A Twist in the River by Stig Abell

 

First Line: There has always been the river.

People disappear all the time, but when a young nurse goes missing on the riverbank, leaving her phone and shoes behind, social media goes into a frenzy. Amateur sleuths flock to the area, each with their own theory.

Then another woman is found in the river, and the signs point to murder. Former detective Jake Jackson came to this rural area looking for peace. Now he's looking for a killer.

~

I have enjoyed Stig Abell's Jake Jackson mysteries from the first (Death Under a Little Sky)-- in particular for their gorgeous descriptions of the landscape and wildlife. A Twist in the River has those same descriptions, so evocative that I feel myself right in the middle of the English countryside.

Jake Jackson's path to this fourth mystery has been a fascinating one. Living off the grid. Making new friends in a rather insular community. His life and the lives of the other characters continue to grow, and the journey is a delight. As Jake searches for a killer, readers learn more about the lives and histories of the locals. Many of them moved to the area for the same reason as Jake: peace and privacy. 

While Jake's investigation progresses, readers can accompany him to his favorite secondhand bookshop to browse the shelves, and they can also try to avoid the hordes of social media influencers and podcasters trying to find content to boost their clicks and likes. It's not easy for Jake to avoid "Detective Dani," who has her own YouTube channel. She's zeroed in on him as the best source for the latest information, and she's so devious and manipulative that she causes friction between Jake and the woman he loves. 

The books in this series are naturally slow to unfold, but this time the pace of A Twist in the River really seemed to drag-- to the point where it bothered me and kept making me want to skim here and there. (I didn't.) But... the landscape is still beautiful. I still want to tuck myself away in the library in Jake's house. And the mystery is still a puzzler. I hope you decide to give this series a try, and if you do, please begin with the first one due to the character development. This is a series that should be savored.

A Twist in the River by Stig Abell

eISBN: 9780063472426

HarperCollins © 2026

eBook, 352 pages

Literary Mystery, #4 Jake Jackson

Rating: B

Source: Net Galley

The Burial Place by Stig Abell

 

First Line: Outside, the hillside is buffeted by an unseasonable wind, the brackeny undergrowth shifting and flattening, patternless.

Former London detective Jake Jackson is enjoying his new life in the English countryside-- especially his deepening relationship with the local veterinarian and her daughter. However, trouble always seems to find him, and he's pulled into an investigation centered on an archaeological dig of a Roman settlement. 

It's a dream job for the archaeologists, but then the threatening letters begin, and then... a murder. Jake has to find the killer before the person can strike again.

~

Stig Abell's Jake Jackson mysteries are for readers who enjoy a story that unfolds slowly and is steeped in the natural world. A bonus for me was the archaeological dig, since that's also an interest of mine. 

Jake has made a place for himself in this remote countryside and has made friends in the local village. I enjoyed watching his relationships grow and deepen. More characters are added by the archaeologists, an interesting mix of personalities indeed.

The Burial Place, the third Jake Jackson mystery, is filled with things I love: fully fleshed characters, a vivid setting, archaeology... if there's one thing I didn't enjoy quite so much, it's the easily deduced whodunit. But still, this is a series that I highly recommend.

The Burial Place by Stig Abell

eISBN: 9780063463813

HarperCollins © 2025

eBook, 352 pages

Literary Mystery, #3 Jake Jackson

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

Death in a Lonely Place by Stig Abell

 

First Line: You can see it, if you like, as a thick sheaf of papers, a breeze flicking curiously through them, each page another account of a crime committed, a life ruined, someone's thoughtless desires satisfied without challenge or recourse to justice.

 

Former police detective Jake Jackson's life is just about perfect. The little country village offers him the peace and friendship he craves. He tends to his chickens, swims in his lake, and spends as much time as possible with his new love, Livia. 

