open-and-shut case.  A man, covered in mud and blood - and carrying a knife, comes into the police station shouting that he hasn't killed the man.  A body at the bottom of a freshly dug grave at Swanton Morley church - he's been stabbed to death.  DCI John Tanner is just back from his honeymoon, which coincided with the birth of his daughter Samantha.  You would think he'd be grateful for an easy answer but the words 'perverse' and 'John Tanner' were made for each other.  He's sleep-deprived to the point of falling asleep at work but he's determined to keep going - probably because he can't get any sleep at home.

When you're nearly a month away from last being on the north Norfolk coast and ][[Elly Griffiths' Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries in Chronological Order|Elly Griffiths] can't come to your rescue, you end up looking around for Norfolk crime.  It was some five years since I'd read the first of the [[Broadlands (DI Tanner Book 1) by David Blake|John Tanner books]].  I hadn't been overly impressed but I wasn't impressed by the first of [[Knots And Crosses by Ian Rankin|Ian Rankin's John Rebus books]] either.  As this was book eleven and I'd missed nine of them, I was hoping for a back catalogue to attack gleefully.  So how did it stack up?

The plotting is good.  I didn't see the ending coming at all.  I hadn't with the first book in the series, either so I think we can say that Blake's plotting is strong.  He also ticked a lot of boxes for me.  I love the area and it's obvious that Blake does too: he brings it to life vividly.  I'm pleased to read about the doings of wily politicians and Blake had this perfectly.  He didn't overdo it and was completely believable.  I was less convinced by the writing which errs on the side of description.  I was tired of hearing about the 'depths of his [Tanner's] sailing jacket'.  Yes - I know - I'm being picky.

I was lucky enough to be sent an audio download of the book, narrated by Jonathan Keeble.  I enjoyed his narration of [[The Darkness Around Her by Neil White]] and [[The Establishment: And how they get away with it by Owen Jones]].  In the latter I thought that Keeble was a better choice than the author would have been - and it's not often I say that.  Keeble didn't disappoint in  ''Swanton Morley''.  He has an excellent range of voices, which he deployed with skill.

If you've looking for more Norfolk crime you could try [[Steve Burrows' DCI Domenic Jejeune's Birder Murder Mysteries in Chronological Order|Steve Burrow's Birder Murder Mysteries]].  Start at the beginning of the series - that's where the best books are.

[[David Blake's John Tanner Books in Chronological Order]]

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