Welcome to Wensleydale, where the cheese is famous, the scenery beautiful, and the locals have murder on their minds ...
Detective Chief Inspector Harry Grimm is forced to take leave from Bristol's Major Investigations Team when his boss, tired of Harry chasing the ghost of his murderous father, sends him north on secondment.
Used to city life and high stress, Harry fears his life will now be spent handing out speeding tickets, finding lost sheep, and directing tourists. But when a local teenager runs away, Harry finds himself pulled into an investigation much worse than anyone could have ever expected.
The nicer the place, the darker the secrets. Wensleydale is beautiful, everyone is friendly and welcoming, and people just don't get murdered ... do they?
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A TWO-WORD TEXT message changed fifteen-year old Sophie Hodgson's life for good, but not for the better, not by a long shot. CHAPTER ONE
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(Weirdstone Publishing, 8 July 2020, 238 pages, ebook, copy from the publisher and voluntarily reviewed, #BlogTour 27 January 2021 via @RandomTTours)
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This is the first Harry Grimm novel. I read the sequel Best Served Cold first. Colour me confused. I really enjoyed this. I felt very familiar with some of the characters after reading the other book, but it was good to find out a bit more about Harry and how he ended up in Yorkshire. Grimm Up North delves into his past a bit more as a Para. The book has a similar feel to the Shetland books by Ann Cleeves, also set in a small town, or an island so the setting and people have a similar feel. Harry is a great character. I love his name, it's funny, and a bit of an in-joke because of his facial scarring due to an incident when he was a Para but it's also a bit serious as well. He really comes to life and I loved the time I spent in his company. I love Wensleydale cheese by the way and was horrified by Harry's disdain. You haven't lived unless you've eaten so much Wensleydale and Cranberry cheese you have crumbs all over your mouth and face. What seems a simple case of a teenage girl running away after a row turns into something far darker and more sinister than Harry's fellow officers are used to dealing with, offering him a chance to shine and redeem himself for the mistakes that led to him being sent to Wensleydale in the first place. I can't wait to read book number three.
