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Death on a Norfolk River: A chilling British crime mystery
Paperback
Series: The Norfolk Coast Murders, Book 3
ISBN13: 9781805735601
Publisher: Joffe Books Ltd
Published: Apr 8 2026
Pages: 370
Weight: 0.72
Height: 0.92 Width: 5.06 Depth: 7.81
Language: English
FROM CWA DAGGER AWARD-WINNING JIM KELLY COMES AN ABSOLUTELY GRIPPING CRIME MYSTERY SERIES SET ON THE SWEEPING NORFOLK COAST.
Please note this book was previously published as DEATH TOLL.
'Connoisseurs of excellence will find it in Kelly's work.' Richmond Times-Dispatch
It's a bitter winter in Norfolk. Mist drifts in from the tidal river and settles over the gravestones of Flensing Meadow Cemetery. DI Peter Shaw and DS George Valentine expect nothing more than a quiet shift.
But after a routine exhumation, they suddenly have a decades-old murder on their hands.
Graves are being dug up beside the river to prevent flooding. When workers haul up the coffin of murdered pub landlady Nora Tilden, they discover she isn't alone.
A second corpse lies hidden in her grave - a young man someone buried there decades ago to conceal a horrific crime.
Shaw and Valentine reopen the cold case. Their investigation leads them back to the old riverside pub, The Flask, where Nora once lived and worked, and into a past marked by violence, secrets and betrayal.
Someone went to great lengths to hide the truth.
And someone may still be willing to kill to keep it buried.
This unputdownable crime mystery, laced with dark secrets, is perfect for fans of Joy Ellis, Caro Ramsay, Ann Cleeves, Elly Griffiths, LJ Ross or Val McDermid.
MEET THE DETECTIVES
DI Peter Shaw works in the shadow of his late father, a legend of the North Norfolk police force. A recent accident cost him the sight in one eye. Methodical, principled, and forensic to the core, he loathes the slapdash instinct and rule-breaking habits of old-fashioned coppers. Which makes his partner a problem . . .
DS George Valentine is exactly the kind of policeman Shaw can't stand. He trusts gut instinct over procedure, enjoys a drink or three, and smokes like a chimney. What's worse, he was once partner to Shaw's late father.
THE SETTING
Norfolk's coast is flat and exposed, with saltmarsh and sandbank running alongside stretches of black water. Narrow coast roads thread between dykes and creeks, easily disrupted by tide, weather, or a single fallen tree. Inland, King's Lynn is all tight streets and old dockland, its medieval layout still intact while modern crime hides in plain sight. Out here, the landscape shapes every investigation.
Praise for Jim Kelly:
'Intelligent crime fiction - leaves the reader hungry for more.' Val McDermid, No. 1 bestselling author
'Twists pile on twists in Kelly's superb whodunit.' Publishers Weekly
'Kelly demonstrates his mastery at creating a convoluted puzzle that must be sorted out by even more complicate detectives.' Library Journal
'Intensely atmospheric.' Literary Review
READERS LOVE DEATH IN KING'S LYNN:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Every novel is better than the last.' Cecilia S.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'This has to be the best in the Shaw and Valentine series.' Suzan
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'The background of the North Norfolk coast and Kings Lynn itself are brought vividly to life.' Damaskcat
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Not one of the best - THE BEST!' Magpie
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Amazingly vivid characters and a complex, logically solved puzzle.' Serge P.
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