 

But every detective has an unsolved case that won't let him be. The cold case brought to his door drags Jake reluctantly into the shadowy world of a secret group called No Taboo that serves the no-holds-barred, spare-no-expense whims of Britain's elite. When Livia accepts a position working for a powerful publishing mogul, Jake begins to wonder if the billionaire could be connected to No Taboo.

But No Taboo will go to any lengths to protect its secrets. Jake not only doesn't know whom he can trust, he's put himself and others in mortal danger.

~

I fell under the main character's spell in Stig Abell's first book, Death Under a Little Sky, and I did it again with Death in a Lonely Place. Jake Jackson has almost convinced me that I would love to live his life. He has no near neighbors. He's given fields and trees literary names. He inherited a wonderful crime fiction library where he can sit and read by the fire in the evenings. He has nature at his doorstep and a lake to swim in... if only there were a few more amenities like hot, running water in the house.

Abell makes his setting live and breathe, and I always look out for the heron who's a regular visitor on Jake's property. The author puts me in tune with the earth and sky, and I love it.

I was wondering how this second book would deal with crime once again coming to such a small, isolated community, and Jake's old cold case was the perfect way to do it. None of the villagers were connected to the case, and Jake found out just how many friends he'd made. Although I am rather tired of plot devices involving secret gangs of the super-rich doing whatever they want, the one called No Taboo was handled very well-- and with a surprising bad guy.

As much as I love Jake and the remote setting, I still think it's going to be interesting to see what the author does in future installments. Livia and her daughter Diana can be used as threats only so many times before I, for one, will start rolling my eyes. But Abell did very well in this second book, so I'm looking forward to seeing what he does in the third.

Death in a Lonely Place by Stig Abell

eISBN: 9780063381124

HarperCollins © 2024

eBook, 352 pages

 

Literary Mystery, #2 Jake Jackson

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

Death Under a Little Sky by Stig Abell

 

First Line: It is a long way, as the heron flies, between lights in this part of the countryside.

 

Inheriting his uncle's property out in the country allows police detective Jake Jackson to retire and make a new life for himself away from London. 

 

Although the amenities in his new home are sparse, the landscape is stunning, and his neighbors may be a bit eccentric, but they're friendly and invite him to join their annual treasure hunt.

 

When the hunt turns up a young woman's bones, Jake is pulled back into the role of detective and he's soon on the trail of a dangerous killer hiding in what Jake had thought to be a rural idyll.

 

~

 

The pace of Death Under a Little Sky may be slow and deliberate, but I fell under the story's spell just the same. Stig Abell's tale is atmospheric, lyrical, and completely in tune with the natural world. 

 

The land that Jake Jackson inherits is beautiful, and as he wanders the fields and bathes in the lake, he begins naming parts of it after crime writers. (There's Morse Field and Poirot Point, for example.) The house may not have a bath or shower... or a washing machine or a dryer, but its library is any crime fiction reader's idea of paradise.

Readers follow along with Jake as he becomes acquainted with his land as well as the people in the nearby village. Some of them are friendly, like Dr. Peter, who "emerges from his house, as always like an animal from a burrow," but some folks eye him with suspicion. In fact, I found that village to be rather claustrophobic. As I walked with Jake down its main street, I felt the hair stand on the back of my neck. (How's that for getting drawn into a story?)

I enjoyed getting to know the cast of characters surrounding Jake, especially Livia the veterinarian and her daughter Diana, Chief Inspector Gerald Watson, and Sarah the pub owner. However, I can see that, if you find that you don't particularly care for Jake, you're probably not going to like the book. He is center stage almost all the time.

 

When the identity of the killer finally dawned on me, I swear someone should have been able to see the light bulb turn on above my head. From the marvelous setting to the main character to the mystery itself, all I can say is that I'm certainly looking forward to seeing Jake again.

Death Under a Little Sky by Stig Abell

eISBN: 9780063381070

HarperCollins © 2024

eBook, 352 pages

 

Literary Mystery, #1 Jake Jackson mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.