A Patient Fury by Sarah Ward @sarahrward1 @FaberBooks #APatientFury

When Detective Constable Connie Childs is dragged from her bed to the fire-wrecked property on Cross Farm Lane she knows as she steps from the car that this house contains death.

Three bodies discovered - a family obliterated - their deaths all seem to point to one conclusion: One mother, one murderer.

But D.C. Childs, determined as ever to discover the truth behind the tragedy, realises it is the fourth body - the one they cannot find - that holds the key to the mystery at Cross Farm Lane.

What Connie Childs fails to spot is that her determination to unmask the real murderer might cost her more than her health - this time she could lose the thing she cares about most: her career.

My thanks to the publisher, Faber & Faber who sent my copy for review and invited me to take part in this Blog Tour.



I am delighted to host the Blog Tour for A Patient Fury by Sarah Ward; the third in the DC Childs series and published by Faber & Faber in hardback on 7 September 2017.

I love this series and have read and reviewed both of the previous books here on Random Things:  In Bitter Chill (November 2015) and A Deadly Thaw (September 2016).

Oh my goodness! I really didn't think that Sarah Ward's writing could any better than in A Deadly Thaw, but I was wrong, she just gets better and better. I was totally consumed by the plot of A Patient Fury; it's finely tuned, flows perfectly and delivers shocks and unexpected moments galore. This is crime writing at its finest.

The story is set, once again in Brampton; a small town in Derbyshire and the lead character DC Connie Childs is recovering from events that happened in A Deadly Thaw, but determined to be a better person, a better police officer and to do things properly and by the book. Even though A Patient Fury is the third in the series, and events from the previous two books are mentioned, this author is so very skilled at making the reader aware and the book could easily be read as a standalone novel.

DC Connie Childs is called out to a house fire; Peter Winson, his young wife and their toddler son are all dead. Upon further investigation it appears that this is a murder-suicide, carried out by the mother of the family. Despite the evidence to back this up, Connie doesn't feel comfortable with the conclusion. Not only is this very rare, there appears to be very little evidence to back it up and she is convinced that this tragedy is connected to the disappearance, many years ago, of Peter's first wife.

Julia and George Winson; Peter's adult children from his first marriage have differing reactions to the fire. Julia begins to feel scared, in fear of what could happen and convinced that her family has some murky secrets that could destroy everything if they are revealed. George, on the other hand, is emotionally cold, difficult to relate to and easily suspected of wrong-doing.

Connie Childs can't accept that the events of almost forty years ago are not connected to what has happened and she risks the wrath of her superiors by continuing her dogged questioning of anyone that may have answers.

Sarah Ward is very skilled at creating atmosphere and a vivid sense of place. Small town Brampton is stifling and close and in A Patient Fury she ventures further afield, to Lincolnshire, my own home county. It's clear that the author has personal experience of the small town of Horncastle - it is described perfectly; that mix of quaint and pretty, with the pervading feel of rundown and old-fashioned.

A Patient Fury is a tense and intelligent crime novel and the author very cleverly gets right into the minds of the characters, allowing the reader to experience their feelings and observations so very well.

I love this series; both the characters and the town of Brampton are perfectly drawn, I'm so looking forward to more from Connie in the future.






Sarah Ward is the author of three DC Childs novels, In Bitter Chill, A Deadly Thaw and A Patient Fury, set in the Derbyshire Peak District where she lives.  

On her blog, Crimepieces (www.crimepieces.com), she reviews the best of current crime fiction published around the world, and she has also reviewed for Euro Crime and CrimeSquad. 

She is a judge for the Petrona Award for Scandinavian translated crime novels.

Follow Sarah on Twitter @sarahrward1

Find her on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/SarahWardCrime