Death at the White Hart

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader as part of a quick takes post to catch up. The point of these posts is to be pithy, not thorough (as I typically strive for)
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I have two big take-aways from this book.
1. Let Chibnall do this kind of thing—murders in a small town without much violent crime.
2. Keep him away from things like Doctor Who.

This is such a rich book—the setting was fantastic. Chibnall populates this town with a wonderful assortment of characters from several walks of life—and you feel like you get to know them well. The police characters are the kind I’d like to see again (but, I just don’t see a sequel working). The mystery at the book’s heart was so cleverly laid out and the reveal was as good show more as you could hope for.

There’s a young girl character who will break your heart, and you will want to adopt her. Even if I didn’t so much like the book, I’d have been glad for her storyline alone. show less

IN A NUTSHELL
This debut novel by the creator of ‘Broadchurch‘ carried me along happily until almost the end. It was entertaining and occasionally surprising. It would make great TV. But the book went on for too long after the crime was solved.

I loved how cleverly the story was structured to set up the situation, introduce the characters and sustain suspense. The opening scene was dramatic but, as the newly-arrived-in-the-area-and-newly-promoted police officer, headed towards the dead body, I thought I was in familiar serial killer police procedural territory where I'd be able to predict the next move. I was quickly proved wrong when Chris Chibnall started to tell the story from multiple points of view, rather than following the show more police. Each point of view had a secret. Any of them could have been the killer or have known who the killer was.

The writing moved the plot along smoothly. The dialogue worked well, as did the mix of plot-related disclosure and the disclosure of personal backstories for the two main police officers. The nine-year-old girl in the story stole the show but all the characters were convincing. None of them felt as though they were just there to move the plot along.

The plot itself was satisfying. I liked the way the main police officer, Nicola Bridge, kept pulling everyone's attention back to gathering the facts rather than letting the dramatic flourishes of the murder plunge them into pointless speculation, while her less experienced but earnest subordinate filled the reader in on all the local legends and fed my imagination with wild ideas.

As I read along, I was thinking that this was going to be one of those rare debut novels that I gave a four-star rating. That dropped to a (perfectly respectable) 3.5-star rating in the last fifteen per cent of the book. This wasn’t one of those times when the resolution of the mystery was a letdown. The mystery and its resolution were satisfying. Unfortunately, the final chapters of the book dragged, firstly because the murderer’s explanation of how the murder was done was tediously long and secondly because the author wanted to give all of the characters a few moments of Happily Ever After before closing the book. I lost patience with both efforts.

Still, if there is a second book, I’ll be happy to read it.

I recommend the audiobook version of 'Death At The White Hart', narrated by Jessica Gunning. Click on the YouTube link below to hear a sample.

https://youtu.be/VGu1I_yBWu4?feature=shared show less

Chibnall, who crafted a compelling whodunit as the creator of TV's Broadchurch series, brilliantly continues in that vein with his first novel. Detective Sergeant Nicola Bridges has moved with her husband and son from Liverpool to the village of Fleetcombe in a last-ditch effort to preserve her marriage. While she was consumed by her big-city job, her husband was cheating and growing emotionally distant; she hopes that sleepy Fleetcombe will bring a slower pace of work so that she can focus on her family. This proves to be wishful thinking when Bridges receives a call about a dead body on a nearby motorway. It's Jim Tiernan, owner of the White Hart pub, who knew most of the villagers' secrets. Initially, Bridges is frustrated. Homicides show more are rare in Fleetcombe, her resources are few, and her subordinate, Detective Constable Harry Ward, is inexperienced. Witnesses prevaricate, and a motive seems elusive. However, Bridges and Ward are persistent in investigating this case, no matter where it leads. VERDICT Chibnall's spectacular novel offers intriguing suspense and drama, plus an outstanding cast of characters and a mystery that will keep readers riveted until the fulfilling climax. (Library Journal)
This is an easy going mystery and my first thought was that fans of Martha Grimes would enjoy the book as it contains a precocious young girl of 12 and it deals with pubs--Grimes' specialty. This does not have any of the grit of Broadchurch but is very satisfying in its own way. Definitely worth reading. show less

Nicola Bridge, a Liverpool detective, has just relocated to the rural village of Fleetcombe in an effort to save her failing marriage when she’s landed with a shocking murder. A naked corpse has been found tied to a chair in the middle of a country road with a set of antlers affixed to his head like some sort of folkloric figure. She needs to solve it quickly before it becomes tabloid fodder, and she has to prove herself even though she’s given very little to work with. She only has two detectives to assist her: DC Harry Ward, who is young and inexperienced if keen, and Mel, who is glum and reluctant to leave his desk.

The first task is to identify the victim and get any forensic information available from the strikingly clean scene. show more The second is to get to know the potential suspects and the deep-seated motives that are hidden beneath a placid village surface. There’s a non-binary hairdresser who seems unusually anxious, working at a salon that has some suspicious business practices. There’s the pub-goer nobody likes who got into a fight with the victim on the night of the murder. And there’s a young girl who spends much of time watching things unfold as she avoids her dysfunctional home life and becomes a key, if reluctant, witness.

If this sounds like a British television mystery, it’s not surprising: the author was the creator of Broadchurch among other popular television dramas. The mood is taut and urgent, the setting bucolic with sinister overtones, the characters stock villagers who have enough psychological development to be complicated humans, and the detective saddled with a troubled home life and a punishing work schedule. The murder is far more elaborate than necessary for the disposing of an enemy, as is so often the case in crime fiction, but it makes unraveling the mystery more puzzling and less disturbing than a more realistic scenario would be. Though Nicola is provided little support from her superiors, she makes the best of it as her unprepossessing team comes together, each revealing their strengths in a satisfying way. There’s likely enough foundation here to launch a Season Two.

It’s not cozy – this is not the sort of village you’d want to live in, and the villagers’ eccentricities are not especially heart-warming – but as a traditional mystery it has the familiar elements of a well-produced BritBox drama. Those who enjoy British crime dramas will likely find Death at the White Hart very much their cup of tea.

Reposted from Crime Fiction Review - https://crimefictionreview.com/death-at-the-white-hart-by-chris-chibnall/ show less

Death at the White Hart definitely had a lot going for it with an intriguing mystery, interesting and quirky characters, a setting that was picturesque, and it was fairly easy to read. I don't typically read something based off recommendations of 'he wrote this...' and 'she penned this...', but fell into this trap just by that one word 'Broadchurch'. I should really know better as I think it set my expectations a bit too high. So, while all the elements of a really good story were there, the execution did not work for me.

In a mystery like this, I usually tend to prefer the investigative side of the narrative so while I had my quibbles with Nicola and crew, I did find this part more interesting. Nicola had some personal issues to deal show more with as she negotiated the case and I liked her first officer, even if his theories got a bit wild and funny. Seeing his enthusiasm was a breath of fresh air and as he worked hard to impress Nicola, and she took the time to push him back to facts and figures, focusing on the reality of the investigation and away from the fantastical, something which could be easy to do if one were not careful. It was a good way to introduce the reader to local legends and I do enjoy this kind of thing. I didn't particularly like Nicola at the beginning of the book, but she did grow on me as the story unfolded. However, I will say this over and over again, stop using personal issues to excuse bad behaviour on the job. Having issues at home does not give one license to treat your subordinates like s&**.

But while I did enjoy the dialogue and the back-and-forth between the characters, I don't think the multiple POV worked very well in this book as it gave too much information away to the reader. I don't know about other readers, but I pretty much figured out the culprit within the first POV chapter and I had to grind my teeth through some of these other similar chapters that felt like filler; when a reader is led along by the nose like a good little puppy to the water bowl with all the answers in it, more than once in case you missed it the first time, you know you have a problem. Let us figure it out ourselves. Don't tell us, but show us through your writing and dialogue what happened.

Verdict
Death at the White Hart had some positive elements to the story and I definitely like the setting. However, I did think the multiple POV destroyed the tension of the story and gave away too much information, to the point where it was easy to figure out the culprit. While it was an okay read, it was kind of tropey and relied a lot on misunderstanding to proper the story forward, including many repetitive actions. Overall, this was an average murder mystery. show less

This is an unfortunately dull book that fails to make the most of its promise. At the outset of the book, a local publican is found murdered, posed on a highway with deer antlers attached to his head. Investigating the crime, Detective Nicola Bridge and her enthusiastic young rookie, Harry Ward, find that the dead publican harboured many secrets. A likely candidate for the murder suspect is arrested, but at the very last moment, evidence that Nicola puts together suggests the mystery might go beyond their arrest and investigation so far.

My chief issue with this book is that it introduces too many themes and subplots, and then fails to adequately make something out of any of them. Nicola is having marital problems that prompted her move show more back from London to Dorset: Chibnall valiantly tries to connect her personal and professional challenges without much success. A trans hairdresser gets mixed up with the wrong crowd in the background: Chibnall is also trying to address transphobia but ends up brushing too lightly, almost glibly, on the topic. Much is made of a historical murder involving antlers that occurred in the area but the ye olde mystical horror Dorset plotline isn't developed and goes nowhere. It feels a bit like he threw everything at the plot and waited to see what would stick. What did stick requires too many spoilers to mention here but let's just say it is a particularly hackneyed cliche. Disappointing. show less

A dead body is found in the middle of the road in a Dorset coastal community. The victim has been tied to a chair, with stag antlers attached to his head. Detective Nicola Bridge has just transferred here, her hometown, from Liverpool. Thinking this will be a quiet location, she finds herself immediately coping with a homicide, few support staff, and many suspects.

From the creator of Broadchurch, this has some of the same, small village quirkiness as the TV show. Well plotted, it is an engrossing, suspenseful read; entertaining, with a bit of humor. There are colorful characters, red herrings, twists, and turns. I like Nicola, a capable individual dealing with personal issues while doing her best at her job. I also like Harry, her show more younger, less experienced partner who proves to be adept.

I hope this will become a book series by Chibnall and perhaps optioned for TV as well.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #VikingPenquin for the DRC. show less